New King of Technology: Apple Overtakes Microsoft

[Arnold]

New King of Technology: Apple Overtakes Microsoft
By MIGUEL HELFT and ASHLEE VANCE

Published: May 26, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO ??? Apple, the maker of iPods, iPhones and iPads, overtook Microsoft, the computer software giant, on Wednesday to become the world???s most valuable technology company.
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Jim Wilson/The New York Times

In intraday trading shortly after 2:30 p.m., Apple shares rose 1.8 percent, which gave the company a value of $227.1 billion. Shares of Microsoft declined about 1 percent, giving the company a market capitalization of $226.3 billion.

Apple retained the spot at the close, even as both shares declined. Microsoft dropped 4 percent to end the day with a market cap of $219.2 billion and Apple fell 1.1 percent to end at $222.1 billion.

The only American company valued higher is Exxon Mobil, with a market capitalization of $282 billion.

This changing of the guard caps one of the most stunning turnarounds in business history, as Apple had been given up for dead only a decade earlier. But the rapidly rising value attached to Apple by investors also heralds a cultural shift: Consumer tastes have overtaken the needs of business as the leading force shaping technology.

Microsoft, with its Windows and Office software franchises, has dominated the relationship most people had with their computers for almost two decades and that was reflected in its stock market capitalization. But the click-clack of the keyboard has ceded ground to the swoosh of a finger across a smartphone???s touch-screen.

???It is the single most important turnaround that I have seen in Silicon Valley,??? said Jim Breyer, a venture capitalist who has invested in some of the most successful technology companies.

 

[busyLivin]

 

[NeilPearson]

Droid is going to take out Apple

 

[busyLivin]

I've become an apple/Steve Jobs hater. My iPad is being sold the day the Google-Verizon tablet comes out.

 

[maniclion]

Diversification at it's best, Apple moved onto portable music players, cellphones and tablets...MS did what... stuck to OS, software and a touchscreen tabletop that won't fit into your pocket.....

 

[DOMS]

They may have a larger market caps right now, but that'll change for the simple fact that Microsoft sells its products with a far bigger margin. Apple sells physical objects and Microsoft just sells software.

 

[NeilPearson]

Diversification at it's best, Apple moved onto portable music players, cellphones and tablets...MS did what... stuck to OS, software and a touchscreen tabletop that won't fit into your pocket.....

Apple didn't have a choice. They were getting their ass kicked and would have went under if they continued to try and compete with Microsoft.

I think Apple has run out of gas though. They are way too controlling and closed. They got a jump on everyone with the iPhone but now others are catching up and Apple is going to take a big hit.

Microsoft is more of a blue chip company now. It won't have the explosive growth that Apple or Google could have but they also won't have the plunge that Apple could have once nobody wants an iPhone anymore.

 

[NeilPearson]

Microsoft and Apple no longer compete with each other. Apple lost and went into a different business. It just so happens that is the trendy, flashy business that drives up stock prices.... for now

 

[KelJu]

Apple didn't have a choice. They were getting their ass kicked and would have went under if they continued to try and compete with Microsoft.

I think Apple has run out of gas though. They are way too controlling and closed. They got a jump on everyone with the iPhone but now others are catching up and Apple is going to take a big hit.

Microsoft is more of a blue chip company now. It won't have the explosive growth that Apple or Google could have but they also won't have the plunge that Apple could have once nobody wants an iPhone anymore.

This is the truth. The world's data lives in the microsoft and linux universe. Businesses will use microsoft and linux for decades to come. Apple will have to fight for every inch with new smartphone players coming onto the scene.

 

[DOMS]

Apple didn't have a choice. They were getting their ass kicked and would have went under if they continued to try and compete with Microsoft.

I think Apple has run out of gas though. They are way too controlling and closed. They got a jump on everyone with the iPhone but now others are catching up and Apple is going to take a big hit.

Microsoft is more of a blue chip company now. It won't have the explosive growth that Apple or Google could have but they also won't have the plunge that Apple could have once nobody wants an iPhone anymore.

Why you insightful motherfucker...

 

[DOMS]

What I remember most about Apple is when the iPhone came out. They charged $600 (I think). Then a few months later, as a way to say "thank you" to all of the high paying early adopters, they dropped the price of the phone by $200.

Jobs: "Thanks for taking a chance on our products...oh, and fuck you!"

