October 25, 2003

Apple MacOS X Panthermania

If Jon Stewart of Comedy Central's Daily Show covered tech events, he'd probably have this to say about this evening's Apple insanity:

"If your local shopping mall has an Apple Store, you may have noticed huge lines tonight as Apple launched its Panther upgrade to its MacOS X operating system. Hundreds of people mobbed each Apple Store nationwide in an effort to buy the $129 upgrade and take advantage of 10% discounts on any other merchandise including new Mac hardware.

The good news for Apple, of course, is the incredible turnout. People standing in lines for hours all over the country, just to get a software upgrade! Something on the order of 1000 people per store battled long lines in order to make their purchases after 8pm local time. Apple CEO Steve Jobs must be very pround of the brilliant marketing campaign, dragging Mac users out to a computer store on a Friday night to stand in long lines to get software. Simply amazing!

The bad news, of course, is that --- reflecting the 2% market share Apple commands in the U.S. personal computer arena --- 98% of MacOSX users nationwide are now upgraded to Panther, and the stores will return to their usual so-quiet-you-can-hear-a-mouse-click emptiness tomorrow morning."

Just think: I must've seen every Mac user in San Diego County tonight. That's great, and it's pathetic at the same time. :-)

One thing I thought was a weird choice at the Apple Store in San Diego last night was the background music in the store: they were playing Steely Dan's "Everything Must Go" CD.

Now, I love this album immensely, but, have you listened to the lyrics!?

It's high time for a walk on the real side
Let's admit the bastards beat us
I move to dissolve the corporation
In a pool of margaritas
So let's switch off all the lights
And light up all the Luckies
Crankin' up the afterglow
'Cause we're goin' out of business
Everything must go

Talk about your major pain and suffering
Now our self-esteem is shattered
Show the world our mighty hidey-ho face
As we go sliding down the ladder
It was sweet up at the top
'Til that ill wind started blowing
Now it's cozy down below
'Cause we're goin' out of business
Everything must go

Maybe not the most inssspppiiiirrrring choice for store background music if you think about it . . .

Well, my G4 PowerBook is now running Panther. It is fast. The new features are good. The upgrade was worth it. Posted by brian at October 25, 2003 01:10 AM

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