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The Apple Product Cycle

misterbg.org — A hilarious look at how rumors get started for new Apple Products

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  • MyNameIsJoe, on 02/17/2008, -33/+244The author did a pretty good job, but he forgot the part where whenever any other manufacturer releases a product even remotely similar to the new device, people start calling it an "[insert gadget here] killer".
    • p0tent1al, on 02/17/2008, -4/+41From the Article

      "Taken completely by surprise at the success of Apple's new gadget, executives from Dell or Sony or Microsoft appear on CNBC and offer vague suggestions that they are beginning development of a new product to compete with Apple. In its next issue, PC Week magazine publishes an article declaring that Apple's dominance of the [insert gadget here] space is in jeopardy."
    • cygnus2112, on 02/17/2008, -19/+5My favorite type of Apple is Fuji.
    • adooga, on 02/17/2008, -0/+19I have no idea why you're being dug up, that was totally in the article.
      • piXelatedEmpire, on 02/18/2008, -0/+3how many people do you think actually read the articles they digg?
    • narcofiche, on 02/17/2008, -1/+3Since I started using Macs exclusively starting in the early 90's, it's crazy to think that any of their new products would instantly be considered a 'gadget killer.' Apple had it all, had it taken away, now is doing well again. It's no wonder people are so interested in them.
  • anderzole, on 02/17/2008, -6/+50you mean you don't listen to music on your ipod killer?
    • userperson, on 02/17/2008, -5/+20It'll be called 'Zune' everyone will love it.
      It will come in pink, red, black, white, and a color that macintosh doesn't even offer brown!/sarcasm&amusement.
      • jgtg32a, on 02/17/2008, -8/+3I call it a Zen but what ever.
        • ramcosca, on 02/17/2008, -0/+4Creative never said they had an iPod killer, just competition, as it's supposed to be done. MSFT on the other hand...
        • 4ndr3wk, on 02/17/2008, -1/+1@ramcosca
          MS didnt say it was a iPod killer, the "wall street analysts" did. but it was pretty obvious who they were shooting for
      • Fordi, on 02/17/2008, -4/+2Mmmm... I'm rather fond of my Axim. Sure, it's supposed to be a PDA, but TCPMP isn't picky about its media like some portable mp3/video players I know of - and my little 8G SD card is more space than I have music.
      • Markok765, on 02/18/2008, -1/+1Zune does not work with my mac. I have 3 iPods.
        • chalkboy, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1Wow! How do you listen to them all? Or is one for like classical music, New age, and NPR Podcast.
          • Markok765, on 02/20/2008, -0/+1Kidding. I have a video and a shuffle.
    • sexybobo, on 02/17/2008, -6/+11I listen to music on my zune and love it. Course i got it because it was $79 from Woot.
      • Beylan, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1Same for my Sansa from Woot. 2GB e250 for $35, and Apple wants me to spend how much on a refurbished Ipod?
    • obviouscatt, on 02/17/2008, -3/+0You mean you don't use the reply button?
    • ceraphin, on 02/17/2008, -1/+4Cowon D2 > [Insert any mac gadget]
  • clak, on 02/17/2008, -15/+71Ha, this is pretty good. I wrote something similar when people were complaining and overreacting to the MacBook Air. It went like this:

    My prediction: people will bitch about the MacBook Air until it's released and then it will sell like hot cakes, and every pundit, blogger, reporter, rabbi, will try to explain WHY people are buying the MacBook Air. The excuses will range from stupidity and convenience to shininess and fanboyism and yet, it will continue to sell because NO ONE CARES WHAT NERDS THINK.

    Afterwards, the exact same people who said it would be a failure will fall over themselves trying to praise Apple for being "forward-thinking" and "innovative." Then they will start predicting how Microsoft will respond with a Xbook Air, but right around the time Microsoft makes an announcement about a new laptop, that has nothing to do with the Air (Hey, we always wanted to release a laptop. We're not copying Apple, honest), the SDK for the iPhone will be released and the cycle of bitching will repeat. This time people will complain of "vendor lock-in" and "monopoly" because the apps have to be sold through iTunes and the SDK won't support VOIP.

