The Back Page
by Bryan Chaffin

Current Column

iPhone: All That, a Bag of Chips, and a Rootbeer Float, Too! - July 2nd, 2007

Apple Death Knell #52: The iPhone Will Fail - January 15th, 2007

$5 WiFi Routers...With a Catch - June 28th, 2006

$5 WiFi Routers...With a Catch - June 27th, 2006

April 2006

Boot Camp Means More Mac Users - April 13th, 2006
Rob "Wrong Again" Enderle Peers Into Apple's Windows Future - April 12th, 2006
Apple Death Knell #50: Microsoft & Google to Squeeze Out iTunes - April 3rd, 2006

March 2006

Apple Death Knell #49: No Macs by 2010 - March 8th, 2006

February 2006

John C. Dvorak: Apple Plans Move to Windows - February 16th, 2006

January 2006

MWSF Wrap-Up: Experiencing Macworld in a Snapshot - January 16th, 2006

December 2005

Apple Death Knell #48: Sometime in 2006, Steve Jobs Will Fall from Grace - December 21st, 2005

October 2005

Bryan's Notes from the "One More Thing..." Media Event - October 12th, 2005

September 2005

Apple Death Knell #47: Longhorn Will Spell Apple's Doom - September 20th, 2005

June 2005

Pre-Keynote Thoughts on Apple Moving to Intel - June 6th, 2005

May 2005

Apple Death Knell #46: Folly Will Be Apple's Demise - May 11th, 2005

April 2005

Paul Thurrott Re-raises Specter of Apple Switching to Intel - April 27th, 2005

March 2005

Dvorak: Apple Lawsuits are Threat to Free Press - March 16th, 2005
Death Knell #45: Apple Will Dump Macs in Five Years - March 14th, 2005

January 2005

Motley Fool: Apple Is *Still* Rotten, So There! - January 12th, 2005
IBM: The NeXT Mac Cloner? - January 3rd, 2005

December 2004

Apple Death Knell #44: Philips Electronics Buys Apple in 2005 - December 30th, 2004
Dvorak: Mac Platform Stagnant; Cheap Mac Needed - December 29th, 2004
Newspaper Columnist: No Sympathy For Teachers Losing Macs - December 1st, 2004

October 2004

Error-Ridden Article On MP3 Player Market Is Just Wrong - October 22nd, 2004
Fool vs. Fool: Apple is Rotten and Macs Suck, So There! - October 7th, 2004

September 2004

Apple Death Knell #43: Apple Must Change, Or Die - September 16th, 2004
John C. Dvorak: Talking Sense... - September 10th, 2004
Apple Death Knell #42: Milking the iPod Will Ruin Apple - September 2nd, 2004

August 2004

The iMac G5: The iPod for the Rest of Us - August 31st, 2004
French Virgin Mega Whines About iPod/iTunes/Apple: Let Them Eat Bits - August 5th, 2004

July 2004

Details Emerge On Microsoft's Music Store, Set To Launch In August - July 30th, 2004
Yes, Microsoft Did Steal Apple's Interface (Under License) - July 8th, 2004

June 2004

Rodney O. Lain: Still Knocking 'Em Dead - June 16th, 2004
Rob Enderle On Mac vs. Linux - June 7th, 2004
L.A. Times Criticizes Steve Jobs' Salary - June 7th, 2004

May 2004

Apple Death Knell #41, Apple Likely To Discontinue Mac Development - May 25th, 2004
Apple Death Knell #40, Enderle vs. Chaffin Finale - May 14th, 2004
Bryan Chaffin vs. Rob Enderle, Rounds 3 & 4: What Is Apple? - May 12th, 2004
The Rebuttals: Bryan Chaffin vs. Rob Enderle, Round 2 - May 10th, 2004
Bryan Chaffin & Rob Enderle Duke It Out In Heads Up Debate - May 7th, 2004
Online Music Prices Must Be Lower Than CDs - May 4th, 2004

