Wwdc - Page 12

Couldn't agree more (except I have only been to SF once and would love to go there again). I keep thinking about trying to go but then realize that if I spent all that money on the trip, it would be harder to buy a new 970. Besides, I would have to keep my mouth shut so people didn't realize how ignorant I am about programming.

Isnt that a little late to begin a consumer marketing campaign? Its just after the holidays, and people are returning or exchanging gifts. Tax returns wont be in for at least a month for the really early fillers, and the "end of season" sales are capturing the attention of retailers. Honestly the timing of Apples January releases never made much sense to me, other than that is when the trade show is. But the trade show could be moved to another month or so, say the first week of March and August to cathch the back to school crowd with "hot off the press" news, and still have some momentum for the holiday buying season.

I've never understood this resistance to Apple's traditional January announcements. The holiday season doesn't need to be hyped, that's why they call it the holiday season. Every manufacturer and retailer in America has inherently higher sales that time of year. It all goes to hell in January which is why Apple announces new products then to spur sales when they're most needed.

Besides, the type of ad campaign Shaktai, LBB and I are talking about is much too massive and prolonged to be concerned with the calendar. We're talking about a fundamental, 24/7 change to Apple's public image.

I tend to agree with that thinking. Apple gets multiple holiday seasons. Doesn't it feel "Christmasy" around here now?

I agree. Apple should determine which "myths" are the most prevalent, and then target these myths by advertising.

It does seem that Apple has a good presence with their print ads, and that these ads are much better than TV ads. Perhaps Apple is using different mediums to convey different aspects of the Mac; TV for the "spirit" of using a Mac, and print ads for a better explanation of what a Mac does and why it is better.

Overall I think Apple's marketing isn't as important as their coverage in reviews by newspapers and magazines. It seems like I'm always seeing Macs reviewed in magazines and newspapers, and of course the Macs nearly always are top-rated. IMO this sort of exposure carries more impact than a hundred Jeff Goldblum ads.

What is key for most people I would think is that Apple's ads establish presence. For many people, the status and reputation of a corporation is partially dependent upon it having TV ads in full rotation. This means that the company is a "player" in these viewers' minds, it has the money to buy space in their living rooms. You would be surprised at how many people I talk to who don't even know that Apple exists, or that Apple makes computers that can do anything at all besides some graphic arts work.

Apple isn't going to make ads for US, for the AI community, who all know about the CPU a Mac will use even before the Apple Stores do. These ads are aimed at slightly computer-literate people who use their Wintels daily but don't think about their computer very much, and don't want to. For this group of people, the first step is show them that Apple exists, that they make Macs, and that Macs are computers just like Wintels, and they do similar things. If Apple goes and starts off by telling these people how to import jpgs into iPhoto from their cameras, organize them, do some light editing, then print them out or send away for professional prints....WHOA! That's too much for the average Wintel drone. Doing that much with a Wintel would require lots of work and patience, along with a fair amount of computer knowledge.

First step: Let them know that Apple exists, that they make Macs, and that Macs are computers for doing stuff just like Wintels can do. That's all most people can digest at first.

1994 Apple unveils QuickTime VR

Apple Computer introduced QuickTime VR, a multimedia software presenting 360-degree views of scenes, allowing users to zoom in on objects for a closer look. One of the first software products to use QuickTime VR allowed users to "tour" the Starship USS Enterprise: The CD-ROM, called "Star Trek: The Next Generation Interactive Technical Manual," became a best-seller.

"Since this thread is turning into "Why doesn't Apple advertise?", I'll throw in my opinion inspired by the two quality observations above.

There hasn't been an OS based ad campaign for a reason. It's not that Steve "forgot" they have a new OS and people might want to know about it. I swear, do some of you actually think Apple is that dumb?

Apple cannot and should not directly advertise the superiority of OS X until every reasonable argument against it can be refuted. Of course tons of Windows drones will still protest, but Apple has to give the the average user, the press, rational IT departments, Higher Ed and Wall Street a complete picture they can stand behind.

January '04 is when this will happen. Apple needs six months to get the bugs out of the initial G5 machines and Panther itself anyway. It's always feast or famine, and the second half of '03 is going to be feast all on its own anyway. The Mac installed base will make Apple tons of cash in the next six months from G5 and Panther sales alone. (If Powerbooks also go G5 before the end of the year then Apple will have a real supply problem.) The irony is they couldn't mount a massive ad campaign aimed at the average Wintel user right now if they wanted to.