    Apple will have again "jumped the shark" and people will proclaim that Apple's destruction is imminent. Right around the time the first apps for the iPhone are being released, and another deluge of negative press has rained down on Apple, Steve Jobs will announce the new 3G iPhone for 800 dollars.... well, you can probably see where this is going.
    • Alegoo92, on 02/17/2008, -23/+5No one cares.
      • kevincannon, on 02/17/2008, -0/+1Haven't you noticed all that vitriol on the Internet?
    • sdellboy, on 02/17/2008, -19/+3"NO ONE CARES WHAT NERDS THINK"
      I believe Prince is releasing 'When Doves Cry" with these new lyrics for the new Apple product - listen - it fits perfectly 'nobody cares, what nerds think'. Doo do do. Do do dooo do.
    • MutatedNantuko, on 02/17/2008, -2/+27Sounds like Steve Jobs just thinks one move ahead of the idiots. Sounds about right.
      • rezist, on 02/17/2008, -1/+5and that is all you need
      • kidlinux, on 02/17/2008, -0/+5You sure it's only one?
        • FatLoser, on 02/17/2008, -2/+3The fanboyism in here is nauseating. MacBook Pro: yea. MacBook Air: nay. Digg me down if you want to grease Steve's weasel.
    • Deodrus, on 02/17/2008, -0/+8I must say I'm impressed. I actually read the whole thing.
    • picsectionpleez, on 02/17/2008, -7/+1Buried for "rabbi" and also no one cares what you wrote. "Jumped the shark"?? WTF
    • posure, on 02/17/2008, -4/+5My Eee PC has three USB ports and ethernet built in. ;-)
  • newbill123, on 02/17/2008, -3/+31I loved the insight of this article. The "obscure component manufacturer" isn't quite as common as it used to be, but if you change that one element I think it's very spot on.

    The way I see these rumors get started today are what I call "filling holes". There's a hole in the product line (Tablet, eBook Reader). There's a product that hasn't been updated in a while (Cinema Display, SuperDrive). Or there's a feature that a version 1 product couldn't include due to cost or engineering issues. This "hole" gets all sorts of talk from the Windows pundits and market analysts while Apple watchers say that this obviously means there is something in secret Apple labs because Apple wouldn't overlook such an obvious hole. When the holes are filled (sometimes a year or two after speculation starts), it gets trotted out as evidence these rumors were right. When the holes aren't filled, it either gets talked up as Apple being "out of touch" by critics or being "on the cutting edge of something even better" by fans.
    • Archer007, on 02/17/2008, -0/+13eBook reader? Everyone know people don't read nowadays. Steve Jobs said it, so it must be true.
  • Spamcan, on 02/17/2008, -5/+38It's been many years since this was written and sadly it isn't any less true today then it was then. I'll repeat what I posted the last three times I saw this in various places: "You people are idiots, Apple will never release a phone. Theres absolutely no reason for them to enter the cell phone market so shut up and stop arguing about it, it's never going to happen."
    • userperson, on 02/17/2008, -3/+4I bought a PowerMac G3 about 10 years ago, one of the last beige macs, which now runs OSX 10.2. I think the Quadra series was several years old at that point.
      i.e. You're right this article is out of date and therefore wrong./facetiousness.
    • samard2002, on 02/17/2008, -2/+8One thing is less true. Apples stock has dropped from 200 to 120 since the latest Mac World. That's a 40% drop in one month. I guess Wall Street really wanted an iPhone2.
      • kevincannon, on 02/17/2008, -0/+6Well, it's turbulent times for the stock market as a whole.

