The Apple Carousel

I recently took part in the Guardian's article, Reading the runes for Apple. 

Charles Arthur put together the article. I worked with him on last year's pre-MacWorld article, What Jobs told me on the iPhone.

He was hoping this year's article from a panel of Apple related people might produce some solid answers on what to expect when Steve Jobs takes the stage this week.  We all know that predicting Apple is more art than science.

As I am sitting here tonight in front of my dual G5 and Apple flat panel monitor, I am weighing the things that Apple has brought into my life.

Probably the easiest is the mouse.  While I know the history, I also know that Apple truly did bring the mouse to the masses.  The list of Apple innovations is long and could have been even longer with a little luck.

The world of technology has benefited a lot from Apple.

I can remember the first Quicktake Camera and some pretty neat Apple scanners and printers.  While I don't know who was first in those categories, it was often the Apple products that gave people the hint of what could be.

Digital cameras and scanners are a part of many home offices today. Even .Mac and its integration with iPhoto and support of IMAP was a preview of the future. 

Every time that I use a wireless network, I remember Apple's first foray into wireless.  It was a great moment.

It has been said often that Apple is better at coming up with innovations than in making money from them.

At least it was said before the great commercial success of the iPod which has set a standard that I doubt even the iPhone will ever approach.

While I was crediting Apple with coming up with the mouse, the mouse I was using was from Logitech.  On the desk nearby is an Epson scanner. The Nikon and other digital cameras are upstairs while my offices have Brother, Epson, and HP printers.

The Apple flat panel is the last of my Apple monitors.  I have a couple of Samsungs that cost less than half of what an Apple product would cost.

I have one original Apple iPod which I received from Apple as business division manager of the year.  I have no plans for a new one.

I still have some Apple cpus, but I wonder if the the glory days of Apple computers on the desktop are close to being over.

I recently wrote about the latest professional models which I termed the Ford Excursions of the computer world.  It prompted an article from John Martellaro suggesting that Apple desktops need more sex appeal.

In software, I started with AppleWriter and have used almost every package that Apple has introduced.  I no longer use an Apple product for word processing.  I mostly use Google's apps.

I have moved to Adium for an instant messaging client.  While I bought Numbers and Keynote, I stick with Excel and Powerpoint.  iWeb hasn't become a product that I would recommend.  I stick with .Mac only for my wife and daughter and because the grief to get them moved is more pain than the $100 or so I pay per year.

I still am a faithful user of Apple's Mail app, but I spend most of my time on Firefox.

My MacBook has become my backup computer to my HP laptop.

So here I am thankful for all of Apple's innovations including the graphical user interface, but the Apple product I use the most is an Apple desktop that I bought in December 2004. Likely I will replace it in the next year or two.

While other vendors have taken some very powerful desktops to less than $1,000, Apple has decided to take even more powerful desktops to prices that will likely choke a home office user. 

Clearly the alternative to Apple hardware isn't nearly as nice. That is true mostly because of OS X.

With my career as a Realtor®, I have figured out that it is possible to get my work done on non-Apple hardware if I have to do it.

All my stuff will not fit on an iPhone.  I don't plan to do web work from an iPhone. 

I actually do not want a laptop or an iMac to replace my desktop.  I like a big screen.  It is easier for old eyes and for web work.

In looking at all this, Apple products certainly played a huge role in what I do with technology and how I do it.  They are a big safety blanket for me. One that I would rather not give up.

I would be very happy to continue to use Apple products, but as good as OS X is, I doubt it will ever be good enough to convince me to drop nearly $3,000 on a desktop. 

I did that once, and it was in 1982 when I bought my first Apple II with a printer and some software.  I won't be doing it again.

Times have changed, and my guess is that laptops are where it is at with Apple. 

Unless something magical happens this week, I suspect my next desktop won't be an Apple.

I sure hope that is not the case.  It would be the end of twenty five years as an Apple cpu customer.

It would ironic that the path of innovations, many of which came from Apple, would lead me to a company other than Apple.

Oh well,  I will be pondering it on the beach down along North Carolina's Southern Outer Banks.

One last thing....could this be the next design for Apple Stores? Click on the image for a larger view.

Comments

[NormanB]

I also have old eyes and prefer a BIG monitor. I use a 37" 1080p Westinghouse TV as my monitor and drive it with a Mac mini. Everything works perfectly together and my old eyes are very grateful for the size of the display. The Westinghouse monitor currently costs less than $1000 on line. Circuit City has also startd carrying it. I've never tried to use it as a TV and don't know how it would work in that use.