This could be a case of deja vu all over again for Apple, only this time around things are looking pretty peachy for the stalwart computer company. Back in the late 1990's however, Apple had a big mess on its hands and on its store shelves, but after Steve Jobs returned he immediately simplified product lines by dumping all the desktop options — the Performa, the Quadra, the LC, the Power Macintosh— simplification was the order of the day and Apple rebuilt the product line based on Job's "Grid of Four" which were portables and desktops for the design pros and for the average consumer. The next thing he did upon his much heralded return to the then beleagured computer company, was to shut down all cloning operations in the belief that dilution of the brand would soon be Apple's death knell.
Fast forward a decade with the rampant success in sales and profits from iMacs, iPhones, and iPods and $18 billion in the kitty it might be time for Apple to rethink the clone model as a way for them to break further into Dell and Microsoft territory. Blogs are rife with people stating: "I'd love to buy an Apple,
but I just can't afford it. And the ones they're offering don't do what
I want." The customers clearly want to have a wider choice, especially
at the bottom end.
So if Macs are truly meant to be the 'computer for the people' and Apple wants to avoid leaving huge wads of cash on the table by not offering a stripped down version without all the bells and whistles for the masses then it may very well be another lucrative opportunity spurned.
So Steve, Carpe Diem?