Many of Apple's faithful will probably upgrade to the company's newest version of its operating system, but long-term success depends on its ability to attract first-time users. Slowing PC growth and difficult economic conditions won't make those efforts easy, but positive feedback about Mac OS X and its multimedia features will help lure new buyers to the platform.
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All eyes are on Apple Computer (Nasdaq: AAPL) today with the personal computer (PC) maker releasing its highly touted operating system Mac OS X on Saturday. Mac OS X is Apple's most important operating system release since the Macintosh was brought to market in 1984, but it won't likely have a significant impact on the company's near-term results. Several key components are missing and the operating system won't come preloaded on Apple computers until later this year. CEO Steve Jobs rebuilt Apple with flashy and innovative hardware after the company saw its market share evaporate in the face of Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) Windows. The company's strategy now hinges on software that ties the PC into the "Digital Lifestyle" era. While mobile phones, DVD players, and camcorders have been entrenched into the lives of consumers, most can't run software efficiently. Apple plans on changing that, with the Mac OS X the platform for this vision. Mac OS X boasts a long list of features, including improved memory use, increased crash resistance, and the ability to run multiple programs at once -- even if one crashes. There's a long list of other features, but that's another article for another day. In short, Mac OS X differentiates itself because it's easy to use. The navigation board, called the Dock (similar to Windows' task bar), for example, includes large icons with popup menus that give choices for dealing with programs and files. There are a number of reasons why mainstream consumers will initially hold off from buying the product, and so the majority of sales will go to Apple faithful. For starters, the product won't come bundled with Apple computers until this summer, forcing consumers to buy it separately for $129. (For more on the hardware business, visit our InDepth area on the sector.)
Apple stated that over 350 Mac OS X-compatible applications have already been shipped, but it will take time for additional rollouts. A version of Microsoft Office is scheduled for release this fall, while Adobe (Nasdaq: ADBE), Macromedia (Nasdaq: MACR), and Corel (Nasdaq: CORL) have stated their intent to roll out products as well. It's worth pointing out that many applications can run on Mac OS X's Classic environment -- using the current version of OS 9 within OS X -- but are unable to take advantage of many of the new features. For the meantime, much of the Apple faithful will probably upgrade to the new product, but long-term success depends on its ability to attract first-time users. Slowing PC growth and difficult economic conditions won't make those efforts easy, but positive feedback about Mac OS X will help lure new buyers to the platform. Innovative products have long been Apple's competitive differentiator, and its most recent release is no different. Whether or not that's enough to make the product a widespread success remains to be seen. Mike Trigg is considering buying OS X. His holdings can be viewed in his personal profile. The Motley Fool is investors writing for investors.
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