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Contagious Appleitis (8/4/98)
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Yeek, just as Apple seems to be getting its own act together by correcting lots of long-standing corporate problems, an article in the San Jose Mercury News reveals that those problems may simply have migrated to Netscape, instead. You know the problems we're talking about: the "not invented here" syndrome, the utter lack of advertising, the unyielding belief that the better product will prevail. Those classic problems are being repaired at Apple, but now it sounds like they may be contributing to Netscape's continuing decline.
While fewer than 5% of Netscape's employees used to be on Apple's payroll, the ones who were seem to be populating some important positions within the company. Unfortunately, several of those positions involve shaping the direction of Netscape's marketing, and observers note a distinct attitude that Netscape's products will succeed entirely on the basis of their technological superiority. And, of course, we all know how well that strategy worked at Apple... And with Apple, it was pretty darn clear that they had (and still have) a palpable technological lead over their competition. With Netscape, it's definitely not as clear; for instance, several AtAT viewers rave about Internet Explorer 4.01, citing impressive features lacking in Netscape's browser. (We're still too paranoid to install it on a mission-critical machine, but we'll probably give it a whirl when it comes pre-loaded on our iMac.)
There are rumors that Netscape is looking to hire an "executive who knows the media business," who could perhaps kick some marketing into high gear before Netscape gets so marginalized it can't claw its way back into the game. Just look at how hard Apple has to struggle, after years of neglecting its marketing strategy. Hopefully "Appleitis" isn't a highly contagious marketing syndrome, or there are going to be a lot of high-tech companies in for a world of hurt...
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SceneLink (909)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 8/4/98 episode: August 4, 1998: What dark and mysterious forces have conspired to "persuade" the New York Times to halt the serialization of a new novel based loosely on Apple Computer? Meanwhile, grey marketers are feeling the hurt, as Apple cracks down with hefty legal muscle, and Apple expatriates who emigrated to Netscape may have been contaminated with the dreaded "we don't need marketing" virus...
Other scenes from that episode: 907: Stop the Presses (8/4/98) Hmmm, what's this? It seems that the New York Times has gotten cold feet about letting its online counterpart serialize a novel. According to a ZDNet article, the reasons given are pretty much what you'd expect from the intentionally-stodgy and tradition-focused NYT: The deal's not dead yet, but it's definitely on hold, as the NYT rethinks the consequences of letting its web edition stray further and further from the mold set forth by its long-standing print edition... 908: Greys Singing the Blues (8/4/98) Apparently Apple wasn't kidding when it declared war on grey market resellers a short time ago. In a recent news update, SoftClub revealed that, as of August 15th, it will no longer be selling new Apple equipment...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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