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uhhh ...

because His Steveness seems to believe the iPod is the only advertisement he needs right now...

Why doesnt MDN post a survey to find out if Mac users would like to see more ads about all the other fine products made by Apple... then foreward the results of that survey to one Infinete Loop ??

Indeed. There are so much more effects that the OSX is capable of doing, comparing to the junk windows. Even the fact that OSX is virus free till date doesn't seem to be loud enough to wake all those windows user out there to switch.

i wonder where alt tab came from... oh no! apple copied someone!

and no, MDN, showing this to people is cool - BUT it WON'T sell Macs. People don't buy a computer just because they see a cool effect.

Just show them this

Cool! Another user who has the dock on the right-hand side. I adopted that a few weeks ago and love having the full height of the screen. Plus, it's less reminiscent than the Windows task bar. ;^)

"... I wonder where alt tab came from... oh no! apple copied someone!..."

uhhh.... Ive looked on all of my keyboards...and cant find the "alt" key....

Did someone swipe it from me ??

Alt = Option Key.

Apple has TV ads about the Mac?

Because if a Windows user saw that, they would most likely assume there is no option to turn it off and that would be another strike against OS X. It may be eye candy to some, but many would think it a waste of time. I turned mine off...

The person who mentioned the free advertising from the iPod is partially right. Apple is probably being careful about its advertising dollars. I think they are also trying to stress the engineering and design aspects of their computers (to move into the business world) instead of the eye candy appeal. People who are motivated by pretty colors are probably not necessarily ready to drop a couple K on demand.

Also, hardware is not software. Apple needs to manage it production carefully not to develop excessive inventory or to drive demand to the point where they can't deliver (which has been a problem).

about the "Genie Effect"? It doesn't really do anything. It is just a gee-gaw. It would not attract customers.

my buddy who i switched, loved the genie effect. He was awed. He nearly died on the puff of smoke.

He can't believe he didn't switch years ago. He hated his XP box, but loves his Mac. He now goes to the apple store a few times a month to play and see what's new.

Genie effect? This is one feature I detest. I turned this feature off day one.

If you want to show some eye-candy with real usefulness show Expose.

Next year show 'em Spotlight and politely ask when WinFS is going to be released for Longhorn.

Anyway, it's not the alt (Option) key, it's the command (Apple) key...

I'm sitting in an office with a disgusting IBM NetVista running Win2k. What a piece of shit - takes nearly 5 minutes to restart (which I've had to do AT LEAST 5 times today due to mysterious crashes. Why doesn't my F9 key expose all my open windows? Why do I have to go to the Start button to turn it off? Where is the Any key? Why do fonts look so terrible - Times New Roman looks like Courier?

There are so many stupid little 'trays' and 'toolbars' it looks like 20 people have designed the OS without talking to each other.

And Steve Ballmer, you can kiss my rusty sheriff's badge you idiot.

I must work at the same place you do Smithy, because I'm sitting in front of an equally sh*tty NetVista. This piece of junk crashes at least 3 times a day and also takes forever to boot back up. God, how much better my work life would be if they would ever dump this sh*t in favor of Macs. At this large corporation it'll never happen though, they don't even know what a Mac is around here. Oh well, at least I have my Mac at home...

Eye candy does have a small effect on sales...not huge...but a small effect. More "genie" type stuff should be in Tiger to offset smallcow's attempt in a few years, but it should be able to turn on and off in System preferences. It should not annoy the pro, but should wow the newbie.

Lance,

Ditto! These clowns in my company (massive international recruitment agency) will not even consider OS X - no reason, just a straight "no"

Think how much more productive the world would be with OS X - systems running 24/7/365, just Sleep your machine then INSTANTLY wake it up to begin work again.

I love taking my iBook in and using it during my lunch hour (I do freelance design). The funniest thing is the IT clowns have installed a Wireless network, and even though I'm not meant to be able to do it, my iBook switches effortlessly from my home AirPort network to theirs and they're none the wiser.

Windows is pathetic. I really hate this NetVista. It's even got a HUGE power brick which I've just found on the floor (I thought it was a paperweight

Absolutely Newmanstein!! What he said.

Lance & Smithy...

Start slow....

Register (anon) for a web-based email somewhere.. then start forewarding articles from MDN about the lack of security (and other WinCrap problems) to the "decision-makers" in your respective companies..

Eventually... even they might have a light bulb turn on over their heads...

hey, it couldnt hurt !

What if the world did go to OSX in all work environments? Could we shorten the work day as we wouldnt have to deal with crashing computers or lost work? Im still in college but I notice it takes me much less time to write papers and I dont worry about losing anything.

I agree that Exposé is much more impressive than the Genie Effect. You also have to make sure that your computer is equipped to do Genie justice though. I'm using a Dual 800 G4 at work and it's a bit sluggish so I don't use it.

