The economy may suck, but not for Apple

[Krill]

Macs won;t except 3 button USB mice that can right clicks?

[Asher]

They can, but it's not standard on Mac.

And the #1 stupid thing about the MacBook Pro is the single-button trackpad.

[Krill]

Driver or hardware?

[FrostyBoy]

Originally posted by snoopy369
They're building, supposedly, another one in Chicago in an up and coming retail area ... the one on the Mag Mile is always completely packed, and lots of people buying lots of stuff.

I went in there, just out of curiousty, I knew I would never buy anything from Apple. I just wanted to see what it was like in America.

Seems Americans really like Apple, in the same way they like Lava Lamps - looks pretty, but completely useless.

I couldn't stand the atmosphere for much longer, like I can't stand the women's lingerie section of a clothing store after a few minutes; and quickly left the building, I was actually looking forward to stepping out into the freezing cold and breathe again!

Apple and its friends and fanboys.

Apple is chaotic balance. PC's are balanced chaos - a lot like nature.

[Mercator]

Originally posted by Asher
Yes, the chipset is key.

Even I'm technically a Mac owner now, but I'm not a "Mac user" in that I just buy the hardware (MacBook Pro is a great laptop, for the most part) then use Vista.

Well, for you it was key. I don't doubt that there's a significant tech-savvy minority that was very happy with the switch-over to Intel. But you're not exactly an average computer user, are you? Is it largely those tech-savvy people that are responsible for the boost in sales?

[-Jrabbit]

Mercator, I agree that the advertising/PR blitz, combined with the cool factor conferred upon the ubiquitous iPods and high-profile iPhone, was a major key.

But in the past, there was a LOT of fear that buying a Mac would mean compatibility problems when transferring files to the PC world. (In fact, it was more than a fear; it was true.) Apple's ability to allay those fears by truthfully saying you could run Windows and that Office files transfer seamlessly was, in my view, exactly the reassurance that ppl needed in order to make the leap.

Without Intel chips, there is no way the new Macs would be selling like this.

[TCO]

Originally posted by Asher

Aw shucks -- thanks.

And yes, Jobs would have to watch his back. If he went onto one of his tirades into me (as apparently he does a lot to employees), he'd get an earful back.

But you'd come crawling back with an insincere apology, later. After your friends had quit jobs in support of you...and were out on the street.

[TCO]

no eject button for the floppies either. Anyone still use those? Or is it all sticks now?

[-Jrabbit]

USB, baby. Overcoming the tyranny of the serial/SCSI world.

[Agathon]

Originally posted by -Jrabbit
Mercator, I agree that the advertising/PR blitz, combined with the cool factor conferred upon the ubiquitous iPods and high-profile iPhone, was a major key.

Nah. That stuff is overrated. iPods haven't been cool for about 4-5 years now. They transitioned from being a status symbol to ubiquity not long after that. I mean: old people buy them for christ's sake. Apple has always advertised heavily. The latest commercials aren't even very good (the Jeff Goldblum ones from ten years ago were better). People who talk about Apple (or Nike, or whoever) brainwashing customers with coolness have bought into one of the central countercultural myths of the advertising industry.

But in the past, there was a LOT of fear that buying a Mac would mean compatibility problems when transferring files to the PC world. (In fact, it was more than a fear; it was true.) Apple's ability to allay those fears by truthfully saying you could run Windows and that Office files transfer seamlessly was, in my view, exactly the reassurance that ppl needed in order to make the leap.

A lot of this is down to the internet. It's the killer application for home computing, and it's platform agnostic. Games are also a less decisive factor than they used to be, due to the move to consoles. Document files are one of the few things on the Macintosh where issues of compatibility even arise as an issue. MS have actually done a pretty good job with the last few versions of Office, so it's not a bad buy on the Mac (I've stopped using it myself).

Without Intel chips, there is no way the new Macs would be selling like this.

That's half true. This expansion actually started in late 2004. A lot of tech people moved to OS X in the previous few years because of BSD, but the increase in Apple newbies from 2004-2005 onwards in the various online mac dungeons I frequent was noticeable. But you are right in that Boot Camp makes it a less daunting switch than it used to be.

There are a few more obvious reasons for the increase.

1. The competition dropped the ball. After five years they could only come up with a pale imitation of OS X Tiger, which doesn't work well on many people's computers and which suffers from compatibility problems. If I had a dollar for the number of times I'd heard someone say "I am never going back. Windows was designed by monkeys", I'd be richer than Gates.

2. The Apple Stores. The sole reason for those was that big retailers weren't doing a good job of selling macs. The mac resellers do OK, but they tend to be small and focused on business sales. It was a no brainer. Make a really nice shop, and make the rule that people can come in and use the machines to check email and surf the web, or just mess around. Put the helpdesk right in the middle of the store, so instead of going to Bob's Backstreet Computer Repairs, people come to the Apple Store, and everyone who is there can see the kind of service they get. Most companies put the complaints desk out of the way, so customers won't see other customers complaining. I wonder where Apple got that idea from. It's quite brilliant.

3. iTunes. Most people who have an iPod run iTunes. Most of them like it. It's not hard to go from "I really like this software" to "what if the rest of my computer was like that". Windows users complained that iTunes violates their UI guidelines and doesn't look like a Windows app. See, they aren't completely daft, since that is the whole point.

[-Jrabbit]

I have to admit that I was wrong about the Apple Store concept. The stores are nicely laid out, have a nice vibe, and they let you play around. And the service is pretty exceptional. I got a free battery replacement for my MBP a couple weeks beyond warranty with no quibbles. Made an appointment, brought it in, took about 20 min while paperwork was processed and I picked the (fairly knowledgeable) tech's brain on a few questions.

As for the rest... Asher in 3 - 2 - 1...

[Agathon]

Originally posted by -Jrabbit

As for the rest... Asher in 3 - 2 - 1...

He can waste his time if he wants. I'm not reading any of that bull****.

[Mercator]

Hasn't there been an MS Office for Mac for ages? And Wikipedia says Windows interoperability was increased with the release of Panther, before the switch to Intel. So if there were any fears, and Apple allayed those fears, then isn't that again marketing rather than the actual switch to Intel?

I mean, I'm sure the switch to Intel has massive technical benefits for Apple, certainly in the long run, and I can see why tech-savvy people welcome it, but I can't really see how that switch has anything to do with a 50% increase in sales right now.

(On the other hand, I'm not sure why the hell I even jumped on this in the first place.)

[-Jrabbit]

MS Office for Mac has been around for quite awhile, but two things are changed:

1, The 2004 and 2008 Mac editions are MUCH more cross-compatible with their MS counterparts, especially in PPT. (There are still some missing elements between email clients, Entourage and Outlook. The MS suite is overall still more full-featured.)

2. Apple stopped trying to push their Appleworks package as a substitute for Office. Now they offer Office for Mac and strongly encourage it with "student" pricing.

As a result, MS now actively supports their "for Mac" version, which was never the case previously.

[Agathon]

Microsoft took a pounding today. They claim that lower sales was due to increased piracy of Vista.

George Bush would be ashamed of that lie.