 

[maniclion]

Microsoft and Apple no longer compete with each other. Apple lost and went into a different business. It just so happens that is the trendy, flashy business that drives up stock prices.... for now

Why is MS working on their iphone and ipad equivalents then? It's not trendy what they did with the Iphone is innovative I am very happy they did it, the Ipad too these guys have been blazing trails since the first Macintoshes and DOS I don't get this Love/Hate thing people feel they need to have with Apple and MS.....I love Apples innovation and MS's ease of use OS'es, I've tried linux and it just isn't as intuitive as Windows has always been. I had a Palm smartphone by Kyocera back in 2001 or so black/white screen, needed a stylus, clunky... what Apple has done with Iphone has set the precedent for cell phones to come into the 21st century. MS seems more focused on business and just following tech trends with their Surface thingy being the coolest thing other than the Xbox which is just a PS2/3 ripoff.....I just hope Apple keeps doing what they have and making things more awesome......I will support them just for that reason.

 

[DOMS]

Why is MS working on their iphone and ipad equivalents then?

Because you can never have too much money.

 

[Mudge]

Funny how Apple was once knee deep in blood, and now this.

 

[Arnold]

Apple is very innovative and very in tune with what the general masses want: iPhone, iPad, iPod, iTunes, iMacs, etc.

They produce high quality products that are easy to use, I loved my iPhone, I love my iPod and I plan on buying an iPad.

 

[NeilPearson]

Apple is very innovative and very in tune with what the general masses want: iPhone, iPad, iPod, iTunes, iMacs, etc.

They produce high quality products that are easy to use, I loved my iPhone, I love my iPod and I plan on buying an iPad.

I don't know...

iPhone - I would never get a phone that was tied to that crappy provider. I love my Droid. Besides I don't like the Apple controlled app store.

iPad - I can't see any point for this device. No multi-threading? No flash?

iPod - I actually have an iPod and I like it, except for the fact that it's tied to iTunes and it's not easy to copy music to or from it

iTunes - Completely useless except for syncing to my iPod which I shouldn't be required to have iTunes to do.

iMac - I don't even know what one is. I have been a computer programmer since 1994 and I have never, ever, ever seen a Mac in a corporate environment. I'm sure there are some out there though.

They are innovative and come up with some good ideas. I won't argue they don't. They just screw it up with their controlling, proprietary nature. If they were more flexible, I would be able to support them a lot more.

On the other hand, over the last couple of years I have owned Apple stock... I don't hold anyone's stock right now though. I rarely hold stock more than a month but I don't hate them.

 

[NeilPearson]

Why is MS working on their iphone and ipad equivalents then? It's not trendy what they did with the Iphone is innovative I am very happy they did it, the Ipad too these guys have been blazing trails since the first Macintoshes and DOS I don't get this Love/Hate thing people feel they need to have with Apple and MS.....I love Apples innovation and MS's ease of use OS'es, I've tried linux and it just isn't as intuitive as Windows has always been. I had a Palm smartphone by Kyocera back in 2001 or so black/white screen, needed a stylus, clunky... what Apple has done with Iphone has set the precedent for cell phones to come into the 21st century. MS seems more focused on business and just following tech trends with their Surface thingy being the coolest thing other than the Xbox which is just a PS2/3 ripoff.....I just hope Apple keeps doing what they have and making things more awesome......I will support them just for that reason.

They are very trendy. Phones and tablets are very trendy. They are also innovative. I'm not arguing they aren't. You can be both. Even Apple has copied a lot of their concepts from others over the years. Everyone copies everyone else and tries to do it a little better.

MS isn't nearly as innovative. They are trying to get a piece of the pie by copying but their core business is still going to be the OS and PC markets. I am definitely not going to buy Microsoft's tablet because I don't see a point in having a tablet at all. I like my laptop and having a fully functional keyboard. As far as Microsoft's phone goes... maybe who knows. Right now I have a Droid which I think was the best option available for functionality and flexibility available.

If Microsoft or Nokia or Apple can come up with a better phone that can be used with a decent service provider and doesn't lock its functionality to proprietary apps, I would definitely consider it. I just don't see Apple doing such a thing.

 

[busyLivin]

My problem with apple is the control. Anyone read what they did to Amazon's mp3 service with their "daily deal"?? (which the doj is now investigating) How about their blocking of any code translators that weren't written in native objective C? His reasoning for doing this was bullshit. I dont like the way apple works, so I'm selling the apple equipment i have.

The ipad is nice, as are most apple products, but their philosophy has turned me off.

Android is fantastic, and I love the openness and freedom it permits.

That said, most people dont care about any of the things ive mentioned, so apple can continue to push its weight around however they want. Hopefully google can pull enough people away or turn off more developers to force apple to change.

 

[KelJu]

Apple is very innovative and very in tune with what the general masses want: iPhone, iPad, iPod, iTunes, iMacs, etc.

They produce high quality products that are easy to use, I loved my iPhone, I love my iPod and I plan on buying an iPad.

