Reader Comments

Once again Paul destroys his credibility (did he have any?) with that summary of Apple's financials.

curious question... if you said that "Mac sales grew just 4 percent." then you said later "Have Apple's products leveled out? It's starting to look that way." did mac sales level off or did they grow? i'm confused because i would like to be able to take your word for it but when you sell more year to year that's considered growth. ahhh... which is it? level or growth?

"if you said that "Mac sales grew just 4 percent." then you said later "Have Apple's products leveled out?" Yes, this indicates they've leveled out. If the entire industry is growing at say 8 percent, and Apple experiences 4% growth, they are in market share decline. The entire economy is doing fantastic right now, most people are buying new machines and less-than-industry growth rates typically indicate installed-base replacement rather than new business. This doesn't mean that Apple is on the verge of collapse like in the mid to late 90s. Rather that they could be approaching saturation for their products. If this occurs, they need to break into new markets in order to maintain profitability. It's safe to see Apple thinks this way as well, as Boot Camp is an attempt on their part to find a new market segment. They'll try to sell hardware to the windows crowd or MacOS to the windows crowd. It appears they've gone with the first point (which doesn't preclude the second option at a significantly later date). Anyway, in regards to the business fundamentals, this could put Apple stock into a protracted decline. There is a lot of "goodwill" based on the expectation of continued growth. If that doesn't occur you'll see a steady erosion of share price. Realistically, Apple and Google are in exactly the same situation. The companies are acting in almost the exact same manner in their respective markets.

I think a strong Apple will work in the entire industry's favor. Apple has been at the forefront of innovation and is among the best hardware designers. I think the company has an attitude problem, but I guess that's acceptable. Goolge too has some cool products, but I think they should just give up the "Don't be evil" facade. I know it helps the company a lot, but the events in China have proved that it's not true.

"This quarter, iPod sales grew 61 percent, but that pales when compared to the 558 percent growth the company experienced last year. ..... Have Apple's products leveled out? It's starting to look that way." Ho! Ho! Ho! Yeah, Paul, the annual increase in Apple's iPod sales has dropped from 558 percent to a measly 61 percent. They're on the ropes now! (chuckle, chuckle....).

And the fun continues: MS06-015 isn't the only buggy Microsoft Patch this week! Woo hoo!!! http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1952402,00.asp "A Microsoft spokesman said the company is investigating new reports of patch-related glitches with the MS06-016 cumulative security update that fixes a remote code execution flaw in Outlook Express. He said the company will provide customer guidance once it figures out the reasons for the problems." "Patch Tuesday" is more fun than Russian Roulette!

When I want information on flying to France, I'll read Paul's blog. When I want sound financial reporting, I'll turn to sources such as the financial pages of The Seattle Times: "Shares of Apple jumped after the report on relief that the company's earnings weren't held back by slowing iPod growth and the switch to Intel chips in the Mac. "It was a giant sigh of relief," said James Grossman, a fund manager at Thrivent Financial for Lutherans in Appleton, Wis. The firm oversees $65 billion including Apple shares. "It panned out a little better than some expected." The stock rose $2.91, or 4.4 percent, to $68.56 in extended trading after declining 57 cents to $65.65 during the regular session. "They held Mac shipments and even increased it slightly year over year in the midst of an architectural change without having to cut prices," said Barry Jaruzelski, a technology analyst for consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton in New York." Paul Thurrott: The FOX News of Tech Reporting.

"This doesn't mean that Apple is on the verge of collapse like in the mid to late 90s. Rather that they could be approaching saturation for their products." No, they're experiencing a temporary slowdown as users wait for the Intel transition (including native versions of key applications) to be complete. iPods are still selling like...well, iPods, and there hasn't been a (major) new model to spur those sales on. When there is, Katie Bar The Door. The fact that they've done this well in the midst of this changeover AND increased profits year-over-year is, IMHO, remarkable. Again, let's hear what the experts have to say (from marketwatch.com): "They essentially are the MP3 market," said Barry Jaruzelski, technology managing general partner at consultancy Booz, Allen, Hamilton. "So far, they haven't hit the top of saturation point." "Analysts were largely realistic and upbeat about Apple's performance. Shaw Wu, of American Technology Research, maintained his buy rating on Apple's stock saying that the company's conservative outlook is "another attempt to reset unrealistic consensus revenue expectations." Or unrealistic Thurrott expectations, for that matter.

