Mac Scope

Enjoyed the Music Appetizer? Try the OS Main Course

Stephen Van Esch - 2003.11.12

With hell freezing over and all, I'm hoping that Apple will be able to introduce another cold front in the Windows world.

Windows users like their iTunes. They really like their iTunes. Really. Some have even toyed with the possibility of buying a Mac just so their whole computing experience can be as simple as iTunes.

Those are the ones Apple should be after.

In case you haven't noticed (but as a smart, loyal reader, you surely have), Apple is obliquely trying to move people away from Windows, and music is its vehicle of choice. Right now, a vast number of Windows users are toting Apple hardware in their pocket. Now millions more are installing Apple software on their hard drives. They like Apple, and they like what the products they've bought.

Surely the marketing eggheads at Apple have a strategy in mind when it comes to getting more folks using Macs. Thus far the Mac renaissance has yet to materialize.

All the chips seem to be in place to things to take off. The hardware is great. The software is great. The OS is great. Throw in the faint but growing stronger heartbeat of IT spending, and you're probably wondering why Apple isn't in the stratosphere right now. I'm wondering myself.

What all those users sitting on the fence need is a nudge, don't you think? Not enough people seem to be making the leap in logic that would make them radically improve their computing lifestyles.

I try not to dream up too many Apple ad campaigns; I'm not paid to do it, and no one listens to my brilliance anyway. But here's a thought for the marketing folks in Cupertino: How about an ad campaign that subtly suggests that life would be a whole lot better if they sprung for the whole Apple experience?

Ads are built on creating a want. They create the want by inventing or emphasizing a gap between where you are now and where - with the right clothes, car, and Swiffer duster - you could be. With all the right things you could, of course, be sexy, desirable, rich, smart, suave, and funny (with a Swiffer duster to boot!).

So where is the target switcher now? They have a great life with iTunes for Windows and an iPod. But where could they be? They could have that wonderful feeling of ease of use permeating their every computing nook and cranny! Cue the ad, please: Your life with iTunes and iPod is good, why not make it great with a new Mac?

And with this ad, they wouldn't even be accused of stretching the truth a little.

After all, aren't all Mac users sexy, desirable, rich, smart, suave, and funny (with Swiffer dusters next to their keyboards)?

Forget I asked.

Stephen Van Esch is the founder and president of the E-learning Foundry, an online training resource for Mac users. Steve loves the Mac and is doubly bilingual, since he's also fluent in Windows and French.

Recently on Mac Scope

Connecting with the broader Macintosh community, 2007.04.06. "But beyond the very minor celebrity status that came with being published on Low End Mac, it gave me a real opportunity to participate in the Mac community."
Hardware failure, that rare Mac headache, 2004.07.09. Macs are usually pretty reliable, but a hardware failure after just two-and-a-half years is still disappointing.
Still waiting for iTunes Music Store Canada, sort of, 2004.06.23. While the pay-per-tune model makes sense, Apple's post-purchase copy management flies in the face of Canadian copyright law.
More in the Mac Scope index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: Macintosh Portable, introduced 1989.09.20. The nearly 16 lb. behemoth was innovative but not a smashing success.
February 13 in LEM history: 01: Layoffs may hurt Mac market - 02: Unix for the Mac - Rage against the Macintosh - 03: Options to move data from PCs to Macs - 04: Low cost RAM for older 'Books - 06: Apple, IBM, and Intel - 07: Picking the right cheap computer, new or used - 08: I needed to find an older Mac
Support Low End Mac

Recent Deals

About LEM Support Usage Privacy Contact

Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2012 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc. unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iPad iPhone, iMac, iPod, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.
Advice is presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
Email may be published at our discretion unless marked "not for publication"; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.

Custom Search

Follow Low End Mac on Twitter
Join Low End Mac on Facebook

Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler 11 is now in the Mac App Store!! -- Special Introductory Price of $59.95!! -- To Buy From The Mac App Store Click Here Now!! Or buy direct from Strider Software.

Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker and Mac Casino applications in minutes.

Affiliates

Amazon.com
The Apple Store
The iTunes Store
PC Connection Express
GainSaver
Parallels Desktop for Mac
eBay