Tech Giant Showdown: Microsoft vs. Apple

Microsoft and Apple are by and large the two biggest producers in cutting edge consumer and business products.  Between the two companies, they continue to push the envelope when it comes to developing software and hardware.  Let’s take a look at what makes Microsoft the company that it is, and also what makes Apple the most valuable tech firm in the world.

To begin with, Apple and Microsoft continue to coexist, partly because they revolve around entirely different markets.  Microsoft aims to corner the business-to-business market.  In other words, the majority of Microsoft’s profits come from selling their products to businesses.  More specifically, much of Microsoft’s profits come from selling licenses to its operating system to computer manufacturers.  Anybody who has paid a licensing fee for Microsoft Windows understands what this is about.

Apple, on the other hand, aims to corner quite a different market than Microsoft.  Apple tends to focus on the business-to-customer market.  In other words, instead of selling software, like Microsoft, Apple makes most of its profits by selling hardware.  This should be apparent when you think about all of the Macs and MacBooks out there with Windows installed on them.

It is interesting to compare the market values of Microsoft and Apple shares, as this says a lot about the two companies.  On May 26^th 2010, Microsoft shares closed at $25.01, which was down $1.06.  This gave Microsoft a market cap of just over $220 billion.  Also on May 26^th, 2010, Apple shares ended the day of trading at $244.11, which was down $1.11.  This gave Apple a total market cap of just over $222 billion.  Keep in mind that despite these large numbers, Apple only controls about 10 percent of the computer market worldwide.  Much of this ownership can be attributed to the vast success of the iPod, the iPhone and, more recently, the iPad.

It may put things in perspective to look at the three largest publicly traded U.S. companies:

• Exxon Mobil is the largest publicly traded U.S. company, and it is worth $278.6 billion.
• Apple comes in second, at $222.4 billion.
• Microsoft comes in third, at $220.4 billion.

The two super-companies have not always been altogether amicable.  For instance, litigation between the two companies spanned from 1988 – 1994, in the lawsuit of Apple Corporation, Inc. vs. Microsoft Corporation.  In this copyright infringement suit, Apple tried to get an injunction against Microsoft Corporation and Hewlett-Packard, to prevent the companies from using visual graphical interface elements similar to those designed and implemented by Apple.

In the lawsuit, the court held that “Apple cannot get patent-like protection for the idea of a graphical user interface, or the idea of a desktop metaphor [under copyright law]…”  Amidst the lawsuit, Xerox sued Apple on similar grounds, but the case was dismissed because Xerox did not file the action in a timely manner.  When it was all said and done, Apple lost on all of its serious claims, and only received favorable rulings on minor aspects of the case.

The rivalry between Microsoft and Apple, however, has another side to it.  In August of 1997, Microsoft purchased $150 million of Apple stock.  This was reportedly intended to inject new capital into Apple in an effort to help the struggling company get back on to its feet.  As it turned out, the boost helped Apple indeed, as it has since that time surpassed Microsoft in many ways.

Finally, it is interesting to look at the products offered by Apple and Microsoft, side by side.

The following products are available from both companies:

• Mobile hardware, Mobile OS, Mobile App Store, Mobil Applications, Music Hardware, Video/Voice/IM Chat, Office Suite, Video Content, Web Browser, Desktop OS, Photo Storage, Calendar, RSS Reader, Email, Online Rental, Music Store, Online Video Rental, Business Software, Gaming Software

The following Products are available only from Microsoft:

Online Search, News, Maps, Gaming Hardware

source

source

source

source

source

source

source

source

source

source

source

source

source

source

source

iCostume:  The Height of Apple Fashion

Apple fans find no shortage of ways to display their product loyalty to the product that they love.  It has even gotten to the point where people are fashioning their very own iCostumes, so to speak.

Dressing as twins has always been popular, and doing so as a pair of iPhones is one way for two friends to express their iPhone loyalty together.  When two people love Apple this much, it is hard to pass on an opportunity to look this amazing!

And why not start the kids out early by enclosing their baby carrier with an iPhone shell?

The same can be said of dogs.  It takes a real Apple enthusiast to dress their dog up as an iPhone, but it has been done.

One proud father dressed his twin sons up as black and white iPods.  Of course, he had one ear bud from each of the iPods attached to his ears.

One place to see plenty of iCostumes, of course, is technology conventions.  The iPhone costumes really come out of the woodwork.

And sometimes, more than two walking iPods can be spotted together.  A team of five iPods did a little song and dance.

Sometimes couples share their love for one another – and for their favorite piece of technology – by dressing up as an iPhone and the accompanying ear buds.

Other couples take it even further by dressing up as an iPod and Steve Jobs himself.

Not everybody dresses up as the most modern Apple products.  There are those who choose to dress up as the old Macintosh computers.  What better way to show off your Apple colors than by going retro?

The braver Apple loyalists go solo as an iPhone.

Then there are the iCostumes that also promote a cause.  One iCostume-wearer held a sign asking passers by to recycle their iPhones.

