> There are no real arguments. Until Apple can find a way of replacing > 85% of their revenues with software sales, they're most *definitely* > a hardware company. Their software is an inducement to buy their > hardware. > > R&D costs for OS development and system development are roughly > equal, I'd imagine, systems cost more to build, but OS'es sell for > far, far less.
Dump 50% of the R&D costs, and remember that the net revenue on their hardware is about 40%... which means they make $200 on a Mac mini and $130 on a retail copy of OS X. Suppose they kept that price for the Macintel version of OS X, but also sold OS Xi for generic Intel for $200. They'd make just as much on each sale as they would on a base Mac mini. They'd cut into the sales of more expensive Macs more than the Mini, but they'd sell a whole boatload of copies of OS Xi, spend way less money per sale, and make $70 a copy more when the OS Xi users upgraded. They'd have to reduce the margins on the other Macs to bring them closer in line with PCs, so the real question is... would the reduction in margins be a bigger hit than the increased market share could compensate for? I don't know the answer, but the situation isn't just a matter of looking at their current hardware and software sales and going "OMG, there's no way they can sell that much software!" > I suspect that MS'es largest customers pay far south > of $50 per copy of Windows they include with their systems. But they buy a lot of copies of Windows. That's what being "large customers" means. If Apple was selling the quantity of OS Xi licenses that would justify that kind of discount, don't you suppose that might be accompanied by Microsoft-level software revenues as well? -- Unsupported OS X is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> Unsupported OS X list info <http://lowendmac.com/lists/unsupported.html> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[email protected]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive <http://www.mail-archive.com/unsupportedosx%40mail.maclaunch.com/> iPod Accessories for Less at 1-800-iPOD.COM Fast Delivery, Low Price, Good Deal www.1800ipod.com
