I bought one of these to replace my aging Mac II. Used it to write a few shopping carts, implement a lot of web sites, ported ColdFusionMX from Linux to OSX -- quite a capable little box in its day ...
It's important to note that the target consumer is a different user now.
The original iMac was priced at $1299. The current iMac is $1999 before upgrades, costing more than a PowerMac did back when it was introduced.
Granted, it's a much more capable machine, but it's no longer the affordable machine it once was. For home users looking for an affordable machine, you have to look at the MacBook or MacBook Air line.
The old quadrant layout of consumer/professional-portable/desktop is gone, and the current lineup can't be jammed into it well.
Uhm, looking at apple.com, the 3 iMacs listed before modifications/upgrades are $1099, $1299, $1499. Same target market. In fact it has gotten cheaper (in price tag as well as in actual value of the money spent -- $1299 in 1998 is not the same as $1299 now).
I have one of the bondi blue 233mhz iMacs in my basement. I think it still works. I have a g4 upgrade card for it but not installed. My daughter asked me what the old TV was in the basement (meaning the iMac). I had to explain it was an old computer. Got my iMac the day they went on sale. At a Best Buy. Was at WWDC that year when announced as well... It was on a roped off pedestal and you couldn't touch it...
A market campaign comparing their latest lineup to 17 year old machines - seriously?? What the hell is Apple thinking?! Between this and the announcement of non-improvement input peripherals, it sounds like a number of "C-list" employees are slipping through the cracks... regardless of Apple's business philosophy, this is a p!$* poor way to market their products.
When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in the 90's, he hated what their marketing staff was doing and cleaned house, and also threw out all their old "museum display" Macs. Did not want the company looking back, under any circumstances; a tech company that looks to the past is one that is standing still. I think the upper-upper management needs to reflect hard on "what Steve would do" in this instant, and clean house again.
The 20th Century Mac was announced and sold when he was special advisor
It is interesting to revisit what web sites looked like in those days: [LIST] [*] No ads [*] No popups [*] No Bandwidth/connection logging JavaScript, CSS, etc. [*] No distractions [*] Fast loading and rendering [/LIST]
Here's a page from 1996 (some Amazon JavaScript ads were added later)
When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in the 90's, he hated what their marketing staff was doing and cleaned house, and also threw out all their old "museum display" Macs. Did not want the company looking back, under any circumstances; a tech company that looks to the past is one that is standing still. I think the upper-upper management needs to reflect hard on "what Steve would do" in this instant, and clean house again.
hmm yeah except when Jobs did that it because they were two months from going bankrupt. now theyre eating all the profits in the PC sector AND mobile.
dont think they need your advice on how to run the company...being the most successful public CE firm in history of the planet, and all. apple doesnt live in the past, they live in the today.
Not sure what you are talking about. You can get an iMac for nearly $1,000. So it's now more affordable and more capable than ever. If you want a Retina display, you're talking about $1,499. I'd think you would want to compare base models however. With inflation, the new iMacs are much cheaper than the original iMac.
Love their new input devices. Not sure what the heck you are looking for there but if they do what they need to do and do it perfectly, I really don't see your gripe.
A market campaign comparing their latest lineup to 17 year old machines - seriously?? What the hell is Apple thinking?! Between this and the announcement of non-improvement input peripherals, it sounds like a number of "C-list" employees are slipping through the cracks... regardless of Apple's business philosophy, this is a p!$* poor way to market their products.
When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in the 90's, he hated what their marketing staff was doing and cleaned house, and also threw out all their old "museum display" Macs. Did not want the company looking back, under any circumstances; a tech company that looks to the past is one that is standing still. I think the upper-upper management needs to reflect hard on "what Steve would do" in this instant, and clean house again.
First, it isn't a marketing campaign unless you can link to some ads in newspapers, TV spots, web ads? If you pay attention to their iPhone and iPad launches, they started showing the progression of performance since the original iPhone and iPad. This really is just a continuance of that. It is something to give some perspective as to how miraculous today's systems are compared to the past. It is something easily lost as we bump the specs for each release.