Fast forward to MacWorld SF 2004. Apple should have most, if not all of the following in place:

Rev B Power Mac G5s over 2Ghz (All dual? Quads?)
G5 Xserves with meaningful 64 bit apps
G5 flat panel iMacs
G5 Powerbooks
G5 based headless Mac/Cube
G5 eMacs
G4 or Gobi based iBooks
A massively successful iTunes Music Store with 500,000 tracks and full Major and Indie support.
Quark 6 and InDesign 3 (already with bug killing point releases)
FCP 4 Shake 3 and DVDSP 2 (all with bug free point releases)
OS X 10.3.2 or 10.3.3 (again, the bug free version for the masses)
Apple branded Office replacement (Keynote, the rumored Document et. al.)

Launch a massive, no holds barred ad campaign starting with a Macintosh 20th anniversary Super Bowl commercial. Saturate all media with the message that the Mac is a better than Windows, right now, for everyone."

Quoter's knackered again. Is it XP? Can't it cope with AI quoting machines? (Can't wait to get on a 2.2 dual gig 970...)

Ensign, a great post. Right on the money. 2004. Apple have 4 billion $ in the bank. Time to open momma's can of 'Whooooop Ass.' We may see the mother of all ad' blitzes. I'd like to see something on the scale of Windows 95. I'd like it to be everywhere. It may be time to do the 'Superbowl' again. And how. Yeesh. Imagine a whole line of G5s? Get me some 'X-grid' software and I'll buy a Mac for everyroom and I can wireless render the hardest, bad-assed Lightwave 3D can throw at me... Superfast Radiosity rendering...drooooool....

All those thinking the G4 is staying around. I suggest you think again. Powerbook/eMac/iMac 2 on a 1.4 .09 970 on a lightspeed bus or a 1.4 gig G4 on crappy bus?

Moto' are out. And they can take their embedded crap with them.

Lemon Bon Bon

PS. There is alot of WWDC excitement about the hardware. But I feel we should be very revved up about the software Apple may have coming down stream. An Apple 'Office' suite that stands up to M$ is just one of the things getting me juiced. And what other iapps have Apple in store? That and the graphic goodness Panther may have in store.

Lemon, you seem to have forgotten one, potentially huge thing...
iTMS for windows (and Linux?!)

As much as some people will say "No, fsck those winblows users!" It really does make a lot of sense to get this out there soon. It will not only offer a quick (and large) boost to iTMS sales, but it will give a large portion of the windows community a feel for just how good Apple's software design can be. And I'd be willing to bet that the switch campaign would be a whole lot more successful. Up until now, the only real exposure a lot of windows users have had to Apple has been QuickTime for Windows (which doesn't exactly ooze Apple goodness). And the iPod is incredible, but the cost has somewhat limited the number of windows users, and those who have bought it haven't had iTunes to be blown away by. I feel like this could really be the next big step. Offer iTunes with iTMS, amazing iPods, and include a "teaser" CD full of gorgeous QT movies showing the MacOS experience, highlighting the new hardware, Panther, iApps, Shake, etc.

Think for a minute about the potential of including an "Apple Propaganda" CD with every iPod, and a stripped down version with every iTunes for Windows download. Talk about precision targeting!

-cent

I was totally thinking about that too. Use the iPod and the iTunes Music Store as an awesome Trojan horse to really get inside their heads!

Include a cool "why you SHOULD be using this with a Mac..." CD with every iPod. And when Windows users download iTunes from Apple's site, they automatically get signed up for the Apple newsletter thing.

Just beat 'em over the head until they give in.

No I didn't. Check out all my other posts (the ones I actually put a little thought into...)

I was quoting Ensign by the way. That's NOT my post. I thought Ensign's post was cool enough to repost. Should have quoted source. Beg pardon.

PSCates, I have talked about the idea of the iPod being the 'Trojan Horse' before...especially with the iTunes 4/ music store. iTunes on Windows...gives Wintel users a taste of the Mac software experience. I feel iPod/Music store will be the iron fist in velvet glove Apple are looking for. 4 million downloads and that's just 2% of the marketplace. Extrapolate those figures to Wintel users? Now thas what uhm sayin'. No whut I mean?

And when they come to the Apple store to buy music? They get pounded over the head with the 970/Panther experience! A free 'Hey, Dude, about the Mac' CD would be a nice touch to ship to Wintel users...

Come to poppa...

Lemon Bon Bon

Anybody know if the Apple stores will show the live WWDC keynote by Jobs?

based on recent WWDCs no.

But ya never know

If they really release what they say they will, I think they probably will.

Yep - I'd be very surprised (not to mention disappointed) if they didn't.

You hit "a nail" on the head. Here's another that I've seen in CompUSA and other Computer Stores ... A WinTel user looking at the cinema wide 23 incher and drooling. Saying that he wishes he could get one for his PeeCee. If Apple could make a PeeCee compatible version with a bundled "teaser" CD that includes the drivers for the wide screen, that would be another "Trojan Horse" with precision targetting. Not quite as good as the iPod one, but why "put all your eggs in one basket".