        Stock market value isn't really a great indicator of a healthy company either.
    • drgnmstrnik, on 02/17/2008, -2/+2Actually Apples stock always falls right before a keynote and recovers some time afterwards, usually about 1-2 weeks. This time however it's taking them a bit longer.
    • bosssmiley, on 02/17/2008, -1/+5Dugg for "The bedwetting in Mac Internet forums reaches tidal proportions..."
  • DeathJux, on 02/17/2008, -5/+68FYI: The disassembled computer is a PowerBook G4 12".

    "Nerd porn," lulz.
  • Mrdudeperson, on 02/17/2008, -15/+1Why why why? why does it have to keep going around and around? Somebody should rely stop apple before they become to powerful for there own good. Go microsoft?
  • Ploosheeta, on 02/17/2008, -4/+54I found the perfect place for Yahoo's design team.
  • jptolife, on 02/17/2008, -13/+1Don't be hating.
  • fivenodes, on 02/17/2008, -21/+4Too many words... full of ghey.
  • indyGuy, on 02/17/2008, -1/+149"The author has been an Apple user since 1984... In spite of his loyalty to the platform, he finds most "Mac people" to be tiresome and annoying. He is pretty sure that if he had to attend WWDC or Macworld, he would wind up slapping the ***** out of a bunch of people."
    :)
    • apc3161, on 02/17/2008, -7/+16I know this is unrelated, but I'm a big Ron Paul supporter, and I have the exact same sentiment with regard to many of the others (some obvious exceptions of course).
    • tim04, on 02/17/2008, -3/+14that is EXACTLY what turned me off Ron Paul (even though it shouldn't matter), and Apple for that fact. I might even have liked OSX if Apple freaks didn't compare it to the second coming of Jesus.
    • sekhui, on 02/17/2008, -4/+2i rooted for apple (competition is a good thing) before i found digg.
  • camkerr, on 02/17/2008, -2/+45"Shaquille O’Neal appears on the cover of ESPN The Magazine using one. Mac fans unconditionally forgive him for Kazaam."
  • getisboy, on 02/17/2008, -16/+9that site looks like a POS
  • vibrokatana, on 02/17/2008, -15/+1151995 called and it wants its web design back.
    • defectDS, on 02/17/2008, -9/+31OH YEAH WELL YOUR MOM CALLED... and the conversation was quite pleasant and delightful!
    • addicted68098, on 02/17/2008, -11/+1“if you can’t handle the heat, stay out of the kitchen. pussy."

      It's sad because it's true
    • jgtg32a, on 02/17/2008, -1/+38A clean website, thats easy to read and loads in 3 seconds?
      • fxu1989, on 02/17/2008, -1/+8yup .. I guess I'll be living in 1995 from now on.
      • kubedawg, on 02/17/2008, -6/+3Not easy to read by any stretch. Gray = bad for design. White = bettar!
        • amailian, on 02/17/2008, -0/+1actually it's harder on the eyes to read something on a white background on a computer. with paper white is a good color. with a computer? white is a bad color. your basically staring at a white light the whole time.
    • smrekar, on 02/17/2008, -4/+2less text more pics
    • bad80shair, on 02/17/2008, -1/+151955 called and it wants its joke back.
  • thinktrunk, on 02/17/2008, -11/+9I'm just looking forward to the ipod flea ... http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6979065094 ...
  • stark222000, on 02/17/2008, -3/+2what i love about that article is even though i see it happen all the time for each new product...im still always on the edge of my seat for months when theres a rumor of possibly being something awesome from Apple...and i always say i need that...yet i never get it... so why do i keep looking?
  • modafroman, on 02/17/2008, -6/+21Old, very old. See the URL of this digg story? Its the 7th iteration of this same article. FFS.
  • ZephyrNinety, on 02/17/2008, -8/+4Apple should announce and promote their upcoming products. This is why barely anyone uses a Mac. They make great products (mostly) but they seem to feel the need to make this big secret of everything they're doing.
  • steveboutin, on 02/17/2008, -1/+27100% accurate.
    i remember hearing rumors of the iPhone for about 9 months before apple even announced it. i also remember thinking that they had probably just heard the rumors and decided to build it, but this article pretty much makes my mind up.
    when your fans are as crazy and vocal as apple's, half your marketing and research is already done for you.
  • gaucho4, on 02/17/2008, -1/+5This article is pretty much the truth. Funny how the cycle keeps repeating.
  • victorc26, on 02/17/2008, -2/+21I like how ASUS, the biggest computer hardware manufacturer (Motherboards, internal paripherals, etc) is described as "An obscure Pacific-Rim component manufacturer".
    • ZPWeeks, on 02/17/2008, -0/+5It isn't. Does the author refer directly to ASUS? Other people make components for Apple.... from the popular (Foxconn) to the rather obscure. Even for the biggies, these companies draw little attention from the consumer market as they are manufacturers and suppliers, and don't concentrate their business on sales to end users.
      • victorc26, on 02/17/2008, -1/+1I doubt this article was meant for the general consumer market. But you are right that Foxconn is another company that manufactures Apple hardware.

