Apple's update barrage

Andrew writes...

> For those keeping score at home, with today's Power Mac and Power
> Book releases, Apple has either updated or replaced its entire
> product line (save the iBook, shuffle, and eMac) in the last 34 days.

And the eMac has been all but discontinued. It's still available to
the education market (and the education store says "discounted from
$___ retail price") but has vanished from the main Apple Store site.
A search for "eMac" on the main store brings up a bunch of
refurbished models. Get 'em while they're hot!

[I suspect the mini has taken the eMac's place in the general marketplace, and eMac's presence in the .edu stores is a wait-and-see tactic to see if there's any demand left at all. -Andrew]

http://www.apple.com/education/emac/

==========================================================================
  Mark H. Anbinder | mhatidbits.com
  Contributing Editor, TidBITS | http://www.tidbits.com/
==========================================================================

Perhaps I'm getting cynical but I note that the
iPod / iMac upgrade rated the full bells and
whistles approach with Steve etc. but the
professional upgrades (G5 / PowerBook) don't seem
to get similar treatment.

Or perhaps I've missed the link to the QuickTime presentation?

I also wonder what is left to announce at San Francisco in January?

--
Regards,
Mark (}-:
Skype / AIM / iChat: gibsonm1

--On October 20, 2005 12:31:23 PM -0700 Mark Gibson
<gibsonmbigpond.net.au> wrote:
> I also wonder what is left to announce at San Francisco in January?

The real video ipod where they switch to the nano controller on the full
ipod, slide it to the bottom of the ipod and flip the screen sideways for a
HD aspect ratio.

Or what the first intel processor based computer will be and look like.

--On October 20, 2005 12:31:23 PM -0700 Mark Gibson
<gibsonmbigpond.net.au> wrote:

> Perhaps I'm getting cynical but I note that the
> iPod / iMac upgrade rated the full bells and
> whistles approach with Steve etc. but the
> professional upgrades (G5 / PowerBook) don't seem
> to get similar treatment.

iPod is a lifestyle device. If you don't market it, they won't come. That presentation also contained a genuinely new thing - video purchase distribution with a TV show component. He had to "shout it from the rooftops" to get maximum leverage out of that. (He's also trying to make as sure as he can that every TV boss in the U.S. is as scared as he can make them. Come, children, come to me... :-)

The Pro announcements are bumps. They're nice bumps, but the only new thing was Aperture. Pro Apps sell because some people need them so badly they are willing to pay big bucks to have their problem solved. Such people tend to keep up with what's going on; they don't need to be "pushed" so hard.

Cheers
  -- perry

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Perry The Cynic perrycynic.org
To a blind optimist, an optimistic realist must seem like an Accursed =
Cynic.
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On Oct 22, 2005, at 1:28 PM, Perry The Cynic wrote:

> That presentation also contained a genuinely new thing -
> video purchase distribution with a TV show component. He had to
> "shout it from the rooftops" to get maximum leverage out of that.
> (He's also trying to make as sure as he can that every TV boss in
> the U.S. is as scared as he can make them. Come, children, come to
> me... :-)

I don't think he needs to shout the "one more thing" too loudly; if
this takes off, he'll be beating them off with a stick. The average
viewer of a prime time TV show is worth about 37 cents to the
station. Even if they split the $1.99 with Apple, the producers will
be way ahead of the game with each video sold.

It literally took about 2 decades before the major networks woke up
and established cable presences and began seriously producing content
for cable. The fact that Mr. Jobs was able to hook a deal with a
major broadcaster is a testimonial for the long term potential of
distributing video online via the iTunes store.

And the TV stations have been up in arms for a while about people
distributing programs via file sharing. Why not try to make some
money off of the content they already have?

Marilyn