“I’m not a fan of the current iMac, the PC in a monitor has been done before and the new offering has relatively poor ergonomics (when compared to the old iMac), is less distinctive, and is far less stable. I live in California, earthquake country, and the old iMac was one of the most stable products in its class, the new one places the weight too high and relies on a base that is too narrow making it likely that it would fall. Falling glass can be a huge hazard in a home late at night when you are trying to get the kids and family to safety during an earthquake,” Rob Enderle writes for DesignTechnica.
MacDailyNews Note: There is no breakable glass in the iMac G5. It’s an LCD.*
Enderle writes, “It amazes me the halo that Apple seems to have over its operations. Yes it has returned to popularity and profitability, and yes it has one stunningly successful product in the iPod, a product largely based on a third party offering called Portal Player. Apple’s PCs, which at one time were largely based on Apple intellectual property are now largely based on IP from IBM and the FreeBSD community, and the firm survives on what many feel is the best marketing effort of any of the vendors in its class.”
With the iPod shuffle, “Apple now enters with a high cost player without a display which would seem, well, kind of stupid except for the capacity of the thing. It does have more capacity than most at the same price point today (but that will change before the end of this quarter). This seems to me to be a value play (we are the least expensive) and typically that play is not made by a premium vendor like Apple for fear of damaging the brand. $100 is a very popular price point and when you realize that products with more capability will be selling very soon for less you have to really wonder if Apple is watching the market. Perhaps it is time for Apple to go to CES so that they too can see what is coming. Running a company, like driving, is incredibly dangerous with your eyes closed,” Endlere writes.
Apple’s new Mac mini “is simply another me-too offering from a company which hasn’t done particularly well with me-to offerings over time. Yes they will likely sell more of these than they will iMacs. However, that will largely be because iMac sales will have declined as a result of shifting demand to the more popular, and more flexible, lower cost offering… iWork “is a simple product for the casual user, arguably what Microsoft Works should be but isn’t. Of the products presented this is arguably the best. The only risk is that it might upset Microsoft and the core group that has been incredibly supportive of Apple over the years… it would have been better had Apple looped Microsoft into this decision and worked on better interoperability between the two products rather than what was likely a blind side release embarrassing the Apple supporters in Microsoft. Sometimes it isn’t what you do, but how you do it that defines a company.”
Enderle concludes, “Apple exists largely because Xerox didn’t want to take a risk with a graphical user interface and a mouse. But revenue at any cost has its price and, even with stunning marketing covering up critical mistakes, eventually the chickens come home to roost. They didn’t come home to roost last quarter. Apple did very well and actually grew in line with or ahead of Dell, HP and Gateway suggesting they held market share for once. But this year will be more difficult. The competition is becoming much more fierce and Apple’s offerings aren’t as interesting.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We believe that the innovation exuded by Gateway and the vision of the future embodied by Michael Dell could lead Apple Computer in the right direction, but only if chickens are appointed to the company’s Board of Directors and Steve Jobs is replaced with a bowling ball, or Steve Ballmer, whichever comes cheaper. Sometimes it gets very windy in Tornado Alley, so it’s good to have a monitor that is really wide at the bottom and tapers to a point like a pyramid. We like pudding, mice, and foam. Wintel box assemblers’ foresight and quest for excellence are good examples for Apple to emulate as long as they look to ant colonies’ construction methods while eating as many pancakes as possible. Once, we crossed our eyes for so long that we got headaches and had to go to bed. Our dogs can speak English and a little broken Spanish, but you can’t hear them unless you’re breathing air. Yesterday we walked along a telephone pole and sent email messages via smoke signals and later swam through a huge piece of granite. Giant eggs are good, but cellophane wrap is better.
Mr. Enderle and MacDailyNews now conclude this test of the Illogical Nonsense Writing Out of our Asses system.
*LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display. Apple’s iMac G5 features such a display. Of course it contains glass. The “MacDailyNews Note” above was meant to be humorous, as it was part of the “nonsense section” of the article. Sorry for the confusion. And the LCD is, of course, a HUGE hazard during an earthquake, especially when one is trying to get the kids and family to safety. It’s another great reason to steer clear of Apple’s iMac G5. LCDs and earthquakes just do not mix. [Added disclaimer at 10:37pm ET after reading some of the reader feedback comments.]
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Kiss of death III averted: Analyst Enderle calls Apple’s Mac mini a ‘crippled product’ – January 13, 2005
Mary Enderle: Apple iMac G5 ‘isn’t a good desktop design, seems poorly thought out’ – September 10, 2004
Best take yet, MDN!
ROFLMAO!
“End here, Lee”
I don’t exactly have any deep insight to offer here. I would just like to note that Enderle is such a transparent imbecile. His rantings would be laugh out loud humorous if I didn’t know he actually believed his own drivel. Pathetic.
MDN magic word: wrote… as in, can you believe the crap that this idiot wrote?
it is good to see that some things never change. he does sound just a little bit silly though.
Hahahahahahahaha!
