> Very true, but hasn't Steve repeatedly stated that these applications are > available as a part of the system,
Yes. > allowing any application to access their data if written to do so? Not that I've ever heard tale of...and I've seen Steve's last several MacWorlds and WWDCs. And I would have especially expected him to mention that concept at WWDC. That the data is on the machine isn't sufficient if your business is predicated upon Apple not arbitrarily changing the underlying data formats. Something that they've done in the past. > Funny though, if so few people are using Office v.X, what was it...350,000? > And there are 2.5 million users are OS X. So, how important is Office to Mac > users in reality? Wouldn't Apple be able to handle not having Office? People > don't by Apple because it runs Office, that's obvious. I draw a distinction between the number of sales of Office v.X and the number of people using it. For example, while I'm at least *six* of Apple's 2.5 million users, I'm only *one* of Microsoft's. And I've at least got the one legitimate copy... What little corporate penetration the Mac has maintained is completely dependent upon the existence of Microsoft Office. And more than a few people who currently have the luxury of being able to buy a Mac for home would be forced to stick with Windows if not for this compatibility. Apple is playing a dangerous game and most walk a fine line between alienating Microsoft and placating Apple's low-end users. Low-end users don't want to spend $499 to buy an office suite. Especially if they only spent $999 on their computer. Microsoft has to balance the near-infinite margin they earn selling Office vX for $499 (once they recoup their R&D) with the near-infinite margin they earn for selling yet another copy of Windows (most likely to an OEM) for on the order of $100. mikel PS: I'd love to see the numbers for Windows installed base versus Office for Windows sales...especially if we factored out the machine bundles and only counted retail sales. -- To unsubscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> archives: <http://www.mail-archive.com/entourage-talk%40lists.letterrip.com/> old-archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/entourage-talk%40lists.boingo.com/>
