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Will Apple Disappoint on 30th Anniversary?
An anonymous reader writes "We've seen the media get over-excited about an Apple launch before, but one CNET columnist is 'threatening suicide' if Apple don't announce something for their 30th Anniversary this Saturday. CNET is concerned at the lack of any news from Apple: 'You'd guess that Steve Jobs will at least have to walk out onto the lawn in Cupertino, light a few fireworks and make some whooping noises. It's that or risk an international incident.' Is Apple going to keep a low profile for their 30th?"
I hope Chris Stevens and his wife don't have any anniversaries coming up. I guess she could always 'forget one' after taking out a lucrative life insurance policy on him.
My work here is dung.
Who cares :( We'll see when it happens.
Send email from the afterlife! Write your e-will at Dead Man's Switch.
One tires after a few years of reading overwrought Apple-adulation.
Is there even a story here? This is possibly the most content-free Slashdot post ever.
Said Steve Jobs, "It has been a good 30 year run and, unlike most companies, we want to close the doors while we are still profitable"
Remarked how few information about Leopard we've got since last WWDC ? :-)
I would settle for a one day sale of 30% in celebration of 30 years. Every Apple product 30% off, then I would buy a MacBook Pro. They at least need to do an April Fool's joke. Like "We're making OS X available to install legally on all generic x86 harware." ... Gotcha! April Fools!!
I was going to post just that. What kind of FA is this, is /. becoming a big gossip machine?
:)
I couldnt possibly care less that Apple celebrates their 30th with a big news or not. When they DO announce something, then we can talk.
Speculation is not why i come on this site
If you look like your passport photo, you're too ill to travel. - Will Kommen
Apple plans on selling their portable computers to Lenovo and the desktop computers to Dell, following the leads of IBM and Alienware. Apple will then take the money from those two deals and purchase apple music thereby bringing a long-time battle to a close. Of course this will result in Beatles music being available in iTunes for 9cents per song, to spite Yoko Ono.
Don't shoot the messenger, the voices told me this, they really did.
I know what they can do. They can all get together and buy a truckload of Toilet Paper and TP Microsoft HQ!
A suicide is not a light subject to be throwing it around like it's some joke...
I'm as much of an Apple fanboy as the next guy (3 Macs at home, 2 ipods, 6 converts), but whose head is so far up Apple's ass that they joke about suicide?
Apple has its schedule, and whether they celebrate their 30th anniversary is irrelevant to me. Yes, it would be great and hip, but they already have an outstanding product lineup.
Also the poster for the iPhone looks pretty damn good.
link
So yeah, wake the fuck up whiners and clean the brown from your face.
If you don't know what AltaVista is (was), get off my lawn.
Look, there have been announcements earlier this year, there will be announcements in a couple more months. The Conroe Towers (ask about our move-in specials!) and Leopard may both be out in August, which is why we think they moved the next big conference back. Do they have to announce something on Saturay, just to give reporters something to do? Yah, I'd almost die at the thought of having to dig up an original story, instead of rehashing a press conference, too. So, you want them to announce something early, before they're close to ready? Apple doesn't want a rep as a vaporware provider. Apple needs to fix bugs in its current MacBookPro, among other things, in fact. So calm down. About the only thing ready now might be the budget MacBooks. Oh, and maybe a phone. :)
Nobody asks Microsoft or Intel or even IBM what their anniversary products will be.
What is the big deal about this? Microsoft announces a new product and service and people are all like "who cares? this isn't even news" but Apple doesn't have plans to have the Stones playing at their 30th birthday party and everyone is ready to get all upset over it?
I just can't understand it.
Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
I think this story is a plant. To make people pay attention to the lack of announcements from apple but still pay attention to them the day they do announce something. Fan boys will love it. It's now garaunteed to be slashdotted when they do it. Forgive me if I don't trust reports of "nothing is happening" as being proper news.
"Ipod Yocto" - an Ipod so small that it fits into your inner ear.
Once you buy it, you will instantly become the coolest technophile on the planet, but the downside is that noone will be able to notice that you own one.
