The things you’ve long taken for granted in this tiny corner of the universe have been turned upside down over the past few years. It really started when Steve Jobs saved Apple by unveiling the bondi blue iMac in 1998. It seems almost an eternity in the world of personal computers, but it signaled a […]

In the previous chapter of this little tale, I pointed out how Apple’s skeptical protests about whether a possible new product makes sense should be taken with a grain of salt. On the top of the list were such “unthinkables” as a cheap Mac and an iPod with Flash memory, products that were later released […]

Through a large part of Apple’s history, it has focused primarily on the higher-cost, fully-outfitted professional models, with prices to match. As a result, profits were kept high, but sales figures weren’t so terrific. Sure, Apple made occasional forays into the consumer market, but not with such great results. The Performa series comes to mind. […]

Up until that rumor explosion in December, some things were absolutely certain about Apple. For one thing, Steve Jobs would never allow the company to sell a cheap Mac or a cheap iPod. There was no profit in it, and it was better to get large profit margins and remain a boutique computer company. This […]