One of the brilliant strategies of Steve (BSoS) is to make somthing really cool available to a select few "fringe people" (Mac users) and then sit back to watch the masses drool over it just long enough to have them BEG you to let them buy it.
Just look at the iPod when it first came out. Every (pc)techie wanted one, and couldn't understand why it wasn't available to them. Bloody briliant marketing if you ask me.
Apple, except for the Dark Days under Gil (when I lost the faith), have done an exceptional job of implementing and "mainstreaming" existing, relatively little used technologies (at the time) such as: windows (GUI), WYSIWYG, the mouse, scsii, cd-rom, portable computing, desktop networking, spreadsheets, graphic design, intuitive UI, RISC, non-boring case designs,PDA's, EOLing floppies, fan-less desktops, USB, FireWire, Digital Video editing, multimedia, WiFi and more... (Note: I'm not saying they did this first in ALL cases, but they made many of these things much easier to use AND they made it look good) Unfortunatly,unlike with the iPod, they usually failed to capitalize on the "new" technology
Fluctuating marketshare aside (Apple never really had much more than 10% or so), what the IBM compatible world should ask itself is why/how such a tiny group of users has had such an incredible impact on the rest of the market.
Oh, BTW... With OSX, and the rumors I keep hearing of BSD dying, I'm starting to regain the Faith and might need to try to dig up some cash for a Mac soon...
For a practical alternative to mind-control, that would also satify the need for the last item in your list, check out (be sure to download the PDF, print it out and hang it on your cube wall, just to let everyone know that you don't take kindly to mind-control):
Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie
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Just look at the iPod when it first came out. Every (pc)techie wanted one, and couldn't understand why it wasn't available to them. Bloody briliant marketing if you ask me.
Apple, except for the Dark Days under Gil (when I lost the faith), have done an exceptional job of implementing and "mainstreaming" existing, relatively little used technologies (at the time) such as: windows (GUI), WYSIWYG, the mouse, scsii, cd-rom, portable computing, desktop networking, spreadsheets, graphic design, intuitive UI, RISC, non-boring case designs,PDA's, EOLing floppies, fan-less desktops, USB, FireWire, Digital Video editing, multimedia, WiFi and more... (Note: I'm not saying they did this first in ALL cases, but they made many of these things much easier to use AND they made it look good) Unfortunatly,unlike with the iPod, they usually failed to capitalize on the "new" technology
Fluctuating marketshare aside (Apple never really had much more than 10% or so), what the IBM compatible world should ask itself is why/how such a tiny group of users has had such an incredible impact on the rest of the market.
Oh, BTW... With OSX, and the rumors I keep hearing of BSD dying, I'm starting to regain the Faith and might need to try to dig up some cash for a Mac soon...
Works great in Opera 7.03 also...
For a practical alternative to mind-control, that would also satify the need for the last item in your list, check out (be sure to download the PDF, print it out and hang it on your cube wall, just to let everyone know that you don't take kindly to mind-control):
Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie