Sorry Computerworld, You're Just Plain Wrong
You have to take it with a grain of salt when a predominantly PC magazine decides to talk about Apple. After all, are they hedging their bets, placating their masses, or just trying to fire up the Apple faithful to generate more hits? Those are the questions raised in the latest article by Dan Turner for the magazine.
The gist is this: Apple's best days are behind it, and it's not what it used to be. Turner goes on to lay out a highly accurate history of Apple's various stages over the years, but then undercuts his argument with this:
Look at the Apple rumor sites -- the one or two left, I mean. The snooping and Kremlinology involved in building up best guesses and sneak peeks at Apple's next "One More Thing" was a veritable cottage industry, especially for those of us on the guessing end of things. Some pundits lazily made a career out of taking easy pot shots at the Mac faithful's clockwork frenzy around Jobs' keynote speeches.
Really, Dan? The only Apple rumor sites that have disappeared of merit are MacMinute, with the death of founder Stan Flack, and As The Apple Turns (we still miss you, Jack, please come back!) which disappeared long before Apple's newfound stature. As the founder of the first online video channel of Apple news and lifestyle, I take offense to this concept that somehow people are less interested in Apple today. I know our own videos, especially those related to the iPhone are tremendously popular.
True, the days of juicy rumors squeaking out of Cupertino may be past, or at least diminished (didn't we get a leaked mac mini shot just this week?) but that doesn't translate to loss of interest in the company. I would encourage Dan to look at the reduction in PC publications/Expos/websites as well. I would guess the percentage is at least as high as for Apple sites. We're in a recession. Some businesses don't make it.
Oh, and the irony of the end of your quote above isn't lost on us: "Some pundits lazily made a career out of taking easy pot shots at the Mac faithful..."
Really?