|
Dancing In The Dark (5/24/98)
|
 
|
| | |
Apple's Summer User Group Road Tour has gotten off the ground (despite the fact that summer doesn't officially start for another month yet) with a presentation at Washington Apple Pi. There's a great write-up of the event over at Macs Only!, which paints a picture of excitement, optimism, and jubilation that stands in stark contrast to the mood surrounding Apple users a year ago. Everyone loves the iMac, everyone loves the PowerBook G3's, everyone loves the Apple Studio Display. It's just a big ol' love fest all around.
Here's the thing that steps on our buzz, though-- Apple isn't actually making light-up computers. First we'd heard that the white Apple logo on the lid of the new PowerBook G3's glowed when the laptop was on, and we discovered first-hand that it wasn't true. Then, in this account of the meeting at Washington Apple Pi, the light-up mouse on the iMac was shot down; the Apple representatives "squelched the rumor that [the mouse] lights up when moved." (No word on the rumor that the whole iMac glows translucently when it's operational, but we're skeptical of that feature now.) Yeah, I know, you think it's stupid for us to focus on such a tiny and seemingly insignificant detail, but it was such a distinctive feature that could really differentiate Apple's products from everyone else's-- even to people who know nothing about computers, except that they should buy one.
Not to mention that the public at large will always forgive "bigger" problems with a product when said product possesses a useless but snazzy feature that can create the "gee whiz" effect. As in, "Yeah, I know the iMac doesn't have a floppy drive, but gee whiz, I bought one anyway because it lights up!" Apple would do well to plug into this enormous advantage; after all, you just know there are going to be plenty of people saying similarly odd things like, "Yeah, I know Windows 98 slows my system down by 23%, but gee whiz, I bought it anyway because it's got a 98 in its name!"
| |
| |
 |
SceneLink (732)
|  |
 |
|
And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
| | | |
|
| |
|
 | | The above scene was taken from the 5/24/98 episode: May 24, 1998: In today's all-iMac episode, we lament the lack of light-up computers issuing forth from Cupertino. Meanwhile, Apple plans to push the iMac at next week's E3, despite what may be a limitation on its ability to play serious games, and rumors of a proprietary expansion slot in Apple's funky blue home machine just might open some doors...
Other scenes from that episode: 733: Fun and Games, Mostly (5/24/98) Speaking of those "bigger" problems with the iMac, it'll be interesting to see if Apple will address any of them at the Electronic Entertainment Expo next week-- and if so, how. E3, some of you may know, is the largest show for video and computer games and related fun stuff; Apple, and Apple products, haven't had much of a presence at the show in recent years, much to the chagrin of those of us who know that the real key to expanding a platform into the consumer market is to get some serious game support on that platform... 734: Leon's Getting LARGER (5/24/98) Hey, it's just an iMac kinda day, hmmm? More on the new consumer Mac's expandability, or lack thereof: there's one feature that we haven't seen mentioned in any of the lists of the iMac's specs. According to Mac the Knife, the iMac will have a "proprietary expansion slot," for which Apple is reportedly considering building a FireWire card...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
|
|