I LIKE IT!! 8)

Dare we ay "A (pple) OL " mass CD mailing!!!


we dare.

okay assuming the worst and there is NO stream for the WWDC keynote... are there any backup plans? is anyone here going to the keynote? do any of you have a lappy? how about a cell phone with a camera moto 720 users?

I'll probably be in SF come Keynote time but the tix are bit pricey for my blood

Any ADC Premier members not going want to transfer their free ticket to me so I can do live reports from the keynote?

That MWSF 2004 prediction up there is mine, but thanks Lemon for liking it enough to repost.

Concentricity, yes I intentionally left out iTMS for Windows as I was trying to list the reasons why Apple could justify switching to anyone, anywhere. You're right though, iTunes for Windows will be a tremendously powerful Trojan Horse (a strategy I'm not a fan of otherwise.) I hadn't thought of leveraging (spamming?) Windows users with a "pitch to switch" via the install CD, etc. It would be wonderfully effective, despite its AOL cheesiness.

One last thing for those who wish to abbreviate. Ensign is my rank, Pulver is my name.

"Captain it is I, Ensign Pulver, and I just threw you're stinking palm tree overboard."

You know guys I really do not see a 970 coming out at WWDC or even announced. The technology talked about in some of the developer sessions? Maybe.

I was just looking at the Session calendar (why arn't they using iCal?) and there are only 7 hardware tracks and 17 to be announced tracks...

I don't know...something just tells me we will not hear anything...

And just what do you think will fill 17 TBA tracks?

Well, I'll be there, as usual. I've got a cell phone with a camera, but there usually isn't any AirPort access inside the conference rooms (just out in the hallways/lounges/etc.), so I wouldn't be able to send any pictures during the keynote anyways. Besides, I want to bask in the RDF during the keynote, not snap pictures of every slide.

BS! That's all I can say. If Apple, and at least one other developer is going to demo just some of the things that I think they will. Steve Job's will have that Keynote streaming online for the world to watch.



I am starting to get excited!!!!!!!

Apple Australia is now offering big rebates on the LCD displays

17" - $1395 rebate $100
20" - $2695 rebate $300
23" - $4096 rebate $600

Offer good til the end of the financial year which is June 30th.. Clearing stock? or new monitors (case wise) for the new tower shells

If there are new computer cases, there must be new LCD display cases - to do otherwise would be like wearing polka dots and plaids.

Neon pink polka dots on yellow with Scotch Plaids.

Ohhh, the fashion calamity!

1995 IBM consent decree ends

On June 9, 1995, a federal judge gave IBM permission to file a motion to end a 1956 consent decree. The decree, which followed an antitrust case, limited the ways in which the company could sell computers. The company argued that the computer industry had changed dramatically in the thirty-eight years since the decree was imposed. IBM argued that the terms of the agreement created higher computer prices for consumers.

Airport? You're holding a phone. Phones can, among other things, send messages :P

I wonder if that update to Quicktime would let you connect your phone over the airwaves to a Mac running Quicktime Streaming Server... That might work. Any volunteers with a 3G phone?

Amorya

There was star office talk last year. I dunno what came of that, if Apple used the open source to sort out the mandatory "Office" compatibility that such a suite would need.

The way mail, iCal, Safari, and now Keynote have been rolled out leads me to think that Apple is slowly putting together, app by app, a complete Office killer. But they may hold onto it to see what M$ does first. "Document" would be a great addition, something to include free of charge with every and any mac sold. A good WP should really be a standard offering on just about any computer, "AppleWorks" doesn't cut it. "Document-Works" just might, that is, a great WP tied to a basic spreadsheet/DB.

Yes matsu but you are forgetting something!!!!!! Holy crap I just decided to install dev tools yesterday as it was sitting in Applications waiting to be installed, and guess what!!! They ported SimpleText to MacOS X!! Yeeahh!!! Now how needs Office!

Matsu I completely agree with you. In addition, I would love to see Apple advance the Bochs X86 open source emulator. Apple has been on a "lets optomize and use opensource code and recontribute it to the community" lately and it would only make sense with the recent acquisition of VPC by MS and the legal wall stopping FWB (for now)... the window is open for Apple to make a X86 emu with the 970 in mind.

A@ron

Matthew Rothenberg CONFIRMS(!) 970 (and Smeagol) at WWDC.

64-Bit Macs May Outpace 'Panther'
By_Nick Ciarelli and Matthew Rothenberg

Apple Computer Inc. is nearing the release of desktop systems featuring IBM's 64-bit PowerPC 970 chip, sources report?but a 64-bit version of Mac OS X may lag behind by a month or two.

Sources said that the IBM chip will make its first appearance in a new Power Mac known internally as Q37. However, sources said, Q37 won't ship with a 64-bit version of Mac OS X, limiting OS performance gains in the initial release. Instead, Q37 will launch with a special build train of the current Mac OS X Version 10.2, a k a Jaguar.

This build, code-named Smeagol, will run on the new chip but won't take advantage of many of its key features, including 64-bit support. Sources said Apple's goal for Smeagol is to deliver Mac OS X performance at least "on par" with what Jaguar could achieve on Motorola G4 chips running at the same speed; the move will allow Apple to ship the new hardware before Mac OS X 10.3, a k a Panther, can take advantage of all the new processor's capabilities.

Even before Panther ships, early adopters of the new Mac system should also apparently be able to take advantage of the new processor's fast new front-side bus and cache.

Part of the issue with OS compatibility lies with Mac OS X's compiler, GCC 3, which lacks scheduling support for the PowerPC 970. Apple and IBM are reportedly working to add 970-specific support to the latest version, GCC 3.3. The development effort is proceeding well, sources report, but the compiler isn't yet ready for full use.

While Smeagol will be built using GCC 3.1, Apple plans to compile Mac OS X 10.3 with GCC 3.3. Apple has said it will show off Panther later in June at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, an event which sources said will also mark Apple's first discussions of the PowerPC 970; it's unclear whether a developer preview will include support for the new chip. Apple does, however, plan to release a 64-bit version of the OS when it ships in September, according to sources

Since the PowerPC 970 is backward-compatible with 32-bit code written for the G4, Apple intends to release Smeagol to fill Q37's software bill until Panther ships, sources said.

Apple's current plans call for wrapping up development of Smeagol within a month or so of WWDC, suggesting that Q37 may ship by August; however, sources were unable to confirm specifics of Apple's release schedule.

Meanwhile, resellers told eWEEK that current models of the Power Mac G4 are becoming constrained in the retail channel, indicating that new pro hardware models are on the way.

eWEEK sources first reported in August 2002 that the Mac maker was working with IBM Microelectronics on the 64-bit PowerPC processor, dubbed the GigaProcessor Ultralite (GPUL). IBM unveiled the chip in October at the annual Microprocessor Forum in San Jose, Calif., at speeds up to 1.8 GHz. Neither Apple nor IBM have commented publicly on whether Apple plans to adopt the chip in its hardware lineup.

The PowerPC 970 shares technology with IBM's Power4 server chip and inherits many of its performance advantages, but is more compact. The chip also supports Vector/SIMD Multimedia Extensions (VMX), a group of 162 instructions that speed data processing and algorithmic-intensive tasks, such as multimedia creation and display.

IBM has said VMX is identical to Motorola's Altivec multimedia acceleration, marketed as Velocity Engine by Apple. Apple and IBM are also reportedly tailoring the chip for a new high-frequency, point-to-point Mac bus dubbed ApplePI, short for Apple Processor Interconnect, that Apple plans to use as a replacement for its current MaxBus.

Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the reports.

Thanks for the article, Ensign Pulver.

I'd read it earlier on eWeek, and this part intrested me:


So in other words, ApplePI is Apple's way around the fact that GigaBus isn't shared, like MaxBus is.

Clarification at last!

Well, maybe. I suppose the bus would attach to the 970's companion chip?

Confirmed by eWeek: PowerMacs, coded Q37, will premiere up to two months before Mac OS X 10.3.

Early September minus two months equals late June, Q.E.D.



Screed

Dammit Ensign!!!

must resist... CONFIR.... ah heck

CONFIRMED!!!


so is this why golum named smeagol is on the top menubar of AI?

This is also a curious bit:

On par?? Shouldn't the aforementioned front-side bus/cache/RAM/ system bus offer skull-crushing performance without Panther?

That second paragraph makes me question whether the author truly understands what Panther offers versus what the hardware offers on its own.

Screed

yea i though that sounded weird too, probably just a mistake. cuz he then says this

Looks like I will go broke when the Rev B 970 PowerMac arrives

\

From the eWeek article:

This build, code-named Smeagol, will run on the new chip but won't take advantage of many of its key features, including 64-bit support. Sources said Apple's goal for Smeagol is to deliver Mac OS X performance at least "on par" with what Jaguar could achieve on Motorola G4 chips running at the same speed


Agreed, Rothenberg seems uncharacteristically hung up on 64 bit and borderline ignorant of the 970 architecture. Disappointing.

Hey Matt, 64 bit won't make a bit of difference to 99.9% of users. Stop hatin' on poor Smeagol.