The iBrotha

The Rodney O. Lain Archive

It's Not Steve Jobs, But He'll Do

I met Apple Retail VP Ron Johnson today . . . in McDonald's

Rodney O. Lain

This 2001 article was published on iBrotha, Rodney's own website that no longer exists. It is copyright 2001 by Rodney O. Lain. Links have been retained when possible, but many go to the Internet Wayback Machine.

"There you are!"

"Do I know you?"

"No, but there you are!"

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery

Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com

OWC: Mercury On-The-Go FW800+USB2 up to 1.0TB. Bus Powered, no external power supply needed. Macworld Editors Choice, CNET Very Good Starting from $99.97, 500GB $159.99. Click here

Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full Tilt Poker Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.

(SOMEWHERE IN MINNESOTA) - I couldn't find one damned place in town today that accepted personal checks.

On my way to visit a customer today, I stopped by McDonald's in Eagan (southeastern suburb of St. Pau). After placing my order in the drive through, I read the sign that said "No checks."

I cursed to myself and drove off. I went on to visit my customer in Minneapolis. In Minneaplis, I stopped at Wendy's. "No checks."

I went ahead and visited my client. Afterwards, I'm driving down Highway 100 in St. Louis Park (suburb west of Minneapolis), I stopped in the McDonald's near Micro Center. Whadaya know? They take checks.

Standing there, waiting for my order, I see a familiar face.

"Ron Johnson!" I shout. "How ya doin', brother?"

It was Ron Johnson, Apple's Senior VP of Retail.

Not missing a beat, Ron steps over and warmly shakes my hand. I figured he couldn't place my face, so I help him out, telling him, "things are still looking good at the Mall, eh? [there is an Apple Store at the Mall of America]. I just went in the store last night."

We talked a few seconds and the server told me my order was ready. I got my bag of burgers, and as I turned to leave, Ron asked me, "You said that you went to the store last night?"

"Yeah," I said. " I couldn't believe the traffic. Is it true that the MOA has more traffic than Disneyworld?"

We talked some more. I exchanged pleasantries with him, asking how long he is in town, does he get to come home much, etc. I noticed that he was with his little boy, so I decided to leave him alone. i wanted to do an impromptu interview, but I didn't have the heart. I wanted to tell him that I'll be working at the store next year, but I decided otherwise.

I decided that I like Ron. He's a really likable guy. I expected an Apple exec to exude power and authority. Pleasant surprise. I'm not complaining.

However, when I'm headed back down the highway that I remember that I forgot to ask him why the Apple stores don't carry logo'd merchandise.

Dammit.

Fini

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: 15" MacBook Pro Core Duo, Jan. 2006 - The first Intel-based MacBook launched at 1.83-2.0 GHz, had several teething problems.
Group of the Day: System 6 is the email list for those who choose System 6.
Support Low End Mac

Recent Deals

Best eMac Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz Combo, $100; SuperDrive, $269; 1.25 GHz Combo, $119; SD, $319; 1.42 GHz Combo, $289; SD, $498.
Best Mac OS X 10.6 and Mac Box Set Deals, 11.18. "Snow Leopard", single user, $25; 5 users, $45; Mac Box Set, single user, $139; 5 users, $180; Server, $414. Shipping included.
Best Xserve Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz dual G4, $649; 2.3 dual G5, $795; 3.0 4-core Xeon, $1,899; refurb 2.26 4-core, $2,499; new, $2,888; refurb 8-core, $2,999; new, $3,449; more.
Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 11.17. Used 1.83 GHz, $750; 2.16, $800; 2.33, $900; refurb 2.4, $1,299; 2.53, $1,449; 2.66, $1,699; 2.8, $1,899; new 2.53, $1,579; 2.66, $1,799; more.
Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.17. Used 400 MHz, $50; 933 MHz, $80; 500 dual, $60; 867 dual, $90; 1 GHz dual, $150; 1.25 GHz dual, $225; 1.42 GHz, $499.
Best Mac OS X 10.5 Deals, 11.17. "Leopard" upgrade, $80; single user license, $135; 5 users, $173; Mac Box Set, 5 users, $230; Server, 10 users, $340; unlimited, $850. Shipping included.
Best Mac mini Deals, 11.16. Used 1.42 GHz G4 mini, $379; 1.66 GHz Core Solo, $419; 2.0 Core 2, $450; new 2.26 GHz nVidia, $580; 2.53 GHz, $769; Server, $990.
Best iBook G4 Deals, 11.16. Used 12" 1.07 GHz Combo, $210; 1.33 GHz, $298; 14" 1.33 GHz, $398; 1.42 GHz, $479; SuperDrive, $498.
Best iPod shuffle Deals, 11.16. Used 1 GB, $35; 4 GB, $65; refurb 1 GB, $39; 2 GB, $59; new 2 GB, $55, 4 GB, $75. New and refurb prices include shipping.
More deals in our archive.

Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2009 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.