January 15, 2005

Honesty. How Refreshing

Apple continues to create buzz, and their latest product and earning announcements sure helped. I happened to read an outstanding column in Motley Fool (link may require free registration) from a link at McSurfer's Daily News. What's outstanding in my opinion isn't so much the analysis, although I have to applaud a financial writer that doesn't take his eye off the bottom line when looking at a company that knows how to create hype like Apple, but his honesty in admitting past error. Would that we all could be so forthright. It's even more amazing when it comes from an industry not known for admitting error or honesty.

As an Apple stock owner (yes, this also constitutes full disclosure), I applaud the outstanding earnings. As an Apple enthusiast, I applaud the technical and marketing know how put on display with the latest product announcements. I can't remember anymore where I read it, but I was clued into one of the thoughts behind the box only mini-Mac: in addition to reducing the quoted price, it's aimed at switchers from PCs. The thinking goes that if you switch, you already have a keyboard, monitor, and mouse, so why buy a new set? I thought that was pretty clever, especially since I know people who are fed up with the internet experience (i.e. malware) of PCs. I might just mention the mini-Mac to them - for a minimal investment, they can put a Mac between them and the internet, and could continue to use their PC by changing a few cables (they could even network the Mac and PC with a cable to move files). I'll just stick to my iMacs.

Posted by Kevin Murphy at January 15, 2005 1:20 PM | Technology