[mythtv-users] AppleTV with Linux

[Josh White]

If you're talking about the incremental cost of making the AppleTV version
of OS X, then fine.  But there was a mini mentioned above, and that has
full-blown OS X on it, and apple has spent billions developing OS X over the
past decade or so.

So if anything, I'm getting confused comparing Apples to Apples.  :)

And you are right, windows is a fixed cost for acer, while OS X is a
variable cost for Apple.

On Feb 11, 2008 2:38 PM, Kisner, Thomas <tkisner at necunified.com> wrote:

>
> >> $100 for windows/$100 for Mac OS X....I don't think that explains it.
>
> >In the case of OSX it is Apple paying itself, with a PC it is Microsoft
>
> >charging a manufacturer.
> >
> >A very different set of circumstances.
> >
> >Dare I say it, you are comparing apples and rotten tomatoes.
>
> I don't want to argue about this but...but it's sorta fixed cost verses
> a variable cost issue.
>
> I don't know what Microsoft is charging Acer for an OEM copy of Windows,
> but it's something to the bottom line of every box that they must add on
> to the price.  Apple has R&D into OSX, but how much spread across how
> ever many units they ship?
>
> I think the applicable cost here is the money they spent stripping down
> OSX (something they already own) and customizing it for AppleTV.  It may
> be a small team of people, or maybe one guy?  Let go on the very high
> end and say they have spent $1 million dollars on salaries for a team
> that did nothing but customize OSX for AppleTV.  So, if they sell 1
> million of them, the fixed cost per unit is 1 dollar.  If they sell 2
> million of them it's .50 per unit.  They just need to have enough margin
> in each one they sell to cover the cost plus some profit.
>
> Compare that to Acer.  Lets say they got a sweet deal from Microsoft and
> they are only paying $50 per copy of Windows.  That's $50 variable they
> have to add on to every box just to break even.  You add a little bit of
> margin to that...
>
> Hardware in the Acer box is probably more expensive, but much of the
> $100 cost difference has got to be directly attributable to Windows,
> which is why I made that comment.
>
>
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