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Place Your Orders (7/1/98)
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So if the iMac is a potential sales booster for CompUSA, it may the last possible salvation for Apple. Apple once had a sizeable chunk of the consumer market, but have since piddled it away by somehow thinking that the Performa line could hold its own against the onslaught of PC's with more features and lower price tags. (The fact that Macs may be easier to use typically isn't going to get most home buyers to shell out several hundred extra dollars, especially since there's no advertising saying that Macs are easier to use.) Consumer market share affects educational market share, and educational market share affects business market share, etc., so Apple's push back into the limelight must be led by the iMac. That's a huge burden for it to carry on its little translucent blue shoulders.
Luckily, people are interested. Very interested, if early reports are true. Die-hard Mac users are looking to upgrade their IIci's and LCIII's, and see the iMac a return to the simplicitly that made the original Mac great. PC users are intrigued by the iMac's distinctive look and incredible price-performance ratio. And the press talked about the iMac for weeks, and will probably talk about it again once it hits the shelves. Heck, there are at least half a dozen websites dedicated to the iMac and the product isn't even shipping yet! Though, one of those sites, iMac iNfo, reports that the iMac has just surfaced in CompUSA's ordering system, implying that it's now possible to pre-order them. iNfo's correspondent reports everything you need to know to get on the waiting list and be the first on your block to have a translucent blue pal.
The fact that the iMac SKU has just surfaced in CompUSA's system implies to us that the reports of CompUSA already having 70,000 iMac pre-orders a few weeks ago was probably completely false. That's kind of a bummer, but if you do plan to get an iMac, you can certainly trundle on down to your local CompUSA and pre-order one now. We at AtAT are holding off until we can test-drive one of the prototypes at next week's MacWorld Expo, and we'll keep you posted on our reactions.
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SceneLink (824)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 7/1/98 episode: July 1, 1998: Microsoft can add another notch to its big scary belt, as another little guy gives up the ghost. Meanwhile, CompUSA's not having the best time these days, but at least you can now pre-order an iMac from them...
Other scenes from that episode: 822: Little Guy Gives Up (7/1/98) Unfortunately, it's the premature end of another promising legal drama; Microsoft and SyNet have settled out of court for the right to use the name "Internet Explorer." SyNet's founder finally rolled over and accepted a paltry $5 million to dismiss the case and hand over his federal trademark application to Microsoft... 823: Addressing the Slump (7/1/98) Times are tough all over; just take a gander at CompUSA's reported fourth quarter sales results, available from Infoseek. Yes, their net sales increased by 3% from the same quarter a year ago, but if you only look at the sales from stores that have been open for over a year, it seems that CompUSA's sales have declined by 8.7%...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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