13 Jan
2002
13 Jan
'02
5:24 a.m.
Prediction... In the next 12 months there will be a clear version of the
new IMAC much as there was a clear version of the old one.
At the very least the next breakthrough for the new IMAC will be
additional color choices.
Seriously it seems the new machine looks somewhat fragile to me but I'm
sure it will be well recieved.
This comes from a person that bought a G4 cube the day they announced it
would be discontinued. I wanted to insure that we got one for my little
collection.
George Rachor
Partime Computer collector.
=========================================================
George L. Rachor Jr. george(a)rachors.com
Hillsboro, Oregon http://rachors.com
United States of America Amateur Radio : KD7DCX
On Sun, 13 Jan 2002, Fred Cisin (XenoSoft) wrote:
As for the new
iMac, I think that, like the original iMac, it's meant
to demystify computers for those that have no interest in them for the
most part and who don't want a plain beige box taking up space.
This must be a new definition of "DEMYSTIFY" that I was previously unaware
of. ... to hide all details of internal workings, and isolate from all
understanding; to accept as magical, mystical, and SEP (Somebody Else's
Problem)
Like it or not, it's hard to ignore and it
does make a statement.
"Statement: I don't have any interest in computers,
and don't WANT to know
anything about them."
Apple has been amazingly successful with their neo-luddite advertising
campaign. It has enabled them to go head to head with IBM and live! The
majority of people buying computers don't know anything about them, and
don't want to. By sealing the system, both hardware and software, Apple
has provided them with what they want and need.
But there is no way that I would use the word DEMYSTIFY, which _I_ use to
mean eliminating the magical and mystical component through complete
understanding of what is going on.
For example:
UC Berkeley's CS department starts their undergrads with "Abstraction:
programming with Scheme (a Lisp derivative)", but then in a later
semester, they have "Demystification: assembly language, compilers,
architecture, and how it works."
Apple's product line is heavy on abstraction for the end-user, hiding all
details that they don't need to know. They have acknowledged, and even
promoted, the differentiation and gap between users and
programmers/engineers.
NOTE: this is in reference to their marketing, advertising, education,
etc. NOT in reference to the quality of their products.
--
Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin(a)xenosoft.com