April 2004

Gateway Country Stores vs. Apple Stores - April 2nd, 2004

March 2004

Apple Death Knell #39: iPod Won't Save Apple - March 18th, 2004
50 Million iTunes Downloads: Missing The Big Picture - March 16th, 2004
Let's All Laugh At The Windows Fanatic - March 12th, 2004
What If Apple Made An XP Box? - March 9th, 2004
Apple Death Knell #38: "The Mac Market Is Ending" - March 8th, 2004

February 2004

Music Format Wars - February 3rd, 2004

December 2003

Rob Enderle Is Only...Mostly Wrong? - December 30th, 2003
PC Apologist Asks If We Mac Users Are Now Humble - December 11th, 2003
Rob Enderle Simply Has To Be The Worst Tech Analyst - December 10th, 2003
Disney Rumor 2003: Forget Apple, Disney, Inc. Wants Steve Jobs - December 5th, 2003

November 2003

Apple Death Knell #32: Apple Must Move To Intel To Generate Demand - November 17th, 2003
Following Apple Yet Again, WSJ Reports Microsoft Will Launch Online Music Service - November 17th, 2003
Death Knell #31: The Reg Says That The iTMS Will Soon Be Extinct - November 7th, 2003
Apple Laptop Program Costs School Board Members Their Jobs - November 6th, 2003

October 2003

Microsoft Wants To Buy Google; For The Love Of Everything That Is Good, Let It Not Happen - October 31st, 2003
A Deeper Look: Independent Developer Criticizes Apple For "Assimilating" Third-Party Software - October 27th, 2003
Enderle Strikes Again, Suggests Apple Split Into Hardware & Software Companies - October
Bill Gates: "We Invented Personal Computing" - October 15th, 2003

September 2003

Apple Dismisses Dell As Unoriginal, But Misses The Point - September 29th, 2003
Newsfactor Columnist Refutes His Own G5 Doom & Gloom - September 26th, 2003

August 2003

HP To Open Store-Within-A-Store & It's Good For Apple - August 22nd, 2003
SCO's Attorney Will Attempt To Have GPL License Declared Invalid - August 15th, 2003
iMac Turns 5 Today: Looking Back At Launch, Effect Of iMac - August 15th, 2003
Mirror Mirror, Who's The Most Decadent CEO Of All? Steve Jobs, Of Course - August 13th, 2003

July 2003

Fighting iTMS Singles: "Protecting The Album" Is A Loser's Argument - July 3rd, 2003

June 2003

Lies, Damned Lies, & Benchmarks - June 24th, 2003
Senator Orrin Hatch: Destroy The Computers Of Pirates - June 18th, 2003

Columnist: New Processor Won't Sell Macs - June 13th, 2003
Pearl Jam Dumps Record Label: More Change For Music Industry - June 9th, 2003
Microsoft Modifies Antitrust Settlement To Extend Education Sales At Apple's Expense - June 6th, 2003

May 2003

Apple Should Partner With Amazon On Amazon-Branded iTunes Music Store - May 30th, 2003
The Real Threat To Record Labels From The Apple Music Stores: Independence - May 1st, 2003

April 2003

Would You Trust Your Life To Windows? If Not, Don't Fly JetBlue - April 22nd, 2003
Technology & Music: Why Apple & Universal Music Go Together - April 14th, 2003

March 2003

Apple Cancels Safari Software Seeding Program, But Should Reconsider - March 24th, 2003
Conversations With A "Mac OS X For Intel" Fan - February 24th, 2003

February 2003

"Stick A Fork In 'Em -- This Apple Is Cooked" - February 20th, 2003

January 2003

Ding Dong, The Witch Is (Almost) Dead! RIAA Head Wrongdoer Hilary Rosen To Step Down - January 23rd, 2003
IDC Says Linux Will Surpass The Mac OS On The Desktop In 2003-2004 - January 3rd, 2003

October 2002

Microsoft Can't Even Be Original When It Illegally Advertises - October 25th, 2002
Farewell New York, I Will Miss You - October 9th, 2002
San Jose Columnist: Apple's Digital Media Approach Good For Consumers - Intel's, AMD's, Microsoft's Not - October 2nd, 2002