"When I want information on flying to France, I'll read Paul's blog. When I want sound financial reporting, I'll turn to sources such as the financial pages of The Seattle Times." "Paul Thurrott: The FOX News of Tech Reporting." Of course, lotsamystuff. Praise PAul when he criticizes Windows. Otherwise, call him names. :-) He doesn't talk about Apple stock prices anywhere. He is simply pointing out that every product has to reach a saturation point somewhere during its lifetime and the iPod seem to be close to that. nim55 and lotsamystuff, why are you going on such a defensive?

"Google wants a piece of every conceivable market, and it's not afraid to step on partners in order to achieve its ends. My guess is that Google will soon be one of the most distrusted companies on earth." They're only following the Microsoft model, Paul. Do you blame them?

"They're only following the Microsoft model, Paul. Do you blame them?" My, my. Someone's angry. You don't expect everyone in the world to shower praises on Apple and Google all the time, do you? You ridicule people when they say anything in defence of Microsoft and cannot accept any criticism of Apple or Google. What a zealot.

"They're only following the Microsoft model, Paul. Do you blame them?" Yes, lotsa. What's all that "Don't be evil" crap then?

"He is simply pointing out that every product has to reach a saturation point somewhere during its lifetime and the iPod seem to be close to that. nim55 and lotsamystuff, why are you going on such a defensive?" Who's being defensive? We're just having fun and enjoying a good laugh. So a product with a 61% increase in annual sales sounds like it's reaching its saturation point to you too, huh?

Most analysts reports I've heard for the past year since Steve Job's announcement of a move to x86 have predicted incredible declines in Apple sales until the full transition to Intel as well as full support with OS X 10.5 Leopard, as many potential buyers will wait for the process to come full circle. I don't know where anyone else is getting their analytic predictions from, but the general oppinion upon almost everyone from the start of this change has been a decrease in Apple sales figures. The Intel mac transition is no where near complete, they only have two full lines of Intel macs right now. Not even the MacBook Pro is a completed line of high end notebooks yet. Only one MacBook Pro in addition to lacking MacBooks as well as PowerMacs in this phase is obviously going to hurt potential sales as the smarter buyers are still waiting for later this year. To correct others; sales are up, not down, and not leveled out. For the last three quarters which go all the way back to Paris Expo, September of 2005, Apple's mac and iPod sales doubled year-over-year. One freaking quarter of not a very high increase and people jump to conclusions. The sales are not as high this one quarter as they have been the past three, which are still higher than they were last year and by far higher than the year before. Sales are increasing, they don't have to be 450% + to be considered an increase... end of discussion. And no, the rest of the PC world is not thriving in sales either. While Apple has been doubling year-over-year sales since last fall everyone else has fallen well below consistantly for the past year of what analysts expected, especially Dell. HP had to lay off thousands of employees last year just to generate revenue. You gotta love the Apple news here though. Even as meaningless as it was this time, it still generates more comments than anything else in the articles.

"I think a strong Apple will work in the entire industry's favor. Apple has been at the forefront of innovation and is among the best hardware designers. I think the company has an attitude problem, but I guess that's acceptable." Apple has an attitude problem?? Are you kidding? What has always bothered me about Microsoft is the hubris that they constantly display. It's Microsoft that has an attitude problem. Try reading the book "Opening the Xbox" by Dean Takahashi, and you'll see what I mean, with Microsoft programmers and managers strutting around like arrogant, know-it-all teenage brats who thought that they were going to wipe out Sony and Nintendo because they were so much smarter than anyone else. Know what the first project name for Xbox was? "Midway", as in the big WWII battle in which the U.S. clobbered the Japanese Navy. How's that for aggressive, in-your-face, adolescent-like arrogance? There are many more examples of this mindset in the book. That's why I cheer whenever I see Microsoft stumble. No one likes an arrogant jerk.

