an almost perfect product for what it's intended to be
Agreed. I think it's probably mainly a marketing schtick, trying to catch the attention of on-the-fence potential switchers. It's a cheap "first hit is free" entry into the Mac world, for the person who has a couple of PCs already and an iPod and has been wondering about trying one of them things out, but doesn't want to blow a couple thousand on it.
But for a lot of people, or at least some people, it's potentially a terrific second or third computer. I've already got a couple of keyboards and a decent monitor kicking around (monitors go for $70 at Best Buy now, you know?), and once the kids are a little older and can use a more modern machine, this is the way to upgrade. I bet a lot of people will go that route.
The Shuffle thingie may not seem all that practical, but I bet it'll sell a billion. Kapil, a mac-oriented grad student, came by my desk this afternoon to tell me about the release, and announced that he had already bought one. They'd been avaiilable fora good half hour. He needs a little thing for jogging, you see, his big iPod doesn't work well for that.
It's got style, it's got the iPod name for cachet, and it's got an excuse for practicality.
I'm mildly intrigued by the new Keynote, but recognize that the new stuff is useless for me (I give lots of slide talks, but in our fields fancy backgrounds and transitions are anathema). Pages looks interesting, but it's not likely to be more useful than Word (again, for what I do, fanciness is a no-no). The only thing I'm interested in is the new iPhoto -- and that's the thing that's gone from free to pay. Bastards.
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Date: 2005-01-11 07:00 pm (UTC)Agreed. I think it's probably mainly a marketing schtick, trying to catch the attention of on-the-fence potential switchers. It's a cheap "first hit is free" entry into the Mac world, for the person who has a couple of PCs already and an iPod and has been wondering about trying one of them things out, but doesn't want to blow a couple thousand on it.
But for a lot of people, or at least some people, it's potentially a terrific second or third computer. I've already got a couple of keyboards and a decent monitor kicking around (monitors go for $70 at Best Buy now, you know?), and once the kids are a little older and can use a more modern machine, this is the way to upgrade. I bet a lot of people will go that route.
The Shuffle thingie may not seem all that practical, but I bet it'll sell a billion. Kapil, a mac-oriented grad student, came by my desk this afternoon to tell me about the release, and announced that he had already bought one. They'd been avaiilable fora good half hour. He needs a little thing for jogging, you see, his big iPod doesn't work well for that.
It's got style, it's got the iPod name for cachet, and it's got an excuse for practicality.
I'm mildly intrigued by the new Keynote, but recognize that the new stuff is useless for me (I give lots of slide talks, but in our fields fancy backgrounds and transitions are anathema). Pages looks interesting, but it's not likely to be more useful than Word (again, for what I do, fanciness is a no-no). The only thing I'm interested in is the new iPhoto -- and that's the thing that's gone from free to pay. Bastards.