Slashdot Mirror
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."
Apple has not been completely succesful this year, but who can deny that it is the most ambitious computer maker? Apple constantly pushes the envelope forward with newer features (FW 800, bluetooth, 17 inch laptop), and the rest of the pack try to clone their offerings in a Windows world. When's the last time Apple had to copy a Dell or Gateway design to stay current?
I actually think next year will be even more interesting, as Apple pursues their music / video strategy. There's rumors of a Pro Tools killer on the way. Go Apple!
My head of IT stating that "Apple will be out of business by Christmas."
That was in 1997.
As long as Apple keeps innovating and forcing everyone else to play catch-up, they'll stay in business for many Christmases to come.
One thing Apple has done well is pushing UNIX to the next-level down user, people that might not ordinarily touch the command line.
Since I started working with OSX, I've gotten much more used to dropping into the Terminal to do stuff. It started with ls -aR and now I'm grepping ifconfig to determine my MAC address. It's fun.
Thank you, Apple, for bringing out the inner Unix sysadmin in me. Now all I have to do is grow my hair long again.
3D Printing Tips and Tricks at Zheng3.com
I have to admit, as a former apple hater, I spent an hour with a friend who has a new G5 and iPod. The G5 is slick, fast, has an OS I felt at home with in minutes, and just looks stunning. Price be damned, I'm buying one.
I also criticized the iPod many times, for its battery life, my distrust of HD based players, and preferance for an iRiver over the iPod, based on cost alone. This one seduced me even quicker than the G5. Hunting through a music library that wasn't even my own was... wow!. I don't know if I can say the build quality is any higher than anything else out there, I didn't spend that much time around it, but if it was revealed that an iPod owner pays a pittance for hardware and hundreds of dollars for a wonderful interface, I would believe it.
And I'd find it worth it. I've already ordered mine.
Money's money and if I don't have it then I don't get it. :-)
But seriously, if the price were much lower then I probably would splurge for one.
At a Perl conference last year, I'd say the vast majority of laptops were Macs running OS X. That is saying a lot!
How are they working to increase market share and compete with the Wintel market?
Perhaps they're not even trying to compete anymore. I mean, they've shown they can co-exist with other computers in the world. I know many people that have both systems at home and work with both systems at work. It's no longer a "one or the other" problem for people. They've been going and going and going for decades. Decades! They may not have huge marketshare, but they're also not trying to take over the entire market like other companies.
Perhaps it's Nash's Equalibrium at work? Just a thought
"Music is everybody's possession. It's only publishers who think that people own it." - John Lennon.
What you fail to understand is that well-designed, quality Apple hardware is at least half of the reason people buy Macs. I bought an iBook because all the other low-end affordable laptops look like junk in comparison, and frankly, before that day I'd never actually owned a Mac, or used one in a truly heavy manner. I heard that OS X was better than XP, and was a Unix so the command line would more or less feel like the Linux I know and love, but mainly I wanted a nice, small lightweight laptop with a good battery and a price tag fitting of its capabilities. As of today, Gateway doesn't even make 12" laptops (they made a $1600 or somesuch at the time) and neither does Dell or HP/CPQ. When you are moving around a university campus with a bunch of textbooks (that are, shall we say, lightweight in content alone if at all and plenty bulky), you don't want to also carry a 15" computer.
I've been in the category of "Apple hater" for quite some time. (Yes, I did briefly go the Apple route, back in '96 or '97, when I started feeling like I really needed to give one a chance instead of bashing something I never even owned. After 3 months with that Performa 6400 tower, I was back to Apple bashing, and unloaded the system A.S.A.P.!)
Well, 2003 has been the year that turned me around! 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. So as you can see, I've VERY MUCH bought into the new Apple product line!
Here's the thing. I've been working in computers and I.T. for almost 14 years now. I can't remember the last time a new computer and/or OS offering really excited me since my first Timex/Sinclair 1000, and my Tandy Color Computer 2 and 3 I owned after that.
(Well, ok - I was pretty thrilled when OS/2 Warp and eventually 4.0 came out - but IBM quickly put a damper on that enthusiasm, with their horrible marketing of the OS.)
This year, Apple has brought out what I consider the near perfect OS, the near-perfect laptop to run it on, and an amazing desktop system to run it on. The iPod speaks for itself, and the iSight.... well, frankly, it's just an "impulse buy" because at $149, you may as well own a well-made camera that matches your multi-thousand dollar Mac systems.
If there's one thing I can justify sinking my money in, it's computer technology. I use the stuff all day long and most evenings too. I make all my money from it. Why wouldn't I want to own hardware and software that impresses me and makes me proud, rather than the same old beige boxes everyone else uses?
It appears it's not just me, either. Two of my ex co-workers from a previous I.T. job both made the switch to Macs and OS X this year - and both would have NEVER considered an Apple system before. (I had no say in their decisions either. I was shocked to hear they both had Macs now!)