In the US at least it’s our annual time of Thanksgiving….so that got me thinking…what do we Mac Users have to be thankful for this year? After giving it some serious thought (at least 4 or 5 minutes worth) it occurred to me that it’s been a very good year to be a Mac fan, and we have a lot to be thankful for.
Get A Mac Ads – You might hate the ads. Some people do…but a lot of people really love them. Mainly because of John Hodgman, I’ll grant you, but the Get A Mac ad campaign has been a huge success, and Mac sales are higher than they’ve been in years. Things are looking up for Macs, and these entertaining ads have had at least a small part in that. Hodgman’s wonderfully delivered “Let me just lay here and depreciate” is going down as one of the best ever delivered in my opinion, and I can’t wait to see more.
My Dream App – It was American Idol for Mac Software, and whether you participated in it or not, it was pretty darn hard to ignore. My Dream App was all over the web, and every entry was visually stunning, really showing off how slick the Mac platform can be…and letting Mac shareware developers get their products noticed in the process. The contest is over for now, but as big a success as this years event appeared to be, I can’t help but think that we’ll be seeing it again next year.
iPhone/Video iPod Rumors – We’ve been talking about them all year…and it looks like it will be 2007 before we see either one of them (if we even see them both), but by golly they’ve given us a years worth of stuff to talk about haven’t they? With the iPhone now all but confirmed, we can feel confident that all of these rumors and discussions weren’t for nothing, but even if the devices never do come out, you still have to admit that you’ve enjoyed at least SOME of the speculation about them.
Parallels/Boot Camp – Let’s face it, at least for now, you can’t help but need Windows every great once in a while. Now, thanks to Parallels and Boot Camp you have two, count ’em two different way to run Windows on your intel based Macs. You can be thankful that you don’t have to have a noisy rattling tower hidden away in another room, or clunking up your desktop area…
Zune – Yes, my friends, Apple Fans should be thankful for the Zune this year. Why? Because it’s sucktacular debut was met with a resounding “meh” that will not only prevent it from dominating the iPod, but will also cause other companies thinking of taking Apple’s mp3 Throne to take pause before entering the market. We should also be thankful for Zune showing us some really great ideas about a player…and showing us exactly how NOT to do them. Perhaps Apple will take a look at the Zune and show Microsoft how to do it right with the next iPods.
So there you have it! With tongue firmly pressed in cheek, I stand by this list as possibly the greatest Apple list ever written.
Discuss.
4 thoughts on “5 Things Apple Fans can be Thankful for This Year…”
good list!
you forgot some spaces and misspelled “Throne” in the last paragraph though.
Thanks Ashton – if it’s one thing I’d be thankful for it’s an editor!
This is a great concept for a post. I was thinking about doing the same thing, but this is great all on its own. I’m not sure I would be thankful for the Zune, but you’re right, it does go ahead and show how great the iPod really is.
My Dream App and MacHeist definately make the cut – it just proves how big, talented, and beautiful the cult of mac really is. Thanks to Phil for setting it up, and thanks to you for posting this.
Concerning the Zune, I think you missed out on economics 101 … competition is good for consumers. While I’m just as glad to see someone like Microsoft hit snags in their attempt to dominate yet another market, any good competitor would help keep Apple honest. Not that apple has a strong history of stifling innovation, but I don’t want them to get *too* comfortable =).