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June 16th through 23rd Archives

Thursday, June 20th 2002 11:26 PDT

Dr. Bott ships LeatherPod, Leather case for the iPod from e-Pac

LeatherPod from e-Pac is a deluxe iPod case in European design that features play-through usability while still offering protection for the iPod itself. The removable shoulder strap and belt clip provide versatile yet elegant ways to keep your iPod with you on the go.

"The LeatherPod is a truly befitting the professional with high quality soft leather and European design." said Jens Dietrich, of Dr. Bott KG. "All the style, comfort and features do not add up in price - in fact, the LeatherPod is surprisingly affordable!"

Pricing & Availability: LeatherPod retails for $29.95 is available immediately.

Wednesday, June 19th 2002 00:50 EDT

More Reader Comments

We received a few more reader comments on the new ads:

I think the ads should have gone a little further. Why not offer switching PC users Virtual PC as a bundled item? This would address head on the sticking point for a number of Windows users: switching to Macs is costly in terms of software. Those who own a good deal of Windows software feel like they have no choice but to stick with their platform--they aren't aware (noone tells them) that Virtual PC allows them to run more software than a PC. After all, if you run Virtual PC, can't you now run all Windows native apps as well as Apple's?

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Apple says they received over ten thousand letters from switchers. It concerns me if the eight people used in the ads are representative . They seem mostly from artist/tech backgrounds. How about a teacher, doctor, accountant even (gasp!) a lawyer. The artist/tech types already know about Macs imo. I also think it would improve by mentioning one application that the switcher uses.

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This person seems to imply that low-income people aren't interested in being more productive with their time, or using their time more effectively - and that by spending an additional $300 (for the sake of argument) they're going to go even more broke.

Maybe this message was not intended as such, but it's prejudiced. By targeting "minority" customers, this guy is implying that blacks, latinos, etc. (the "minorities") don't have any money - that's being stereotypical, is it not? And not accurate.

I know plenty of "minority" people with more money than a lot of other "non-minority" people.

Tuesday, June 18th 2002 00:01 EDT

"Switch" Ads Reader Responses

Only a few of you wrote in with your opinions on the new "switch" ads Apple is running in its largest advertising campaign since the "Think Different" series in the mid-1990s:

I have recently started seeing the Apple commercials and I agree that they are well done. I also agree with your point regarding the makeup of those that have switched. Granted the ad company probably chose who to use in the commercials. Apple should have stepped in somewhere and say it is a little to homogenous. Not only would it be more representative of the US and Apple to have other races and ethnic groups in the commercials, it also would allow Apple to tap into a market that is far from saturated.

Now that Apple computers are seen as the better value, it has a potential user base that hasn't been adequately catered to. I have read many stories of Microsoft providing computers to underserved areas and has partnered with several African-American groups to peddle their products. Apple is missing out on this market. The current commercials will not help. Even though I am not a fan of celebrity endorsements, even a commercial on why Sinbad, Herbie Hancock, Mae Jameison ( sp?) on why they switched or chose Apple would be useful.

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I would have to agree with your analysis of Apple's latest ads. But I wish they would go further and have an ad for each of their iApps displaying how really easy they are to use.

I know that's how I was able to convert my father-in-law. My in-laws cam to visit this past Xmas. He had just bought a Canon S110 digital Elph camera. He had not tried hooking it up to his PC before arriving. So when he did arrive he had already taken quite a few pics.

I had just bought a new iBook running OS X and said hey let's download them and have a look. Of course as he was getting the cable for the camera he said that he had the software for it in his suitcase. Of course I said I don't think we need it. This is a Mac.

Sure enough, when we connected the camera the Image Capture app automatically launched and knew what camera it was. I thought he'd be impressed but didn't say anything. When they went home they had taken a bunch more photos of the kids and had a full CD.

Well, after flying back home he then attempted to get the camera to work with his machine. Of course he had to add a USB card. But he was only able to successfully download his photos one time with the help of his neighbor.

So they came to visit us again in May. He brought his camera again but it still had photos on it because he didn't want to lose them on his other machine and was unable to download them anyway. Of course as soon as we connected the iBook recognized the camera and launched iPhoto this time.

This time he was impressed since he had experienced all the problems on his PC. While here we had a chance to get over to the Dallas Apple Store. Now my father-in-law is a gadget freak too, so he was impressed with the layout of the store. I put one of the salespeople on him so that he got the Apple experience from a different perspective. He asked all the questions about switching and what he might expect.

The last thing we did before we left was to show him that it didn't matter which Mac he connected his camera to it would recognize it. We hooked it up to an iMac's keyboard USB connector and sure enough it launched iPhoto and saw his camera.

He was now sold. He had actually been one click away from buying a new Dell before coming to visit in May.

Before he left to go back home we ordered him a new iMac and iPod online and it arrived the day after they got home.

Right now he's still getting used to the new interface but at least when he does call for help I can help him!

BTW, I switched to the Mac in '94 after getting tired of IRQ setting, DIP switches and things just not working. I had built my first PC in '84 and new my way around DOS and Windoze 3.1 pretty well. I was the guy that people left they PCs with that need a new hard drive, etc.

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about your complaints it seems everybody knows what to do with the bear except that 'ol boy that's holding it

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if Apple attempted to target minority customers specifically, it would create an interesting contradiction for Apple, in terms of its market niche: the company or at least a number of Apple's loyalists, claim that Apple is a prestige brand similar to BMW, ie a manufacturer that charges more, for a better product.

Yet, if Apple targets minority customers, then they must eventually acknowledge and cater to many minority customers' low income status. This is a terribly difficult proposition for a company that markets its shares to stockholders by informing them that Apple can maintain profit margins of nearly 30% for each cpu sold.

Monday, June 17th 2002 00:01 EDT

Site Notes

Please accept our apologies for the few-and-far-between updates of the last two weeks. They should be more consistent now. Our thanks go to Simon of X Appeal.org for the updates that were posted.

Our Thoughts on the New Ads

Our opinion on the eight new Apple "switch ads differs from others we've read.

The new ads are very direct and clearly extol the virtues of the Macintosh platform, a departure from the usual Apple ads that aim to create a "hip" brand for the company's products.

However, we have two complaints about the new ads:

• First, there are no minorities represented in the ads. For Apple, a company that has plenty of minorities among its employees and customers, to produce ads with eight Caucasian people seems to be an oversight.
• Second, the only mention of a business user switching over to Macintosh is a "small business" of one person. At least one of the eight ads should've been the owner of a major company switching over to Macintosh, as that's an area that Apple is grossly outmatched by the PC sector.

If you've got your own opinion, we'd like to hear it. Send in your comments to info@pbzone.com.

PBZone Mailbag

Here are a few comments from readers about several subjects:

MCE Combo Drive Upgrade for PowerBook G4 Rev/A:

Just thought I would let you and the readers know that I just received my Powerbook G4 (Rev. A/500 Mhz) back from MCE for the combo drive upgrade that they are offering. The drive works flawlessly (DVD, CD burning, etc) and their service was fast and smooth, I had the computer back in 4 days!

"Blue Stripe" of Pixels on LCD Problem:

My PowerBook had not been exposed to any shock or such, then one day the line appeared. I 'massaged' the back of the screen in hopes that there was just a bit of debris in causing the line that might be dislodged. I found that if I pressed the screen near the bottom of the line it would disappear, but only while I pressed the screen (fairly hard). My machine was still under warranty, but I did not send it in right away because it was still quite usable. A few weeks went by, and the line went away. I didn't do anything, just opened it up like normal and it was gone.

About a month later, the blue line came back, as well as a green one a few pixels to the left. With the green line, I could press (hard) against the back of the screen and it would go away for several days before returning. Over a few weeks, new lines started appearing every few days, some which could be removed using the trick, others which were persistent. I do not know if the subsequent lines appeared due to damage I did when 'fixing' the second line or not.

I eventually sent my PowerBook in and Apple repaired it. Their report simply said it was fixed, not whether the display was replaced or if something else was to blame. It took them over four weeks to repair it. Whenever I would check the repair status on their web site, it said 'Awaiting Part'. I would advise your to send it in if have the warranty, because the problem might grow worse.

PowerBook G4/800 User Report:

I often read your site and thought it was about my turn to contribute.

I've been using my new PB G4 800mghz for 5 days now. I upgraded from a PB G4 500 machine. On the 800 DVI machine I've got 1 gig ram and 60 meg HD (the bto model.) As others have mentioned, I too have noticed the most difference in the screen, but I've also noticed substantial improvement in overall system speed and especially video performance.

Using the new PB 800 side by side with the PB 500 (for two days) I could really tell the difference in screen real estate. And working in my familiar programs, I'm often reminded (by the luxury of being able to extend program windows) that I have more screen space. Its a little thing that really makes a difference. Also the screen is substantially brighter. I can keep my brightness settings 2 or 3 "clicks" lower and get the same brightness levels of my PB 500.

Next, the overall speed seems quicker. OSX still doesn't seem as snappy as OS 9 to me, but this machine eliminates me questioning the speed of the operating system every time I use it. It's a big jump in performance from the PB 500.

Where I've really noticed a "horsepower" improvement is in the work I do everyday on the machine. I do a lot of video editing and DVD authoring. And Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio pro, After Effects, and DVD player all seem to perform much better. For example, I often have my PowerBook hooked to a second monitor (with this new pb I could hook it to a Cinema HD display - although its just hooked to an analog monitor now) and in the past DVD player would not play a DVD when I had a second monitor hooked up. This new PB 800 does so very easily. Also, on the PB 500 machine, I could not use the "preview" function while running DVD studio pro with two monitors - I'm able to do now with the PB 800. After Effects performs better (I've noticed it most with 3D operations) and renders faster.

Overall, for what I do most (media creation,) this new PB 800 machine is a big jump in performance. I was a little worried it wouldn't be as big a jump as I might hope for - but I've not been disappointed, Its amazing.

Reader Looking for Leather G4 Bag:

One of my customers saw a very thin briefcase made for the TiBook made of leather that had straps attached to the lid of the notebook so when you opened the briefcase, the TiBook lid opened at the same time. I'm stumped, and he WANTS it! Any ideas? Send them in here.