TidBITS#645/02-Sep-02
=====================

  Many people were dubious about the Apple Stores, but Apple has
  continued opening new ones at a brisk pace. According to Simon
  Spence, Apple's on the right track, because the Apple Stores
  give the Apple brand tangible form. Also this week, we look at
  welcome changes in Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar and note the releases
  of Suitcase 10.1.3, Netscape 7, and the return of the Palm
  Conduit for Entourage X. Note that next week's issue will be
  published a day late.

Topics:
    MailBITS/02-Sep-02
    Interesting Bits of Jaguar
    The Branding of Apple: The Retail Bridge

<http://www.tidbits.com/tb-issues/TidBITS-645.html>
<ftp://ftp.tidbits.com/issues/2002/TidBITS#645_02-Sep-02.etx>

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MailBITS/02-Sep-02
------------------

**Next Issue One Day Late** -- Due to staff vacation, next week's
  issue will be published Tuesday, 10-Sep-02, a day later than
  usual. Needless to say, since we'll be short-handed it's entirely
  possible some of our services will act up in the meantime, but
  perhaps they'll behave if they know we're on to their little
  games. [ACE]


**Netscape 7 Released** -- Netscape Communications has released
  Netscape 7, a promising improvement to the now-underdog Web
  browser. New in Netscape Navigator 7 is tabbed windows, which
  enable you to load multiple Web sites within the same browser
  window, plus overall performance improvements and bug fixes. Other
  new features include persistent history that records visited URLs
  across windows and sessions, a Download Manager that tracks all
  your downloads in a single window (like Internet Explorer),
  a Print Preview (though it doesn't redraw the preview to account
  for scaling percentages), the capability to save a page as a
  folder of files, a contextual menu feature that lets you start
  a Web search for selected text, and update notifications of new
  releases. The Netscape Mail component has also has much-needed
  performance enhancements, a quick search for messages in a
  mailbox, alerts of new mail, labels, easier filters, and more.
  Netscape 7 is a free 19.2 MB download for users of Mac OS X,
  or a 155K active installer for users of Mac OS 8.6 or 9.x (where
  the eventual installation needs approximately 36 MB of disk
  space). [JLC]

<http://channels.netscape.com/ns/browsers/download.jsp>
<http://wp.netscape.com/eng/mozilla/ns7/relnotes/7.html>


**Extensis Releases Suitcase 10.1.3** -- Less than a week after
  the formal release of Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar, Extensis has brought
  its Suitcase font-management software up to par with an updater
  (see "A Quick Trip With Suitcase 10" in TidBITS-627_). Fixed in
  this release is a Jaguar bug where, once Classic was started up,
  Suitcase would become sluggish and refuse to quit. The Suitcase
  10.1.3 updater is a 2.9 MB download, and is free to users of
  Suitcase 10.0 or later. [MAN]

<http://www.extensis.com/suitcase/18h.html#jaguar>
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=06797>


**It's Baaack... Palm Conduit for Entourage X** -- After an
  initial release and rapid retraction last July, Microsoft has
  re-released its Palm conduit for Entourage X, enabling Entourage
  X users to synchronize contacts, calendar items, tasks, and notes
  (but not email) between Entourage X and Palm-compatible handheld
  devices. We haven't yet tested this newest release and can't say
  if it's any more reliable than the version Microsoft previously
  withdrew, so (as always) back up your data before installing. The
  conduit requires Microsoft Office X Service Release 1, Mac OS X
  10.1 or later, and a Palm-compatible handheld with Palm OS 3.x or
  later and Palm Desktop 4.0 or later. It's a 716K download. [GD]

<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=06878>
<http://www.microsoft.com/mac/DOWNLOAD/OFFICEX/palmsync.asp>
<http://www.microsoft.com/mac/DOWNLOAD/OFFICEX/OfficeX_SR1.asp>


Interesting Bits of Jaguar
--------------------------
  by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

  Last week's much-anticipated release of Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar
  hasn't disappointed - Apple pulled out all the stops in improving
  and adding to Mac OS X. Despite the $130 upgrade cost, over
  100,000 people purchased Jaguar in the first weekend it was
  available, a number Apple claims is a record for Mac OS sales
  in a single weekend (though it undoubtedly includes all the
  pre-orders placed up to that time as well).

<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2002/aug/27jaguar.html>

  We've all heard plenty about the major features of Jaguar so far -
  iChat, Rendezvous, the system-wide Address Book, etc. - so in this
  article, I'm instead going to take a quick spin through some of
  the less-noticeable features that have gladdened our jaded eyes
  here at TidBITS, plus a couple of installation tips that will save
  you headaches and disk space. I'm sure we'll continue to discover
  similar bits about Jaguar; if this article proves popular, we'll
  continue collecting them for a sequel.


**Check Utilities Before Installing** -- A number of utilities,
  most notably those that modify system behavior, are not compatible
  with Jaguar. Be sure to check for updates to those utilities you
  consider essential before upgrading. This has been a public
  service announcement, brought to you by the same people who always
  nag you about backing up before installing a major operating
  system update.


