One of the most telling jokes during the presentation of Leopard at Apple’s WWDC was that it was $129 for the “Basic” version and $129 for the “Ultimate” version. In stark contrast to Microsoft’s confusing lineup of Vista choices, Apple stayed with the program. One “client” version and one “server” version, basically. Yes, there’s a […]

When some of you first saw the Leopard version of the menu bar, I bet there were a few grumbles about its near-invisibility with some screen backdrops. Indeed, I suppose Apple’s interface designers took the hint and made it less transparent as time passed. At least, that’s what it seems based upon what Steve Jobs […]

Before every last one of you gentle readers delivers a collective, ear-shattering “yes” to that question, maybe we should look more carefully at all the possibilities. Could it be that Apple’s business strategy works best the way it’s being executed, even if we don’t like it very much? To attempt to answer that question, let’s […]

It’s always easy to portray a company’s product plans as having some hidden, sinister meaning. Certainly, we’ve all done it for years with Microsoft, and certainly their behavior has justified many of the most insidious conspiracy theories. Lots of people also have their suspicions about Apple. After all, Steve Jobs can create that legendary “reality […]