Macworld: what a difference a decade makes

Stevemas (that's Macworld to you) is just around the corner and the Mac web can hardly wait. What will Apple wow us with this time around? A true video iPod? New displays with built in iSights? Only Steve knows for sure, however, let's cast our gaze into Apple's past for a moment. Let's go all the way back to January 1997.

Picture it: San Francisco, early January 1997. Alanis Morissette was playing on the radio, though ironically enough her song 'Ironic' wasn't ironic at all. Just last month Apple announced that they had acquired NeXT. During the Keynote Gil Amelio announced that Steve Jobs would be returning to the fold. People were happy right? Well, I am sure some people were but this Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article (Find Articles seems to be a big fan of pop ups, so fair warning) paints a different picture.

Mac users were worried that Apple would be abandoning the Macintosh OS for the Unix based NeXT OS and that their current machines would be rendered useless. They were right, OS X is based on NeXT, but luckily for Mac users it took Apple a very long time to get OS X out the door. It is interesting, though, to see the Apple faithful a little anxious about having Steve Jobs back at Apple, since now everyone is afraid that Steve might actually leave Apple at some point.

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Source: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4196/is_19970113…

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Macworld Analysis / Opinion Retro Mac

Stevemas (that's Macworld to you) is just around the corner and the Mac web can hardly wait. What will Apple wow us with this time around?...

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russell

And think what macworld 2017 will be like... depending how long steve will have been gone for (if at all of course) user migration away to linux could be well underway. few, I think, would stand for apple becoming disney after walt. few will enjoy the DRM thumbscrews the RIAA will continuously tighten through a weaker and less visionary leader, or the pay-per-byte software services that you know are on the way. apple been a great run, but its lifetime is limited. Deep irony would be if Ray Ozzie converts Microsoft to linux after the total implosion of windows while apple languishes, directionless, visionless, on the OS X and ipod laurels after the Steve is gone.

December 29 2006 at 11:58 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Cowboy_X

LUCKILY for Mac users? gawd, imagine if users could have been spared the dark ages of OS8 and 9... so much marketshare lost, so many rebooted computers...

December 29 2006 at 3:07 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Josh*

Why does no one get this? iSights in monitors is a stupid, stupid, idea. All the people that are going to be buying ACDs will be doing so in addition to already owning an iiSight-enabled Mac or a MacBook Pro -- if not, it's simple -- they either own a Mac Mini or a Mac Pro.

How many budget-minded Mini owners are going to splash out for an ACD just so they an have an iSight? How many Pro owners are going to want an iSight in their displays -- and hell, imagine if they wanted a dual setup?! how redundant would the second iSight be?

Ridiculous thinking. Apple must haeve the market sense to have dreamt these scenarios up already.

December 29 2006 at 1:43 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Kendall Tawes

Oh the memories. By the way isn't a song about irony that lacks irony, ironic in it self. Oh Alanis you tricky bicky.

December 29 2006 at 12:51 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Chris

New displays with iSights?

I had been thinking that the new iSights would be USB 2.0 and have an IR sensor for a remote integrated, but now I think adding the IR sensor and iSight intothe monitor is the way to go. After all, it is a cleaner look and Apple displays already contain a USB bus.

December 29 2006 at 12:27 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply