... a considerable in the education PC market, many schools were not pleased with the Apple's education sales team changes that took place back in 2000. Not only did Apple eliminate its contracted education sales team, it made far less direct contact with schools then previously. As a result, Apple's market share had shrunk, giving competitors like Dell and Gateway opportunities to increase their presence. Degree of differentiation is another factor that needs to be considered when analyzing Apple Computer, Inc. This is the area which gave Apple a significant advantage over competitors in the 80s early 90s. Since both hardware and software architecture from Apple is proprietary, the company was able to differentiate its product mix from IBM compatible machines like Dell, Compaq, and Gateway. Apple, as a result, was able to have less direct rivalry. Threat of Substitutes Generally, the threat of substitution exists when the price change of a ...

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