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Bad Vibes from Newtsville (3/4/98)
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Well, we can't say we didn't expect it, but here comes the backlash. After all, when Apple cancelled all further Newton development last week, they effectively orphaned a slew of users and developers alike. That's why the Newton Developers Association is organizing a protest to take place this Friday, in front of the Apple Store in Cupertino. They encourage anyone who can to attend; those who can't, but want to show their support anyway, are urged to call and/or email Apple at noon on Friday (presumably PST).
The press release about the protest raises one point about the cancellation that we feel is absolutely central to the whole debate-- killing Newton includes killing the eMate, at least in its current incarnation, and the eMate was pivotal to Apple's focus on its "core market" of education. Many educators fought vicious anti-Apple forces to get the eMate into their schools, only to find now that Apple's pulled the plug. As NDA President Adam Tow puts it, "How can educators trust anything that Apple says or does in the future?" There's a detailed looks at this aspect of the matter over at MacNN's Soapbox.
While we at AtAT are bummed to see the Newton go, and we're all for letting Apple hear our displeasure, we're a smidge uncomfortable about this protest. After all, it's sure to attract media attention (which is, of course, what the organizers want), and that attention is sure to be seriously negative. And we all know what negative press brings: lower sales for Apple, leading to reduced market share, and therefore worsened financial circumstances. What happens next? Apple has to cut more programs. At this point, we don't feel that the protest has any chance of bringing Newton back-- but it stands a good chance to help sink other projects in the future. Catch 22. Where, oh where, has our youthful idealism gone?
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 3/4/98 episode: March 4, 1998: Angry Newton-folk plan to descend upon the Apple Store this Friday, brandishing torches and those rake-things from the old Frankenstein movies. (Yes, that's a reference inside a reference.) Meanwhile, Artemis undergoes extensive plastic surgery and emerges looking not quite as wretched as before-- and what a smile! And Apple continues to advertise other people's stuff for free...
Other scenes from that episode: 505: Artemis: Not So Bad (3/4/98) Okay, we're not afraid to admit that we've been more than a little edgy about how ugly Apple's upcoming Powermac G3 Home (codename: Artemis) has been described. Under the hood, the $999 marvel packs a wallop for the price, but its case been through at least a couple of redesigns in its short history, due to overwhelmingly negative feedback from testers... 506: Going it Alone (3/4/98) There was an interesting (though unsurprising) tidbit posted by our buddies over at MacCentral today. Perhaps you've seen the "Think First" print ads that Apple's been publishing all over the place recently...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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