The Apple of IBM's Eye?

[Agathon]

Originally posted by Asher
Speaking as someone who regularly has to deal with Apple as part of corporate relations, I'd rate the current relationship was borderline hostile.

Apple is nonresponsive and completely egodriven, just like Jobs himself. It's a total culture clash -- IBM's reps are all strictly professional with grammar-checked emails and formalities, Apple's emails are littered with typos and some don't even capitalize words.. Half the time they don't even respond.

Or my favorite example, asking them to update or patch the version of GCC they ship with OS X since it has a bug which interferes with our product, and they reply (paraphrased) "gcc isn't ours, we don't have to fix it". HELLO -- it's already been fixed, we're just asking you to update it...it's a 1-line include file fix.

Long story short, as far as high-performance computing and compilers go, I think if you speculate on a joint venture it'd make most IBMers (and probably most Apple employees) naucious.

No comment.

[Asher]

I don't have a grammar-checker installed for my posts, unfortunately.

[Drake Tungsten]

Yeah, I saw that too, Aggie.

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Originally posted by Agathon
It's pretty funny, but unlikely.

What would happen to, "Do you use IBM or Apple?"

Agathon: Can you say "the IBM Macintosh?"

Nah, I think it'd actually better if IBM and Apple just formed a stronger partnership and with the success of the iPod and such I don't think Steve Jobs would ever allow his company to be sold. Apple just has too much of a bright future to sell itself.

Asher: On a second note, IBM does have good strategic reason to form a strong partnership with Apple. The reason is because it undermines Microsoft, it's old enemy. IBM is already undermining Microsoft by being the largest financial supporter of Linux; it could do even more to undermine Microsoft by also supporting Apple.

'Nuff said.

[Asher]

Asher: On a second note, IBM does have good strategic reason to form a strong partnership with Apple. The reason is because it undermines Microsoft, it's old enemy. IBM is already undermining Microsoft by being the largest financial supporter of Linux; it could do even more to undermine Microsoft by also supporting Apple.

Hey genius, why would they undermine their own initiative which they've spent billions on (Linux) in order to populate it with another competitor?

Microsoft isn't really IBM's enemy. The management that resents Microsoft is long gone, and now Microsoft is desperately trying to enter IBM's markets, without success. Meanwhile, IBM is entering new markets with great success.

IBM is turning into a low-volume high-margin "solutions" and services company. That's in Sam Palmisano's manifesto.

There is simply zero chance of this idle speculation from The Register tabloid of being remotely close to being true.

[Agathon]

I don't have a grammar-checker installed for my posts, unfortunately.

1) That is not a grammatical mistake, although one could pick at other parts of your post (but people who live in glass houses...).

2) Mac OS X contains a system wide spell checker (it picks up all my typos), so you really should think about changing your operating system to a modern, user-friendly one that includes such necessary functions.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Agathon
1) That is not a grammatical mistake, although one could pick at other parts of your post (but people who live in glass houses...).

It's picked up by the Lotus "Grammar Checker", which includes a spell checker. Thank you for being pedantic, though.

2) Mac OS X contains a system wide spell checker (it picks up all my typos), so you really should think about changing your operating system to a modern, user-friendly one that includes such necessary functions.

Or I could install one for Windows, but unfortunately I consider that bloat (it is), and I prefer to have a high-performance machine.

This is not a formal place, and does not necessitate having a spell checker or grammar checker. People can understand what I'm trying to say, and that's all I need.

I find it rather pathetic you need to use one in such an informal place...

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Originally posted by Asher

Hey genius, why would they undermine their own initiative which they've spent billions on (Linux) in order to populate it with another competitor?

Hey , because it achieves the same goal: Undermining Microsoft.

Microsoft is desperately trying to enter IBM's markets, without success. Meanwhile, IBM is entering new markets with great success.

IBM is turning into a low-volume high-margin "solutions" and services company. That's in Sam Palmisano's manifesto.

If you didn't already know, Apple has a 30% profit margin.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Mr. Nice Guy
Hey , because it achieves the same goal: Undermining Microsoft.

No, it doesn't. You do not undermine a competitor who is WHERE they are because of a monopoly by throwing in a disparate array of incompatible systems...

Besides, the people have spoken. OS X's market share is decreasing, why would that be beneficial to IBM?

Plus, it's not IBM's goal to undermine Microsoft. It's IBM's goal to run a very profitable company.

If you didn't already know, Apple has a 30% profit margin.

