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What Did Barnum Say? (5/5/98)
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So tomorrow's the big day-- or at least Apple would certainly like us to think so. Several faithful viewers contacted us to point out that Apple's entire web site (with the exception of the Support site) was replaced by a single teaser ad. The text of the ad is a warning not to miss tomorrow's announcement, which Apple compares to "Woodstock, the moon landing, and Geraldo's grand opening of Al Capone's vault."
The warning appears under the catch phrase "Pro. Go. Whoa." Apple watchers will recall a similar teaser before last November's announcement, which featured pictures of a cookie, a screwdriver, and a shopping cart; those graphics represented the G3 (new chip), build-to-order, and the online Apple Store, respectively. So what does "pro go whoa" signify? All three words could easily be related to the new Wall Street Powerbooks, which are almost certain to be announced tomorrow. But we're hard pressed to associate any of those terms to any of the other probable announcements, such as the build-to-order Apple Store for educational buyers and value-added resellers, or details on just what Apple actually bought from Macromedia.
What concerns us most here at AtAT central are the three big events that Apple chose to compare with tomorrow's "big do:" few people remember Woodstock, especially the people who were there; the moon landing was obviously a big government-sponsored hoax; and there was nothing in Al Capone's vault when Geraldo finally got the damn thing open. Doesn't bode well for the relative importance of the announcements tomorrow, does it? But we'll know for sure at noon PST. (By the way, yes, we were kidding about the moon landing. Mostly.)
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 5/5/98 episode: May 5, 1998: Apple still knows how to play the suspense game, as the Mac-using world waits and wonders what's on the agenda for tomorrow's big event. Meanwhile, Intuit is wooed back to the Mac platform by the irresistible charms of Steve Jobs and Apple's upcoming consumer plans, and a couple of ex-cast members are now playing bit parts in Microsoft's grand epic...
Other scenes from that episode: 677: Reversal of Fortune (5/5/98) As for today's big announcement, that would have to be the joint press release issued by Apple and Intuit, indicating that Quicken is back for the Mac. In a reversal of its decision made public a couple of weeks ago, Intuit now says that it will in fact develop Quicken 99 for the Macintosh platform, and in addition, Apple and Intuit will work together to "develop new personal finance opportunities for Macintosh users on the web."... 678: Mass Assimilation (5/5/98) Today we came across not one, but two stories about ex-Apple execs who are currently siding with Microsoft on various topics. They serve as a great reminder about the ubiquity of the Redmond Giant in the industry. First there's the more disappointing fact: Heidi Roizen, who used to head up Apple's developer relations organization, is now spending a few days a month as a consultant for Microsoft, acting as an "ambassador" to Silicon Valley's "Microsoft-phobic tech community," according to the San Jose Mercury News...
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