MacDailyNews wishes everyone a Happy New Year!
Looking back, 2004 saw some major changes for Apple with millions upon millions of iPods seeding the fertile grounds of dissatisfied Windows users who, having tasted elegance, quality, and attention to detail, took a much closer look at that iMac G5 of Apple’s and saw something very special running the show called Mac OS X ‘Panther.’ We cannot imagine their shock at seeing Mac OS X for the first time after dealing with Windows for years!
Apple may have gleaned enough information from the “iPod Halo Effect” to have decided an entry-level (US$500-ish) Mac is needed. We’ll see what happens eleven days into 2005 at the earliest. If it does happen, and Apple gets the features, price, and marketing right, it’ll be the biggest announcement out of Apple since the iPod. They should call it iSwitch (as in “bait and switch”) because it’ll be dangled by Apple to get ’em in the store where they’ll be very tempted upgrade to an iMac G5 (just like many iPod mini shoppers ended up going for the extra $50 and bought the 20GB iPod instead – exactly as Apple had planned). Still, many will buy this new “Headless Mac,” so we hope Apple makes enough of them, if this is what they decide to do.
Yes, 2004 was certainly the year of the iPod. We think conditions are ripe for the “Pod” to unleash its payload in 2005. Think “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and you’ll see why “iPod” was given that name; the film was about the take-over of an entire community by seed pods. Will the Wintel community be seduced by iPod+iTunes and frustrated enough by an endless stream of viruses, spyware, adware, and malware to take a real look at switching to safe, secure, powerful, and fun Mac hardware running Mac OS X? If not in 2005, when? (We don’t know what the heck Microsoft thinks it’s doing, but we hope they keep it up!)
We think iPod+iTunes will remain a big news item in 2005, but the year will also mark a widespread awakening about the Mac platform and Mac OS X. 2005 is going to be a pivotal year for Apple Computer, Inc. Get ready for a wild ride and, perhaps, unusual surprises out of Cupertino. There could be a lot more Mac users around us this time next year. We’re looking forward to much Mac daily news!
Speaking of MacDailyNews, thank you for visiting MDN throughout the year and making us a part of your day. We really appreciate it.
Happy New Year!
MacDailyNews Note: As we state on our “contact” page ( http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/contact/ ), in 2005 our mission will stay the same:
Our mission is to scour the Web for articles that interest Mac and Apple product users, remark on the content of these articles, provide news about Apple Computer, Inc. and their products, and to opine about all things related to Apple and the Mac. Most importantly, MacDailyNews exists to provide a place for our readers and the Mac community to discuss these daily news items in their own words with real-time feedback. Why do we do this? Because long ago we received the most important advice a computer user can ever receive, “buy a Mac.” We want to help spread that valuable advice.
Happy 2005 MDN,
Thanks Steve!
” I learned a bunch of stuff here. Some of what I learned might even be true.”
LMAO!! Thanks Dave, I enjoyed that.
Aww, *sniff* you idiots are choking me up with your sentimental hogwash. Can we hurry up and get over it? I want to partake of the refreshing smackdowns, cutting sarcasm and over-the-top insults that only the true Mac fan can dish out as well as appreciate. But most of all, I want to thank all of you for contributing your opinions and fellowship to this vibrant and non-PC (both meanings) forum, and to echo what Buffy said, on no other forum could I get into a name-calling contest, and yet be all cuddly-poo with the same person at the same time on different threads. Only here in the wonderful zoo called MDN, the most entertaining non-productive thing I can do on my Mac.
Now for my Annual State of the Mac report:
So far I’ve convinced 15 people to switch, resulting in the acquisition of 1 G5 PowerMac and OS X Server, 1 G4 PowerMac, 7 PowerBooks, 5 G4 iMacs, 1 G3 iMac, 3 eMacs, 12 iBooks, 9 iPods and 5 .Mac accounts. Not to mention numerous downloads of iTunes for Windows and Firefox among my friends still suffering on the Dark Side. The best part is seeing the diehard PC users turn into rabid Mac evangelists once they’ve been exposed to Panther and iLife. I can’t get enough of the “My God, it just works!” and “Damn! I didn’t know this was so easy/so nice/could be done!” exclamations.
