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One-Click Just Got Scarier (8/30/01)
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Okay, when Amazon announced it was now selling personal computers online, we accepted the news with a casual yawn and an utter lack of interest and surprise. After all, Amazon's been adding so many new categories to its online store over the years, you really have to be a wide-eyed simp to oooooh and aaahhh over every little addition. Originally it was books. Then there were videos and CDs, which seemed like a natural extension. At some point they added software, consumer electronics, cameras, mobile phones-- all still sort of bookstore-type stuff, we suppose. Then we noticed categories showing up like "Kitchen & Housewares," "Outdoor Living," "Health & Beauty," and "Tools & Hardware," and we started to get jaded. Once "Cars" got added, Amazon could have announced it would soon be selling military-grade weapons and crack cocaine and we wouldn't have batted an eye.
Indeed, even the news that Amazon's new computer section would be selling Macs didn't particularly pique our interest. Sure, we were glad to hear that Apple was gaining another sales partner (and a nice high-visibility one at that), but again, we had a serious case of Amazon Jadedness and figured it was no big whoop. But then faithful viewer pbrice wrote in to tell us something that did make us sit up and take notice: Macs were appearing on Amazon's "Top Sellers" list. When one of the biggest names in online shopping reports that Macs are making up a reasonably mammoth chunk of their computer system sales, that's when we start to pay attention.
Apparently when pbrice wrote in, the basic Indigo iMac had been in the number one slot. When we last checked it had fallen into second place behind some Toshiba laptop, but still, second place is nothing to spit at. And as it turns out, the Snow 500 MHz iMac is lodged squarely in the fifth place slot, following a pair of Compaq desktops in third and fourth. So, at least when last we checked, Apple commanded two of Amazon's top five. Not bad, huh?
So we're starting to get excited about this Amazon-Apple deal after all. Not only is it terrific exposure for the Mac platform (heck, there was a picture of a PowerBook G4 right on Amazon's home page), but it also appears that Amazon might really be able to move some merchandise. Who knows? Maybe the next time we preorder a copy of The Princess Bride on DVD, we'll be tempted to toss a Quicksilver Power Mac G4 in the cart-- you know, just to consolidate items and save on shipping. Why, we'd be fools not to!
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SceneLink (3277)
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 8/30/01 episode: August 30, 2001: As predicted, Intel and AMD unveil their strategies to counter the "Megahertz Myth." Meanwhile, Intel also drops its support of competing technologies in order to embrace ones that Apple chose as its standards, and the addition of computers to Amazon's massive e-tailing stable didn't faze us much-- until Macs grabbed two of the Top Five Sellers spots...
Other scenes from that episode: 3275: Gigahertz, Shmigahertz (8/30/01) Okay, we know we've mentioned this before, but it's all starting to come into focus now, so we think it bears a second look. Take a deep breath, concentrate, and try not to go wandering off in boredom when we bring up the sordid issue of... the Megahertz Myth. (Insert jarring and dramatic chord here)... 3276: Body-Snatchers, Anyone? (8/30/01) Speaking of Intel, can anyone tell us what specific pod-based alien life form is taking over the minds of that company's higher-ups? We can accept the downplaying of clock speed as a performance indicator in light of the shipping of Intel's new 64-bit "Oops, It Only Runs At 800 MHz" Itanium processor, but the public endorsement of two technologies chosen as standards by Apple has us wondering if the whole company recently packed up and moved to Stepford or something...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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