MacWorld Magazine
Apple Ambitions: An observation
I really enjoy reading your magazine, as it gives good insight on the products most Mac users use, and on the evolving world of Apple. However some improvements can be made.
I look forward especially to the release of upcoming PowerMacs and PowerBook upgrades along with the announcement (or leaked details of) Mac OS X 10.3.1 Panther. On such articles highlighting the details of these, I hope to see not only the views of your authors but of specific quotes from those upper echelons of Cupertino Circle (Apple). For instance, quotes (from software engineers) on specifics of whether or not research & development has/is been/being done on porting the OS to 64/32Bit processors (being compatible with both CPU designs). Even if neither Apple nor IBM (hint PowerPC 970) will confirm if production or purchase of 970 CPU systems has begun; prior to official announcement. Or perhaps, what other technologies Apple is researching or interested in implementing in future product lines: Serial ATA (ATA/150), 900Mhz Front Side Bus, IBMs PCI-X technology (150Mhz PCI bus allowing 1Gb/sec),a possible Motorola cpu with Direct Memory Access imbedded inside the cpu core (AMD+Motorola Athlon 64)?
These are the things that not only Mac heads really want to know, but also us switchers. Unfortunately, the Wintel world is a backwords world that is still influenced by hardware performance, not total system performance that most are accustomed to seeing in the Mac world. Even though the Windows OS has improved over the years, it still causes huge stress in how it works with hardware (except the CPU), software, and itself. Hardware components like those mentioned previously have jumped by leaps and bounds to improve system performance. If by any chance that Apple & IBM do agree on using the PowerPC 970 or a PowerPC 5 cpu in upcoming PowerMacs or XServes, and the Mac OS X Panther does support 64-bit processors, then Apple will definitely need to implement Serial ATA HDD for superior data transfer speed (on a single or RAID disk machine), and lower HDD power (3 volts vs. 5 by ATA/133) requirements needed by database systems.
And lastly, Apples market share. A sensitive topic indeed, but one that needs an article. What is Apples current market share in the USA and other countries (Canada, UK, China, Japan, Indonesia, Italy, France, etc), and what are their targets for these countries over the next several/few quarters? What does Apple think is preventing it from acquiring and holding a larger market share both at home and abroad? Read the forums to try to get a consensus on several views of this and include that in the article--please (Apple needs to hear from the faithful few). Should Apple go into the service business of sales--like how it made sales in excess of 20'000 iBook G3 generation 2 laptops to a high school in the US-- to show off not only its expertise in computer design, technology, and ease of use, but also how diverse its operating system and supporting applications are effective in various business'. Although Apple's "switchers" ads are cute, humorous, and user targeted, its just that. Too much of the cuteness and humor make its products and image seem like its intended "only" for youth or the home user. Unfortunately, even youth and home users eventually end up submitting assignments for school, operating their own business, or working for a big corporation. I love the online ad for the second iteration of the XServe (G4 Dual 133 MHz), "We Mean Business". Maybe its just me (Canadian cable TV channels are not so generous), but shouldn't Apple have such an ad aired on national TV highlighting not just the OS or the product but how a business would use such a product, successfully?? An example maybe GenenTech Corporation on mapping the human genome. Even appearances of executives or engineers making quick statements, or even a smile beside one of their products (not on display, but actually working, setup on site) inside the TV ad. Just look at the most recent Hewlett-Packard ad, or ads from Mutual Fund companies (my favorite is the one of the lady speaking various languages as she circles around the camera to prove the point of the global world market). Dells ads are very similar to Apples current switchers ads, but they lead in market share of any computer manufacturer, mainly due to their support (24 hours) behind EVERY system and their products being used by major corporations (direct sales/customization). This would be a great opportunity for Apple to advertise on TV, that it doesn't just build a computer, but a complete computing system (Hardware and Software). I know this has been tried before, but now is the time to really push this fact in a professional--no nonsense not casual--way (like who builds their own car from scratch from various manufacturers and expects it to last more than 1year?). Better yet, put it this way, Apple's OS has never tried to be all things to all people but all people being able to do almost anything on an Apple.
