Apple Retail Stores to Receive Facelift Highlighting Software?

[ChrisA]

In the end the ONLY reason to buy a Mac is so you can run Mac software. That is the best way to sell Macs, sell them on the software. That is the reason I bought a Mac because Aperture, Logic and Photoshop would not run on my Linux system.

Question: Why do you have your display aimed at the ceiling?

You don't have to aim the screen at the ceiling. If the screen is 100% vertical and your eye is level with the center of the screen then if you look at the upper half of the screen you will see things in the background that are above your eye level. Remember the rules about how mirrors work, equal angles and all.

I think Apple went with the glossy screens for two reasons (1) they are cheaper to make because anti-glare treatments are expensive and (2) if the mac is used as a media player many consumers actually like the exaggerated color contrast and prefer it over an accurate rendering.

Yes it drives professionals nuts but there are many times more DVD watchers than DVD creators. Apple wants to sell to the larger group.

All that said I suspect #1 above is the bigger reason. Glossy screens are cheaper. I think glossy screens are like "lite" beer. Some very smart executive figured out that he could add 50% more water to the beer and still sell it for the same price if he put the right "spin" on what is really just beer with more water added. The exec earned his million dollar bonus that year. Same here some guy at Apple figured out how to market cheap LCD screens that lacked anti-glare treatments at the same price as the older more expensive screens. He earned his bonus too.

 

[iJaz]

Bad idea. Who the crap cares about iLife and iWork enough to necessitate entire sections of an apple store? The Apple Store needs to focus more on the variability of software available to the Mac. If I were to go in there expecting to switch from a PC, and all I saw were TWO PIECES OF SOFTWARE available, I'd refuse to switch. Apple needs to show the market that there is such a wide array of software from third party vendors and from Apple to fill almost all niches of computer life.

Idiots.

Do you really think it will be the ONLY software visible in the store just because they are highlighted?

Probably not...

 

[DTphonehome]

Makes sense...after all, when was the last time Apple actually introduced updated hardware? Better to focus on the fluff!

 

[megfilmworks]

Hmm, other than iLife, what software of decent quality do we have ... because dont talk to me about pro software when Apple cant even produce a current non glossy display for the proffesional! Just who are Apples target market?
... nuff said!

Ever heard of the industry leading Final Cut Pro? or Logic?
These Pro apps took over the industry like wildfire, cutting heavily into Avid and ProTools
market share.
Not to mention iWork which is far better than MS Office.
And yes matte screens (non-glossy) are still available.

 

[Vulpinemac]

Bad idea. Who the crap cares about iLife and iWork enough to necessitate entire sections of an apple store? The Apple Store needs to focus more on the variability of software available to the Mac. If I were to go in there expecting to switch from a PC, and all I saw were TWO PIECES OF SOFTWARE available, I'd refuse to switch. Apple needs to show the market that there is such a wide array of software from third party vendors and from Apple to fill almost all niches of computer life.

Idiots.

It's obvious, T.O., that you haven't used either one. The two sofware packages provide almost everything the average home computer user needs short of web browser (Safari) and email (Mac Mail.) This combination of apps far exceeds the capabilities of their Microsoft competitors (the brand, not the OS) which are designed from the outset to work together for an overall usability package.

True, you can download equivalent applications for free online, but with the exception of Open Office.org, they are not comprehensive packages designed for almost seamless interoperability. In iLife alone, you can plug in your camera, let iPhoto pull the images with literally no setup, hook up your camcorder and let iMovie pull the clips, copy photos over to iMovie to build a multimedia program scored through Garage Band and/or iTunes, then send the whole thing over to iDVD to build and burn a complete program without ever having to actually switch programs; they all link together with simple drag&drop and direct export capabilities.

iWork does similar duty for word processing, spreadsheet and presentation, even to exporting to iDVD for other platforms. I've even been able to strip the slides out of a PPS document and rebuild the show in Keynote with enhanced video capabilities in less time than it took to create the original program.

The whole point is, iLife and iWork meet or exceed the needs of most desktop computer users. Their Microsoft counterparts are too big, too clunky and honestly too bloated with features to be easy to use. How many people really use all those 'features' anyway? Stick to the old rule. K.I.S.S. Keep it Simple, Stupid. People will like it better and use it more.

 

[iJaz]

Makes sense...after all, when was the last time Apple actually introduced updated hardware? Better to focus on the fluff!

Correct!
However, most people go in there to look at their Hotmail accounts, guess they'll be annoyed.

