Today's News On One Page
October 5th, 1999
[4:30 PM] Rebate Program From CompuServe Puts iMac In US$599 Range
In another very significant announcement from Apple today, the company announced that CompuServe had extended its famed rebate program to people purchasing new Apple computers. The rebate program offers a US$400 rebate to Mac buyers who sign up for a three year contract with CompuServe. That rebate places the new 350 MHz iMac model at US$599 after the rebate. According to Apple and CompuServe:
We have not yet found a specific URL for Observers to find more information on how to receive the rebate. CompUSA units will be receiving the information shortly, though we expect it to take at least a few days to penetrate through the floor ranks. We will post an update when we have more information. The Mac Observer Spin: Analysts have been awaiting some form of announcement along these lines for months as Apple took PR hits for not having cheaper units. This agreement between the two companies finally puts Apple on more even footing in the minds of consumers, especially those who may be less savvy to the differences between platforms. If CompUSA pushes this as hard as they have the PC rebates, iMac sales are simply going to explode. This going to mean a huge fiscal 1st quarter for the company, absolutely huge. Apple's fiscal 1st quarter is the 4th calendar quarter (i.e. the holiday shopping season). |
[3:45 PM] Apple Stock Watch: Apple Pushes Ahead 5% As Street Welcomes New iMac
Apple's stock actually benefited from the announcement of new iMacs and held onto those gains throughout the trading day. Early gains enjoyed by the broader market were washed away as the markets reacted very negatively to news from the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve announced that they would not raise interest rates (an expected move), and that they were adopting a "tightening bias" (another expected move). Though both moves were expected, the markets turned broad gains from earlier in the trading day into broad losses. This momentarily swept Apple along as well, erasing much of the 4 point gains Apple saw in early trading. Apple held on to stay in positive territory and ended the day more than 5% up. Apple closed at 67 15/16, a gain of 3 3/8 or 5.23%. Volume was heavy with 7,266,700 shares trading hands. Macromedia shared in Apple's glory as the stock closed up more than 3 points as well. Adobe and Symantec closed lower. Apple's PowerPC partners were mixed as Motorola closed lower and IBM closed higher. On the PC front, Compaq, Intel, and Microsoft all ended the day lower while Dell, Gateway 2000, Hewlett-Packard ended the day lower. The Dow closed at 10400.59, down 0.64 and the Nasdaq closed at 2799.67, a gain of 3.70. For full quotes on all the companies mentioned in this article, we have assembled this set of quotes at Yahoo! for your reference. We also have these same quotes reported live (20 minute delay) on our home page [Editor's Note: As of this writing, the home page stock quotes are down for maintenance.] For other stories regarding Apple's stock activity, visit our Apple Stock Watch Special Report. The Mac Observer Spin: Wall Street loves the sub-US$1000 iMac and views the overall new product line as a cheaper product line. The reality is that Apple introduced a new, faster iMac and raised the price to US$1299. The sub-US$1000 model represents a new emasculated version of the iMac when compared to the rest of the new product line, and therein lies Apple's brilliance. No other computer manufacturer could possibly introduce a revision to an existing product line and actually raise prices. Apple, however, will be able to pull this off fantastically as The Street and consumers focus on the low end version. Please don't misunderstand, the new 400 MHz iMacs are certainly worth US$1299. The video upgrade, DVD player, software, and FireWire all combine to make the iMac DV a fantastic improvement over the iMac 350 MHz model, and well worth the higher price tag. The point of this commentary is that M. Jobs and his team crafted a situation that allows them to raise their prices in a market where that is largely considered suicide. From a business standpoint, this is nothing short of outstanding for Apple's bottom line. |
[3:30 PM] Apple Makes New iMac, iMac DV, And iMac DV Special Edition Official!
