LEM Home Page, iBook & PowerBook Page, iMac Channel, Power Mac Page, Mac Daniel's Upgrade Advice, MacUSB, My First Mac, My Turn, Online Tech Journal, Road Apples, 56k Page Editorials DeStefano: Mac Metamorphosis, Guha: Apple Archive, Knight: Mac Musings, Moore: Miscellaneous Ramblings, Ploudre: Back & Forth, Rodrigues: Tangerine Fusion, Rumsey: Low End Mac Gaming, Taylor: Mac to the Future, Van Esch: Mac Scope
	Other World Computing: 9.1GB Apple ROM SCSIs only $175.00, Sonnet G3 starting at $126.50, G3/400mhz only $197! Check Out These Deals and More at OWC! Only $5 for FedEx delivery too. Click Here! Norton AntiVirus and Norton Utilities for Macintosh: Protect your Mac from viruses and repair disk problems quickly and easily with our award winning products. Click for a FREE download of Norton Antivirus! Be Thankful for Apple Secrecy Stephen Van Esch August 16, 2000 There was a time (or so I'm told) that Apple leaked like a sieve with bullet holes in it. Everyone knew which products where coming out and when. Specs were freely available, and rumors were often true. What a long way Apple has come. Getting ideas in and out of Apple now seems like an exercise for a Special Forces unit. Even after the rumors make it onto the Mac web, doubters and believers still argue back and forth over the validity of the photos or reports. I've read a few articles that grumble about this state of affairs. Why can't Apple just throw a bone to the press and let us know what's going on? Rumors, especially lately, generate a lot of commentary and discussion. From "Shut up and wait" to "This product can't be remotely possible," articles and opinions fly fast and furious. Content is what drives web sites, and rumors provide writers with plenty of content to fill their pages. Whether the content is always good is another matter. Of course, the content spent debating what may be a non-existent product could be used to debate the merits of a forthcoming product, right? Well, sure, but then we'd lose all the discussions and arguments that occur after the product introduction. Secrecy guarantees lively discussion before and after the product is introduced. The second benefit is a spin-off of the first. All this discussion creates a buzz in the Mac and computer community. We get excited, we talk about it, and we want to see which rumors are true and which are not. This buzz is not restricted to Mac-centric web sites. Slashdot and The Register are two sites that occasionally post Mac rumors. This is great and helps non-Mac users realize that Apple is still alive and kicking in the computer industry. Steve Jobs and the marketing folks at Apple realize this. In a world where marketing is at least as important as the research and development that goes into something (take a peek at any commercial for a Hollywood movie), hype goes a long way. You just can't buy the type of marketing that a good rumor can generate. Elimination of rumors and opening the Apple idea chest, even a little bit, would cut into the amount of excitement new products from Apple generates. This, of course, is unlikely. Steve Jobs loves a surprise and any mention beforehand of a product just spoils all the fun for him (and for us too). I'm willing to put up with way out rumors that may or may not be right instead of the bland predictability found elsewhere in the industry. <this article available in a printer-friendly format> Biography Steve Van Esch is a regular contributor at osOpinion and runs The Text Pound, a small corner of the Web that tries to find a place for homeless or abandoned articles. Steve loves the Mac and is bilingual, since he's also fluent in Windows and French. Recently on Mac Scope Be thankful for Apple secrecy, 8/16/00. There really is a good side to Apple secrecy. Mac users, the only true computer enthusiasts, 8/9/00. We buy Macs for looks and performance, not just a powerful engine. Berst misses the boat again, 8/2/00. ZDNet's Jesse Berst just doesn't get Apple -- he thinks all is lost because Jobs hasn't unveiled a PDA or phone. Macworld: Looking on with Envy, 7/17/00. We all wish we could go to Macworld Expo -- but not this year for Van Esch. more articles on the Mac Scope index page Elsewhere on Low End Mac Building rumors, fooling Slashdot, Anne Onymus with Dan Knight, 8/18. We didn't set out to fool Slashdot or anyone else -- and we explain how to build your own rumors. Don't upgrade that Quadra 630, Adam Robert Guha, Apple Archive, 8/18. Most upgrades for this particular model just don't make economic sense. Browse different, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 8/18. One way browsers could improve the Web surfing experience. Mac-N-DOS list. Yes, it's a bad pun, but if you have to use both Macs and Windows, this new list could be a great resource. New iMacs: Something for everyone, Kel Taylor, Mac to the Future, 8/17. "...the iMac has grown into a family, and a large one at that." Apple ditching G4, Anne Onymus, 8/17. Apple embraces IBM and the G5, leaving Motorola behind. Happy Birthday, iMac!, Dan Knight, iMac Channel, 8/16. "The iMac has redefined the industry and redefined Apple as a trendsetter." The Land Before Silicon, Manuel Mejia, Mac Daniel, 8/16. Travels in Russia with a PowerBook 100. The G4 Cube and Radeon fans, Paulo Rodrigues, Tangerine Fusion, 8/16. How ATI spilled a trade secret. Oops. My First Mac Clone, Spencer, My First Mac, 8/15. Sometimes your first Mac isn't even made by Apple. New @ Low End Mac: Receive email information on new articles. Mac Scope ©2000 by Stephen Van Esch. Low End Mac established April 7, 1997. This page, the entire Low End Mac site, and all subsites of <lowendmac.com> copyright ©1997-2000 by Dan Knight unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. LINK POLICY: This site allows and encourages links to any public page, so long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking the linked page. Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Computer, Inc. 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