He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
Maybe you should just kill yourself now and beat the rush.
No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There's always a boom tomorrow. - Cmdr. Susan Ivanova
Are you kidding me??? You obviously don't know how to kill yourself like a man.
Best. Webhost. Ever. Dreamhost.
A range of leather cases for the iPod range. Nothing new I hear you cry? This time they come with a limited edition embossed logo.
Remember, you heard it here first!
Steve should bring out a wheelbarrow of newspaper and magazine articles about "beleaguered Apple" or "Apple going out of business" and light them up in the parking lot. And maybe send a get well card to Michael Dell.
I'm as much of an Apple fanboy as the next guy (3 Macs at home, 2 ipods, 6 converts)
Thats one thing I've noticed all Mac users I know(including myself) keep track of...number of people coverted. I've only got 1 convert(wife), but she's already racked up 6, and they've converted a few more. All happy Mac users now.
Are there any Mac users out there who don't keep track of the number of people who have "switched" after playing around with his or her computer for a while?
Maybe they could announce 2 buttons on the MacBookPro trackpad? Why on earth is it still one button? Even the Mighty Mouse has more buttons.
1 less CNet writer = the world is a better place.
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
Nah. He'll walk out onto the lawn and yell at some kids to get off it.
Disclosure: I'm thirtysomething.
proof, n. A demonstration that a conclusion is implied by certain premises and axioms.
Rumors of the iPhone started in Jan. 2003. I know, I bought into them and waited to get a cell phone that year, finally giving up in October and getting something else. So as much as I'd like the iPhone to be announced this Saturday, I'm definitely not holding my breath.
12" and 17" MacBooks are definitely due, so that's where I'd put my money if I were betting.
But Saturday would be a bizarre day of the week for Apple to do any product introduction, as they wouldn't get enough press coverage. Apple announcements are historically made on Tuesdays.
-Kurt
"We can categorically state we have not released man-eating badgers into the area." - UK military spokesman, July 2007
and establish a Cabinet-level office of "le Software" to celebrate victory.
viva le Difference.
if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
This is indeed one area where Apple lags behind Microsoft. Microsoft has the ability to not just disappoint on each and every anniversary of their founding, but most of the days in between as well.
That's right: the Apple \/, the latest successor to the wildly successful Apple ][ line, is on its way. This state-of-the-art machine features an amazing 8 MHz processor with a shocking 512 KB of RAM and built-in double floppy drives, to handle the computing needs of the 21st Century. This machine comes with an updated version of Apple DOS that gives you the power to create directories on your double-sided floppy disks (although I understand that NetBSD will also run on this machine). Order now and get a free 14" monochrome monitor and printer (your choice of dot-matrix or pinwheel).
Finding God in a Dog
"but one CNET columnist is 'threatening suicide' if Apple don't announce something for their 30th Anniversary this Saturday."
CNET? Heck, I'll chip in and buy the Kool-Aid!
They've done small. Enough of that. Now they're gonna go BIG. Everyone will want one of these. ;)
"Tread softly because you tread on my dreams"
That's why iPod earbuds are so uncomfortable. Even nanomachines in the white earbuds take up space. And you thought yesterday's iPod update was for volume control. It was really for control of volumes of people!
Companies, unlike humans, rarely live to the age of 5. Reaching 30 is a real milestone for a company, whereas for a human (in the US, at least) it's pretty unremarkable.
Warning: Apple/Nintendo fangirl. Likes her electronics cute & cuddly. May be rabid.
I have used some of the best designed Windows laptops the planet has to offer. The second mouse button is NEVER is a good place or easy to use.
On a laptop, where your fingers controlling the trackpad are right by the keyboard, chording keys to get to the second button is much, much better because you get the second button exactly when you want it.
I've been using a Powerbook at home for years now and it's the only laptop I've ever used that I do not ever use an external mouse for. There simply is no need.
