Slashdot Mirror
CNET Accuses Apple of Over-Hyping Launch
An anonymous reader writes "A columnist at CNET is questioning whether Apple over-hyped last week's launch. From the article: 'Jobs' announcement of a new leather case for the iPod was especially ridiculous. Like the queen announcing a new toaster in Buckingham Palace. It seemed odd that Jobs was troubling himself to introduce fashion accessories to Apple's products.' Is Apple a victim of its own success? Can it hold a low-profile product launch anymore -- or do we inevitably expect too much?"
So now let's over-hype the over-hype!
Jesus... let it go.
Like the queen announcing a new toaster in Buckingham Palace.
I think you underestimate the importance of toast to we English. And iPod accessories to Apple users.
We, inevitably, expect too much.
It was my understanding that the press event was rather small by most standards. Perhaps it was the press and the rumor sites that over-hyped things - not Apple. I know that I had no idea the event was even going on until others pointed it out to me and were tracking the rumor sites looking for the next big announcement. If anything, perhaps the fact that nothing overly major was announced was intentional and designed to throw people off so as to better keep public expectations in check. I wouldn't put it past them.
Hexy - a strategy game for iPhone/iPod Touch
Publicly traded companies NEVER overhype anything.
By the way, did you hear about the new twelve-blade razor for Gillete? It's the best razor ever!
Note to mods: I'm probably being sarcastic.
I didn't see much Apple hype actually. They held the event in a tiny little auditorium at One Infinite Loop, they didn't invite many people, and they didn't hold it at a major conference.
The hype I saw was coming from media outlets like CNN, CNET, and all the Mac news sites; not from Apple.
Overhyped? Of course it was overhyped. Goodness, that's what companies do - it's called advertising, marketing, PR, or whatever you want to call it. If you don't take everything that companies trying to sell you something tell you about the products they're trying to sell with a large grain of salt, then it's your own fault really.
quidquid latine dictum sit altum videtur.
Wow. Kettle and soot and all. CNet complaining about HYPE? CNet IS the definition of hype. They are one of the preferred corporate hype tools... Apple must not have greased the story's author with enough free shit.
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
His biggest objections seems to be that the Mac Mini is not a PVR. Of course, if it had included everything necessary for a PVR--ATSC HD tuner, analog tuner, cable card capacity, huge hard drive--it would have been considerably more expensive, and analysts would be criticizing Apple for releasing an $1000 computer to duplicate the functionality of a device that your cable company will rent you for $10/month.
Cause that sounds like everyone's nightmare: forgetting to wear pants at a public event.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
There was no web cast, no mention on Apple's page until the products were introduced, how is that hyping? They weren't hyping the press event, they were hyping the products they put out which makes sense. As for the items they sold. First we have the iPod hi fi, pretty big announcement as far as Apple's concerned. It'll either be huge or a massive flop... for once I kind of hope Apple has a flop because from what I've heard the specs on the thing are not exceptional and the design is weak in my opinion. The new Mac mini is a pretty big announcement for a whole lot of people. And the leather case, well why not intro it with other products. Don't imagine Jobs spent forever on that bit, it's kind of like the successor to the iPod sock, which for the record I actually own, seems like a strange idea but they work very well. They don't keep the iPod from getting scratched a lil but they keep the big ones off, and they protect it from falls pretty well. Have you ever tried to find a good case for your iPod? I bought a DLO one that actually scratched my screen! I welcome an Apple branded one.
What were they expecting?
Apple said they were going to announce some "fun new products". Forget the pouch, jeez. They introduced an Intel-based Mac mini with amazing features inside of the same form factor as the old mini, and a nifty set of iPod speakers that has unseated the previous leader in this category in the opinion of most reviewers (Bose).
Apple stopped always putting all of its eggs in the Macworld/WWDC basket, and introducing products when they became available. The Intel-based Mac mini is a pretty damned good product, and a huge hint at Apple's admittedly tentative and cautious steps toward the living room.
So what's wrong with that?
What were we supposed to get?
An Apple cell phone?
An Apple tablet?
A touchsheen video iPod?
Anyone expecting those things at every single introduction is expecting too much.
