Tuesday, May 15, 2001

Yesterday was Annie and my 7th anniversary. So, instead of doing a web post, we went out to dinner! See you tomorrow!

It's official! Apple is entering the retail store business, and...in a big way. Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced from a press conference in McLean, Virginia, that Apple would open a retail store approximately every ten days from now until December. The Tysons Corner mall in McLean, Virginia, will be the first, opening this Saturday, May 19, 2001. Possibly a surprise to some, Apple will also open a California location Saturday, at Glendale Galleria.

Below are a few links gleaned from MacSurfer's Headline News to various accounts of the openings:

• CBS MarketWatch
• Macintosh News Network
• MacCentral (interior photos of the Tysons Corner store)
• The Wall Street Journal
• The Register

C/Net News.com has an interesting commentary on the entry of Apple into the retail storefront market in Does Apple have a future in retail?

Thursday, May 17, 2001

Family-Mac.com has posted a short list of kids site links.

A follow-up on Monday's posting: I mentioned that I wanted to try Gary Smith's Adding Three Fractions (306K) freeware application. I did, and it was a resounding success with the kids. While yesterday was just the third day the kids had access to the program, interest remained high. Several have brought in a floppy so they can take home a copy to use on their take-home Macs.

Cliff Edwards of BusinessWeek has posted an interesting commentary on the new Apple retail store initiative, Sorry, Steve: Here's Why Apple Stores Won't Work. While much of the business world seems favorably impressed by the new Apple stores concept, Edwards concludes, "Maybe it's time Steve Jobs stopped thinking quite so differently." The column is an interesting, thoughtful, and at times, humorous read.

ZDNet has published an interesting column on its TalkBack Central, Is Steve Jobs living in the past? In a short column sure to bring a hail of flames, Albert Hickey attempts to debunk the Steve Jobs aura. Hickey comments, "Yes, Jobs has done a fantastic job in promoting Apple and getting Apple back into the spotlight. But, his products are old school."

Gene Steinberg recently noted that Apple's 3% marketshare might be reason for Apple to reconsider its direction in The 3% Equation: Is Apple Losing the Battle for Relevance? Steinberg notes:

As it stands, though, Apple needs to seriously consider whether its present marketing scheme is going to do the trick. Once Windows XP hits the ground rolling come October, it's going to be awful hard for Apple to get the upper hand. There's not a lot of time to get the sales momentum moving in its favor. Apple may think it's got the ball in its court, but with market share stagnating, the numbers just aren't there.

Gene also has begun an AOL Forum to kick around possible marketing ideas. (See the column linked above for info on connecting to the forum.)

It looks as if the postings above make today the "Let's kick 'His Steveness' around day," but the people posting those pieces are all pro-Mac folks. Others, such as MacsOnly's Bill Fox, find "that 3 per cent of current sales market share and 5 per cent of the installed base share doesn't concern me at all." After having posted a couple of semi-alarmist columns recently, Apple Education: "I'm Not Dead," (Yet) and Never mind. Apple Education probably is dead, I'm quite pleased to see others taking critical note of Apple's dwindling marketshare and installed base. I'm afraid that barring something amazing (always possible from Apple), Apple will lose the critical mass necessary to be taken seriously in computer purchasing and be lucky to remain as a niche market player. Maybe an open discussion, such as Gene Steinberg suggests, will stimulate something good.

Note: If you've been trying to reach me via my "private line" email account, you probably should try the Educators' News email address. My internet provider caught four inches of rain -- the first this month -- in a very short time period yesterday and their mailserver seems to be doing less than treading water. Hey! I'd be glad to do without email for a few days if we could get a shower here!

John Stevens of AUS-PC-SOFT has posted version 5.2 of his puzzle creation utility, CrossWord Express. Available for both Macintosh (916K) and Windows (928K), the $35 utility (registers both versions including updates) has been my long-time choice for constructing puzzles.

Joe Tayor sent along a link about the Michigan computer initiative. If you're unfamiliar with the initiative, each public school teacher in Michigan is to receive a computer at state expense. Both Apple and Compaq made accepted bids to the state and teachers are free to chose whichever they prefer.

As the Apple Turns had a funny posting yesterday, Say, This Is Great Kool-Aid. They applied some criterion used to identify a cult to the Macintosh community!