Of course Apple isn't moving away from their roots

After reading the linked article, your rant doesn't much match what's the article's saying. First off, the "over-payed analysts" are not really wondering if Apple's going to "dump the Mac." Instead, they're wondering if the changes that happened to the iMac are going to filter down to the rest of the Mac offerings, and, sooner or later, is that going to translate into the "Mac" becoming more of a media type center than a more traditional computer, thus "The media will create demand for the hardware..." Media that Apple'll provide. From what I read on this blog, what's put forth in the article by the "over-payed analysts" is a very reasonable pondering. Have you read http://www.tuaw.com/2005/10/24/reader-video-front-row-on-a-mac-mini/ ? As I write this, 336 postings say mostly "I want Front Row on my my mini and, damnit, I'm going to hack it to get it on there." Therefore, there are signs that a legitimate market exists for Macs that are media oriented. So the "over-payed analysts'" question "How long before that pervades the rest of Apples product offerings?" when talking about the Front Row media software filtering down to other Macs, is certainly a very reasonable question. Nothing to rant about. And the "over-payed analysts" make it very clear that they think that Apple's Committed to the Mac as a computer (they say Apple is a "'computer company" and not a "Mac company" as you say they say.) - any 8th grader with critical thinking skills could tell you that. But Apple is a changing company in a changing marketplace. How many people would've told you that you were on drugs if 6 years ago you were to tell them that in 2005 Apple would make and own the world's most dominant music player and music download service? Answer: About all of them. Apple has sold over 1,000,000 videos in less than a month. Are all those videos being transfered to video iPods, or a a lot of them being downloaded to Macs so people can watch them on their Macs and then decide whether or not to buy a video iPod. My guess is that the latter is happening more than you think. If that is the case, then, in a small way, content is driving hardware. Maybe those "overpriced analysts" aren't so loopy after all!

but if apple is all about the integrated user experience, why can't they put a single darn computer commercial on tv ? all i see are ipod commercials for past how many years? if people are even aware that apple still makes computers, they usually think the computers are for storing/organizing music for your ipod and not much else. apple please start advertising your other products besides ipod.

Apple is not a hardware nor software company, per s鮠 They are a company dedicated to providing the computing public with the BEST EXPERIENCE involving a computer. Well, at least your Zen Master S.P. Jobs is. If this requires manufacturing and designing your own computers, applications and operating system, then that's how it has to be. Look at their advertising. Look at their stores. Just look at the UI of the OS and how the applications interact and you will see they are selling you an experience that is unavailable on any other computing platform. It's simply a sad event that Windows is such a staple in the enterprise environment. There is no way Apple can ever infiltrate that. Back on point - No, they won't throw Macintosh in the trash, but that doesn't mean they can't do whatever they, and the general public, want to see involving a computer. As our everyday lives morph away from the computer desktop, Apple should be growing with that movement and interacting with the other devices that we use daily, yet still have a tie-in with our home computer. ** Now bring back the frick'n Newton!! **

Amen! I think a lot of people lose sight of the fact that the iPod works best on a Mac, and that's the way Apple likes it. Windows support was added not as a move towards being an iPod company, but as a gateway drug to get people to move to the Mac. Portable music players will never become as vital to society as personal computers, and Apple knows it. To stop doing computers in favor of short-term gratification on iPods is not in the long-range best interests of Apple. Not to mention that if the Mac went anywhere, you would have nothing short of an angry horde with pitchforks and torches at the gates of 1 Infinite Loop. You may think that's a funny statement, but I wouldn't want to go against millions of people who are commonly described as 'fanatics,' 'cult-like,' and 'passionate.'