What's funny though, is that this is a dramatically different situation than it was in 1998, when I got my first Mac. I dare say Apple has done so well in the last few years that the long standing
"You know why you do not see me styling wit my homies? Because I have no homies!!" -Mojo Jojo
A pocket-sized, full-screen device needs some sort of screen protection--especially a touchscreen, which are notoriously fragile. The leather sleeve is an accessory to the touchscreen full-screen iPod, whatever it ends up being called. It's Apple's answer to the obvious question of "how do you protect the screen?"
Build a man a fire, he's warm for one night. Set him on fire, and he's warm for the rest of his life.
Hey, it's better than Dupes. Though there has already been one today.
Seriously though, CNet and others need to get a grip. The Mini Mac was a great announcement. It wasn't the PDA or iPhone everyone keeps rumoring about, but it was a good, though small, announcement.
If you want over hype, check out Microsoft and it's Origami Project. There isn't even a product yet, and yet they have launched a website, and had a media day the same day as Apple. At least Apple is shipping a real product.
It's either on the beat or off the beat, it's that easy.
I moderate therefore I rule!
--
My biggest complain is that these nimrods keep calling that stereo thing a "ghetto-blster"
I'm assuming that most of these bloggers and columnists lived through the 80's and should know WTF a Ghetto-Blaster looks like
For those of you who lived sheltered lives during the 80's and early 90's, a Google Image Search for Ghetto Blaster is highly informative.
Oddly enough, the GIS turned up no pictures of automatic weapons in the first few pages. Cause that's the other thing that comes to mind when I think about ghetto-blasters.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
I accuse CNET and slashdot for over-hyping Apple's over-hyping.
It's a fashion thing. The iPod is cool, it's stylish, but with all the fluff stripped, it's an MP3 player. Now, when people have an MP3 player, they got one. It's not like you need one again after 6 months (unless it's badly made and it falls apart, but then I would kinda doubt people would get the same model again).
Sooner or later, the market is saturated. What now? Sure, you can release a new model (and Apple did). Only works once or twice as well, there's only so much room for improvement. You can make it smaller, you can make it hold larger armounts of music, but when it's small enough to be no longer visible (don't forget, fashion is also about showing what you got) and when it can hold the equivalent to 100 CDs, people don't want it any smaller or bigger.
So accessories come into play. And besides selling those MP3s for 99 cent, that's where the money comes from. Because the players are sold. You will probably sell a few more, but that's no longer the big market.
Now, it's incredibly hard to patent sizes. Sure, you can patent a design, you can patent the brand, but there's no way to keep third party vendors from selling gadgets that "just happen to" fit the iPod perfectly. How should you patent the earplugs? It uses a standard socket, any earplug would do. How do you make your customer buy your add-ons instead of others, which are probably cheaper?
You start hyping. You have to make sure that your customers know that YOUR, and only YOUR accessories offer the value they're looking for. You NEED those earplugs, because they're original and without, the iPod is no longer cool. You NEED our case because only with it, you show the world that you have the original and only then you are part of the family.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
The question you need to ask is: Where is the hype coming from?
Did Apple claim that their press conference would herald fantastically interesting products that would reshape the industry? As I recall, they merely announced a press conference and said they would have some "fun stuff". That's it.
This wasn't Steve walking on stage at MacWorld - which is a hypefest by design, where only the biggest products are released - this was Apple introducing another Intel-based Mac to show its partners and investors that it was committed to, and proceeding with the transition from PPC. The fact they had some other, far less interesting products ready at the same time, and decided to show them off as well seems to be more of a logical exploitation of the press conference. Would it have made sense for Apple to simply make no mention of their other new products while the media's attention was focused squarely on them? I don't think so.
People are so used to Apple throwing them curveballs that they build up entirely unrealistic expectations of the company, and get angry at Apple when they fail to live up to these fantasies. You can criticize Apple for borking the video chipset in the new Minis, but you can't really get mad at them for not releasing a product that may only exist in your mind.
This has got to be the biggest conspiracy over nothing that I have every seen. First, Slashdot posts a sensational post about how the new products at Apple are overhyped and links an article that doesn't over hype anything! Then Cnet comes out with an article saying it's over hyped which slashdot posts as well! Ten out of Ten points for getting lots of hits and comments but -1000000 points for lack of intelligence. I say what everyone else is saying... what hype?
For a product to be overhyped I have to see it somewhere other than slashdot which does get a high bandwidth of users but does not have mainstream penetration.
"All great wisdom is contained in .signature files"
Yes, it's a fair charge. Fashion is fickle and every comment that the iPod phenomenon is turning tacky is a warning that no company can sit on its laurels for long. The iPod's leather posing pouch and the ghetto-blaster model are tacky, too.
During 2006, it's quite likely we'll see an increasing number of articles saying the iPod thing is over. When every kid on the block is toting one, it's time to get rid of it and buy something reassuringly "exclusive" instead. Never underestimate snob appeal.
Las qué passoun
tournoun pas maï
Wall St. Geek.com has some analysis up that shows that Apple stock rises before annoucements, but rarely keeps the momentum afterwards. In fact, after major announcements (including the original iPod), the stock sank. Here's the link.
Today's UF
Apple is all about fashion, image and looking cool. Hype is part of what makes the whole image.
Engineering is the art of compromise.
Apple: Really cool!
CNET: Are you sure?
Apple: Well, maybe not really, really cool, but still quite cool.
CNET: Just 'quite' cool you say?
Apple: Not just quite cool - pretty cool.
CNET: 'Pretty' cool? Nah! We're not interested. Who wants to report stories about stuff that's just pretty cool? We're CNET. We only report the coolest of the cool dude!
Apple: OK, OK. They're actually really cool.
CNET: Great, we'll be there for the announcement.
3 hours later...
CNET: Hey! You lied! You said that stuff was really cool but it was just pretty cool. We wasted expensive web site space on 'pretty cool'! What kind of lame ass web site do you take us for?
Apple: Um...well...we tried to tell you...
"The White House is not an intelligence-gathering agency," -- Scott McClellan, Whitehouse spokesman.
Maybe it's a spelling error and he was referring to little people.
Man, this is so sad.
Why is everyone so jealous that Aple is the bestest and inovativestest company in the universe?
I mean come on! They invented the mp3-player, they produce the wrold's most powerful personal-computer (using the new bestest Intel-processors), and they are overall very modest about it.
They never use dirty tricks like product-placement (or can you remember seeing a iPod casually displayed in Blade III?) or blog-astroturfing (all Mac-sites are of course completely independent business entities operated by fans, not, as some evil sources and whois-info on the domainnames claim, run by Apples PR-department).
o, the only thing they can actually be accused of is that they are actually guilty of doing not enough promotion for their products. I think the iPod would have sold even better if there would have been a bit of a campaign for it.
Investors aren't happy about this.
1. Gigabit ethernet (*usually* unheard of on a product of this size and price - yes, yes, yes, I'm sure you'll come up with examples of other computers that have GigE, but none will be that size *and* price category)
2. The Apple Remote can't be used without IR, which the old mini didn't have (nor did it have Front Row, and yes, that's just software, but still, Front Row can't be "officially" added to a computer without it without hacking it, and even then, technically "pirating" it - and you still have no way to control it via IR without adding third party products like an IR receiver)
3. The ability to play 1080-line HD (which the previous mini didn't have the horsepower to do), which is a huge step toward, oh, I don't know, using it as an HD media center
4. Optical S/PDIF audio input and output (huge addition - previous mini did not have)
5. The ability to actually do sharing with Front Row of music, photos, and video from other computers on the local network (a big functional improvement and almost a necessity for a "media center")
6. Less important: the fact that it has a dual core processor in a 6.5"x6.5"x2" form factor, the addition or 802.11a, and Intel HD Audio
So yes, it's a mini with amazing features, by most estimations. If *you* don't like it (and I'm not saying you do or don't), fine - don't get one. But that doesn't change the fact that it has an array of new features that make it dramatically more useful as a media center than it was before).
Funny how that you can look at the "specs", yet if you go HEAR it, it sounds great.
PC Magazine gave it 4.5 stars. I guess they were not snickering huh?
It's either on the beat or off the beat, it's that easy.
I moderate therefore I rule!
--
It should be even more basic than that.
