Dreamsmademe Blog

They say “Give chance a chance” in their latest ad campaign for their coolest new gadget. iPod Shuffle. OK I decided having the chance to mingle it a bit.

 

Next week probably I will be getting my first Apple product from US, an iPod Shuffle. We'll see!

Apple Computer is one of my well respected companies. I am grateful for what they have done to the computer industry. They have given us so many way ahead technologies. The Graphical User Interface, the mice, the USB(?), the firewire and WiFi are to name a few.

I was good a Mac fan and still in someways. But the problem is I haven't used a Mac since 1998. Until then I had been in advertising for nearly 2 1/2 years and shifted into the software industry. I love the both industries but preferred the latter. I could have still asked for Macs (at office) but since there was no lost love I okayed and adopted the Windows PCs. It fulfilled all my needs with a fraction of the cost owning a Mac. Period.

The advertising industry, its DTP part was purely and now still heavily depend upon Apple products. They have a practically solid products range from Designer Collection Hardware to loyal range of professional software.

I believe that they are better or equally impressive for any given computer task with the wow factor. But something somewhere went wrong for them and that's why I don't see a single Apple Macintosh Computer in general use, not in our office, not in software development firms unless for QA and testing, not in general offices unless in an advertising firm. I really don't know who made the mistake but they never took off as a main stream computer system.

The story is a history when Wintel group had all the fun Macs became the forgotten species. I can give you few good reasons for what happened.

1. I have used and liked Macs enough not to settle for the PCs but they have never been affordable to get one for myself. In 1998 a PC was still the hottest item so we brought one home.

2. They were never mass marketed to the public even though all the PC promotions and other advertising was heavily based on Macs.

3.  When all the hype of the Internet bubble started, Macs only knew how to do the photo editing and the layouts. While Windows PCs' got flooded with all sort of tools, utilities and general purpose software written by Windows enthusiastic crowd for free. Remember Winamp? I still have Winamp version called 0.20 which is 135Kb in size.

4. Talking about the entertainment part, When I was all wowed about MP3 and Napster, I didn't even knew how to play an MP3 on a Mac.

5. There were hardly any other software title for Macs than what had come pre-bundled with them.

So the bottom line is the general users never had chance to “Give chance a chance”

And now, not all that too late I guess, the Apple people again looking bright and shine. From iMac reincarnation to the iPop marvel they are hitting some new heights. But the “Attack of the Clones” continues you can hardly make me a non PC person now.

Anyway good luck and cheers for Apple, this time if you come back as the centre of my digital lifestyle, you are most welcome.

So this is a tribute to Apple Computer, a remembrance to my good old Apple Macintosh resource friend Shirantha and the clan who runs HAL Computers, the Sri Lankan agents for the Apple Products.

So if you need any of these new kids in the block, like iPod, iMac and that sexy Apple Cinema Displays, to “Give chance a chance”, he's the one to contact.

Shirantha Whehella
HAL Computers
43 Abdul Gaffoor Mw
Colombo 3
Sri Lanka.
Tel: 011 2467868