If Dave would say that
"Computers are commodities, and you have to accept that as a fact."
... then he would be wildly misinformed.
To say that PCs are commodities is certainly true. But to apply that same rationale to Macs does not hold up.
The fact that yellow beer is a commodity does not make premium ale a commodity. Even during a recession.
People pay more for a differentiated product. And that very differentiation exempts the product from being a commodity.
* * *
I expect I'm going to buy one of these new iMacs within a few months, and probably the top-line model at that. After all, as my family has grown, so has demand for our current workhorse, the 400 MHz iMac DV SE I bought late in 1999, so I'm due for a new computer anyway. And I have been waiting for an affordable SuperDrive-equipped computer for nearly a year now. This one fits that bill, even though it is not a perfect fit for me (the LCD is nice, but a 17" CRT would have been fine, and a bit cheaper, too).
This new iMac is no Cube -- the Cube's failure was in being too expensive, while this meets or beats comparable functionality in any PC at the same price point. The fact that some people might find it beautiful is almost meaningless to me. My primary concern is its robustness, actually ... my two preschoolers have beaten up that sturdy iMac for all of its life, and I shudder to think of what will happen to a goose-neck display in the small, strong hands of my two little boys.
To say nothing of the SuperDrive after one of them has eaten a sloppy PBJ and then handled and inserted their favorite game CD.
* * *
The keynote got choppy on me after my first post, by the way. As usual, I am left feeling less than 100% satisfied, and I expect this to be a quarter of transition, much as the first calendar quarter of last year was, with Apple posting approximately break-even operational numbers, but augmented to another solid quarter by the interest on their cash, which is worth about a dime per quarter after taxes. The iPod sales numbers we heard about today suggest that last quarter was rather better, however. We'll know more on that next week, of course.
I would be surprised if we didn't see an update to the Power Macs later this quarter, perhaps next month in Tokyo.
Buona fortuna |
