Here is a story for all you Mac fans out there. It seems that a near riot broke out this morning as 1,000 people rushed to buy used iBooks for $50 from the Henrico County school district in Virginia. The story describes people being pushed to the ground, scraped, beaten with chairs. One woman even wet her pants rather than relinquish her place in line.
This is the kind of story that Apple loves to see in the news. People in a mad dash to get their hands on amazing Apple products. The funny thing is the cheap laptops were 4 year old iBooks-probably not the most desirable of computer hardware. Still, I think the frenzy is partly due to the recent craze surrounding the iPod. The iPod has really revived the entire Apple company. I read that 21 million iPods have sold and 18 million were in the past year. So obviously, there is a lot of Apple/Mac love going around. Macintosh computer sales are also up due to the "halo" effect of the iPod. So it would seem that the strategy at Apple is working. People probably figure that their iPod will work better with a Mac.
And they are probably right. Megan recently bought herself an iPod Mini. (So, we too are susceptible to the Apple lure.) Apple makes you use iTunes software to interact with the iPod. Although, this is a pretty good piece of software, we have had some problems running it on Megan’s laptop (a Windows PC). Specifically, iTunes corrupted the cd writer configuration when it tried to install software to burn CD’s. I was able to fix it through some arcane registry hacks. Most users would be unable to do this and would assume that their PC wouldn’t work with the iPod. Next step: Go buy a Mac. So Mac sales are up. If this a conspiracy by Apple, or do they just write bad Windows softare?
Do you want a Mac? What about an iPod?
I am on a Mac as we speak. I researched high and low for the best computer that would be able to do all my school work, deal with my digital photography, and have good enough hardware to last me several years. And thus, a 15″ PowerMac, with 1024 ram, and a DVD/CD Burner.
I am a big fan of the fluidity of everything, and the ease of how it interacts with everything. I no longer have to configure the networks- if there is a wireless signal, it just connects, if I plug in an ethernet cord, it seamlessly connects, I never had to load any software for my camera. I was very pleased with the software bundle that came with it. I did have to buy a microsoft bundle for a buck fifty, but after that I was good to go to edit and load pictures, create anything for school, record tracks from my guitar, organize my life, and “Sherlock” any questions that I have- all in a package that is sleek, slim, and light weight.
The only thing that isn’t super easy, is using my Rio Cali MP3 player with iTunes. I guess I will just ‘have’ to buy an iPod or ask for it for xMas.
You know my heart of hearts wants a Mac for my next computer in a few years. They just look cool, and as you know I am a bit of a lookist.