I do use a three button Logitech mouse on my desktop, which I could not be without. But in the laptop a single button that you chord to activate other features is the way to go.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
The whole point of a company making a "big announcement" is to get the media buzz that accompanies such theatrics. Apple's got it without taking any risk and without expending any effort; I say it'd be smarter (and more "mysterious", thereby generating even MORE buzz) to just let it pass quietly.
And then dazzle us the NEXT week (maybe a new iPod so small you need an electron microscope to see it...)
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No honestly, I think people's expectations for what Apple will do is unfounded.
First, I can't see Apple coming out with a dramatically new iPod concept only 6 months after the last iPod generation. Apple can't keep releasing new iPods on quick cycles, it will affect consumer confidence (more like, consumers will stop buying iPods because they go obsolete in 6 months). Perhaps Apple was keeping something up their sleeves with iPod for the 30th, but I think it will backfire rather then impress consumers. I was considering the new 5th gen iPod to replace my 3rd gen, then I heard rumours about a newer video iPod. I basically won't be buying any iPod until Apple reveals their cards, as is the opinion of many people I know in the market for a new player.
I also don't expect any great innovations from their computer lines. G5 is still a solid desktop workstation, and I don't see Apple wanting to rush G5's away for Intel's Duo Core. Largely, Intel's Duo Core can't compete with a quad G5 system, and until I see Intel looking to make dual Duo Core chipsets, I don't see Apple coming out with a new desktop system to replace the G5. New iBook's, MacBooks's, Mac Mini's or iMacs will be underwhelming as a 30th Anniversary release as they will only be configuration tweaks, not all out redesigns. I don't think Apple will make the mistake of another Anniversary edition Mac. We can only handle 1 overpriced dud a decade, and Apple already came out with the G4 cube this past decade.
Whats left? A cellphone or tablet device? These have been rumored for years, I don't see why Apple would have left them as 30th anniversary surprises. Apple can't compete in the cell phone market, honestly. This market changes frequently (like monthly), while Apple doesn't. Apple can't release one style of cellphone to fit all consumers. Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, Sony all make a slew of different models because consumers of cellphones are fickle. An Apple based cellphone will only appeal to a small market segment and thus could not dominate the way iPod did. Apple helped to define the digital music player market, the cell phone market is already well established and has many leaders. Apple would be competing against equals (which they seldom have don't well with). Unless Apple dominates a market like with the iPod, Apple typically struggles (like with 30 years of computers).
A tablet device will also be unexpected and underwhelming. Who would buy a tablet device? Students. But any tablet device from Apple will be too expensive for most students to afford, and it will be a novelty item for many non-students.
What Apple SHOULD release for their 30th anniversary is a TV set-top device that connects Mac's or even PC's to your home theater system. This will launch Apple into the home theater market which is largely undefined. Something with Apple's panache with multimedia handling in a box that can be used as a PVR and full digital media support over networks. Apple could do with Home Theater what they did for iPod, take a bunch of ideas that other companies are poorly implementing and consolidate them into one superior device. But then, Steve Jobs says that HTPC's are a novelty and fad that will wain quickly. It's not surprising for Steve Jobs to renege on his comments, but I doubt Apple has any big plans for Home Theater consumer electronics. They don't even support 5.1 surround in most of their computers and Apple's one foray into newtworked multimedia ( AirTunes ) was a disaster in my opinion.
Apple blew their wad too early this year with new "video" iPods, iTunes services and introducing the Macintels. I would have left introducing the Macintels until the 30th anniversary to give people something to talk about.
While it is impossible to predict what Apple will actually do, I won't get my hopes up for too much. By anticipating the least, if Apple does something truly wonderful, then it will be surprising and exciting. But getting your hopes up too much will just leave you disappointed when Apple announces some new word processing applications, revision to an iPod, or a larger 17" MacBook, which is all I am banking on.
I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.
