As the Apple Turns: Scene 2715: Another One Bites The Dot (12/1/00)

Another One Bites The Dot (12/1/00)

One classic sign of a Mac industry on a downward slide is the sudden disappearance of one or more print publications. Remember when MacWEEK decided to go online-only? Remember when MacUser was bought by and assimilated into Macworld? Scary times, indeed. But this is the Digital Age, yadda yadda yadda, so when online publications start closing up shop, is that a symptom of these currently rough waters for Apple, or is it just another dotcom shakeout? Or does it even mean anything special at all?

We speak, of course, of the shakeup over at MacAddict.com; perhaps you've already noticed Rich Pizor's farewell posted at the site, in which the intrepid content dude makes it worryingly clear that he's been flat-out laid off. Even more ominous is his assertion that "there's going to be some changes with MacAddict.com." And if you want the big dose of angst, head on over to MacSlash and read how Rich wasn't the only one who got a pink slip for Christmas; reportedly "the entire MacAddict.com staff" got the axe.

Quick sanity check, here-- we're talking expressly about MacAddict.com, not MacAddict magazine. The pleasantly-weird-smelling, CD-ROM-packing, mostly-irreverent print edition escapes unscathed, so don't go fretting over your subscription or anything. However, the future of the web site appears to be a big question mark right about now. Noting AtAT's affiliation with MacAddict.com, faithful viewer Stiv wrote in to ask us for "the 411, the dill'yo, the buzz, the word about what's going on" over there, but unfortunately, there's wasn't much we could tell him, because as of broadcast time, we still hadn't heard anything first-hand from the MacAddict.com folks ourselves. Maybe we're just naturally pessimistic, but that fact in itself strikes us as at least noteworthy, if not downright portentous.

Whether or not you were a fan of the site, a full-on MacAddict.com shutdown probably means bad news. For one thing, it may well be an indication that the Mac market is indeed getting gnarly again-- maybe not 1996-1997 gnarly, but gnarly nonetheless. For another, AtAT relies on MacAddict.com for sending viewers and ad revenue our way, so in a worst-case scenario, the producers of this show may have to resort to eating (choke) generic Tater Tots. It's a tragedy, we know, but like we said before, we still haven't heard anything official about the future of MacAddict.com, so don't go calling Sally Struthers to shoot a tearful commercial at the AtAT studios just yet. If we wind up having to choose between heating oil and cable TV, trust us, you'll hear about it.

SceneLink (2715)

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From the writer/creator of AtAT, a Pandemic Dad Joke taken WAYYYYYY too far

The above scene was taken from the 12/1/00 episode:

December 1, 2000: Years of rumors and speculation finally bear fruit, as Disney signs a computer purchasing agreement with-- Compaq?! Meanwhile, strange doings and pink slips are afoot over at MacAddict.com, and Apple faces an inventory crisis of Super Big Gulp proportions...

Other scenes from that episode:

2714: The Big Mouse's Treachery (12/1/00) Heads up, hardcore Disney-Apple conspiracy theorists; you may suddenly have a much tougher time crafting your elaborate scenarios of collusion between Steve's gang and the minions of Walt. Rumors that Disney would buy Apple outright have been making the rounds since the "Steamboat Willie" days, though of course, so far that unholy alliance has yet to gel-- "still in the planning stages," as the true believers might put it...
2716: Big Supply, No Demand (12/1/00) Speaking of Apple's return to the doom and gloom of yesteryear, does anyone else think it's interesting that the last time Apple got beat up so hard so consistently in the press, the company lost a billion dollars in a year?...

Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast...


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