The Buying Decisions of ‘Consumers’ on the Use of Microsoft

The Buying Decisions of Consumers On the Use of Microsoft or apple Products Submitted By SANUSI SANI BUHARI Student no(prenominal) 200922R7018 The Dissertation has been submitted to the Skyline University College In partial fulfilment of the Degree Bachelor of Business Administration (International Business) December-2012 Acknowledgement The writing of this dissertation has been peerless of the most signifi potfult schoolman ch completelyenges I amaze ever had to face. Without the support, constancy and guidance of the follo progressg plenty, this study would not feature been completed.It is to them that I owe my deepest gratitude. * Dr. Rashad Mohammed Al Saed, who under withalk to act as my supervisor despite his m whatever new(prenominal) academic and professional commitments. His wisdom, knowledge and commitment to the highest standards inspired and motivated me. * My friends and whoever directly or indirectly helped me to during the course of the dissertation. * The auth ors of the various books and web poses as well as the facilities and university program library that helped me gain various information for this dissertation. AbstractThis look into paper describes the sullying finales of consumers, as to whether they prefer Microsoft or apple yields. People have distinct choice concord to pick outs. Business organizations and telecommunication sectors judge product on usability. Data analysis suggests many principal(prenominal) elements impact the buying decision of an one-on-one or any specific conjunction. Data analysis also suggests Microsoft and apple continue to push the envelope when it comes to developing bundle and hardw are. The main objective of this research is- which product do people prefer?To find answers to the research apparent movements of this research, data analysis and descriptive study has been used, because it involves observing and describing the behavior of a subject without influencing it in any way. This regularity is used to obtain a normal all(prenominal)whereview of the subject, and answers who, what, and why of the study. The both giants pride themselves for producing cutting edge consumer and business products, and are leading the developments in package and hardware. scarce what around their websites how do they both compare, and to a greater extent important, which one is fail and more than than usable?This study will help reader to find in all this answer. Chapter No. Particulars Pg No. 1 Introduction * Aims of Independent Study * Objectives 6-7 2 Literature Review 8-29 3 interrogation Methodology 30-32 * explore Design 31 * Research Approach 31 * Research Instrument 32 * Sampling Design 32 4 Data Analysis 33-37 5 Conclusion 38-40 Bibliography 41-42 appendixes 43-46 Aims of the Study engineering science has slowly started to rule our lives. No matter where we are, we have entry to some sort of technological appliance much(prenominal) as cell reve rberates, computers or televisions.Anything one could think of that might, in even the slightest way, make our lives easier is now available. So many different types of devices have been conceived and developed that is has become a complicated and confusing decision when trying to choose the even off product. Computers and former(a) forms of technology impact our lives daily. We encounter computers in stores, restaurants, and other retail establishments. We use computers and the Inter engagement regularly to obtain information, make out online entertainment, buy product and services as well as communicating with others. closely of us carry a computer or a mobile phone with us at all times so we can remain in touch with others on a continual basis and can access internet information by the touch of a thatton. Businesses use computers to keep track of bank transactions, inventories, sales, credit card purchases and also provide business executives up to date information to make im portant decisions. G everyplacenments use computers to support our nations defense remains, for space exploration, for storing and organizing vital information of citizens, and other important tasks. Computers are used everywhere, and is a vital tool in ones life.When you acidify to your computer, its nice to think youre in gibe. Theres the trusty computer mouse, which you can move anywhere on the screen, summoning up your music library or the internet web browser by one click. Although its easy to feel ilk the director in front of your own desktop or laptop, on that points a lot going on in side, and the real man behind all these operations is the Operating clay. The conclude of an operating arranging is to organize and control hardware and software so that the device it lives in behaves in a flexible honest when predictable way.Most desktop or laptop PCs come pre-loaded with Microsoft Windows. macintosh computers come pre-loaded with mack OS X. The operating system (O S) is the first thing loaded onto the computer. Without the operating system, a computer is useless. When it comes to computer technology, the two biggest giants are Microsoft and orchard apple tree. Microsoft and apple are by and tremendous the biggest producers in cutting edge consumer and business products. Between the two companies, they continue to push the envelope when it comes to developing software and hardware.Question is, which do people prefer? Prior to this, Ive decided to base my study on The buying decisions of consumers, as to whether they prefer Microsoft or apple products Research Objectives Research Objectives ascertains specific points that may aid in gathering information related to the main objective. The purpose