Where Apple Shines

For whatever faults it may have, there are areas where Apple shines. Perhaps the most fundamental of these is the operating system. I won’t turn this into a Mac versus Windows debate, since that’s entirely subjective, and both operating systems have their advantages and disadvantages.

The bottom line is, whichever operating system you prefer, OS X is an excellent system. It’s built on the long-standing stability of Unix as its core, plus the ease-of-use and easy-on-the-eyes appeal of the Aqua GUI layer.

Risk taking is another area where Apple has stood out. There are few PC makers that would have taken the risk of the "Fruit Flavored" iMacs or the special-edition "Flower Power iMac. That risk taking has lead to a level of aesthetic beauty that you simply won’t find in other computers. Although some PC makes have tried to make all-in-one computers, there still isn’t a single one that competes with the eye-catching beauty of an iMac.

Now that most of the home computer world has moved to flat-screen displays, there’s a great deal of discussion as to which brand creates the best display. However, it would be difficult to dispute that Apple’s displays are amongst the best in the business.

With the exception of the Mac Minis, all new Apple computers ship with Firewire b (Firewire 800) ports. This is something that really disturbs me with PC motherboard manufacturers: They’ll supply 8 to 12 USB 2 ports, which run at 480 Mb/s, and no Firewire 800 ports, even though they run at 800 Mb/s, and generally do so with much better throughput. Yes, for hard drives, SATA is the new standard, but for devices, like video recorders, Firewire b is still the best way to go. Firewire 800 is something that just about every PC and motherboard manufacturer in the business get wrong, but Apple gets it right.

The built in Airport wireless 802.11 a/b/g/n and built in Bluetooth 2.0 EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) is another nice feature that PC manufacturers should be paying attention to, although only a small handful are doing so. It’s nice to see that Apple has made this a standard for its Mac Minis and iMacs. Apple gives no explanation as to why these technologies are optional in the Mac Pro, but whatever the reason, Airport and Bluetooth belong in the Mac Pro.

Conclusion: Summer Of Disappointment

Has Apple lived up to its standard as the computer graphics giant with this summer’s new lineup? Absolutely not, and it hasn’t even come close.

It’s hard to tell exactly what’s wrong at Apple. Maybe Steve Jobs and the rest of Apple’s business and technical leadership are so obsessed with the success of iPods, iPhones and iTunes that computers no longer are Apple’s flagship product. I’m disappointed enough in this summer’s releases to believe just that.

How much will this hurt Apple? It depends on how you look at it. In terms of losing current Mac customers, it may not hurt them at all. There are a certain amount of Mac fans that are going to buy the next Mac computer to be released, just as there are a certain amount of Windows fans that are going to wait in line outside of computer retailers at midnight to buy the latest version of Windows, regardless of how overpriced or underachieving the computer, or Windows Vista, may be. Nothing is going to change that.

Where will Apple be hurt? I mentioned in the first page of this article that I was considering investing in a high-end Apple desktop. That consideration is now history. I’ll be investing my money in either a retail or home-built Intel quad-core PC. That’s where Apple will be hurt, not in losses of current customers, but in future growth. People like me, who were considering making the switch, now consider that idea unthinkable.

There’s one image that sticks in my mind of just how far downhill Apple has slid when it comes to building graphics computers. It’s a Tom’s Hardware Guide chart showing the Nvidia GeForce 7300 GT with 256MB of GDDR2 SDRAM (the default graphics card from the Mac Pro) versus other cards in the most-intense 3DMark benchmarking test. As a disclaimer, I have to note that this is not the exact same card as the one in the Mac, since the Mac card would be made by a manufacturer that makes Apple cards, and this chart contains Windows cards. But either way, the card is the Nvidia GeForce 7300 GT with 256MB of GDDR2 SDRAM. It’s represented below by the blue bar graph:

If there are any remaining questions as to just how far Apple has fallen, I believe the image above has the answers.

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