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Chew On This (9/15/98)
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Well, we've officially met and exceeded our U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance of irony today. First we came across a ZDNet article about how PC manufacturers are adopting a "wait and see" attitude about the iMac and its revolutionary design. Are "slick, cool PCs" the "way of the future?" (To which question most of us would probably answer, "well, ,duh.") IBM reserves judgment until they can see just who's buying all the cute little computers. Compaq says that Apple has good luck with all-in-one systems, but they can't base a strategy on the iMac's success. Dell claims their customers are too high-end for the iMac to be relevant. Other manufacturers had no comment. Overall, it sounds like Wintel manufacturers aren't too bullish on easy-to-use integrated systems with futuristic designs and cool translucent cases. Fair enough.
But then an anonymous MacHead pointed out a CNET article about new a new PC from Intel that "borrows heavily from the iMac design." Like the iMac, It's got a funky shape, only this one's more reminiscent of a Mayan pyramid than of a truncated Easter egg. But more importantly, it's translucent blue. At the machine's introduction, Intel's CEO claims that customers are looking for "different form factors and absolute simplicity of design." The big difference? You can buy an iMac now. Intel's blue plastic computer won't be available until 2001. (Perhaps it should be redesigned to resemble a black monolith instead?)
That's not all-- apparently a Korean PC manufacturer named Trigem is working on an "iMac knock-off," based on a 333 MHz Celeron chip, and they've already hired an industrial designer to come up with a copycat design. So at least some of the Wintel industry thinks the iMac's industrial design is helping move units. We just thought it was cool that both articles came out on the same day and essentially contradict each other. Mmmmm, irony-- keeps the heart pumping, fills you with vim and vigor, and always puts a spring in your step! Are you getting enough?
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SceneLink (1015)
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 9/15/98 episode: September 15, 1998: Apple's only got two hands, and juggling iMacs, Power Macs, and PowerBooks is getting tiresome-- time to call in some outside help? Meanwhile, while most of the Wintel industry thinks the iMac's design is a flash in the pan, Intel and Trigem are borrowing and stealing iMac design elements in their own computers, and Quark has dropped its proposal to buy Adobe, in the face of Adobe's extreme resistance...
Other scenes from that episode: 1014: Not Manufactured Here (9/15/98) The iMac keeps selling up a storm; units seem to fly off of store shelves as if repelled by some kind of magnetic force. So far, Apple's done an admirable job of keeping up with demand, but the strain of cranking out iMacs twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week is really beginning to show... 1016: Separate Ways (9/15/98) The dream is over; Quark Inc., the makers of QuarkXPress, has officially withdrawn their proposal to buy out competitor Adobe. In a press release, Quark reveals that Adobe has repeatedly rejected their offers for a friendly buyout, and "summarily dismissed" the entire proposal...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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