Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock

January 25

I mentioned before Steve Jobs' and his promise to "milk the macintosh for all it's worth", before going onto the next phase of development. Well the rule is starting to become religion as we see the same amount of hushed tones over the development of Rhapsody and their NC solution. If they promoted it too much to the general public, their sales of traditional equipment would plummit. I often wonder however if the current user-installed base realizes how much it's being screwed in the process, and in the future results. To put it bluntly, they're being huckstered worse than anything found in Circus Sideshows. Their loyalty - which is pretty much the entire reason to continue using a Macintosh these days - is being exploited to the hilt. They're effectively subsidizing the abandonment of their platform. This is not the first time this strategy was used, hell if you really want to wipe the smile off the face of any Apple user who touts the continuance of the Mac OS after Rhapsody, just say three little words. "Apple II forever". The entire Mac platform was subsidized at the expense of a lnaguishing platform that was still commanding higher-than average prices for an 8 bit computer than only in it's final years was even upgraded into a cobbled GS configuration. The only reason the GS was anti-hyped so fast, and phased out of existance, was because it was getting too close to the Mac II and their massive price-margins that it commanded for essentially the identical interface and the advent of color. The difference between the two in pricetags was a magnitude of nearly 5 times the price gap. Such blurring of the lines didn't seat well with the Apple boardmembers who found themselves trying to justify their increasing profit objectives. So it was dropped like a lead balloon - nearly as fast as the Apple III. And why bother servicing a still strong user-base? The current market they wanted to move into had nothing to do with the Apple II and their legacy users. Besides after 4 years of trying, the Mac was finally making money. Now we have a shrinking user-base of Mac users, which are now a captive audience now that the clone-builders are essentailly out of the picture. Thus a perfect, albiet unstable, group that they can milk to the perverbial bone until Steve can institute an operating system legacy that will prove he was "right" with NeXT technology, and perhaps give Oracle Guy Larry Ellison his NC prototype that he's been farting around with unsuccesfully for nearly as long as NeXT. Besides putting a very shakey experiment into motion, it's going to decimate it's current installed base once it's executed. Only the highest end-Macs will be targeted for Rhapsody, the OS is not configured for desktop users - but enterprise users who haven't given NeXT the time of day for 10 years. The NC is a joke now only because centralized computing is very passe when people can get under 1000 dollar PC's on the advent of under 500 dollar PCs. All with the headache of network outages (AOL anyone?) and non-existant pipes to handle the load. Unless I'm hallucinating, I've still not seen affordable cable modems, or any high-bandwith configuration. Outside of USWest's proposed rollout of 256kbs service with 40 dollar a month charges, I've not seen anything affordable (if you think 40 a month is affordable) yet. So we have a upcoming OS that no one wants, that the user base is sorely mistaking if they think it will fill their void and usher in a new age for Apple anytime soon, and an NC experiment that would make Mad Scientists cringe. But don't worry, just go ahead and get that G3. Apple needs your money to pay for this nuttiness. Give generously won't you?

January 26
Another Black Monday for Apple employees and their subsideraries. Claris is toast. You remember Claris? That was that software publishing arm that was supposed to go public with a stock offering for the last decade. Well, I hope you had your resume handy if you were working for them because most you are now on the street if current reports are accurate. There was only one piece of software that was worth anything being sold from them, Filemaker Pro - which explains why the reorg makes Claris now known as FileMaker Inc., that's dandy except it nukes everyone not associated with that - one - title. Which is a pitty because that's only going to result in more brain-power leaving Apple rather than being retained when companies like Microsoft are eating-up as much grey matter as possible to the point of getting in trouble with the people in imigration. Hell they've just extracted themselves from a Temp-Worker lawsuit, probably because they've been working them like full-timers. It's regretable, but I've been a freelance contractor for years, and I've sat in offices that are woefully understaffed, but still need to get things done. The moral of the digression is I'm apt to make a little fun at Claris' workers expense since I'm fully aware that the job market is hot for them. Personally I'm willing to guess that they'll be much better off for it rather than the tidal wave of downsizing that's imminent for the rest of the company when Apple tanks. Fly Claris worker! Be Free! Take that severance and run for your lives away from the flames!