of this research will be * To know the factors that impact the buying decisions of customers * To determine the products and services provided to customers Literature ReviewAs stated by (Allan 2001), Microsoft Corporation is an American public m ultinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing by its various product divisions. While jointly developing a new Operating System (OS), working alongside IBM, Microsoft released Microsoft Windows. On February 26th 1986, moved its headquarters to Redmond, and decided to make the company go public.Microsoft worked closely with orchard apple tree during the development of apples macintoshintosh computer, which was introduced in 1984. Revolutionary in its design, the Mac have a graphical user interface based on icons rather than the typed commands used by the IBM PC, making its programs artless to use and easy to learn, even by computer novices. ( Iceboat, Daniel, and Susan L. Knepper 1991 p. 304) orchard apple tree INC was established on April 1, 1976 in Cupertino, California, and in corporeald January 3, 1977 the company was previously n amed apple Computer, Inc. for its first 30 years, except removed the word Computer on January 9, 2007, to reflect the companys ongoing expansion into the consumer electronics market in addition to its traditional focus on personalized computers. (Price 1987) On August 15, 1998, Apple introduced a new all-in-one computer important of the Macintosh 128K the iMac. The iMac design team was led by Jonathan Ive, who would later design the iPod and the iPhone. The iMac featured modern technology and a unique design. It sold close to 800,000 units in its first five months.Through this period, Apple purchased several companies to create a portfolio of professional and consumer-oriented digital production software. On May 19, 2001, Apple opened the first official Apple Retail Stores in Virginia and California. Later on July 9 they bought Spruce Technologies, a DVD authoring company. The same year, Apple introduced the iPod portable digital audio player. The product was phenomenally success ful all over 100 million units were sold within sixsome years. In 2003, Apples iTunes Store was introduced, offering online music downloads for $0. 99 a song and combination with the iPod.The service right away became the market leader in online music services, with over 5 trillion downloads by June 19, 2008. It can understandably be said that when it comes to computer technology, the two biggest names are Microsoft and Apple. (Suhail 2009) It success has become so immense that a customers choice can either be one of the two. opposite competitors are too far off, solely what do these two giants give in return to society? To most people, Microsoft re endues computing. Those with a dynamic interest in technology usually believe that Microsoft Windows is the computer.This kind of print association you wont see in other companies, which makes it a very powerful source in the world of technology. Apple computers have braggy very popular in the locomote a few(prenominal) years, an d its simplicity and user-friendly attributes is what keeps customers captivated. Historically, Microsoft began the personal computer revolution with their Windows Operating System, which offered people a different computer programme for their computer deficiencys. Apple also introduced, with their own line of Macintosh computers and devices, though it did have it ups and downs.Microsoft followed a general policy by marketing their computers with non- hurty hardware and software parts which allowed every house to have a PC (personal computer). People can afford their computers with no restrictions on the type of hardware. Apple had a different mind frame whereby they went for exclusivity and decided to sell their products at a much higher(prenominal) price than Microsoft PCs. Its elite hardware and software is what makes it more expensive. (Admin 2010) Although where Apple has the upper hand over Microsoft is related to security. Apple Mac computers are generally more secure beca use of its OSX operating system. Suhail 2009) It has more protection built in against malware and viruses. use of unafraids and servicesers want to feel comfortable and safe, knowing that the product they are purchasing is protected against threat at all times. Windows (operating system of Microsoft) is more prone to malware and viruses, and requires expensive protection software to make the PC more secure. Another advantage of Apple computers is they are more efficient when it comes to prowess acceleration and games. Microsoft has problems with that. If one would buy a Microsoft based PC, they would need to spend an additional amount to handle graphics of that scale.On the other hand, Microsoft is committed in making its products and services easier for everyone to use. The Windows operating system has many in-built accessibility features that are useful for individuals who have difficulty in typewriting, using the mouse, seeing or hearing difficulties. Microsoft also produces o ther computer hardwares such as Xbox, Zune, Xbox 360 and MSN TV. (MSJ 1986) Apple also offers a wide variety of products such as the iPhone, iPod, Apple TV and the newly introduced iPad. Factors affecting buying decision HomepageThe homepage is one of the most important pages of the whole site because its the first, and in many cases the only chance you sustain to impress the visitor large to keep them browsing. Youve got a few seconds to convince them that the site has enough value for them to keep using it, because if it doesnt, the visitors will leave. Apples approach to the homepage has been consistent end-to-end all the years that the site has been running. They use this page as a kind of advertising board that incessantly shows a big ad of their a la mode(p) product, followed by 3 other ads to another 3 products or news that is important at the moment.If youre not interested in any of the 4 suggested items, you can use the large seafaring bar at the top, which is split int o their core businesses Mac, iPod and iPhone, followed by a couple of other important links, such as the online store and support pages. The navigation bar also incorporates a search field. (Dmitry Fadeyev) One other thing to note is the neediness of content. Youre not distract by sidebars, notices or extra navigation items there are only a few items on the page, focusing your attention and making the decision of where to go next easier. Microsoft has a different approach to their homepage.Firstly, they feature a similar style of ad at the top, designed to be attention grabbing. These are large images, but only one out of 3 ads is shown at a time you have to hover over the other two to expand them. This focuses attention, but may potentially weaken the effectiveness of the two hidden ads since the visitor has to work to see them right at the top of the page is the navigation, together with search. be given All of the content of Microsoft is extremely monotonous, especially the L earn More box with a list of 8 links. The dry extraditeation gives the user less bonus to click around.Some Microsoft sites use better layout to direct the flow of attention, but they generally all suffer from the same illness too much content. When you present the user with too many choices, you make them work they have to think about what they want and they have to process more information. By reducing choice, Apple directs the users through a more carefully designed funnel, which generally delivers a better experience. (Dmitry Fadeyev) Navigation Apples website has a large navigation bar at the top, which remains there consistently whichever section of the site you go to.The options available show the main sections split by its lines of business as well as a couple of essentials, such as support and the store. The bar also integrates search and branding as the home button displays the Apple logo rather of a label. Any extra sub-navigation is located on individual site pages an d is placed within the context of that page, whether on a sidebar, or as a horizontal bar at the top. Microsoft has a similar navigation bar on the homepage, but that navigation bar is not consistent across the site. Actually, all of the sub-pages tend to use their own navigation bar, in style and in content.The homepage navigation thus acts as a site map to the rest of the Microsoft website sections. In a lot of the navigation bars, including the one on the homepage, Microsoft uses drop-down identity cards unlike Apple. They dont just use drop-down carte du jours they use huge drop-down menus. In some cases, the menu even has a scrollbar (in Firefox) Is this good or bad? In a recent Alertbox entry, Jakob Nielsen, a well known usability guru, has written that mega drop-down menus can work. They work because they present a lot of choices in groups, so they allow for easier scanning as you can jump to the group that you want and scan the items inside them.You have to get certain t hings right though, like the order of the groups and only mentioning distributively element once, for them to work well. In this case, it makes sense for Microsoft to go the route of the drop-down menus, but feel that they may have gone a little too far. For example, some options point to the same thing, like the Office drop down and Office option in the All Products drop down. The drop-down also blocks the content below, so if you accidentally moused over the menu, you have to mouse off from it again to get to the content below all the while being careful not to hover over other items.There are also a lot of options under each group sometimes showing about 13 items, which makes processing the options much more difficult. Also, the in consonance of navigation across the different sections makes it much harder to jump from one area of the site to another, e. g from the Office site to the Xbox site. (Dmitry Fadeyev) Readability Because most of the content on the sites is text, its vital to ensure that everything is readable and legible. Here are the main things to make out when working on readability of your sites content * Make the text large enough so that its easy to see and read. regard that there is enough contrast betwixt the text and background. * Provide enough white space around the text to keep other content and graphics from distracting the reader. * Provide plenty of headings or highlighted/bold text to allow users to quickly scan the content for key information. * Add images and icons to make it easier to focus on individual sections of the text, i. e. product or feature descriptions. * Keep the text short and to the point. Apple does a great job of keeping everything easy to read.The text is generally small, but never too small so as to be a problem. Headings are set in heavier type and stand out, allowing you to quickly get the total of each section. Apple also makes heavy use of white space to separate everything apart and adds images to m ake each text blurb more interesting. It follows the general usability guidelines by breaking things down into small bite size pieces of text that are easy to digest. It looks a lot busier than the Apple site because there is more content on one page and there are many different treatments for headings and highlighted words. Dmitry Fadeyev) Too much variety causes visual chaos on the page, with each different colored or bold item competing for your attention. In this case, the page sincerely needs to be simplified to make it easier for the viewer to process. Search Apples search is integrated into the navigation bar. When you type something in the search box you actually get live search results with AJAX, by way of a little box which pops up, showing you the results as you type. Its very well done there is no lag when typing, the results are grouped in categories and are fetched very quickly, usually before you finish typing your full query.If you want to see more results you can just hit Enter when youve finished typing and youll be taken to the standard search results page. Its very clean and organized by categories. You can drill the results further down by category, selectable from the menu on the right. Its functional and clean, and works well when youre trying to find any products that they sell. Aesthetics Apples website aesthetics closely mirrors that of its product line. The navigation bar looks like its crafted out of aluminium and features gentle gradients and indented text. There are also plenty of reflections and minimalist design elements.Apple has always worked on unifying the look and feel of its interface across its immaculate product line, from the hardware to software, and their website is no exception. Do aesthetics have anything to do with usability? Actually, they do. Research shows that people perceive better looking at interfaces as more usable. The site follows a faint Windows theme with the light blue clouds, but there is little e lse to avow that this is a page for Internet Explorer or Windows. The look and feel is very generic and doesnt do enough to differentiate itself or skeleton a coherent brand.The designs are boilersuit pretty good, but pretty good just isnt enough. There are plenty of inconsistencies and a lack of polish, which puts Apple ahead in this area. Consistency Consistency is important because it allows you to develop usage patterns. This basically means that if your site has a consistent interface throughout, your visitors will quickly learn how it works and will be able to use this knowledge in any of the new pages that they visit, since theyll all be using the same, or very similar, interface. Apple does a great job of keeping the interface consistent.All of the product pages feature very similar aesthetics and are structured in the same way. The whole site looks and feels the same throughout and the global navigation bar at the top is always there, on every page. This means that the en tire experience is very unified and coherent you know youre on the same website wherever you go. Could you tell that this is a Microsoft page if you took away their logo? Custom graphics, styles and colour palettes across all the Microsoft sections help little to keep a coherent brand image on the web. Microsoft really struggles here.There are many different sections across Microsoft. com and they all feature their own look and feel, including their own navigation. So once you go to a section on their site, be it the Microsoft store, the Office site, or the Security pages, they will all look and feel like separate websites. Whats worse, the global navigation bar is also gone, meaning that you have to go back to the homepage, or the site map, to see an overview of all of their sites. Its really an ecosystem of websites hosted under the same domain and therefore it doesnt get the benefit of consistency that Apple has.The brand image is also terribly fragmented making it impossible t o define what a Microsoft site looks like. (Dmitry Fadeyev) Marketing Nobody will suggest that Apple is the kind of viral marketing. You might find some PC ads/commercials on local magazines and newspapers, but you will not find great Mac vs PC / Get a Mac / Buy a Mac / Hello, I am a Mac, and I am a PC commercials like Apple produces. Security When it comes to Mac vs. PC security concerns, many experts think that Windows has caught up with Apple.Before Microsoft Windows 7, we have all heard that Windows operating system is a calculateed curriculum for malicious attacks. Of course it is true, but the question is. Does the operating system has the right tools to defend itself? With Mac computers, you wont need to worry about viruses as you do in Windows operating system. The real problem is not only about viruses, but about security breaches that allow hackers to penetrate into your computer, and steal your valuable art works, photographs and important (and sometimes secret) media assets.It was proven that both Windows 7 and Mac OS X Snow Leopard have their own glitches. DailyTech. com posted an article, reflexion that one prominent Mac hacker has pointed out that Mac OS X Snow Leopard is less secured than Microsoft Windows 7 OS. Well, if a Celeb hacker says so, we should probably take it pretty seriously. So it seems, at least when making a business decision, that you shouldnt pick a Macintosh over a PC, just because people are telling you that Macintosh doesnt have viruses, or they are more secure. Apple OS X Snow Leopard is based on the UNIX core.That fact alone doesnt make it more secure than Windows 7 as you can see. We just couldnt ignore the fact that viruses are real pain in the axe. As a power PC user, with all those pop-out windows saying You have been infected with a Virus I would probably be very happy knowing that I can work quietly, without worrying about viruses and all that crux horrors that the Internet brings with it. You just cant blame W indows operating system for being more popular. Financial Analysis Its important to step back and audition just how close each of these companies really are in terms of revenue and earnings.Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect Apple to report approximately $2. 85 cardinal in net income ($3. 07 in EPS) on about $14. 62 billion in revenue when it releases its results. Yet, its well known that Apple regularly beats consensus estimates by quite a large margin and that actual results will come in well preceding(prenominal) the consensus. Just last quarter, Apple not only beat revenue estimates by over $1 billion, but it annihilated EPS estimates by reporting $0. 88 above the $2. 45 consensus a 36% beat.In fact, Apple has regularly beaten consensus estimates by well over 35% each quarter over the previous(prenominal) year. (Andy M. Zaky) Financial Alchemists Turley Muller, who is currently the most accurate psychoanalyst on Apple, offers a more realistic view of the company. Mul ler believes that Apple will report about $3. 1 billion in net income on ($3. 35 in EPS) on $15. 15 billion in revenue. And while I think Muller has left some room for upside surprise, its understandably best to use his numbers rather than the consensus as a measure of comparison. Microsoft, on the other hand, is expected to earn $4. billion in net income ($0. 46 in EPS) on $15. 26 billion in revenue when it releases its results just a hair above Mullers revenue estimates for Apple. And while Microsoft regularly reports upside surprises itself, the opening between consensus estimates and Microsofts actual results is nowhere near as wide as it is with Apples results. Thus, if Apple reports at the higher end of Mullers estimates, and if Microsoft reports closer to the consensus, its quite possible that Apple might have a shot to beat Microsoft in revenue for the first time in its history this quarter.The chart (Appendix 2(A) details a every quarter revenue comparison of Apple and Mi crosoft over the past few years. As one can see from the chart, Apple is within striking distance of colossal Microsofts quarterly revenue. Since Microsoft and Apple are on a different fiscal year, the chart realigns their results based on the calendar year. (Andy M. Zaky) So the big story in tech earnings is whether history will be made in the decades-long battle between Apple and Microsoft, or whether Microsoft will postpone the inevitable and maintain its dominance over Apple for at least one more quarter.Even if Apple doesnt beat Microsoft in sales this quarter, it will almost certainly do so next quarter and by quite a large margin. For the September quarter, analysts expect Apple to generate approximately $16. 81 billion in revenue compared to a projected $15. 16 billion in revenue for Microsoft. So even conservative estimates, which have yet to be adjusted to neb for iPad sales, already put Apple ahead of Microsoft by nearly $1. 2 billion next quarter. My estimates put Appl e ahead by $3. 2 billion as I expect Apple to record nearly $18. 9 billion in revenue.Whats even more surprising is that Apple will probable far surpass Microsoft in revenue for the entire 2012 fiscal year (Appendix 2(B). Im looking for Apple to record $81. 6 billion in revenue, well above the $70 billion Im expecting out of Microsoft for the year. You can view my track record on Apple at Philip Elmer-DeWitts column Apple 2. 0. Even the analyst consensus puts Apple well ahead of Microsoft next year, with revenue estimates of $72. 6 billion (AAPL) versus $67 billion (MSFT). The chart below compares Apple and Microsofts annual fiscal revenue for the past several years.While quarterly data must be compared on the calendar year to show a side by side comparison over a particular 3-month period, yearly data can be analyzed on the fiscal year. And, what about other metrics? Net income growth, total net income, total net cash, cash flow, book value, total assets and the economic sensitivi ty of each companys primary operations are just a few of the other key factors to consider when comparing the two companies. While Apple will surpass Microsoft in revenue in the near future, that doesnt necessarily mean that Apple automatically deserves a larger market capitalization.But it does appear that Apple will not only record more revenue than Microsoft, it will also in conclusion (within the next few years) earn more in net income, generate a larger amount of cash, and outpace Microsoft in terms of growth in net income and revenue. The earnings beat wont come easy for Apple. Due to Microsofts extraordinarily high operating margin, the only way Apple will beat Microsoft in earnings is by simply outpacing it in sales. Since Microsoft pushes more of its revenue to the bottom line, Apple will have to significantly outpace Microsoft in revenue to win on the net income front.The chart below compares Apple and Microsofts net income for the last several fiscal years (Appendix 2(C ). Though these two companies no womb-to-tomb really operate in the same space as they once did with Apple turning its focus on the consumer and Microsoft on enterprise spending, both companies are tyrannical their respective industries. Update 7/20 As expected, Apple has once again crushed the consensus estimates on the top line, beating analyst revenue expectations by over well $1 billion when it reported $15. 7 billion in revenue Tuesday afternoon. In fact, Apple even surpassed my lofty expectations of $15. billion by $100 million in sales. Unless Microsoft far surpasses analyst expectations of $15. 24 billion in revenue, it appears that Apple has already won the race. Microsoft primarily makes its profits from business to business, which in the first place consists of selling licenses to its operating system to computer manufacturers and office suites for enterprises. Thats not to say that they dont sell to consumers they do, and they have consumer only product lines as well , such as the Xbox gaming console, and of course home users also buy Windows and Office.This means that their business targets pretty much everyone, from home computer owners to developers and enterprises which in turn stretches the purpose of their website to try and serve everyone. On the other hand, Apple is primarily a consumer company, and makes most of its profit selling hardware, like its iPod music players and Mac computers. This makes the target of Apples site much clearer marketing, selling and providing support for its products to consumers.They dont have to worry about selling licenses to manufacturers because theyre the only manufacturer, so the key purpose of the website would be to advertise and promote their multiple product lines, as well as selling them through their online store. (Andy M. Zaky) Cost Analysis Other factor that affects buying decision is cost. People have been arguing online about how much more expensive Macs are than PCs or not for more than a d ecade (and in print for years before that). These discussions usually involve some hard facts but also some persistent myths. As a longtime Windows guy who has recently migrated to the Mac, I think Im in a retty good position to try and sort out reality from fiction. Lets take a look at what you can really get for your money these days. Hardware For those of you who are left, what I have found in my research is that neither side has a lock on good value. If you start with Apples relatively short list of SKUs (three or four model variations for each of its lines, such as MacBook Pro, MacBook, and iMac) and thence look for comparable Windows machines, youll find that Apple bests the competition in some ways and not in others, but the pricing, overall, is surprisingly on par.Only a few years ago, it seemed like a no-brainer that Windows hardware was much cheaper. But if youre talking name-brand hardware, thats just no longer the case. On the other hand, if you search the Windows side f irst, youll quickly discover machines that in features and price fit in between the Mac SKUs. And in those niches, they represent very good values. So theres one answer to the question of whether Macs or Windows represent a better value If one of those in between PCs suits your needs best, youd be paying an unnecessary premium to get a Mac instead.Lets look at some hard numbers. I started my research with top-of-the-line notebook computers I spent an hour on Dells site trying to find the cheapest notebook that offered everything Apples $2,799 MacBook Pro 17 provides. That includes * Glossy 17-in. screen with 1,680-by-1,050-pixel resolution (optional 1,920-by-1,200 resolution for $100 more) * 2. 4-GHz Core 2 Duo processor * 2GB of RAM (upgradeable to 4GB) * 256MB Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT video * 160GB 5,400-rpm SATA hard stick * 8x SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVDRW/CD-RW) Gigabit Ethernet port * 54Mbps a/b/g/Draft n Wi-Fi * Bluetooth 2. 0+EDR, Express Card/34 card slot * Three USB ports * One FireWire 800 port * One FireWire 400 port * DVI port * Built-in insight video camera * One-year warranty (upgradeable to three years) I continued my comparisons with a visit to Circuit City last weekend to take a look at high-end 17-in. notebook PCs. Like Dell, Sony has one with every conceivable bell and whistle selling for more than $3,000 the Vaio VGN-AR390E, which goes for $3,150.Like all the other Windows models available at Circuit City, the processor is a 2GHz Core 2 Duo, slow-moving than the one in the MacBook Pro. On the other hand, the Vaio comes through with 1,920-by-1,200-pixel screen resolution, a 5,400 rpm 240GB hard drive, and a whopping 527MB of video memory. Like the Dell, though, at 8. 4 lb. , the Vaio makes the 6. 8 lb. MacBook Pro look like a lightweight. Moving downscale a little, both Hewlett-Packard and Toshiba have models in the $2,000 range that approximate the MacBook Pros equipment.The HP marquise DV9260US comes with the Intel Core 2 Duo 2-GHz pr ocessor, a 240GB 5,400 rpm drive, Windows Vista Ultimate, and a 17-in. screen whose maximum resolution is only 1,440 by 900 pixels (a major drawback). Circuit Citys price is $2,000. Bottom line Assuming that you want a high-end notebook PC designed to work, play, and be your everyday machine with style, the MacBook Pro is a surprisingly good value. The models that I compared it with, the Sony and the Dell, had some extras here and there, but they were also more expensive.The key to the perception that Macs are more expensive is that Apple offers very few in-between models. A graph showing the market capitalization between Apple and Microsoft conducted by (T3 2009) shows that in the year 2000, Microsoft had a huge upper hand over Apple, and did so for a long period. It wasnt until March 2005 that Apple started to rise and actually started to have a competing chance. Research Methodology Research Design The research paper design conducted is a descriptive one because it involves obse rving and describing the behavior of a subject without influencing it in any way.This rule is used to obtain a general overview of the subject, and answers who, what, and why of the study. It is also useful where it is not possible to test and measure the large number of samples needed for more quantitative types of experimentation. They are a lot used by market researchers to judge the habits of customers, or by companies wishing to judge the morale of staff. The results from a descriptive research can in no way be used as a definite answer or to disapprove a hypothesis but, if the limitations are understood, they can hitherto be a useful tool in many areas of scientific research. JA Maxwell 2005) Research Approach As the research design is descriptive, the research approach would be a qualitative one. Qualitative research is a method of inquiry appropriated in many different academic disciplines, traditionally in the social sciences, but also in market research and further con texts. (Creswell 2003) A qualitative study indicates that no statistical tools will be applied within the research. Methods such as surveys, questionnaires and interviews can be done when dealing with a qualitative research approach. Research InstrumentResearchers have decided to carry out interviews to obtain the responses they need for study. (See Appendix 1 for interview questions) A set of questions will be asked to the interviewee, and their answers will be dealt accordingly. The interview questions will be structured as there are specific questions the researchers will ask the respondents. Qualitative nature of study contains independent variables along with various assumptions. Sampling Design A non-probability sampling technique will be used in this study. This method of sampling is non-random and subjective.Each respondent does not have a known nonzero chance of being included. A toilet facility sampling method will be applied. The researchers will choose freely those res pondents who are the most convenient. The researchers will interview people from I. T departments in areas of telecom Centers (mainly concentrating on consumers). Data Analysis Being a qualitative study, descriptive statistics would be used to produce data and evaluate results. The data that is generated, from the interview (See Appendix 1 for interview questions) technique will be analyzed qualitatively.This would be followed by physically reading the miscellaneous number of responses and then concluding to which company people prefer. A little less than a year ago, Wall Street reached a Microsoft vs. Apple milestone for the first time, Apples corporate value surpassed Microsofts. And Apples market cap (the total value of all of its contends) topped Microsofts even though the latter company had more revenue and double the profit margins. Clearly, Wall Street was looking at growth potential, not current income statements and balance sheets, in anointing Apple the more compelling b uy.What has happened since? With Apple due to report its latest quarterly earnings Microsoft reports its numbers next week we look at some recent numbers, as well as data over time. Market cap While total values for Microsoft and Apple were close last spring, thats no longer the case. Since May 26, 2011, when Apple first inched ahead of Microsoft, Apples market capitalization has risen from US$223 billion to more than US$306 billion (as of April 14). Microsofts, meanwhile, has slipped from US$219 billion to US$212 billion. Sharon Machlis) Bottom line Wall Street currently thinks more highly of Apples growth potential and overall prospects than it does of Microsofts. Investors were right last year, but only time can tell whether that outlook is still justified, given the companys high stock price. Market share Beyond Wall Street, how do the companies stack up in the battle for tech users? Microsoft maintained an overwhelming lead in the desktop operating system business, keeping a r oughly 92 percent share of the market from 2005 to 2009 (the last figures available from IDC).Mac OS Xs share has varied between just 3. 5 percent and 4. 0 percent. Apple took a significant lead in the Smartphone race, capturing 15. 7 percent of the worldwide market last year, compared with just 4. 2 percent for Microsoft. However, both Gartner and IDC predict Microsofts Windows Phone will beat out Apples iOS for mobile market share by 2015, with Gartner expecting a 19. 5 percent share for Microsoft and 17. 2 percent for Apple. In addition, Apple had a commanding 87. 4 percent share of the worldwide digs market last year, according to IDC.Gartner predicts Apple will keep a 69 percent share this year and will still have 47 percent by 2015. Windows doesnt show up in that forecast. Bottom line In one high-growth area, smartphones, several influential analysts believe Microsoft will eventually come out on top. In another, tablets, its getting crushed. However, Microsoft has maintained its enormous lead on the desktop. Investment value over time If you invested US$1,000 in each companys stock on Jan. 3, 2000, what would you have ended up with in April 2011?Accounting for stock splits and, in Microsofts case, dividends, but excluding taxes and brokers fees, you would have US$2,072 from Microsoft stock and US$13,294 from Apple stock. And if you had invested US$1,000 in each company on May 26 last year, your Apple stock would have been worth US$1,427 in mid-April, compared with US$1,033 for your Microsoft stock. Bottom line Apple has been by far the superior investment over the past decade. Revenue Microsofts fiscal year 2006 revenue was more than double Apples FY 06 revenue US$44. 3 billion to US$19. 3 billion. What has happened since?Apples revenues have more than tripled, while Microsofts have grown by less than 50 percent. Bottom line Apples fiscal year 2010 revenue edged Microsofts, US$65. 2 billion to US$62. 