Fake Steve does an analysis of Why Dell will not bounce back. Funny, self indulgent piece, but loaded with the ring of truth. From FSJ:

Bottom line is this: the only innovations worth making are the ones involving product ideas and product design. I mean, Duh. Right? It’s pretty obvious. What’s amazing to me is how few companies actually seem to realize it. To sustain an edge in any market you must make better products than your competitors, consistently, over and over and over again. Just making the same products as everyone else but taking a little friction out of the system can give you an advantage, but only a temporary one.

Old rules and Mac myths busted by Macworld in a ‘feel good about Mac’ piece. Good list to show your friends when they go shopping for a Mac.

For years, we have unquestioningly followed numerous unwritten rules when buying a Mac. Like many customs, these rules were once based on a foundation of facts and reason. But in the past few years, many longstanding Mac truths have been upended. All Macs run on multiple-core Intel processors now. iMacs are no longer hobbled by crippling feature limitations. In other words, the old rules no longer apply.

Duh. So, which Mac should you buy? It depends.

Which Mac should you buy? That’s an awfully personal question, and it depends entirely on who you are.

Uh, check. Good overview of the Mac line vs. user needs.

Guess what? Microsoft should offer free advertising to defeat Google. A ridiculously broken premise from Jason Kelly.

When we look at Microsoft history, what is it that has consistently put it on top? Innovation? No. Most of its products are obvious knock-offs not as well-done as the original. Customer loyalty? No. Almost everybody hates the company, but it’s hard to get a day of work done without using one of its products. Computer users are loyal to Microsoft the way North Koreans are loyal to Kim Jong Il. What choice do they have?

Microsoft’s success came not by copying market leaders and offering a lower priced product, but by illegal tactics to lock in customers to mediocre products. On a level playing field, Microsoft loses again and again. They’re losing now. Again.

In another attempt to prove that AOL is not a four letter word, Desktop for Mac arrives. Full of IM, browser, tabs, email, and ready for Tiger and Leopard users. Are they ready for AOL?

AOL Desktop for Mac — the new all-in-one application — was built from the ground up for Mac users, by Mac users. It puts your Web browser, instant messaging, email and other popular features all in one place for you, so you can get more done with fewer clicks.

My Mac’s Dock does that. Please don’t tell me that you still use AOL. Please. Ms. Bambi on AOL Desktop for Mac.

As Kermit the Frog said, “Time’s fun when you’re having flies.” Time flies, too. The iMac is 10 years old. ArsTechnica does a mini-multi-model review from Bondi Blue to Sunflower to today’s iMac:

Steve Jobs on the original iMac:

The back of this thing looks better than the front of the other guys.

My, how things change. Anybody remember when 233MHz was screaming fast (32 megs RAM, 4 gigabyte hard drive)? Macworld’s first look at the iMac 10 years ago.

Not Mac news but a fun read: Technopundit Rob Enderle on Apple’s Steve Jobs and Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer (writing from a convention with 5,000 of his closest friends in Las Vegas).

On Jobs:

Jobs is like a master craftsman. The first things he did when he took over at Apple were get rid of the bozos (underperformers), massively simplify the company and its products, and force tightly integrated products that approach—and sometimes surpass—amazing.

On Ballmer:

Ballmer is a master salesman. One of the first things he did when he took over at Microsoft was meet with his top people and realign the company against distinct customer groups. To Ballmer, the customer is the IT Buyer for most of the company, someone else worries about the user, and excellence is defined by financial performance as defined by sales volume.

Enderle’s Epiphany:

Both companies could work (together) to hold off the bigger threat that Google represents and use each other’s strengths to overcome the other’s weaknesses.

Somehow Google’s advertising and Android vaporware threaten Microsoft and Apple.

New report shows U.S. fell from 4th place to 15th last year in broadband deployment and adoption, a combination of price, speed, and availability. Among the report’s recommendations:

Enact more favorable tax policies to encourage investment in broadband networks, such as accelerated depreciation and exempting broadband services from federal, state, and local taxation.

It’s called incentive.