nim55 --> I frankly don't know. I was just trying to explain what Paul meant. I don't know if a 61% growth in sales is a sign that iPod sales are reaching a saturation point. Sales will continue to grow every year and in the absence of a strong competing product, Apple will most probably continue to have a huge marketshare. However, I expect the growth rate to come down to more normal levels soon. Derek Traver --> As Christopher pointed out, if the PC industry is growing at 8% and mac sales go up 4%, then it means that the mac industry is losing marketshare. I agree that Dell had a very poor quarter, but HP's marketshare went up by ~6% during the last one year. They've had a great year so far. Also, Gateway and Acer, which are bigger than Apple's computer unit, have had a greater increase in sales. Some analysts predict that due to the delay in Vista Apple's share will go up. Other's predict that once Vista is launched, it'll go down again. I guess we can just wait and watch. Finally, it's not only the Apple news that generates more comments. Anything that is even remotely related to Apple generates more comments. If Microsoft releases a patch, or if Microsoft is sued it generates the same number of comments. It's only news about AMD etc. which doesn't, because the mac world can't relate to it.

"Apple has an attitude problem?? Are you kidding? What has always bothered me about Microsoft is the hubris that they constantly display. It's Microsoft that has an attitude problem." nim55--> trust me. Microsoft wouldn't have survived if it had an attitude problem. I know quite a few MS programmers and managers. IMHO, they're extremely nice and humble. If you've ever contacted MS support, you'll know what I'm talking about. You should probably read some of the MS team blogs (try: spaces.msn.com/messengersays).

"Apple has an attitude problem?? Are you kidding? What has always bothered me about Microsoft is the hubris that they constantly display. It's Microsoft that has an attitude problem. " What can I say about a company that tries to sell computers by ridiculing its competition? Why does Apple's OS X campaign focus so much on MS? For years, Apple maintained that their chips were better than Intel's. Finally, their reason for switching to Intel was that Intel made better chips. Come on, there are several examples that I can give. Also, one thing that MS has successfully done, which Apple hasn't, is to forge partnerships and maintain them. What you say about MS would have been true in the 90s. Since then the company has matured a lot. It definitely doesn't have an attitude problem anymore.

"Why does Apple's OS X campaign focus so much on MS? For years, Apple maintained that their chips were better than Intel's. Finally, their reason for switching to Intel was that Intel made better chips." Well, let's see, if I were working on advertising for Apple and trying to come up with a way to increase the "OS X" market share then, yes, directing an advertising campaign against a rival OS with greater than 95% market share makes a lot of sense, don't you think? No hubris or arrogance involved in that decision, just a simple realization that that's where the most market growth potential is likely to come from. See anything wrong with that? As for PowerPC versus Intel chips, I don't know. I've always thought that the PowerPC and Intel chips were on par with each other, with PowerPC being faster by some measures and Intel in others. The big reason for the shift to Intel as I understand it was not that PowerPC chips were slower but that IBM had little interest in developing powerful low-power versions for the all-important laptop market. BTW, I personally voted with my pocketbook on this issue and bought myself a dual-G5 PowerMac desktop rather than waiting for Intel PowerMac desktops.

61% is bad if the investors were predicting 120% growth. That means they didn't make as much money as they thought they would. Which means they will sell and move it over to something more profitable. Which means Apple's stock will go down. Which means more people will sell because it is going down. Which means eventually everybody will panick and sell everything. Which means the United Arab Emirates will see an opportunity to take over Apple and own American company and buy all of the shares. Which means Congress will try to block the sale, thus forcing Apple into bankruptcy. Which means Larry Elson will buy up all of the assets and the rights to the Mac OS, rename it Oracle OS, and run Oracle database off of that. Trust me, its going to happen.