'Jobs' announcement of a new leather case for the iPod was especially ridiculous. Like the queen announcing a new toaster in Buckingham Palace. It seemed odd that Jobs was troubling himself to introduce fashion accessories to Apple's products.
Think about it.
A marketer tried to get the best currently-new offering from a company to sell better.
It's the exact same thing that any marketer, anywhere around the world would do.
If you watch QVC, you can see salesmen doing the same deal for thing after thing, time after time. ("This ball of twine is the most amazing, lifechanging thing ever!")
It's just good business. Apple isn't going to churn out something like the introduction of the Apple, the Macintosh, or the iPod every year. Matter of fact, if you count those lines, they've been managing better than one lucrative industry-changing product line a decade, which is pretty damn good.
The only unusual thing is that some Mac users seem to take a polling approach instead of a event-triggered approach to being notified about new Apple products (which means that sometimes, there isn't much there).
Any program relying on (nontrivial) preemptive multithreading will be buggy.
Those features are ten a penny on every PC these days.
You could say that the Mac Mini was underpowered in it's original incarnation. It's not like they COULDN'T have had these features (HD movie playback is a chipset support issue; Core Duo can't do it on it's own, either) on a PowerPC Mac Mini that size, they certainly had the Northbridge for it in the G4 Macs and PowerBooks.
Saying that the "Mac Mini has amazing features for it's size" is really just totally underestimating what you can do with technology these days. If you get rid of the PCI slots on your average PC board and solder the CPU down, you can get all those features in a board that size. Nano ITX is stark proof of this kind of miniaturisation.
Perhaps working for a company that designs solutions like that, I am jaded and cynical and simply unamazed at these obviously life-changing things Apple have put into this new box?
Or maybe in actual fact.. they just aren't amazing. I rest my case.
slashdotc: warning: jokes.AustinPowers.frickinlaserbeam() in slashdot.groupthink has been deprecated.
You start hyping. You have to make sure that your customers know that YOUR, and only YOUR accessories offer the value they're looking for. You NEED those earplugs, because they're original and without, the iPod is no longer cool. You NEED our case because only with it, you show the world that you have the original and only then you are part of the family.
Apple may be pretty good at herding consumers, but they're absolutely nothing compared to, say, De Beers. De Beers created the diamond ring as a cultural item less than a hundred years ago. Now, you have to give your lady love a diamond ring -- no alternatives.
The story I linked to is pretty interesting -- if you have a couple minutes, it's a worthwhile read.
Any program relying on (nontrivial) preemptive multithreading will be buggy.
I just looked up the word, and it said: "inspiring awe or admiration or wonder"
Basically the new features are "we added some new but scarcely amazing features but most importantly, still managed to get it in the same size box".
Then again, another definition was 'overused as a hyperbole for "good."'
warning: [deprecation] IForOne() in Slashdot.GroupThink.Jokes has been deprecated.
Slashdot coverage of the iPod.
from the well-thats-not-very-exciting dept.
Get off my launchpad!
Overhyped? Hmmm. The press invitations specifically mentioned that Apple would be introducing some "fun new products". Fun new products. Roll that phrase around in your mind for a little bit. Fun new products.
Does that sound like an earthshaking announcement to you? Like Apple was going to introduce OS XI or make a "fuck Intel; we're using Cell processors now" kind of announcement?
If so, you're nuts. I was expecting some iPod-related announcements, perhaps the fabled "Video iPod" (yawn) at most and some capacity bumps at the least. I'd say their product announcements fell right in the middle of that modest spectrum.
It's true that Apple created some hype by not issuing any hints about the products they'd be introducing. Most of those journalists would have stayed at home if you told them in advance that they'd be introducing a new Mini, a leather slipcover, and a boombox. But hey, I can't really blame a company for wanting to create excitement about their products. That's called capitalism, folks. What Apple really did was capitalize on the press and public's fascination with Apple. They simply allowed the press and public to create the hype for them.
So was Apple cannily trying to promote and sell some product? Sure. Did Apple themselves overhype the event? I would say absolutely not.
OtakuBooty.com: Smart, funny, sexy nerds.
Those features are ten a penny on every PC these days.
You have a PC that runs FrontRow? Do tell!
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
P.
Apple overhyped this "launch" because they launched them with a CEO-hosted press event.
