My take.
I have watched the threads here and elsewhere, and have seen the teasers on Apple's page; it's made me think a little bit about what it all means.
First, I don't necessarily think that Apple's teasers are aimed at the average consumer. Folks, Apple Legal monitors over 30 sites, especially sites like this one, making sure they don't "cross the line."
Surely they recognize the general feeling of die-hard Mac fans. I believe Steve Jobs understands the importance of underpromising and overdelivering instead of the other way around.
We heard a promise of "revolutionary" from Apple Netherlands. Apple says it's gonna be "big," that we'll be "blown away." It's not just a new LCD iMac, even one with a G4. It's not pushing Power Macs past 1 GHz (this isn't revolutionary, I mean, but I do think it'll happen). Personally, I sense one of two things:
1. Awesome updates across the product line, but highlighted by the new iMac. Mac users have been craving more raw power for a long time now, and Apple finally delivers across the board.
2. This is the one I'm scared of, frankly. I'm afraid that Steve's "vision" may produce a very cool product that fails to please us, even though he sees it as "revolutionary." Jobs seemed to think that iDVD was the best thing since sliced bread. Same with the Cube. Sure, they're both great products. But I wouldn't be blown away by another announcement of that magnitude; it would take something more.
I honestly don't think that any new product, no matter how great, could compensate for Apple not pushing up the Power Mac speeds and adding features like DDR memory, faster FireWire, and maybe even ATA-100 (yes, I know it can't be fully utilized yet). To me, this is a must. Anything else is icing on the cake. The more icing, the more I'll be blown away.
I'll end with this: Last week I spoke to a Mac dealer while I was out of town visiting family. He told me that a friend was informed of the educational price of some new Apple product: $1699. This puts it at about $1900-$2000 for the rest of us. I won't be so foolish to speculate on what it is; I don't even know the guy that told me this, so it could be a load of crap. But I'm sure the imaginations on the board here will run wild...
First, I don't necessarily think that Apple's teasers are aimed at the average consumer. Folks, Apple Legal monitors over 30 sites, especially sites like this one, making sure they don't "cross the line."
Surely they recognize the general feeling of die-hard Mac fans. I believe Steve Jobs understands the importance of underpromising and overdelivering instead of the other way around.
We heard a promise of "revolutionary" from Apple Netherlands. Apple says it's gonna be "big," that we'll be "blown away." It's not just a new LCD iMac, even one with a G4. It's not pushing Power Macs past 1 GHz (this isn't revolutionary, I mean, but I do think it'll happen). Personally, I sense one of two things:
1. Awesome updates across the product line, but highlighted by the new iMac. Mac users have been craving more raw power for a long time now, and Apple finally delivers across the board.
2. This is the one I'm scared of, frankly. I'm afraid that Steve's "vision" may produce a very cool product that fails to please us, even though he sees it as "revolutionary." Jobs seemed to think that iDVD was the best thing since sliced bread. Same with the Cube. Sure, they're both great products. But I wouldn't be blown away by another announcement of that magnitude; it would take something more.
I honestly don't think that any new product, no matter how great, could compensate for Apple not pushing up the Power Mac speeds and adding features like DDR memory, faster FireWire, and maybe even ATA-100 (yes, I know it can't be fully utilized yet). To me, this is a must. Anything else is icing on the cake. The more icing, the more I'll be blown away.
I'll end with this: Last week I spoke to a Mac dealer while I was out of town visiting family. He told me that a friend was informed of the educational price of some new Apple product: $1699. This puts it at about $1900-$2000 for the rest of us. I won't be so foolish to speculate on what it is; I don't even know the guy that told me this, so it could be a load of crap. But I'm sure the imaginations on the board here will run wild...
Comments
<strong>But I'm sure the imaginations on the board here will run wild...</strong><hr></blockquote>
Gee, ya think?
<strong>First, I don't necessarily think that Apple's teasers are aimed at the average consumer.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I would like to second that. Why? One question:
What kind of customers does Apple have?
<strong>
I would like to second that. Why? One question:
What kind of customers does Apple have?</strong><hr></blockquote>
Niche customers. Graphics, photographers, video freaks, science guys, etc. The ave person is everyone else who, I might add won't be surfing Apple's web site, who bought an iMac cause it was cute.
The ave person is up on surfing the computer maker's web site unless they plan to buy. I have to tell my parentsw every time, they need to download the latest update, because they don't know when it's out. Because they don't surf the Apple (general) web sites, much less apple.com. Only us, (we) and future customers would end up at Apple's website. If future customers, they wouldn't know what the hell the front page means. The front page does not say
"Apple will hold a convention featuring Apple products. We will be releasing some new hardware and software for our customers. Be sure to check out the show available on QuickTime (come back to this website and click on the QuickTime link and then click on the keynote link) and watch the unveiling of new Apple products. You may have been planning the purchase of an Apple product but hold off till next week because it's going to be a big show. Not just big, but big by our standards. You will be blown away by the new computers Apple will be releasing at this Apple convention next Monday.
Sorry, but that's what the front page should say if it's intended for the ave consumer. Because, they are ave after all (read: not mac addicts). The front page and hype is for those who love, follow and worship Apple.