The 20th Century Mac was announced and sold when he was special advisor
Nitpicking a bit, but I think you mean the "20th Anniversary Mac". And that's essentially true, though it didn't last long, and he wasn't involved in its development. Neither did he seem even modestly enthused or amused during its extraordinarily cringe-worthy unveiling. Check it out. (you'll probably want to scrub to 39:00). : )
Nitpicking a bit, but I think you mean the "20th Anniversary Mac". And that's essentially true, though it didn't last long, and he wasn't involved in its development. Neither did he seem even modestly enthused or amused during its extraordinarily cringe-worthy unveiling. Check it out. (you'll probably want to scrub to 39:00). : )
First, it isn't a marketing campaign unless you can link to some ads in newspapers, TV spots, web ads? If you pay attention to their iPhone and iPad launches, they started showing the progression of performance since the original iPhone and iPad. This really is just a continuance of that. It is something to give some perspective as to how miraculous today's systems are compared to the past. It is something easily lost as we bump the specs for each release.
Regardless of venue or format, the promotion of a product or service is marketing. In the case of iPhones, the purchase cycle is a lot more frequent, so in the situation where an Apple executive might spend 30 seconds or so showing that they've arrived at nearly desktop class hardware in just a few short years, that seems like a smart sales pitch to me. But – comparing current iMacs to the original? What's the sales pitch – that the new machines are x-more betterer than their 17 year old originals that ran an operating system that no one even uses anymore?
You can disagree, but Steve Jobs never wanted his company looking to the past, and certainly would not have approved of promoting their latest and greatest like this. Not one bit. In my opinion, if he were still around he would have fired every single marketing employee who put that promotion together.
This is not a "sales pitch" or "marketing campaign" or "pointless". It's a small moment to savor progress. A fond recollection of the game-changing original iMac, and a "thank you" for the amazing progress that engineers and designers have made since. It's a simple bit of fun.
I think it's great, and would love to see Apple do much more of this. More little opportunities to reflect and celebrate and inform. I hope there'll be more. (And if future offerings again bring out the "Surely Steve would have validated my angry and clueless misunderstanding", well, that's just sweet entertainment icing on the cake.)
Comments
No, guys, geez, it’s so simple; it’s not going to be “iPhone 5”!
Wait, what’re we talking about?
The iMac4KS....or iMac5KS......or iMac S...rabbit hole...
This:
[VIDEO]
I bought one of these to replace my aging Mac II. Used it to write a few shopping carts, implement a lot of web sites, ported ColdFusionMX from Linux to OSX -- quite a capable little box in its day ...
Been cleaning out the garage & noticed this:
[IMG ALT=""]http://forums.appleinsider.com/content/type/61/id/64042/width/500/height/1000[/IMG]
I wonder ...
Duplicate
It's important to note that the target consumer is a different user now.
The original iMac was priced at $1299. The current iMac is $1999 before upgrades, costing more than a PowerMac did back when it was introduced.
Granted, it's a much more capable machine, but it's no longer the affordable machine it once was. For home users looking for an affordable machine, you have to look at the MacBook or MacBook Air line.
The old quadrant layout of consumer/professional-portable/desktop is gone, and the current lineup can't be jammed into it well.
Uhm, looking at apple.com, the 3 iMacs listed before modifications/upgrades are $1099, $1299, $1499. Same target market. In fact it has gotten cheaper (in price tag as well as in actual value of the money spent -- $1299 in 1998 is not the same as $1299 now).
I have one of the bondi blue 233mhz iMacs in my basement. I think it still works. I have a g4 upgrade card for it but not installed. My daughter asked me what the old TV was in the basement (meaning the iMac). I had to explain it was an old computer. Got my iMac the day they went on sale. At a Best Buy. Was at WWDC that year when announced as well... It was on a roped off pedestal and you couldn't touch it...
A market campaign comparing their latest lineup to 17 year old machines - seriously?? What the hell is Apple thinking?! Between this and the announcement of non-improvement input peripherals, it sounds like a number of "C-list" employees are slipping through the cracks... regardless of Apple's business philosophy, this is a p!$* poor way to market their products.
When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in the 90's, he hated what their marketing staff was doing and cleaned house, and also threw out all their old "museum display" Macs. Did not want the company looking back, under any circumstances; a tech company that looks to the past is one that is standing still. I think the upper-upper management needs to reflect hard on "what Steve would do" in this instant, and clean house again.
The 20th Century Mac was announced and sold when he was special advisor
[VIDEO]
It is interesting to revisit what web sites looked like in those days:
[LIST]
[*] No ads
[*] No popups
[*] No Bandwidth/connection logging JavaScript, CSS, etc.