        Though correct me if I'm wrong here: I was under the impression that Foxconn handled the iPod line, while Asus handled the Mac Desktop and notebook lines.
      • reddikilowatt, on 02/17/2008, -0/+1Ask your average non-geek friend who Asus or Foxcon are, and I doubt you'd get an answer.
    • sekhui, on 02/17/2008, -0/+2have to give a shout out for asus. now digg me down, my feelings for asus are probably the same as your feelings for apple.
    • mmurph, on 02/17/2008, -0/+1What about PortalPlayer? Ever hear of them before the iPod?... or now for that matter.
  • ZephyrNinety, on 02/17/2008, -5/+7It made sense until about halfway through; then it got ridiculous.
  • Herolint, on 02/17/2008, -2/+8Why do people insist on using the word "hilarious" in article descriptions where they are "mildly amusing" at best?
    • adooga, on 02/17/2008, -0/+1Because they want you to read them I suppose....
      Good point though.
  • anteyekon4myst, on 02/17/2008, -1/+6This is one of the few times I'm glad I feel left out...i honestly dont think Mac Products are all they are cracked up to be. But they do get points for shininess.
  • thejumbo, on 02/17/2008, -0/+5"Smaller and lighter than a Buick Regal" - funny

    Dugg for using ennui correctly. ;)
  • integ, on 02/17/2008, -1/+4The ennui comment had me bursting out with laughter. Bravo author, bravo!
  • strikerzex911, on 02/17/2008, -7/+3tl;dr
  • zonk3r, on 02/17/2008, -5/+3Dupe of a dupe of a dupe of an ancient website.
  • virtualball, on 02/17/2008, -3/+2"Shaquille O’Neal appears on the cover of ESPN The Magazine using one. Mac fans unconditionally forgive him for Kazaam."

    Dugg.
  • lkms, on 02/17/2008, -4/+1except that those "new products" existed long before Apple laid their eye on them, maybe they wasn't as common in America though. Apple just takes some device sold in Korea/Japan/whatever, adapts it to western market and sells for twice the price.
  • Pyroteq, on 02/17/2008, -1/+9They missed the "Unbox the product and show every last cable tie, piece of plastic and foam inside the box, then talk about how great Apple packaging is" step.
    • DaviDaviDaviD, on 02/17/2008, -0/+2That's true the "unboxing" video gets 260,000 views and has some Mac site's executive editor shaking as he takes it apart.
    • reddikilowatt, on 02/17/2008, -0/+1I don't get the unboxing videos. It might be better if the adults filming them were the parents of the adults opening the box, but hey, I'm old.
  • macwac, on 02/17/2008, -0/+1This is true.. unfortunately, but like the story its fun to watch; and if not watch be a part of whether your the hater or the lover.
  • dichter, on 02/17/2008, -0/+3Yeah, the article is pretty old but shockingly insightful. Just insert MacBook Air, time capsule, etc in the blanks....
  • Justin6512, on 02/17/2008, -7/+1Website is getting a bit sluggish.... here ya go

    The Apple Product Cycle

    Smiling Asian BusinessmenAn obscure component manufacturer somewhere in the Pacific Rim announces a major order for some bleeding-edge piece of technology that could conceivably become part of an expensive, digital-lifestyle-enhancing nerd toy.

