SaMaster14
Jan 11, 06:38 PM
Thanks for the kudos, and to the rental dude too. :D The V8 is easy to get spoiled by, with all that power on tap. Too bad about the UK gas prices though, I think I agree with you!
The euro dudes on the 300c board used to make me jealous about their CRD with that high gas mileage Mercedes diesel, I've heard it gets in the realm of 30-35mpg (brit gallons, of course). Holy crap! That's practically Honda Civic (with gas engine) territory! Unfortunately, the CRD engine can be a headache as far as reliability is concerned. (or so I've heard)
I haven't been in a v6 300 in a very long time though, heh. Cheers!
Your welcome. And just want to make clear that I meant no disrespect to the car in saying that we get it as a rental. We obviously get the bone-stock V6s, and they are really nice! I know the V8 and the SRT8 versions are amazing.
The euro dudes on the 300c board used to make me jealous about their CRD with that high gas mileage Mercedes diesel, I've heard it gets in the realm of 30-35mpg (brit gallons, of course). Holy crap! That's practically Honda Civic (with gas engine) territory! Unfortunately, the CRD engine can be a headache as far as reliability is concerned. (or so I've heard)
I haven't been in a v6 300 in a very long time though, heh. Cheers!
Your welcome. And just want to make clear that I meant no disrespect to the car in saying that we get it as a rental. We obviously get the bone-stock V6s, and they are really nice! I know the V8 and the SRT8 versions are amazing.
Tonsko
Jan 7, 05:13 AM
Not too bad, if it's a modern one. Depends if he rags it all the time, but you'll get 35+ out of it I imagine.
SMM
Nov 15, 08:47 AM
How can this get negative votes? In fact, how do a lot of perfectly benign threads get negative votes? Are there just members out there who vote negative on everything?
Stoutman11
Jan 28, 02:08 PM
http://www.coates3.com/gallery2/d/44261-1/painted+grill-0270.jpg
I put some painted grills on it yesterday, and had pre- and post-cat O2 sensors installed along with the fuel filter today. It looks pretty good for a car with 103k miles on the odo (I'm the original owner).
very clean! looks nice
I put some painted grills on it yesterday, and had pre- and post-cat O2 sensors installed along with the fuel filter today. It looks pretty good for a car with 103k miles on the odo (I'm the original owner).
very clean! looks nice
dguisinger
Aug 7, 08:09 AM
what about when steve says they have a new case and the 17" has an optional blu-ray drive. and they all have hdmi output. x1800 256/512
he will kill us all
Man, thats not enough.... we need dual Nvidia mobile GPUs with SLI...just like Alienware has! (Each with 512MB, for a total of 1GB video ram!)
he will kill us all
Man, thats not enough.... we need dual Nvidia mobile GPUs with SLI...just like Alienware has! (Each with 512MB, for a total of 1GB video ram!)
imac_japan
Apr 26, 10:32 PM
*cough*Macintosh, the computer for the rest of us :D
Well, for the people who cant buy a BMW anyway
Well, for the people who cant buy a BMW anyway
SciFrog
Nov 8, 08:51 PM
Well it is not supported, same as running GPU on Linux... Only difference is that they are so many doing so that they figured it out...
mscriv
Mar 24, 01:44 PM
This thread reminds me of a show I saw recently about this topic and one of it's segments featured Exodus International. It was an interesting program.
http://www.oprah.com/own-our-america-lisa-ling/Our-America-with-Lisa-Ling-Pray-the-Gay-Away-FULL-EPISODE
I'm not familiar with the Exodus International, but in the interview the current president says they make no claims about "curing" homosexuality, that they just provide support for those who have similar views. One of the founders who left the movement was interviewed as well. It seems their program has gone through many changes since it's founding over 30 years ago.
There were similar programs with differing beliefs profiled as well.