January 27

Another rumor has surfaced surrounding the Claris fiasco. It seems fairly probable that the reason for the change in direction is because Apple was unsuccessful in unloading Claris to Microsoft. Yep, you know that Apple is in trouble when they go back to the tit that fed them back in August for more money. This is so ironically pathetic because it's already had precidence with NeXT whole relationship with Canon and Ross Perot. They just kept diving back into the same deep money pockets everytime they ran out of currency to back their huge appitites and ego that refuses to face reality, let alone a budget. Back in the gorey days of NeXT they felt better getting the most expesive surroundings possible to reasure this wood-tick in the forest of Mountain View and Silicon Valley California that they were serious contenders. While most start-ups usually try to keep a tight grip on funds during these times until they actually bother doing anything rational - like selling something and earning a profit - Steve thrives on making sure everyone feels like they've already "turned a corner" or "achieved profitability". When that profitability comes on the heels of a massive one-third decrease in sales, it's usually time for belt tightening. Nope, not for Apple, which redefines the limits of corporate America by finding a sucker and then milking that sucker for all it's worth. This time the pigeon is Microsoft, but even they're not THAT stupid. They know that helping to run a PR dodge and browser deal is all they could extract from Apple before they went bust - and that's a one time deal. Contrary to what the MacMarines, the MacJihad, and the rest of the Apple Ilk. They think that Microsoft needs Apple to keep the DOJ off their back. Well it's too late, they're already dealing with the DOJ just fine, thankyouverymuch. Apple can rot for all they care. So the only solution is to start cutting limbs. Watch the next few months carefully as they do what Trammel did to Atari back in 1984/5. I'll be keeping you posted all the way.

January 28

During the Blitzkrieg that was the attack against the clones, other manufacturers were taking a beating if they weren't being bought outright. One of the patients that was in intensive care just went flatline. APS Technologies just filed for bankrupcy. Why? Because Apple's assualt on their front lines blew their multi-million dollar impending Mac-Clone rollout into the dust. Taking the rest of their operations with them. APS was at one point one of the premiere peripheral builders for the Mac market. But with the market going south every day, combined with the dammage to their clone-building endevours by Apple, proved to be just too much for their accountants to bear. And thus, Apple eats another ally in their great quest to become the darling of the "Think Different" American public. Pretty vicious eh? Suddenly Microsoft is starting to look "friendly", at least that's what the majority of the American public felt about Microsoft. The upshot of some recent polls was that while Microsoft could do some major tweaking of their business practices and products, it's pretty much able to deliver what they want and keep their businesses computing power running. Perhaps even the MacJihad will notice what most of us already know. If you want to hurt your business, buddy up to Apple. Your bankrupcy attorney will thank you for your income.

January 29

Well well well. Looks like it didn't take months for the next round of layoffs to insue after all. Three groups just took a bashing - specifically: The Evangelism group, the Developer Tech Support, and the Server Engineering group. I think the most glorious of these groups that's behind recent sightings of me dancing at graveyards, is that people responsible for the most reprehensible marketing tactic of the late 20th century, and the group most responsible for the rabid, annoying, shoot yourself in the popular computing community behavior ever - is DEAD DEAD DEAD DEAD DEAD. We're talking out of here, kicked the bucket, ex-parotland. Now that the fuel is out of the Chernobylesque reactor core, perhaps we'll start seeing a slight downturn by the MacMarines/Mac Gestapo. Personally, I'm probably letting my total unbridaled JOY run away from me. No those particuar viruses in the American public will endure like Aids for decades past Apple's total destruction. But I can only hope. Because perhaps one day, we won't hear the incessant irony that eminates from the lips of the MacNazis;"The popular press doesn't love us". With hundreds of cases of e-mail bombing, denial of service attacks, and general harrasment of everyone who says WORD ONE against Apple, they're actually feeling unloved? Geez, how can you not love someone beating your free-speech rights into the ground like Himmler himself? How can you not love an insipid group of computer is the end-all be-all rabid cultlike deliusionists? How can you not love it when they over-react at every opportunity they're offered? I love them. Because I'm still perfecting my own brand of fool-baiting, and I need all the feedback in this experiment that I can get. So come one, and come all, and let's revel in the marvel of the modern idiot. The fuel source for their Jihad ire may be dead, but I'll keep plugging away to drive them out of their tiny Nazi minds.