Apple's 2003 Revenue: $6,207,000,000
Apple's 2003 Net Income: $69,000,000
Percentage: 1.1%

IBM's 2003 Revenue: $23,429,000,000
IBM's 2003 Net Income: $1,800,000,000
Percentage: 7.7%

[Agathon]

Or I could install one for Windows, but unfortunately I consider that bloat (it is), and I prefer to have a high-performance machine.

I wish I could remember the last time that Applespell degraded my machine's performance in any noticeable fashion.

This is not a formal place, and does not necessitate having a spell checker or grammar checker. People can understand what I'm trying to say, and that's all I need.

I find it rather pathetic you need to use one in such an informal place...

Adhering to the spelling and grammatical rules of the English language is a courtesy to others. As such, it is something you should try to extend to anyone to whom you wish to communicate in writing.

The kind of voluntary illiteracy you are suggesting is something no right-thinking person would endorse. Who, apart from prancing performance artists, postmodern poets and their ilk, deliberately wishes to be misunderstood?

Are you seriously suggesting that something that can improve the quality of human communication is a waste of time, just because it's on a Macintosh?

[Asher]

Are you seriously suggesting that something that can improve the quality of human communication is a waste of time, just because it's on a Macintosh?

The quality of my human communication is just fine -- you can understand perfectly what I'm trying to communicate.

What is a waste of time is a global spellchecker that uses your RAM and processor cycles checking spelling when you don't want it to, or don't need it to.

If you think the communication of this post has been hindered because I didn't run it through a spellchecker, then you're totally out to lunch.

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Originally posted by Asher

No, it doesn't. You do not undermine a competitor who is WHERE they are because of a monopoly by throwing in a disparate array of incompatible systems...

Besides, the people have spoken. OS X's market share is decreasing, why would that be beneficial to IBM?

I wouldn't speak so soon on that until we've seen what kind of effect iPod sales have had on sales of Macintosh computers.

Plus, it's not IBM's goal to undermine Microsoft.

Of course it's not their goal, but it's what they've been doing for years.

Apple's 2003 Revenue: $6,207,000,000
Apple's 2003 Net Income: $69,000,000
Percentage: 1.1%

IBM's 2003 Revenue: $23,429,000,000
IBM's 2003 Net Income: $1,800,000,000
Percentage: 7.7%

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2004/oct/13results.html

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2004/jul/14results.html

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2004/apr/14results.html

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2004/jan/14results.html

[Agathon]

The quality of my human communication is just fine -- you can understand perfectly what I'm trying to communicate.

Sometimes I can't. That is because communication involves attributing reasonable beliefs to the person with whom you are communicating.

What is a waste of time is a global spellchecker that uses your RAM and processor cycles checking spelling when you don't want it to, or don't need it to.

Again, you need a modern, efficient operating system. Activity Monitor tells me that Applespell is using 0% of CPU capacity and a whopping 1.5 megs of RAM. Man.. am I ****ed or what?

Unless I am writing some sort of abstract expressionist novel, why would I not want my stuff spellchecked? As I said, it is a courtesy to others... manners maketh the man.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Agathon
Again, you need a modern, efficient operating system. Activity Monitor tells me that Applespell is using 0% of CPU capacity and a whopping 1.5 megs of RAM. Man.. am I ****ed or what?

You really think the program works without the CPU?

It's not something you can guage the impact with by looking at the CPU usage at any given point. They work by intercepting all keyboard input in a buffer and then analyzing it.

I don't want that **** on my computer...

Of course it's not their goal, but it's what they've been doing for years.

Actually, they haven't. Their big "linux" push has dick-all to do with defeating Microsoft, it has to do with competing with the upcoming low-cost servers. Microsoft doesn't even compete in the markets where IBM pushes Linux, usually.

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2004/oct/13results.html

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2004/jul/14results.html

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2004/apr/14results.html

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2004/jan/14results.html

Not sure what you're trying to do here.

My figures are from Apple's SEC filings.

What you're looking at is fancy dressed up numbers (gross profit means nothing, look at net income...).

The numbers I posted are what investors care about, and what the companies care about. At the end of the day, minus all costs, how much you brought home.

When you look at it as a percentage of revenue, Apple is about 1%, IBM is nearly 8%...Microsoft is 22% (go figure, their software production costs are very low).

[Agathon]

It's amazing the lengths some people will go to in order to justify the fact that they can't spell.