Those who dress up as iPods have an opportunity to not only dress up as a piece of technology that they love, but to also choose which song to display on their “screen.”  One iCostume-wearer proudly displayed Duran Duran on her screen.

For those who don’t want to detract from the Apple product itself, on the other hand, displaying nothing but the Apple logo on their screen seems like a good option.

One couple was spotted at a costume party with Janet Jackson on the screen of their iCostume.  The man wore the iPod and the woman wore the earbuds.

Apple’s Reign Over the Music Industry

If any one company has changed the face of the music industry, it is without a doubt, Apple.  To begin with, let’s look at three ways iTunes has reshuffled the retail business for music and video.  While some call these changes good, and others call them bad, there can be no disputing that the music industry will never return to what it was before iTunes.

First of all, iTunes has introduced an era where consumers can say goodbye to albums, and hello to singles.  Since CDs ameliorated the days of the 45 single, there was not a format for purchasing single songs.  This created a windfall for the recording industry, as consumers were forced to purchase entire albums just to get their hands on a single song.  Now, however, iTunes has given consumers the power to purchase just one song at a time.

Second, iTunes has given rise to portable music.  Prior to the advent of iTunes, the primary medium for playing and listening to music was home stereo systems.  Now, however, the iPod has made it possible to listen to music virtually anywhere.  Moreover, most new technologies – from the Kindle to the smart phone – have mp3 playback capabilities.

Third, iTunes has all but killed brick and mortar retail.  While this has been horrible news, of course, for old school record stores, it has been quite empowering to consumers.  With iTunes it is now possible for anybody to purchase their favorite music without ever leaving the comfort of their own home.

iTunes is no small enterprise, as most people know.  In fact, iTunes is home to the world’s largest catalog.  It features more than 5 million songs, 350 television shows, and 500 movies.  And all of these can be purchased one at a time, at quite an affordable price.  From this catalog, quite a few purchases have been made.  Total iTunes sales include 2.5 billion songs, 50 million TV shows, and 2 million movies.

Just for fun, let’s take a look at the top 10 most downloaded songs (on March 29, 2010):

1. I Gotta Feeling by The Black Eyed Peas
2. Poker Face by Lady Gaga
3. Boom Boom Pow by The Black Eyed Peas
4. I’m Yours by Jason Mraz
5. Vida La Vida by Coldplay
6. Just Dance by Lady Gaga & Colby
7. Low (feat. T-Pain) by Flo Rida
8. Love Story by Taylor Swift
9. Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis
10. Tik TOk by Ke$sha

And of course, iTune’s 10 billionth download was Guess Things Happen That Way by Johnny Cash.

Apple’s Best Selling Products

With a company as successful as Apple, people want to know, “What does Apple sell each year?”  Considering that Apple sells so many products, the answer to this question could be the Mac, the iPhone, the iPod, accessories, iTunes downloads or software for Apples.  An examination of the 2008 net sales by category compared to the 2009 net sales by category should be revealing.

The following breakdown is of Apple’s 2008 net sales by category:

• 6.6% of Apple’s sales was software
• 5.1% of Apple’s sales was accessories
• 5.7 % of Apple’s sales was iPhones
• 10.3% of Apple’s sales was iTunes sales
• 28.2% of Apple’s sales was iPods
• 43.9% of Apple’s sales was Macs

The following breakdown is of Apple’s 2009 net sales by category:

• 6.8% of Apple’s sales was software
• 4% of Apple’s sales was accessories
• 18.5% of Apple’s sales was iPhones
• 11% of Apple’s sales was iTunes sales
• 22.1 of Apple’s sales was iPods
• 37.7% of Apple’s sales was Macs

The total revenue between 2008 and 2009 was also quite different.  In 2008, Apple brought in $32.4 billion, and in 2009, Apple brought in $36.5 billion, which is a pretty significant jump in sales.  Imagine if a company could see those gains on an annual basis!

Lastly, let’s take a look at the percent change in sales by category between 2008 and 2009.

• For Macs, Apple realized a -0.03% change in sales between 2008 and 2009.
• For iPhones, Apple realized a 266% change in sales between 2008 and 2009.
• For iPods, Apple realized a -12% change in sales between 2008 and 2009.
• For accessories, Apple realized a -11% change in sales between 2008 and 2009.
• On iTunes sales, Apple realized a 21% change in sales between 2008 and 2009.
• For software, Apple realized a 9% change in sales between 2008 and 2009.

These numbers show some definite trends in how consumers are purchasing.  It looks as if people want a computer right in their pocket, as evidenced by an increase in iPhone sales, but a decrease in Mac sales.  It also looks as if people are having less of a need for iPods as more and more people own iPhones with built in music players.  And all in all, it looks as if despite the drops in certain categories, people are pleased with what they get from Apple.

