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Unraveling Tech Myths

Market Share Myth: Nailed!
A look at the slippery aspect of numbers, proof that a quality share of the market can be better than a larger market share, and how the definition of a market is critically important in evaluating market share numbers.

The Apple Market Share Myth
According to proponents of this myth, a vendor's market share numbers speak for themselves as a critically important factor in selecting a technology product or platform. They're wrong, here's why.

New Media and Free Market Choice
Five examples that prove that intellectual property, while offering some new challenges, still obeys the same market laws of supply and demand. Along the way, I'll also prove why the market has rejected digital media rentals.

The Online Music and Movie Rental Myth
According to proponents of this myth, the real road to obscene profits in movies, music, software, and other digital media lies with online subscription rentals, not direct sales. They're wrong, here's why.

The Microsoft iPod-Killer Myth
According to proponents of this myth, Microsoft is out to kill Apple's iPod with a player they will design and build on their own. Once it arrives, they expect Microsoft to clean up not only the music player market, but also online music sales, leaving Apple on the sidelines. They're wrong, here's why.

The Microsoft Invincibility Myth
According to proponents of this myth, Microsoft's expertise in building software platforms ensures that everything that Microsoft does will turn to gold. This supposed invincibility is used to prove how Microsoft will eventually dominate all new markets, from online music stores to the iPod, and how advances by Linux and Apple's Mac OS X will never make any significant impact on PC desktops. They're wrong, here's why.

The iPod Phone Myth
According to proponents of this myth, Apple's success with the iPod is about to be crushed by an onslaught of music playing cell phones, so Apple needs to desperately come up with an iPod + cell phone combination of their own to remain relevant. They're wrong, here's why.

The Apple Video Game Development Myth
According to proponents of this myth, Apple's recent recruiting for video game developers means that the company is planning a big new push into video games for the Mac, the iPod, and possibly a brand new gaming console from Apple. They're wrong, here's why.

The 'Mac OS X Closed by Pirates' Myth
According to the proponents of this myth, Apple has abandoned their open source initiatives as they move to Intel, because they are afraid that, armed with the Darwin source code, pirate 3lit3 haxx0rs will p0wn them and have Mac OS X running on generic PCs. They're wrong, here's why.

Unraveling The PowerPC Obsolescence Myth
According to proponents of this myth, Apple and third party developers will soon stop making software that runs on PowerPC Macs; even Leopard, the next release of Mac OS X, will be Intel only! They're wrong, here's why.

Unraveling The Mac OS X Linux Kernel Myth: Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
According to proponents of this myth, Apple will, could, or should shortly replace Mac OS X's kernel with Linux. They're wrong; here's why.

Unraveling The Copy/Paste Development Myth
According to proponents of this myth, complex software development is a something like making funny madlibs from refrigerator magnets. Pick out features, line them up appropriately, and voila: an operating system! They're wrong, here's why.

Unraveling the Mac OS X Microkernel Myth
According to proponents of this myth, Mac OS X is in grave danger because it has a microkernel and Linux doesn't. They're wrong; here's why.

Unraveling the Utopian System that Runs All Software Imaginable Myth
The Utopian System that Runs All Software Imaginable Myth speaks of a hardware or software solution that... does it all. It seems like such a great idea, but is it?

Unraveling the Office for Mac Withdrawal Myth
According to proponents of this myth, Microsoft is poised to drop Office for Mac, resulting in immediate devastation for the Mac platform. They're wrong; here's why.

Unraveling the Red Box Myth
According to proponents of the Red Box Myth, Mac OS X will supposedly soon run Windows software natively, perhaps as soon as Leopard 10.5. They're wrong; here's why.

Where is the iPod Killer?
Pundits have been busy trying to find an iPod Killer. Suspects have included Microsoft's WMP, Sony's onslaught of reanimated Walkmen, the cheapskate Yahoo, and an aging Napster cat, now on extended life support. This month, it was music executive Edgar Bronfman Jr.

Part 1 - Where is the iPod Killer?
Part 2 - The Killer Pianata
Part 3 - Edgar Bronfman Jr. is a big fat idiot

Are PowerPC Macs Obsolete?
The comfortable Mac ecosystem seemed completely turned upside down when Apple announced the Intel transition. All of a sudden, it was not obvious how long the newest models would remain useful.

Why Apple won't suffer the Osborne Effect
Tech columnists love to rehash old stories and suggest the future will play out just like a vaguely similar event from the past. But as old stories are retold, they become celebrated legends that eventually grossly distort what actually happened.