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My Turn is Low End Mac's column for reader-submitted
articles. It's your turn to share your thoughts on all things
Mac (or iPhone, iPod, etc.) and write for the Mac web. Email your
submission to Dan Knight
.
In the QuickTime promo for the new iMac, shown in the Macworld
keynote and available from Apple's website, VP of design Jonathan Ive
describes the new iMac as revolutionary.
Except for the (arguably) pleasing aesthetics of the base and the
lack of cables from the back of the monitor, the new iMac is as
revolutionary as was the original iMac.
Both are just a visually pleasing version of something Apple or
someone else already made.
Brought down to the lowest denominator, the original iMac was just
a G3 All-In-One in a pretty
rounded case (I understand some hardware revisions).
G3 All-in-One
NEC PowerMate 2000
20th Anniversary Mac
Those who think that Apple is the first with all-in-one flat panel
computer should check out machines like the NEC
PowerMate 2000. So much for the claim of going where no PC has
gone before. [What about the Twentieth
Annivesary Mac? ed.]
As much as we build up the new features of the iMac - the G4
processor, SuperDrive, 5 USB ports(which is something they finally
got right), and 2 FireWire ports - Apple needs to do something to
get the common person to have to have an Apple.
Coming from the bicycling industry, five years ago, everyone was
selling steel frames for mountain bikes. Now you would be very hard
pressed to find a single mountain bike with a steel frame for over
$250.
The same has to be true in the computer market.
OS X is a great OS. I run it on my iceBook,
but as iCEO Steve pointed out, there is no Photoshop, PageMaker, or
Dreamweaver available for OS X yet. No one has focused on
selling OS X. Where are the commercials like the Windows XP
commercials?
Does the common person know there is a really easy to use
operating system that doesn't crash (I hesitate to use the word
never, though I have never had a crash), is easy to use, and will run
all the applications a PC can (thanks to Virtual PC)?
The answer is no. That's why Macs are 5% of the computer
market.
What can save Apple?
First - and this is the worst one for pure Mac fans - port
OS X to PCs. Whether it's a rumor or not, Apple was supposedly
close to finishing this task, and it got shut down.
If we could get PC users to use an OS other than Windows, with the
aforementioned features, they would buy the iPod and switch. This
exodus would lead software manufacturers to build more OS X
native software - and faster than they do now.
Apple is afraid because it would cut into their hardware market
(sound familiar - this is the same argument they had against
clones), which is 80% of their sales.
Here's an idea: Have users try OS X on their PC and marvel at it's
speed and ease, but leave them wondering, "How fast would this be on
a Mac?" They'd be hooked.
Second, level the processor playing field. Every Mac fan was
hoping that this Macworld would bring the G4 (or maybe even the G5)
to the 1 GHz level. When will Apple, and AMD for that matter, realize
that it is about GHz? That's what sells computers to the
common entry level buyer, not "chip performance" measurements (I know
that a 867 MHz G4 is faster than a 1 GHz P4, but your average
consumer doesn't).
Third, do something really revolutionary. Not an adaptation of
current technology, e.g. Gigawire, new iMac, iPod, etc. Do something
that will set the lagging computer industry on it's head.
Share your perspective on the Mac by emailing with "My Turn" as your subject.
Recent My Turn articles
Using Low End Macs for Internet Radio, 08.18.
When the local public radio station moved classical music to HD radio, it was time to find another way to listen. An old iMac with iTunes solved the problem.
'That's Not a Computer', 07.30.
Salvaging a broken PowerBook by turning it into a desktop computer.
My 4 favorite PowerBooks, 05.28.
The PowerBook 150 has a big screen for a vintage PowerBook, the 165c has color, the 100 is diminutive, and Lombard has USB and a great keyboard.
Mac of the Day: PowerBook 170, Oct. 1991 - At 25 MHz, the PB 170 was at the top of the original PowerBook line.
List of the Day: The iPhone List Low End Mac's forum for discussing and supporting Apple's iPhone.
August 30 in LEM history: 99: The truth about USB speed - 00: Could Eazel kill the Mac? - Mac OS 8.1 on a IIci and LC III - 01: Beyond MHz and GHz - Getting a handle on email - Thanks for the IBM PC, Dad - Apple's anniversaries - 02: Mac OS X v10.2 - iBook video out - 04: Things that freak out my students - 06: Nvu and SeaMonkey can't replace Home Page - 07: DVD-RAM support
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