It's nice for Apple to listen to users for feedback, it would be nicer if they did it before shipping the OS. Although there's something to be said for the free publicity that results out of a nice out-cry once in a while. Plus your customers are paying for their own usability testing in the x.0 release.
About the mini tower; the article gives its own reasons why Steve will never allow it:
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People who have in the past bought a Mac Pro or Power Mac G5, even though it was overkill, because it was the only real option for them—the Mac mini and iMac simply didn’t have the power or modest expandability these people needed. People in this group would, given the opportunity, purchase the MMMM instead of a Mac Pro.
Round 1; lost revenue
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People who would be satisfied with the power and features of the top-of-the-line iMac but who already have their own display or who don’t want an all-in-one machine that forces them to buy a new display every time they buy a new computer. A few of these people who would have purchased an iMac will buy the MMMM instead, but some will buy an Apple display with it. And I’ll bet there are plenty of people in this group who wouldn’t buy an iMac, for the reasons I just noted, but would buy the MMMM.
Round 2; most of them buy an iMac anyway; so lost revenue if they don't pay for the built-in display. We all know what Apple charges for a display.
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People who truly need some degree of upgradeability but don’t need—or can’t afford—the power or total expandability of a Mac Pro. There are plenty of people out there right now, especially Windows users, who want to buy a Mac, but don’t see a machine that fits their needs at a reasonable price. For this group, the MMMM is the Missing Mac.
Round 3; why confuse them? The iMac is for them, they just don't know it.
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# People who don’t actually need upgradability but are convinced they do. The reality of the computer market is that the proportion of people who actually upgrade their computers beyond adding RAM is quite small. But at the same time, many of the people who will never upgrade their computers still think they’ll upgrade their computers—or at least want the security and comfort of knowing that they could. Many of these people would be well-served by the capabilities of an iMac, or even a souped-up Mac mini, but will never buy a “non-upgradeable” computer. The MMMM could quickly bring these people into the Mac fold.
Round 4; Better make sure it's not upgradable at all; built in ports & obsolescence; a win-win situation.
Knock out!
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/12/2008 04:52AM by tliet.