Jailbreak: 3 Ways to Unlock Your iPhone

There are many out there who wish to unlock their iPhone, but do not know how.  This comes as no surprise, as unlocking an iPhone can be quite complicated.  The following provides instructions for three different ways to unlock an iPhone.  But first, why would anybody want to unlock an iPhone?  The answer is simple, to use their iPhone on other carriers, such as T-Mobile.  And secondly, is it legal to unlock an iPhone?  The answer to this question is not so straightforward.  For the time being there is a loophole in the Digital Millenium Copyright Act that covers service providers.  This loophole offers at least partial justification for unlocking the iPhone for personal use.  However, those who unlock the iPhone for other reasons may be in big trouble.

When unlocking their iPhone, people do need to understand that there is a chance they will break their phone.  So when trying to hack an iPhone, people must proceed at their own risk – we are not responsible if anything bad happens.

The first way we will discuss is known as the Dev-Team Way.  This method is widely used and it requires users to install an app on their iPhone that allows them to install unofficial apps to their iPhone.  So after installing the first app, users can install an app that lets them unlock their iPhone.  This method is to be used with iPhone 3G with firmware 3.0:

1. Disable iTunes Helper – First turn off iTunes, then go to OSX Activity Monitor.  From here, scroll down to “iTunes Helper,” select then click “Quit Process” on the top left.
2. Jailbreak the iPhone – Use the redsn0w tool to do it:  http://redsn0w.com/ Doing this will also install Cydia or Icy, which are apps to download the unlocker.
3. Add code repositories – Run the Cydia or Icy app, then add this repo:  repo666.ultrasn0w.com.  Search for “ultrasn0w” in Cydia or Icy and install it.
4. Reboot the iPhone – At this point, put the new SIM card in, and there it is, an iPhone without AT&T.

The second method is known as The QuickPwn Way, which jailbreaks an iPhone, and then allows users to unlock it.  This method requires that the iPhone have 2.2 firmware, and even then, success is not guaranteed.

1. Download Jailbreak at QuickPwn.com – Download the software from QuickPwn.com, and follow the instructions to jailbreak the iPhone and install either the installer or Cydia.
2. Download  pwn IPSW firmware – After visiting the Site, users must rebuild the IPSW in QuickPwn.
3. Add code repositories – Which are either http://i.yellowsn0w.com or http://apt9.yellowsn0w.com.  After adding the repositories, users must install and run either the installer or Cydia.
4. Turn on the iPhone – At this point, users can enter their new SIM card, and enjoy their iPhone with a new service provider.

The third method of jailbreaking an iPhone is known as The Apple-Official Way.  While this method has only been confirmed for international carriers, it is definitely worth a try for AT&T as well.  This is a quick and painless approach, so there is really not much to lose.

1. Pay off the contract – Users should pay off the outstanding balance as if they are switching to another carrier.
2. Have your carrier submit the IEMI to Apple for unlock – Find the IEMI number by going to Settings > General > About > scroll down.  Once obtaining the IEMI number, users should go to their carrier store and give them the number.  They may then submit the number via their official Apple unlock request.
3. Update the iPhone in iTunes – Users should plug their iPhone into their computer and open up iTunes, which will then offer a carrier update.  This should bring the user to the official Apple unlock screen.

Any one of these three methods should bring users non-AT&T calling.

Apple Tattoos

Nothing says love more than permanently grafting a logo through your skin. However as Angelina Jolie can attest, no matter how strong your love at the time, people often end up regretting getting their lover’s name tattooed. We can’t imagine a brand would be much better. We hope their Apple love can last through the ages!

Apple Haircut

Do you absolutely NEED to make Apple part of your body, but aren’t quite ready to get an iTattoo? Relax. There are also sexy Apple haircuts!

Apple Jewelry

The best way to let your girlfriend know that she is the number 2 priority in your life – Apple-inspired jewelry. Since these ear rings are shaped like Apple power buttons, at least you can say you definitely know how to turn your girl on! Speaking of which . . .

Apple Panties

The perfect gift for any Apple fanboy girlfriend! Right?

Mac Mini Toilet Paper Dispenser

We’re actually not sure if this guy is way too obessed with Mac, or if he just really hates Macs . . . Either way, it’s unhealthy. I mean… awesome!

iPhone Costumes

The fact that these two Florida college students are still trick-or-treating, and there are no girls in sight is telling. You’ve got to give it to them though, their costumes are pretty elite. The screens actually work! (Several Apply employees insinuate that the displays were stolen). Can you imagine how much mileage they got asking girls to try their touch screens?

iBaby

If your baby only drinks from white futuristic looking curvy bottles, this is their onesy. The perfect way to show others that your child is doomed to nerdom.

Macsofa

We salute the guy who made a couch out of Mac-IIs. However, falling asleep on this will certainly lead to a visit to the iChiropractor in the morning.

iPropose

Some guy actually proposed to his girlfriend with a youtube video of an iphone advertisement of a proposal. Before you diss it, watch the video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-QMynSAxJY), it’s actually kind of sweet in an OMG-he-is-proposing-with-his-iphone sort of way!