Welcome to the mid-Winter edition of About This Particular Macintosh! This issue should arrive on your desktop about halfway between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. We have so much in store for you that we’re calling this the special post-Solstice, pre-Equinox, double barreled, high-octane, super-charged edition of ATPM!

New Year News

The holidays are over and the new G3 desktops have come in! Apple has reported yet another profitable quarter, and their balance sheet reflects $2.6 billion in cash and cash equivalents. We’re not quite sure what “cash equivalents” mean, but we do know that high sales and low costs equal a tidy profit. This tidy profit indicates the tide has finally turned in Apple’s favor. No matter the fact that Apple has stopped manufacturing many hardware peripherals (leaving the market for third parties to be a part of Apple’s new-found success), our friends in Cupertino realized significant year-over year revenue gains in the fourth calendar quarter of 1998. In addition, gross margins improved to 28% of sales.

Although Apple doesn’t predict that gross margins will maintain that extraordinarily high percentage of sales, the iMac was the #1 personal computer in the retail and mail order market in the fourth calendar quarter. This was an impressive accomplishment considering the aggressive holiday season cost cutting by many of Apple’s hardware competitors. When all was said and done, Apple held 9.6 percent of the retail and mail order market and unit shipments, an increase of over 40% from the prior year period.

Bye, Bye, Bondi Blue

The close of 1998 marked the end on the original iMac. Now found in “five flavors,” the original Bondi Blue iMac is only available until existing inventories are sold. It’s a smart move to differentiate the new generation of iMac’s from their predecessor. The many-colored iMacs are an interesting contrast to competing products on retail shelves.

The editors of ATPM recommend that readers not be alarmed if Apple’s retail market share dips from its current levels. More important than Apple’s recent consumer-level success is the undeniable fact the company has regained its critical mass. Apple’s next move is to reestablish its products in the enterprise and education markets. The average price for consumer-level PCs will continue to fall. But the total cost of a PC purchased for the enterprise and education markets isn’t just the nominal price of the hardware. The person-hours required for installation and a computer’s ease-of-use are among the factors that contribute to the total cost of a PC. Further, inexpensive Intel Celeron chips are no match for the computing power inherent in the G3’s RISC architecture.

Apple’s new G3 minitowers and the release of Mac OS X Server offer compelling computing solutions for educators and business managers. The Mac’s legendary ease-of-use coupled with Apple’s superb hardware products will help the company expand its presence in many new and established hardware markets. Apple will continue to grow at a rate greater than the PC industry as a whole. The company’s success depends not on its ability to continuously gain large amounts of consumer market share, but on the company’s ability to make a profit while expanding its overall user base in each of its key markets.

The real story isn’t the iMac’s popularity, but Apple’s ability to remain competitive in a dynamic hardware market. Apple may not be the largest PC hardware manufacturer, but it will continue to make the computer of choice for people who dream, people who create, and people who simply wish for their computing lives to be a little more fun.

Time for Change

This issue of ATPM marks the end of an era. Daniel Chvatik has replaced Robert Paul Leitao as ATPM’s managing editor. In this month’s Apples, Kids & Attitude, Rob talks about the need for change and its importance in ATPM’s past, present, and future. The ATPM staff welcomes Daniel’s increasing contribution to our e-zine.

Please don’t miss the much-rumored reason for this change at the bottom of this month’s Welcome.

It’s A Large World After All

Apple’s recent success has raised the level of enthusiasm among Macintosh software developers and users. This is clearly evidenced by the increasing number of exhibitors and attendees at recent Apple expositions. In this month’s Personal Computing Paradigm, Michael Tsai looks at the exciting new products announced at Macworld Expo and other happenings in the world of personal computers. It’s an informative look at the state of Mac computing.

We Deny All Rumors…(Part II)

In ATPM 2.06 we responded to some nasty, pernicious rumors as to why personnel changes were instituted at ATPM. Similarly, the promotion of Daniel Chatvik to the post of ATPM managing editor has become the source of new rumors. For the record, Daniel’s promotion has nothing to do with his passion for data dumpster diving. No matter how heroic his feats of bravery may be, the decision for Mr. Leitao to step down as managing editor in favor of Daniel was made by Rob and Rob alone. There was no pressure for him to step down so that Daniel could save the world as we know it…honest injun! 

We’ve become weary of the ever-growing amount of Microsoft-bashing that occurs in the Macintosh press. The end of the Cold War and eight successive years of economic growth are not reasons for us to target Microsoft as the great villain of our times. Blatant Microsoft-bashing only evidences the high level of mass anti-Microsoft hysteria that grips the Macintosh community. It’s reminiscent of the anti-Communist “news reels” that were so prevalent in 1950’s America. If ATPM staff members have saved one world, we’ve saved them all. It’s such a routine event it’s no longer a basis for a staff promotion. Our job is to put aside our personal views and report only the truth. Our coverage of Microsoft should be based solely on solid fact. With this in mind please find below our latest special report.

The New Monetary Order

Last month’s Welcome revealed our recommended strategy for Y2K. This month the ATPM staff would like to help you make plans for the New Monetary Order. That’s right, forget about the small stuff. 1/1/2000 will come and go without so much as a hiccup (if you own a Mac). The real issue is the pending final battle between good and evil. Don’t let anyone fool you. If Microsoft were only a software company they wouldn’t need such big profits. Their real goal is to bring in so much cash that they suck-dry the Federal Reserve System. It’s the first step toward the New Monetary Order. If successful, all US currency in circulation will be replaced with “digital dollars” that can only be transacted via of a Windows-based PC.

Once Microsoft controls all the banks and replaces our money, they will take over our schools, local governments and children’s playgrounds. Forget the Euro. That stuff is chump change! We’ve discovered evidence that proves Microsoft won’t be satisfied until they take over the world. Our secret sleuths have rummaged through the trash at Microsoft’s home office and found some very ominous e-mail exchanges concerning their plans to replace our money. Using several quarts of Elmer’s Glue-All we’ve recompiled the nasty evidence from Microsoft’s shredder bin. The following are excerpts from the two tons of pulp we sifted. We warn you, it’s some pretty heavy duty stuff! The employee names have been deleted to protect anonymity.

Discovered January 7, 1999:

Employee A—“Steve Ballmer wants his picture on the ten and Bill’s picture on the 
                        twenty.”
Employee B—“When did [Microsoft’s President] start making decisions?”
Employee A—“Ever since Bill’s video deposition. [Chairman Gates] is supposed to be 
                        at home taking medication for amnesia. It shouldn’t be hard to replace a 
                        picture of a US president with Microsoft’s president.”
Employee B—“Who is on the ten now?
Employee A—“Alexander Hamilton.” 
Employee B—“When was Alexander Hamilton president?”
Employee A—“I dunno. Either before or after Aaron Burr.”
Employee B—“ Aaron Burr? I thought he was the guy who played Perry Mason on 
                        late-night TV.”
Employee A—“No, silly, that’s Raymond Burr. Aaron Burr is the guy who shot 
                        Alexander Hamilton.”
Employee B—“Why did he shoot him?”
Employee A—“I dunno. Maybe he knew too much.”
Employee B—“Speaking about knowing too much, does anyone else know about our 
                        plans?”
Employee A -
“Only Bill, Steve, you and me…and maybe Daniel.”
Employee B—“Who’s Daniel?
Employee A—“He’s that horrible guy from ATPM. He knows too much. I don’t know 
                        how to spell his last name. It seems to be missing a couple of vowels.”
Employee B—“ATPM?”
Employee A—“About This Particular Macintosh. They know too much. We caught 
                        Daniel sifting through the shredder bins using a butterfly net. He 
                        claimed to be doing research on animal behaviors for an Ivy League 
                        school. He said our site was a prime location for species observation.”
Employee B—“He was observing things in the shredder bin?”
Employee A—“I think so. Where else would he look around here? Anyway, I’m not 
                        sure that was his real mission. He’s only the reviews editor for ATPM. 
                        My concern is he’s bucking for a promotion. If word gets out about this 
                        stuff it could ruin our plan.”
Employee B—“Did you make him an offer?”
Employee A—“Yeah. But he’s the kind of guy who uses a Mac. There’s no talking to 
                        those people. The last time we opened a dialogue with one of those Apple 
                        types it cost us a $150 million investment and a huge royalty for the 
                        QuickTime code we discreetly borrowed.”
Employee B—“Borrowed?”
Employee A—“Well…we planned to license it. We just wanted to wait to pay for it with 
                        the new tens and twenties.”
Employee B—“How much does Daniel know?”
Employee A—“He knows too much. We hope the bosses at ATPM won’t take him 
                        seriously. The managing editor is a real zealot. The guy acts like he’s 
                        on a mission from God.”
Employee B—“God?”
Employee A—“Haven’t you read the new beta version of Encarta? God is the name for 
                        the deity some people think created things. Those people are really 
                        dangerous. Can you imagine a world where making money wasn’t the 
                        be-all and end-all?” That kind of thinking is dangerous!”
Employee B—“I thought Bill Gates and Paul Allen were the creators of all good 
                        things?”
Employee A—“They are.
Employee B—“What happened to Paul Allen?”
Employee A—“After a short struggle in Digital Paradise he was banished to the 
                        wilderness. He’s now known as the Lesser Creator.”
Employee B—“Oh…. If only Bill, Steve, you and me know about this, do you think we 
                        will become full-fledged employees? The only thing I know about the 
                        temp agency that hired me is that I don’t get a lot of benefits and there 
                        is no regular retirement plan.”
Employee A—“Shh. Keep quiet. The Greater Creator has promised to take care of all 
                        that. Things will be different as soon as we’re paid in Digital Dollars. 
                        The courts will no longer be able to mess with our plans.”
Employee B—“When will that happen?”
Employee A—“The first Sunday in 2001.”
Employee B—“Sunday?”
Employee A—“The day that’s now reserved for sports and shopping. We’re giving it a 
                        new name—MSNday.”
Employee B—“Won’t the Lessor Creator have his picture on any money?”
Employee A—“Yep. He’ll be on the new penny.”
Employee B—“Penny?”
Employee A—“Oops!”
Employee A—“Don’t worry about it. The real concern is ATPM. If Daniel gets in a 
                        position of authority at ATPM he might just reveal our plan. If that 
                        happens people who don’t like the Greater Creator might buy more 
                        Macs. Macs are immune.”
Employee B—“Immune?”
Employee A—“Yeah. They can’t be controlled from Central command. That’s why it’s 
                        useless to put out another version of Encarta for the Mac. Mac users 
                        have their own…way of looking at things.”
Employee B—“Wow! Can I see one…I mean a Mac?”
Employee A—“Only in the wilderness. You can’t miss them. They come in interesting 
                        colors.”
Employee A—“Darn it! Gotta go! Somebody’s in the shredder bin again!”
Employee B—“Maybe it’s Daniel!”
Employee A—“Hope not! Those Mac types are scary!

Editor’s Note: Save our money, save our world…Buy a Mac! Thanks, Daniel. The planet you save may be your own!

Please enjoy our latest issue!