Apple to upset the tech cart on Wednesday

[Barrister]

Oh yes, no doubt the iHype is laughable.

I for one an impressed at how Apple can do hype.  Look at all the hype - all without one official word from Apple.  Now I have no doubt they've orchestrated some 'controlled leaks', but not once has Apple ever said what the hell they're releasing tomorrow.

It can be impressive while at the same time watching people like you get all iSpooged over it is laughable.

Yo Berk: you're confusing what I said with what you think I said again.   

[The Minsky Moment]

The real genius of Apple is "ease of use".  Give a kid an iPod and 15 minutes after it's charged the kid will be listening to music. 

Give a kid a Sandisk player and cut to 5 minutes.  For one thing, there is no need to install and license itunes.

Apple does a decent job with ease of use but their real strengths at this point are: (1) design and (2) the app ecosystem.   I personally find their walled garden to be very annoying to the point of being a deal-breaker (eg cant stream rhapsody on an ipod), but the typical consumer may not care.  OTOH I also don't think their price premium is that steep, except for the ifanboyz who buy immediately on release.

[grumbler]

I for one an impressed at how Apple can do hype.  Look at all the hype - all without one official word from Apple.  Now I have no doubt they've orchestrated some 'controlled leaks', but not once has Apple ever said what the hell they're releasing tomorrow.

It comes from knowing your fan base.  Apple knows how to appeal to the excitable and the credulous, and it is their fan base, rather than Apple (as you note) who create the hype.

Steve Jobs could take a steaming shit on stage tomorrow, and half the audience would come away convinced they had watched a miracle.  I congratulate Apple on their choice of fans.  People with critical thinking skills generally avoid Apple due to price, but Apple knows that they can hook people into paying the price if it makes uncritical thinkers feel "special."

I, for one, appreciate the entertainment.

[grumbler]

Give a kid a Sandisk player and cut to 5 minutes.  For one thing, there is no need to install and license itunes.

Apple does a decent job with ease of use but their real strengths at this point are: (1) design and (2) the app ecosystem.   I personally find their walled garden to be very annoying to the point of being a deal-breaker (eg cant stream rhapsody on an ipod), but the typical consumer may not care.  OTOH I also don't think their price premium is that steep, except for the ifanboyz who buy immediately on release.

remember to consider the 10-20% application price premium as well.

[Brazen]

Apparently, Apple will save the future of journalism, so I for one welcome our white, shiny masters:
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/187623/what_an_apple_tablet_would_mean_for_publishing.html

[Barrister]

I for one an impressed at how Apple can do hype.  Look at all the hype - all without one official word from Apple.  Now I have no doubt they've orchestrated some 'controlled leaks', but not once has Apple ever said what the hell they're releasing tomorrow.

It comes from knowing your fan base.  Apple knows how to appeal to the excitable and the credulous, and it is their fan base, rather than Apple (as you note) who create the hype.

Steve Jobs could take a steaming shit on stage tomorrow, and half the audience would come away convinced they had watched a miracle.  I congratulate Apple on their choice of fans.  People with critical thinking skills generally avoid Apple due to price, but Apple knows that they can hook people into paying the price if it makes uncritical thinkers feel "special."

I, for one, appreciate the entertainment.

I also am entertained by the breathless hype, but I think you misunderstand how it's generated.

It's not (largely) from the fans.  Instead it's the tech media.  It's the media that's been reporting for months (years even) about the mythical mac tablet.  It's the media that has put together mock-ups of the Tablet based on nothing but sheer speculation and a couple of known facts (such as that Apple has bought up a large supply of 10" touch screens).

This isn't just a bunch of apple fanbois posting on slashdot.

[Barrister]

An example of the media hype:

Overheard: Steve Jobs Says Apple Tablet "Will Be The Most Important Thing I've Ever Done."
10 Comments
2,386 retweet TOP100 by Michael Arrington on January 24, 2010



"This will be the most important thing I've ever done" – Steve Jobs, referring to the soon-to-be-launched Apple Tablet.
We haven't heard this first hand, but we've heard it multiple times second and third hand from completely independent sources. Senior Apple execs and friends of Jobs are telling people that he's about as excited about the upcoming Apple Tablet as he's ever been. Coming from the man who has created so much, that's saying something.

If Steve Jobs thinks the iPhone was just a warm up act to this device, I can't wait to see what it can do. As if our expectations weren't already set high enough. We'll all know a lot more this Wednesday.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2010/01/24/steve-jobs-tablet-most-important/

Second and third hand sources?  Isn't that the same as, I dunno, gossip?



Apple is playing these guys like a stradivarius.

[katmai]

If i didn't know any better I'd think an Apple fan stole grumbles girl.

[DisturbedPervert]

I for one an impressed at how Apple can do hype.  Look at all the hype - all without one official word from Apple.  Now I have no doubt they've orchestrated some 'controlled leaks', but not once has Apple ever said what the hell they're releasing tomorrow.

[grumbler]

I also am entertained by the breathless hype, but I think you misunderstand how it's generated.

It's not (largely) from the fans.  Instead it's the tech media.  It's the media that's been reporting for months (years even) about the mythical mac tablet.  It's the media that has put together mock-ups of the Tablet based on nothing but sheer speculation and a couple of known facts (such as that Apple has bought up a large supply of 10" touch screens).

This isn't just a bunch of apple fanbois posting on slashdot.

I think you misunderstand how fanboyism works, and how it is exploited by Apple.  The very types of people who go into the electronics media (and it is people, not media, who write stories) are the ones Apple targets to carry their message.  Sure, the boy-on-the-street bit helps, but doesn't generate the headlines.

There is no difference between the tech media writers and the fans.  That's what Apple has realized and exploited.  While it is incredibly unprofessional of said writers, the types who fall into the hype trap are seldom gonna write professional-sounding pieces anyway, so Apple certainly isn't "corrupting" them.

[grumbler]

If i didn't know any better I'd think an Apple fan stole grumbles girl.

I am less critical of them than you, so this seems less likely for me than you.

I admire Apple greatly.  The products that I dislike on Apple computers are not written by Apple.

[Barrister]

I think you misunderstand how fanboyism works, and how it is exploited by Apple.  The very types of people who go into the electronics media (and it is people, not media, who write stories) are the ones Apple targets to carry their message.  Sure, the boy-on-the-street bit helps, but doesn't generate the headlines.

There is no difference between the tech media writers and the fans.  That's what Apple has realized and exploited.  While it is incredibly unprofessional of said writers, the types who fall into the hype trap are seldom gonna write professional-sounding pieces anyway, so Apple certainly isn't "corrupting" them.

Well this will quickly degenerate into a chicken and egg debate, so I'll bail.

But on the topic of Apple and media, I frequently check in on the Fake Steve Jobs blog.  It's a tech writer posting a blog as the internal monologue of Steve Jobs.  I find it amusing in an almost HST stream of consciousness way.

But as I said, the real writer was revealed as a tech writer (initally with Forbes, now with Newsweek).  And he frequently lambastes other tech writers for being in the pocket of various tech companies (both Apple and others).  And not just lame blog writers, but writers for major media outlets.  It's an interesting 'behind the scenes' look into a topic I otherwise kenw nothing about.

[katmai]

If i didn't know any better I'd think an Apple fan stole grumbles girl.

I am less critical of them than you, so this seems less likely for me than you.

[The Brain]

Apple blows and is gay.

[Barrister]

Apparently, Apple will save the future of journalism, so I for one welcome our white, shiny masters:
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/187623/what_an_apple_tablet_would_mean_for_publishing.html

Get with the times B.  It's your brushed aluminum masters.