6 ms·

In an odd way, given what the pundit knew and all things being equal from the opening of the fist store, they probably would have closed down in two years. BUT

by Judson 16y ago

In an odd way, given what the pundit knew and all things being equal from the opening of the fist store, they probably would have closed down in two years. BUT, Apple debuted the iPod that october and put it in its retail stores so customers could get a hands on for the device. I always believed (after watching my friends buy iPods, followed by Mac purchases a year or so later) that the iPod was a huge growth driver for the Mac, by making it easy for consumers to get acquainted with the Apple brand.

j_baker 16y ago
I think it was the iPod that saved Apple from dying, but I honestly think it was Windows Vista that propelled them to the limelight (whether the criticism of Vista was valid or not).
- wwortiz 16y ago
  The criticism was pretty valid as when vista came out many of the computers weren't really up to recommended requirements with laptops (probably the biggest vista seller) having celerons and 1gb of ram. It could have gone so much better if the computers didn't seem so slow to respond. But in addition to that there were indeed criticism that wasn't valid and any program not working or anything else wrong with the computer was blamed on vista, mac just seemed to grab a hold of these ideas and advertise in the right way (I'm a mac).
- dieterrams 16y ago
  I don't think nearly enough credit is being given to the advances they made with the Mac following Jobs' return. The original iMacs were a big deal, and they've been nailing the all-in-one desktop ever since. Likewise with their laptops. Switching to Intel and supporting dual boot, also a huge deal. iPods were definitely a huge growth driver for the Mac, but Apple without the iPod or the benefit of Vista would still be far from dead.
- philwelch 16y ago
  What Apple did for the Mac in the late 90's saved Apple from dying in the run-out-of-money sense. The iPod and Mac OS X in the early 00's made Apple a relevant, high-growth company again.
- flatulent1 16y ago
  The iPod was a good thing for Apple, but the real kick start out of the dismal Performa days in consumer space started earlier with the original iMac. Some may recall Steve getting the nickname of iCEO after that.
antidaily 16y ago
But didn't the iPod take a while to catch on? It wasn't a store-saving juggernaut right out of the gates. It took a couple years.
- grinich 16y ago
  Once it was available for Windows users, it took off.
delano 16y ago
The iPod was also Apple's first step towards to the corporate market. It looked like a purely consumer play at the time, but with the iPhone and now the iPad, it turns out they were just taking the long road.
- acgourley 16y ago
  I find it hard to believe they were thinking that at the time.
  - lotusleaf1987 16y ago
    I think what they were looking for was a trojan horse product, something you buy and then end up buying more products as a result. Think about the iPod, iTunes on Windows is meh...you end up getting an Airport, but eventually a lot of those people ended up buying Macs.
  - delano 16y ago
    What were they thinking at the time?
    - leoc 16y ago
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9046oXrm7f8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9046oXrm7f8 seems to be the answer. See also http://www.wired.com/gadgets/mac/commentary/cultofmac/2006/10/71956?currentPage=3 http://www.wired.com/gadgets/mac/commentary/cultofmac/2006/1... . You can also see how the Digital Hub idea evidently influenced the layout of the Apple Store http://lowendmac.com/orchard/08th/roots-of-the-apple-store.html http://lowendmac.com/orchard/08th/roots-of-the-apple-store.h... : the stands devoted to a particular kind of task, with appropriate gadgets attached to a Mac.
      - delano 16y ago
        Thanks for the info. In the first video Steve Jobs talks about the history of the PC. The prehistoric age, the golden age, the internet age, and then the age they felt we were entering: the digital lifestyle age. That was an accurate assessment of the market. That was also only 5 years before the iPhone was released. I would be surprised if they weren't already planning for it and envisioning further development in the handheld market. With regards to the digital hub, they don't use the term anymore, but it's still an accurate description of the mac (and iTunes for Windows).

by Judson 16y ago

j_baker 16y ago

I think it was the iPod that saved Apple from dying, but I honestly think it was Windows Vista that propelled them to the limelight (whether the criticism of Vista was valid or not).

wwortiz 16y ago
The criticism was pretty valid as when vista came out many of the computers weren't really up to recommended requirements with laptops (probably the biggest vista seller) having celerons and 1gb of ram. It could have gone so much better if the computers didn't seem so slow to respond. But in addition to that there were indeed criticism that wasn't valid and any program not working or anything else wrong with the computer was blamed on vista, mac just seemed to grab a hold of these ideas and advertise in the right way (I'm a mac).
dieterrams 16y ago
I don't think nearly enough credit is being given to the advances they made with the Mac following Jobs' return. The original iMacs were a big deal, and they've been nailing the all-in-one desktop ever since. Likewise with their laptops. Switching to Intel and supporting dual boot, also a huge deal. iPods were definitely a huge growth driver for the Mac, but Apple without the iPod or the benefit of Vista would still be far from dead.
philwelch 16y ago
What Apple did for the Mac in the late 90's saved Apple from dying in the run-out-of-money sense. The iPod and Mac OS X in the early 00's made Apple a relevant, high-growth company again.
flatulent1 16y ago
The iPod was a good thing for Apple, but the real kick start out of the dismal Performa days in consumer space started earlier with the original iMac. Some may recall Steve getting the nickname of iCEO after that.

antidaily 16y ago

But didn't the iPod take a while to catch on? It wasn't a store-saving juggernaut right out of the gates. It took a couple years.

grinich 16y ago
Once it was available for Windows users, it took off.

delano 16y ago

The iPod was also Apple's first step towards to the corporate market. It looked like a purely consumer play at the time, but with the iPhone and now the iPad, it turns out they were just taking the long road.

acgourley 16y ago
I find it hard to believe they were thinking that at the time.
- lotusleaf1987 16y ago
  I think what they were looking for was a trojan horse product, something you buy and then end up buying more products as a result. Think about the iPod, iTunes on Windows is meh...you end up getting an Airport, but eventually a lot of those people ended up buying Macs.
- delano 16y ago
  What were they thinking at the time?
  - leoc 16y ago
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9046oXrm7f8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9046oXrm7f8 seems to be the answer. See also http://www.wired.com/gadgets/mac/commentary/cultofmac/2006/10/71956?currentPage=3 http://www.wired.com/gadgets/mac/commentary/cultofmac/2006/1... . You can also see how the Digital Hub idea evidently influenced the layout of the Apple Store http://lowendmac.com/orchard/08th/roots-of-the-apple-store.html http://lowendmac.com/orchard/08th/roots-of-the-apple-store.h... : the stands devoted to a particular kind of task, with appropriate gadgets attached to a Mac.
    - delano 16y ago
      Thanks for the info. In the first video Steve Jobs talks about the history of the PC. The prehistoric age, the golden age, the internet age, and then the age they felt we were entering: the digital lifestyle age. That was an accurate assessment of the market. That was also only 5 years before the iPhone was released. I would be surprised if they weren't already planning for it and envisioning further development in the handheld market. With regards to the digital hub, they don't use the term anymore, but it's still an accurate description of the mac (and iTunes for Windows).