Can't wait to see what marketing Microsoft might (should) have for the holiday season this year, that's when we should find ourselves with the really interesting numbers. I've always been an HP fan so tee HP perform really well (beating DELL) has been really exciting.

PS: My school is upgrading to Vista. I couldn't believe it when all my teachers began to get new computers loaded with Vista Enterprise (obviously) and Office 2007. It feels really awkward to walk by the computer labs and see pure Vista machines running, when I'm used to schools having one or two older OS's older than mine. If my school's district is already able to somehow afford all of these Vista machines...I'm sure any other is.

Joe , you are funny but pathetic.

You stage up all the statistic and impresive graph just to show us that the declining sales of Apple is not contributed by Microsoft Vista .

What is the intention of this article , it carries no meaning at all ? The theme of this column is totally irrelavant to the content you wrote

What has Microsoft done to you that make them deserve your bashing ?

Why you hate Microsoft Vista so much ?

To denounce Microsoft by defending Apple , what a tactic !?

Eder
Don't forget about Linux, Joe loves them too !
I don't care about Apple's sales neither does anyone who normally uses a "Normal" Computer.
And yet Joe Wilcox keeps on talking about them, as the name of the site (suppposedly) implies ... this is "Microsoft Watch".
Try a starting up a new column Joe ... "Apple Watch" I am sure that you will be very happy saying how good Apple is ! ...wouldn't you ??

I have had enough of this site !
I have done what I should have done long ago, I rang up my Micorsoft here in Australia about this site.
The gentleman on phone listened to what I had to say, and was genuinely interested in what I had to say, then we went to this site and had a look !

Evidently this is not the only site to do what Joe Wilcox has been doing since he got here.

And most of the time they (microsoft) just take it !
He agreed with me as to the nature of this site. As being more of "Microsoft Bash" than "Watch" (my words not his) !

That is why this site appeals so much to Apple and Linux devotees mainly because they (Joe Wilcox / Scot Peterson) do not like microsoft (and to a person who has never been here before, it shows).

Eder, Neil,

When I saw Apple's numbers, I very much expected to write about Vista's negative impact on Mac sales. The top section was written with that expectation.

However, the consulted analysts had a different interpretation of the numbers, which I was obliged to write. Reporting leads the story.

If there is vindication for Microsoft and Vista, it will come in second half of the year. The reporting reflects sales as they are today, and they're just not spectacular.

Dell brought back XP, which isn't good commentary on Vista sales. By the way, I didn't write about Dell and XP, which would have been an easy knock if I had an anti-Microsoft agenda.

The personal attacks don't bother me much, guys, but other commenters have expressed displeasure with the negative comment rants. I do care about that.

Instead of getting hyper, you could offer something positive. If you think Microsoft and its products are so great, how about you tell us all in your comments. If, hypothetically, a post questions Vista's readiness for release, you could counter with real stories about five friends who happily use the software.

You can still complain about bias, if you like, but you'd be more credible with the positive contributions and you would add something beneficial for other Microsoft Watch readers.

Appreciated,

Joe

Joe: Agreed with the ad hominem attacks, which are fruitless. As for the article, I think you answered your own question by noting that the demand is seasonal. Remember that Macs are primarily used for home and education. This means that it is expected for Apple to have strong sales in the summer quarter (back-to-school) and the fall quarter (holidays). Contrast this with Dell and HP, which sell in great volume to corporate and government clients. This demand is less seasonal. If you could find the twelve-trailing-months data, that would be very useful indeed.

So we'll have to wait for the second half of the year before Vista sales really take off? LOL! The boneheads in Redmond and their fanboys can say the same thing about Zune, or Dymanics, or XB360. XBox represents a net loss over $3 billion dollars to date for MSFT shareholders, but don't worry, the big "turnaround" is just a quarter or two away -- sure it is.

Get a clue you guys -- Wilcox is telling it like it is and all you can do is call him names. How about turning your attention and anger where it belongs, the incompetence and foolishness that pass for management in Steve Ballmer's cadre, and the board of directors that lets them continue year after year.

