WaPo:The Elite Apple Corps (valid criticism?)

[LeftCoast]

Interesting article. Not sure I buy all of it, but Apple stores have been getting a bit overcrowded lately.

The Elite Apple Corps
A Hundred Million Strong, Every One of Them Cool.
By Hank Stuever
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 9, 2007; Page M01

Whatever it is (Radio Shack for rich people? The Sharp -est Image?), the Apple Store isn't what it used to be, even a year or so ago. The initial thrills, the feelings of i-comfort and i-belonging, still await you behind its translucent facade, especially now, in the gizmodic spree of the Christmas season. But somewhere along the way, the zendo quality of the Apple Store changed.

The demi-privacy of it, the clubby feeling -- I know that you know that I know that we know and love Macs like nobody else does-- is fading away. Too much commotion. The ethereal, tranquil, spa vibe (the bath of white light, the polished concrete floors, the glint in the happy eyes of the geniuses at the Genius Bar) has been pierced by the sheer popularity of the place. The TV commercials worked. Mac Guy, even with his non-arrogant arrogance, is your real friend, and then he gathered too many friends, and suddenly he doesn't have time for them all.

Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO and bodhisattva, got what he wanted: the people. (A hundred million customers were lured to its stores in fiscal 2006-07, according to Apple, adding up to more than $4 billion in revenue.)

Apple shoppers are more than people, more than customers -- they are seekers. Those Apple marketing guys said all along they were building not just stores but serene communities of true believers and new converts. And so they did, and here we are, just 6 1/2 years later:

*snip*

The Elite Apple Corps

[fightthegoodfightnow]

1. Easy Answer

Busy lately? Easily explainable.

They have great products and their popularity is climbing.

[alfredo]

2. We've been comfortable as the underdog. we weren't like those

bean counters and script kiddies of the PC worlds. We had a magazine called MacAddict that was hard hitting, irreverent. It's now mainstream, it has a softer name now, MacLife. It's still a fine magazine, but lacks the zeal of the dark years. We had MacMarines. Success killed them.

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. Local store is a nightmare to go to

but hey, I can't beat the military discount, not even at base

[onehandle]

4. I have to agree that the stores are getting a bit overwhelming.

I walk in and think, "Why should I put up with this? I've owned Macs for decades, unlike these newbies."

It will be better in the new year.

In the mean time...Apple needs to open more stores.

[MagickMuffin]

5. Apple Stores are getting overwhelmed, but what did ya expect

With their clever ad campaigns. The fact that Macs are user friendly. Of course the stores will be bustling. Good thing IMHO. The more the merrier.

My S-I-L is ready to get a laptop, she doesn't want to spend a lot of money on one, but she doesn't want to be left without tech support. Apple provides that, and then there is family members who can help her out as well. Three of us in the family. We have 4 Macs in my household.

My adopted sister's PowerBook hinges broke (her model is older than mine and didn't have the single hinge) she didn't have the money to replace it. So, hubby found her a fairly decent PC at a reasonable price. She HATES it. She's ready to sell it.

Another great thing about Macs for $100 a year you can become a ProCare member and get one on one hourly lessons once a week. However, if you have more than one Apple Store you can go to each store once a week.

Their Apple Care is excellent as well. I had to have a hard drive replaced, and only had to wait a couple of days to get it back. We waited to purchase Apple Care for a year BEFORE the warranty is up. It helps in long run, if you can't afford it at the time of your purchase.

I :loveya: my PowerBook. I would love to be able to afford the newest Mac but don't have the funds.

[Ezlivin]

6. I can remember being in a MUG back in 1985

It was like a secret club or an underground church. We'd trade floppies with neat shareware.

Then I went to work for PCPC who built the first hard drive for the Mac (top-of-the line had 80MB of space). They also were the creators of HFS Backup.

Then: 9 inch black-and-white monitor in a Mac Plus, no hard drive. Now: 30 inch monitor with a MacPro with 1TB internal hard drive space. Pretty big difference.

I still miss Hypercard, though.

[Poiuyt]

7. Hypercard!

Damn, you're old! I hadn't thought of that for years!

[Ezlivin]

8. Remember Stacks?

I did a fair amount of Hypertalk and even toyed with Supercard. There was all sort of stuff you could do to organize information. Recipe stacks were very popular.

Apple missed out on promoting Hypercard; it really was the forerunner of the World Wide Web.