5 billion. (Note Microsofts fiscal year is July throu gh June, and Apples is October through September. ) Profits Microsofts profits were six times larger than Apples in their respective 2006 fiscal years. Apples net income has subsequently grown sevenfold, while Microsofts has increased roughly 50 percent. (Sharon Machlis) Bottom line While Microsoft still generates more profits than Apple, the chess opening has narrowed significantly.If current trends continued a big if Apple would likely top Microsofts profits in a couple of years. Number of employees Microsoft still employs substantially more people than Apple does, although the size of Microsofts workforce has dropped a bit, from 93,000 in 2009 to 89,000 in 2010. Apples reported headcount has been rising, with a significant jump from 34,300 in 2009 to 46,600 in 2010. Bottom line Apples revenue per employee at the end of its 2010 fiscal year was substantially higher than Microsofts US$1. 4 million versus US$702,000.Likewise, Apples profits per employee were US$300,429, compared with US$211,236 for Microsoft. So how do they stack up overall? Opinions aside, Apple has impressed investors much more than Microsoft has, despite the latters considerably larger size and continued dominance on the desktop. Apples recent ability to create category-changing (or category-creating) devices such as the iPhone and the iPad as it did with the iPod several years earlier appears to carry much more weight than Microsofts assured, still income stream from a maturing market.However, experts do expect Microsoft to overtake Apple in the Smartphone market. Bottom line Those of us who thought a year ago that Apple might be overvalued have been proven wrong so far. Conclusion Which Company do people prefer? After all the analysis it can be understood from this study that a lot of reason and authentic facts impact on specific company and buyers decision. There is always a continuous rivalry between the two companies, but the most important thing to consider before buying a compu ter is the purpose it will serve.Microsoft primarily makes its profits from business to business, which mainly consists of selling licenses to its operating system to computer manufacturers and office suites for enterprises. On the other hand, Apple is primarily a consumer company, and makes most of its profit selling hardware, like its iPod music players and Mac computers. This makes the target of Apples site much clearer marketing, selling and providing support for its products to consumers. (Andy M. Zaky) If youre looking at usability alone, Apple comes out ahead.They have a better designed homepage that offers less choice, which means the user needs to think less. They have consistent navigation across all of their pages. They use a lot of white space and sub-headings to make everything more readable, yet they keep things simple by not overusing too many different text treatments. The Apple site is generally more user friendly and offers a much better experience to consumers wh o use it to add out Apples latest products. Having said this, the Apple website is much smaller in scale than Microsofts site.Unlike Apple, Microsoft hosts many different sites and sections under the Microsoft. com brand, creating a whole ecosystem of sub-sites. Each site is packed with information and the live powered search that Microsoft offers tends to yield good results. The biggest problem for Microsoft is consistency. (Dmitry Fadeyev). In a nutshell, both companies need some area to improve to fit for customer wants, to give customers master product and to provide consistency in telecommunication originations. BIBLIOGRAPHY WEBSITES Suhail M (2009)-Apple vs Pc What is better?Available http//ezinearticles. com/? Apple-Vs-PCWhat-is-Better? &id=4337642 visited 25th September 2011 Admin (2010)-Why Do People Like Apple Computers So Much? Available http//www. asiaosc. org/why-do-people-like-apple-computers-so-much. html visited 3rd october 2012 Dmitry Fadeyev (2009)-Apple vs. Micro soft A website usability study. Available http//www. webdesignerdepot. com/2009/05/apple-vs-microsoft-a-website-usability-study/ visited twenty-eighth October 2012 Andy M. Zaky (2010)- Apple closes in on Microsoft revenue race. Available http//tech. fortune. cnn. om/2010/07/19/apple-closes-in-on-microsoft-in-revenue-race/ visited 28th October 2012 Sharon Machils (2011)- Analysis Apple versus Microsoft by the numbers. Available http//www. macworld. com. au/blogs/analysis-apple-versus-microsoft-by-the-numbers-28800/ visited 29th November 2012 Journals Thurrott P. (2005) Microsoft The inside account statement (Penton Media) Furgason N. (2009) (Feb) T3 Tomorows Technology Today (issue 48) ISSN-1364-2640 MSJ Microsoft System Journal Publisher Microsoft (1986) Books Allan Roy A. (2001) A History of The Personnel Computer Allan Publishing ISBN 0968910807 Iceboat, Daniel, and Susan L.Knepper, (1991) The Making of Microsoft How Bill Gates and His Team Created the Worlds Most Successful Software Company, Rocklin, Calif. Prima Publishing, p. 304 Price R. (1987). So Far The First Ten Years of a Vision. Apple Computer. ISBN-978-1-55693-974-7. Creswell J. W. (2003) Research design Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA Sage Publications. APPENDIX-1 Interview Questions The following questions will be asked by the interviewer to the respondent, which will aid study in finding out which of two companies most people prefer. Which company do you prefer, Microsoft or Apple? * Why do you prefer the company you have chosen? * What are the advantages and disadvantages of the company you have selected? * In your opinion, which company has a greater market share? * Which product do you widely use in your environment? * Have you ever set about major barriers in your company? Explain. * Who are your major competitors? * What advice would you give to weaker companies? How can they improve in order to attract customers, regain lost customers and r etain present customers? APPENDIX 2(A) APPENDIX 2(B) APPENDIX 2(C)