Joe
You fobbed me off once before with the same sort of talk ...not this time mate !
Your "other commenters" as you know are mostly Apple and Linux devotees, you just won't say it !
As I have said before "If you throw enough mud, some of it will stick".
And boy have you been throwing "mud" Vista's way...you sure have !
That together with your "other commenters" (Linux and Apple devotees and some people who didn't use the "Upgrade Advisor"), one hell of a lot of mud has been flying at Microsoft.
Don't come out now and say that you are trying to fair because you know you are not.
And every time someone else with the same sort of views as my own writes a comment, there are all the "devotees" waiting to "howl" them down.
When I asked a person who commented that his computer went slow after installing more Ram and then Vista, no reply came.
Why because it was not true that's why, just some more "mud slinging" that's all it was.
As for CompUSA closing down and offering discounts on MS software, you never made any mention of any other brands of software that were also discounted, and they were ..weren't they !
If you are so fair why no mentiion ??
It is usual practice that when stores (or anyone else for that matter) close down they offer discounts to move stock quickly, and get some money for their creditors.
You made it sound like ONLY microsoft software was being discounted, and that's just not so !

Apple has to be sapping some PC maker's sales because Apple is currently the only company shipping eight-core Xeon machines. They're very affordable too, starting at $4k.

We've been running Windows 2003 server on Apple hardware. It's the best for Mac OS X AND Windows.

Are you retarded or just bought off?

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=businessNews&storyid=2007-04-25T204134Z_01_WEN7031_RTRUKOC_0_US-APPLE-BOARD.xml

Neil, even if Joe is sometimes slightly biased you long ago started to see evil in every article he writes. And this is just not true at all.

E.g. the CompUSA article. Well I thought it was just a good piece of advice to people wanting to get Vista of how to get it for a bargain.

So IMHO Joe was actually advertising and contributing to Vista sales by this article.

But not good enough for you. Again. This is getting so tiresome! Give us all some rest, will you? Just relax a bit before posting. Please!

Rittmey
Regarding the CompUSA article ... You need to read it again as it was not menat to advertising it at all.
It meant that CompUSA had to discount it to get rid of it !!
Which was not so !
And now to your first part .... no I do not see bias in EVERY article that Joe does just MOST !
If you saw my comments you would know that I don't comment ALL THE TIME !
So lay off !
And you relax !

All the vitriol in this blog reminds me of the following editorial:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2114711,00.asp

"The [Windows] users lash out at anyone they think may be contributing to the demise of their beloved platform. Validation is what they are looking for, nothing else."

"The fanatics see a faster pace and threats all around them, so they lash out in every way they can to protect themselves from the dreadful possibility that they made a wrong decision or are wrong in their thinking."

"There are too many people who go online searching for validation of their life choices."

Instead of being emotional and fanatical, let's just keep a cool head. Try being civil!

Neil, Microsoft is not alone in the PC market. They have competition, and insofar as that competition affects Microsoft's business, it has to be discussed in a Microsoft-specific forum such as this one.

If you go visit Linux Watch or any other alternative platform website, you will find references to Microsoft as well. The fate of all three principal platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux) are intimately connected.

It's also fair game to be critical of Vista. You don't have to be a Linux or Apple devotee to feel frustrated with Windows. History has shown continuing dissatisfaction with Windows from 3.x through 9x/ME to 2000/XP. Why should Vista be exempt?

Over the years, I've heard countless horror stories of failed installations/upgrades, mysterious system crashes, compatibility issues, and bugs of all sorts.

With millions of lines of new code added to the Vista codebase, much of it inadequately tested (it is impossible for Microsoft to test every execution pathway in a product as complex as Vista), we should expect a good deal of instability. And, indeed, we are seeing it.

For many Vista users, they may be fortunate enough not to witness this instability. That's great. (May we count you among them?)

But let's cut some slack for those who do experience problems. They have a right to express their dissatisfaction without being labeled "Linux devotees" or "Joe Wilcox apologists."

I haven't seen this posted yet, so I'm going to ask:

Has anyone possibly thought of the fact that Apple sales are down slightly because folks are waiting for OS X 10.5 (Leopard)?

Leopard was supposed to ship in June. Knowing this, I'm sure a number of people waited to purchase a Mac. Now, the release date has slipped to the fall (ostensibly because Apple is prioritizing iPhone development). There are a number of possible reasons why Apple sales have slumped slightly; I don't believe Vista one of them.