January 30

One interresting side note - or more of a full day thing - is that without the Evangelists around, their actual job - at least with other companies - is to rally developer support around otherwise insignificant platforms and operating systems. Until you get critical marketshare, any new platform is essentially a crapshoot. So just about every company fights this chicken and egg syndrome with evangelists. It was only in the last days of this particular group that they decided to promote all out PR warfare and recruit other scum. However, with Rhapsody and other new directions being tried, the lack of any cheerleading isn't going to help in their mission to sway developers to what is - after a decade - a still untested platform. But it probably doesn't matter anyway, because one thing developers require before they'll give you the time of day is technical support. Lord knows, finding the best tools to develop with combined with getting unstuck from "coding block" and other assorted problems that come-up in the development cycle of any application, they pretty much require technical support. It's why NT is becoming the leading operating system following other versions of windows today. They have massive and sometimes free support available to get more people on their bandwagon. And you thought it was all marketshare? So that's essentially strike two against Rhapsody. Why lure people to develop to your OS when there's no one who can answer technical questions in the development process? Strike three in this bizzare layoff routine is the server group that was nuked. If Larry Ellison is serious about getting an NC group off the ground, Oracle - may - have the prerequisite ammo to deliver the goods in a partnership arrangement. But, unless their OS strategy is already totally integrated into whatever hardware is being developed for such a platform. Personally I think they could use all the help they can get - but then I'm not the one handing out pink slips. I guess Apple finally released Pink after all.

January 31

Last thing I can rant on is the common references that the MacJihad/MacNazis like to giggle about when ducking blunt logic in their quest to validate their OS of choice against a flood of Wintel adopters. They often like to giggle out jokes like there's a lot of "cockroaches" or some such nonsense to lay claim that the status-quo and the majority define mediority in the truest sense of the word. Of course I can make the same argument that they represent more of the lunatic fringe and make a stronger case for it. Fact is, while Microsoft may have it's OS quirks, they're far less than the quirks that the Mac users have endured for so long they're not blind to them. Running slow on IO functions and a bus that resembles an 8 track deck in designs and thoughtput are ignored in favor of glossy features with customizing the desktop in OS 8. Gee and I thought a computer was to get work done with. The fact is the vast majority of the American public doesn't think that expensive slow and soon to be orphaned computers are worth their time anymore. That's the reason there's so many of the other computers. Speaking of Cockroaches of these people is not only pompous, it's pathetic since the idea of having a safe, and more complete selection of vendors often wins out against those options that steadfastly encourage going it alone. Just lambasting the majority of this case resembles a fringe exercise, and doing it with militeristic vigor over something as blase as computers misses the point entirely. Computers are essentially dull to most people. Investing under 2 grand in a tool to get work done, does not make it a leading candidate for conversations. Of course Mac users will argue that a superior OS is worthy of open and tedious discussion - but the fact is that most people who spend too much on something and then find themselves out in the cold when it comes to software support, technical support, and warrenties require a support system that makes Alcoholics Anymonous look like a niche club (taking another sip of Guiness). The fact is that those that feel really defensive about something that the rest of the world doesn't means that many people are feeling fine with their selection thank you, and are getting on with their lives. When was the last time you saw someone in a coffee house trying to extol the virtues of their brand of VCR? Here's a hint. If all you can do is talk about your Mac, you have a big fucking problem. And insulting people over something as insignificant as the platform they use to do work, is beyond pathetic, it's delusionary. I'm just here 1.5 to 2 hours of the week to study idiocy in action and rile up some of the thousands of Mac users that violently defend their right to not have a life. More power to you. I'll be watching and reporting it right here all the way. So until next week MacJihad/MacNazis, just keep telling me in loud terms how you don't have a life, or need a date, or why you can't find the coffee pot with the decaf in it. Here's a hint - it's the one with the orange top.