After two weeks of looking and searching I finally broke down and replaced my aging iBook 500. Being a serious cheap skate. I was looking at all of my options. I rarely buy anything of substance new. My entire Harmon Kardon stereo system from the mid 80′s was a demo model I picked up at half price. My Celestion speakers (hint: the best speakers are either American or British) were bought used in 1990. My cars have all been lease returns or former rentals. Every computer I’ve owned starting with a Commodore 64 has been a demo model.
So, with that background in mind I was focused on my new laptop being reconditioned. In the beginning of my search I was focused on the Apple Store online, however, I needed to sell my current iBook, so that option fell by the wayside. Luckily for me, I have three Apple retailers within five minutes of each other: The Apple Store, Mac Store NW, and CompUSA. The Apple Store doesn’t accept trade-ins so scratch Steve’s shop. Mac Store NW has been serving the area for decades and they have a nice selection of reconditioned iBooks and PowerBooks, plus they accept trade-ins. Since my father was an independent pharmacist, they were my first choice.
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Remember all the excitement back in January? Apple sites were abuzz with the semi official rumors of a killer promotion involving Pepsi, the ultimate promotion company. The deal was going to become a competition killer. All the lesser online music vendors were going to be over run by the tsunami-size wave of teenagers rushing to purchase Pepsi bottles. Well, a funny thing happened of the way to glory, the promotion fizzled for a lack of carbonation.
On closer examination it was a classic case of Apple hype and Pepsi’s secret penny-pinching. Apple, a company who normally quashes all rumors with legal threats let the promotional rumors fly. After all, the best advertising is always free. Pepsi, looking at theoretically huge financial bill, knew they had to limit their liability. To avoid writing a huge check, Pepsi looked at their slowest-selling bottle product, the 20-ounce single. In addition, they also knew that a lower potential number of iTunes users would purchase this size. The foundation was set by the beverage maker for a controlled promotion that would limit their financial liability over the short term.
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Another quarter, and another round of layoffs in Apple’s Education Division. Everybody who is left must be looking around wondering how much time they have left. I got news for them; start looking for another job NOW! It is plainly obvious that Apple is going to pare the division down to the bare minimum and then roll the few survivors into the rest of the sales force. In the words and music of Jim Morrison and the Doors, “This is the end, my only friend, the end”.
Anybody who doubts this needs to look back no farther than the last few Macworld Expo keynotes. When was the last time Steve Jobs said a word about the education market? Years ago, period. Oh, sure Apple will still sell iBooks, eMacs, and iMacs to schools without question. But the truth is, it’s not on his radar screen anymore.
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In 1996, after a dozen or so years of debate Congress passed and President Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act of 1996. One of its provisions was a small tax placed on cable and phone bills. For the 2003-04 school year it amounts to 1.65 BILLION dollars. The money is placed into a fund to be dispersed to public and private schools to assist in the development of the technology infrastructure of schools. The original idea and goal was so simple and worthy. Unfortunately, the federal government, in its good-natured but bureaucratic-happy fashion, created a funding delivery system that keeps students from seeing the financial benefits.
How It Works Continue reading »
At the beginning of each school year, an administrator or school technologists begin filling out forms. The key question being how many students qualify for free or reduced lunches. Certain forms are due by certain dates. I should point out that E-Rate administrators and workers do a tremendous job by all accounts. Administrators have over the years streamlining and demystified the process considerably. The department employees are quick to contact and assist with any question or correction. Monies that are received can go for the purchasing of physical infrastructure or services except computer hardware. Usually, this means wiring or phone/internet service costs.
About eight years ago as the Internet began to take off futurists began predicting the great change that would take place in K-12 education in our country. Students would no longer go without subjects, they would just hop online and take a class in cyberspace. Well, it’s 2003 and with the exception of a few isolated schools in the high plains nothing has changed. The need for physical contact between our youth and their teachers still reigns supreme. It comes down to a simple case of companionship; young students need the physical presence of an adult, whether it is a teacher or a parent in the case of home schooling.
