[rescue] Sun / Linux LX50

[vraptor at employees.org]

This is the difference between volume commodities and
niche markets.  Volume commodities have the potential for
huge growth, and hence more money for the corporation,
venture capitalists, and other investors.  Niche markets,
are by their very nature, limited in the amount of income
they can generate (though they can still be lucrative).

The computers that corporations put on desktops are largely
seen as commodities.  Why put something on a person's desk
that's expensive and has a longer life when you are going
to have to replace it in 1.5-3 yrs?  Because the reality is,
regardless of how long it *will* last (Sun, SGI, Apple, whatever),
it will be replaced every 1.5-3 yr.  New employee=new computer
in most cases, and most people don't stay at a job more than
2 years.

Think about computer gamers (even consoles)--same attitude.
Cell phones, PDAs (getting there), etc.

This "commodity" attitude is "helped along" by the way that
hardware, software, and OSs (even Linux--how often do you up-
grade your kernel?) are marketed.

The success of M$ has nothing to do with the quality of product
(just like McDonalds), and instead has everything to do with
changing the perception of the consumer wrt how often they are
supposed to "upgrade".  Similarly the chip market--CPUs and video
cards, particularly.

I don't like M$, but I have to give them credit for the amazing
way they managed to change the consumer's perception.  This
change in perception has driven the majority of technological change
we have seen in the last ten years.  If you can't get people
to by something, there's no point in doing the research/manufac./
etc. to get the technology out there.  My computers toys are
a lot cheaper and have a higher performance/dollar ratio because
of this change in perception and the resultant commodification
of computers and related accoutrements.

However, I believe, that the current computer slump signals the
same type of problem that McDonalds is currently having.
McDonalds was the first and the fastest growning, but they lost
their edge to their competitors.  Their customers have become
more savvy consumers--they are no longer satisfied with McDonalds'
bland, old offerings.  It remains to be seen if McDonalds can recover.

Computer users are also becoming more sophisticated--even if
they are still on a M$ OS.  They want products that are easier
to use, faster, and more integrated with all their other toys (think
about the grandma's who use email these days, or all the people
making their own movies).  The computer industry as a whole has
not figured out the next step to keep the consumer interested.
Part of it is the "last mile" problem.  Part of it is getting
to those people who still don't have a computer.  But the remainder
is really wrapped up in keeping those who have computers excited
about buying new computer/computer-related "stuff".

(As an example to show the "tiredness" of the offerings--look at
the PC game market--the top online FPShooter game is Counter-Strike
a 3 yr old free mod written for a 4 yr old game.)

I think Apple is nibbling around the edges of the next step (sorry
for the pun), but I don't think they quite have it--they have
the consumer's perception of their product (either 'it's a toy'
or 'it's for graphics professionals') to overcome.

=Nadine=


On Thu, 19 Sep 2002, Michael Schiller wrote:

>Steve Sandau wrote:
>
>> Have to agree with Greh here. (No, it's not *really* that tough.) Look
>> at the Ford Pinto, VHS tapes (inferior but critical mass in popularity)
>> and so on. Most != best.
>
>Remember that 'best' is a subjective word. As an example, say there are 2 parts that do
>the identical job, 1 of them costs $10 and will probably last about a year. The second
>one costs $100 but will last at least 10 years. Which is the best part? For me
>personally I would go for the $100 part any chance I get, however most businesses don't
>think that way. Say the part is for something that they only see using for say 2 years
>or so, they buy the cheaper one, and have to buy 2 of them. They've spent $20 for the
>services of that tool. Why spend $100 when you can spend $20? Now if your profession
>requires the use of that part everyday and you plan on doing it for like 20 years or
>more the $100 would be the best one for the job.
>
>Remember most of the time in corp. America, the person making the buying decision isn't
>going to use what they're buying, so do they care if you need to reboot your desktop
>machine every day? They see a tool that was bought cheap, knowing it probably won't
>last that long.
>--
>-Mike
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