Just this morning I introduced my best friend’s brother, a recent convert, to the candy store called VersionTracker. You should have seen the dawning realization on his face that the conventional wisdom about there being no software for the Mac was just plain screwed. Priceless. C’mon Apple, where the hell is my sales commission?!
Happy New Year to the MDN crew, and to my fellow Mac lovers from Mandeville, Jamaica, and I implore you all to keep the victims of the recent tsunami disaster in your thoughts.
Hooray for MDN!
Thanks for the laughs MDN.
Thanks to all those moronic journo’s who just can’t or won’t understand what owning a Mac is all about. I shake my head at wonder at the ignorance sometimes and wonder how these people ever make a living.
Thanks to Apple for providing great products and to my employer who has recently provided me with a superdrive PB 15″. I stroke it regularly.
And a gidday to SteveT from Chch, NZ. I don’t know if we’ve ever met, but greetings from a fellow mac user in Chch.
Happy New Year to all
also from Christchurch, New Zealand.
Congratulations to Apple for your website tsunami disaster message – it hit home in ways you will never know.
SJ promised that 04 was going to be an incredible year and he and everyone at Apple delivered. To Mac users throughout the world wishing you all a great New Year.
To everyone at – MDN keep up the great work- your the best!
Matakana, New Zealand
Thanks MDN for a great website! I’m so addicted to it cuz I love to read what’s going on with Apple and to hear what others think.
You guys are the greatest.
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So we didn’t get a 3gHz CPU in the PowerMac G5, who really cares? Those of lucky enough to be living in the Maciverse have been in on the ground floor of the Digital Music Revolution with the iPod/iTunes combo catching on fire, seen the launch of GarageBand, incredible growth in the ADC, a quick narrowing of the Game Gap that opened up with the OS X conversion, the iMac G5 and more while the PC universe marked time while being hammered by Malware,Spyware and endless security issues.
2005 promises a faster and more powerful OS (10.4), the third generation of the 970 series (G5) CPU, a major overhaul of iLife suite and .Mac service, v2.0 of X-Code, ever more Apple Stores, a revised iBook and PowerBook line, introduction of the first Dual-Core PPC CPUs in a Mac and whatever else Steve Jobs & Co have up their collective sleeve.
When we look back a decade from now we will mark 2003-4 as the High-Water mark for Microsoft Windows and it’s deathgrip on the personal computer world. The year 2004 was the year that saw many major Open Source projects gain traction (FireFox/OpenOffice/etc), LINUX mature with major enterprise support, the launch of the Java Desktop System, Mac OS X mature as a real alternative to Windows as an enterprise Desktop platform, the emergence of AMD as a leader rather than a follower even as Intel stumbles on it’s 32 & 64 bit chip development, the establishment of Power.org and Micorosoft wiping the egg off of it’s face as it abandons the WinFS for the v1.0 version of the ship-date elusive Longhorn.
The only thing that is for sure is that nobody’s predictions are ever correct and that Apple and it’s partners have got some major mojo going on for MWSF and the WWDC 2005. It’s a great time to be using a computer and it’s at it’s best on a Macintosh. I think the big suprise come next December 31 is going to be the number of new Mac users that have joined the party.
Peace
MDN Staff & Readers: Have a Happy New Year! Here’s hoping and wishing that this year is one filled with more good Mac news than one can ever hope to read! Let me clarify – I mean GREAT Mac News!
http://www.macpulse.com/
Happy New Year to the staff at MDN, and to all the regular posters here… and .. uhhhh, yeah even the trolls !!
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Heres hoping ’05 will be better than ’04, although I dont know how His Steveness will top it…. !!
On the Dark Side, tho…. if .. this guy is to be believed… then, the Evil Empire is up to their old tricks again… and people should boycott them !!…
But, PeeCeers arent the brightest bulb on the tree…. !!
You can always tell a PeeCeer…
but… you cant tell him much !! … LOL
A big thanks to MacDailyNews.
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