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! What Is Apple's Long-Term Strategy? Stephen Van Esch June 5, 2000 Mac users have it pretty good. Apple's stock is high (despite its recent slide), a new OS is on the way, and market share has stabilized. So what's next for Apple? How does it intend to remain on top? Colored computers were definitely the lifesaver for them, and they continue to deliver knockout products. What I'm more concerned about is the long-term strategy that Apple will use to survive and thrive. Product announcements have slowed down a lot recently. The slowdown comes after several product successes. The iMac was a hit, the iBook was a hit, the new PowerBook was a hit and the G3 and G4 desktops were hits. This acceleration of product introductions was probably the result of Apple's desperate scramble from the brink of death. On the design front Apple, appears to be coasting. No new designs appear to be in the works. Of course, this could easily be attributed to Apple's no leak policy that has made the Macintosh rumor an endangered species. For all we know, the iMac's replacement is heading for production right now. Of course, the iMac, G4, iBook, and PowerBook still look great. Why mess with what works? It's still a little disconcerting, however, that no new designs seem to be in the works to keep Mac sales high. The decline in iMac sales isn't doing anything to reassure investors. I think that OS X is probably affecting new hardware designs and products. OS X is a huge undertaking that requires a fair number of resources. Motorola's chip problems also seem to be holding Apple back. I'm still interested in Apple's long-term design plans. Are new designs waiting in the wings? Will the venerable iMac see something more than a speed and RAM bump in the near future? On the software side, things are a little clearer: OS X is where we're going. I firmly believe that OS X is the foundation of Apple's next great leap forward. This leap would not be possible with the current Mac OS. Microsoft has been touting their Next Generation Windows Services as the technology that will ensure their market dominance. Unfortunately, Microsoft is basing this strategy on an OS that, while greatly improved, remains less stable than Unix machines. Potential users may also question Microsoft's ability to keep their data secure over the Internet. Recent bug scares indicate that their doubts would be well founded. At least if Apple chooses a similar strategy, the Unix-based core will be rock solid and reasonably secure. As several readers pointed out after my last column, Apple is making a somewhat low-key push into the server market with a Web Objects price cut. More Web Objects developers and more applications means more OS X servers. That's one more cog in the machine to drive Apple forward. So what's the deal? I haven't heard or seen anything on Apple's strategy beyond OS X. Not much seems to be up as Adam Banks put it in MacUser. Where is Apple going? I don't know. But I'm sure they have a plan. <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. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iMac, and iBook are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of the individual companies and are hereby acknowledged. LinkExchange Member	Select content available in AvantGo format for Palm, WinCE users. Mac of the Week Mac IIfx Lists of the Week Apple2list. 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