“By now, I’m sure you’ve all seen Apple’s new home page,” Rob Griffiths writes for Macworld.
MacDailyNews Note: If not, here you go:
Griffiths writes, “A simple statement, yet one loaded with intrigue. What exactly does it mean? …I don’t think the slogan on the home page is a generic New Year’s announcement, nor do I think it’s a general statement on Apple’s mission for 2007. I think it’s clearly targeted to up the hype level for next week’s Macworld Expo, which means there must be some “now” type of product announcements behind it.”
Griffiths writes, “However, I don’t think it really has much of anything to do with the currently rumored products. That is, I don’t feel a new dual quad-core Mac, a true video iPod, Leopard shipping as of ‘now,’ or even an iTV home-theater box represent enough of a ‘wow!’ announcement to merit the direction implied by the marketing statement. If Steve Jobs stands up next Tuesday and says “We told you the first 30 years were just the beginning…and here’s why: the new iTV,” he’s going to get a very flat response. That’s because the expectations bar has been set quite high by the statement on Apple’s home page.”
Griffiths writes, “To me, at least, the ‘just the beginning’ portion of the phrase implies something truly forward-thinking. Apple is basically stating that it’s taken the past 30 years for the company to get where it is now, and that it plans to use all that knowledge to really show us what it can do.”
Full article in which Griffiths tells what he thinks the Apple.com teaser means, how Apple has over-hyped before, drum-roll please: Apple’s “30th Anniversary Macintosh,” and more here.
Related articles:
Apple.com: ‘The first 30 years were just the beginning. Welcome to 2007.’ – January 01, 2007
It’s the light of a movie projector. Nice effect but also an anachronism in context.
The iFlashlight.
It’s solar powered!
Jetpacks and flying cars!
What? Isn’t it the future already?
Since the Mac mini hasn’t been updated in awhile and shares similarities with the “iTV”, couldn’t they be combined?
Towertone: Solar-powered flashlight! ROFL
Apple always over hypes its events. Remember the Hi-Fi announcement ;-(
mac mini with built-in projector?
” the first 30 years were just the beginning…and here’s why: the new iTV,” he’s going to get a very flat response.”
It all depends on what the iTV can do. The PC is definitely the centre of our work and study world, but the iTV has the potential to become the centre of our entertainment world. If anytime we want to ‘knock off’ work and have some fun (games), call/view family in another city, watch a movie, laugh at some YouTube clips, show off some holiday photos, listen to an audiobook, relax to some music or generally wind down then the iTV may be the general purpose box to do this – personally or as a group.
Just like the telephone is not too useful with only a few users, if traditional DVD players, TV receivers, CD players, consoles, telephones, photo albums, etc get replaced by a ‘sharing’ iTV internet communications hub in HD in most homes, the next 30 years will replace the last 30 years.
It is the “I told you so.” Yep, I told you so.
No one is mentioning The Beatles iTunes and maybe iPod lately. That is an announcement possibility.
My only quibble is that it’s actually taken Apple 10 years to get where it’s at now, not 30. It’s harder to right a sinking ship than it is t just start from scratch. Apple up through ’96 was one company. This is a different one.
I send those out too. It’s a nice touch.
Licensing of Mac OS X to other hardware makers, but instead of it being just a software licensing deal, it would include hardware/design certification, so only hardware that Apple considered worthy of the Mac name would be able to run Mac OS X. All they would need is one major PC manufacturer to jump on board and the others would come calling within months as the sales numbers go public. Then we’d see Mac OS X’s market share increase accelerate!
> CD players, consoles, telephones, photo albums, etc get replaced by a ‘sharing’ iTV internet communications hub in HD in most homes, the next 30 years will replace the last 30 years.
Add cable tv and tele-conferencing.
Why does everyone think that Apple has to top the last thirty years in one keynote address? If the first thirty years are just the beginning, the more direct conclusion is that the next thirty years will be at least as impressive. Next week should have some good announcements, but they don’t even have to top the iPod, let alone the last thirty years. Not in one day.
ahhh; yes… my new background image..
it means APPLE IS GOING TO FUC*ING KICK ASS THIS YEAR.
it means the following:
iTV
iPhone with free VOIP over unlimited highspeed bandwidth.
and a new newton with wireless ichat.
octal core Mac Pros.
and if they REALLYYY wanted to flip the world upside down, they would release a limited version of OSX for free that would work on 99% of the PCs currently deployed.
A low, bass thrum fills the auditorium with subliminal vibration. Slowly, a lone trumpet begins to trill as a corona begins to build and fill around an Apple logo on the stage. The tune is immediately recognizable as “Thus Sprach Zarathustra” by Richard Bach. The sun erupts from behind the logo and reveals a planet behind it as the drums beat into the next iteration.
The audience is awed. They rise in anticipation.
One lone, intrepid audience member jumps to the stage and with trpidation touches the Apple logo as the music crescendos.
“I understand,” he says, turning to the audience, his eyes now become blazing bronze orbs in his once human skull. “I understand!” he yells.
The audience erupts in applause and cheers.
The man on stage takes his laptop from his backpack and hurls it into the air. It rises and rises…
And becomes…
Wait for it….
Wait…
Oh, damn, I lost the goddam signal. Ahhk. Flickabibble.
“Apple is basically stating that it’s taken the past 30 years for the company to get where it is now, and that it plans to use all that knowledge to really show us what it can do.”
Maybe that is exactly the message they are trying to say.
I don’t think any of there products will result in a flat response knowing what Apple has done already.
iTv, Leopard, faster Macs, even iPhone will be received as ho hum – what have you done for me lately kind of reaction.
What the world is waiting for is a breakthrough announcement which Steve, more than ever before, needs to deliver to get the focus off his legal and ethics problems.
The slogan means nothing more than it says – an anniversary milestone statement- there is no new secret product to be released; just “we´ve been working for 30 years and Apple and we aren´t done coming up with new products and ideas”.
Maybe Steve will be welcoming God into a position on the Apple board of Directors?
Not a senior position to begin with – he’s not Steve for Steves sake!
Well, Micro$oft have The Devil as thier CEO!
And that would then postion Apple between ‘The Devil’ and ‘The Big Blue powerPC’ !
We had “1984”, now we have “2001: A Space Odyssey”. The old Apple monolith blocking out the light of the new day that is breaking behind it. Think solar eclipse. Man, I should be in advertising!
I’m hoping for an all-terrain Segway for $1,000 w/iPod movie integration.
Maybe Jobs steps down?
TO: Stab the Man (the surreal one)
At the risk of being pedantic… the piece was written by Richard Strauss, Richard Bach is a author of semi-new age books, “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” being his most famous.
Wikipedia sure is handy.