"Complainers, the Sequel"

I received a great deal of input regarding my previous essay, "Complainers. " A number of complaints, if you will. Andy Yatter over at MacOpinion even wrote a public response!

By Marc Zeedar

Andy was one of the few who noticed the bit of tongue in my cheek as I complained about complainers. Many others attacked me on free speech grounds, as though I was implying no one had the right to voice their opinion!

My last essay was written immediately after the introduction of the iMac, before the announcement of a number of USB floppy and removable media devices. At that time it seemed that every Mac-oriented website on the planet was filled with horrified articles spelling the doom of Apple, soley because the iMac had no floppy drive. The response seemed premature, judging Apple long before the actual product even shipped, especially considering the iMac's target market probably wouldn't know a floppy from an iguana.

I expect such lack of judgement and foresight from the PC press, but I had thought Mac journalists were superior. But most seemed to think Jobs had made such a significant decision without understanding the consequences, which is what really bothered me. Obviously the iMac was well-researched and engineered. Such a design did not happen by accident. But a great many net writers appeared to think the floppy was an accidental omission, not an intentional marketing ploy.

Since that first essay, however, the non-existant Mac USB market has exploded. Last week at MacWorld it seemed every company was unveiling some sort of USB device, from removable media to digital cameras to scanners to printers. Journalists on both sides of the war have quieted, realizing that there will be plenty of options for iMac buyers.

Apple even reversed itself, announcing that the iMac will ship with a 56K modem instead of the previously announced 33.6K. I'm sure many "complainers" out there will regard this as victory for their cause. After all, their complaining worked, didn't it?

Actually, I doubt it had that much of an affect. Most likely, Apple did further market research, discovering that novice buyers assume that 56K is better than 33.6K, regardless of the reality. Since the iMac modem can't be upgraded, it made sense for Apple to just eat the tiny cost of including the faster modem.

The iMac modem is an example of Apple acting correctly, based on consumer pressure. In the past, many of Apple's problems have come from reacting incorrectly.

In the early nineties I remember people complaining Apple had no "cheap" computer. The rhetoric was that an inexpensive computer would save Apple's butt. So Apple worked on it and introduced the "Performa" line. Of course the actual release was a year after the complaining, and by that time, the market wanted power. High-end computers were selling like popcorn at a movie theater, but Apple had put too many resources into the low-end. The result was a disaster: a huge inventory of computers no one wanted, and no stock of powerful computers people wanted to buy.

The problem wasn't that people complained, it was that Apple listened. People are fickle. They change their minds in an instant. Apple can't possibly meet everyone's needs.

Today I hear complaints that the new G3 PowerBooks are too big and heavy. What Apple needs is a G3-powered PowerBook 2400. So why didn't those people buy the 2400? Those were popular in Japan, but here in the U.S. people wanted normal-sized keyboards.

I also hear complaints that Apple has no six-slot machine. High-end video producers routinely fill up six PCI slots. "If Apple doesn't make a six-slot machine, those customers are going Wintel," I'm told.

Well ,so be it.

I'm tired of everyone expecting Apple to bow down and cater to their exact needs. I realize that in the Wintel world there are literally thousands of companies making PCs for every market imaginable. Apple is not going to be able to compete with that. No single company can do that. It's hard enough for one company to create both high- and low-end machines, each with opposite markets.

I realize these consumers are Mac fans and aren't trying to hurt Apple. It's just that they see their own small segment of the market and realize Apple's losing sales in that area.

It's time to face up to the fact that Apple is going to lose sales. End of story. Many, many people are going to buy Wintel machines simply because Apple doesn't make a particular computer that meets their needs. It's a fact of life. Just don't assume that Apple's going bankrupt because a few thousand users here or there buy Wintel.

What Apple needs right now is focus on its core markets: education, publishing, consumer. Those are areas where Apple is traditionally strong and has the greatest opportunity for growth. The key for Apple is survival. Apple has to balance expenses versus benefit, and right now, that doesn't include a six-slot machine or a lightweight laptop.

Perhaps in the future Apple can branch into vertical markets, or offer a limited license to a clone maker to create computers to fill a certain niche. It just doesn't make sense for that to happen today.

One of the strengths of "interim" CEO Steve Jobs is that he's stubborn. He doesn't care what people think. If he wants to do something, he does it. This can be a terrible characteristic. It's one of the things that makes him hard to get along with. But it also is what saved Apple.

A year ago, when Jobs took over Apple, the company couldn't make a decision to save its life. Apple had no clear direction, no focus. Jobs came in and began cutting. He killed the clones. He cut research and development. He eventually cut printers, Newton, OpenDoc. These were all sacred cows to people within Apple, and I'm sure the surgery wasn't pretty. But it needed to be done and Jobs had the self-confidence (read: arrogance) to do it. Previous CEOs couldn't stop listening to everyone.

It's like Aesop's fable, "The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey." Try to please everyone and you end up pleasing no one.

Marc Zeedar has been a Mac fan for over 10 years. He makes his living using Macs in graphic design and prepress, but in reality he's a fiction writer. The daring can check out his new "Wreakly Havoc" webzine at http://www.designwrite.com/havoc/.

Copyright 1998 Marc Zeedar

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February 09, 2010