It's a funny thing about how perceptions can turn into misconceptions. Last week a business columnist for my local newspaper remarked (in a column about products designed to appeal to women) that "Apple is competing with notebook computers in a variety of colours, a great follow-up to their brightly coloured desktop computer offerings."

Uhhh.... no.

Now, the fact he is that Apple hasn't built a colored laptop since May, 2001, nor for that matter a colorful desktop machine since the Ruby and Indigo G3 iMacs which bowed out in January, 2002. Indeed, of the roughly two dozen notebook computer models Apple has built since 1991, just one has been available in colors other than charcoal/black, white, or metal, that being the original clamshell iBook that was sold for less than two years between July, 1999, and May, 2001.

And for that matter, even the clamshell was not exactly available in a rainbow of colors. The first-generation 300 MHz models came in your choice of Blueberry or Tangerine two-toned with white. In March, 2000, the 366 MHz iBook SE was introduced in a third color, or so to speak, since it was Graphite, - a shade of gray. Then the third revision "Paris" September 2000 366 MHz iBook and 466 MHz iBook SE FireWire models came in Indigo and Graphite respectively, as well as sharing an optional Key Lime green which was available only through the Apple Store, and which I consider the best-looking of the five clamshell iBook colors.

Nevertheless, some folks, seven years later, still associate Macs with the idea of brightly-colored computers...........

| | | | | | |