Apple Inc. (AAPL)

[brad]

I like Windows and I like Mac OSX, so I have them both. On the same machine. All modern Macs use Intel chips and can run Windows natively; they're some of the fastest Windows machines out there, and you do a clean install so there's no junkware like you get on computers from Dell.

I use Mac and Windows every day and I don't think one is particularly superior to the other; the current versions are very stable (Windows 7 is reportedly very stable; I'm still using XP and that crashes maybe once every 3-4 years; MacOSX crashed on me once about eight years ago).

I don't notice a big difference in the availability of apps; there's only one program I use regularly that's only available for Windows and not for Mac. Plus the Mac runs on Unix and lots of Unix programmers use the Mac from the command line without ever using its GUI.

The main difference I see is that Apple understands that most PC users are not geeks and have maybe 10-15 minutes per week available to learn how to use their device and its software. So they try to make everything simple, run the same way across all their devices, and as intuitive as possible. In that way an Apple product user can be more productive than a PC user because less time is spent trying to figure out how to use the thing and you can get down to work faster. When you look at Microsoft products in contrast, you can tell that many of them were designed by people who assumed that you'll be working eight hours a day on their programs and you'll get a training course. Plus they had input from focus groups who demanded that this and that feature got added until there were so many features and menu items that the end result is a mess.

Don't get me wrong, I use Word, Excel, and Outlook all day long and I mostly love them. But most people never use 90% of the functionality offered by those programs and never learn how to use them the way they were designed.

Personally I think that while the "coolness factor" of Apple is one reason behind its success, the other big reason is Apple's ability to see its devices in the context of people's lives, and to understand that people have limited time and interest in learning how to use a computer, a phone, an MP3 player, or a tablet. And if you can make the computer, phone, MP3 player, and tablet all function the same way with similar interfaces and approaches to navigation, people will be grateful (and buy those devices) because they already know how to use them.

[mode3sour]

no no, apple fanboys are a unique, there even a simpsons EP about it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7L2fsubA2-c

I assume that its like being part of a sect, once you are in, you dont see whats wrong with it.

They are not 2x more expensive, they are 2x BETTER !!!

All hail Apple !

Yea Simpsons makes it true. I liked the Southpark version better, but nobody reads any agreements they accept so the same could be said for anything

If you think Apple users are religiously fanatic, you should do some traveling to real religious cultures. I think the Apple haters are more religious and emotional than the users

It's not illegal to be a Jew, but it's not cool to hate them all. All hail Hitler!

They're some of the fastest Windows machines out there, and you do a clean install so there's no junkware like you get on computers from Dell.

Yes and oddly faster with lesser "spec" that consumers use to shop. I always do a clean install and Windows still has glitches if you push t hard enough.

I don't notice a big difference in the availability of apps; there's only one program I use regularly that's only available for Windows and not for Mac.

Yes Mac is getting better with programs because it is far more common then before. Quicken?

The main difference I see is that Apple understands that most PC users are not geeks and have maybe 10-15 minutes per week available to learn how to use their device and its software. So they try to make everything simple, run the same way across all their devices, and as intuitive as possible.

IMO intuitive is ALWAYS better even if you do have 8 hours to waste setting it up... Does Mac restrict you from any settings that Windows does not? I don't like restrictions, but there's no reason intuitive settings need to restrict. Windows has a lot of tedious things that could be setup to work better by default, but instead you are always fighting the system and their "intuitive" settings. I am constantly setting things up over and over or reversing auto formats in word etc. Windows has so many clunky things that constantly annoy you for no reason. Sure you could change it all, but it's hardly worth the effort.

I use computers to manage military operations. While I know my systems inside and out, anything that is not intuitive is a waste of precious time. We go to great lengths to have everything just work as you'd expect with as little user inputs as possible. If you need something unusual, you can change it, but everything must work by default. It's the little things that make a difference and make you say "wow they put a lot of thought into this" or "wow it read my mind" Apple does this even better than we do, and I'm sure it took a lot of work

[brad]

Yes Mac is getting better with programs because it is far more common then before. Quicken?