"As Christopher pointed out, if the PC industry is growing at 8% and mac sales go up 4%, then it means that the mac industry is losing marketshare." It takes more than one quarter to determine if a company's product sales are leveling out or declining. Besides, Apple's sales are up from last year, not down. They might not have generated the profits others did last quarter, but Apple's individual company sales are up. "I agree that Dell had a very poor quarter, but HP's marketshare went up by ~6% during the last one year. They've had a great year so far." HP laid off over 61,000 employees last year with their new CEO who saw no other way to generate enough revenue to maintain a steady growth. HP's figures weren't bad, I feel the company by far made the right changes and decissions which were necessary in gaining good ground with the holiday season 05' which they excecuted quite well. So I do agree on some terms of growth, but not a good year for the company or their employees over all. Not just to you yahoo, but to anyone, don't speak to soon on this insignifacnt quarter. As sales will be generated with Vista in the distant future, mac sales also will be generated thanks to boot camp. In fact, a lot of buyers are predicted to resort to Apple for their hardware in the future over a PC purchase as the computer runs both operating systems now. What I'm trying to get you to see is that Apple has done better than any company in the past year individually, even breaking their all time record high earnings in company history last holiday. PC company's have been no where near doubling sales from the previous year. Realise how much market share Apple actually gained last year, inspite of predictions of lows the company hadn't seen since the turn of 2000. The switch to Intel was supposed to not generate any sales as people were predicted to wait, not buy. The opposite has happened, and you better believe the sales will continue to increase in light of Intel and Bootcamp.

"trust me. Microsoft wouldn't have survived if it had an attitude problem..." "Which means the United Arab Emirates will see an opportunity to take over Apple and own American company ...Which means Larry Elson will buy up all of the assets ....rename it Oracle OS, and run Oracle database off of that. Trust me, its going to happen." I just noticed that a lot of people on this board like to use "trust me" in their arguments. It sort of begs the questions: "who are you?" and "why?".

"BTW, I personally voted with my pocketbook on this issue and bought myself a dual-G5 PowerMac desktop rather than waiting for Intel PowerMac desktops." I personally am not a big fan of Intel. I love my powerbook G4 and my HP media center PC with an AMD processor. Derek --> I agree that Apple did do pretty well last year and I guess the switch to intel and the bootcamp software will only result in increased sales this year. I never spoke of an insignificant quarter. Next year, however, may be a different story. Windows Vista may just swing things back in PC manufacturers' favor. Also, as I pointed out, Acer and Gateway had higher growth percentages than Apple. Also, Intel actually lost marketshare to AMD.

"I just noticed that a lot of people on this board like to use "trust me" in their arguments. It sort of begs the questions: "who are you?" and "why?"." Okay, don't.

"I just noticed that a lot of people on this board like to use "trust me" in their arguments. It sort of begs the questions: "who are you?" and "why?"." So true. If someone has to command the relevance of trust in what they say, how reliable is it?

"So true. If someone has to command the relevance of trust in what they say, how reliable is it?" Aaha. Now you're talking. Do you mean to say your interpretation of figures is reliable? No. When you say Apple mac sales grew 4%, you conveniently avoid mentioning that the PC industry grew at a higher rate. Considering the relative size difference between the PC industry and the mac industry, this would mean that roughly 40-50 PCs were sold for every mac sold.

"I never spoke of an insignificant quarter. Next year, however, may be a different story." True that, and didn't mean to make it sound as if you were speaking of an insignificant quarter that was me rather. I'm the one who feels that this past quarter is always insignificant to how a company will do for the year. My apologies though for not making that clear. "Also, as I pointed out, Acer and Gateway had higher growth percentages than Apple." I believe we're seeing this from a different perspective, although this discussion is still very good, no flaming or bashing makes the conversation worth while for all. My point of view is that Apple did better as a company than Gateway or Acer did, especially Dell and HP last year. Even though outsold in many cases by millions of units, they still toped where their name was which almost every PC company did not do last year. From that perspective is where I was coming from in suggesting Apple did the best in 2005, although yes they were outsold. "Also, Intel actually lost marketshare to AMD." True, and Intel's sales will continue to be down from AMD for the better half of this year as the company hasn't gotten their new chips out there. Right now Apple is the best place to even get Intel's new line of processors. When their market opens up again, this scinario could quickly change although I've never been a fan or a user of their chips since the early 90's.

