Recently people have been speculating that a desktop Mac could
help give Apple a boost in the home and education markets. Perhaps
that's true, but the thing that concerns me with a desktop is the
lack of flexibility - not with expansion slots or drive bays, but
where the computer itself can be placed.
What I have seen from other PC makers are desktops that can also
be turned on their side to be used as small towers. The computer
can be placed on the floor, but it will also fit under the monitor.
This might be something Apple could look into, since it would allow
consumers to have easy access to the machine on their desk if
desired - and let schools hide the machines under the desks if they
are concerned about students playing with them.
This brings me to another point. Monitors are getting big. When
the desktop form factor was launched, it was practical. A 12" or
13" monitor would fit nicely on top of the computer's case. This
was true until 17" and larger monitors became available and started
getting too heavy for the computer case to support.
Today LCD monitors are becoming very common, but some LCD
monitors larger than 17" are just too wide to go on top of a
desktop case - never mind how awkward they would appear.
Apple's Options
The first thing Apple should do is drop the CRT iMac. They should have done it a
while ago. I mean, it's barely just hanging in there, and it can't
be making that many sales with the eMac and LCD
iMac around. Apple could introduce something that is both a
tower and a desktop, perhaps using a slot loading CD drive (PCs I
have seen use a regular tray drive with clips to hold the CD in
place when the drive is sideways).
Apple would do well not to include some things that are included
in the more expensive iMac and eMac. Yes, this model should have a
G4 processor (a "slow" one, perhaps 700 MHz), but how about not
offering it without anything but a CD-ROM - and maybe a no CD-ROM
option for schools. Students all to often seem to destroy CD-ROM
drives, and this would be one less part that staff would have to
worry about.
As has also been suggested, AirPort could be eliminated. Users
who need it could buy a better machine. A low-end model doesn't
need to have all the features of the high end version.
This would replace the CRT iMac. Giving it a smaller maximum RAM
capacity would also help it not cut into iMac and eMac sales.
Introducing a smaller 15" LCD - or even a CRT monitor - to go
along with this machine might also be a good idea. I've noticed
that schools tend to buy their computers and monitors from the same
sources when possible, and consumers might feel more comfortable
about everything being compatible if only one company made all of
the parts.
Most importantly: Make this machine inexpensive. Price is
a huge factor when it comes to buying a computer, and if it is too
high, the computer will be passed by in favor of something else,
regardless of other features it may offer that others don't.
I really think something like this could help Apple get back
some of their lost market share in education.
However, it's not only the hardware that needs an overhaul. It's
their attitude. Apple is sending the message that it doesn't really
care about education. Even in the mid-90s, when its machines were
less than great, their attitude was better than it is now. This
needs to change.
Someone at Apple seems to think that schools will pay more for
better looking and more durable machines. They have to realize that
this is not true. Schools want to get the best deal possible, and
if it happens to be a Mac, fine.
What Apple needs to do is to make sure that it is a Mac and make
sure that schools know about it.
Further Reading
- Can
Apple regain the education market?, Gene Steinberg, Mac Night
Owl, 12.04. Schools replace Mac with Windows because it dominates
the workplace.
- How a revised Cube could save Apple
Education, Jeff Adkins, Mac Lab Report, 12.05. Apple needs a
low-cost computer for the education market. Retooling the Cube
could be just the way to do it.
-
Will Apple be expelled from school?, David Zeiler, SunSpot.com,
12.05. "Although some districts buy both platforms, [at least] 79
percent of U.S. school officials plan to buy Windows PCs this
year."
- No, don't resurrect the
Cube for schools, Dan Knight, MacInSchool, 12.06. Yes, Apple
needs a low-cost Mac for the education market, but the Cube simply
wasn't designed for the realities of the classroom.
- Resurrecting the low cost
Mac, Ben Wells, My Turn, 12.09. To grow, Apple needs to offer a
lower cost Mac that meets the needs of schools, families, and
others who can't justify $1,000 to make the switch.
- You're the
head of Apple Education. What would you do?, Mac Observer,
12.09. Lots of good thoughts on how Apple could regain the
education market.
- Why we'll never see another
modular desktop design from Apple, Anne Onymus, Rumor Mill,
12.11. "Profits and stockholders be damned. Apple is never going to
pursue the huge market for desktop Macs."
