who should be ashamed? apple or us?
in the beginning, the imac took the computing world by storm. it was truly revolutionary. it got everyone thinking about the computer's design for a change.
with this in mind, it makes sense for apple to think a revolutionized design for this product should merit some considerable hype.
this new imac seems to me to be fairly revolutionary in it's own right. now we have an all-in-one computer with an enormous speed/spec bump. it's sporting a superdrive option at a VERY affordable price. it takes advantage of so many new technologies and yet still has found a way to exploit them without sacrificing performance OR aesthetics. (for example, the horizontal cd drive.)
now, apple had every right to believe the hype for this product was merited. it's a drastic change to the product that saved the life of the company.
the problem for apple is that they may have put more hype into it than necessary. but i question this. without a question, this has been the most excited i've been before a macworld in a long time. and i get the impression i was hardly alone. and that's good for apple, let down or not. getting people excited about what your company is doing is good for them. obviously you don't want to let your consumers down all the time, but i do not think this is apple's fault. certainly not this time around.
many people on this board have their own ideas as to how apple should run. they also have their own ideas on what apple is going to do.
the iwalk. the magnitude of this hoax was astounding. fake in the end it was, but until then, it was hard to believe something so visually real could be so fake. but fake it was and even though it never came into fruition, just the thought of it made apple fans drool. people want it. apple has said almost on a daily basis that this sort of thing isn't in the works, but that doesn't stop us.
the iwalk is just the tip of the iceberg. all sorts of ideas were thrown around the boards. the idea of X being ported to intel, the G5, digital devices, pdas, digital hubs that aren't imacs. all sorts of things.
in the end, look back at the last few macworlds. someone pointed out that a truly large rollout of stuff hasn't happened in a while. to expect it now seems a little lacking in justification.
except in the hype that apple gave us. the hype was secretive and large and unprecedented. so that's why we thought it.
the hype was unprecedented, but so too were the expectations. for that i would believe the "underwhelming" macworld keynote is just as much our fault as it is apple's.
if apple could do a gigantic rollout now, i'm sure they'd jump at the chance. but they're still a sort of minor player in the tech industry right now. so they can't afford it.
i think the new imac is great. i want to play with it. if i weren't a poor student, i would buy it. the high end one.
patience everyone. it all will come. apple isn't going to disappear. they're doing the very best they can. so be patient.
with this in mind, it makes sense for apple to think a revolutionized design for this product should merit some considerable hype.
this new imac seems to me to be fairly revolutionary in it's own right. now we have an all-in-one computer with an enormous speed/spec bump. it's sporting a superdrive option at a VERY affordable price. it takes advantage of so many new technologies and yet still has found a way to exploit them without sacrificing performance OR aesthetics. (for example, the horizontal cd drive.)
now, apple had every right to believe the hype for this product was merited. it's a drastic change to the product that saved the life of the company.
the problem for apple is that they may have put more hype into it than necessary. but i question this. without a question, this has been the most excited i've been before a macworld in a long time. and i get the impression i was hardly alone. and that's good for apple, let down or not. getting people excited about what your company is doing is good for them. obviously you don't want to let your consumers down all the time, but i do not think this is apple's fault. certainly not this time around.
many people on this board have their own ideas as to how apple should run. they also have their own ideas on what apple is going to do.
the iwalk. the magnitude of this hoax was astounding. fake in the end it was, but until then, it was hard to believe something so visually real could be so fake. but fake it was and even though it never came into fruition, just the thought of it made apple fans drool. people want it. apple has said almost on a daily basis that this sort of thing isn't in the works, but that doesn't stop us.
the iwalk is just the tip of the iceberg. all sorts of ideas were thrown around the boards. the idea of X being ported to intel, the G5, digital devices, pdas, digital hubs that aren't imacs. all sorts of things.
in the end, look back at the last few macworlds. someone pointed out that a truly large rollout of stuff hasn't happened in a while. to expect it now seems a little lacking in justification.
except in the hype that apple gave us. the hype was secretive and large and unprecedented. so that's why we thought it.
the hype was unprecedented, but so too were the expectations. for that i would believe the "underwhelming" macworld keynote is just as much our fault as it is apple's.
if apple could do a gigantic rollout now, i'm sure they'd jump at the chance. but they're still a sort of minor player in the tech industry right now. so they can't afford it.
i think the new imac is great. i want to play with it. if i weren't a poor student, i would buy it. the high end one.
patience everyone. it all will come. apple isn't going to disappear. they're doing the very best they can. so be patient.
Comments
When they said "Full speed ahead" I really was expecting some really big jump on speed.
One more thing: Time to f%ck Motorola!
Their "Full Speed Ahead" line should be changed to "Full Speed behind"
[ 01-08-2002: Message edited by: Leonis ]</p>
Over the last day I've seen the new iMac on more front page news sites than the original model, from what I can remember... The design is ground breaking and beyond my expectations and probably every Mac user and rumour speculator in the world!
Apple want the home user to adopt a digital lifestyle - similar to the way we adopt any lifestyle - we all like to show off and fashion is the best way because it's disposable.
What's in the iMac box doesn't matter so long as it has WOW factor these days! Computers are slowly becoming throw away accessories, $1,799 over three years = 1.64 per day you would have to save to buy a new model. Do the maths if you want to work it out over 2 or 1 year(s).
Not everyone is a GHz power monger! Leave that to the Pro's who have money to invest and need extreme upgrade machines.
If apple want a slice of the market, the home user is the target - not the elite. The new iMac is way ahead of it's time - 10 years on style alone... who knows, this iMac could sell 24 million units on looks alone... And save Apple's butt too...
Digital Hub fulfillment I think. Apple delivered the full digital hub, no pc has before.
Apple is not ashamed, they kicked ass.
Simple point here.
- Apple Created their own hype.
- Apple Lived up to their own hype.
- People took Apple's hype, added it to rumor sites, and to their own expectations.
- People are pissed because Apple didn't live up to their own expectations.
There is a huge difference here. In Apple's terms (relative to themselves only, as a company) the hype was justified and they did deliver. The iMac is what "saved Apple". The iMac with the new "digital hub" is part of the core of Apple (pardon the pun). Completely redoing their key product is a very big deal to them. Now, as a Pro user, the new iMac is not as important to you as a New PowerMac. Just keep in mind that the significance of these products is all relative to the party looking at them.
Apple is not a stupid company, it doesn't take many brain cells to see that the iMac is very close to the PowerMac in specs. Do you really think Apple is just going to let that slide along for the next 6-8 months???
I think that in addition to the iMac many of us wanted our fears of going through another 18 months with no processor upgrades put to rest with this show. Forward progress must happen in this industry or you fall off and disappear.
The iMac would have benefitted with a couple of enhancements however
1. USB 2.0 should have been included. The chipsets have been out for a while(Orange Micro and Keyspan have shipped cards for months). Apple may want to push Firewire but you have to let that market evolve without shafting your customers with older technology.
2. Bus speed...100 Mhz...still too slow.
3. We are still waiting for Apple to come up with the perfect front mounted ports. Still waiting...
4. I love the LCD...this is the way and I can see the iMacs squeezing into anywhere. Kudos Apple.
No one needs to be ashamed but I feel that we are the consumers and our voices should be heard because it is our hard earned money that goes into purchasing Apple products.