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Apple is in a serious sales slump. The recent avalanche of rebates and price cuts is an attempt to keep the Grinch from stealing Apple's traditional terrific holiday sales season. But the trouble keeps piling up. A stagnant processor development cycle, an almost certain "wait for Mac OS X" attitude among some users, rumors of new PowerBooks, and a slowing economy all add up to one big problem: clearing out the already overstuffed inventory. However, Apple's softening sales provide some attractive opportunities for those of us in the mood to buy ourselves a present.
The Apple hardware price curve follows a consistent path. New better-performing models are priced highest, although usually less than or equal to the model they replace. The profit margin increases as you climb the performance ladder. Also, portables traditionally cost more than desktop units. The point where the curve delivers the maximum value for most users is near the end of a product's lifespan, because time in the marketplace has lowered the price. This year's present from Apple arrives when you stack the price curve on top of the current rebates. And unlike some previous Apple rebates that were much ado about nothing, this new batch includes a real standout: PowerBooks. For example, the Rev. A 400Mhz G3 PowerBook is now almost the same price as a new
iBook, and far more capable.
From an engineering standpoint, the Pismo PowerBook is an elegant, refined personal computer. The bugs have been worked out of the hardware design (although I have seen a few reports about the keyboard leaving marks on the screen). Overall performance is outstanding. It can drive a second monitor, support up to a half a gig of RAM, and potential hard drives are up in the thirty-gigabyte neighborhood. All that, plus it purrs when running Mac OS X.
But there is a catch. The trouble with buying near the end of the product's life is that you only get a few months (if you are lucky) before your new toy is eclipsed by the bright new star. I have played the waiting game countless times over the past fifteen years. I love the new new thing. New models always seem sexier than last year's offering. But the real value is not the sexy case or bragging rights, it is in having access to stable tools that work. Paying less than top dollar is a bonus.
You can usually spot a pioneer by the arrows in his or her back. I have scar tissue to spare. The original Duo keyboard stunk. The Quadra 840av was neat as a technology proof-of-concept, but it never had an upgrade path to the
PPC, forcing me to replace it entirely. The Mac IIfx was so loud it drowned out the noise of jets flying overhead. The early Cubes had cracks. And do not forget about those PowerBooks that spontaneously burst into flame. Being first in line is expensive, both up front and on the back end.
As I write this, the pre-holiday how-will-I-get-everything-done panic is making everyone miserable. When considering the effect of copious rebates and recent price cuts, Apple hardware is extremely attractive right now. Better still, a rebate - even though it is your own money - feels like a gift when it shows up in the mail. So does receiving a new
Macintosh.
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"Rebate
Season"
