The Media's Crush on Apple 391
conq writes "BusinessWeek reports: "It's the first time in my memory that a product announcement by Steve Jobs has caused the AP to send an alert -- especially since this development was fully expected. And it says a lot about the intensity of media attention Apple generates. When is the last time a NewsAlert went out based on the words of Michael Dell or Bill Gates? Clearly, the AP's editors determined this news was important enough to warrant such action."
Last week? (Score:4, Insightful)
Last week after the CES keynote, during which he didn't launch any new products at all, and instead talked about the same thing he's talked about for the last three years but still hasn't shipped, and a product that came out last year.
In contrast, Apple actually announced new product that was a signifigant shift from their previous strategy, and has a business impact beyond the doors of Apple itself.
Which company gets an unusual amount of coverage?
the widespread media usage has NOTHING to do w/ it (Score:2, Insightful)
When (Score:4, Insightful)
When was the last time either of those guys released an interesting, innovative product?
Well, (Score:3, Insightful)
It comes down to Jobs (Score:5, Insightful)
The Apple brand, while always considered hip and cool, has exploded in over all popularity due to the iPod. That is why this years Macworld has dominated the headlines. Jobs has been very careful to maintain that hip and cool vibe with respect to Apple. It has served them well in the past, and is paying off nicely now.
Apple doesnt suck (Score:1, Insightful)
I think I can understand it (Score:5, Insightful)
1. Dominance in entertainment (graphic artists, movie makers, etc). So when most journalists who interact with their geeky movie making counterparts, odds are they're going to see a Mac, no matter what they may be using. So Apple news has a direct impact on these people.
2. Steve Jobs has charisma. You look at the interviews with Bill Gates, or Ellison, or McNealy, and I'm sorry, but these guys are just not photogenic. They hardly sound interesting, and they talk about boring stuff. (More on that in a moment.) But at least Jobs - and the drama of his life, the "rags to riches" story, is at least interesting. Even with his mistakes, at least he makes them *big* and bold.
3. Most technology news is boring. Routers? Boring. Enterprise management? To the usual person, boring. New computer that lets you make movies? Well, that's kind of interesting! Music? That's something people are interested in, not "We can get 10,000 people to use a server to access a database!". My wife gets music - she could care less about using LDAP calls to Active Directory.
The rest of it - the fascination the tech industry has with Apple - is because usually their the first ones to do things in an interesting way. Not all of the ideas are really unique - like the iPod, or cameras on a computer. But they put it on with a style that few companies save Sony perhaps can match, so it feels like it's innovative - and sometimes, the way that Apple does it, it is.
As the article mentions, will this translate into bigger sales? MS dominated thanks to their IBM deal and focusing on business, while Jobs focused on the home. Gates won that part of the war. But now the war is moving into the entertainment business, where Microsoft keeps pushing their product but making slow headway while Apple is embraced by the same media who is fascinated with them.
Eh - so who knows about the future. I know I'll probably pick up a Macbook Pro sometime in the future and try it out, probably put a Windows partition or just use Cedaga for OS X whenever that arises. But I'm sure the fascination with Apple will continue as long as Jobs continues to be interesting.
Of course, this is just my opinion. I could be wrong.
No "Intel Inside"? (Score:5, Insightful)
It's all about branding my boy! Branding! Also, it leaves room for Apple to put AMD chips or anything else they want. They still can do that with the label on, you say. Ah, Apple is Apple. That's the only brand that Jobs wants you to see. And, I think there may be a time in the future where the end consumer will not know what the CPU is. It could be anything. Who cares? You're buying an Apple and that's all that matters. Do you care what the chips are in your monitor, TV, iPod, or your router? I don't. As long as I get something that works.
Re:Well, (Score:5, Insightful)
Can't the slashdot editors answer this one? Why do you have half of the front page filled with apple stories?
Because Apple announced a bunch of new products and many users want to know about them and discuss them. I mean what nerd is not interested in intel macs on a site peopled by computer geeks?
Re:Well, Gates WAS a "Person of the Year" (Score:5, Insightful)
I beg to differ. Perhaps little innovation in PC development, but in supply-chain management? The man's a god.
Re:Well, (Score:5, Insightful)
Michael Dell (Score:5, Insightful)
Dell announces new systems built using AMD processors. Declares that customers should have a choice of the best systems available at the best prices available with full Dell support.
