We knew it had to happen. There was no way the great white (and blue, and whatever color Yahoo is) search engine sharks could resist the fire hoses full of text chum Twitter produces 24/7. Heck, Twitter even chops its textual fish heads into lovely bite-sized chunks.
The Apple store went offline Tuesday morning and when it returned, it did so with a groaning board of new hardware, including a range of aluminum and edge-to-edge glass iMacs, new Mac Minis, a 13-inch unibody polycarbonate MacBook and a wireless, multitouch “Magic Mouse.”
It’s looking more and more likely that Apple is planning a fall refresh of its iMac line. Last week we heard rumors that some new all-in-one, dual-core desktops were already rolling off the assembly lines of Apple’s manufacturing partners. Now comes word of Federal Communications Commission filings that confirm the existence of the new wireless mouse and keyboard that might be paired with them.
Asked in October 2008 why Apple wasn’t yet offering Blu-ray DVD drives as an option on machines, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said the licensing issues were too complex to make doing so worthwhile. “Blu-ray is a bag of hurt,” he quipped. Well, no longer. Because Apple is planning to refresh its iMac desktop computer in the next few weeks, and when it does, it may well offer a Blue-ray drive option.
Another week into challenging times, and the theme for Weekend Update is undoubtedly cost-saving, with a healthy dose of revenue-seeking.
On the revenue-seeking side, BoomTown’s Twitter Business Plan Count-Up hasn’t yielded any real keepers yet. There is a real contender, though–since Jennifer Aniston so publicly broke up with her boyfriend John Mayer on account of his Twitter “addiction,” BoomTown suggests offering “Twitter rehab” for those not willing to lose their relationships just yet.
Apple’s recent desktop refresh couldn’t have come at a better time, because February was a lousy month for Mac sales. Apple saw double-digit declines in sales of the desktop for the month, according to the latest NPD data. They were down 16 percent compared to February of 2008.
Brave guy, Yair Reiner, for singlehandedly assailing the “Macs are more expensive” myth (or truism, depending on your particular world view). In a research note on Apple’s new desktops, the Oppenheimer analyst compared, spec-by-spec, the new iMac, Dell’s XPS One 24 and Hewlett-Packard’s TouchSmart IQ800t and concluded that the iMac offers a better value.
The rumors were true. Well, partially true anyway. Apple was planning a sweeping refresh of its desktops–but it was one that didn’t merit a special-event rollout. This morning Apple refreshed its desktop line, announcing a new Nehalem-based Mac Pro, a more robust Mac mini and four new iMacs, among them three with 24-inch screens. All three lines boast fundamental enhancements, but also more affordable prices. These days, Apple’s new Macs are not simply faster and shinier, they’re a bargain as well. “Insanely great!” has become “insanely affordable!”
The new Mac desktops that Apple had been expected to debut at Macworld may finally be announced later this month. According to the latest rumors, anyway. Sources tell World of Apple that Cupertino is planning a special event on March 24, one that will likely introduce updates to the Mac Pro, Mac mini and iMac.
In this environment where nobody is buying anything and you come out with a kick-ass product, you might get a lot of wows and woos, but that does not convert into sales. So that’s a wasted effort.”
– Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry says Apple may not innovate its way through this particular downturn.
Looks like the econalypse is finally catching up with Apple. Though the record revenue and profit the company posted for its fiscal first quarter led many to conclude it was recession-proof, new metrics from Piper Jaffray suggest that Apple, too, is suffering from these economically challenging times. In a report to clients this week, Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster said Mac sales are on a pace to decline on a year-over-year basis for the first time in six years.
Apple observers sifting entrails for portents of iMacs to come have three new signs in which to put their faith this week. The most recent: reports that Apple has been telling its resellers that iMac supplies are tightening, often interpreted as a sign that the company is dropping inventory levels ahead of a product life refresh.
John Paczkowski has been poking fun at the tech industry and the personalities that drive it since 1997. From 1999 to 2007, he wrote the award-winning tech news Web log Good Morning Silicon Valley for the San Jose Mercury News, Silicon Valley's daily newspaper. Read more »
Here is a statement of my ethics and coverage policies. It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out.
12:58 AM: Breakfast: Two schools of fish from Tokyo Bay. Calories: 782,000. How I was feeling when I ate this: confused, irradiated, hating my size.
11:37 AM: Exercise: “Taxi Stomp” (alternating legs, for 30 blocks). Calories burned: 148,900,183.
1983. The Beatles announce their first tour in thirteen years, but likewise announce that Michael Jackson will be going on tour with them as a one gigantic mega-concert event.
Best video mashup ever.
A Facebook Memorial
Wow.
Worth it for the Rickrolling photo alone.
Excellent.
Flughumor!
… you vacuous, toffee-nosed, malodorous perverts
Stephen Fry and zoologist Mark Carwardine meet the kakapo — a fat, flightless and very randy rare parrot.
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