Besides that, not everyone is as impressed as they should be. I remember a couple years ago when a friend who's a PC users came to visit and I was getting online so he could check his e-mail. He saw the dock icons jump to attention (I wasn't even showing off!), but instead of saying "Cool!" like I expected, he said "I don't like that cartoon crap." What a downer that was.

Truthfully though, I've been a huge proponent of pushing OS X in their ads instead of how cool the box looks, but right now they're having trouble with demand as it is. Advertising might hurt them more than it would help until they get their manufacturing woes in order, but then they've been around for years, so who knows?

Oh and I forgot to mention. On my TiBook I've always had the dock on the left side. It seems like a waste to have it on the bottom when you're using a wide screen.

CONSPIRACY THEORY: Microsoft has a deal with Apple that they will produce MS Office for Mac on the condition that Apple will not advertise how good their Operating System (including the GUI) is.

Sorry to get a little serious here guys, but people these days don't pay much attention to advertising. They know ads have been paid for.

Instead what really works is editorial (which can even be "purchased" like advertising). In this regard, with the iPod and G5 iMac, Apple is doing a fantastic job of getting their products reviewed in the media, and that's worth much more than advertising.

Phew, enough of that - back to the silly me.

RW...

In the "corporate workplace" theres a huge IT "infrastructure" in place... dedicated to just keeping the WinCrap machines up and running... avoiding malware, virii and the like..

The prevelant thinking here.... is such an infrastructure is a "necessary" part of doing business, and the funds are then allocated for this futile exercise...

Should Mac and Mac OS become the dominate platform in the corporate world .. a lot of people would find themselves in the unemployment lines with a out-dated "skill"...

A local "urban legend" here, has it, that a large Graphics House (in town) who uses Macs for creative purposes and PeeCees for admin ... also has several "Win-techs" around keeping VERY busy trying to stay ahead of the problems associated with WinDoze...
but, only has one "Mac-Tech" around... and he spends his day surfing the internet, using his iPod.. and playing games !!

If this is true... a lot of corporate types could learn a lesson from this model !

I think the better question is:
"Why doesn't Apple show anything about Mac OS X in TV ads?". The pretty iPod ads are fine, but how about some hard-hitting ads that play up the greatness that is OS X? How about an ad that shows all the software there is for Mac OS X? You know how many people don't know there is a version of MS Office for the Mac? A lot. Any why not have a whole campaign about easy of use, or no viruses, etc. Apple has been silent way too long. Steve Jobs, get with the program already.

For gods sake Apple!

Listen to your users!!!

Run a fast moving ad on tv (like the ipod film at Mac Expo!!!) with a fast pop soundtrack and showing off OS X genie, expose, fast user switching etc.

This will go down a storm on tv and will impress all the potential mac buying public.

SHOW OFF YOUR OS BEFORE WINDOWS BEATS YOU TO IT WITH LONGHORN!!!

Amen. Show off the sexy beast that is Jaguar/Panther/other version of OS X. Expose rocks, iLife still leaves me amazed, Spotlight blew me and the techically inclined in my family away. One Mac IT and all he does is play games and jam with his iPod? Sign me up for that job, I need the cash!

I'm with Solar Flare. Come on Steve, I know you read these MDN forums, just run a couple of 30 second commercials showing OS X in all it's Glory.

What about the catchline:

From £549

Just a thought ®

amyhre

Sadly ...I cant confirm this urban legend is true...

Actually, I prefer the Genie effect to Exposé because I hate memorizing function keys. But to each their own.

By the way, anyone remember the "suck" effect from the Jaguar betas? I think Apple dinged it because they couldn't come up with a better name.

While I, too, would love to see more "Macintosh" ads--especially for the iMac G5--I don't get too bothered by it. From a financial standpoint, the iPod is similar to Dell's $499 PC--low margin, high volume. To make money, they have to move alot of them. That means advertising.

My only grumble about the iPod ads? Instead of "PC or Mac" it should say "Mac or PC" :^)

For something reeeeeeeeally cooooool try holding the shift key when you minimize a window and be prepared for a time warp that will blow your XP friends away!

BTW, the Dock is best on the left side. Reduces the amount of mousing dramatically. Also, if you put folders in your dock, when you right click (control click or click hold for those with one button), the menus open across your screen from left to right. This doesn't work when the dock is on the bottom or right side, and they stagger awkwardly.

I'll say it again. Software patents are evil. I don't care if its Apple or Microsoft is the one with the patent. Software patents stifle innovation.

My option key on my black Apple pro keybord has alt right above it .. it's option...

And if your really wanna awe them do it fast then in slow motion with the shift key held down ...

You know, I'd forgotten all about the genie effect - it just happens so often, you tend to lose it in all the MDN reading

To the guy who's "buddy" says that he doesn't like that "cartoon crap", I know how you feel - I've had people shoot things down even before they've had a serious look at the wonders of Macs. They are already biased before they start.

