Today's Apple Computer has become a pop cultural phenomenon of
incredible proportions. Brand names such as iPod and iMac are integral
parts of our vocabulary and coveted possessions.
But is the Macintosh this well known around the world?
I recently traveled to Italy to visit family and rediscover the land
I grew up in, but I also took the opportunity to see where the Mac
falls in a European society.
Needless to say, I had expectations before I even set foot in Rome.
Having grown up here, I distinctly recall seldom seeing any Apple
product outside the US Department of Defense Schools (DoDS) system. In
fact, the only Mac I ever saw outside an American base was a Apple IIGS
belonging to a Italian family friend. This was, however, in the mid
90s, a time period in which Apple Computer's very existence was at
stake.
But even my previous trip in 2003 yielded little results, although
Italians are notorious late adopters of technology.
Upon arriving, and after sleeping off the effects of jet lag, I
spend an afternoon in downtown Avellino, a decent sized
city located about 40 minutes from Naples. IT shops where cropping up
everywhere, each selling its own brand of PCs and generic peripherals.
Not one of them carried any Macintosh software or hardware.
Electronics stores, however, where a different story. Here iPods
were as common as in the States, at only slightly inflated prices (199
euros for a 2 GB iPod nano, which equals US$230). The iPod
revolution, it seems, has hit here also.
But there was still no sign of the Macintosh.
I figured that a bigger city would yield better results, so while
visiting Rome that weekend I kept an eye open for any Macintosh
computers. Although I'm sure there must be some store in Rome with Macs
for sale, I was unable to notice one.
I tried again in Florence, to no avail. Even Italian TV was lacking
iPod and Mac commercials.
Has Apple given up on this market?
During this trip, I was asked by several people to look at their
Windows machines. I would always bring with me my travel laptop; a
500 MHz snow white iBook.
This normally turned heads, since very few have been seen here, but the
most amazing thing was that people knew it was a Macintosh - so market
recognition was present.
What further amazed me was the number of times people would say, "I
should have got a Mac" or, when talking in reference to the Mac, they
would say, "Yes, I hear very good things about it."
Why hasn't Apple taken advantage of this? There's an untapped
population that is beginning to see the countless flaws in the Windows
platform and would welcome an alternative.
Finally, in a train
station in Tuscany, I found signs of Intelligent life - an Italian Mac
magazine called Applicando. Not only was
a sight for sore eyes, it also gave me insight on where Italians could
buy Mac related items aside from the Internet. There where a handful of
stores in all of Italy, and enthusiasts would drive hundreds of
kilometers to go there.
So what is Apple waiting for? A little advertising and opening a few
Apple Stores could start an Apple revolution in Italy beyond the
influence of the iPod alone.
The choice is Apple's to make, but leaving a market like this
untapped would be foolish. 