However, this rule does not apply to colleges and universities. Many are jumping into the cyber education arena. Their efforts have paid off especially in the area of continuing education and advanced degrees. Several of my fellow teachers have taken courses online over the past few years in areas very specific to their desires or requirements. No longer does a teacher need to wait for summer vacation to travel to a distant university for two weeks of intensive classes. One only has to find the time to get online for an hour or two a day at most. What was once an obscure event offered by an eccentric professor is now a major part of a university’s course catalogue.
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Five years ago I wroteabout my triumphant victory over the Windows masses at my school, which allowed for the purchase of 12 bondi blue iMacs. The machines have been a perfect example of high quality, sturdy construction, quiet operation, and only $50 in repairs. They have survived OS upgrades from 8.5 to 9.2 to 10.1 to finally 10.2. Unfortunately, they have also witnessed Apple’s falling market share at our school from twelve families to one. In addition, as my fellow staff members became computer literate they also developed a blind spot to Apple. As each year went by it became harder and harder to deflect and sway opinions. The final nail in the coffin happened at the beginning of October as I was informed that since my school’s entire technology budget comes from Intel volunteer matching funds that no additional money for the iMac lab was forthcoming. I would have to find financial support for the creation of a two or three eMacs for an iMovie studio outside of school resources. I had to ask myself some very difficult questions:
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One of the things that always amazes me is how big businesses lose sight of what makes a business successful in the first place. Granted, market environments change, but basic business concepts and formulas stay the same. Apple is no different. Education used to be the cornerstone of its business, now it is no more than an afterthought, receiving only lip service rather than focus. Steve Jobs and company need to take a serious step back and look at what has happened to Apple’s education strategies in the past five years.
In mid November I lost my father, he was a pharmacist who ran his own business for nearly 40 years before retiring at 73. Like most retail establishments his retail landscape went through massive upheaval and changes beginning in the late 70′s. Due to a combination of the then new concept of insurance co-pays and grocery chain pharmacies my father foresaw that his comfortable 30% profit margins would quickly disappear. To not only protect, but also increase market share he recognized that key to surviving this new assault was to stay close to the physicians (especially family practitioners) who provided the potential customers.
Translation to Apple: Continue reading »
Apple used to recognize the importance of dominating the education market. By staying in a close relationship to the schools Apple created an inside advantage. I can remember selling computers for a big-box retailer several years ago. Ninety-plus percent of the time when a family came in shopping for a computer the kids gravitated immediately to the Macs. Why, because that rainbow-colored piece of silicon fruit was what they got to work on at school. An overwhelming majority of my Mac sales came about in that fashion.
About six weeks ago I challenged you readers to come up with some ideas that Apple could use to revive its share of the education market. Below you will find in their entirety some thoughtful responses to my query.
Terry McCune writes: Continue reading »
In our school, the tech guys are contract hire, none of them teachers. You win no prizes for guessing their platform of choice. The teachers had little input. The technology co-ordinator was swayed by the fact that we can get used business computers for prices ranging from $20 CDN to $200 CDN. No sound cards, drives, etc – they are “thin clients” If you could see the size of some of these old clunkers, you’d appreciate the irony. They do surf the web, and word process and that’s about all my grade 10 -12 kids want them for. Now two thirds of our technology budget goes to pay technicians’ salaries and hardly any new hardware or software comes into the building.
Last week Apple Education announced that it was giving away OSX.2 (Jaguar) free to teachers. Being the cheapskate that I am, I quickly signed up for my free copy and encouraged the rest of the staff at my school to do likewise. Lo and behold, my disks arrived this morning. This is a nice gesture on AE’s part, but the real question is: Does this mean that Apple is ready to fight for the education market or is it just (pardon the phrase) window dressing. Lately, several Mac education columnists including my two favorites Steve Wood, and Jeff Adkins, have been on AE’s case regarding virtual non-existent sales and marketing effort. Steve Wood went so far as to place a link to AE’s teacher response page in an effort to wake up the powers that be. Well, I’ve decided to ask all of you Mac educators to send me your ideas to revive AE. So, to all you frustrated Mac supporter in education now is the time to vent your disappointment in a creative and positive fashion. In my next article I will post your suggestions.
