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It was that way in the US too until the iPod and then iPhone took off and MacOS X became viable. If it wasn't for Apple's legacy hold in education (a lot univer

It was that way in the US too until the iPod and then iPhone took off and MacOS X became viable. If it wasn't for Apple's legacy hold in education (a lot universities in the 90's sold Macs in their bookstores) Apple may have gone the way of Amiga before that happened. They were seen as the expensive, pretty computer used by creative types or by students.

inanutshellus 2y ago
Famously, Apple was the stock everyone expected to fail, for over a decade. You couldn't short them because they kept not dying. You couldn't buy'm because they kept not making money. IMO, Apple was only able to stay alive because Microsoft invested so heavily in them. Microsoft was worried about being seen as a monopoly, so investing in Apple ensured that Microsoft could both /not/ be a monopoly but also benefit no matter how well Apple did. IIRC they sold their stake after the iPod was released and Apple was back on its feet.
- eej71 2y ago
  Entire books were written about the disaster that was Apple in the mid-late 90s. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/581496.Apple https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/581496.Apple They weren't wrong. Just an amazing turn around.
xattt 2y ago
Widespread adoption of Macs by students really went hand-in-hand with the transition to Intel, likely because of a boost to battery life that allowed students to take notes for at least two lectures before needing to plug in.
tivert 2y ago
>> You'd only see Macs in professional sound, video, graphic design and publishing houses... > It was that way in the US too until the iPod and then iPhone took off and MacOS X became viable. No. As someone who had experience with existing in the 90s, I can say you're dead wrong. Like I don't even know where to start. Macs weren't as popular as PCs, but you'd see them all over in the consumer space: You'd see Macs in department store computer displays (Best Buy, Sam's Club, Officemax, etc.). The iMac was released in 1998 (and was so influential you had PC makers copying its style). That was the real beginning of Apple's turnaround. The iPod wasn't released in 2001, and was pretty niche for a long time. Several families I know had Macs as their family computer during the 90s (including my own).
- Sakos 2y ago
  Growing up, I didn't know a single person personally who owned a Mac. I only knew Macs from schools and the handful of teachers I knew who'd bought the new PowerBooks ca 2002. I also had experience existing in the 90s. They were extremely niche. And going into the 2000s, I knew plenty of people with an iPod, but no Mac.
  - everfrustrated 2y ago
    >And going into the 2000s, I knew plenty of people with an iPod, but no Mac. Which took some doing as iPods were all Firewire up until ~2004 when Apple transitioned to USB. Firewire was pretty unusual in the PC ecosystem - usually requiring purchasing a PCI card.
    - Sakos 2y ago
      First gen version also didn't have Windows software. I'm thinking more once they were convenient for PC users to use, I guess 2005 onwards? I don't think I saw any iPods before then.
- samatman 2y ago
  > I can say you're dead wrong. Like I don't even know where to start. This kind of aggressive riposte is never called for. It's true that the Bondi Blue iMac arrived three years before the iPod, and was influential. It bought Apple some breathing room, and took it off life support. A success by any measure. It's also true that prior to this, and for a considerable time after, Macs were largely found in exactly the niches described by the post you're responding to. I would add education as well, as did, let's note, the directly parent post to your own. Sure, you'd find them in other places, like <checks notes> less than 5% of household computers, including your household it turns out. I can see why that would distort your impression of its ubiquity. The iPod was an immediate sensation. It didn't start to sell in numbers for a few years, but everyone knew what it was (speaking from the US perspective) and craved it. There's no question in my mind that it was the touchstone product which gave life to the entire company, and the halo effect it produced gave a crucial leg up to the iPhone, which is what made Apple the multi-trillion-dollar company it is today. Leaving off a few details and compressing a timeline doesn't make someone wrong, let alone 'dead wrong'.

inanutshellus 2y ago

Famously, Apple was the stock everyone expected to fail, for over a decade. You couldn't short them because they kept not dying. You couldn't buy'm because they kept not making money. IMO, Apple was only able to stay alive because Microsoft invested so heavily in them. Microsoft was worried about being seen as a monopoly, so investing in Apple ensured that Microsoft could both /not/ be a monopoly but also benefit no matter how well Apple did. IIRC they sold their stake after the iPod was released and Apple was back on its feet.

eej71 2y ago
Entire books were written about the disaster that was Apple in the mid-late 90s. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/581496.Apple https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/581496.Apple They weren't wrong. Just an amazing turn around.

xattt 2y ago

Widespread adoption of Macs by students really went hand-in-hand with the transition to Intel, likely because of a boost to battery life that allowed students to take notes for at least two lectures before needing to plug in.

tivert 2y ago

>> You'd only see Macs in professional sound, video, graphic design and publishing houses... > It was that way in the US too until the iPod and then iPhone took off and MacOS X became viable. No. As someone who had experience with existing in the 90s, I can say you're dead wrong. Like I don't even know where to start. Macs weren't as popular as PCs, but you'd see them all over in the consumer space: You'd see Macs in department store computer displays (Best Buy, Sam's Club, Officemax, etc.). The iMac was released in 1998 (and was so influential you had PC makers copying its style). That was the real beginning of Apple's turnaround. The iPod wasn't released in 2001, and was pretty niche for a long time. Several families I know had Macs as their family computer during the 90s (including my own).

Sakos 2y ago
Growing up, I didn't know a single person personally who owned a Mac. I only knew Macs from schools and the handful of teachers I knew who'd bought the new PowerBooks ca 2002. I also had experience existing in the 90s. They were extremely niche. And going into the 2000s, I knew plenty of people with an iPod, but no Mac.
- everfrustrated 2y ago
  >And going into the 2000s, I knew plenty of people with an iPod, but no Mac. Which took some doing as iPods were all Firewire up until ~2004 when Apple transitioned to USB. Firewire was pretty unusual in the PC ecosystem - usually requiring purchasing a PCI card.
  - Sakos 2y ago
    First gen version also didn't have Windows software. I'm thinking more once they were convenient for PC users to use, I guess 2005 onwards? I don't think I saw any iPods before then.
samatman 2y ago
> I can say you're dead wrong. Like I don't even know where to start. This kind of aggressive riposte is never called for. It's true that the Bondi Blue iMac arrived three years before the iPod, and was influential. It bought Apple some breathing room, and took it off life support. A success by any measure. It's also true that prior to this, and for a considerable time after, Macs were largely found in exactly the niches described by the post you're responding to. I would add education as well, as did, let's note, the directly parent post to your own. Sure, you'd find them in other places, like <checks notes> less than 5% of household computers, including your household it turns out. I can see why that would distort your impression of its ubiquity. The iPod was an immediate sensation. It didn't start to sell in numbers for a few years, but everyone knew what it was (speaking from the US perspective) and craved it. There's no question in my mind that it was the touchstone product which gave life to the entire company, and the halo effect it produced gave a crucial leg up to the iPhone, which is what made Apple the multi-trillion-dollar company it is today. Leaving off a few details and compressing a timeline doesn't make someone wrong, let alone 'dead wrong'.