I'll give you that the iPod and the iPhone were innovative. Thank you apple for digital media players. However, I'd argue that iTunes is a total piece of shit. I hate it. I had to get a Winamp plugin to load my iPod, because I gave up trying to use iTunes.

Neal is dead on with the part about getting locked in. I don't like AT&T. They suck. I don't like getting locked hardware. Also, the iPad is a gimmicky pos. I'll change my mind on that when it offers more capability. I'm not paying $800 for a web browser runner.

Microsoft would do well to return to their roots and pump out an OS that was as quality as XP. I believe that Microsoft lost a lot of market share due to shitting on our face with Vista.

As for as Linux is concerned, it is for business enterprise and enthusiast. No average user wants to use Ubuntu over microsoft or apple.

 

[maniclion]

My hopes for ipad and tablet devices is not to need a keyboard anymore but instead be able to write with a pen or voice input. I read alot on the net and ebooks having a screen without the dangling keyboard makes it much easier....

As far as multithreading I don't want my tiny processor struggling to run several apps, the apps on my Iphone open fast enough that it seems they had been open in the background the whole time...it's not that big of an issue for a supplementary device to your laptop or desktop....I don't think anyone would want to have the Ipad as their sole computing device, it's basically a I just want to look something up real quick, or I got a short flight but don't want to carry my clunky laptop, or I read ebooks but want something with a little more capability - type device....

 

[DiGiTaL]

I hate apple, man.

They are worst then the media. Hey kids look its an ipod THAT FUCKING FLIPS SIDEWAYS, only an extra $100. Buy its, its the next big thing.

Im so glad I got rid of my iphone.

 

[Mudge]

What I remember most about Apple is when the iPhone came out. They charged $600 (I think). Then a few months later, as a way to say "thank you" to all of the high paying early adopters, they dropped the price of the phone by $200.

Jobs: "Thanks for taking a chance on our products...oh, and fuck you!"

Almost all smart phones are $500-$750, even shit slow ones with shit browsers. I am amazed the new 4G Sprint EVO is ~$450 outright. You make more product (something that happens after a few months) and prices go down, especially as technology starts to get older and less desirable (one processor being replaced by faster ones in newer designed phones, etc).

 

[Mudge]

They produce high quality products that are easy to use, I loved my iPhone, I love my iPod and I plan on buying an iPad.

I'm not historically an Apple geek, not at all. I find that many artsy type people I've worked with view Apple as better than MS in terms of MS being some huge monopoly, when Jobs killed the clones and has a very closed loop system going on with app store approval and hardware/software. But the design and product quality, while expensive, is pretty sweet.

I use Bootcamp on my Macbook Pro, and the hardware is just beauty. OSX is also beauty, OS8/9? Just crap. I've also had a Mac Mini and regular Macbook. Great, albeit expensive products. Love my iPods too, all of them I've had. Macbook Air also very nice, almost got one.

 

[Mudge]

They are worst then the media. Hey kids look its an ipod THAT FUCKING FLIPS SIDEWAYS, only an extra $100. Buy its, its the next big thing.

Built in WiFi, solid state memory, and larger screen. All more expensive than a regular iPod.

P.S. Jobs and Ellison are best friends (at least Ellison thinks so), and they are both a touch shady, but that doesn't change the fact that they both run a money making ship even when they shipped shit products and finally Apple is doing several things RIGHT.

 

[Gazhole]

As for as Linux is concerned, it is for business enterprise and enthusiast. No average user wants to use Ubuntu over microsoft or apple.

I know a handful who really genuinely prefer it over windows, and aren't computer/linux enthusiasts. They just want to browse the net, listen to music, watch videos/dvds, and do word processing/spreadsheets.

Ironically, one of them switched because she was sick of iTunes and always saw me syncing with a linux music player. Next thing i know she's got Kubuntu on there.

But you're totally right, even if you had to pay for Ubuntu they still wouldn't be even close to competing because out of all the computer users i know, its still only a handful. Maybe it would be slightly different if the 'nix was better for gaming.

 

[busyLivin]

Pretty interesting development this morning. I have to admit, it'd be pretty cool if Jobs allowed .net programmers to develop iphone/ipad apps in windows.

Rumor: Steve Ballmer To Speak At WWDC During Apple Keynote)


Edit: More speculation is saying they are just announcing the Office suite for iPad. That seems more like the Apple I hate

 

[DOMS]

Almost all smart phones are $500-$750, even shit slow ones with shit browsers. I am amazed the new 4G Sprint EVO is ~$450 outright. You make more product (something that happens after a few months) and prices go down, especially as technology starts to get older and less desirable (one processor being replaced by faster ones in newer designed phones, etc).

But to do so in two months? That's messed up.