A Bunker Year for Apple - iTunes and the Mac Mini Prove Themselves

iTunes

But most importantly, Apple has a distinct advantage when it comes to a legitimate library of songs.  Apple had the foresight to do what so many in the music industry were unwilling to do for so long.  Instead of trying to fight the rising wave of illegal online music downloads, Apple embraced the idea and created iTunes Music.  Apple signed five major record labels to release albums and artists songs online, available for download at a fee of .99 cents a cong, $9.99 an album.  Video downloads are rumored to cost $1.99 each.

This is something that computer users had been clamoring for, being forced to use illegal song swapping software such as Napster and Kazaa in order to get digital copies of popular songs and videos.  Apple was the first to offer users a viable and user friendly interface buy their songs online and download them directly to their music player, or burn them to a conventional CD.

In truth, the music industry could have saved itself a lot of grief and money if they had followed Apple’s basic marketing plan.  It certainly wasn’t a “new” idea. It had been discussed ad nausem along with “Video on Demand” at the very dawn of the internet.  Many record companies missed a truly golden opportunity to make money and build loyalty by not accepting the mp3 revolution, choosing instead to fight and sue.  If they had embraced this technology years earlier, when the use of mp3’s were first becoming widespread (oh, say 1997), they would have ushered in a new age of music sales and profits.

Instead they were slow to change and blind to innovation…it took someone like Apple to show that it not only could be done, but it could be done profitably.

The Mini

Apple has also learned its lesson when it comes to making a computer both stylish and upgradeable.  The Apple Mac mini is clearly inspired by the Power Mac Cube; however the Mac Mini is more than just a pretty technological bauble.

The whole concept of a Mini PC was to offer the consumer a third computing option: not quite a laptop, but not a desktop either.  It would give you a great deal of portability, and most of the performance of a desktop.

The Power Mac Cube failed because it relied on an attractive and stylish design to sell it.  It was very small, measuring as an 8"x8"x10" cube.  However it was overprized, difficult to upgrade and very sensitive.  If its outside thermal vent was blocked the unit would quickly overheat and shut down.  The vent was on the flat top of the cube, and I deal place to put down papers and books.  AllUSBand Firewire ports were on the base, and turning the unit upside down to gain access could disturb the computers rotating hard disk.  Also being an Apple product, one of the key features of the Power Mac Cube was its attractiveness and exterior design.  Due to a production flaw, defects and cracks would appear in the clear plastic housing of the case, turning potential Apple devotees off.

That’s what the whole Mini PC market comes down to.  Looks, appearance, the “pizzazz” factor.Apple has learned from its mistakes with the Mac Cube, and today we have the Mac Mini.  Smaller and cuter than the Power Mac Cube, the Mac Mini is 6.5”x 6.5” x 2”.  Also the Mac Mini is much easier to open and tinker with, as a simple putty knife is all that is needed to open the computers case.  The thermal vent accessory ports are on the rear of the unity, not its base.  Also, the case design does not appear to be suffering from any design “imperfections” but time will tell on that issue.

In comparison, IBM compatible Windows or Linux based Mini PC’s haven’t been flying off store shelves.  One reason is that they are not widely produced or available.  The potential buyers of such a unit have to either build it themselves or order it from a special retailer.  Contrast that with Apple’s Mac Mini being widely available and successfully marketed to the general consumer populace.

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