September 2002

File Swapping Services Find New Ways To Leech Off Others - September 27th, 2002
Windows Maven: "Why Windows Has The Edge Over The Mac" - September 25th, 2002
Apple's Switch Ad Frightens It Networking Guru - September 23rd, 2002

August 2002

NewsFactor: Jaguar Can't Save Apple, Apple All But Forced Out Of Education Market - August 30th, 2002
How Much Should Jaguar Cost? How Much Is A Customer Worth? - August 14th, 2002
Making .Mac Right - August 13th, 2002
Is Apple A Company You Can Trust? - August 12th, 2002

July 2002

Microsoft Announcements, The Real Apple Rumor Mill - July 17th, 2002

June 2002

John Dvorak: Isn't It Time The Macintosh Was Put Down Like An Old Dog? - June 20th, 2002
Keeping The Faith While Apple Executives Sell Their AAPL Holdings - June 19th, 2002
In Memory Of Rodney O. Lain - June 17th, 2002
Ralph Nader's OMB Solution For Microsoft Is No Solution At All - June 7th, 2002
QuickTime 6 For Consumers & Content Providers: An Analysis - June 4th, 2002
vnunet.com Author Messes Up Mac Security Issues, Again - June 3rd, 2002

May 2002

AOL: The Next Mac Cloner? - May 17th, 2002

April 2002

Microsoft Seen As Offering Heavy Hand To Oregon Schools - April 23rd, 2002
White House Considers Microsoft's Passport For Online National ID System - April 19th, 2002

March 2002

Analyzing The MW Tokyo Keynote From The Show Floor - March 22nd, 2002

January 2002

New iMacs. iPhoto. Good Stuff. - January 8th, 2002

October 2001

The iPod: What Would Have Made It Right (For Me) - October 24th, 2001
Microsoft Facing Mounting Customer Dissatisfaction Of XP Licensing Scheme - October 5th, 2001
Two CompUSA Locations Go Above & Beyond For Mac OS X 10.1 - October 1st, 2001

September 2001

The "Free" OS X 10.1 Update: The Implied Contract & Other Replies - September 10th, 2001

August 2001

The Mysterious Case Of The Free Mac OS X Upgrade That Will Cost You US$20 - August 31st, 2001
Microsoft Waltzes The Next Step In The Dance Of Death (Avoidance) - August 10th, 2001

July 2001

Microsoft's IE Reversal: A Sacrificial Wolf In Dead Sheep's Clothing - July 13th, 2001

June 2001

Fortune Attacks Steve Jobs' Salary Using Sloppy Data - June 18th, 2001
Dell Continues Campaign Of Innuendo, Discounts Apple As 20th Century Technology - June 15th, 2001
For Once, Apple Should Follow In Dell's Footsteps - June 5th, 2001

May 2001

Microsoft's Next Stunt Offers Apple An Opportunity - May 7th, 2001
Windows Users Criticize Microsoft Better Than Mac Users Ever Could - May 7th, 2001
Microsoft Sinks To New Low - May 4th, 2001

March 2001

What Does Mac OS X Mean To Me? The Power To Be My Best - March 23rd, 2001
Microsoft, Open Source, The American Way, Litigation, Innovation, & Imitation - March 2nd, 2001

February 2001

Tokyo Complaints, iMac/Cube Gripes, & Praise For The GeForce3 - February 23rd, 2001
I Love The New iMac Colors: 180 Degrees In 13 Hours - February 22nd, 2001
Gaze Thee Upon The Power That Titanium Has On The Infidel - February 12th, 2001

January 2001

Beyond The Digital Hub - January 19th, 2001
Mac OS X Would Have Been Better Without Aqua - December 29th, 2000

December 2000

Rid Thyself Of Angst Concerning OS X On Pre-G3 Macs - December 15th, 2000
The Trouble With Aqua Is That It Is Great - December 1st, 2000
Apple's Pain Is Your Gain - December 8th, 2000

November 2000

No OS X On Intel Part II: The Hardware Reality - November 22nd, 2000
OS X Is Coming: Watch Out, You May Be A Reactionary Luddite - November 17th, 2000