    Some hardware geek, the sort who actually reads press releases from obscure Pacific Rim component manufacturers, posts a link to the press release in a Mac Internet forum.

    The Mac rumor sites spring into action. Liberally quoting “reliable” sources inside Cupertino, irrelevant “experts,” and each other, they quickly transform baseless speculation into widely accepted fact.

    Mac Forum Post PreviewEager Mac-heads fan the flames by flooding the Mac discussion forums with more groundless conjecture. Threads pop up around feature wish lists, favorite colors, and likely retail price points. In a matter of days, a third-hand, unsubstantiated rumor blossoms into a hand-held device that can do everything except find a girlfriend for a fat, smelly nerd.

    Apple issues it customary “we don’t comment on possible future products” statement in response to inquiries about the hypothetical new product. Mac fanatics are convinced that they're onto something.

    Mac Quadra 840AVThe haters enter the fray to introduce fear, uncertainty and doubt. How expensive will the product be? Will it support Windows file formats? Will it work with my ten-year-old Quadra 840AV running Mac OS 8.1?

    As Macworld or the Worldwide Developer’s Conference draws near, the chatter builds to a fever pitch. Rumor sites jockey for position, posting a new unverifiable, contradictory rumor every hour or so. eBay is flooded with six-month-old, slightly used gadgets as college students, underemployed web designers and independent musicians struggle to clear credit card space.

    On the morning of Steve Jobs’s keynote presentation, the online Apple store grinds to a halt as Mac-heads set their browsers to refresh every 15 seconds.

    Apple iCEO Steve JobsSteve Jobs spends the first half-hour of his keynote crowing about how many iPods shipped during the previous six months and how many “native applications” have been developed for OS X. Attempting to appear as though it’s just an afterthought, he finally introduces the new Apple product. The product has sleek, clean lines, a diminutive form factor, and less than half of the useful features that everyone was expecting. Jobs announces that the product is available “immediately.”

    Five minutes later, the new product appears on the online Apple store. Orders have an estimated ship date that is four weeks away.

    The online Apple store takes 50,000 orders in the first 24 hours.

    Apple Stock Goes UpApple’s stock surges as Wall Street analysts proclaim the new device will be “Apple’s savior” and the key to turning around the decades-long decline in Apple’s share of the global PC market.

    The haters offer their assessment. The forums are ablaze with vitriolic rage. Haters pan the device for being less powerful than a Cray X1 while zealots counter that it is both smaller and lighter than a Buick Regal. The virtual slap-fight goes on and on, until obscure technical nuances like, “Will it play multiplexed Ogg Vorbis streams?” become matters of life and death.

    The editors of popular Mac magazines hail the new device as the next great step toward our utopian digital future. Wired News runs exclusive interviews with the Apple design team. Fortune publishes another glowing fluff piece about Steve Jobs, proclaiming him to be the great visionary behind all technological innovation. Newsweek declares the device the new “must have” item for any self-respecting urban technophile. All of this is written before anybody outside of Cupertino has held the new device in his or her hand.

    Business Weak CoverBusiness Week publishes an article stating that unless Apple immediately releases a Windows version of the new product its market share will continue to shrink and Apple will be out of business within six months. Mac zealots howl with fury and crash Business Week’s email server with their angry rebuttals.

    In the wee hours of the morning on the initial ship date, as the Mac heads lay snug in their beds or take MDMA and dance to bad music, Apple delays everybody’s ship date by four weeks.

    Rage reigns in the Mac forums. Lifelong Mac users who would never consider purchasing anything made by Microsoft or Dell, regardless of how shabbily Apple treats them, vent their anguish and frustration. Failing utterly to see the irony of the situation, they prattle on until their panties are twisted in knots.