It's the mojo (Score:5, Insightful)
By comparison, Bill's personality doesn't have the dynamic, charismatic element that Steve has. Bill certainly has the intellect, the will, and the drive, but he just comes across differently than Steve in a public setting.
It's like comparing Scorcese to Bruckheimer. Critics love Scorcese more and everyone will agree that Scorcese makes a superior product, but Bruckheimer is the one with the blockbuster hits.
Simple... (Score:5, Insightful)
Compare this to Dell, whose mantra is "as cheap as possible" or Microsoft, whose mantra changes from day to day.
To be fair, both Dell and Microsoft have problems that Apple would probably love to have (massive volume). But since Apple doesn't have said problems, they're more free to do whatever they want, and what they want is to sell more of their own stuff which looks farther afield from the rest of the industry.
ironic... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:When (Score:3, Insightful)
What exactly is innovative about an identical looking laptop with a different, somewhat faster processor? That's like putting a different engine in your Ford.
Or another spin on the iPod? How long until iPod Pico arrives?
And was anyone actually surprised that they both actually arrived at this show?
its marketing (Score:3, Insightful)
Even non-apple users are interested in what Apple announces, because their products tend to set industry trends from time to time.
While it was noteworthy that Apple showed their first Intel power products. Overall, I don't think these new announcements were that impressive. All of the big wintel manufactures announced duo products last week at CES. There are really no unique features with these new items from Apple.
While Apple is gaining a lot with the Intel switch, it is losing a lot of its uniqueness in terms of hardware. Then again, most people are purchasing Apple products for the software features of OSX, not CPU.
Re:Well, Gates WAS a "Person of the Year" (Score:2, Insightful)
It's not an Apple story. (Score:3, Insightful)
But the real star of the story is the Intel chip, who has broken through the Apple-Motorola-IBM blue wall of the PowerPC.
Intel breaking into the Apple market is a bigger story than Apple bowing to Intel market pressure.
Re:What am I missing? (Score:5, Insightful)
Quite honestly, I think that just the new power connector alone was worth the press. It certainly was worth the press if you consider how much press the detachable cables from the original Xbox controllers got a few years back. What's the last thing Dell has added to a notebook computer that wasn't a 'Me Too' feature? IBM and Apple are the only innovators in the notebook market space, and they deserve the press more than Dell or Microsoft.
Re:It was Steve Jobs (Score:1, Insightful)
You mean it doesn't have anything to do with the fact that Apple is the one and only manufacturer of Apples, wouldn't license clones, and costs a lot of money, in stark contrast to the PC world?
Well, hot damn. I should get rid of my Linux and Windows boxen right away, then!
I hate to say it...... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Last week? (Score:3, Insightful)
Yes, I'm being snarky, but a minor move by Bill Gates/Microsoft potentially has much bigger implications than a major move by Apple.
PS The windows media centre you disparage so heavily has a 'lite' version...its called "X-Box".
Re:It was Steve Jobs (Score:5, Insightful)
Now that is just plain loopy.
It isn't the processor that gives Microsoft ninety-five percent of the market. It is a twenty-five year presence on the home and office desktop. It is the $600 Dell home-delivered with DVD burner snd flat-panel monitor that competes with a headless MacMini.
No kidding. Time's Person of the Year? Duh? (Score:2, Insightful)
Bill Gates and his wife just got named people of the year in Time Magazine, for criminy's sake.
This story might as well be "Why is Apple's PR effective where other companies' isn't?" Instead it's trotting out a charge of bias that's just lame.
Does this guy know his stuff? (Score:4, Insightful)
"Here's another good question: Why is Apple turning down Intel's marketing subsidies that go to other PC manufacturers such as Dell (DELL), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), and others? There are no "Intel Inside" logos on the new Macs, save for marks on the outer packaging for which Apple isn't being paid. A slick, new TV ad will promote the new Apple-Intel collaboration. But if Apple is leaving money on the table, wouldn't shareholders want some pointed questions asked about that?"
Here's a good answer: Because Apple is one of few companies that cares enough about the appearance and packaging of its computers that it doesn't want to make them look like stock cars by covering them with the logos of third-party parts manufacturers. And because Apple itself is a more prestigious brand than Intel, and they wouldn't have anything to gain by slapping "Intel Inside" on everything. And, oh yeah, because Intel ITSELF is phasing out the "Intel Inside" logo on the new Yonahs, if I remember correctly.
