Apples & Oranges
Yesterday, for the first time in a long, long time, I stepped into an Apple store. Well, to be precise it wasn’t really an Apple Store proper. Just that Apple retailer at Wheelock. And strangely I felt inexplicably….uncomfortable. Disconcerted, even. Odd. I looked around and I saw MacBooks and iPods etc, and more than that, I saw the people. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
First, there seems to be A LOT space devoted to the ubiquitous iPod. Nano, Video, whatever. Everywhere. Accessories, add-ons, cases, yadda yadda. Yeah ok, so the iPod dragged Apple out of the red and they’re currently making a pretty penny every quarter just from iPod sales. Not to mention the non-tangible benefits such as brand awareness and all that. But still.
Sigh. I dunno. I still remember stepping into the Apple Shop in Melbourne pre-iPod fad and it was….nice (ok, to be fair I’m not sure if it was an Apple store or just a retailer either). Computers dominated. Purely, simple, damn good, reliable, kick-ass, pretty looking machines. Where people buy it because, simply, it works and it works for them. Not to make a fashion statement, not because it’s the “in” thing, not because they want something to match their décor. You walked in, you were a Mac user, you make eye-contact with the staff and it’s “oh, yeah, you’re one of us”
And to take things back even further, during the PowerMac days there was this Apple retailer in Serene Centre. It was a small shop and I was a young child. But I’ll never forget the feeling, the sheer atmosphere and aura of the place. Friendly, personable and almost family-like. And I distinctively remember a board in the store for customers to tack their “looking for” and “wanted” notices. Looking to sell your mac? Or looking for a new keyboard? Stick it up. Those were the days when, if you had to sell your mac, you’d want it to go to a good home where it’d be loved.
I don’t get that feeling in the new Apple retailers.
I wonder if the Serene Centre Apple retailer is still there…..
And the people. Young and old, there was a feeling of…snootiness there. Sure, Apple products were always more expensive than most others, but, and perhaps this is just my impression, I always felt its clientele was more of the Bermuda shorts wearing type. The Woz-es of the world. Not the greater-than-thou, prettier-than-thou, check-out-my-uber-cool-iPod Paris Hilton wannabes.
I don’t know anymore. I feel like my world has been turned inside out. I feel the order destroyed. And I partly blame Steve. But mostly people like Johnny M. I’m almost ashamed to say I love macs.
The power of the Penguin compels me!
The Power Of The Penguin Compels Me!
THE POWER OF THE PENGUIN COMPELS ME!!!
First, there seems to be A LOT space devoted to the ubiquitous iPod. Nano, Video, whatever. Everywhere. Accessories, add-ons, cases, yadda yadda. Yeah ok, so the iPod dragged Apple out of the red and they’re currently making a pretty penny every quarter just from iPod sales. Not to mention the non-tangible benefits such as brand awareness and all that. But still.
Sigh. I dunno. I still remember stepping into the Apple Shop in Melbourne pre-iPod fad and it was….nice (ok, to be fair I’m not sure if it was an Apple store or just a retailer either). Computers dominated. Purely, simple, damn good, reliable, kick-ass, pretty looking machines. Where people buy it because, simply, it works and it works for them. Not to make a fashion statement, not because it’s the “in” thing, not because they want something to match their décor. You walked in, you were a Mac user, you make eye-contact with the staff and it’s “oh, yeah, you’re one of us”
And to take things back even further, during the PowerMac days there was this Apple retailer in Serene Centre. It was a small shop and I was a young child. But I’ll never forget the feeling, the sheer atmosphere and aura of the place. Friendly, personable and almost family-like. And I distinctively remember a board in the store for customers to tack their “looking for” and “wanted” notices. Looking to sell your mac? Or looking for a new keyboard? Stick it up. Those were the days when, if you had to sell your mac, you’d want it to go to a good home where it’d be loved.
I don’t get that feeling in the new Apple retailers.
I wonder if the Serene Centre Apple retailer is still there…..
And the people. Young and old, there was a feeling of…snootiness there. Sure, Apple products were always more expensive than most others, but, and perhaps this is just my impression, I always felt its clientele was more of the Bermuda shorts wearing type. The Woz-es of the world. Not the greater-than-thou, prettier-than-thou, check-out-my-uber-cool-iPod Paris Hilton wannabes.
I don’t know anymore. I feel like my world has been turned inside out. I feel the order destroyed. And I partly blame Steve. But mostly people like Johnny M. I’m almost ashamed to say I love macs.
The power of the Penguin compels me!
The Power Of The Penguin Compels Me!
THE POWER OF THE PENGUIN COMPELS ME!!!