This is coming from someone who sees good in all platforms (long-time DOS/WinX user, dabbles in OS X, plays with Linux every once in a great while). I don't see the need to upgrade to Vista any time soon, XP will do me fine probably until early 2008 at least. Perhaps when combined with Longhorn Server, it will provide something useful for me.

Hey Joe, declines are seasonal, not seasonable.

All this talk about Microsoft this and Apple that is funny I have been working on and around both for also 18 years, they both have great things about them but the one thing that drives me up the wall is the fact that you cannot compare them equally because apple makes their system and picks the hardware to go in it if Microsoft did this there system would be just like Apple�s and have less problems. If Apple had to write code to fit every different piece of hardware and type for software out they would be in the same boat as Microsoft. But that is the one reason I use windows more often because I like the fact I can build a system the way I want it to be not just pick a clone system off the Apple tree.

Ken, I did exactly that... A couple of months ago, I built my own Vista box (Antec Sonata II case, ASUS P5B Deluxe/WiFi-AP motherboard, Core 2 Duo E6600 processor, 2GB DDR2, 500GB hard drive, ATI X1600 Pro w/256MB, Vista Home Premium). It's a sweet machine!

But so is my iMac G5 with OS X Panther. The iMac is my main machine for everyday computing. I find the user interface much cleaner than Windows. And it has been solid as a rock with no security problems whatsoever.

It is precisely because Apple controls the hardware so tightly that the Mac is so reliable. You can compare PCs and Macs--on the basis of price/value proposition, usability, security, etc. And on these bases, the Mac fares extremely well.

Joe, I don't understand all the fuss about the Mac's seasonal decline. You say it's 6%.... it's actually 5.5% ....... and yet the whole PC market has declined by by 8.5% from Q4/06 to Q1/07.

66.5 million > 60.8 million (Average of IDC and Gartner figures)

So, as others have already said, I don't really see the point of this article.

Care to elaborate?

Vista has had a positive impact on mac sales and on apple. Outside of people buying new pc's preloaded with vista no one cares. Companies are not doing mass deployment because DD support is not there yet and there is no compelling reason to upgrade. This is true for 99 percent of home users with exception of hardcore gamers. Reality is that i hear more about people wanting to or buying a mac than i hear about Vista. Just go to an apple store. 100M ipods, Itunes owns the market, the apple phone will gain share. This has and will drive people to buy the other things they see from Apple.

From today's news wires, some Vista related news:

"Microsoft Net Rises 65%; Sales Forecast Tops Estimate (Update2)

By Dina Bass

April 26 (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp., the world's biggest software maker, said third-quarter earnings rose 65 percent on sales of its new Windows and Office programs. The shares advanced after the company said revenue may top analysts' estimates next fiscal year.

***

``Microsoft is seeing good Vista uptake and healthy Office '07 uptake.''

More at:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&refer=conews&tkr=MSFT:US&sid=aN9pS4gRyoCM

Richard Eng

That is exactly what I mean if you take proven hardware with windows you can have a great system but most people will and do not see the difference Apple systems like the G5 are great, Apples note books are great but for me I like to change video cards and sound cards and it is very hard to do that with Apple though it is getting better I find most Apple users are so ingrained that Apple is it they miss out on both worlds I am glad that windows is getting better at usability but they still have a long away to go.

Richard Eng

That is exactly what I mean if you take proven hardware with windows you can have a great system but most people will and do not see the difference Apple systems like the G5 are great, Apples note books are great but for me I like to change video cards and sound cards and it is very hard to do that with Apple though it is getting better I find most Apple users are so ingrained that Apple is it they miss out on both worlds I am glad that windows is getting better at usability but they still have a long away to go.

Joe Wilcox is nothing more than a mac propagandist i think he needs to get a job in the mac section because it seems every thing he writes it blowing the glory of mac and the downfall of windows when by he own stats mac hold a shaky 5 to 6% of the market

Joe is neither a Windows basher nor an Apple apologist. He is a lousy columnist.

He must have been the only one who said Apple's sales fell from last quarter. No one compares quarter to quarter. They compare year to year. That is the only fair way to compare sales! What were you thinking Joe? Mac sales are uo 36% over last year's same quarter sales. My gosh, I can't believe you columnists actually get PAID to misinform people. How did Apple almost double their profits? Because Mac sales were down? The iPod is a juggernaught, but it can't hide poor Mac sales. They are growing faster than the industry average, because there are NO viruses and they actually work and are easy to use. You Windows users suffer like masochists, and that's your choice. Must be tough deciding what anti-virus software to run, what spamware software protects you best, and what firewall app is going to keep out the Russian mafia. On a Mac I don't spend a dime on that crap. Talk about a waste of time living in the Windows world. Seriously, no Mac user I know runs any of that stuff. NONE! Why do you? Because you have a horrible OS.

