The Duke’s Mind

I was just watching the webcast of Macworld 2005 and was blown away. I don’t expect anything less from a good Jobs keynote, but since there have been some disappointments in the past (mostly due to false rumours), I looked forward to this one with a bit of caution. Based on past experiences, I decided to avoid reading any theories about what might be announced at Macworld - Which I didn’t succeed in completely. You can’t surf the web in the days leading up to an Apple keynote without stumbling across some tidbit of speculation. So I was expecting a cheap headless Mac and a flash-based iPod. Both were delivered.

After the keynote, I of course had to share my enthusiasm about the coolness of Apple with everyone I encountered. A friend asked me why I care so much. This is roughly what I told her:

Because they [=Apple] still show what great design in both software and hardware can and should be. Because they’re still the number one flattered-by-being-copied-or-badly-imitated computer company in existence (Well, not only with computers anymore: See all the iPod rip-offs). Because they still know how to get the competition on their feet, even though they’ve been leading, in terms of market share, a humble life in the shadows for quite some time. Because even thought analysts, “experts”, and every other guy on the street proclaim since decades that “Apple is going out of business”, they can still stick their proverbial tongue out to those people. Because they, once again, introduced some hot new products that will cause quite a stir on the market. Because it’s just fun and thrilling to observe Apple’s well-planned actions.

Finally some shiny new (and pretty damn cheap quite affordable) entry-level products. No longer restrained to self-illusionary lusting after the high-end goods. Yes. Apple’s back on track. (Has it ever been really off it in the Jobs v2 era?)

This feels good.