    The rumor sites abound with half-baked theories blaming the shipping delay on everything from heat dissipation problems to SARS. The most obvious explanation, that Apple lied about the initial shipment dates, is ignored in favor of more elaborate and unlikely scenarios.

    Apple Stock Goes DownApple’s stock plummets as Wall Street analysts fret about the company’s supply chain problems. The same analysts who were raising their targets on Apple three weeks earlier appear on CNBC and predict that Apple could file for bankruptcy as soon as the week after next.

    A week before the revised ship date rolls around, small quantities of the new product begin to appear in Apple’s retail stores. Chaos ensues as crazed Mac-heads queue up hours before the stores open, hoping to get their hands on one of the prized gizmos. The bedwetting in Mac Internet forums reaches tidal proportions as people post empty threats to cancel their online orders. The devices begin to appear on eBay and get bid up to absurd premiums over MSRP.

    Pointless outrage slowly turns to pointless optimism. Driven insane by the lack of instant gratification, would-be customers profess their willingness to gun down the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny if it would hasten the arrival of the FedEx delivery person.

    Gadget DisassembledNerd porn threads appear in the Mac forums. Some lunatic with too much time and money on his hands disassembles the new device down to the bare, soldered components and posts pictures.

    The obligatory “I’m waiting for Rev. B” discussion appears in the Mac forums. People who’ve been burned by first-generation Apple products open up their old wounds and bleed their tales of woe. Unsympathetic technophiles fire back with, “if you can’t handle the heat, stay out of the kitchen. pussy.” Everyone has this stupid argument for the twenty-third time.

    Apple issues a press release to announce that they have now taken orders for over 100,000 of the new devices and shipped at least eight or nine dozen. Backorders and waiting lists stretch into months.

    Kazaam, starring Shaquille O'NealMovie stars, professional athletes and rappers begin accessorizing with Apple’s new gadget. Shaquille O’Neal appears on the cover of ESPN The Magazine using one. Mac fans unconditionally forgive him for Kazaam.

    Wall Street analysts appear on CNBC wearing big smiles and bright spring colors to announce that Apple's new device will drive Apple's sales to unprecedented levels and might be the key to turning around the decades-long decline in Apple’s share of the global PC market. Apple's share price surges. People who understand the root cause of the dot com bubble shake their heads in silent disgust.

    Trade publications and business magazines begin to refer to the market for Apple's new product as a "space."

    Cry BabyA minor, rarely occurring flaw in the device begins to be discussed in the Apple support forums. Whiny, artistic types post lengthy diatribes about how this terrible design flaw has made the device unusable and scarred them emotionally. Electronic petitions are created demanding that Apple replace the devices for free, plus pay for counseling to help traumatized users overcome their emotional distress.

    Taken completely by surprise at the success of Apple's new gadget, executives from Dell or Sony or Microsoft appear on CNBC and offer vague suggestions that they are beginning development of a new product to compete with Apple. In its next issue, PC Week magazine publishes an article declaring that Apple's dominance of the [insert gadget here] space is in jeopardy.

    Weeks before most users are able to hold Apple's new gadget in their hands, "What features would you like in the next version?" discussions take place on Mac mailing lists. Mac-heads cook up droves of far-fetched, often bizarre ideas. A cursory reading makes it readily apparent why Apple executives pay no attention to their fanatical customers.

    Software Update Time BombApple releases the first software update for the new device through its Software Update control panel. Several hours later, it pulls the updater. A small number of people who applied the update experience crashes, data loss, headaches and ennui. The Apple support forums are filled with outraged posts. A day or so later, Apple releases a revised installer without comment, then quietly removes the angry posts from its support forums.

    Somebody starts a thread on a Mac chat board that asks whether anyone knows of a way to use the new device with some other nerd toy in a way that makes no sense whatsoever. Out of the blue, somebody writes a hack that facilitates the unholy combination and offers it as $39 shareware. Seven of the nine people who actually try to use the hack download it off of BitTorrent and use a pirate serial number. Advocates point to this as an example of how independent Mac software development is thriving.