Yet, look at XP - it is the most cartoonish looking OS on the market. Sure, it doesn't have "fun" animations, coz it's a "business" OS (aka we can't do that coz our engineers have high IQ's but no imagination). The style and colours suck (well, the default ones anyway). And why the hell are menu bars and buttons so HUGE! I mean c'mon! You need 1280x1024 just to get everything down to a nice size! And toolbars! Hell, for people with lower res screens, how can you edit a document when about HALF the window is chewed up in toolbars and menus and crap? Oh, yea, but OS X is crap coz it's got cartoons all over it.

Suppose "cartoon guy" and similar would also hate dialogue boxes being read out too?! (which I find extremeely helpful) I recently discovered Fire can read out messages too (or just the first line). Same idea and is very helpful. I frequently start something, wander off, then know when it's done (or failed or someone's written to me b/c it reads it out to me. But hey, that's not serious.

Oh, and I agree that software patents are crap. "If you can't beat 'em or buy 'em, then sue 'em" will be Micro$oft's only motto soon. I think they plan on winning by suing everyone out of business, which they already do, but I mean *everyone*, including the Linux guys, and quite possibly they will gun for Apple too (and then I'll get out of I.T. because there will be no point... I think I'll become a farmer....)

(Yes, I realise this was about Apple being awarded a software patent.)

Somehow I feel they are more deserving.

Jeff is right, software patents are evil. Code is copyright anyway, no need for patents.

Microsoft is pursuing the patent revenue stream model and has some good tricks up it's sleeve, for example licensing agreements with OEMs prohibit them from suing Microsoft when MS uses their patented technologies. Effectively MS gets their patents for free.

Microsoft also appears to trying to claim (buy?) the rights to DRM, - all DRM.

"ContentGuard, founded by Xerox with the financial support of Microsoft, holds several key DRM patents, which it says cover all rights-expression markup languages. This claim has not been tested in court, but if it were upheld, ContentGuard would effectively own DRM."

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/07/ms_drm/

One of my biggest disappointments with Apple was when they licensed Amazon's one-click patent.

If you really want to show off the genie effect, minimise a window that is playing a movie.

Show how the icon in the dock still carries on displaying the moving image and just to prove it, hover your mouse over the icon ( with magnify switched on ) so that the icon is shown much larger and you can see the action.

Even the most hardened PC apologists go quiet when they see stuff like that.

For me, the best advertise that Apple should do (with every hardware and software), is at cinemas (ton's of millions of viewers at several films), in that spots that we have to see before de movie.

But, this is only IMHO.

no genie effect for me. dock stays on the bottom hidden. i love expose, but once i found butler, everything changed.

I love Apple's incredible attention to small details. You are always finding things that are way cool or just a small detail that shows someone did the very best they could on something. I have Genie switched on just for the beauty and although I never ever use it, it is neat to have the shift genie slo mo effect built in just cuz it is cool, no other reason. Finding small hidden details like these just delight and for some reason just make my day.

Hey! Anyone ever notice that in the iLife apps a lot of times instead of just having a new menu pop up for some functions the top of the screen looks like a slit opens up and the menu slides out of it? Look really close at where the top of the screen and the menu join when you hit the plus in Safari to make a new bookmark for an example. This kind of attention to minute details is unheard of in the windows world.

Oh and Peter rather than function keys for Expose' you might try hot corners. You can find them on the Expose' control panel in Sys prefs.

I have the dock on the right side... I'm used to seeing hard drives, etc on the right side, so why not apps, etc. My life changed once I set a hot spot for expose in the top right hand corner (expose system preference). I put the mouse near my log in name and presto all my windows are visable. I LOVE THIS.

Apple can´t meet demand for computers (no demand is not real high - but we will see the real sales #s next week), therefore it does not want to stimulate business by advertising.

Thats easy. The genie effect is part of the dock, and the dock blows.

the genie is cute and i love the dock.

"im a genie in a bottle baby, u gotta rub me the right way."

The dock does not blow. Everyone has preferences for how they like to set up the UI. I really find the dock convienient. I do turn off magnification and hiding though. Don't like mouse targets to move. Plus I use TransparentDock to keep it anchored to the top left corner.

The Dock Rocks!

The reason is simple: Because Apple's advertising sucks. They have NEVER shown their interface to good advantage in their ads on TV. I guess they think the interface will become known by osmosis. Apple ads are apparently designed for Mac users. No wonder no one else knows about the OS. I give up.

Advertising has always been a sore subject for me about Apple. It seems that we're the ones doing the advertising for Apple with our own Macs and we don't even get paid for it. Apple commercials suck big time and there is nothing anyone can say that will say otherwise. Mac commercials are like inside jokes to us Mac users because we are the only ones who understand them. I have always said that I wish I could be Apple's CEO for just 24 hours. I would have a dozen or so commercials in the works displaying OS X in a heart beat. But thats just me.