[SomethingWicked]

First off, let me qualify myself; ever since I started buying computers (for 17 years), the only computer I have ever bought was a Macintosh. My first "Mac" was purchased with a Discover card at Sears, during the time Steve Jobs was exiled. When he returned to Apple, he killed the contracts with third party distributors/manufacturers, which I thought was a mistake, since Sears' low-priced version of Macintosh actually allowed me physical and financial access to Apple. So I dearly believe in third party distribution.

Secondly, I have a problem with Wal-Mart as an institution. They remind me of the 'company stores' owned by the coal industries of the early 1900's; they are usually the biggest employers in their area, monopolizing the local economy, they pay their employees so low that the employees have to buy Wal-Mart products just to provide for their families because local retailers have either been run out of business or the remaining small retailers can't match the gigantic discounts that Wal-Mart squeezes out of their Chinese wholesalers. That's what I mean when I say that Wal-Mart shoppers are CHEAP. They just want to get their products as cheap as possible, never mind how many local retailers Wal-Mart put out of business to get there.

As for Apple's "strategy", unless the price of a Macintosh is drastically cut to match the performance-per-dollar of their rival Dell and HP, Apple will never will make it at Wal-Mart. It's no myth, an Apple laptop or desktop IS more expensive than Dell. Do you think Microsoft got to be as big as they are because their have superior marketing skills? It's because they are installed on CHEAPER computers. Wal-Mart shoppers are conditioned to compare benefits to price, such as how many GB of this, and how much RAM on that, and Apple comes up short when you shop like that. Apple's advantage is their user-friendly experience, their bullet-proof reliability, their virus-free environment, how well their software integrates. You can't compare-shop that. You are the exception to the rule because you appreciate Apple's value. Most people don't and never will. Just like most people don't appreciate the difference between a BMW and a Cadillac.

If it's a distribution issue, then Apple's website is their best storefront. If price isn't the issue, the world-wide-web makes Wal-Mart obsolete. I'd much rather shop at my desk than to fight the tired, hungry masses in the parking lot of your average Wal-Mart Supercenter anyday.

BTW, the "tablet thing" will not be cheap. As long as Steve Jobs draws a breath, Apple will never sell anything cheap.

[whadefu]

just a couple of points in answer to your reply...

if you think that microsoft is so rich just because their operating system is on cheaper computers you are simplifying things enormously, I seen the rise of ms from the beginning and there were lots of reasons why ms succeeded including the idiocy of IBM...

I also did not say the 'tablet' was going to be cheap, I said it would be cheaper, big difference in the meaning there...

I have used exclusively macs since 1984, 25 years, all my kids use macs, I have 8 of them and they all know why they use them !

I defintiely agree that walmart is a raper of family businesses but that is just the way things are, you could say the same about publix,winn-dixie et al, walmart is not the best retailer around but they have created an empire and I am sure not everyone goes there just for the price, again, that is simplifying things. If you are going to buy product and services just by the morals of the companies then there would be very few places to buy product from.

I also do not agree about steve jobs stopping licencing, he did what he thought was best for apple and he has been shown to be spot on.

[macmutt]

Well, everything else aside, if Apple truly wanted to put Microsoft down for the count, all they'd really need to do is market a version of the Mac OS compatible with PC's. Given the choice between Leopard
and Vista...it's a no brainer.

[macmutt]

I remember how things were before Walmart, formerly known as Magic Mart, came on the scene. I remember those snobby, stuck-up people that had their little family owned businesses who thought they were better than everyone else because they charged so much for stuff they could afford to drive BMW's and Cadillacs. Walmart did to them what they were doing to us, so I haven't the least bit of pity for them. I shop at Walmart for just about everything but computers. Only a fool, or one of those previously mentioned small town crooks would go to department stores in these times. I will applaud the move, if it comes. It would be great to be able to drive a few miles to get my new Mac rather than nearly eighty miles to the nearest Apple authorized dealer.

[SheLivesRed]

It's no wonder Mac users are thought of as insufferable snobs. There are all kinds of people who shop at Walmart, and they're aren't all CHEAP. I refuse to pay $15 for laundry detergent when i can get the same thing for $2-$3 cheaper at Walmart, it's just not smart. And if you paid any real attention, youd see the vast majority of products on the market are made in china or some other low-wage country. It's not just Walmart. But like typical sheep being led astray, someone says it, and you all beleive it. But that's fine, the fewer people like you shopping at Walmart, the better it is for those of us who are actually capable of making smart buying decisions. The more money i save on my everyday household bills, the more money i'll have to shop the Mac section at Walmart, if/when it comes.

[SomethingWicked]

whatdefu,
No, you can't say that Publix, Winn-Dixie, etc. is on par with Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is not just the world's largest retailer. It's the world's largest company--bigger than ExxonMobil, General Motors, and General Electric. The scale can be hard to absorb. Wal-Mart sold $244.5 billion worth of goods last year. It sells in three months what number-two retailer Home Depot sells in a year. And in its own category of general merchandise and groceries, Wal-Mart no longer has any real rivals. It does more business than Target, Sears, Kmart, J.C. Penney, Safeway, and Kroger combined. If you really want to know what the real cost of low prices are, then go to http://wakeupwalmart.com/facts/ or fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html. And why buy your products from companies you admire? Companies that don't pillage your community and run your local retailers out of business? If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything.

[SomethingWicked]

SheLivesRed,
If your favorite place to shop is Wal-Mart, then you are the sheep. Now, if you have a family to feed, then you have no choice in America. Wal-Mart and their political allies have seen to that.

Let me summarize my point: When a corporation like Wal-Mart can come into a community, demolish it's economy by underselling everyone else, it wipes out competition, which is the hallmark of American free enterprise. Wal-Mart can then capitalize on their monopoly in that community by raising prices which eliminates any original benefits to the consumer.

The American Dream is not the ability to buy low priced wares at Wal-Mart, it's the opportunity to raise your standard of living by owning your own little company, like a gas station, restaurant, clothing store, sports store, etc. Wal-Mart is basically killing the American Dream for millions of Americans in thousands of towns and everytime you buy something from them, you increase the chances of losing your own job because the people you depend on can't afford to buy your products or services. I don't know what you do for a living, but I can guess from your defensive anger that it's not something that Wal-Mart peddles (yet).

[macmutt]

Funny, our little town has benefited from having a Walmart. Not only did it drive out all the snobby, "We're better than you" types, it paved the way for a whole host of other businesses that bloomed up right beside it. I guess if you were from one of those "Family Owned" monopolies, you know, the ONLY store in town before Walmart moved in, then I guess it would make you mad that your greedy butt couldn't get that new BMW for your birthday. Besides, the only reason people are so uppity about Walmart is because it was founded by an Arky and that knowledge is eating you alive! That's right. Arkansas: Ground Zero for real commerce. Too bad the rest of the world's companies can't function as well as Walmart.