    Dell or Sony or Microsoft releases a competing device which costs $100 less and is based on completely incompatible, Windows-only technology. Business Week declares Apple's dominance of the [insert gadget here] space over. Angry Mac zealots make plans to surround Business Week's corporate offices with torches and pitchforks until someone points out that fire and garden tools are so un-digital.

    Ave Maria!Wall Street analysts appear on CNBC to explain that Apple's device will never be able to compete with the onslaught of cheaper Windows-based competitors. Apple's stock plummets. Idiot technology investors experience a brief moment of deja vu before they return to masturbating to photos of Maria Bartiromo.

    Consumers discover that the Windows-based competitor to Apple's device contains a proprietary digital rights management technology that prevents them from using the device to do anything expect except look at family photographs taken in the last 20 minutes.

    An obscure component manufacturer somewhere in the Pacific Rim announces a major order for some new bleeding-edge piece of technology that could conceivably become part of some expensive, digital-lifestyle-enhancing nerd toy. The fun begins again...

    The author has been an Apple user since 1984. During that time, he has owned an Apple IIe, an Apple IIgs, a Mac SE/30, a Mac Quadra 660AV, a PowerComputing PowerCenter 150, and a Power Mac G3/350 (Blue & White). He currently uses a Dual 2.0GHz PowerMac G5 and a 12" PowerBook G4. In spite of his loyalty to the platform, he finds most "Mac people" to be tiresome and annoying. He is pretty sure that if he had to attend WWDC or Macworld, he would wind up slapping the ***** out of a bunch of people. When not attempting to cobble together funny things to put on the Internet, the author works at a diversifed energy marketing and trading company. The author resides in the fine city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
  • chkdg8, on 02/17/2008, -1/+3This is one of the most accurate looks at how all this ***** goes down. I for one, cannot wait until the upcoming documentary 'Macheads' comes out so it can shed some light on this phenomenon. I just switched over to mac from years of windows and I can honestly say that I enjoy the experience but I still run my pc and mac side by side. I cannot say the same about the fanboys and fanatics that rule the threads and blogs about everything Apple. I'm willing to bet that most of Apple's market performance is mainly based on the massive rumor mills that flood the internet. Just recently, Apple's share plunge along with most tech stocks is mostly because of major banks and international trading houses who are selling off their U.S. assets such as the dollar and the entire Sub Prime Mortgage debacle. Yes the economy is a mess but as an Apple investor myself, I think that the company is also going into too many directions. You have to take it all with a grain of salt though.
  • TheGreatBelow, on 02/17/2008, -2/+1Apple products are all FOTM
    • demonstro, on 02/17/2008, -0/+3Fish of the Month? I don't understand what you're trying to say
    • Magnus150, on 02/17/2008, -0/+1From Origin(of manufacture) To Me? How accurate of you!
  • tatertot444, on 02/17/2008, -4/+3Most people who read this article are probably smart enough to realize that they don't depend on apple to spoon fed them new and awesome gadgets. While Apple has released some truly innovative products, i find it just silly that some people worship the ground Steve Jobs stands on. A good chunk of people who regularly read Digg and the comments actually know how to find other good products that aren't made by apple or know how to make the products themselves.

    On the other hand the people who do whine and complain about the one flaw about an apple product, because they don't know any other product not made by apple that has the same function, are douse bags. Another note worthing thing is most apple fanboys, have never even tried Linux, hate Microsoft so much they presume that Bill Gates is the super devil, even through the top 90% of all games, cad, and other important software is windows exclusive.

    I am just tired of the stupid people who can't operate a computer without it being a mac, and that they deny it and try to put the blame on the rest of the people who don't have or want to drop $1800 for the mac book air. However there are people who can't operate windows to save their life but feel more comfortable using OS X, and they admit it. my aunt admits that and I cool with that.

