Think Forward: Apple's Entire Product Line Makes PC Magazine's List of 'Forward-Thinking' Computers

by , 8:00 AM EDT, September 25th, 2001

The October 16, 2001, issue of PC Magazine includes all of Apple's four hardware products as vanguards of the "New Shape of Computing."

In his lead-off, "Forward Thinking" editorial (page 7), Editor-in-Chief Michael Miller begins by saying, "I don't buy the idea that the PC business is no longer innovative." Right below this sentence is a picture of the Graphite iMac Special Edition. The rest of the magazine comprises several other nods of praise and acknowledgment to the product line of Apple computer hardware:

• The cover of this issue is emblazoned with the title "The Shape of PCs." The letter "h" in the word "shape" turns into an arrow pointing up to an inset photo of the PowerBook G4 Titanium.
• On the first page of the cover story (page 140), we see the Power Mac G4, an Apple flat-panel display and the iMac again.
• Page 143 (the iMac): "The Apple iMac has been a smash hit from the beginning. Its success lives on not only because of its smooth curves, all-in-one design, and playful colors -- inspiring many copycats -- but also because of its straightforward ease of use."
• Page 152 (the Power Mac G4): "An outstanding example of innovation and ease of use can be found in the Apple PowerMac G4." The feature article adds that the "Apple Power Mac G4 workstations look great and put PCs to shame."
• Page 152 (iBook 2001): "a slick-looking case and easy-to-use multimedia authoring software make this portable audiovisual studio perfect for novices."
• Page 153 (PowerBook G4): "The head-turning silver titanium case will make you do a double take." This review does, however, note that "the lack of optical drives [such as CD-RW] is a deal breaker."
• The main article contains a section titled "Apple Appeal"; Check out the main article for more information; You may also wish to read Michael Miller's editorial.

The article's accompanying benchmarks make the Macs out to be speed dinosaurs (page 153). In every task -- loading HTML pages, loading Adobe Acrobat -- the PCs finished in seconds, while the Macs finished in minutes. Sure, this is debatable, but we had to mention it.

Overall, the Mac was given a fair shake in a mainstream PC magazine -- something that it most definitely deserves.

The Mac Observer Spin:

Apple has definitely regained the label of "contender." Apple's designs are the benchmark of the computing world, if PC Magazine's own words mean anything (and they do). This credible press coverage is all that Apple needs. The ball is now in the Cupertino company's court to continue delivering the goods -- and the innovations.

PC Magazine