For a long time, only the Apple faithful embraced and
understood what Apple is trying to achieve. Lately, however,
there has been a cultural sea change of favor towards
Apple, according to Leander Kahney at Wired Magazine.
"Recently, people have been saying the strangest things about Apple and the Mac,"
Mr. Kahney wrote. "Everything is topsy-turvy. Pundits aren't trotting out the old conventional wisdoms any more. They're saying odd stuff, like Macs are good for business; Macs can save money; and that Apple's stock -- at $90 a share -- is a bargain."
In the past, PC proponents were able to drag out and present the same old tired
arguments why Apple was a failed company and why Apple's products didn't fit in.
Nowadays, however, "there seems to be a widespread re-evaluation of Apple going on, a cultural shift that's changing the way people think about the company," according to the author.
The sea change has four pieces.
Macs will save you money
Macs are good for business
Less is more
Closed [system] is good
This reporter, who sees a lot of news each day, agrees with Mr. Kahney. The
number of articles from PC sources and investors that have been extolling the
prospects of Apple TV, the iPhone, Leopard, and Intel Macs has grown by
an order of magnitude lately. No doubt, the quality and focus of Apple products
is finally reaching a critical mass with the press and consumers. It even
seems to be taking its toll on the competition.
A widespread cultural shift like that is very hard to get started, but once
in motion, will also be very hard to reverse. It's called a paradigm shift, and it can become a powerful force.
It might even be more obvious seeing it from outside the anglo-saxon world. Take the iPhone, for instance. News about it appeared in media all around. I can mention countries like Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Portugal and Brazil as they are the ones I read news from on a regular basis. I cannot recall a time when news from Apple should have caused such a response from media. And not only in the US or UK, mind you.
If I'd go a little closer to myself, I can mention that my whole family is on Macs now, included my former Mac-hating younger brother who bought a MacBook this year! I had actually gving him up, so judge about my surprise when I heard that!
I guess everyone who's been a Mac-user over some years, have had their ups and downs, hoping for the downfall of the Empire and that the Mac should be on the rise, thus making our lives a little easier, but this time I have seriously begun to suspect that it is going up.
Yesterday I read in one of Norway's larger papers how you could synch your mobile phones on the Mac - but not on Vista! And earlier, they have normally been at the best lukewarm regarding everything Apple, trying their best to find something negative to say about iPods and talking up Creative, for instance.
Yes, I definitely think something is changing now...
I love my Macs; my iPod; my AAPL stock. But I will not be satisfied until we see the day when not one poor soul has to boot up into Windows, ever again.
Anonymous wrote: I love my Macs; my iPod; my AAPL stock. But I will not be satisfied until we see the day when not one poor soul has to boot up into Windows, ever again.
That could be a while.....
I hope you get over that, because as you said, complete eradication of the Windows bacillus could take a while.
CloseViewName:coatenPosts: 2971Joined: 10 Oct 2001 Tue Mar 20, 2007 7:52 pmSubject:
I'm going to be the voice of dissent. I, for one, do not dream of a Mac-centric planet.
Why? I just don't have enough time for dealing with noob questions. I don't object to it, I'm just too time-poor to be a help desk operator without being paid for it.
I've got too many important things to do. Like, you know, Command & Conquer, Warhammer 40k... you know, the important stuff.
CloseViewName:iJackPosts: 268Joined: 13 Jun 2001 Tue Mar 20, 2007 11:43 pmSubject:
Quote
coaten wrote: I'm going to be the voice of dissent. I, for one, do not dream of a Mac-centric planet.
Why? I just don't have enough time for dealing with noob questions.....
You beat me to the punch. I already don't like it. I frequent CraigsList Apple Forum several times a day, and have noticed a quickening in Switchers, who seem to be either dumber, or more demanding than regular old Mac noobs. I liked it just fine when we were alone in the world.
We should welcome any new Mac users. It's a Mac so they won't be new for long. My experience is that those new to the Mac, whether brand new to computers or switchers soon catch on to what Mac OS is all about.
CloseViewName:Guest Wed Mar 21, 2007 8:56 amSubject:
Quote
iJack wrote:
Quote
coaten wrote: I'm going to be the voice of dissent. I, for one, do not dream of a Mac-centric planet.
Why? I just don't have enough time for dealing with noob questions.....
You beat me to the punch. I already don't like it. I frequent CraigsList Apple Forum several times a day, and have noticed a quickening in Switchers, who seem to be either dumber, or more demanding than regular old Mac noobs. I liked it just fine when we were alone in the world.
How very elitist. I, for one, welcome anyone who decides to make the Big Switch. We certainly shouldn't begrudge someone a bit of time and patience if he or she needs an extra helping hand to get started. Don't we want people to see the Mac community as a friendly, inviting one?
coaten wrote: I'm going to be the voice of dissent. I, for one, do not dream of a Mac-centric planet.