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I’m one of those teachers who just can’t stay away from school during the summer. Part of the reason is due to my being the technology person in addition to my regular teaching duties. Summer allows me to check out each of the 45 computers on our campus, cleaning out the bugs and emptying the student folders. This summer I was also preparing each machine for the leap into networking (more on that down below). This summer I decided to keep a collection of all the faxes and mailings from computer manufacturers. To my disappointment and total amazement, Apple failed to send even one piece of advertising. As a comparison, Dell and Gateway each sent a half dozen colorful brochures. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN THE EDUCATION DIVISION AT APPLE?!!!!!!
In July I wrote a column entitled, “Apple’s Blind Spot“, in which I detailed the virtual non-existence of OSX educational software and a possible solution. I received a tremendous number of emails from other educators across the country equally frustrated with this issue. Usually, I also get a couple of emails from Apple Ed people telling me that their division is listening and reading, and was developing a plan of action (no specifics, ever) to address educators concerns. After the Blind Spot article all has been silent from Cupertino. HELLO APPLE!!!!!!!!
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In his 1999 book, High-Tech Heretic, technologist Clifford Stoll argues against computers in the classroom. He points out many strong arguments: financial, time away from learning, cyber versus actual learning, movement towards information gathering at the expense of thinking skills, etc.. All the points are lucid, well thought out, and easily digestible. However, Stoll’s argument fails in the end. Why you ask? Because, computers can benefit students, increase scholarship, and give more opportunities to demonstrate knowledge. Below you will find ideas and tips that answer many of complaints that Mr. Stoll makes regarding computers, especially PowerPoint.
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Good penmanship is no less important today than it was 30 years ago. Study after study shows the benefits of cursive writing. Not just in its readability, but how the physical act itself helps brain development, long-term concentration, and deeper/longer connective thoughts. However, I admit that like any teacher the eyes get tired and concentration wanes grading one paper after another. For myself, I am a much more consistent and fairer grader when the papers are typed in the same font. In order for my students to get the most beneficial education I require that a handwritten rough draft be turned in to me before a typed final copy can be started.
Another week, another story. What a great country we live in. Last week it was M$’ low Office X sales. This week, the possibility of Intel/AMD inside a Mac. Many articles and readers opinions have been based on the emotional side of the argument. Now it’s time to look at a few of the issues from a factual base.
One: PowerPC chips are not Motorola’s main business. The G3/G4 is not a major revenue stream for the company. They don’t put forth the financial effort into R&D. Secondly, Motorola is bleeding cash left and right. I personally keep waiting for them to sell of the G3/G4 business to IBM, since their business model is all over the road according some business pundits
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Sometimes you just got to laugh at some of the posturing that goes on the corporate world. Take the war of words between Steve Jobs and Kevin Browne of M$. Kevin, who is head of M$ Mac Business Unit is one of the good guys overall in the Mac software world. Recently, he stated that it was Apple’s fault that Office X is selling at roughly 50% of M$ expectations. Apple wasn’t promoting OSX, so therefore, Office X wasn’t selling. Kevin is correct in the fact that Apple hasn’t promoted OSX. It has let the Apple media do the work both online and in print. Apple, I expect would reason, people who already have an OSX ready machine don’t need to be pounded with TV ads. As for new machine buyers, selling hardware is much sexier and easier than software. Afterall, people know that Apple hardware is well ahead of the Wintel world in design.
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Like many teachers, the first of August brings about return to an educators mind set. I begin to jot down lesson plan ideas, visit bookstores, and re watch a slew of videos. One additional event is my annual reading of Clifford Stoll’s thought provoking work, High Tech Heretic. It is an excellent counter-weight to my tech-teacher mind set. It is not a dry ponderous read, just the opposite, a very snappy and sharp questioning of where our educational system is heading. I equate it to a weekend conversation around the BBQ while the meal is cooking. For those of you who don’t know, Stoll is astrophysicist at the University of Berkeley and a critic of how computers have permeated our society. He was a commentator on MSNBC’s “The Site”, in my opinion the best program that network ever broadcast.
In High Tech Heretic, Stoll goes after the foolish implementation of computers in the classroom as a savior for education. According to his thesis, computers are used as a clean, artificial replacement to hands-on learning. He writes: “When I teach astronomy to sixth graders, I start with an evening under the stars, not by passing out floppy disks crammed with Hubble Space Telescope images. A love of astronomy-an awe of the universe-begins by looking at the heavens, not by staring into cyberspace.” (p. Continue reading »
On this point and many other examples he gives of actual versus cyber experiences Stoll is absolutely correct. The real thing is always a better learning tool.
My grandfather, who is 97, says that nothing surprises him anymore except the statements of the great-grandchildren. In my own twisted logic I wonder if that includes Rush Limbaugh. For those of you who don’t scan MacSurfer you may have missed Rush’s latest claim. But first a little background, Rush is a big Mac fan, has been for years. Viewers of his program are able to see Apple’s Cinema 22″ display quite prominently. Rush also extols Apple’s virtues quite regularly including the article listed below. However, last week Rush targeted Steve Jobs for his liberal political bent because Steve didn’t see sales increasing for the next 6-9 months. Rush goes on to claim that if he would advertise on Rush’s EIB network Apple would have a 10-12% market share. Anyone who has listened to Rush knows that he is a great salesman, he rarely says anything in a way that can be disputed. Also, he never gives anyone a chance to dispute with his rapid-fire tongue. However, Rush is way off with his attack on Steve’s flat-growth statement versus his own ego-driven prediction. Would Apple increase sales if they advertised on the EIB network? Yes. Would they double their market share? Not even close. Realistically, a one to three-tenths of a percent increase for the year might happen as long as Apple also advertised with Don Imus as well.
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A little more than 18 months ago I wrote an open letter to Steve Jobs and Cheryl Vedoe, begging them to do something, anything to revive the education division before it was too late. Since that time, much has happened. Apple has refocused on education. The company has aggressively gone after big account such as Maine, creating free advertising along the way. iMove has given Apple a new foothold in education.
Unfortunately, a blind spot exists and it is costing the company true growth in education. What is it? The slow adoption by education software developers of OSX. For all of Apple’s bragging about developers hopping on the X bandwagon, it does not pertain to education. Say what you will about the Classic mode, it is only a band-aid and it’s adhesive is wearing out. Meanwhile, new versions of the Dark Side’s education offerings continue to be pushed out the door. This situation cannot continue if Apple expects to knock back Dell’s assault on education.
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Taking Back The Schools:
An Open Letter To Steve Jobs and Cheryl Vedoe
Dear Steve and Cheryl:
As a junior high teacher/technology coordinator and a former writer for My Mac Magazine I have sat back and watched as Apple’s Education Division continues to flounder. In the past six months you have admitted to poor timing in reorganizing that division. At Macworld Expo two weeks you, were quoted by resellers that in regarding education, “We f______ up”. Fine, but Steve, the problem runs much deeper. Here are a few problems that I see and some Thinking Different solutions:
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Ponderments and Questions
As the century comes to a close, all sorts of questions regarding technology are bubbling into my frontal lobes. Most are of general ponderments of products both real and imaginary. However, a few are of the deeper variety. Who knows, maybe I’ll even stimulate some critical thinking and even some discussion at Christmas get-togethers.
1. Now that email has pervaded our society to the point of being checked before we check snail-mail, how long will it be before the Postal Service asks for a stamp price increase based on “electronic competition?”
2. Will Imation SuperDrives ever be offered as an accessory from the Apple Store? After all, Imation has loyally followed Apple into the land of USB.
3. Wouldn’t the G4′s look much better with the same CD-ROM as the second generation iMacs? The “knockdown door” for the tray looks pathetically cheesy compared to the rest of the case design.
4. Does it still amuse you that such a simple thing as smooth mouse movement still eludes Bill and his crew of thousands in Redmond?