[*] No distractions
[*] Fast loading and rendering
[/LIST]
Here's a page from 1996 (some Amazon JavaScript ads were added later)
http://deniro.jvlnet.com
Notice how fast it loads
Many of the links still work (e.g. [B][I] photo gallery [/I][/B]) -- and show a fast and efficient drill-down
Here's an article showing other sites before things became bloated with ads.
http://bgr.com/2015/07/24/1990s-websites-abandoned-still-running/
hmm yeah except when Jobs did that it because they were two months from going bankrupt. now theyre eating all the profits in the PC sector AND mobile.
dont think they need your advice on how to run the company...being the most successful public CE firm in history of the planet, and all. apple doesnt live in the past, they live in the today.
Not sure what you are talking about. You can get an iMac for nearly $1,000. So it's now more affordable and more capable than ever. If you want a Retina display, you're talking about $1,499. I'd think you would want to compare base models however. With inflation, the new iMacs are much cheaper than the original iMac.
$1299 in 1998 dollars would currently be $1891 in 2015 dollars: http://www.in2013dollars.com/1998-dollars-in-2015?amount=1299
That's a heck of a lot more computing power and speed for what amounts to an extra Benjamin.
$1999? iMac starts at $1099...
just duplicated everyone else. sorry
Love their new input devices. Not sure what the heck you are looking for there but if they do what they need to do and do it perfectly, I really don't see your gripe.
The white plastic hasn't aged well. The typical UV discoloration.
What would Steve do? Whatever I claim he would do. Because he's dead and can never speak for himself.
Because he did exactly what I described. Snark fail!
A market campaign comparing their latest lineup to 17 year old machines - seriously?? What the hell is Apple thinking?! Between this and the announcement of non-improvement input peripherals, it sounds like a number of "C-list" employees are slipping through the cracks... regardless of Apple's business philosophy, this is a p!$* poor way to market their products.
When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in the 90's, he hated what their marketing staff was doing and cleaned house, and also threw out all their old "museum display" Macs. Did not want the company looking back, under any circumstances; a tech company that looks to the past is one that is standing still. I think the upper-upper management needs to reflect hard on "what Steve would do" in this instant, and clean house again.
First, it isn't a marketing campaign unless you can link to some ads in newspapers, TV spots, web ads? If you pay attention to their iPhone and iPad launches, they started showing the progression of performance since the original iPhone and iPad. This really is just a continuance of that. It is something to give some perspective as to how miraculous today's systems are compared to the past. It is something easily lost as we bump the specs for each release.
The 20th Century Mac was announced and sold when he was special advisor
Nitpicking a bit, but I think you mean the "20th Anniversary Mac". And that's essentially true, though it didn't last long, and he wasn't involved in its development. Neither did he seem even modestly enthused or amused during its extraordinarily cringe-worthy unveiling. Check it out. (you'll probably want to scrub to 39:00). : )
Hockey puck mouse --> iPhone 4 --> You're holding it wrong
Nitpicking a bit, but I think you mean the "20th Anniversary Mac". And that's essentially true, though it didn't last long, and he wasn't involved in its development. Neither did he seem even modestly enthused or amused during its extraordinarily cringe-worthy unveiling. Check it out. (you'll probably want to scrub to 39:00). : )
Yeah that is what I meant
First, it isn't a marketing campaign unless you can link to some ads in newspapers, TV spots, web ads? If you pay attention to their iPhone and iPad launches, they started showing the progression of performance since the original iPhone and iPad. This really is just a continuance of that. It is something to give some perspective as to how miraculous today's systems are compared to the past. It is something easily lost as we bump the specs for each release.
Regardless of venue or format, the promotion of a product or service is marketing. In the case of iPhones, the purchase cycle is a lot more frequent, so in the situation where an Apple executive might spend 30 seconds or so showing that they've arrived at nearly desktop class hardware in just a few short years, that seems like a smart sales pitch to me. But – comparing current iMacs to the original? What's the sales pitch – that the new machines are x-more betterer than their 17 year old originals that ran an operating system that no one even uses anymore?
You can disagree, but Steve Jobs never wanted his company looking to the past, and certainly would not have approved of promoting their latest and greatest like this. Not one bit. In my opinion, if he were still around he would have fired every single marketing employee who put that promotion together.
This is not a "sales pitch" or "marketing campaign" or "pointless". It's a small moment to savor progress. A fond recollection of the game-changing original iMac, and a "thank you" for the amazing progress that engineers and designers have made since. It's a simple bit of fun.
I think it's great, and would love to see Apple do much more of this. More little opportunities to reflect and celebrate and inform. I hope there'll be more. (And if future offerings again bring out the "Surely Steve would have validated my angry and clueless misunderstanding", well, that's just sweet entertainment icing on the cake.)