I'm done now. Joe, please go into a different line of work or start looking at the facts and figures the way the rest of the world does.

I couldn't have said it any better myself Chuck. 36% year over year growth basically speaks for itself.

I think the Microsoft apologists are just pissed because while their precious MSFT stock has done absolutely nothing now for 6+ years, AAPL stock has totally gone through the roof. Apple's market cap is now $30 billion more than Dell's too for that matter, and that also makes a lot of them bitter.

They're simply jealous of Apple's enormous success over the last 5-6 years while Microsoft and their minions (Dell, etc) during that same time have been floundering badly.

@Chuck

I agree with your "No one compares quarter to quarter" comment.

However, even comparing quarter to quarter performance, Mac sales were stronger than the rest of the PC market. 5.5% down v 8.5% down.

This makes the original article doubly lousy.

Professionally, I'm required to use Windows XP Pro, Windows Vista, and Mac OS X as a part of my job. I am both a Windows Desktop Administrator and a Mac Administrator. I am also a "former Mac Fanboy". My Mac religion died just before OS X was released, and OS X has pretty much kept it dead with its bugs (I reported one per day to Apple in March, the last time I spent much time with a Mac) and problems. If you extend the figures quoted in the graph back several years, you see that Apple's desktop sales are flat or declining. I think this shows the market has little need for the expensive Mac Pro, the anemic Mac Mini, or the "why not buy a laptop?" iMac. Apple's laptop sales have grown to exceed its desktop sales, showing that the value in the Mac product line (what there is of it) is probably in the portables. The decline in sales of Mac portables most likely relates to a small effect from Windows Vista (which looks far nicer on-screen than OS X does and is at least as secure as OS X), a larger effect from the delay of OS X Leopard's release, and probably also from some recent "bad PR" Apple's getting. (The stock options scandal, iPhone problems, Leopard delay, iPod sales decline, etc.) I really hope the media loses its love affair with Apple. I'm getting tired of every product being compared in some way to the iPod, the iPhone, or the Mac. Those products just aren't that great. I don't own them.

The real measure is how Q1 2007 compares to Q1 2006.

This should be abundantly obvious.

Joe,

If the facts don't fit your article, you should consider re-writing the article.

Any reasonable analysis of Apple's sales figures for their fiscal 2nd Quarter would show that sales were higher than expected, not lower.

Seasonal variations in sales are quite common and well-known in the industry. Any reporter who covers this industry should be well-familiar with this.

In sort, Joe, this article is just bad reporting.

Michael Salsbury, I'm not a Mac fanboy but I *have* researched Mac vs PC for value comparisons and my findings are quite eye-opening. (I compare similarly configured systems from Apple.ca and Dell.ca--yes, I'm a Canadian.)

I have discovered that competition forces Apple to keep their prices within reason, compared to PCs. For example...

The MacBook costs about the same as the Dell XPS M1210 (~$1,650 Canadian). Both are thin and lightweight.

The Mac Pro costs about $3,460 and the Dell XPS 710 $3,170. Not a big price difference. Moreover, the Mac Pro has a pair of Dual-Core Xeon processors, which the XP 710 can't really match.

The 17” MacBook Pro goes for $3,100 Canadian. Dell has nothing comparable, but the Inspiron 9400 costs $2,380. The Dell has a slower processor, slower graphics, and at 1.6” thick and 7.9 pounds, it’s a frickin’ brick, as well!!! Plus, the MacBook Pro (1” thick, 6.8 pounds) has an aluminum shell. So, taken altogether, the MacBook Pro is worth the extra $700.

(Interestingly, Dell has nothing close or comparable to the 15” MacBook Pro.)

The 20” iMac costs $1,700 Canadian. The Dell Dimension 9200 with 20” display costs $1,560. But the extra $140 for the iMac buys you built-in webcam, wireless networking, and speakers. So this easily balances out.

It’s pretty clear that Apple’s products are quite competitive, if not by price alone then by value proposition.