Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Headless iMac launch delayed already?
Just three days ago, I commented on what will happen when MacWorld Expo has come and gone, and the phony headless iMac rumor turns out to be just that:
"We'll have to tolerate a week or two of those pained 'Why didn't Apple give us our headless iMac?' articles. There'll even be new fake rumors spread, this time that the fantasy product is going to be launched at AppleExpo Paris or whatever major Mac-related event comes next."
And, as if I'd written this whole silly script on the back of a napkin, we get this today, in which one site reports that another site has reported that sources close to Apple have confirmed that someone somewhere else has reported the following:
"The company may announce the new Mac at a special event within the next one to two months."
You guys know exactly what I would say if I were to comment on this, so do I even need to say it?
Nah, forget it, I'll just move on. I swear, before this week is over, I'll get around to commenting on some things that might actually come true at MacWorld Expo. Can't spend all my time here merely swatting down flies, you know. So I'll point out that Apple cut its product pricing in less than three different ways today. According to various reports scattered across the web, Apple reduced pricing on LCD displays, cut prices across the board in the UK, and did the same in Canada. So it really does look as if perhaps Apple is ready to play ball when it comes to lowering the prices of the Macintosh line in order to appeal to more users. All headless iMac insanity aside, I do fully expect to see price cuts (possibly of the large-percentage variety) for both the eMac and the iMac. Despite perception to the contrary, I've never been against Apple lowering the prices (and profit margins) of its computers. In fact, considering how much cash Apple has in the bank and how much cushion revenue it now gets from the iPod, I think there's never been a better time for a low-cost low-end Mac. It's just that it's obvious (to me, at least) that the product should and will continue to have a built-in monitor. It may not be what the "geek one percent" assumes that the rest of the world wants, but it is in fact what the other ninety-nine percent of computers out there are looking for. It's times like this when the chasm between tech-oriented people and "regular people" is truly exposed for just how wide it is.
Which is a shame, considering that now is the time when "regular people" are beginning to take over the direction of technology. There's a reason why Dell has done so well using its brand name to sell lame generic computers, but failed so miserably when it tried to sell a lame generic MP3 player. It's because the regular people out there just weren't interested in allowing their music experience to suck as badly as their computing experience. People buy their computer from Dell because they assume that it's the best among a bunch of lousy choices, and that's only because they mistakenly think that Apple isn't one of their options. And the more regular people out there who buy an Apple iPod and see how easy it is to use, but then buy something like a digital camera and have a mediocre "the software's too confusing so I'll just print the pictures and be done with it" experience, the more those users are going to figure out that the only real difference between their digital music and digital photo experiences is the fact that one is an Apple experience and one is not.
So in my mind, unless Apple screws it up by doing something really stupid (you know what I'm referring to), 2005 will indeed be the year of the Macintosh. It should be a lot of fun.
Yesterday I dropped a teaser about what I intend to do about the growing chasm out there between the "geek one percent" and the regular people, and the response to that hint of mine has already been phenomenal, considering how slight of a hint it was. I'm afraid I can't tell you much more at the moment, other than to keep your eyes peeled...
Just three days ago, I commented on what will happen when MacWorld Expo has come and gone, and the phony headless iMac rumor turns out to be just that:
"We'll have to tolerate a week or two of those pained 'Why didn't Apple give us our headless iMac?' articles. There'll even be new fake rumors spread, this time that the fantasy product is going to be launched at AppleExpo Paris or whatever major Mac-related event comes next."
And, as if I'd written this whole silly script on the back of a napkin, we get this today, in which one site reports that another site has reported that sources close to Apple have confirmed that someone somewhere else has reported the following:
"The company may announce the new Mac at a special event within the next one to two months."
You guys know exactly what I would say if I were to comment on this, so do I even need to say it?
Nah, forget it, I'll just move on. I swear, before this week is over, I'll get around to commenting on some things that might actually come true at MacWorld Expo. Can't spend all my time here merely swatting down flies, you know. So I'll point out that Apple cut its product pricing in less than three different ways today. According to various reports scattered across the web, Apple reduced pricing on LCD displays, cut prices across the board in the UK, and did the same in Canada. So it really does look as if perhaps Apple is ready to play ball when it comes to lowering the prices of the Macintosh line in order to appeal to more users. All headless iMac insanity aside, I do fully expect to see price cuts (possibly of the large-percentage variety) for both the eMac and the iMac. Despite perception to the contrary, I've never been against Apple lowering the prices (and profit margins) of its computers. In fact, considering how much cash Apple has in the bank and how much cushion revenue it now gets from the iPod, I think there's never been a better time for a low-cost low-end Mac. It's just that it's obvious (to me, at least) that the product should and will continue to have a built-in monitor. It may not be what the "geek one percent" assumes that the rest of the world wants, but it is in fact what the other ninety-nine percent of computers out there are looking for. It's times like this when the chasm between tech-oriented people and "regular people" is truly exposed for just how wide it is.
Which is a shame, considering that now is the time when "regular people" are beginning to take over the direction of technology. There's a reason why Dell has done so well using its brand name to sell lame generic computers, but failed so miserably when it tried to sell a lame generic MP3 player. It's because the regular people out there just weren't interested in allowing their music experience to suck as badly as their computing experience. People buy their computer from Dell because they assume that it's the best among a bunch of lousy choices, and that's only because they mistakenly think that Apple isn't one of their options. And the more regular people out there who buy an Apple iPod and see how easy it is to use, but then buy something like a digital camera and have a mediocre "the software's too confusing so I'll just print the pictures and be done with it" experience, the more those users are going to figure out that the only real difference between their digital music and digital photo experiences is the fact that one is an Apple experience and one is not.
So in my mind, unless Apple screws it up by doing something really stupid (you know what I'm referring to), 2005 will indeed be the year of the Macintosh. It should be a lot of fun.
Yesterday I dropped a teaser about what I intend to do about the growing chasm out there between the "geek one percent" and the regular people, and the response to that hint of mine has already been phenomenal, considering how slight of a hint it was. I'm afraid I can't tell you much more at the moment, other than to keep your eyes peeled...
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