Maybe Apple and Steve are not making a splashy celebration this time around because a decade ago, Apple's "big idea" of a 20th anniversay Mac was an utter failure. The machine was nice - sleek design, TV/FM radio, S-video inputs, Bose sound, and was limited to the production of 12,000 machines with a cost of $10,000 a pop that was delivered to and installed at your home by an Apple authorized rep. (If I recall correctly... I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm not)
Eventually after only selling a couple thoasand at that cost... they were sold at the "bargain basement" price of 2 grand.
Some sites for more info:
Wikipedia
Apple-History
Fan club web site
--Aaron Greenberg
Yes, we all know that using LaTeX drives even real men to suicide.
-- This and all my posts are in the public domain. I am a lawyer. I am not your lawyer, and this is not legal advice.
On the very first powerbooks, there were two buttons - one above the trackball and one below the trackball. In those days, the two buttons actually did the same thing. However, I could imagine having the second mouse button be above the trackpad which wouldn't be too bad.
On the other hand, how often do you really use the right click? I hardly ever use it and I think it is a sign of poor UI design when you need to use it.
I believe there are a few things in the Finder context menus that you can't do from the pull down menus. For example, I'm seeing an item called "Slide Show" which I think must be put there by iPhoto, and then I also see some Automator related items, and some Norton Anit-Virus related items. But for the most part, you can access things from the pull down menus which, if the item has a hot key, I prefer to use instead of using right click.
Avoid Missing Ball for High Score
didn't cnet recently run an article about how the press always overhype apple launch announcements before they happen, and then get disappointed when nothing major is announced?
It's Apple's 30th Anniversary, they haven't announced anything significant, and yet ...
You are all discussing Apple and it's products.
I'd say the RDF is working quite well.
"My God...it's full of trolls!"
Disclaimer: This isn't meant to insult the parent post, just to raise questions and hopefully get some answers. It's also somewhat of a rant.
What happened to your iPod? I'm only asking because I had purchased an iPod mini. It was a 4GB, and right about the time the warranty ran out, the headphone jack broke. My option was to have them repair it ($250) or replace it ($200). Now, I'm not an apple loyalist or enthusiast, so that right there was enough for me to say 'no' to apple.
I admit, the interface was very appeasing and easy to work with. But after being a PC guy for so long and hearing about the quality of apple hardware compared to PC hardware, I naturally assumed that the iPod would last over a year. And being told by the apple "geniuses" that I am SOL didn't do anything for their reputation.
I guess I'm just wondering why you would buy an expensive product from a company that isn't so set on keeping you a customer? I know that they also offered me a 10% discount on a brand new iPod. But I would imagine they could fix them (or outsource that to another company) and give me at least a 50% discount on a new one. That allows them to make another sale, and get back an iPod to sell at a later date. Instead they won't get any money from me or people that come to me for advice in purchasing a music player.
Maybe I'm just not at the point at which I can buy a player every year or two years. I have the money, but I don't see spending $200 every other year to ensure that I have a working player. I've had portable CD players that lasted at least five years that took more beatings than my dainty iPod. So why would you keep buying a product that breaks after a few years from normal wear and tear? Yes, I realize they are delicate electronics, but when you treat them that way they should last.
Sorry for the rant, I just don't understand the need to purchase the same product that has broken on you before.
yeah, but that was all done after Steve Jobs was fired and before he returned. he had no hand in that machine.
as silly as the machine was, it was a neat machine and did end up as a prop in TV/movies long after it was incredibly outdated technology.
the way i heard the story was that they were initially intended as a special machine for dealers and promotion almost as functional artwork. when they did not sell out they were offered to the general public. i may be wrong, but i think it was intended to be a special edition dealers would have to show off, kind of like how, for example, Harley-Davidson sells their dealers incredibly limited versions of their racing motorcycles. to race the bikes in certain classes, there has to be a certain number produced and sold off. they make the minimum number and sell them as collector pieces. dealers often buy them and put them right on display. maybe some classes of racing cars are the same way? granted HD has to do that, but in the process they create these collectors items. i think it was an idea by management to try to sell the TAM the same way, and it just didn't catch on. i kind of remember somebody like Club Mac selling them eventually (i guess at the $2,000 price?).