5. Speaking of Microsoft, how badly did the judge spank them for altering the video? One has got to believe that particular stunt cost Bill Gates as much as his “Clueless” testimony. The price of arrogance…
6. Has anyone else experienced this strange iMac bug? When using a VST floppy drive with AppleWorks, the keyboard freezes but the mouse still works! I’ve just started trying version 2 of VST’s floppy extension. I’ll report my findings in my next column.
7. The new iMacs are way cool, but I want one that has CD-DVD-RWR. Now that’s a complete machine.
8. I’m sick of the PC industry pundits pounding the iBook for being 6.6 lbs. With that handle, 6.6 feels more like 3.3.
9. Speaking of the iBook, I do think the revision B machines will include 64 megs of RAM, especially with OS X coming this spring. Now, if Apple will add video out capabilities, it will have the ultimate presentation laptop!
10 Do you feel as stupid as I do for not buying Apple stock when it was in the teens? Microsoft’s $150 million investment is now worth over $600 million. Something ain’t right!
Millenium Commercial
Scene: Total chaos and pandemonium is shown in several video snippits from Wall Street, traffic, airports, electricity, television, etc. The scene fades to white, then a sandy beach appears in the background. In the foreground on a lanai sits an original Macintosh 128k. On the display is a clock showing the correct time and date of January 1, 2000. The voice of Richard Dreyfus comes on saying, “We at Apple would like to say that Macintosh Computers have been Y2K compliant since 1984.” Then a native Jamaican woman appears, looks at the computer, then the camera, smiles, and replies, “No problem, man.”
The screen fades to black, party favors are heard, streamers and confetti fly across the screen as the Orange Apple logo appears with the “Think Different” phrase below.
A Wish and a Prayer
Let us all hope that the twenty-first century is one in which senseless violence and warfare is replaced by the attitude of harmony and balance. After all, what good is the pursuit of technology if it doesn’t help solve our most basic and important problems here on earth?
Mark Marcantonio
markm@mymac.com
OS 8.6 Folly
It used to be that when Apple made a mistake, they stonewalled, thinking the less said the better, and the Mac faithful will soon forget. Then with the return of Steve Jobs this arrogance seemed to disappear. When a mistake was made Apple listened to the faithful and fixed the wrong. Well, Apple, you’ve made a serious blunder to those of us who stood by you. I’m speaking of the failure to release OS 8.6 update to MacAddict, Macworld, and MacHome Journal for distribution. Like many of you readers, I counted on those updates. Not so much for home as for school when it came time to update dozens of machines. Asking users to spend 3-5 hours downloading the update is sheer folly. The opportunity for file corruption increases geometrically the longer the download takes. I know of several people, including myself who have shunned getting the update as too big of a nuisance to bother with for the amount of benefits it brings to the table. It’s pretty obvious why Apple chose this route; by signing on to the Apple server the marketing department is able to get a fix on the demographics of Apple users. But I would bet that the number of people upgrading this way is several times smaller. What Apple could have done is allow the three to distribute the update minus a “key.” To get the “key” the user would sign on to the Apple website, answer a few questions, and quickly download the “key,” thus making everyone happy.
Profit and Stocks
The profit numbers continue to come in, while ironically Compaq continues to lose money. Has anybody heard Compaq being called “troubled”, “unviable”, “has-been”? John Dvorak, a famous Apple basher, continues to pound Apple with criticism for doing nothing more than innovating and challenging the status quo. If Dvorak was fair he would prove it by coming down on Compaq for losing a greater amount of money than Apple. But, of course his argument would be that Apple had it all and was stupid, while Compaq is under the pressures of the global marketplace. On the surface this might appear to be true, however Apple has been blazing its own trail while Compaq travels the Microsoft/Intel superhighway.
Don’t you wish “The Site’ was still on MSNBC? The stupidity of ending that show still boggles the imagination.
