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Terse But Still Unclear (5/4/98)
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Congratulations to Apple for winning the prestigious AtAT "Shortest and Least Informative Press Release of the Week" award. The winning press release contains only two sentences of actual new information, followed by the usual several paragraphs about how they "ignited the personal computer revolution," yadda yadda yadda. Those two sentences state only that Apple has "acquired technology from Macromedia, Inc." that it plans to use in enhancing Quicktime.
Apple's press release was chosen as a winner because it lacks all manner of useful information, such as what Macromedia technology Apple has purchased, how much it cost, when we'll get to see the benefits of its integration into Quicktime, what those benefits actually are, etc. Thus, it's left to us to speculate. Rumors were buzzing a few weeks ago that Apple had been sniffing around Macromedia's long-delayed FinalCut video editing software, so that's the most likely candidate. Is it possible that Apple plans to use FinalCut in an upgrade to Quicktime Pro, the $29.95 upgrade to Quicktime 3 that allows the basic editing of videos? If so, that would make Quicktime Pro look a whole lot more like "Pro" software, and not just a $29.95 "upgrade" to regain features that many of us enjoyed for free in Quicktime 2.5. (To be fair, Quicktime Pro does add features that justify its expense, but we're still a little miffed at not being able to save movies from web sites without jumping through hoops when using the free Quicktime 3.)
So again, congratulations to Apple for issuing a press release that doesn't say much of anything. You may think we're being facetious, but we're honestly impressed at the feat; it actually makes the otherwise humdrum news about a technology purchase seem somehow more mysterious and exciting. At least, it does to those of us who don't get much sleep these days.
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 5/4/98 episode: May 4, 1998: AAPL keeps hovering just shy of its highest price in a year, amid upgraded opinions by Wall Street analysts. Meanwhile, not everyone agrees with Microsoft that a delay of Windows 98 could pose "dire consequences" for the U.S. economy (the word "hooey" springs to mind), and Apple's lips are moving, but we don't hear a word...
Other scenes from that episode: 673: Shiny Happy AAPL (5/4/98) For such a struggling and beleaguered company, Apple's been doing pretty well on Wall Street lately. Its stock continues to flirt with its year-high mark of 29 3/4, which it achieved (unsurprisingly) immediately following last August's $150 million investment by Microsoft... 674: We Like the Word "Dire" (5/4/98) Yesterday we professed our inability to comprehend Microsoft's claim that a Department of Justice-mandated delay of Windows 98 could cost the U.S. economy "billions of dollars" worth of damage. Well, today that claim became a little clearer to us in a Wired News article...
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