Why? I just don't have enough time for dealing with noob questions.....
You beat me to the punch. I already don't like it. I frequent CraigsList Apple Forum several times a day, and have noticed a quickening in Switchers, who seem to be either dumber, or more demanding than regular old Mac noobs. I liked it just fine when we were alone in the world.
How very elitist. I, for one, welcome anyone who decides to make the Big Switch. We certainly shouldn't begrudge someone a bit of time and patience if he or she needs an extra helping hand to get started. Don't we want people to see the Mac community as a friendly, inviting one?
I don't think that's the phrase you want to use. A sea change is not a change in the direction or flow of the tide. Shakespeare used the term when describing the transformation of a submerged corpse.
As a longtime Mac user, I do miss the days when the tech support staff didn't have much to do and could focus on my issues. No service contracts/genius appts/long lines of 13 year olds at the Apple Store. Didn't they actually answer their phones and talk to you back then?
CloseViewName:Guest Wed Mar 21, 2007 12:39 pmSubject:
So I can buy an Apple computer without any hard drive in it? I know that Dell offers me this flexibility. Can I also buy a Mac without a video card in it and then get the video card I want and put it in myself?
Quote
iJack wrote:
Quote
Anonymous wrote: how is a mac saving me on hardware costs when a hard drive upgrade costs 70% more than with other manufacturers?
You don't have to upgrade with a drive from Apple, you know. A hard drive is a hard drive.
CloseViewName:Guest Fri Mar 23, 2007 3:21 pmSubject:
Quote
Guest wrote: I love my Macs; my iPod; my AAPL stock. But I will not be satisfied until we see the day when not one poor soul has to boot up into Windows, ever again.
Guest wrote: So I can buy an Apple computer without any hard drive in it? I know that Dell offers me this flexibility. Can I also buy a Mac without a video card in it and then get the video card I want and put it in myself?
Quote
iJack wrote:
Quote
Anonymous wrote: how is a mac saving me on hardware costs when a hard drive upgrade costs 70% more than with other manufacturers?
You don't have to upgrade with a drive from Apple, you know. A hard drive is a hard drive.
No, you cannot customize a Mac like that. That's sort of the point of Apple's ecosystem. It's very closed and very controlled. One of the great magic tricks Apple has pulled is convincing its customer base that limiting oneself to Apple-only products results in a better life. Some people eat it up.
Guest wrote: No, you cannot customize a Mac like that. That's sort of the point of Apple's ecosystem. It's very closed and very controlled. One of the great magic tricks Apple has pulled is convincing its customer base that limiting oneself to Apple-only products results in a better life. Some people eat it up.
Huh? You can customize everything in a mac that you can in a PC. I have a G4 tower upstairs, the internal optical drive, hard drive, memory, fan, and graphics card are all parts I've added myself in the 6 or so years since I got it. You can argue over Apple's specific upgrade pricing (yes its high), but please don't try and tell us what we can do with our computers when you obviously don't have one
Anonymous wrote: No, you cannot customize a Mac like that. That's sort of the point of Apple's ecosystem. It's very closed and very controlled. One of the great magic tricks Apple has pulled is convincing its customer base that limiting oneself to Apple-only products results in a better life. Some people eat it up.
Ah, yet another "guest" who knows little about Macs--or, it would seem, the realities of the computer market.
First, while some (not all!) PCs are "customizable," how many buyers actually take advantage of such options? Don't most people buy an off-the-shelf PC?
Second, hardware functionality and interoperability is critical for most people. They don't want to spend a lot of time getting a graphics card to work correctly (yes, I know that it's not as much of a problem now as it used to be).
When Apple started making computers, they were pretty much "build-to-order"--or, more commonly, "finish it yourself." The Apple II series was very flexible. In 1984, Apple introduced two new computers that completely reversed that concept--the Apple //c and the Macintosh.
Later, Apple went through a period where they had a bewildering array of models and options that confused buyers (they introduced nearly 50 Performa models over a period of four years). When Jobs came back to Apple, one of his first actions was to reduce the product line. He also put into motion a project to revamp his original concept for the Mac: a computer that people could take out of the box, plug in the keyboard, mouse, phone line (before the days of DSL and cable modems), and power, push the "ON" button and **POOF!** the computer boots and, minutes later, they're on the Internet, writing documents, whatever. Thus was born the iMac. It became the iconical "home computer," even though it was far from the best selling. (I'm listening to a mystery audiobook by Peter Robinson, published in 2000. In it, Robinson refers to a "tangerine iMac," probably because that's what he had. Have you read/heard a reference to a PC by brand/model name in fiction?)
