The Borg has been going around making noise about the so-called “Apple tax” — ie the premium you pay for using a Mac instead of a Windows PC. Mac fanboys dispute the notion. My sense as a user is that there may indeed be an “Apple tax,” but who cares? My Macs and other Apple products may cost a little more but the difference is small enough that I don’t really notice it and certainly don’t mind it. I like OS X. I like using Macs. I’m glad to pay a little extra for that. I’m not sure Microsoft wins any arguments by pointing out that Macs cost more. If anything it only points out how much people aren’t liking Vista — they’re willing to pay a “tax” to get away from...
Learn MoreSee here. Kevin Johnson, a sales guy who rose to run the Borg’s Windows and Web operations, is de-borging and will become CEO of Juniper Networks. Johnson (above left, dancing like a halfwit with a fellow Borgtard at the Vista announcement) not only crafted the Yahoo merger strategery but he also oversaw Vistaster. Talk about a deadly twofer. At most companies either one of those things would be enough to get you canned. (Although at Sun either one would get you promoted. But I digress.) I mentioned Johnson in a recent Forbes article, citing him as an example of the kind of lackluster talent who will be running the company now that Gates is gone. Money quote: Smart guys. Great guys. But not a pack of wild-eyed visionaries operating at Internet speed. Take a look at that photo of Gates and his crew in 1978, looking like the Manson family. Those are the kind of crazies who change the world. Sure, Microsoft will participate in the Internet revolution, just as IBM played a role in the PC revolution. But IBM ultimately abandoned PCs and now chugs along on its mainframe franchise and services business. Not exciting, but not a bad business, either. I think Microsoft will play defense from here on...
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