“Here in Silicon Valley, we’re all about change. Out with orchards, in with tilt-ups. Out with analog, in with digital. Out with print, in with online. Amid all this, it’s comforting to know that some things stay the same. Apple Computer, for instance,” Evelyn Richards writes for The San Jose Mercury News. “Funny, I realized, how Apple has in many ways changed the world, changed us, but not itself.”
“Sure, it’s a much bigger operation now — 15,000 employees instead of 1,000 at the IPO. Sales of $14 billion instead of $117 million. A focus on entertainment and the iPod, not just personal computers. From the inside, it must seem like so much more of a bureaucracy, with the many regimens and rivalries that size delivers. But for those of us on the outside, observers and customers, today’s Apple Computer — at its core — bears a remarkable resemblance to that of the early years,” Richards writes. “The company’s most enduring principle is summed up best with its own 1997-1998 advertising slogan, ‘Think Different.’ (Even the word choice broke the rules.)”
“By thinking differently itself, by taking risks, by retaining a touch of its counterculture roots, Apple has innovated again and again over 30 years. The company has shown consistency in other ways, too: delivering power to the individual. Executing with elegance. Building loyalty and hype, even fanaticism, with secrecy and proprietary technologies,” Richards writes. “And let’s not forget that, except for Jobs’ estrangement from 1985 to 1997, Apple has been shaped by the same headstrong co-founder, a man with incredible vision, little tact and a bounce in his walk. Few companies can claim such consistency.”
“Nowadays, Apple is so impenetrable, journalists complain. Why not? Suspense, surprise, staging — they’re all part of the 30-year-old recipe. Remember, Jobs closeted the Mac team in ‘Texaco Towers’ a few blocks from headquarters and kept a tight seal on the pirate band’s work. As the day approached, Apple stoked the world’s curiosity with its now-famous 1984 Super Bowl ad, whose powerful images urged viewers to reject conformity and authority and embrace their individuality,” Richards writes. “A few weeks ago, I spotted the celebrity CEO walking alone in his quiet Palo Alto neighborhood. It was early on a Thursday afternoon. What change was Jobs pondering? The imminent introduction of the Intel-based Mac mini? The digital living room? Apple eventually buying Disney? I don’t know. But I do know he had that trademark bounce in his step.”
Full article here.
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That was so clearly burned with a lighter or torch! Get a life people McDud!!!
“Now to this week’s announced shipping delay for Windows Vista, which for the previous 20 or so shipping delays was called by its codename Longhorn. I don’t know what’s up with this, but I can’t say I am surprised. Vista is a huge piece of work and Microsoft wants it to be polished to a fine shine before it ships, fails miserably, and has to be extensively patched. This is the company’s last chance at denial, so I don’t begrudge them at all.”
– Robert X. Cringely
Emphasis mine; i love it!
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Congratulations, Sputnik, you have developed a finer command of communication by being brief and to the point. Perhaps this will also give you the confidence to work on organizing intelligent thoughts.
Rainy Day:
By the time Microsoft releases a polished version of Vista it will have been transformed into a glittering piece of coprolite.
That was so clearly burned with a lighter or torch!
While it was in the socket? Really?
Perhaps, after all the current going the laptop is DC at low voltage. Not the high stuff that’s going to the power brick (transformer).
I’m sure Apple wanted those pictures pulled because others who are dissatisfied with their Mac Book Pro’s might do the same trick.
Hit it with a lighter and stick it in real fast before the plastic stops melting.
Cracking that transformer open will tell all if this is bogus. Of course Apple won’t tell anyone naturally.
There will be fires.
“Mac Book Pro burned my house down!”
You know it looks like the metal surrounding the plugs is actually melted.
This could come from a power spike of some sort, like some high current arched over.
Look at the second rod, it’s completely gone.
Oh well, NEVER BUY A FIRST ISSUE.
Macdude, you write as though you have the talents of a skilled forensic engineer. Where and when did you receive your advanced degrees? What were the titles of your thesis and dissertation? Where and when have you published your research?
The troll Sputnik writes: “Heidi how about U & ME discuss your future in my harem?
I’ll just have to find a bag big enough to fit over your large ugly face!”
I know that trolls are usually myopic, but dude you should RUN, not walk, to the nearest optometrist or ophthalmologist and
” rel=”nofollow”>have your eyes examined! Heidi is a real babe and if you can’t see that, you’re either going blind… or becoming gay.
I received my advanced degree from Devry University in 2002. My dissertation was considered classified by NSA and is kept secure in a vault at Fort Meade. I publish under a pseudonym because my identify is a national secret.
maczealot pwn3d macdud and spudhead
What NEW thing/innovation has Apple brought out in the last year?
Don´t say Intel chips in Apples – that has been done by the PC boys and girls and the chip is made by Intel for EVERYONE to use.
Toasted power cable? Ay yi yi! Beware Rev. A!
People, people try not to be goaded into responding to these trolls by their moronically inflammatory statements. If we don’t feed them, maybe they’ll go away.
Yes, go away Mr. Reeee.
Yeah, Heidi should use MacBabe as a handle.
Hey Larry,
So what does Rev. A have to do with trolls?
Rev.A Macs, especially ones with major hardware shifts have been historically plagued with problems, some minor, some not so. It’s just the nature of the beast and the massive complexity of these things.
I’ve done my time on the bleeding edge and vowed to wait for Rev. B or C machines. I found it better to think ahead a bit and buy Macs where the hardware is more evolved and tested rather than paying to beta test. When I’ve got deadlines to meet, troubleshooting isn’t a fun thing.
The thing is, if you need a new Mac, get it. Don’t wait as there’s always a faster, better, cheaper machine down the road.
From my personal experience:
Mac IIcx… driver problems, especially in the transition to System 7 and 32 bit cleanness.
PowerMac 8500/120: first PCI Mac. MAJOR driver and software incompatibilities. I think I spent more time rebooting than using it… ;^) It took six months for the dust to clear.
PowerBook G3 400 Lombard. First USB PowerBook. Again , driver problems. Still, a great machine!
PowerBook G4 500mhz. Not bad for me, but others complained of structural weaknesses, etc.
My last Titanium PowerBook was GREAT! 3 years, no problems. I got the last G4 Alu PowerBook in November… trouble-free and solid as a rock.
I expected the MacBook Pro to have some problems (processor/driver/Rosetta) and I’m sure Apple will get whatever is wrong with them.
As for the toasted cord from those links… was it user error? One bad cord? Who knows? I’m sure if there is a problem, Apple will fix it.