Seriously, who is the guy writing this article? This question in particular seems pretty darned obvious, at least to me.
Simple (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Why is nobody talking about Acer Travelmate 820 (Score:1, Insightful)
That's why.
Re:Last week? (Score:1, Insightful)
The iPod is popular because of its reputation of being popular, and has reached the "status symbol" level. It is a technically inferior product that sells better than competing products which are better designed/executed/priced/etc.
Ok, I'll step down from the podium now. Thanks for your time.
Re:When (Score:3, Insightful)
Yes, you're right, if Ford put a Dodge engine in their trucks, it would make a lot of news. You say different like it's nothing. Apple had been praising the powerpc chip over the intel chip for what seems like forever. It's not like the chip is slightly different in that it's cache is arranged in a different way, it would be like George Bush becoming a Muslim.
Apple has more impact on the world of computing... (Score:2, Insightful)
1. USB, iMac was the first main stream machine to ship with USB and no serial.
2. Desktop digital video editing, the inclusion of FireWire on DV Cameras and Macs brought video from the $1 million editing suit to the $5000 desktop.
3. Not Beige. iMac thats all I got to say.
4. Mouse. First consumer machines
5. GUI. First consumer machines
6. DTP. Changed the industry with the WYSIWYG and high quality outline fonts
7. WiFi. First major machine to do WiFi
8. MP3. iTunes, iTunes Music Store and iPod legitimized and simplified MP3 and brought digital music to where it is today. 14 Million iPods don't lie.
Many people are quick to point out that Apple wasn't first to market with many products. But that doesn't matter. First to market only matters if you actually move the product. Apple's business practices in the last 5 years are second to none. The produce a product people want, at a price the market will bare and continue to innovate. They also continue to expand their market. All this while turning profit in a very competitive market place. This is why the get press. Their "Think Different" campaign was right on the money. They do think different from other computing companies.
Now, other firms could easily due the same things, but no other LARGE company seems to do them. I would love to see some examples of other computing companies that actually do though.
Re:Well, Gates WAS a "Person of the Year" (Score:2, Insightful)
Dell built themselves on customer support. At one time, any Dell customer could talk to a real, English-speaking person at any time, day or night. Just like IBM in the 80s and Sony in the 90s, Dell has forgotten the one thing that made them famous. It won't be too long before Dell hits the wall. Once you expand so far that there are no more new customers and you have pissed off most of your old customers, revenue plummets hard and fast.
Last time I used an new out-of-the-box Dell (November 2005), about 30 minutes after boot-up, IE randomly started up fullscreen asking:
Would you like to see Dell's latest offers!?!?!?
o YES!!!
o no...I want to continue what I was doing.
I really want to meet the tard that thinks interrupting your customers' work to spam them will make them happy. I also want to meet the tard manager that lets tards like that touch the product.
I think this article is a little overblown (Score:4, Insightful)
Last week, Bill Gates was Time Man of the Year, his CES coverage was in the news, and XBox 360 is all over the place, even MTV.
The media has done a few stories about Windows viruses lately thanks to WMF, but still refers to OS X as having "fewer viruses" instead of correctly pointing out that OS X has, since its inception, had ZERO spyware or viruses. Absolutely none.
Mostly, the difference with Apple's press coverage is that people actually pay attention to them, because their products kick ass. Nobody will remember Bill Gates' speech at CES '06. But the keynote where Apple actually released Macs that used INTEL x86 CHIPS?! Everyone will remember the MacBook Pro's introduction.
Re:Who cares? (Score:3, Insightful)
As for gamers --- who cares about gaming? That's not Apple's market, and it doesn't make a lot of sense for them to persue it.
It's the software, stupid. (Score:3, Insightful)
You can't directly compare Apple to the other computer manufacturers just because they now use Intel chips. Apple make the operating system and the applications. _That_ is where they are *lightyears* ahead of anybody else. MS is trying desperately to catch up with Vista. Yes I watched the video of Vista at CES and all I can say is *yawn*, I've seen this all before, on OS X Tiger and Panther. Except of course, OS X is classy and doesn't have an interface that resembles a dog's breakfast.
Bottom Line: OS X, iLife, and everything else that constitutes the "Apple Experience" is worth a premium and is far more advanced than anything else available.