Posted on 01/26/2005 5:22:19 PM PST by Vermonter
Limbaugh could sell new Mac
This week, Apple Computer is launching a campaign to sell a new product, the $499 Mac Mini, that portends to transform the world in a way the original Mac didn’t. But Republicans will be needed for the campaign to succeed.
To put this in context, you need to read Revolution in the Valley, Andy Hertzfeld’s new book about the making of the original Mac in the 1980s. Hertzfeld points out that the initial target price for the first Mac was $500. But by the time it was launched in 1984, the price had ballooned to $2,495.
Many of the Mac’s creators felt betrayed. All initial design goals had centered on Everyman, but instead of a computer that changed the world, the Mac became a niche machine mainly for artisans and limousine liberals who could afford one. The rest of us bought commodity PCs. Fewer than one in 20 computers sold or used today to cruise the Internet is a Mac.
The Mac Mini could rectify this. But will it? Will a low price tag and terrific design alone entice a mass market to buy this new product? I’m not so sure. Apple’s image may still be an impediment to Mac sales.
To research this column, I read lots of discussion boards all across the Internet, and it’s evident that politics still play a role in computer purchases. Just as there are red states and blue states, there are also Mac Democrats and PC Republicans. These battles were especially nasty after Apple went public with its politics and added Al Gore to its board of directors.
Apple’s leader, Steve Jobs, seems to have sensed last year that his company was getting too “political.” He backed off some of his campaigning for John Kerry and cryptically signaled to The Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg in an interview that he understands the problem.
“People have said that I shouldn’t get involved politically because probably half our customers are Republicans — maybe a little less ... [but] I do point out that there are more Democrats than Mac users so I’m going to just stay away from all that political stuff because that was just a personal thing,” Jobs said.
There are, in fact, devoted Republican Macintosh users, but that is not the perception. So Apple desperately needs to introduce a replacement image to achieve the original Mac’s vision. There would be no better way to do this than to add a Republican or two to Apple’s board of directors. Mac users such as Karl Rove or Arnold Schwarzenegger adviser Mike Murphy would be possibilities, but Rush Limbaugh is the most obvious choice. Rush is an ardent Mac evangelist and knows a thing or two about marketing. Even if Limbaugh is not put on Apple’s board, the company should market through his daily radio program, paying Rush to tout his favorite computer the same way he builds mattress sales for Select Comfort.
Hertzfeld’s book says the team that created the original Mac had a spirit of “urgency, ambition, passion for excellence, artistic pride, and irreverent humor.” That sounds just like Rush Limbaugh to me. I know that if Rush had been a board member in 1984, he’d have had the guts to back the famous Big Brother Super Bowl ad that Apple’s then-timorous board abandoned.
Apple marketers also need to understand that restoration of their brand’s image in conservative and Republican circles can resonate with various factions of the party. I have already read favorable gun-owner comments about the Mac Mini on the discussion boards of Ted Nugent’s populist United Sportsmen of America website. James Dobson and his Focus on the Family might be intrigued by a computer that is affordable for young families and not subject to porno pop-up ads. And business Republicans will be impressed by the seamless integration of the Mac’s OS X operating system with corporate networks.
The Republican Party is a big tent. Apple should come on in.
read later bump
The iMac he asked about will still hum along just fine with the current OS. The one I posted is the newest iMac. No one has to upgrade to it to use the latest software.
The cost of the built-up system is 1000 bucks.
Wrong. Mac useres are happy to be left alone. They have a superior machine, and more importatly, a superior user experience.
They (or should I say WE) don't give a rat's ass what you think privately, but we do get a bit put off by ignorant arrogance.
Like you are demonstrating with your comment about a "better faster machine at half the cost".
Frankly, I don't believe you. Maybe you aren't stupid; I can't say, as I don't know you. But you sure don't know what you are talking about.
"... and just try to load the USB drivers from those mini-CD's via the slot drive ..."
Whaaaaaat? They're putting drivers on those 3" dealies? Or those semi-circular ones with what look like cut off edges?
I've always thought mini-CD's were cool, but c'mon, some people have slot drives... excellent point. Aren't there adapters for those, though?
If you buy the Apple keyboard, or many third-party keyboards, it itself has two extra USB ports on it. If you buy a Bluetooth keyboard/mouse, you don't need any USB ports. If you want more, a USB hub is something like $8.99 these days.
Not including the keyboard and mouse is deliberate. Most people already own a keyboard and mouse, so it would be a waste of money to be forced to buy another one.
... and just try to load the USB drivers from those mini-CD's via the slot drive ...
USB drivers? The drivers come preloaded for anything small. Printers and scanners and such install from CDs, which is hardly surprising. Not sure when you would ever find software on a "mini-CD".
For $300 I can upgrade my machine every three months to the fastest PC on the planet. Try that with a MAC.
Doomed! DOOMED, I say!
Son, we are ALL doomed. Meanwhile, I really enjoy my Mac G5.
Sorry, Steve-O. Go peddle your faux-hipster nonsense elsewhere.
"They (or should I say WE) don't give a rat's ass what you think privately"
Sooooo... how's that Half-Life on the Mac thing goin... ohhh wait... that's right...
j/k though, I've used both, and if I didn't play games at all, I'd probably own a Mac. Less hassles, but newer PC's seem to be catching up in the "ease of install parts/software" category.
One of the nice things about owning a Mac is not having to spend $300 every three months!
Great, have a Big Mac and double the value of that good time.
I'm happy to hear you are upgrading to MAC!
I'm not sure you can do it for $300, though ;>)
Yea, you have a second class machine until you spring for another 5k to catch up.
If I spent $1200 a year on upgrades, believe me I would blow your MACS doors off in any speed test you could run at.
I have one of those G-5's and I Love it!
I'm still running a G4 tower and don't have a need to upgrade. Processor upgrades are available, but I don't need the speed.
Har, har, har. My wife runs a Mac Lab in school, 38 stations, and has never had a repair person in the lab. Maybe you just don't know how to use one.
That last smart @ss remark is courtesy Bill Gates by the way who responded to questions about bugs in Windows 98/200. His answer was Sir my software does not have bugs, you must not know how to use it properly.
A few weeks later he was pleading with the Justice Department to let him release XP because is fixes over 4000 bugs. Take your pick. Personally I don't care what anyone uses, I just care what I use, and I like a choice.
Currently in most institutions you can buy any computer you want as long as it runs Windows. Sort of like one of Joe Stalins elections.
I'll give you that Mac owners do have to deal with the frustration of not having access to some specialized software that would be very nice to have.
Here is a list: Keyhole from Google, WorldWind from NASA, some stock quote streaming software, lots of games (this isn't a problem for me as I am not a gamer), and I suppose there are lots more.
Well I'm a conservative Republican and I have an iMac at home (my second) and 2 G-4s (and several Gateway PCs) at work. I hate Apple's politics and their computers are more expensive. It's the Mac's user friendly 'drag and drop' software layout that appeals to me. Very intuitive and was easy for me to learn. PCs are much the same now but Macs are still better IMHO. iTunes rocks! At work I use the Mac version of Final Cut Pro; that's great too.
I'm pretty sure Mac tried something like this before, a computer called 'The Cube'. It crashed and burned big time, probably 'cause of the price and that it didn't LOOK like a computer.
Rush is a big Mac user, for the same reasons I am. Some things are just worth the extra money. Cheaper isn't always better. Rush would be an outstanding spokesperson for Apple, and would love to do so. But my gut is that Apple dosen't have the cajones to hire him. Their loss...
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