

 Why There Will Be No Macs in 2010 (2006) - mmphosis
http://www.applematters.com/article/875/

======
Zak
I actually scrolled up to check to see if the date was April 1, 2006. This
reads like a cleverly disguised joke. Cat names as an argument? Vista as an
argument, followed by the contradictory argument that Apple will sell Mac OS
for PCs? Are we sure this isn't a joke or a troll?

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noonespecial
_"How great does Vista really have to be to look fantastic next to XP?"_

A strong candidate for "best. quote. evar.".

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zmmz
It seems they made another 2010 prediction in December 2010:
[http://www.applematters.com/article/10-apple-predictions-
for...](http://www.applematters.com/article/10-apple-predictions-for-2010/)

My fav: _5\. Apple Finally Releases a Tablet and it Fails

The more you hear the rumors the more it seems like Apple is intent on
releasing a 10" iPhone to the world. Supposedly, it will be low priced and
you'll be able to have constant connectivity with the thing. Sounds good on
paper but why would you want a 10" iPhone if you already have an iPhone that
fits in your pocket?_

~~~
cstuder
It's like, quotes from the future about the coming past... My head hurts.

(You meant December 2009.)

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JeanPierre
Apparently, the cat names will lead to the Mac's extinction, because they
can't update their OS anymore. For the very same reason, Ubuntu will stop
updating in 7.5 years: No more letters in the English alphabet to name the
versions after.

~~~
shadowsun7
I've always thought they'd switch to dog names after they run out of cat names
- it's a long-term dream of mine to own a copy of Mac OSX Chihuahua.

~~~
rbanffy
It will be called iOS 5

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trebor
Apple is a hardware company.

So, why would they ever abandon their actual cash cow? Case-in-point: iPhone
4, 720p video, and iMovie (on the iPhone). If you made iMovie like Apple has,
the man-hours invested in that would demand a higher price than a mere $5,
right? However, that version of iMovie is a selling point for the phone--
which, coincidentally, is where they make their money. The same is true for
their Macs and Laptops: they make the biggest margins in their hardware.

And I have to say, as someone who's chided the "our-size-fits-you" model, it
sure hasn't hurt Apple's business. They've money in the bank (>$50bn) and a
dedicated following.

~~~
sprout
Apple is a hardware company. Apple hardware could easily compete with Apple
software running on third-party hardware. As far as software goes, I would
rather be running Windows 7 (though I say this as a desktop Linux user.)

I don't think the market for a legal, barely supported Hackintosh is that
large, but I do think opening it up would earn Apple some cash with minimal
risk.

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marknutter
And this is probably why I religiously Gruber's blog but have never heard of
applematters.com

~~~
talbina
Gruber also made a couple of bad calls / predictions, but none as big as this.

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kls
the one quote that struck me was this one:

 _The era of the all-in-one hardware and software solution has been gone for
at least the last ten years_

You know that era may be dead, but I cannot think of a better era to be a
technical person. Sure the web is great but things where still exotic then.
There was a plethora of exotic machines that where new and novel. I remember
the first DEC machine I ran into, not to mention SGI, Amiga, Symbolics LISP
machine each new job was filled with wonder lust for someone just out of
school. I would not trade that experience for the world and am glad that there
was a time when integrated machines reigned.

~~~
rbanffy
It saddens me my kids grew up on an x86 desktop world. I think that's why I
have a collection of interesting computers - Macs (68K, PPC and x86), RISC
workstations, Amigas, Ataris, Apple IIs: to give them a taste of what has been
so they can imagine what can still be.

And boy... I want a Lisp machine for the collection...

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christonog
So a reason for removing one of their main product lines is because Apple is
running out of Cat names? Really? What's next, there will be no more Android
phones because all the treats in the bakery were taken?

Edit: I don't know much about this writer or blog, but in the comments it
seems that he was joking. Oh the joys of detecting humor and sarcasm in
writing..

The comments were more insightful than the main article.

~~~
vijaydev
I stopped reading once I hit the "Cat Names" paragraph. Complete BS!

~~~
cubicle67
You didn't think that perhaps it was tongue in cheek?

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philwelch
I like how Intel processors were supposed to kill the Mac. They were the
greatest boon for the Mac ever.

~~~
alanthonyc
That got me to switch over. The ability to dual boot into Windows for work
purposes considerably lessened the risk of buying a Mac. That, and the fact
that I was sick of my Windows machine.

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robgough
It is a funny read (particularly the line about Vista) but the line that stood
out for me was "Here most people will argue that Apple is a hardware company,
the software, they’ll say, is there to drive sales of the hardware."

I did actually used to think that, but I've changed my mind now. Apple are a
software company, and they make great hardware to drive sales of their
software. I love my MBP, but if it was just an expensive windows machine I'd
never have seriously considered buying it. I bought it for OS X.

Also, I personally think that the switch to Intel was a massive deal, and
changed the fate of the Mac.

~~~
cooldude127
I agree with you that their software is the most compelling part of the Mac.
But the reason people tend to say Apple is a hardware company is because
that's where the money is made.

It's not wrong to say that the software drives the sales of the hardware. The
software is outstanding, and compels people to purchase the profitable
hardware.

~~~
robgough
That's fair enough. I should really have said they're both, combined. And it
is the combination that is the key to their success.

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wazoox
> The era of the all-in-one hardware and software solution has been gone for
> at least the last ten years

Hum, completely backwards; it's the other way around, appliance computer
devices are everywhere : NAS, media hub, phones and tablets... it's the
customisable computer (the one you can open and extend) which is nearly dead.
Everybody buys laptops or small integrated machines like macs mini and the
likes.

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saint-loup
<http://www.applematters.com/article/the-bad-enough-issue/> This article
argues that producing some generations of Macbook Pro without a Firewire port
was a bad idea. But I cannot recall (and Mactracker neither) of any MBP of
this kind!

~~~
davidmathers
_I cannot recall (and Mactracker neither) of any MBP of this kind_

That was the first generation 13" MacBook Pro.

~~~
cubicle67
back when they were simple called unibody MacBooks, and the 'pro' didn't start
until you hit 15"

But yes, they're sans firewire. I know; I have one

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evandavid
"I also think that it would benifit Apple to start thinking about shaping OS X
to work on a mobile platform. Think about it. OS X running on a cell phone or
a pda? F*ck!ng awesome!"

In hindsight, I agree.

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vegasbrianc
Can these guys predict stock market prices as well? :)

~~~
rbanffy
Truth is they can. That's why they write about computing and don't spend their
days flying planes, driving fast cars or throwing wild parties.

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stinkytaco
Good thing Toy Story 3 is coming out. I was worried about Debian's future.

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devin
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