An update, analyzing today's phrase. It doesn't look so mind blowing anymore. <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" />
[quote]"A backstage pass to the future"<hr></blockquote>
This is a pretty tame statement, and after subtracting the hype factor, there isn't much left other than: 'You'll see stuff, but it will just be a technology demo.'
It sounds like some or all of the cool stuff that they will show will not be any shipping product. Otherwise the phrase would have been more along the lines of 'The future is about to begin'.
It's not necessarily bad, just not as exciting as many of us had hoped. Probably the shipping products will be evolutionary, while the so called 'mind blowing' items will be promised for one of Apple's highly mobile ETAs (ie. Summer 2003, which will become Winter 2003, which will become Fall 2004...)
Remember when Aqua was demonstrated, at MWSF 2000? That was a glimpse of the future that was reasonably close to 'mind blowing'. It took a year and a half for a 1.0 release, and two years later it's still rough. So perhaps we are looking at an announcement of technology that we might be enjoying two or three years from now.
In May 1998, the iMac was introduced, a neat all in one G3 Mac for a reasonable price. Apple actually shut down their site for a few days, with only a cryptic message on the front likening the upcoming announcement to some of the pivotal events of the 20th century. Think about it... a new, cute, repackaged PowerMac G3 gets Apple dot com put under wraps and is compared to the Wright Brothers first flight? Sure, it was a big success, but it certainly didn't change the course of history.
I beg to differ, the iMac did indeed change the course of history.
Ok. What are Apple's standards? The RDF/hype version says that "Every Macworld is BIG BIG BIG!" The truth is that in some keynotes one or maybe two new hardware announcements are made, and in some, there's zilch. The truth is that the biggest thing so far has pretty much always been a few evolutionary announcements, such as the G3-->G4, new portable designs, etc. So, the upcoming Macworld should be about as big as that, or maybe just a little bit better. But not too much different. Faster G4's, probably. Insanely faster chips? No. New iMac with LCD? Quite possible. Dual G4s inside? No. New iBooks? Probably not, or a clockspeed increase at most. New Powerbooks? Unlikely.
Apple's standards? They INVENTED the PC as we know it.
Why dehype everything. Try to assume that everything Apple introduces at MW will be to the letter.
[quote]The fact is, one of the hallmarks of Apple's marketing 'persona' is the LACK of hype. Sure, they try to speak well of their creations - Duuuh! But they don't lie, and they mostly don't exaggerate, either. They don't dare.<hr></blockquote>
That is a horrible lie.
The last product Apple released had the word "revolutionary" attached to its introduction. It's an mp3 player.
On the product's website you can see phrases like "But iPod isn?t just a revolution in portability, it?s also a revolution in simplicity."
"...the iPod is a marvel of audio engineering wizardry."
That's not just speaking well of the product, that is unabashed hyperbole that few other companies could even begin to rival.
Today's phrase ("To go where not PC has gone before") is interesting because it is being interpreted in all sorts of far out ways. Sure that kind of speculation is fun, the this thread is the cold splash of reality...
- It is not about any move toward x86. The PC is definitely already there, and NeXTStep was there too.
- Talk of space-based broadband might be exciting, but Apple isn't likely to deliver that and no infrastructure company is going to be monopolized by Apple's 5% of the market!
- 64-bit processors is a fairly geeky subject, and I doubt Apple would focus on it like this. Apple wants something which will grab the attention of the non-geek hardware buyer.
- Higher clock rates this is not, PC's have clearly been going there for some time.
- There have been hybrid portable w/ docking station machines (including Apple ones).
- Stereo component and set-top box style machines already exist.
Has there ever been an LCD-based desktop all-in-one PC (besides the 20th Anniv Mac)? Perhaps that is all it is...
[quote]"To go where no PC has gone before"<hr></blockquote>
heh. I have to admit i'm disappointed. The 'hints' are getting both very vague, and very tame, which isn't good. I think they probably didn't realize how much excitement would be generated by the first three slogans. They probably didn't put nearly as much thought into the 'beyond the rumor sites' statement as we did. It may have been just another catchy phrase the marketing dudes brainstormed up, which was taken as a carefully planted hint by us rumor-site junkies.
Or perhaps now they're deliberately trying to lower expectations... hype-induced damage control, as it were.
Going where no PC has gone before can mean absolutely ANYTHING. It could be quad 64bit G5s running at 2.5Ghz, or it could be Airport III with a 200 foot transmission radius, rather than 150 feet. Both fit. I expect it to be something in between. Lets hope it's closer to the quad-G5 idea
Robo - I have nothing against what you say, because it's your opinion. But I think the "Reality" is your reality just based on your speculation and experience. All I'm saying is that your title - "A Cold Splash of Reality" - is grandiose. I don't think you need to "Anyway, i wrote this because it seemed that Apple's hype was being swallowed with a hefty dose of wild optimism by a lot of people here." write for that motivation unless you think we're just kids and we need your guidance. Just write it because you believe it!
Now the latest rumor is dual processors for iMac's! If the Apple Store is an indication (which I would take with a grain of salt)all the products may be updated! I believe that Apple is "hyping" (and I agree with your definition), but let's judge the hyping after SJ's keynote.
<strong>I beg to differ, the iMac did indeed change the course of history.