    I also would probably do the same thing if i was at WWDC or Macworld, and slap the ***** out of the fanboys.
  • fr0ng, on 02/17/2008, -6/+1tl;dr
  • DarkDx, on 02/17/2008, -0/+2"Some hardware geek, the sort who actually reads press releases from obscure Pacific Rim component manufacturers, posts a link to the press release in a Mac Internet forum."

    LOL
  • dwninjungleland, on 02/17/2008, -4/+1It would have been funny if there were only a few short, legitimately funny steps. In this case, it was just pure Tl;dr.
  • emyo, on 02/17/2008, -2/+0or you choose not to listen to hype... just like i choose to skim read this article because it was written poorly as if someone just saying out loud everything they saw infront of him ... borrringggg
  • formergthing, on 02/17/2008, -0/+3ah yes... so true, and yet - it's so much fun each and every time!

  • digjam, on 02/17/2008, -3/+1"Idiot technology investors experience a brief moment of deja vu before they return to masturbating to photos of Maria Bartiromo." AMAZING!!!
  • jb52, on 02/17/2008, -3/+1Just another hater! I love me some me
  • PathmarkPolice, on 02/17/2008, -0/+2This is so true it should be classified as "tech scripture" we need to base our life choices on this and ponder our tech existences.
  • brockfield, on 02/17/2008, -1/+1After having read in national newspapers about iPhone twice a week for one and a half years, the bleedin' phone still shows no sign of appearing in Scandinavia. Of course, Apple must decide where to launch a product - it is the Mac fans' and the press' totally unrealistic optimism (and eagerness to promote Apple-products) that is irritating me.
    • Spider208, on 02/17/2008, -2/+1Believe me, I had one shipped with a friend of mine, it ISN't such a big deal. I'd rather have my Samsung D600 anyday. The only cool thing on the iPhone is the fact that you can surf the internet. What Apple, doesn't seem to realise is that more than half of the freaking world uses Outlook to do his/hers agenda, contacts etc. If they should be doing one thing it is trying to use their programmes to close the gap between those two technologies, so everyone could use the same ***** thing instead of always having to upgrade to this mobile or that software and in the process losing every form of contact details that you have.
  • SOS84, on 02/17/2008, -8/+4The Apple product cycle is far more simple than that.
    1. Some small, struggling or obscure tech company comes up with a great product.
    2. Apples steals great product.
    3. Apple sends stolen great product to their marketing department for the appropriate spin.
    4. Apple releases now Applified product to JobsMob.
    5. JobsMob, buys said product.
    6. Profits.
    7. Apple sets aside part of profits to pay their legal defense team, which happens to have a larger budget than their product development team, to defend their new product when the person/s who came up with the idea come for their money paying them pennies on the dollar.

    8. Begin searching for new product to steal.
    • Rakoth, on 02/17/2008, -0/+0Step 3 is profit.
    • kreatre2007, on 02/17/2008, -1/+2I think you mean to say that is Micro$oft's product cycle.
    • stix213, on 02/19/2008, -0/+0Nahh, MS's product cycle would be:

      1. Some small, struggling or obscure tech company comes up with a great product.
      2. MS launches FUD campaign against company
      3. MS buys company when stock value is low.
      4. MS fires everyone who knows anything about anything at bought company
      5. MS releases garbage product based on what was once a good idea, but now is chocked full of DRM goodness
      ................
  • ace1220, on 02/17/2008, -1/+7I will never forgive him for Kazaam.
    • codylee270, on 02/17/2008, -2/+0Touché, ace1220. Took the words right out of my mouth. Wait.. I don't think i'm using that right...
  • YogiWanKenobi, on 02/17/2008, -0/+2They forgot to include the part where Gary Niger and Ron Delsner of the GNAA release screen shots.
  • jim1977, on 02/17/2008, -0/+1A: Article is 4 years old, and it shows

    B: "Whiney niggles?" Wow. When MS products don't work, it's always MS's fault, when Linux doesn't work somebody fixes, and when Apple doesn't work, it's the customers' fault for asking for too much?

    Amazing.

    I'll await swift and customary burial.
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