"When you say Apple mac sales grew 4%, you conveniently avoid mentioning that the PC industry grew at a higher rate." Actually I never said Apple mac sales grew 4%, and I wasn't avoiding PC growth I've been discussing this on pretty common terms with you. Nor did I direct my comment at you, I actually tell that to anyone I hear who makes the comment "trust me." Sometimes it's hard to gain trust in what others say, surely we can all relate to that it wasn't a shot at you personally or anything. For the most part I agree with what you've been saying to be honest.

Is it a requirement for someone who buys a mac to hate MS and everyone who uses Windows? I mean, you guys don't just dislike Microsoft, you loathe the company. also, you guys can't tolerate any criticism of Apple or praise of Microsoft.

"Is it a requirement for someone who buys a mac to hate MS and everyone who uses Windows?" I have a mac and I like Windows too. However, in my opinion, Apple makes better software and is much more innovative than Microsoft is. OS X in my opinion is way superior to Windows XP. I like Windows XP MCE, though and I've tested Office 2007 and love it.

"Considering the relative size difference between the PC industry and the mac industry, this would mean that roughly 40-50 PCs were sold for every mac sold." This is always an interesting topic. How many PC's are sold to macs is a complex subject, because there's only one Apple Computer Inc. and there's a massive amount of PC manufacturer's. How many of the PCs were actually sold by company's that did better than Apple in computer sales? It's not like "PC sales" is just one figure from a single company, like Apple and mac sales. There are hundreds of PC company's that were outsold by Apple, one of which that was respected quite well and had to sell themselves to Dell. As an individual company with individual company sales, Apple ranks pretty high in competition. To get even more technical, there are tens of thousands of small time one store companies which sell PC's in cities and towns that were massively outsold by Apple. The big dogs beat Apple up, but that's not as many companies as it sounds. You make it sound as if every PC company is selling 40-50 PC's to every mac Apple sells. Not even Dell, the largest PC manufacturer of all PC companies is even hitting half of that by comparison as an individual company.

I didn't praise Paul for criticizing Windows. Since you brought it up, though, I think his article on the SUPER! SITE! comes pretty close to the mark. Still, I think Vista is a great step in the right direction, and I hope it succeeds. Really. I do praise him for criticizing Internet Explorer, but that's an easy "gimme".

"Yes, lotsa. What's all that "Don't be evil" crap then?" Google as a company has not lived up to its corporate mission statement, if that's what you're trying to say. Microsoft is also censoring MSN in China, so they're no better. I think Paul's description of Google also applies to the "old, bad Microsoft" that he discusses so eloquently. That's all I'm sayin'.

"Is it a requirement for someone who buys a mac to hate MS and everyone who uses Windows? I mean, you guys don't just dislike Microsoft, you loathe the company. also, you guys can't tolerate any criticism of Apple or praise of Microsoft." I know you're not talking to me, but I feel compelled to answer anyway. I don't "loathe" Microsoft any more than I "love" Apple. I don't love or hate ANY company (Well, except Verizon. They're the biggest bunch of s h i t h e a d s on the planet). I use MS software on both my Mac and my PC. I prefer OS X for a variety of reasons, but Microsoft makes some amazing software for both platforms, and I think the world is a better place when both companies succeed. Having said that, Windows Media Player and the WMV format in general suck a s s . (Hey, I had to get ONE dig in there...)