2 weeks of intrigue and scandal were made good today as Apple introduced the long awaited new iMac product line. As reported here (first) and elsewhere, the new line includes 3 models, FireWire, DVD, new colors, faster processors, video out, and a new case design, as well as other improvements. According to Apple's official press release:
The Mac Observer Spin: These are hot, sexy new machines. As we remarked in our live coverage of the announcements, M. Jobs appeared visibly moved over the new products. As evidenced in the above press release, M. Jobs called the new iMacs the best products Apple has ever shipped. During the presentation itself, he talked about how quiet the models are for more than 2 minutes, a long time to devote to such a seemingly minor feature. This is definitely the mark of an Insanely Great product and while it is overshadowed by the DVD, FireWire, and new case design for most people, we think it is the most important aspect of the new machines. The DV models with their ability to play full screen DVD movies and the ability for consumers to make their own movies is going to have a huge impact in the consumer market. Apple will have to get the message out and truly make it apparent to non-techies that it will be easy to make your own movie, but if they can do so, Christmas will be a very big month for Apple indeed. |
[3:00 AM] Steve Jobs Interviewed On CNBC...Again
Steve Jobs was interviewed on CNBC after today's Special Event help in Cupertino at 12:00 PM CDT. CNBC asked M. Jobs about problems that Taiwan may have caused Apple. M. Jobs replied that Apple had been halted with iBook production for a short while, but that they were producing iBooks again at this time. M. Jobs also said that Apple hoped to have a good quarter with the iBook. CNBC was also interested in the sub-US$1000 aspect of the new low end iMac and commented that marked the first time that Apple had competed in the sub-US$1000 market. CNBC did not ask about, nor did M. Jobs comment on, the CompuServe rebate offer of US$400 back for new Mac purchases when the user signs up for 3 years of CompuServe service. The interview featured highlights from M. Jobs's presentation including lots of product shots. The interview was short, but once again it was very positive. The Mac Observer Spin: Wall Street's love affair with M. Jobs seems to continue. CNBC's coverage of Apple throughout the day was very positive. This included coverage of the new products, coverage of M. Jobs, and coverage of their stock performance before and after today's announcements. |
[2:45 PM] Apple Ships OS 9
Steve Jobs, Apple's iCEO, announced that OS 9 is officially shipping. OS 9 is the next upgrade to the MacOS and contains a host of new features and performance improvements. According to Apple:
Apple said OS 9 should be available at retailers on October 23rd and will be priced at US$99. The company is also offering a US$20 rebate for owners of MacOS 8.5x and MacOS 8.6. It can be ordered immediately from The Apple Store. You can find more information on Os 9 at Apple's web site. The Mac Observer Spin: This is a significant upgrade to the MacOS in terms of performance and in "goodies." We expect that this should be a very successful release for Apple. |
[Lat Updated 1:48 PM] Live Coverage Of Apple's Special Event
[1:48 PM] It looks as if the presentation is actually completed this time. Look for more detailed coverage of Apple's announcements during the next few hours. Thanks to Observer Davian Kaplan for his help in connecting to the Webcast. [1:46 PM] M. Jobs is recapping the product line and pointing out that the entire product line has been turned over in just 5 months. In another touch of class, he is saluting the employees of Apple and their families. This is a rare moment for M. Jobs and we commend him! [1:44 PM] M. Jobs saluted Chiat/Day and their creative team. A very nice touch. [1:43 PM] M. Jobs is showing three new iMac commercials. They play upon existing themes. Voice overs are by Jeff Goldblum. One commercial features Desktop Video concept. All three commercials are excellent. [1:42 PM] The iMac DV Special Edition is available today! At least for ordering. M. Jobs says that they will be shipping tens of thousands of units this week. [1:40 PM] The iMac DV Special Edition is Graphite colored, as we had predicted, and ships with 128 MB of RAM standard. It will ship for US$1499. More RAM and a special color will allow Apple to ship this model for the higher price. More brilliance from Apple. [1:39 PM] M. Jobs has just announced the price of the iMac DV. The unit will ship at US$1299. A brilliant move when coupled with the US$999 model. With each model, he has pretended that he was finished. He has just announced the iMac DV Special Edition. Gotta love it. :-) [1:37 PM] M. Jobs just recorded a live message to his parents with a digital video camera. He is making a movie with the new iVideo software. He added a sound track, and Boom!, he has a great video to send to his parents. This has tremendous consumer appeal. [1:35 PM] M. Jobs has built his own video for us, including many video effect, on screen as a demonstration of how simple the new software is to use. Upon