Good to know good ol’ Enderle is still there making and ass out of himself. It was scaring me a little with all the good press apple’s been getting. Without the Enderle jinx, we might be screwed. BTW – Is his biggest complaint about the new imac that it might get damaged in an earthquake? Holy crap.
I can assure you that THIS ass is entrance only.
Like usual, Enderle is making claims without any real facts to back them up.
“$100 is a very popular price point and when you realize that products with more capability will be selling very soon for less you have to really wonder if Apple is watching the market.”
-more features does not equal more popularity or better product.
“The only risk is that it might upset Microsoft and the core group that has been incredibly supportive of Apple over the years”
– MS already said that iWork doesn’t change support of Office on the Mac.
“Apple exists largely because Xerox didn’t want to take a risk with a graphical user interface and a mouse”
– So that’s supposed to mean that Apple hasn’t made one useful or marketable thing in the last 20 years?
Didn’t Enderle write another article last week praising Apple’s performance and new offerings?
Most, if not almost all, would say that Apple are in the strongest position for years.
Most of Apple’s consumer lines have or will soon be refreshed.
Plus the new products are apparently selling like hotcakes.
It seems to me that this guy does not know what he is talking about.
Last Saturday I went to an Apple Store to get a Mini. I got there 20 min. after the store oppened. They were all sold out. Then, I drove to a mini-Apple Store, I experienced the same luck.
I think the Mini is a big hit!. They’ll keep sales up for this quater before the unvailing of the new Power Macs and Power Books.
The man has lost it – completely and utterly.
The time has come to feel very, very sorry for him.
What the fsck has earthquakes got to do with the design of the Imac???
Im sure Dell do throught earthquake testing on the designs of their crap boxes – NOT!!!
This guy is making any old crap up just to retain the coveted title of ‘Journalist’.
The guy needs to get a life!!
LOL… yeah.. .bring on the clones!
Apple competes in the market of iDeas. LOL. Insanely Great products and as long as they continue to do that, they will survive. The Mac has always been the computer for the rest of us. The original Mac made that proclamation and the Mac Mini has finally made it a reality.
These people don’t know that Apple is in the drivers seat with a car full of back seat drivers (dell, M$, HP, Roxio, iRiver, Creative and others) all shouting about a different way to go.
Dear Enderle:
Your a tool…
Enderly (or is it Elderly) is an idiot. Go back to sleep, man.
Question to Enderly:
Why do you hate Macs?
What did Macs ever do to you?
Are you guilty of something?
word: girls
Now that Thurrot is firmly in the apple camp Enderle is starting to rage like a lonely bull in a china shop.
Being from California I say “Stop being such a girlie-boy!”
Too freakin’ funny to write anything constructive.
Hang a sec.
Even given that Enderle is one of the most full of shite talking heads on the internet, didn’t Apple just release quarterly sales figures showing an increase in iMac sales, along with notebooks? Or am I remembering wrong?
Hmmm, I guess this will make his 6th appearance on TMO’s Apple Death Knell Counter.
Today’s magic word is consider. Maybe Enderle should consider shutting his mouth. I guess he likes being wrong. Why not, he gets paid the same.
Gates: Now look here Enderle. I’m not happy about all this positive press Apple are getting.
Enderle: Yes its bad. I know.
Gates: I want you to start doing something about it. That’s what I pay you for isn’t it?
Enderle: Yes Mr Gates.
Gates: Well get out there and write something that will get people talking about how dangerous the iMac is will you?
Enderle: Dangerous?
Gates: Yes. Make something up, anything for heavens sake.
Enderle: Yes Mr Gates. Right away Mr Gates. Going now.
Gates (shouting dow corridor): And I want people talking about it Enderle.
“it would have been better had Apple looped Microsoft into this decision and worked on better interoperability between the two products rather than what was likely a blind side release embarrassing the Apple supporters in Microsoft. Sometimes it isn’t what you do, but how you do it that defines a company.”
What a drone, what a dweeb, what a sissy, what an asshole. This guy has his nose so far up Bill Gates butt he could sneeze out of Bill’s mouth.
Liked your take MDN. Don’t buy an iMac if you live in earthquake country!!! Falling glass from a plastic machine alert!!!! LOL
^
That’s “You’re a tool.”
See me after class.
>> It seems to me that this guy does not know what he is talking about. <<
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The nail on the head. He very rarely (if ever) does. It’s pretty amusing actually.
I don’t think of iWork as a Office alternative, but rather an inexpensive desktop publisher app. There is no Microsoft Publisher or alternative app with the quality we expect in a less than $100 price range. Please, don’t say appleworks, carbon apps are crap on OSX.
I wish nothing but the best for your wife and kids, living in earthquake alley, as it were.
But, if a large shard of glass should strike you during the next trembling of the earth’s bowels, well, that is another matter entirely.
Speaking of trembling bowels, has anything you have produced been truthful or has it all been propaganda paid for by your many Wintel Industry clients.
The Mac mini:
The most earthquake proof computer available, much safer that those big heavy black boxes from Dell.
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