From Leopard's New 'Sidebar' and 'Cover Flow,' to Upcoming iPhone,
Apple's Success in Music Biz a Major Key to Making PC Users Switch
| by Joe Leo, Columnist |
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But therein lies the question-- Has Apple really lost it and instead of designing Mac OS X Leopard for its Mac user-base, its loyal fan base, they've instead gone after the 'Pod People (or turned everyone into 'Pod People in the process) the ones who are the iPod-using Windows/PC crowd, letting the Mac cater to their interests instead of ours?
I never saw this coming. I predicted (daydreamed/concocted) different possible scenarios for what the top secret features of Leopard would be, back in January of this year, in the lead-up to Macworld 2007. I even suggested that Leopard might be available for Mac or PC. At least there, you're simply providing the best operating system out there, for the two different groups.
Not turning the Mac OS inside out so that it is designed to be Windows-friendly.
(Don't get me wrong. I think one of the best things Apple did was to let its products start becoming--not all--available for PC or Mac. Even with the shocking announcement that you could run Windows on your Intel Mac. The hope there was that people would just forget about XP altogether, after realizing how elegant and easy-to-use Mac OS X is!).
Then there's iPhone's release, coming in just 16 more days. Everyone can't argue the fact that one of the things we all can't live without in this day in age--yes, aside from your iPod, and your Mac notebook--is a cell phone. It keeps us connected with family and friends, lets us connect to the world via the 'net, and for those of us who do so, keeps us entertained with video games.
What better way for Apple Inc. to get into another part of your life. They've already done it with the iPod, and they're trying it with [Apple]TV, so let's get into the cell phone business. And I don't argue there, since other companies are trying to make their cell phones multimedia modules that let you--in addition to just talking on them--check e-mail, watch TV, surf the internet, and get this... listen to music and download songs.
Hey, that's Apple's department and their area of expertise!
But don't you agree that underneath this phone, all it is is an iPod? (It IS). The number one thing that this iPhone probably has going for itself? Because let's face it, statistics show that Cingular, now known as AT&T, is the lowest of the low (you can call them the Microsoft of the cell phone biz if you used an apples to apples comparison... get it?), and some people have expressed interest in just getting it for its iPod features.
Tell me you're not one of those who hopes that Apple will sell the iPhone and let it work for you just as an internet browsing device, and a really cool-looking mp3 player that lets you also watch movies and other videos on it? (I know I'm one of those on that list). No thanks on the phone part.
I'm telling you, it's all about the iPod again. Apple Inc. is turning us all into 'Pod People, and in that process, the true nature/mantra/mystique of the Mac culture is turning into something completely different. It's no longer about the Mac. It's no longer about, the computer.
I think even Apple Inc. is suffering a case of the "iPod halo effect" themselves, because the iPod seems to be, and continues to be, a driving force in their marketing scheme. I don't argue with that since it is one of the most successful aspects of the company.
It's like, if we can't convince you to use our hardware and software upfront, let's ease you in by showing what you're missing out on. Use our iPods. Buy an iPhone. Then just maybe...
But could we stop it already? Put the shift back to the computer aspect of the company? Remember, they dropped the word "computer" from their name which might have been a contributing factor to their current demise. "We're not just a computer company anymore."
I hope Apple Inc. remembers to think different soon and not forget where they came from and how they got their start. It was all about the computer and its operating system before there ever was, "the little mp3 player that could."
(And in a few days, "the little mp3 player that could but is now disguised as a cell phone/communication device.")
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