Today, Apple has three lines of desktop computers. Two are closed systems for most customers (most of whom buy an iMac) and the Mac Pro for those who need to customize their computers.
I remember the original iMac. It certainly did go poof when my roommate in college bought one. My parents got me a laptop from Toshiba instead. My school was not very PC friendly and actually encouraged students to buy the iMac with discounts in the school store... that's where my roommate got his. I plugged in my laptop and was on the internet after about 10 minutes. Even with the school's IT staff doing the work it took them over a month to get the computer to work on the network.
I get making life easier for people who aren't tech savvy, and having the ability to buy a computer that just works, which is why nearly every computer manufacturer that sells direct to consumers has such lines. But Apple took that a step farther and put that line of computer into their closed ecosystem, and with each peripheral they develop they seek further close the gates of their walled garden. Precisely the people who these devices and computers are marketed towards (mass consumers who are non-techies) are the same people who do not understand what the implications of buying into such a closed system are, or that such a closed system even exists. It is when their needs outgrow the system and they want incremental upgrades without having to shell out the big bucks for a whole new system that this mass consumer is really hurt by Apple's large corporation anti-consumer tactics. The iPod is a great example. It took about 4 generations of the product for them to finally offer a battery replacement service, prior to which Apple support would simply tell you to buy a new iPod if your battery failed. Which is about the amount of time it took for the device to go through one life-cycle in mass consumers hands. Apple along with lithium-ion battery manufacturers always knew that the lifespan for the batteries was about 18 months with a 20% loss in capacity in the first 12. This, however, is not common knowledge in the consumer mainstream, and it was the closed ecosystem of the iPod that prevented them (and still does!) from walking into a Radio Shack to get a new battery for 20 bucks.
Quote
gslusher wrote:
Quote
Anonymous wrote: No, you cannot customize a Mac like that. That's sort of the point of Apple's ecosystem. It's very closed and very controlled. One of the great magic tricks Apple has pulled is convincing its customer base that limiting oneself to Apple-only products results in a better life. Some people eat it up.
Ah, yet another "guest" who knows little about Macs--or, it would seem, the realities of the computer market.
First, while some (not all!) PCs are "customizable," how many buyers actually take advantage of such options? Don't most people buy an off-the-shelf PC?
Second, hardware functionality and interoperability is critical for most people. They don't want to spend a lot of time getting a graphics card to work correctly (yes, I know that it's not as much of a problem now as it used to be).
When Apple started making computers, they were pretty much "build-to-order"--or, more commonly, "finish it yourself." The Apple II series was very flexible. In 1984, Apple introduced two new computers that completely reversed that concept--the Apple //c and the Macintosh.
Later, Apple went through a period where they had a bewildering array of models and options that confused buyers (they introduced nearly 50 Performa models over a period of four years). When Jobs came back to Apple, one of his first actions was to reduce the product line. He also put into motion a project to revamp his original concept for the Mac: a computer that people could take out of the box, plug in the keyboard, mouse, phone line (before the days of DSL and cable modems), and power, push the "ON" button and **POOF!** the computer boots and, minutes later, they're on the Internet, writing documents, whatever. Thus was born the iMac. It became the iconical "home computer," even though it was far from the best selling. (I'm listening to a mystery audiobook by Peter Robinson, published in 2000. In it, Robinson refers to a "tangerine iMac," probably because that's what he had. Have you read/heard a reference to a PC by brand/model name in fiction?)
Today, Apple has three lines of desktop computers. Two are closed systems for most customers (most of whom buy an iMac) and the Mac Pro for those who need to customize their computers.
OWC: Juice up your iPod w/NewerTech High Capacity Battery from $19.99 Free Installation Videos for most models. Pro Installation Service w/FedEx Shipping From $57.95 (Battery Included). - www.MacSales.com
New MacPro Memory 800Mhz With Apple Spec Heat Sink 2GB $104 / 4GB $172 / 8GB $338. Click to Maximize your Macs...
Mac observers can now play Party Poker for Mac as well as Mac casino games by going to MacPokerOnline.com.
RamJet Memory: MacBook 1Gig $39, 2Gig $78, 4Gig $195! Mac Pro 2Gig $115, 4Gig $189! 500G Seagate SATA II $139! Click here
Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.
Harman Kardon EP 730 In-ear Noise Isolating Earphones With Volume Control: $52.99 Delivered 
Archos 604 30 GB Ultraslim Portable Digital Media Player and Recorder: $169.99 Delivered 
Western Digital 320GB My Passport Essential USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive: $128.99 Delivered 
Cavalry 1TB Hard Drive - RAID 1 (500GB Mirrored) - Interface (USB 2.0) External Hard Drive: $189.99 
