A very good day to all of you who had to wait such a long time for a
new column by that annoying Mac UK writer to arise. Things have changed
in the last couple of weeks, as I have exchanged my place of
professional undertakings from the centre of society's breakdown, East
London, to the haven of the happy, port of the prosperous: New Zealand.
Yes, your Mac UK column is now coming from a little town on the
South Island, and I can tell you, if a country ever needed some Mac
evangelism, it is definitely NZ. I will not venture forward into my
favourite subject of Apple retail again, as there's no hope left here.
If you think that getting Apple related goods was hard in the UK, just
don't come down here. That's all I will say. Full-stop. Nothing more.
Nada.
Anyway, since being down here I have so far seen one Apple computer,
and that was an old LC II
standing around forlornly (but very appropriately) in a retirement
home. It was still being used to print out staff notices.
The only Mac that is regular in view of the public is Lex Luthor's
TiBook in that amazingly bland rip-off of the Superman books, Smallville,
and the odd iMac appearing in imported UK sitcoms. But apart from that,
no sightings whatsoeve - not even in commercials. Apple probably has
given up on New Zealand as a market, as too many farmers are probably
still hacking away at their 386 PCs and don't plan to exchange them in
the next 30 years.
Oh well, enough moaning.
As you were all able to see from the interview
with Ian Betteridge, people working in the industry are more
hopeful than ever about Apple's prospects, and the good old Stevester
certainly looks like he has another couple of years in front of him as
our demi-god at the top of Apple, which is (I guess) a good thing.
OS X certainly seems to come along nicely (apart from its appalling
lack of speed on G3 machines) as the number of nifty little
applications is growing. Adobe and the Microsoft Macintosh Business
Unit, as the dinosaurs of application design, have given us their firm
commitment to the good cause, so nobody has to fear that the will be
left with a six year old copy of Photoshop like me (just can't afford a
regular update).
Which leaves us just with the question of what to call this column
now. Mac UK is as geographically incorrect as you can get, so I ask you
kindly to come up with a suggestion. The winner will be named in this
very column, and I'll be damned if I won't throw a Low End Mac T-shirt in as well.
Have a great spring. 