At Macworld, Steve Jobs announced that Apple intended to buy back $500 million shares of Apple stock. It’s a great idea considering the amount of cash the company currently has on hand. What I suggest Apple should do is give a rebate of one share to everyone who buys an iMac or iBook, and two shares for a PowerBook or B/W G3. Why? To strengthen Apple loyalty! Think about it: instead of a rebate, a share of the company. An instant, extra level of loyalty. Granted, not everyone would hang on to the stock, but most would, for no other reason than the novelty of it at first. After a while the loyalty would set in. With the speed of technology ever increasing, loyalty will be harder to come by. Many companies have discovered that one of the best ways to keep employees is to give stock-based bonus. Why not do the same for consumers? Are you listening, Steve?
iBook Commercial
Based upon various pictures, the iBook looks like a winner. The handle alone is a great idea. How come nobody ever thought of that before?
Scene: Typical white Apple commercial background.
Music: Theme to 2001: A Space Odyssey
Timed to the music, the iBook is shown from various angles, first the top, then the back, the sides, and finally the front. When the tympani drums begin to pound the lid opens, the screen displays the statement, “Hello, look, no wires (to the Internet)”.
The black screen appears with the Think Different and an orange Apple icon.
Back On The Bandwagon
The rumors of my writing death were only slightly exaggerated. It seemed like I was in a deep coma, unable to put words into a column. Looking back, I would have to say my absence was a simple case of computer burnout. I have spent the better part of five years learning and (semi) mastering Macintosh. Then, this past year I added the Evil Empire to my dangerous base of knowledge. I was eating, breathing, sleeping computers. All on top of my regular teaching, parenting, and spousal duties. My plate was too full, and something needed to give. My subconscious picked writing. At first, it was skipping the column every other month. Then came July 10th, I had nothing to offer. Well, I did have an idea I discussed with our publisher, Tim, but I could only say a few words; extreme brevity had taken control. I felt guilty about it for a few days past our deadline, then with my computer troubleshooting job at school ending I was able to let go. For all but 6 hours this past month I was just a user of computers, nothing more. What a vacation it was; I surfed the ‘net for the sheer joy of it! I even toured the White House. http://www.whitehouse.gov It was a heck of a lot cooler temperature-wise than being there in person.
Until next month…
Mark Marcantonio
markm@mymac.com
My Top Five
In honor of the fiftieth issue of My Mac, I would like to share with all of you my top five in the categories of Hardware and Software. To make my choices more original, they were rated based on their ability for use in the classroom.
Hardware – This is a Macintosh-only category
5. ImageWriter II This printer is the workhorse in schools across the country. Virtually indestructible, it became a legend in the dot-matrix world. Printer manufacturers used the ImageWriter as the standard by which to judge their printers against. School technologists knew the only time they had to work on the machines was when the ribbon went dry.
4. Classic If there ever was a perfect machine for word processing in schools, the Classic was it. Full screen display of ClarisWorks; a memory large enough to keep things speedy, and the super floppy drive made this machine ideal for classroom writing. Not to mention its incredibly small foot print which made it ideal for usage as a lab in the classroom computer.
3. iMac Even without a floppy, the iMac is a wonderful classroom computer. Starting with its small footprint and outstanding screen, to its two outlet headphone jacks, this is a machine any school could love. The built-in Ethernet allows for quick connection to school networks. Its only downfalls: its mouse and the lack of a handy reset switch.
2. LC The computer that bridged the gap. When the LC first arrived, it could be ordered with an lle card allowing for easy transition for districts with tons of Apple ll software. Its less recognized, but more important quality, was its low profile. While desktop DOS machines overwhelmed computer labs, the LC stood out in its diminutiveness. Class sizes were increasing in the late eighties-early nineties, and available room was in short supply. The LC was an easy and reasonable choice.
1. 575/580 I know some of you will disagree with this choice, but this machine was the answer for many schools across the country. With the ’040 chip, slide-out motherboard, stereo sound, and built-in CD-ROM, the 575/80 became the staple classroom and lab Macintosh. Only three wires (power, keyboard, printer) to deal with in most cases. The nearly indestructible Apple Design Keyboard and in the case of the 575, the Trinitron monitor made for a great long-term technological solution. In the four years I used one in my room, it never failed and crashed on only a few occasions.