 

[SSkky Reader]

Some repliers are reading to much into this. With some internal experiences with Apple's retail store's I'll say this. Apple continually looks for different ways to showcase new products. If you go into an apple store hardware is what you notice first. With Apple continually growing at a fast rate, it's only fitting to introduce "Switchers" to the main reason why they switch (Software).

If you hear consumers who have had bad experiences it's mainly about the OS of Windows.

 

[Small White Car]

If I were to go in there expecting to switch from a PC, and [I ignored and then walked past the entire front half of the store, described in the article as showing off why Macs are better than PCs], I'd refuse to switch.

Apple needs to show the market that there is such a wide array of software from third party vendors and from Apple to fill almost all niches of computer life. [You know, exactly like the front half of the store, as described in the article.]
Idiots.

I filled in a few parts you left out of your post.

 

[BenRoethig]

Hope this isn't a glimpse into the future of Apple licensing OS X for non-Apple hardware.

Unfortunately no. Personally, I like this move. It's far easier these days to find a Mac then a specific piece of software for it. Most of the Apple stores I've been to have been overwhelmed by hardware. There are like 16 display models of every Mac and one small corner for software. Put all the hardware on tables in the middle and leave the sides of the store for software and accessories.

 

[snyderjw]

The fact remains that os x is designed to run apple hardware only, always has and always will.

I see arguements aganist this referring to the windows model of an os that runs on most hardware yet apple set the precident with os and hardware here.

OS X is designed that way, sure... but they have hedged their bets all along. The darwin core has drivers for a lot more than just Apple hardware. That is where most of the drivers that make OSx86 possible come from. They may never support everything, but they could support a whole lot just by deciding to do so. Apple has always hedged their bets. How far fetched did it seem that they would ever make use of the intel branch of OS X that they kept maintaining alongside PowerPC for years?

If everything since the Jobs comeback hasn't taught you that Apple regularly turns on a dime, I don't know what will.

 

[deannnnn]

I just applied for a job at an Apple Store in New York City.
Maybe I'll get to experience this first hand

 

[kingtj]

I think that's reading WAY too much into it, but ....

It's probably true that there's a LOT of money to be made, especially in a slow economy, on the "smaller ticket items". It might get harder to sell people a new Mac, if the one they've got now is still getting the job done for them - but you can probably still keep selling them cool new software, $30 or $80 at a time.

Even if they don't change their "focus" away from displaying the hardware products first and foremost, I do think Apple stores need to stock more software titles, period. We have a "mom and pop" type Mac store in town that easily carries 2x the amount of software on their shelves that Apple has. (You have to remember, there are quite a few kids' titles out there that were offered in "hybird" Windows AND Mac format, which could be sold -- and most Apple stores don't even make an attempt to stock those right now.)

does anyone else wonder is this is an indication that apple thinks that it will lose in it's court action with Psystar? If they are forced to allow clones, a reinvention to focus on software would be a necessity.

 

[lherman]

It seems to me that some people are reading too much into this. I suspect that the change will actually be pretty subtle, and an effort to clean up the stores esthetically. I highly doubt that Apple will actually reduce the focus on hardware.

 

[Doctor Q]

This is obvious. Apple doesn't care about hardware.

Apple has always though of itself as a hardware company, so it's perhaps surprising that they devote the effort they do to making elegant software.

iTunes and the iTunes store were designed to sell iPods. In the same way, Apple's software and 3rd party apps can entice people to buy Mac hardware.

Their ads that featured hardware weren't as successful as the ones that featured PC-to-Mac switching, Mac-PC comparisons, iPod music, and iPhone applications. So if they want to rearrange retail stores to work the same advantage, it's worth a try.

 

[isethx]

i'd like to see this

 

[wobudong]

Glossy vs non-glare screen

Question: Why do you have your display aimed at the ceiling? I've found the glossy screen to be much easier to see and read than the typical matte screen and much, much easier to clean.

I don't own a glossy-screen Mac. I took a long look at them at the local Apple store, from laptop to 24" iMac. I'll be going there again and will try to find an unused Mac to try it out. I suspect I'll remain disappointed that the matte screen is now history.
I'm using Minis now, and buying other-brand monitors, along with older PowerBooks and iBooks.

P.S. -- Thanks for the tip about not aiming the screen at the ceiling!

 

[JAQ]

I hope this means a focus on more than just iLife and iWork. The wealth of third-party software for Windows is one of the (admit it) strengths of that platform. There's a lot of apps for OS X also, but you'd never guess that from a visit to an Apple Store, where a narrow and shallow selection is hidden in back.