What company needs a CEO-hosted press event to announce a boom box?
Or leather case? Or computer upgrade?
Seriously, when's the last time a company held a press event to announce a boom box?
Apple has themselves to blame. They could've introduced these products without the fanfare, just like any other company.
-- "I never gave these stories much credence." - HAL 9000
Anyone wondering if the disappointment in this announcement is just what Steve wanted. The hype has gotten so big around Steve's announcements latley the only way he could suprise anyone is to announce a new product by showing up unannounced at a random apple store and giving them away. Reducing the expectations would make easier to Steve to wow everyone with the unexpected.
I'll say it again. IT is very much like the fashion industry ("XML! It's so modern! It's so now! It's so you!"). Or the US auto industry of the 50's which sold crap but had cool tail fins. Though I must add that most Apple products, while not perfect, are not crap. But they do understand how design and fashion drive consumer retail and technology much better than any other player out there right now.
putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
Windows Media Center edition?
I actually run PowerCinema. It does more than Front Row in much the same way.
The media's job in two steps:
1) Create false expectations
2) Pounce on those who fail to live up to its created expectations
I guess Apple's just getting what governments have enjoyed for all these years...
Raise your hand if you have iTunes ...
...
...
...
/. visionary. Taken from http://apple.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=22940&ci d=2467504
Raise your hand if you have a FireWire port
Raise your hand if you have both
Raise your hand if you have $400 to spend on a cute Apple device
There is Apple's market. Pretty slim, eh? I don't see many sales in the future of iPod.
Another
rather than a CNET editor's overinflated idea of him or herself, let's expand more on the razor phenom. To whit: I don't know how many of you remember the first stainless steel razor. It was called the Wilkinson, it came from England, and because it was stainless, I could use it for maybe two weeks per. Okay, my beard was lighter back then, too. It was great, and it put Gilette Blue Blades out of business. Within a decade, the razor wars began. The trick they played: giving away the razor, and selling you the blades. The Blue Blades were maybe .25 a pack. The Wilkinsons were around a dollar.
Then there were two blades. They cut closer, but they don't last as long. Price of a package: four or five bucks when introduced. Now, they're up to FIVE, and going. But now, with five blades, I know it only works the way it's supposed to for two or three days, and a pack is over ten bucks!
All of this made me do something I always said I never would: I bought an electric razor. Sure, it was about 50 bucks, but it's good for two, three years. Oil it and replace the blade about once a year.
The razor companies need to learn a new trick when keeping their free razor in blades costs more than an electric that doesn't need perpetual refilling.
There's a lesson in there for all corporations, including Apple, and the stupid tech tabloid, CNET.
A leather case for 100 USD can add up to some serious profit (my Samsung mp3 player cost 88 USD). What would it cost to make and ship a zillion of those buggers? What is the return rate for failed components? I can't blame Apple even though I dont like the way media fawns over anything Apple does. I have seen Apple on major US news magazine covers twice, and cant remember seeing another makers computer on the cover of Time like I saw the iMac (the one that looked like a lamp).
There is a lot of expectation and focus on Apple now since people are waiting for the Intel iBooks and such. So Jobs and Apple ran with that. I can't blame Apple. Look at all the exposure they got when the Nanos scratched easy. Media loves to follow Jobs and Apple. I can't ever find a compelling reason to buy any of their products (they make great stuff but always come with a kick in the shins since th9ings are either too expensive or missing features) but I like their attempts at innovation.
Now CNET is a place that REALLY generates more heat than light!
But they sure believe in hot and cold water - always out of separate taps in the handbasin in the loo - it's gotta be a law or something.
The invite list was really small. The event was held in Apple's cafeteria! There was no over-hype here. Just having the CEO announce it doesn't hype anything--Steve Jobs isn't just an ordinary CEO, he's Apple's main orator, and of course he'll announce these things. This small press event was held to get the new products into the news, but that's not hype.
Apple DID announce these without their usual fanfare. These goofy press people were buying into Thinksecret and Appleinsider's rumors.
When will people realize these rumors sites are hurting Apple? This isn't the first time in the last six months that all the rumor sites said one thing, and Apple fell short (dual-core G5s, which ended up coming out much later).
"Sufferin' succotash."