playing the video, he got a brief standing ovation. [1:30 PM] Steve Jobs has introduced the new iMac, including a new low end 350 MHz model at only US$999. CompuServe is now offering their US$400 discount to all new Macs meaning that one can get a new iMac for US$599. Very cool. All new models are very transparent and 1: shorter. They also are fanless and extremely quiet. All new iMacs include built-in AirPort support as well as a new 8MB ATI Rage 128 video card. Include a new speaker system. M. Jobs has also introduced a new model called the iMac DV. This model ships at 400 MHz, has a DVD drive, FireWire, Video Out (Cool!), video editing software, new refined colors, and more. M. Jobs humorously referred to his "favorite movies" which were, of course, Pixar flicks. Phil Schiller demonstrated playing Quake II Test across an AirPort network. The Mac Observer Spin:It was very interesting to see how proud M. Jobs is about the new models. The fanless aspect, the quietness, the apperance, the size, the features, and everything else obviously were much closer to the original vision of an Insanely Great product that he had when he first envisoined the iMac in the first place. Of course, he could have been simply playing the part of the Showman, but we think this reaction was legitimate. |
[Column] Wasting Time With The Idiots - Using PC Parts On Your Mac II, The Return of Macinstein |
[Column] On The Flip Side - Apple's Weird Relations With Media And Customers |
[10:20 AM] Apple Trading Higher In Advance Of "Special Event"
Apple is trading higher this morning in advance of Apple's Special Event scheduled for 12:00 PM CDT. Steve Jobs is expected to announce Apple's next iMac revision at this Special Event, and Wall Street appears to be excited about it. Apple is trading at 67 7/16, a rise of 2 7/8 or 4.45% as of 10:217 AM CDT (with a 15 minute delay). Volume is moderately heavy for morning trading with 2,540,900 shares trading hands. We will be bringing you live coverage of M. Jobs's announcement once it begins, as well as its impact on Apple's stock performance later today. For other stories regarding Apple's stock activity, visit our Apple Stock Watch Special Report. The Mac Observer Spin: Buy on rumor, sell on fact. That's the rule of thumb these days on Wall Street. If that rule holds for today, then Apple could fall in afternoon trading or tomorrow. However, this announcement could be just what the doctor ordered for Wall Street to drive the stock back to the lofty highs set before Apple announced an earnings warning two weeks ago. |
[10:00 AM] XLR8 Updates G4 White Paper
XLR8 has released the latest version of their G4 White Paper. This document contains various technical and performance information about the latest Motorolla/Apple/IBM microprocessor. According to XLR8:
The G4 White Paper can be found at the XLR8 web site. The Mac Observer Spin: This White Paper has lots of information covering many different aspects of G4 and other upgrade issues. If you have questions about the G4, this is a must read. |
[10:00 AM] Trio Of Network Utilities From Maxum Updated
Maxum Development has upgraded their array of server tools. NetCloak, PageSentry, and Rumpus have all received maintenance upgrades. According to Maxum Development:
One user license's are available for each of the three products. NetCloak and Rumpus are available for US$195, while PageSentry is available for US$149. The most recent updates are free to registered users. You can find more information at the Maxum Development web site. |
[10:00 AM] Developer Seeks Feedback
MindVision, the maker of MindExpander software, is seeking input on the MindExpander utility. MindExpander can recognize and decompress many popular file formats. According to MindVision:
MindVision has made it easy to report a bug or make suggestions by posting an on line form. You can find more information on MindExpander at the MindVision web site. |
[8:30 AM] New Utility Checks For Apps With Y2K Problems
Blue Line Studios has released their Millennium utility, Y2K App Checker. For those not aware, the Year 2000 (Y2K) bug is a result of using two digits instead of four to denote the year. This may cause some applications to recognize January 1, 2000 as January 1, 1900. Any software reliant on date codes could obviously suffer from such an error. According to Blue Line Studios:
Blue Line Studios is providing Y2K App Checker free to the Macintosh community, but the product is not yet released. A specific date has not been announced, but The Mac Observer will be sure to bring it to you as soon as it is. You can find more information at the Blue Line Studios web site. |
[8:30 AM] Creepin' Critter Educational Games Updated
Mac-Stacks Emporium has released new versions of the Creepin Critter educational line, Creepin' Critter Math 4.2, and Creepin' Critter Clocks 1.1. These educational titles simplify the learning process, while making computer use for children more enjoyable. According to the Mac-Stacks Emporium:
Each of the Creepin' Critters programs is available for US$10, with a site license available for US$50. You can find more information on both of these products at the Mac-Stacks Emporium web site. |