 

[clonenode]

Solutions based shopping

Apple has decided to go back to a solutions-based approach for the stores. Instead of focus on the products, the focus is on what you can DO with the products. This is just like when the stores first opened when there were "Home" "Pro" "Music" "Movies" and "Photos" sections to the stores. Now, these sections concentrate on great software (some from Apple) that relate to the things people want to use their Macs for: an iLife section for "Home", an iWork section for "Work" etc.

Also, they ARE featuring third-party iPhone/iPod touch apps and games very heavily in two different sections of each store. They highlight different apps and have them installed on each different device.

 

[DaBrain]

This is obvious. Apple doesn't care about hardware.

Yep and way too limited choices. To me this paragraph says it all:

According to plans still being rolled out, hardware will become a secondary focus of the stores' marketing efforts, making way for a spotlight on applications and the digital features of Apple products.

I can't stand the lack of hardware and or updates. Like the mini. If we had just a few more hardware choices, less hype, more functionality, matte screen choice, standard firewire on all devices, a media server, then that would be great.

Yet all we or see is about 90 % iPhone and anorexic systems that are lacking.

Now it may sound that I don't like Apple computers! Oh but how I do. IM just glad I bought when I did as it seems since that time after the 1st intels their revolutionary changes have been nothing but. More like mini-evolution.

I'll use my iMac and macbook till the day they crap out and then not sure what I'll do. But this trend of priorities is disturbing!

 

[Eric S.]

Unfortunately this is just another indication of the declining importance of the computer in Apple's marketing strategy.

 

[Tallest Skil]

*throws demonic glare as two Apple associates nervously carry the Mac Pro display to the back room*

 

[Eidorian]

Now if there was more software for my Mac that I'd want to purchase...

Oh wait I can't because of the hardware!

 

[notjustjay]

I don't go into Apple stores too often but what if they had Macs next to similar PCs with Vista installed and ran them side-by-side for the consumer to compare?

I don't know, maybe that wouldn't work but I always thought it'd be worth a try.

I don't know how effective that would be, for a few reasons:

People have preconceived notions, particularly if they've become very used to one particular way of doing things. I have literally seen people sit down in front of something strange and new (be it a Windows user trying a Mac, a Mac user trying Windows, a Windows user trying Linux, etc.), and they push the mouse around a bit, click 3 or 4 places, then look exasperated and proclaim "I give up!" Having a PC right next to the Mac would only drive them back to their "comfort zone" and reinforce whatever preconception they had before that the new OS is "just too hard".

One OS is not unilaterally better than the other. For every time I show you how much better OS #1 is at a particular task than OS #2, you can show me something else that #2 can do better than #1.

Neither OS is invulnerable to hundreds of people wandering in and out and tinkering. You'll inevitably get a day when the PC works great while the Mac next to it is hosed, or vice versa, and this will look bad. Not to mention that such comparisons make it all the more tempting for someone to attempt to put the computers in exactly this situation.

I think it takes a lot more than "See? Look how much easier it is to do X". It took me a few months of total immersion into OS X before I declared that I liked it better than Windows. I don't know that it's something you can do with just a few minutes of side-by-side comparison.

 

[Eric S.]

Computers are now a dozen times more powerful than home users need them to be. Only serious gamers and professionals care what's inside the computer anymore.

But that has probably been true for over 90% of the time that computers have been in existence. It was only for a short time during the "browser wars" period that relative performance was really important to the non-technical user. The challenge now for Apple, and for all the other companies, is the same as it was in the past: to find a reason to make the performance of its system relevant to the average user.

It used to be that everyone wondered what would be the "killer app" that got everyone to buy a computer. The Internet supplied that. Now that the Internet is ubiquitous no one has yet figured out what will be the next Big Thing.

 

[slu]

Computers are now a dozen times more powerful than home users need them to be. Only serious gamers and professionals care what's inside the computer anymore.

When a family member asks me what Mac to get I say "pick laptop or desktop, then pick the screen size you like and buy the cheapest one in that line." Seriously, there's nothing else they need to know!

As such, this move makes perfect sense. Give it 2 more years and EVERY computer maker will be advertising this way. What good is an add that says "Our competitor's computer is 28,000x faster than you need, but OUR computer is 32,000x faster than you need!"

No one cares.

I could not agree more. People here are are not representative of the vast majority of computer users.

For the average home user, every single Mac you can buy at the store will do everything they would want. Even if everyone here is whining about how the iMac is "ancient" technology.

And I have said this a million times as well, but most people don't care about the ability to upgrade either. The vast majority of computer users never even open up their machine. Even if everyone here complains about the lack of a mini-tower.

Apple doesn't chase the hardcore gamer / build your own market because it is too small. Apple wants to sell to the people that don't know or don't care that you can build your own hackintosh and save some money.