"Microsoft is also censoring MSN in China, so they're no better." Exactly my point. Microsoft is censoring MSN, Yahoo is censoring its site too. The thing is, this was expected from yahoo and microsoft. Especially microsoft, since everyone knows about their monopolistic past. Google, however, on one hand portrays a "saintly" image and on the other goes and tries to kill competition the same way Microsoft did in the eighties. Google is the Microsoft of the new millenium and this is not what I expected from a company with a motto like, "Don't be evil!" It's not like I don't like google. They're a very innovative company and have a great search engine. It's just that I think the company needs to come clean.

Regarding Vista and OS X, I recently used both operating systems (for only a few hours, though) and this is what I have to say: I love OS X Tiger. I love the look of the OS. Vista looks somewhat like a cross between OS X and XP (or rather a cooler version of windows) and that's why it works. Basically, Vista is a windows operating system at heart with a refined look and feel and that's why I think it'll work. I don't think the average joe is going to care about the file system or some other technical feature. If the OS is stable, I think it'll work. I'm surprised, though that Microsoft with so many programmers couldn't ship Vista on time. It's probably because MS needs to test its OS with many more OEMs and software makers than Apple does.

"Paul Thurrott: The FOX News of Tech Reporting" Excellent! That means it is fair and balanced reporting. We need more people like him. (And no, I am not being sarcastic) AS for all those MS haters, please visit some of their blogs, my favorites are listed below: blogs.msdn.com/oldnewthing -Windows programmer blogs.msdn.com/ie -Internet Explorer team (Note to OSS fans: the Internet explorer bug database is now open to the public and is set up similar to Bugzilla. Now anyone can file a bug in IE in the ACTUAL DATABASE instead of a feedback form. The sky will fall before Apple does anything of that sort. Oh, that's right, OS X does not need a bug database since it is bug-free! ) blogs.msdn.com/jensenh -Office Interface program manager, really cool changes for Office 2007 blogs.msdn.com/larryosterman -another windows programmer scobleizer.wordpress.com -if you blog, you probably know Robert Scoble, excellent blog! If you read those blogs daily, it will change your perspective of Microsoft.

"If you read those blogs daily, it will change your perspective of Microsoft." And if all you watch is FOX news, you will undoubtedly believe that GW Bush is the greatest President since Lincoln, the War on Terra™ is going splendidly, and the economy is buzzing along like a hummingbird on speed. That's the problem with insulating yourself like that. If you have any intelligence whatsoever, you realize after a while that you need to get out more.

The problem is that most people have a very low opinion of Microsoft. Windows XP and Office 2003 helped to some extent in changing people's opinion about the company, but for the most part, people don't trust Microsoft. So, when the people in Microsoft start blogging, most people expect them to twist the truth and hide facts. People are slowly beginning to realize that this is not the case. You could also check out the live teams' blogs: http://spaces.msn.com/messengersays/ http://spaces.msn.com/mailcall/ etc. and you'll know what I'm talking about.

Vista team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/windowsvista/

Isn't it funny that two of Apple's biggest partners have been accused of "monopolism"? One of them has already been convicted.

"And if all you watch is FOX news, you will undoubtedly believe that GW Bush is the greatest President since Lincoln, the War on Terra™ is going splendidly, and the economy is buzzing along like a hummingbird on speed." People are sheep, they always will be sheep. The truth of the matter is almost every politician is drastically more moderate than their supporters. The supporters are the crazy ones because they are unusually fanatical about something (like some of the Apple fans who irrationally insist on posting on a news site for Windows professionals) and those crazy fanatics insist on giving huge sums of money in support of their causes which the vast majority of people probably don't like. If everyone really wants a moderate government, then every single person should donate the legal maximum to politicians running in their area. Until that occurs, it will never, ever change and has been that way for decades. If anything it's going to get worse due to the Internet. It allows donors to continually watch their bought-and-paid politicians and make sure they are doing what they were told to do. It also enables fanatics to disseminate mass propaganda and develop a "mob mentality" for their following. Manipulating people is extremely easy, most can get played like puppets. The Internet only will succeed in creating more polarity. As for the second part. The economy is doing absolutely fantastic. Anyone who claims otherwise is misguided. Energy prices are up, but that is a supply and demand problem that should have been solved decades ago (doesn't help with SUVs selling like hotcakes). Instead, back to my first point, environmentalists refused to allow the Democrats to exploit natural resources, and Energy companies refused to allow the Republicans to fund alternative research. This polarity is slowly killing us. Learn to live in the middle, and never trust anyone with a D or R in their title (unless you and your pals paid for them).

