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AnchorDesk

David Coursey
Apple's on a roll again--but is it too late?

David Coursey
Executive Editor, AnchorDesk
Monday, June 30, 2003
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If life were fair, or perhaps if this were 1984, Apple's fortunes would get a big boost based on CEO Steve Jobs's performance at last week's Worldwide Developers Conference.

In a bold, broad stroke, Jobs introduced the new G5 processor, three machines built around it (one of them touted as the world's fastest PC, a claim that later came under some fire), and the next release of OS X (code-named Panther). He also unveiled a multimedia chat program, some new developer tools, a Web cam, and the formal release of the Safari browser, and offered a sneak peek at the server version of Panther.

For Apple, it was a tour de force, demonstrating to existing customers that the company is ready to compete on performance and, increasingly, on price for their business.

Apple's latest
While the new G5s and Panther aren't here yet, Apple's been releasing a steady stream of new hardware and software products lately. Here's what ZDNet reviewers have had to say about them.
BUT, OF COURSE, life isn't fair, and this isn't 1984. Though Panther looks great and the new G5 tower machines are the sexiest hardware I've seen since, well, 1984, when the Mac was introduced, Apple's unlikely to get the boost it deserves from this bravura performance. While a few creative types who are using Windows might reconsider that choice, the announcements aren't going to rewrite history.

Panther will be the fourth major release of OS X in two years. One of its key features is a new Finder that significantly improves the user interface. Jobs described the old Finder a being computer-centric and the new one as user-centric. I think he's right.

This new Finder, for example, puts the user's favorite folders, hard drive, network servers, and online Internet iDisk storage all in one location for easy, one-click access. It also provides user-selectable color labels for document and project organization, as well as dynamic network browsing for Window, Unix, and Mac file servers.

Another nice new UI feature: Expose, which visually unshuffles and resizes windows so that they are all simultaneously visible on-screen. It's likely to be a big hit with people who leave lots of windows open and then have trouble finding the one they're looking for. It also looks really cool when the windows unstack themselves and move toward the corners of the screen--it's the sort of feature that Apple loves and Microsoft seems to consider beneath itself.

STEVE ALSO introduced iChat AV, an instant-messaging client featuring audio and video, and a Web cam called iSight, which features the regulation Apple cool industrial design, autofocusing (why don't all Web cams have this?), and a built-in noise canceling microphone. The $149 camera uses FireWire and produces great images.

In testing iChat AV with colleagues at the ZDNet offices, we found it impossible to make a connection, probably because of firewall issues. I did, however, successfully conduct a videoconference with product managers at Apple headquarters and the software and camera worked just fine. One glitch: My PowerBook didn't recognize the microphone built into the camera, so I had to use the mic built into the computer, which doesn't work as well. This is, after all, beta software.



At Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference, CEO Steve Jobs calls the new G5 Power Mac "the world's fastest personal computer."
 Watch now




Apple's new iChat AV lets Mac users videoconference over broadband. David checks it out.
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A more significant problem with iChat, which Jobs himself admitted: Due to its low market penetration, there's "no one to talk to." Because iChat is an extension of America Online's IM network, iChat users can type-talk with all their friends on AOL or AIM. But they can't do video or audio conferencing, because AOL's client software isn't compatible with the AV part of iChat AV.

Which leaves me wondering how Jobs could, with a straight face, call this "videoconferencing for the rest of us."

(The iSight camera does work nicely with the Yahoo Messenger client, which also supports audio and video on Windows. And, wonder of wonders, it gets through the firewall at the office just fine.)

ON THE HARDWARE FRONT, Apple introduced tower machines based on IBM's new 64-bit G5 processor, jointly developed with Apple and tuned specifically for OS X. Apple says the machine using two of the 2.0GHz processors is the "world's fastest personal computer." To nobody's surprise, there was much debate after the fact about that claim.

All that power will come at a price--$2,999 to be exact, which actually seems inexpensive for what you get. During his keynote, Jobs compared the dual-processor G5 to a dual-processor Dell machine costing about $4,100. Systems with single-processor G5s, at 1.8GHz and 1.6GHz, will sell for $1,999 and $2,399, respectively, when they ship in August.

Physically, the aluminum skin of the G5 towers and the hyperventilated cabinet (complete with nine--count 'em nine--fans) is the sexiest looking PC I've ever seen. I don't have any applications that really require G5 power, but I'm already lusting for one of the machines. I can't make a rational argument for it, except maybe that it'll run the Virtual PC Windows emulator more quickly. But I've just got to get one.

More important than my hardware lust is the fact that the G5 proves Apple can continue to provide significant performance improvements for its customers in graphics, film, music, and other creative pursuits. The G5 may also help Apple find new customers in the Unix community as well.

AS A WHOLE, this is the best set of announcements Apple has made in years--and I didn't even get into the formal release of the Safari brower, the new developer tools, or the preview of the Panther server. The next-generation OS looks great--hopefully it will live up to expectations when it ships later this year. The new hardware is stellar, though I will have to confirm that when it ships in August. iChat AV is a weak link, but maybe AOL will find a way to support the AV features.

In earlier times, this tour de force would have actually helped boost the company's market share. While I'm not sure it will this time, a fair assessment of the G5's could well persuade creative professionals who left Mac for Windows to return to the fold. Many in the Unix community could come around as well. With stuff this good, Apple deserves a break.

What do you think? Are you curious about Apple's new products? If you're a Windows user, would you consider switching? TalkBack to me! 

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