A Look Back at Apple's 2003

Samvit writes "The end of the year is upon us, so it's naturally time for those retrospectives to start coming in. Ars Technica has a fantastic look back at Apple in 2003. 2003 was one of the biggest years for Apple, arguably the biggest in a very long time. Still, Ars is typically fair, so the author lays down not only the good in 2003, but also the bad and the ugly. There's a bit of prognostication going on too--a little something for everyone."

Comments

Huh?

[Shky]

Didn't Apple die? Wait, that was BSD...

I kid, of course..

looking back on Apple is fine

[Savatte]

but don't look back on SCO's year, or you'll turn into a pillar of salt.

Re:looking back on Apple is fine

[mhore]

but don't look back on SCO's year, or you'll turn into a pillar of salt.

I don't think we're allowed to look back on SCO's year. That is their IP, I believe. They may be offering licenses to do that, though, at US$1599.00 per eyeball.

Mike.

Very interesting

[downix]

This is also the first year that Apple has had some real competition in the PowerPC market since the 90's. Genesi's Pegasos I and II along with Eyetechs AmigaONE motherboards shipped in volume this past year, giving Apple something to directly threaten their position, even in a very remote manner.

Re:Very interesting

[prestwich]

Haha - Amiga - oh yes that thing.

Sorry, this is the 21st century - move along.

Re:Very interesting

[kin_korn_karn]

you mean my TI-99/4A is obsolete?

The Panther is hungry

[burgburgburg]

It can't wait to go hunting after that long delayed Longhorn.

Fortunately for all of us, it lives in peace with the penguins and daemons of the wild.

The good news!

[Anonymous Coward]

Great article.. But no matter what, I am happy with... My iPod ... My preeecioussssss...

Apple has brought us to a new Era

[morelife]

Fire, The Wheel, The Industrial Age, Xanadu, The Information Age, and finally, in 2004, the Brushed Metal Age.

One missing adjective...

[One Louder]

This is probably the first year in decades where the press hasn't automatically prepended "beleaguered" in front of any mention of Apple. This is most likely thanks to the success of iPod and iTMS that the press simply couldn't ignore - Apple needs to totally dominate a market to be considered successful by the media, whereas other companies merely have to stay in business.

If there's any merging catch phrase this year, it's probably the use of "embattled" and "under siege" to describe Microsoft's ongoing war with Linux and security problems. You'll probably also begin to see the use of "oft-delayed" to describe Longhorn pretty soon.

Re:Panther : The worst OS X ever (NOT FLAMEBAIT)

[Anonymous Coward]

You can get an Athlon 64 system for $43?

Re:I recall..

[Anonymous Coward]

pushing UNIX to the next-level down user

Shouldn't that be "to the NeXT-level down user"?? :)

One iPod to rule them all?

[burgburgburg]

Forged in the firewire of Mount Doom

Re:Right Track

[Anonymous Coward]

I bet you try to carve roast beef with a swiss army knife, too.

Features aren't always everything. Sometimes, functionality is its own reward.

Re:Can they keep it up?

[Pendersempai]

The history of the Apple is one of dramatic rise and crushing fall. They seem to do this more than your average corporation.

Let's count. I remember one fall: the Gil Amelio days, before the age of iMac. And the rise happened right after when Jobs took over.

Is this your history of rise and fall? Am I forgetting some? You make Apple sound like a goddamn yo-yo dieter.

Re: Apple "haters" are quickly changing course...

[Anonymous Coward]

"Money has been pretty tight for me throughout this year, but I somehow managed to borrow and scrape up enough money to get a dual 2.0Ghz G5 tower, a Powerbook 15" laptop, 40GB iPod *and* iSight camera

My definition of money being tight and yours are apparently not the same.