I want to once again stress the importance of Apple's market share and how the company is perceived by PC users. Unfortunately, PC users feel that people whom use Apple products are either graphic professionals (animation), publishers, or just plain cult freaks (good for Apple faithful as not all cults are bad). This is very detrimental to Apples' market share. Apples' performance testing usually relies on PhotoShop results in their conferences. I just read online somewhere that Adobe announced that their major users prefer the PC to Apple. Apple needs to advertise not only its strength and commitment in education, but also how it can do in other industries. And I mean not just how it co-operates with MS Windows in the same business, but how it does so alone in a major/successful businesses, how that business deals with Mac/PC clients over the internet or directly, and what Apple has done to support their efforts and their implementation of Apples products and technology. This can be done in part in a small decent monthly article, or once a year issue. No, thats still not good enough! Apple should show what really makes us all fanatic about owning an Apple. I still cant word it right, but we have all felt it....help me out here. (After using my friends Mac for 4 months, well lets just say that the planets went off their orbit for an hour before he got it back, hehe)
Lastly, Apple should consider itself a separate hardware/software entity of itself. They already have with the tremendous PC sales of the iPod. Maybe they should design PC cases for the Windows machines, of course nothing as sweet as that for the Macs though. How about porting over the world renowned Final Cut Pro 3 to the PC platform and give Adobe Premier, even Avid Express a run for their money. While they are at it why not beef up AppleWorks and port it over to the PC as a cheaper alternative to MS Office, even if its only for the educational market abroad?? Come to think of it hasn't Apple already started?? Many famous Audio & Video alternatives for the PC are owned by Apple and may or may not continue on the PC platform, hmmm. Imagine what the world would do if Apple made a PocketPC with various Apple APIs and plugins making it compatible to Macs & PCs, natively, along with Bluetooth & Airport Extreme imbedded and a FireWire 400 charging/data transfer station---essentially to beat MS at their own game in their own house, ouch!
Sorry for the huge post but I think that its important to all of us Mac heads, switchers, and potential Mac yutes.
Please be kind to post any thoughts that you may have on this!!
D. Sangster
Potential PowerMac customer
Ontario, Canada
Apple Ambitions: An observation
I really enjoy reading your magazine, as it gives good insight on the products most Mac users use, and on the evolving world of Apple. However some improvements can be made.
I look forward especially to the release of upcoming PowerMacs and PowerBook upgrades along with the announcement (or leaked details of) Mac OS X 10.3.1 Panther. On such articles highlighting the details of these, I hope to see not only the views of your authors but of specific quotes from those upper echelons of Cupertino Circle (Apple). For instance, quotes (from software engineers) on specifics of whether or not research & development has/is been/being done on porting the OS to 64/32Bit processors (being compatible with both CPU designs). Even if neither Apple nor IBM (hint PowerPC 970) will confirm if production or purchase of 970 CPU systems has begun; prior to official announcement. Or perhaps, what other technologies Apple is researching or interested in implementing in future product lines: Serial ATA (ATA/150), 900Mhz Front Side Bus, IBMs PCI-X technology (150Mhz PCI bus allowing 1Gb/sec),a possible Motorola cpu with Direct Memory Access imbedded inside the cpu core (AMD+Motorola Athlon 64)?
These are the things that not only Mac heads really want to know, but also us switchers. Unfortunately, the Wintel world is a backwords world that is still influenced by hardware performance, not total system performance that most are accustomed to seeing in the Mac world. Even though the Windows OS has improved over the years, it still causes huge stress in how it works with hardware (except the CPU), software, and itself. Hardware components like those mentioned previously have jumped by leaps and bounds to improve system performance. If by any chance that Apple & IBM do agree on using the PowerPC 970 or a PowerPC 5 cpu in upcoming PowerMacs or XServes, and the Mac OS X Panther does support 64-bit processors, then Apple will definitely need to implement Serial ATA HDD for superior data transfer speed (on a single or RAID disk machine), and lower HDD power (3 volts vs. 5 by ATA/133) requirements needed by database systems.
And lastly, Apples market share. A sensitive topic indeed, but one that needs an article. What is Apples current market share in the USA and other countries (Canada, UK, China, Japan, Indonesia, Italy, France, etc), and what are their targets for these countries over the next several/few quarters? What does Apple think is preventing it from acquiring and holding a larger market share both at home and abroad? Read the forums to try to get a consensus on several views of this and include that in the article--please (Apple needs to hear from the faithful few). Should Apple go into the service business of sales--like how it made sales in excess of 20'000 iBook G3 generation 2 laptops to a high school in the US-- to show off not only its expertise in computer design, technology, and ease of use, but also how diverse its operating system and supporting applications are effective in various business'. Although Apple's "switchers" ads are cute, humorous, and user targeted, its just that. Too much of the cuteness and humor make its products and image seem like its intended "only" for youth or the home user. Unfortunately, even youth and home users eventually end up submitting assignments for school, operating their own business, or working for a big corporation. I love the online ad for the second iteration of the XServe (G4 Dual 133 MHz), "We Mean Business". Maybe its just me (Canadian cable TV channels are not so generous), but shouldn't Apple have such an ad aired on national TV highlighting not just the OS or the product but how a business would use such a product, successfully?? An example maybe GenenTech Corporation on mapping the human genome. Even appearances of executives or engineers making quick statements, or even a smile beside one of their products (not on display, but actually working, setup on site) inside the TV ad. Just look at the most recent Hewlett-Packard ad, or ads from Mutual Fund companies (my favorite is the one of the lady speaking various languages as she circles around the camera to prove the point of the global world market). Dells ads are very similar to Apples current switchers ads, but they lead in market share of any computer manufacturer, mainly due to their support (24 hours) behind EVERY system and their products being used by major corporations (direct sales/customization). This would be a great opportunity for Apple to advertise on TV, that it doesn't just build a computer, but a complete computing system (Hardware and Software). I know this has been tried before, but now is the time to really push this fact in a professional--no nonsense not casual--way (like who builds their own car from scratch from various manufacturers and expects it to last more than 1year?). Better yet, put it this way, Apple's OS has never tried to be all things to all people but all people being able to do almost anything on an Apple.
I want to once again stress the importance of Apple's market share and how the company is perceived by PC users. Unfortunately, PC users feel that people whom use Apple products are either graphic professionals (animation), publishers, or just plain cult freaks (good for Apple faithful as not all cults are bad). This is very detrimental to Apples' market share. Apples' performance testing usually relies on PhotoShop results in their conferences. I just read online somewhere that Adobe announced that their major users prefer the PC to Apple. Apple needs to advertise not only its strength and commitment in education, but also how it can do in other industries. And I mean not just how it co-operates with MS Windows in the same business, but how it does so alone in a major/successful businesses, how that business deals with Mac/PC clients over the internet or directly, and what Apple has done to support their efforts and their implementation of Apples products and technology. This can be done in part in a small decent monthly article, or once a year issue. No, thats still not good enough! Apple should show what really makes us all fanatic about owning an Apple. I still cant word it right, but we have all felt it....help me out here. (After using my friends Mac for 4 months, well lets just say that the planets went off their orbit for an hour before he got it back, hehe)
Lastly, Apple should consider itself a separate hardware/software entity of itself. They already have with the tremendous PC sales of the iPod. Maybe they should design PC cases for the Windows machines, of course nothing as sweet as that for the Macs though. How about porting over the world renowned Final Cut Pro 3 to the PC platform and give Adobe Premier, even Avid Express a run for their money. While they are at it why not beef up AppleWorks and port it over to the PC as a cheaper alternative to MS Office, even if its only for the educational market abroad?? Come to think of it hasn't Apple already started?? Many famous Audio & Video alternatives for the PC are owned by Apple and may or may not continue on the PC platform, hmmm. Imagine what the world would do if Apple made a PocketPC with various Apple APIs and plugins making it compatible to Macs & PCs, natively, along with Bluetooth & Airport Extreme imbedded and a FireWire 400 charging/data transfer station---essentially to beat MS at their own game in their own house, ouch!
Sorry for the huge post but I think that its important to all of us Mac heads, switchers, and potential Mac yutes.
Please be kind to post any thoughts that you may have on this!!
D. Sangster
Potential PowerMac customer
Ontario, Canada