Software
5. MacLink Plus Some of you will question this choice but think about it. A vast majority of students have Wintel machines at home. With MacLink Plus, virtually any file is translated into ClarisWorks with ease. In addition, it allows for the file to be saved in its original format. No more excuses about the home printer running out of ink.
4. Kidspix Deluxe For the primary and intermediate grades, it is a wonderful learning/experimental tool. For the rest of us, it’s just plain fun to mess around with. The interface with its careful eye for how younger ones recognize shapes and icons to its simple slide show presentation capability allows any child the opportunity to be creative.
3. Claris/AppleWorks When it comes to the best all-around software tool for schools, Claris/AppleWorks wins hands down over Microsoft Word. Beginning with its cleanly elegant word processor with visible margin borders, to its anyone-can-use spreadsheet, Claris/AppleWorks has made life for teachers and students that much easier.
2. HyperStudio Roger Wagner exemplifies thinking outside the box. He took the idea of HyperCard and gave it a life all its own. For all its power, it remains ridiculously easy to use. Its greatest gift has been and will continue to be its ability to allow students to demonstrate understanding of concepts through animated stacks.
1. Oregon Trail When it comes to programs that educate and entertain, The Oregon Trail is the standard that all others are rated against. The program is set up so that the focus remains on traveling the trail successfully. Students who spend too much time hunting are penalized. Each year that I have taught American History, this educational game was one of the highlights. Ask any student across America what animal was used to pull the wagons across the west and they will boldly state, “OXEN!”
Commercial
I don’t know about you, but things are getting a little stale on the advertising front. It’s time for Cupertino to come up with something fresh, especially with Sears coming on board as a retail outlet (one can only hope that Best Buy is dumped for good). So, in honor of Sears, an American icon, I propose using another All-American, Hank Hill, to pitch the iMac.
Scene:
The front yard of the Hill Home, Arlen, Texas. Hank is carrying an iMac box.
Hank: “Hank Hill here. After spending the day dealing with complexities of selling propane and propane accessories, it’s nice to come home to calm and sanity”.
CIA wanna-be Dale Gribble appears carrying the remains of a Wintel box, wires streaming everywhere.
Dale: “Hank, I tell you it’s a conspiracy against the common man”. He throws the machine over the fence. “No more computers for me”.
Hank: “Dale, come join these fine people in my house”. The camera follows Hank and Dale into the Hill home.
“Like I was saying, home should be calm and simple.” He sets down the box and Dale opens it. Hank lifts out the iMac and sets it on the desk.
“I’m a firm believer that the most complicated piece of equipment in the home should be the your refrigerator’s water/ice machine in the door.” Refrigerator is in the background. Dale unwraps the keyboard and hands it to Hank, who opens the side door and plugs it in along with the phone cord. Dale inserts the power cord while Hank inserts the phone line into the wall-jack.
Dale: Ready when you are, Hank.
Hank: You see everyone, simple as pie ala-mode. Apple, of course.
The start up guitar strum is heard. The screen darkens, a red apple icon appears. Dale asks, “Hank, can I check out the CIA website?” Hank replies, “Dale, you’re not listed, now go home.”
Rambling Thoughts
It was refreshing to finally hear Apple receiving its due from Wall Street. What took these so-called experts so long to figure out what we’ve all known for a while… Apple means profit.
For all of you using Virtual PC 2.0 on an iMac or B/W G3, Connectix has issued an update to 2.1.3. The key ingredient is that external floppy drive is now recognized instead of having to use the clunky shared files utility.
If you feel that the start button is the only useful piece of the Windows desktop, then get a hold of Action GO MAC 2.0. This latest version is even more useful that its predecessors.
The Columbine shooting hit rather close to home as I have at least a dozen former students attending the school. Most, if not all the schools computers were destroyed, many of them Macs. Apple should quietly, and without any fanfare, replace all the machines free of charge. Connectix should include Virtual PC on each machine. These kids deserve the best.
I will be spending the balance of June reformatting my school’s computers. I’ll let you know the time differential between Macs and Wintels next month. Enjoy!
Mark Marcantonio
markm@mymac.com
Comments. Be heard!
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