imac and the bug 30 of june, 1998 by johnmichael patrick monty monteith

The Macintosh community has been riding a new emotional high lately with the news of Apple’s new iMac computer. If you have not caught the media blitz on this system, it is a fast cutting edge computer with the style and appearance somewhere in between the original Mac 128 and an art-deco piece. Reactions to the new system have been consistently positive from just about everyone. In fact, most Macintosh fans have been comparing it to the re-release of the Volkswagen bug. The fact that Apple has been able to produce the same excitement and fire that inspired the original Macintosh in the new iMac. However, I would say the dramatic approval of this baby Mac may be slightly pre-mature.

My first reaction was the same as the rest of the Macintosh community: cool. Even if you do not like the translucent plastics, or the rounded design, you have to give Apple kudos for at least trying to give the computing industry a machine with some style. There has never been a computer that shows how awful nearly every other computer system looks in the 90’s. Apple made a computer system that carries the feeling and attitude inspired by the original Macintosh through to modern form. It truly is a cool computer.

However, this systems beauty is not only skin (or plastic) deep. The inner-workings of this system are cutting edge. A fast PowerPC processor that will make even the fastest Pentium 2 chips look slow. It includes an excellent display matched with a fast 66MHz PCI system bus.

The system has gotten some minor gripes from some fans because the iMac lacks a floppy drive, and limits it’s expansion possibilities through a new 12-Mbps Universal Serial Bus. Yet, I give Apple a top-o-the-hat for having the guts to move forward on strong technology rather limiting themselves to the past. After all, I remember all of the flack Apple took when they did not include a 5 ¼” floppy drive in the original Mac 128. It was the right move then and when we live in a society that is as networked as we are today, floppies simply do not make sense any longer. As for the Universal Serial Bus, whenever a new technology comes along, it takes vendors a little while to catch up. However, if we wait for the vendors to offer product first, we will never move ahead.

As for the criticism that Apple should have included a floppy and the standard printer/modem ports, the bottom line here is dollars. The more Apple adds, the more it costs, and if this system is going to fly, it needs to be as cheap as possible. Given a choice between tossing the new stuff or the old, I think Apple made the right move.

My praise for Apple’s work not withstanding, I still do not believe this system is going to give the Apple the revenue and market share they are seeking. My reasons come back to the VW Bug analogy, which I believe to be a good one. This system is very much like the new VW Bug. It looks hip, and keeps the best of the old Mac while incorporating modern technology. And, I think it is safe to say that this new Mac will be more reliable and hold up over the years better than the new Bug that has already suffered electrical problems.

Yet, the new Bug and the iMac have something else in common: they both are priced higher than a comparable item. Despite the low sticker price on the iMac, this system is really Apple’s competition for the sub-$1000 WinTel machines. Regardless of whether the iMac is a much better product (which it is), aside from previous Mac owners, price is the first thing new customers look at.

I also question whether the avant-garde look to the new machine is also playing against it. New customers are looking for a computer. Meaning, they are looking for a system that LOOKS like what their buddies own. A system that can run the same software their buddies are running. And a system that can hook up the same devices their buddies are hooking up. The Macintosh has been fighting this perception battle from day one, and simply has never gotten over it. Apple tried to combat it by making Macs look more like PC’s (the Macintosh II, for example). But even that did not fool the buying public. It seems unlikely that going back to the cutting edge styling will help the situation.

So who does this new system appeal to? The same group of people the VW Bug appeals to. Previous owners. How many non-VW Bug fans are spending 20 grand on the new Bug? It is hard to say, but I am willing to bet very few. Volkswagen knew when they produced this car that the customer base for this new vehicle would be very narrow. I am certain, like Volkswagen, that Apple will have enormous orders of the iMac when it hits the virtual shelves. But as soon as the initial wave and “coolness” settles down, Apple will realize that they have sold very few iMac’s to new Macintosh customers.

If Apple can get enough publicity to non-Macintosh owners, it is possible that they could overcome this major obstacle. If the whole world knows just how fabulous this little machine is, perhaps Apple could climb above the markets trend of only buying what we know. But I think this will be a very tough battle for Apple, and one that I do not believe this iMac will be able to win.

That being said, it is a great little computer. I probably will have to pick one up myself. As a Mac owner, it is just too cool to pass up. But, I doubt there will be a whole lot of new computer shoppers that will be able to see past the pretty face and understand that they it actually is a good thing that it is not just another WinTel machine. And for this reason, it will probably not be the huge financial lift that Apple and it’s stockholders are hoping for.