As far as the app goes, Apple as a business has the right to do what they please, but I imagine it's difficult to apply criteria based on what might be "offensive" to large groups of people. That doesn't really sound like much of a measurable criteria to me. But, that plays right into Apple's status quo of keeping a tight rein on their own ecosystem. With non-specific and unmeasureable criteria they can do what they want without violating their own "rules".
http://www.oprah.com/own-our-america-lisa-ling/Our-America-with-Lisa-Ling-Pray-the-Gay-Away-FULL-EPISODE
I'm not familiar with the Exodus International, but in the interview the current president says they make no claims about "curing" homosexuality, that they just provide support for those who have similar views. One of the founders who left the movement was interviewed as well. It seems their program has gone through many changes since it's founding over 30 years ago.
There were similar programs with differing beliefs profiled as well.
As far as the app goes, Apple as a business has the right to do what they please, but I imagine it's difficult to apply criteria based on what might be "offensive" to large groups of people. That doesn't really sound like much of a measurable criteria to me. But, that plays right into Apple's status quo of keeping a tight rein on their own ecosystem. With non-specific and unmeasureable criteria they can do what they want without violating their own "rules".
azentropy
Sep 15, 09:57 AM
And I would recommend the iPhone 4 to everyone I know, almost all of whom use a case no matter what phone they have.
Let's drop the car analogy, it's causing more trouble than my point is worth. Apple did not fix the issue YET, but they said they would. What would you have them do in the meantime? What would CR have them do? No doubt a product recall which would be silly overkill. Apple's solution is simple, free, and easy.
CR wants them to include a free case in the box at the time of purchase. Isn't that a MORE "simple, free, and easy" solution than what Apple did and are now doing away with? Apple's solution is no longer "simple, free and easy" after Sep. 30th. BTW - it took 7 weeks for me to receive my case.
Let's drop the car analogy, it's causing more trouble than my point is worth. Apple did not fix the issue YET, but they said they would. What would you have them do in the meantime? What would CR have them do? No doubt a product recall which would be silly overkill. Apple's solution is simple, free, and easy.
CR wants them to include a free case in the box at the time of purchase. Isn't that a MORE "simple, free, and easy" solution than what Apple did and are now doing away with? Apple's solution is no longer "simple, free and easy" after Sep. 30th. BTW - it took 7 weeks for me to receive my case.
PBF
Apr 1, 09:33 PM
Google Chrome Beta and regular version allow me to use them for around a minute, and then crash. Anyone else having this problem, and how to fix?
I already submitted a bug report.
Use the dev version instead. A lot more stable than the beta one.
I already submitted a bug report.
Use the dev version instead. A lot more stable than the beta one.
generik
Sep 8, 09:47 PM
Did you buy the 1.66 or 1.83 model? Would You Mind Comparative Testing It Against Your Dual 2 G5 Please? I need to know if it is in fact faster even at these slower speeds. I have a spare Dual 2 G5 here now I got at Fry's for $864.26 a few weeks ago. I need to know how it stacks up to a mini in performance.
When I was at Fry's yesterday, I tried a few things on a 1.83 MacBook and found it to be much slower than I expected - I think slower than the dual 2 G5. What do you think? Can you put them side by side and run some comparisons?
I wouldn't do the comparison like that, the Dual G5 does offer you drive bays and expansion capabilities that you do not get with the Mini. I will take the G5 over the Mini at that price you got it for.
When I was at Fry's yesterday, I tried a few things on a 1.83 MacBook and found it to be much slower than I expected - I think slower than the dual 2 G5. What do you think? Can you put them side by side and run some comparisons?
I wouldn't do the comparison like that, the Dual G5 does offer you drive bays and expansion capabilities that you do not get with the Mini. I will take the G5 over the Mini at that price you got it for.
skunk
Mar 27, 12:10 PM
That guy in the MSN video rasmasyean linked is a bit of a douche.A complete douche, I'd say.
dethmaShine
May 2, 06:12 PM
That's a very nice feature! Too bad it won't work for apps not from the app store...
It does.
It does.
aswitcher
Jan 12, 04:39 AM
Maybe its MacBook Heir...
Multimedia
Sep 6, 07:21 PM
I agree that the lower end 17" iMac is a better deal than the mini.Now that iMac is Core 2 Duo, the Academic $899 17" iMac is a mini killer config.
rmhop81
Sep 6, 05:21 PM
i know this is off topic but are they ever gonna do anything about the outrageous cost of .Mac subscription?
order it from newegg! $20 cheaper
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16832110004
or get the family pack. only $45 more than what apple wants for the cheap single license haha
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16832110003
order it from newegg! $20 cheaper
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16832110004
or get the family pack. only $45 more than what apple wants for the cheap single license haha
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16832110003
aiqw9182
Mar 24, 02:41 PM
I;m going to go out on a limb and preemptively complain my MacPro 1.1 isn't supported :( and is only as configurable as an iMac...the irony...
You can upgrade to the latest 5870 card if you wanted to right now. It might not be 'officially' supported but you can still do it.
Please don't put an AMD 5XXX series into the new iMacs! :(
If they do it will for sure be only in the low-end 21.5" iMac (5670).
You can upgrade to the latest 5870 card if you wanted to right now. It might not be 'officially' supported but you can still do it.
Please don't put an AMD 5XXX series into the new iMacs! :(
If they do it will for sure be only in the low-end 21.5" iMac (5670).
spyd4r
Oct 23, 09:19 PM
I have been patiently waiting for the new macbook pro just as long as the rest of you, but i have had it, they are like 1.5 - 2 months behind their competitors now.. I am just about ready to drop the money and upgrade my PC desktop instead...they betttter hurrry! ;)
Yahgo
Jan 4, 08:55 AM
Macworld 2006 keynote was 1.5 hours long, with only 2 surprises... iMac Intel and MacBook Pro Intel, so if Macworld 2007 keynote is 2 hours long it must mean more then 2 major annoucements. Here is what I see happening:
Steve will start by talking about retail stores (showing the new Fifth Ave store) and how many people came in during the Holiday quarter. Then he will tell us how much revenue the stores made during that quarter. Steve will then say how much total revenue Apple has made during the year, because the CFO of Apple (Peter Oppenheimer) doesn't want to confuse any analyst who many be attending or watching. Steve will go on to talk about iPods and how well it's doing with market share, how many they sold durning the holidays and which car companies are now on board with iPod, he may even talk about Nike+iPod. DON'T EXPECT ANY iPod UPDATES. Steve will then talk about iTunes and how many downloads it has. We may see some more movie studios come on board and even the Beatles on iTunes. Then he will talk about iTV , give a demo and annouce that it will be shipping today or February. After the iTV Demo, Steve will say that the rest of the time will be spent on the Mac. He will then go into iLife '07 and give a demo of iPhoto, iMovie, iWeb, Garageband and tell you about iDVD but no demo because of time. Then he will show us iWork '07 with new Keynote features and themes with updated charts and Pages plus a new application (maybe Charts) After iLife and iWork he will talk about Leopard and maybe show some new "Top Secret" apps since Vista is lauching for consumers on 1/30/07. I expect him to release Leopard at WWDC not at MacWorld. He will update Aperture. He will then announce some third party software from Adobe (Premiere and Photoshop) and Microsoft (Office) which will come out and demo their new products. Then Steve will talk about the iMac and Mac Mini and update both. I don't expect any updates on Laptops. Then the one more thing will be the iPhone (iChat Mobile) and Steve will talk about the years of development and partnerships and demo the product by doing a video chat with someone (Phil) then he will thank everyone at Apple who worked on the product and thank everyone for coming to MacWorld. So if you compare last year's updates with this year's you will see 2 additional products demos iTV and iChat Mobile, this is what will take the extra 1/2 hour. So to sum it up here is what you'll see.
1) Retail Updates
2) iPod / iTunes Sells
3) iTV
4) iLife/iWork
5) Leopard
6) Aperture 2
7) Adobe and Microsoft Updates
8) iMac update
9) Mac Mini update
10) iChat Mobile (iPhone)
Steve will start by talking about retail stores (showing the new Fifth Ave store) and how many people came in during the Holiday quarter. Then he will tell us how much revenue the stores made during that quarter. Steve will then say how much total revenue Apple has made during the year, because the CFO of Apple (Peter Oppenheimer) doesn't want to confuse any analyst who many be attending or watching. Steve will go on to talk about iPods and how well it's doing with market share, how many they sold durning the holidays and which car companies are now on board with iPod, he may even talk about Nike+iPod. DON'T EXPECT ANY iPod UPDATES. Steve will then talk about iTunes and how many downloads it has. We may see some more movie studios come on board and even the Beatles on iTunes. Then he will talk about iTV , give a demo and annouce that it will be shipping today or February. After the iTV Demo, Steve will say that the rest of the time will be spent on the Mac. He will then go into iLife '07 and give a demo of iPhoto, iMovie, iWeb, Garageband and tell you about iDVD but no demo because of time. Then he will show us iWork '07 with new Keynote features and themes with updated charts and Pages plus a new application (maybe Charts) After iLife and iWork he will talk about Leopard and maybe show some new "Top Secret" apps since Vista is lauching for consumers on 1/30/07. I expect him to release Leopard at WWDC not at MacWorld. He will update Aperture. He will then announce some third party software from Adobe (Premiere and Photoshop) and Microsoft (Office) which will come out and demo their new products. Then Steve will talk about the iMac and Mac Mini and update both. I don't expect any updates on Laptops. Then the one more thing will be the iPhone (iChat Mobile) and Steve will talk about the years of development and partnerships and demo the product by doing a video chat with someone (Phil) then he will thank everyone at Apple who worked on the product and thank everyone for coming to MacWorld. So if you compare last year's updates with this year's you will see 2 additional products demos iTV and iChat Mobile, this is what will take the extra 1/2 hour. So to sum it up here is what you'll see.
1) Retail Updates
2) iPod / iTunes Sells
3) iTV
4) iLife/iWork
5) Leopard
6) Aperture 2
7) Adobe and Microsoft Updates
8) iMac update
9) Mac Mini update
10) iChat Mobile (iPhone)
dr Dunkel
Apr 22, 06:14 AM
The NASCAR and F1 cars are not consumer, road-driven vehicles. This is like comparing a Mac Pro to the giant supercomputers that run NASA. Keep in mind, there are varying degrees of professionality (I may have made that word up).
I think one could make the same comaprison with the M3 and the M3 GT2. The former is a high-ish end consumer product, much like the MBP and the latter is a professional product for three times the money.
The NASA supercomputer/F1 comparison is too extreme.
I think one could make the same comaprison with the M3 and the M3 GT2. The former is a high-ish end consumer product, much like the MBP and the latter is a professional product for three times the money.
The NASA supercomputer/F1 comparison is too extreme.
Blue Velvet
Jan 1, 05:22 PM
The Apple Product Cycle
An obscure component manufacturer somewhere in the Pacific Rim announces a major order for some bleeding-edge piece of technology that could conceivably become part of an expensive, digital-lifestyle-enhancing nerd toy.
Some hardware geek, the sort who actually reads press releases from obscure Pacific Rim component manufacturers, posts a link to the press release in a Mac Internet forum.
The Mac rumor sites spring into action. Liberally quoting �reliable� sources inside Cupertino, irrelevant �experts,� and each other, they quickly transform baseless speculation into widely accepted fact.
Eager Mac-heads fan the flames by flooding the Mac discussion forums with more groundless conjecture. Threads pop up around feature wish lists, favorite colors, and likely retail price points. In a matter of days, a third-hand, unsubstantiated rumor blossoms into a hand-held device that can do everything except find a girlfriend for a fat, smelly nerd.
Apple issues it customary �we don�t comment on possible future products� statement in response to inquiries about the hypothetical new product. Mac fanatics are convinced that they're onto something.
The haters enter the fray to introduce fear, uncertainty and doubt. How expensive will the product be? Will it support Windows file formats? Will it work with my ten-year-old Quadra 840AV running Mac OS 8.1?
As Macworld or the Worldwide Developer�s Conference draws near, the chatter builds to a fever pitch. Rumor sites jockey for position, posting a new unverifiable, contradictory rumor every hour or so. eBay is flooded with six-month-old, slightly used gadgets as college students, underemployed web designers and independent musicians struggle to clear credit card space.
On the morning of Steve Jobs�s keynote presentation, the online Apple store grinds to a halt as Mac-heads set their browsers to refresh every 15 seconds.
Steve Jobs spends the first half-hour of his keynote crowing about how many iPods shipped during the previous six months and how many �native applications� have been developed for OS X. Attempting to appear as though it�s just an afterthought, he finally introduces the new Apple product. The product has sleek, clean lines, a diminutive form factor, and less than half of the useful features that everyone was expecting. Jobs announces that the product is available �immediately.�
Five minutes later, the new product appears on the online Apple store. Orders have an estimated ship date that is four weeks away.
The online Apple store takes 50,000 orders in the first 24 hours.
Apple�s stock surges as Wall Street analysts proclaim the new device will be �Apple�s savior� and the key to turning around the decades-long decline in Apple�s share of the global PC market.
The haters offer their assessment. The forums are ablaze with vitriolic rage. Haters pan the device for being less powerful than a Cray X1 while zealots counter that it is both smaller and lighter than a Buick Regal. The virtual slap-fight goes on and on, until obscure technical nuances like, �Will it play multiplexed Ogg Vorbis streams?� become matters of life and death.
The editors of popular Mac magazines hail the new device as the next great step toward our utopian digital future. Wired News runs exclusive interviews with the Apple design team. Fortune publishes another glowing fluff piece about Steve Jobs, proclaiming him to be the great visionary behind all technological innovation. Newsweek declares the device the new �must have� item for any self-respecting urban technophile. All of this is written before anybody outside of Cupertino has held the new device in his or her hand.
Business Week publishes an article stating that unless Apple immediately releases a Windows version of the new product its market share will continue to shrink and Apple will be out of business within six months. Mac zealots howl with fury and crash Business Week�s email server with their angry rebuttals.
In the wee hours of the morning on the initial ship date, as the Mac heads lay snug in their beds or take MDMA and dance to bad music, Apple delays everybody�s ship date by four weeks.
Rage reigns in the Mac forums. Lifelong Mac users who would never consider purchasing anything made by Microsoft or Dell, regardless of how shabbily Apple treats them, vent their anguish and frustration. Failing utterly to see the irony of the situation, they prattle on until their panties are twisted in knots.
The rumor sites abound with half-baked theories blaming the shipping delay on everything from heat dissipation problems to SARS. The most obvious explanation, that Apple lied about the initial shipment dates, is ignored in favor of more elaborate and unlikely scenarios.
Apple�s stock plummets as Wall Street analysts fret about the company�s supply chain problems. The same analysts who were raising their targets on Apple three weeks earlier appear on CNBC and predict that Apple could file for bankruptcy as soon as the week after next.
A week before the revised ship date rolls around, small quantities of the new product begin to appear in Apple�s retail stores. Chaos ensues as crazed Mac-heads queue up hours before the stores open, hoping to get their hands on one of the prized gizmos. The bedwetting in Mac Internet forums reaches tidal proportions as people post empty threats to cancel their online orders. The devices begin to appear on eBay and get bid up to absurd premiums over MSRP.
Pointless outrage slowly turns to pointless optimism. Driven insane by the lack of instant gratification, would-be customers profess their willingness to gun down the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny if it would hasten the arrival of the FedEx delivery person.
Nerd porn threads appear in the Mac forums. Some lunatic with too much time and money on his hands disassembles the new device down to the bare, soldered components and posts pictures.
The obligatory �I�m waiting for Rev. B� discussion appears in the Mac forums. People who�ve been burned by first-generation Apple products open up their old wounds and bleed their tales of woe. Unsympathetic technophiles fire back with, �if you can�t handle the heat, stay out of the kitchen. *****.� Everyone has this stupid argument for the twenty-third time.
Apple issues a press release to announce that they have now taken orders for over 100,000 of the new devices and shipped at least eight or nine dozen. Backorders and waiting lists stretch into months.
Movie stars, professional athletes and rappers begin accessorizing with Apple�s new gadget. Shaquille O�Neal appears on the cover of ESPN The Magazine using one. Mac fans unconditionally forgive him for Kazaam.
Wall Street analysts appear on CNBC wearing big smiles and bright spring colors to announce that Apple's new device will drive Apple's sales to unprecedented levels and might be the key to turning around the decades-long decline in Apple�s share of the global PC market. Apple's share price surges. People who understand the root cause of the dot com bubble shake their heads in silent disgust.
Trade publications and business magazines begin to refer to the market for Apple's new product as a "space."
A minor, rarely occurring flaw in the device begins to be discussed in the Apple support forums. Whiny, artistic types post lengthy diatribes about how this terrible design flaw has made the device unusable and scarred them emotionally. Electronic petitions are created demanding that Apple replace the devices for free, plus pay for counseling to help traumatized users overcome their emotional distress.
Taken completely by surprise at the success of Apple's new gadget, executives from Dell or Sony or Microsoft appear on CNBC and offer vague suggestions that they are beginning development of a new product to compete with Apple. In its next issue, PC Week magazine publishes an article declaring that Apple's dominance of the [insert gadget here] space is in jeopardy.
Weeks before most users are able to hold Apple's new gadget in their hands, "What features would you like in the next version?" discussions take place on Mac mailing lists. Mac-heads cook up droves of far-fetched, often bizarre ideas. A cursory reading makes it readily apparent why Apple executives pay no attention to their fanatical customers.
Apple releases the first software update for the new device through its Software Update control panel. Several hours later, it pulls the updater. A small number of people who applied the update experience crashes, data loss, headaches and ennui. The Apple support forums are filled with outraged posts. A day or so later, Apple releases a revised installer without comment, then quietly removes the angry posts from its support forums.
Somebody starts a thread on a Mac chat board that asks whether anyone knows of a way to use the new device with some other nerd toy in a way that makes no sense whatsoever. Out of the blue, somebody writes a hack that facilitates the unholy combination and offers it as $39 shareware. Seven of the nine people who actually try to use the hack download it off of BitTorrent and use a pirate serial number. Advocates point to this as an example of how independent Mac software development is thriving.
Dell or Sony or Microsoft releases a competing device which costs $100 less and is based on completely incompatible, Windows-only technology. Business Week declares Apple's dominance of the [insert gadget here] space over. Angry Mac zealots make plans to surround Business Week's corporate offices with torches and pitchforks until someone points out that fire and garden tools are so un-digital.
Wall Street analysts appear on CNBC to explain that Apple's device will never be able to compete with the onslaught of cheaper Windows-based competitors. Apple's stock plummets. Idiot technology investors experience a brief moment of deja vu before they return to masturbating to photos of Maria Bartiromo.
Consumers discover that the Windows-based competitor to Apple's device contains a proprietary digital rights management technology that prevents them from using the device to do anything expect except look at family photographs taken in the last 20 minutes.
An obscure component manufacturer somewhere in the Pacific Rim announces a major order for some new bleeding-edge piece of technology that could conceivably become part of some expensive, digital-lifestyle-enhancing nerd toy. The fun begins again...
http://www.misterbg.org/AppleProductCycle/
:D
An obscure component manufacturer somewhere in the Pacific Rim announces a major order for some bleeding-edge piece of technology that could conceivably become part of an expensive, digital-lifestyle-enhancing nerd toy.
Some hardware geek, the sort who actually reads press releases from obscure Pacific Rim component manufacturers, posts a link to the press release in a Mac Internet forum.
The Mac rumor sites spring into action. Liberally quoting �reliable� sources inside Cupertino, irrelevant �experts,� and each other, they quickly transform baseless speculation into widely accepted fact.
Eager Mac-heads fan the flames by flooding the Mac discussion forums with more groundless conjecture. Threads pop up around feature wish lists, favorite colors, and likely retail price points. In a matter of days, a third-hand, unsubstantiated rumor blossoms into a hand-held device that can do everything except find a girlfriend for a fat, smelly nerd.
Apple issues it customary �we don�t comment on possible future products� statement in response to inquiries about the hypothetical new product. Mac fanatics are convinced that they're onto something.
The haters enter the fray to introduce fear, uncertainty and doubt. How expensive will the product be? Will it support Windows file formats? Will it work with my ten-year-old Quadra 840AV running Mac OS 8.1?
As Macworld or the Worldwide Developer�s Conference draws near, the chatter builds to a fever pitch. Rumor sites jockey for position, posting a new unverifiable, contradictory rumor every hour or so. eBay is flooded with six-month-old, slightly used gadgets as college students, underemployed web designers and independent musicians struggle to clear credit card space.
On the morning of Steve Jobs�s keynote presentation, the online Apple store grinds to a halt as Mac-heads set their browsers to refresh every 15 seconds.
Steve Jobs spends the first half-hour of his keynote crowing about how many iPods shipped during the previous six months and how many �native applications� have been developed for OS X. Attempting to appear as though it�s just an afterthought, he finally introduces the new Apple product. The product has sleek, clean lines, a diminutive form factor, and less than half of the useful features that everyone was expecting. Jobs announces that the product is available �immediately.�
Five minutes later, the new product appears on the online Apple store. Orders have an estimated ship date that is four weeks away.
The online Apple store takes 50,000 orders in the first 24 hours.
Apple�s stock surges as Wall Street analysts proclaim the new device will be �Apple�s savior� and the key to turning around the decades-long decline in Apple�s share of the global PC market.
The haters offer their assessment. The forums are ablaze with vitriolic rage. Haters pan the device for being less powerful than a Cray X1 while zealots counter that it is both smaller and lighter than a Buick Regal. The virtual slap-fight goes on and on, until obscure technical nuances like, �Will it play multiplexed Ogg Vorbis streams?� become matters of life and death.
The editors of popular Mac magazines hail the new device as the next great step toward our utopian digital future. Wired News runs exclusive interviews with the Apple design team. Fortune publishes another glowing fluff piece about Steve Jobs, proclaiming him to be the great visionary behind all technological innovation. Newsweek declares the device the new �must have� item for any self-respecting urban technophile. All of this is written before anybody outside of Cupertino has held the new device in his or her hand.
Business Week publishes an article stating that unless Apple immediately releases a Windows version of the new product its market share will continue to shrink and Apple will be out of business within six months. Mac zealots howl with fury and crash Business Week�s email server with their angry rebuttals.
In the wee hours of the morning on the initial ship date, as the Mac heads lay snug in their beds or take MDMA and dance to bad music, Apple delays everybody�s ship date by four weeks.
Rage reigns in the Mac forums. Lifelong Mac users who would never consider purchasing anything made by Microsoft or Dell, regardless of how shabbily Apple treats them, vent their anguish and frustration. Failing utterly to see the irony of the situation, they prattle on until their panties are twisted in knots.
The rumor sites abound with half-baked theories blaming the shipping delay on everything from heat dissipation problems to SARS. The most obvious explanation, that Apple lied about the initial shipment dates, is ignored in favor of more elaborate and unlikely scenarios.
Apple�s stock plummets as Wall Street analysts fret about the company�s supply chain problems. The same analysts who were raising their targets on Apple three weeks earlier appear on CNBC and predict that Apple could file for bankruptcy as soon as the week after next.
A week before the revised ship date rolls around, small quantities of the new product begin to appear in Apple�s retail stores. Chaos ensues as crazed Mac-heads queue up hours before the stores open, hoping to get their hands on one of the prized gizmos. The bedwetting in Mac Internet forums reaches tidal proportions as people post empty threats to cancel their online orders. The devices begin to appear on eBay and get bid up to absurd premiums over MSRP.
Pointless outrage slowly turns to pointless optimism. Driven insane by the lack of instant gratification, would-be customers profess their willingness to gun down the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny if it would hasten the arrival of the FedEx delivery person.
Nerd porn threads appear in the Mac forums. Some lunatic with too much time and money on his hands disassembles the new device down to the bare, soldered components and posts pictures.
The obligatory �I�m waiting for Rev. B� discussion appears in the Mac forums. People who�ve been burned by first-generation Apple products open up their old wounds and bleed their tales of woe. Unsympathetic technophiles fire back with, �if you can�t handle the heat, stay out of the kitchen. *****.� Everyone has this stupid argument for the twenty-third time.
Apple issues a press release to announce that they have now taken orders for over 100,000 of the new devices and shipped at least eight or nine dozen. Backorders and waiting lists stretch into months.
Movie stars, professional athletes and rappers begin accessorizing with Apple�s new gadget. Shaquille O�Neal appears on the cover of ESPN The Magazine using one. Mac fans unconditionally forgive him for Kazaam.
Wall Street analysts appear on CNBC wearing big smiles and bright spring colors to announce that Apple's new device will drive Apple's sales to unprecedented levels and might be the key to turning around the decades-long decline in Apple�s share of the global PC market. Apple's share price surges. People who understand the root cause of the dot com bubble shake their heads in silent disgust.
Trade publications and business magazines begin to refer to the market for Apple's new product as a "space."
A minor, rarely occurring flaw in the device begins to be discussed in the Apple support forums. Whiny, artistic types post lengthy diatribes about how this terrible design flaw has made the device unusable and scarred them emotionally. Electronic petitions are created demanding that Apple replace the devices for free, plus pay for counseling to help traumatized users overcome their emotional distress.
Taken completely by surprise at the success of Apple's new gadget, executives from Dell or Sony or Microsoft appear on CNBC and offer vague suggestions that they are beginning development of a new product to compete with Apple. In its next issue, PC Week magazine publishes an article declaring that Apple's dominance of the [insert gadget here] space is in jeopardy.
Weeks before most users are able to hold Apple's new gadget in their hands, "What features would you like in the next version?" discussions take place on Mac mailing lists. Mac-heads cook up droves of far-fetched, often bizarre ideas. A cursory reading makes it readily apparent why Apple executives pay no attention to their fanatical customers.
Apple releases the first software update for the new device through its Software Update control panel. Several hours later, it pulls the updater. A small number of people who applied the update experience crashes, data loss, headaches and ennui. The Apple support forums are filled with outraged posts. A day or so later, Apple releases a revised installer without comment, then quietly removes the angry posts from its support forums.
Somebody starts a thread on a Mac chat board that asks whether anyone knows of a way to use the new device with some other nerd toy in a way that makes no sense whatsoever. Out of the blue, somebody writes a hack that facilitates the unholy combination and offers it as $39 shareware. Seven of the nine people who actually try to use the hack download it off of BitTorrent and use a pirate serial number. Advocates point to this as an example of how independent Mac software development is thriving.
Dell or Sony or Microsoft releases a competing device which costs $100 less and is based on completely incompatible, Windows-only technology. Business Week declares Apple's dominance of the [insert gadget here] space over. Angry Mac zealots make plans to surround Business Week's corporate offices with torches and pitchforks until someone points out that fire and garden tools are so un-digital.
Wall Street analysts appear on CNBC to explain that Apple's device will never be able to compete with the onslaught of cheaper Windows-based competitors. Apple's stock plummets. Idiot technology investors experience a brief moment of deja vu before they return to masturbating to photos of Maria Bartiromo.
Consumers discover that the Windows-based competitor to Apple's device contains a proprietary digital rights management technology that prevents them from using the device to do anything expect except look at family photographs taken in the last 20 minutes.
An obscure component manufacturer somewhere in the Pacific Rim announces a major order for some new bleeding-edge piece of technology that could conceivably become part of some expensive, digital-lifestyle-enhancing nerd toy. The fun begins again...
http://www.misterbg.org/AppleProductCycle/
:D
Cubert
Jul 19, 03:46 PM
Boooo-Yahhhh!
Quoth Jim Cramer.
Quoth Jim Cramer.
AvSRoCkCO1067
Jul 13, 11:42 PM
Meh, Apple came out with that Express Card slot for the MacBook Pro kind of early as well...but I'm with most people in arguing that a blue-ray drive won't see the light of day in Apple computers until early 2007.
twoodcc
Aug 24, 11:51 PM
bring it on! i sure hope they release something