"And if all you watch is FOX news, you will undoubtedly believe that GW Bush is the greatest President since Lincoln, the War on Terra™ is going splendidly, and the economy is buzzing along like a hummingbird on speed." And your point is? :-) Nowhere did I say that I ONLY watch/read Fox News. Difference of opinion is great! I could debate some of the points you mention above, but since this is a Windows article and not a political one, I will refrain. Just because someone has a different opinion does not mean he/she is less intelligent, insulated, etc. Both sides have valid viewpoints and need to be considered when forming a conclusion. As for the blogs, individuals make up large companies, like MS. If I want to know what is going on inside MS, the best sources are the people themselves. For instance, if I would like to know what is going on in the next version of Microsoft Office, should I go to slashdot and listen to anti-MSers rant about Microsoft and the horrible products they will be selling, a news source that only gets and evaluates the latest MS betas (like this site), or should I go to the person in charge of the development of MS office? My point still stands: View the blogs of Microsofties and your perspective of MS WILL change. I do not know of any Apple blogs where employees write and take feedback on what is going on inside Apple and the new products Apple is developing, (probably because of the company's restrictive policy regarding blogging) but if there is such a thing, let me know.

Has anyone stopped to think that everytime Apple updates the iPod line, sales jump up by millions? All they have to do is release a new one and get Steve up on stage and BAM: insta-record-quarter. I mean, rumor has it we have a true video iPod coming out relatively soon. I think we'll see another 14-million-iPod quarter when that happens. Especially if rumors of full length movies on iTunes come true. Also, I certainly don't see Creative shipping 8.5 million Nomads or Dell shipping 8.5 million bricks-with-buttons per quarter. Finally, half the mac lineup is officially outdated because it hasn't transitioned to Intel yet AND mac sales are STILL up over last year? Huh. Forgive me if I don't heed your financial insights, Paul. I think you're predictions that Apple is "leveling off" are about as correct as your predictions 4 years ago that Longhorn would be "revolutionary." Some people just weren't meant to be oracles. I also think it's ironic that more and more of the WinSuperSite seems to focus on Apple. I like it; keep it up! PS - Lotsa: You had some great one liners in this thread, buddy. Keep posting, I love reading your stuff!

"The economy is doing absolutely fantastic. Anyone who claims otherwise is misguided. " Anyone who thinks this economy is better than it was when Bush took office is full of s h i t. Here are some stats for you: Median family income fell 3 percent between 2000 and 2003 as a result of the recession, while health-insurance premiums rose 10.9 percent in 2001, 12.9 percent in 2002, 13.9 percent in 2003, and 11.2 percent in 2004, according to surveys by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Education Trust (HRET). In November of 2000, the average price in the U.S. for a gallon of gas was $1.76. Today, it's pushing $3.00/gallon. Through the first three months of this year, overall inflation has been rising at a 4.3 percent annual rate, far above the 3.4 percent price increase for all of 2005. Oh, but unemployement is down, and the stock market is up. Whoopee. Here's how it works in the real world: REAL wages are down, REAL costs are up, and the economy sucks. It doesn't matter if we have 4% unemployment if people can't put gas in their cars or afford health care.

That's what happens when the President wages a war based on a pack of lies. By the way, what does the state of the economy have anything to do with Microsoft, lotsa? You're not blaming Bill Gates for it, are you? :-)

That's what happens when the President wages a war based on a pack of lies. By the way, what does the state of the economy have anything to do with Microsoft, lotsa? You're not blaming Bill Gates for it, are you? :-)

"By the way, what does the state of the economy have anything to do with Microsoft, lotsa?" Sharky, where do you come up with stuff like this? I never said anything in my post about Microsoft. I was responding to the comment I quoted, where the poster posited that the economy was floating along nicely. Which it isn't. Honest to God, you're so effing paranoid. Take a pill, won't you?

lotsa, weren't you the one who posted a comment about the state of the economy in the first place? You were the one who was comparing microsofties' blogs to Fox news. What was the point that you were trying to make in the first place?

"Honest to God, you're so effing paranoid. Take a pill, won't you?" Wow. Why are you getting so worked up about it? It's not as if I committed a blasphemy! I was just wondering why you would make a political statement on a windows site.

"lotsa, weren't you the one who posted a comment about the state of the economy in the first place? You were the one who was comparing microsofties' blogs to Fox news. What was the point that you were trying to make in the first place?" Here's my point. I'll type REAL SLOW and use small words so you'll understand. My point is that getting all your news about Microsoft from Microsoft Bloggers is like getting all your news from FOX news. You only get a single point of view that way. WAtching FOX news gives you the right-wing view of the world, and reading Microsoft blogs gives you the Monkey-Boy-Ballmer-centric view of the world. That's just the way it is. It's not "political", it's just the truth. (There are exceptions, like Alan Colmes on FOX, and whoever writes "Mini-Microsoft", but the analogy largely holds up.) It's not a political comment, it's more of a social engineering comment. I could have said, "Getting all your Microsoft News from Microsoft Bloggers is like getting all your nutrition from Taco Bell. You're only going to wind up fat and lazy." Would that have made more sense? It's not a political comment. It's a contrast/compare using elements of the popular culture. Honestly, Sharky, you HAVE to stop reading subtexts into my postings that aren't there!

"And if all you watch is FOX news, you will undoubtedly believe that GW Bush is the greatest President since Lincoln, the War on Terra™ is going splendidly, and the economy is buzzing along like a hummingbird on speed." "Anyone who thinks this economy is better than it was when Bush took office is full of s h i t. " Don't tell me those statements were not political. You don't need to answer my question, lotsa. Why waste your time and energy if you think I'm nopt smart enough to follow what you're saying. After all, you had to "type REAL SLOW and use small words" so that I would understand.

Gosh, I wish I could type in big letters for you Sharky. The first comment about FOX news was not political...it happens to be true. The second line you quoted was in response to someone else, not you, sharky. Since the previous poster brought up the so-called booming economy, I was well within my rights to reply in this unmoderated format. Yes, that was very much a political comment. It also happens to be true (and I provided supporting documentation). But really...why do you care? Don't you have some buggy code to write? Or do you need a pair of tweezers to pull that bug out of your a s s ? "you think I'm nopt smart" No, I just think that, like most programmers, you can't spell. :-)

Lotsa, first of all, you must be crazy or an "idealist" if you want an official MS blog to criticize Steve Ballmer. I don't know if you've read the blogs NateB2 wanted you to, because, if you do, you'll realize that these people are open to criticism. They don't try to block out anti-MS comments. They do realize that their software isn't perfect and make an effort to improve it. Regarding the tweezers, you can use them to remove the chip on your shoulder. Hopefully that way you'll read our comments with an open mind and not pounce on anyone who says something in praise of Microsoft.

"But really...why do you care? Don't you have some buggy code to write? " :-) How did you know my code is buggy? Wow, I'm impressed. Maybe switching to a mac will help?? Will it automatically transform my buggy code into the most beautiful code ever written, huh? You don't need to answer this question.

"Maybe switching to a mac will help?? Will it automatically transform my buggy code into the most beautiful code ever written, huh? " I never said that. I personally don't care which platform you use--it's of no consequence to me. On second thought....since you said in another post that you're a "crappy programmer", I'd prefer that you keep writing for Windows.

"On second thought....since you said in another post that you're a "crappy programmer", I'd prefer that you keep writing for Windows." Actually, you said I was a "crappy programmer" :-). I happened to agree with you.