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Two Stars, No Waiting (6/10/99)
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As usual, Apple Insider's got the fun dirt, though of course we couldn't even begin to speculate about whether or not it's really true. They've finally shed some light on the cryptic reference to a "sidekick" that popped up in their latest report on the upcoming consumer portable, virtually guaranteed for a Macworld Expo introduction next month. When we saw the word "sidekick," our minds were inexorably drawn toward the whole Apple-branded handheld thing; was there to be a surprise unveiling of the Newton's successor?
Alas, no-- if Apple Insider is correct, what we'll see instead is the first big revision of the consumer powerhouse known as the iMac. Notice that we said "big" revision; we're not talking about the small stuff like upping the processor speed, replacing the graphics chip, expanding the hard drive, or injecting new fruit flavors. The new iMac, code-named "C2," reportedly represents a significant leap forward in the iMac's evolution, introducing a completely new and "radically redesigned" enclosure, which adds easy access to the unit's innards-- no more disassembling your entire iMac just to upgrade the RAM. There's also the possibility of DVD and FireWire, which may sound like high-end features, but they would just fit in so well with the whole consumer video-editing and movie-watching scenario. Throw in a larger 15"-viewable screen, stir, and voilà-- C2 à la Steve.
Apparently the Mysterious Mr. Jobs has been cranking up the volume on the C2 project, whipping the development and design team into a frenzy in hopes of getting a couple hundred machines squeezed out in time to show them at the Expo. The consumer portable would have offered plenty of drama on its own, but putting it on stage with a new iMac ought to juice the Expo crowd with enough excitement to incite a riot-- a good kind of riot, but a riot nonetheless. We're anxious to see what comes to pass... and we'll probably be wearing helmets, just in case.
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SceneLink (1596)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 6/10/99 episode: June 10, 1999: The reason for the $1299 Sears iMac comes clear, as the phenomenal "sale price" of $1199 is revealed. Meanwhile, the consumer portable may have to share the Macworld Expo spotlight with another star, and "Pirates of Silicon Valley" is rapidly approaching-- gear up by reading the early reviews...
Other scenes from that episode: 1595: Playing The Sale Game (6/10/99) Not that this comes as any particular surprise, but Sears is playing the classic retail game when it comes to pricing the iMac. You know the one; jack up the "regular price" of an item, so you can then offer a lower "special sale price" that, coincidentally, just happens to be the regular price everywhere else... 1597: Countdown to Pirates (6/10/99) There's only just over a week to go before TNT debuts its long-awaited Steve Jobs/Bill Gates biopic, "The Pirates of Silicon Valley," and the AtAT staff is getting restless. Sure, we've been through the web site and taken the Silicon Quiz, played the little Shockwave versions of all those classic games like "Pong" and "Breakout" (ah, the misspent hours of our lost youth...), etc., but we're just itching for the actual televisual experience-- we're still kicking ourselves for sleeping instead of channel-surfing a couple of weeks ago when TNT aired it unannounced and in the middle of the night so it could qualify for the Emmys. So we're grateful that MacWEEK posted a fairly in-depth review of the movie, which discusses lots of what happens on-screen...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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