</strong><hr></blockquote>
I concur. While I agree that some cynicism
should be given to this media hype, I think we can all plan on being impressed by what is being announced in 3 days.
Apple is a leader in the home computing arena, by my measure, and I'm sure whatever they unfold Monday will be replicated throughout the industry over the next 12 months--just like the iMac & Newton.
Comments
[quote]"A backstage pass to the future"<hr></blockquote>
This is a pretty tame statement, and after subtracting the hype factor, there isn't much left other than: 'You'll see stuff, but it will just be a technology demo.'
It sounds like some or all of the cool stuff that they will show will not be any shipping product. Otherwise the phrase would have been more along the lines of 'The future is about to begin'.
It's not necessarily bad, just not as exciting as many of us had hoped. Probably the shipping products will be evolutionary, while the so called 'mind blowing' items will be promised for one of Apple's highly mobile ETAs (ie. Summer 2003, which will become Winter 2003, which will become Fall 2004...)
Remember when Aqua was demonstrated, at MWSF 2000? That was a glimpse of the future that was reasonably close to 'mind blowing'. It took a year and a half for a 1.0 release, and two years later it's still rough. So perhaps we are looking at an announcement of technology that we might be enjoying two or three years from now.
-robo
That would be sad... i have no patience
I beg to differ, the iMac did indeed change the course of history.
Ok. What are Apple's standards? The RDF/hype version says that "Every Macworld is BIG BIG BIG!" The truth is that in some keynotes one or maybe two new hardware announcements are made, and in some, there's zilch. The truth is that the biggest thing so far has pretty much always been a few evolutionary announcements, such as the G3-->G4, new portable designs, etc. So, the upcoming Macworld should be about as big as that, or maybe just a little bit better. But not too much different. Faster G4's, probably. Insanely faster chips? No. New iMac with LCD? Quite possible. Dual G4s inside? No. New iBooks? Probably not, or a clockspeed increase at most. New Powerbooks? Unlikely.
Apple's standards? They INVENTED the PC as we know it.
Why dehype everything. Try to assume that everything Apple introduces at MW will be to the letter.
That is a horrible lie.
The last product Apple released had the word "revolutionary" attached to its introduction. It's an mp3 player.
On the product's website you can see phrases like "But iPod isn?t just a revolution in portability, it?s also a revolution in simplicity."
"...the iPod is a marvel of audio engineering wizardry."
That's not just speaking well of the product, that is unabashed hyperbole that few other companies could even begin to rival.
And that's just their newest product.
<strong>
That is a horrible lie.
The last product Apple released had the word "revolutionary" attached to its introduction. It's an mp3 player.
On the product's website you can see phrases like "But iPod isn?t just a revolution in portability, it?s also a revolution in simplicity."
"...the iPod is a marvel of audio engineering wizardry."
That's not just speaking well of the product, that is unabashed hyperbole that few other companies could even begin to rival.
And that's just their newest product.</strong><hr></blockquote>
It has been mentioned several times in various threads that Apple said "breakthrough product" and the media translated this to "revolutionary".
- It is not about any move toward x86. The PC is definitely already there, and NeXTStep was there too.
- Talk of space-based broadband might be exciting, but Apple isn't likely to deliver that and no infrastructure company is going to be monopolized by Apple's 5% of the market!
- 64-bit processors is a fairly geeky subject, and I doubt Apple would focus on it like this. Apple wants something which will grab the attention of the non-geek hardware buyer.
- Higher clock rates this is not, PC's have clearly been going there for some time.
- There have been hybrid portable w/ docking station machines (including Apple ones).
- Stereo component and set-top box style machines already exist.
Has there ever been an LCD-based desktop all-in-one PC (besides the 20th Anniv Mac)? Perhaps that is all it is...
[ 01-04-2002: Message edited by: Programmer ]</p>
Yes.
I am prone to think that something like the iTunes/iPod integration with Windows is the most likely thing hinted at by this particular message.
We shall see.
heh. I have to admit i'm disappointed. The 'hints' are getting both very vague, and very tame, which isn't good. I think they probably didn't realize how much excitement would be generated by the first three slogans. They probably didn't put nearly as much thought into the 'beyond the rumor sites' statement as we did. It may have been just another catchy phrase the marketing dudes brainstormed up, which was taken as a carefully planted hint by us rumor-site junkies.
Or perhaps now they're deliberately trying to lower expectations... hype-induced damage control, as it were.
Going where no PC has gone before can mean absolutely ANYTHING. It could be quad 64bit G5s running at 2.5Ghz, or it could be Airport III with a 200 foot transmission radius, rather than 150 feet. Both fit. I expect it to be something in between. Lets hope it's closer to the quad-G5 idea
-robo
Now the latest rumor is dual processors for iMac's! If the Apple Store is an indication (which I would take with a grain of salt)all the products may be updated! I believe that Apple is "hyping" (and I agree with your definition), but let's judge the hyping after SJ's keynote.
When's AppleInsider's next insight?
<strong>I beg to differ, the iMac did indeed change the course of history.
</strong><hr></blockquote>
I concur. While I agree that some cynicism
should be given to this media hype, I think we can all plan on being impressed by what is being announced in 3 days.
Apple is a leader in the home computing arena, by my measure, and I'm sure whatever they unfold Monday will be replicated throughout the industry over the next 12 months--just like the iMac & Newton.