August 2000

How I Came To Use A Mac: A Tribute To Kinko's - August 5th, 2000

July 2000

Mac User Groups In The Age Of The iMac - July 18th, 2000
.Net? .Not! Microsoft Abandons Future To Apple - July 10th, 2000

June 2000

In Reluctant Defense Of MacNN/AppleInsider - June 30th, 2000

May 2000

Three Easy Solutions For The Napster Problem - May 5th, 2000

March 2000

Why Apple Was Brilliant For Showing Aqua Now - March 24th, 2000

February 2000

Accountability, Responsibility, And Denial Of Service Attacks - February 11th, 2000

January 2000

Let's Hope Today's Mac User Survives The Survival Of Apple - January 28th, 2000
News Vs. Rumors, Which Is Which? - January 21st, 2000
Grading My MACWORLD Predictions - January 14th, 2000
"Users Critique Apple Computers" - Some Mainstream Journalists Still Don't Get It - January 7th, 2000

December 1999

What Will, and Won't Be Announced At MACWORLD SF - December 31st, 1999
It's Been A Great Christmas - December 24th, 1999
Apple Firmly Places G4 Debacle Behind Them - December 3rd, 1999

November 1999

Home Is Where The Mac Is? - November 19th, 1999
The Freedom To Innovate? What A Load Of Bull! - November 12th, 1999
iMac - The Next Generation, A Merchandizing Opportunity? - November 5th, 1999

October 1999

My long Years As A Mac Evangelist Bring The Big Pay Off - October 29th, 1999
Apple: 2 Steps Forward, 49 Back - October 15th, 1999
Uh-oh, Steve Jobs May Be Finished - October 8th, 1999
How The Mac Has Changed The World: The Gift of Time - October 1st, 1999

September 1999

Apple Is Missing Out On A Powerful Weapon - September 24th, 1999
What's brewing in Cupertino? - September 20th, 1999
Our Love-Hate Relationship With Apple - September 10th, 1999
Apple's G4 ROM Block Will Only Serve To Lose Customers - September 3rd, 1999

August 1999

One Of The Reasons The PC Remains More Popular Than The Mac - August 27th, 1999
IBM PowerPC Motherboards: Apple's Biggest Opportunity Yet - August 20th, 1999
Why iMac Knockoffs Are Good For Apple - August 13th, 1999
Microsoft's Market Dominance: Change Is In The Air - August 6th, 1999

July 1999

ACK! The iBook Is Here, What Can I Look Forward To Now? - July 30th, 1999
MACWORLD Predictions: What We Said vs. What Really Happened - July 23rd, 1999
Heading into MacWorld, Apple Is Healthier Than Any Other Time In History - July 16th, 1999
Great Expectations: What Will, and Won't Be Announced At MacWorld - July 9th, 1999
The Unity of the Mac Community - July 2nd, 1999

June 1999

Lemmings, Part II: The "It’s Good Enough" Syndrome - June 25th, 1999
Lemmings, Part I: What Windows Users Will Put Up With - June 18th, 1999
Intuit, Best Buy, and Hewlett-Packard, Who Needs 'Em? - June 11th, 1999
I Have Made My Peace With Apple - June 4th, 1999

March 1999

Apple's Rainbow Not Colorful Enough For Jesse Jackson - March 26th, 1999

December 1998

An Awful Thing Came To Pass....Almost - December 4th, 1999

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began using Apple computers in 1983 in a high school BASIC programming class. He started using Macs in 1990 when the Kinko's guy taught him how to use Aldus PageMaker, finally buying a Power Computing Power 100 in 1995. Today, Bryan is the Editor of The Mac Observer, and has contributed to the print versions of MacAddict and MacFormat (UK).

You can send your comments directly to him, or you can also post your comments below.

Most Recent Columns From The Back Page

• $5 WiFi Routers...With a Catch - June 27th
• Boot Camp Means More Mac Users - April 13th
• Rob "Wrong Again" Enderle Peers Into Apple's Windows Future - April 12th

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