[Sigia-l] If microsoft had designed the Ipod packaging

[Listera]

Adam Carter:

> I have no doubt that Microsoft have dreams of getting the same crowd as
> Apple does. 

Thanks for the agreement.

> The digital music user group is a HUGE demographic. Huge
> enough to support two (or more) different sub-markets.

You seem to have your own graduated phyla here:

Crowd
    Demographic
        Huge
            Digital music user group
                Sub-market
 
> ... to assume that advertising goal is to be equally
> successfully across the board is IMO ignorant.

Your opinion seems to clash with the reality of Microsoft not segregating
the market into such bizarre segments. What's publicly known seems to
indicate that Microsoft wants its DRM and various media formats adopted by
the majority of the market, above anything else. Any cursory knowledge of
how Microsoft operates would include the historical evidence that it doesn't
play for niche subsectors, but for standards in large markets.
 
> A quick look at history shows that Apple stayed alive because of their
> focus on the art/designer centric section of the technical market.

Don't know what "technical" market you might be referring to, but Apple came
under huge pressure a few years back at the early years of OS X for
precisely the opposite: abandoning/neglecting designers, musicians,
publishers, etc., for decisions made on various aspects of OS development,
from font management to audio subsystems, etc, as well as marketing focus.

> Apple appears to be remaining true to their heritage.

Where as the numbers would indicate Apple's new customers in the Jobs era
came mainly from the broader consumer market and what saved it is in fact
the iPod which has a broad appeal, at 3/4 of its *entire* market.

----
Ziya

"Innovate as a last resort."