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September 14, 2007 8:28 AM PDT
iMac Software Update Released
Apple has released iMac Software Update 1.1, for the latest-generation 20-inch and 24-inch iMac models with 2.0, 2.4, or 2.8GHz processors.
As all too often, Apple declines to provide specific information as to what is fixed by this update, stating merely that "This update provides important bug fixes and is recommended...," which would presumably be true of any update whatsoever. An examination of the package contents suggests that changes are almost entirely to display-related functionality, with several ATI Radeon extensions being replaced. Also, a file is replaced that might affect OpenGL behavior in applications running under Rosetta.
Resources
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Mr. Jobs had six years to look forward to the moment when XP would be replaced by Vista.
When the long-awaited moment arrived, Vista turned out to be in as sorry a state of semicompletion as Mr. Jobs could have hoped for.<snip>
The spectacle of Microsoft?s customers scrambling to avoid buying machines with Vista was a sight to be savored for those watching from Apple?s offices in Cupertino, Calif. Dell had to retract its initial all-Vista policy and reintroduce an XP option to appease distraught customers.
The Mac was seemingly well positioned for the moment in many ways. The transition to Intel microprocessors was complete.<snip>
The I?m-a-Mac/I?m-a-PC commercials that began in 2006 found endless ways to draw entertaining comparisons between the joys of owning a Mac and the hassles of owning a PC.<snip>
The official line from Apple is that all has gone swimmingly. The company said it shipped 1.52 million Macs in the first quarter of this year, up 35 percent from the year-ago quarter. In the second quarter through June 30, it shipped 1.76 million Macs, up 32 percent from a year ago, an all-time quarterly record.
Funny thing, though: based on the ratio of Windows and Macs actually in use, no gains can be seen for Apple." [end quote]
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Summary conclusion: Apple and specifically Mr. Jobs shows no sign of ANY committment to becoming a significant part of the PC market. Shareholders: BEWARE!!
From the consumer position, the ballyhooed Apple Stores are a complete bust because:
1. Apple refuses to accept customer-spec orders for their computers, refuses to even accept shipments for customer pickup. (All the while, teens are chattering in the iPhone & iPod display areas.) Apple tells store personnel that, if a shipment arrives damaged, they are responsible!! What planet are the people from who came up with this nonsense??!!
2. Apple refuses to release opening dates for new Apple Stores - because, they claim, if the estimated date proved wrong - it would "embarrass" Apple.
Be embarrassed anyway: Prospective buyers have PLANS which depend on available information from suppliers. A revised opening date isn't a disaster - unless it's kept secret from those needing to make plans. Quit playing California Kid games, Apple, life is REAL (at least in places other than Cupertino).
3. Do you need one of those replacement backup batteries which keep the computer clock running when the computer's turned off? Don't go to an Apple Store: they won't sell you just the battery (common as dirt, "half-double AA" size). Reason (quoting an Apple Store employee), "That battery has a part number (no kidding?!) so it's designated a "repair part." So - if you want a battery to put in your flashlight, you go to the store, buy the battery, put it in your flashlight and you're good to go. But if you want to do the same operation with your Mac - you must take it into the Apple Store for repair!! Of course, you might get lucky and discover that Radio Shack carries "all kinds" of computer batteries which you can take home and install yourself (just like batteries for a flashlight).
4. Even in the case of Apple's intended purpose for their retail outlets, the outcome can be a problem for customers. Recently, a man bought a brand new Airport Extreme base station from an Apple Store. He took the (sealed-in-package) device home and attempted to get it set up. The Airport Software which came on the packaged CD knocked out his DSL service. 24 hours later, he found (from Apple Support) that software was the previous (wrong) version. He waited 10 days for a replacement before he could finish what should have taken under one hour.
So - the Apple Stores amount to a bust, or at least show that no one at Apple, Inc. has any committment to becoming a real part of the PC market.
The "model" was screwed from the beginning: Apple failed to take the reigns when they "overlooked" buying out existing independent retail outlets. Even the stodgy grocery industry knows: when you want to leap over the competition, buy out other chains which either compete or occupy territory you want to dominate.
Mr. Jobs may be the ultimate pitchman, but he couldn't even qualify to be the head of the marketing department in his own company. The board and shareholders should "promote him sideways."
Randall who?
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The "model" was screwed from the beginning: Apple failed to take the reigns when they "overlooked" buying out existing independent retail outlets.
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When you get to the bottom of this bit-o'-bile you find that sentence.
I figure this guy's an independent reseller who thinks he got crushed when Apple opened a store in his area.
He might well have been: Apple has a long history of abusing their independents.
Unfortunately, many of them have deserved it.
Apple's independents have a long history of abusing Apple.
Some stocking all of the Apple stuff in a dinky, dingy unmanned corner of the store.
Some with too many cheap faux-european display tables and intrusive commission-drones quoting predatory prices and snowing customers with bait-and-switch deals that weren't.
I say "Good riddance" to most of the independent Apple resellers I've dealt with over the last twenty-five or so years.
-=-Dennis
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- by WhiteDog September 17, 2007 2:10 PM PDT
- One can cherry pick seemingly negative facts, or explain otherwise ambiguous facts in a negative way, to make almost anything look bad. Is a rainbow beautiful? No - because the rain that created it dripped through a hole in someone's roof and drowned their cat! Sheesh!
- Like this Reply to this comment
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(4 Comments)Apple continues to outperform every other computer maker in sales growth and still Steve Jobs is a failure? Steve has his faults, but get a clue. Apple has profit margins Dell and HP can only dream about and shareholders should "BEWARE"? What's this guy smoking?
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Don't anthropomorphize computers.
They hate that.