Does anyone have a comprehensive list of past hardware announcements dating back to when Jobs was reinstated? If we put together a timeline of announcements and the people involved, our predictions will become more accurate
New product announcements are the most important part of Apple. They brought back Jobs to hit a homerun. While this was an stopgap solution, the company has now become dependant on hitting homeruns with every new product announcement. It has become the nature of the company to be surrounded in mystique, with drama and a real personality. The Wintel world has premature product announcements all the time, Apple doesn't.
Being the underdog that they are, Apple relies on strategic releases to stir up a frenzy that not only gets Mac-heads riled up, but also turns the heads of a few wintel users.
I think Apple has been doing a fine job of prematurely announcing things. Over the past four years, I can think of a handful of times where Apple announced something, and it never shipped for at least a month.
well it seems that many of you don't think that looking at past announcements will be helpful in future predictions, but it would still be essential reading for macheads. I guess nobody has a list?
Well, I started making a little timeline in OmniGraffle. But then I realised that it was grossly underpowered for much more than a few pretty diagrams... and if this were to be a collaborative effort many people wouldn't like it or be able to use it. So then I started trying to make a simple table using HTML, and I slowly began adding new information and modifying it and adding links and a little nice formatting, and started inputting information, and I couldn't draw a line as to what information is worthy of being on there.. and I couldn't decide when to start the information, so I just rounded it off to January of 1998. thus far I've noted all major events, hardware, and software additions/changes all the way to 99.
But uh.. it's just gonna end up too large when we get to 2002. Too large to even get a feeling. And it's just turning out like a big index of the more interesting press releases. So that won't work. I'm thinking of going into Photoshop and making little icons for hardware release, software release, event, and company change.. and then just a little grid with the years and tick marks for the months, so you can actually establish a visual pattern. Or maybe months on the top, and years on the horizontal, so you can see yearly trends. Yeah, that's good. *goes back to work*
Well, I had about ~45 minutes free to fidget around with a grid, and this is what I've come up with. The grid is just based on an image I saw <a href="http://www.apple.com/buy/" target="_blank">somewhere</a> on Apple's site, and the fonts I used are Apple Garamond BT Light and Futura Bold Condensed. It took a bit of playing with to get things all laid out so nicely. I won't embed it because it's over 12" wide and a fairly large file (I could have done it in GIF, yes, but with the images that I'll eventually put in each of the cells it would make far more sense to just go JPEG now). I've got the PSD if anybody really wants it, but I think I'll do the work by myself to make sure it's decent.
I'm about half done with iconizing hardware updates, software updates, company acquisitions, and major events on the table. then I'll miniaturize product pictures and stick them in there when they come out or are updated. And maybe add informational text for the different events/acquisitions, so we can see the turnaround time for acquisition->product.
Furthermore, who wants to volunteer to swoon and then date Alicia Awbrey and Nathalie Welch? I'm sure they have loads of future hardware information within 30 days of each product's release (how else could they make the ads, press kits and the like for the release)?
Sure, they could be downright homely lookin', but imagine the SCOOPAGE you could get and share with all of us! Do it, do it now...if not for yourself than for all Mac-kind!
Bradbower, thanks for taking on such a project! It's a great idea and we just might see some patterns emerge once all the dates are plotted out on a time line.
I use Canvas for making such diagrams, but whatever works for you is cool!
Don't mind the pessimists here, they are just jealous that they didn't think of the idea first! LOL!
Comments
J :cool:
Being the underdog that they are, Apple relies on strategic releases to stir up a frenzy that not only gets Mac-heads riled up, but also turns the heads of a few wintel users.
--Pres
--Pres[/QB]<hr></blockquote>
Heh, you said "premature". Heh, heh. <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
Gad, it's late. sorry 'bout that.
Maybe you mean something different though...
Pres
But uh.. it's just gonna end up too large when we get to 2002. Too large to even get a feeling. And it's just turning out like a big index of the more interesting press releases. So that won't work. I'm thinking of going into Photoshop and making little icons for hardware release, software release, event, and company change.. and then just a little grid with the years and tick marks for the months, so you can actually establish a visual pattern. Or maybe months on the top, and years on the horizontal, so you can see yearly trends. Yeah, that's good. *goes back to work*
<a href="http://homepage.mac.com/ibrad/hae1.jpg" target="_blank">http://homepage.mac.com/ibrad/hae1.jpg</a>
Now I need suggestions of just what categories (for icons or color-coding) I should have. I'll make a little Legend in one of the corners, eventually.
[ 04-17-2002: Message edited by: bradbower ]</p>
<a href="http://www.apple-history.com/quickgallery.html?where=aI.html" target="_blank">http://www.apple-history.com/quickgallery.html?where=aI.html</A>
Product intro dates down to the month resolution.
and <a href="http://www.apple.com/pr/" target="_blank">THERE</a>
Happy Hunting.
[ 04-18-2002: Message edited by: Moogs ]</p>
<strong>The answers are all bound to be right <a href="http://www.apple.com/pr/library/" target="_blank">HERE</a>.
Happy Hunting.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Well yes. That's what I'm using.
I'm about half done with iconizing hardware updates, software updates, company acquisitions, and major events on the table. then I'll miniaturize product pictures and stick them in there when they come out or are updated. And maybe add informational text for the different events/acquisitions, so we can see the turnaround time for acquisition->product.
Sure, they could be downright homely lookin', but imagine the SCOOPAGE you could get and share with all of us! Do it, do it now...if not for yourself than for all Mac-kind!
It would be interesting to check this with a statistical technique (I am not a math student, so which one to use, don't ask me).
I am not entirely sure that any relationship will be found...but it would be great to be proved wrong.
low-fi
[ 04-18-2002: Message edited by: low-fi ]</p>
I use Canvas for making such diagrams, but whatever works for you is cool!
Don't mind the pessimists here, they are just jealous that they didn't think of the idea first! LOL!
Thanks for all those contributing!!
Pres