Actually Quicken Essentials for Mac is quite good. The initial release was missing some key features but the most crucial ones got added a few months later, and I've been using it since it was first released. I tried the Windows version of Quicken a few years ago and saw that it had many more features than the Mac version, but in the end I didn't really use any of those features. When Quicken Essentials came out for the Mac I figured I'd give it a try and it does everything I need. The big drawback for many people is that it doesn't allow you to track individual investment transactions, but that's not an issue for me. It does allow you to monitor your portfolio's value and your asset allocation, which is all I need.

The one program I use daily and can't run on MacOSX is SigmaPlot, a high-end graphing program that I use for work.

[donald]

Im sure some of you have heard the rumor of a dividend,is this crazy talk?anybody think this has legs?Jobs gone,taking over xom as largest,old tech now?

[ddkay]

Look at Cisco's dividend - 1.44%. You can do better than that in a savings account! Tech stocks aren't for dividends. Once they stop growing take your money and run. Look at Adobe, gone sideways for years and they stopped paying dividends in 2005. Not as exciting as it used to be. Nice head and shoulders forming on the chart. Probably going to collapse in the next decade.

Imagine RealNetworks paying a 2% dividend in 1999 when the stock was worth $200. They had super easy access to credit, they could issue debt to pay dividends blindfolded... Six months later its $355. Then there's a 25% correction. Seems like a good idea to just sit on the stock right? After all you're getting paid to wait! A year later, RNWKD is making new highs, back to euphoria! Then it crashes. Multiple times. Now you don't get paid to wait, dividends gone. You could wait a hundred years before they invent something people actually use again, or lose everything as they liquidate common stock in bankruptcy.

Sony is another example. It used to be a $156.70 stock. Let's say the dividend is a constant of 2%. It's down 665% from March 03, 2000. It would take 325 years to recover your losses from dividends alone if the stock price had flatlined at todays price of $20.50.

The only thing Apple have going for them is it being a household brand and the BS FTF backroom deals at the patent office. That's great for Apple's of the world. Great for corporate profits and shareholder value. Sucks for a free market where the truly strongest technologies (e.g. Android) can prevail instead of getting sued out of existence. Sucks for real innovation. For now America will have to put up with the nation's brightest copying generally unprofitable consumer facing web business models like Groupon, because anyone can do it on a $5000 credit card and VC's don't know what else to throw their money at.

[Abha]

The only thing Apple have going for them is the BS FTF backroom deals at the patent office.

You sure that's the only thing going for Apple?

What about the countless lines of products that people go nuts trying to get. The demand for the iPhone 5 is stratospheric and it hasn't even been demoed yet.

The iPad had no equivalent in terms of sales or popularity and the MAC line is growing at a double digit rate as people hop onto the Apple brand.

On top of this, no debt, pristine balance sheet, tons of patents, great product pipeline, soon to be great content ecosystem and so on.

That being said, I am biased as I own shares in Apple and have complete faith in management not to screw things up.

[ddkay]

I missed Apple's stratospheric move up. I was too young to invest. But I will catch their downside. I'm certain they will fall apart within the next 10-15 years, in two stages, it will be devastating, and I will be there ready to short.

Hopefully it will be a spectacle like YRC Worldwide. $1,463 to $0.

[Abha]

I missed Apple's stratospheric move up. I was too young to invest. But I will catch their downside. I'm certain they will fall apart within the next 10-15 years, in two stages, it will be devastating, and I will be there ready to short.

You're going to wait 10 - 15 years to short one of the biggest companies in the World?

I would think that all the smart money will have moved on to the next big thing (it it comes to fruition) by then.

It's not too late to hop on. It's going to $500 + just based on fundamentals. What they do beyond 2015 is up for debate but they've developed such a large margin of safety that even a few missteps are unlikely to slow the momentum.

[Toronto.gal]

I am biased as I own shares in Apple and have complete faith in management not to screw things up.

I am biased too 4 the same reasons.

However, I totally agree and if I had known enough when I first bought AAPL less than 2 years ago, I would not have bothered with any of the other tech stocks I purchased in that period [yawn], other than MLNX, which has had a fantastic YTD performance.

Also agree that the price is still good for those that previously missed the boat on this one.

[kcowan]

If you have the fortitude, you can make good money on the Apple swings.