**Archive Install** -- At the Select Destination step in the
  Jaguar installer, the default button is Continue, which will put
  you on a path to upgrading an existing Mac OS X installation.
  However, reports from the Internet and our own experiences with
  random application crashes indicate that it's worth the extra
  effort to do a clean installation, something that Apple has
  improved immensely since Mac OS 9. Click the Options button, and
  in the sheet that appears, you're presented with three options:
  Upgrade Mac OS X (the default), Archive and Install, and Erase and
  Install. Choose Archive and Install, and click the Preserve Users
  and Network Settings checkbox below it. Then click OK and continue
  on with the installation. When the installer is done, you'll have
  a Previous Systems folder at the top level of your hard disk, and
  inside that, a Previous System 1 folder that contains all the
  items the installer didn't merge into the new installation. Check
  through that folder for items you don't want to delete; it does a
  pretty good job, though it's not perfect at retaining everything.
  On TidBITS Talk, Dan Frakes pointed us to an excellent article he
  wrote for Macworld about particular places to check for files to
  save. If you're a Unix-head, be sure to inspect the Previous
  System 1 folder in the Terminal, since directories where you may
  have been keeping stuff, such as /usr/local, are present but
  invisible in the Finder. When you're done, you can toss the
  Previous System 1 folder in the Trash; you can't toast the
  enclosing Previous Systems folder without some fussing with
  privileges.

<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkmsg=14997>
<http://www.macworld.com/2002/10/features/install.html>


**Save Disk Space with Custom Installs** -- Apple appears to be
  doing an excellent job with localizing Mac OS X and applications
  so people in at least some other countries can use the Mac in
  their own language. But is there any point in installing localized
  files if you don't read those languages? Plus, Apple installs
  numerous printer drivers you likely don't need. You can save a
  boatload of disk space by not installing all of these extras,
  but you have to pay attention, since Easy Install gives you
  everything, and it's too easy to start the installation without
  realizing. In the Jaguar installer's Installation Type step, click
  the Customize button, and deselect the appropriate checkboxes. One
  note: I failed to do this on my first installation (for a variety
  of testing purposes, I restored from my backup and reinstalled
  Jaguar - I _strongly_ recommend a pre-Jaguar backup), and I
  couldn't find a safe way to remove these items after the fact;
  a tip I found about deleting all the .lproj files via a complex
  Unix command looked as though it was going to delete far more
  than was safe.


**Privilege Fixing Disk Utility in Installer** -- In the event of
  trouble, it's always worth running the First Aid component of
  Apple's Disk Utility. But it won't check the startup disk, which
  can be annoying. Work around this by booting from the Jaguar
  installation CD (Install Disc 1 - yes, that's right, Jaguar comes
  on two CDs, or three, if you count the Developer Tools). Choose
  Open Disk Utility from the Installer application menu at any
  point, and you'll see that not only can you perform the usual
  tasks, but also that Disk Utility's First Aid component can now
  verify and repair privileges (which it calls "disk permissions,"
  a surprising lapse for Apple, which almost universally uses the
  term "privileges"). I suspect this code comes from Apple's
  recently released Repair Privileges utility (now at version 1.1,
  in case you previously downloaded the 1.0 version). Interestingly,
  when I ran Verify Disk Permissions on my brand new Jaguar
  installation, it found two errors in folders I couldn't have
  touched. (Two other notes about functions available in the
  installer: You can reset your password from the Installer
  application menu, if necessary, but the Terminal menu item
  was never available for me for unknown reasons.)

<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106900>


**Adieu Happy Mac** -- As has been reported elsewhere, Jaguar
  replaces the 18-year-old happy Mac startup icon with a gray Apple
  logo. I'm not particularly surprised; as much as everyone was
  accustomed to the happy Mac, it didn't fit in with the graphical
  look Apple has taken such pains to present with Mac OS X and new
  hardware. It's not as though any Macintosh has even looked like
  the happy Mac for years, and the new look doesn't presuppose any
  particular hardware design. Plus, Apple could easily change the
  color of the Apple logo in the future - I wonder why they didn't
  fill it with rendered jaguar fur. The other question is if the
  sad Mac, whose presence announces the ominous news of hardware
  failure, is still around, or if it's been replaced by a rotting
  Apple logo with a worm crawling out. Probably not.


**Tired of Logging In?** Many people have complained about having
  to provide their passwords to installers in Mac OS X. I'll happily
  enter a password instead of being forced to reboot, as in Mac OS
  9, but the frequent password prompts are annoying. Luckily, you
  can turn them into reminders by making your password blank. You
  can't do this with the Change Password button in Jaguar's new My
  Account preference pane (where it claims your password must be at
  least four characters long), but you can do it by editing your
  user in the Accounts preference pane (it used to be called Users).
  Once you've set your password to blank, you can dismiss password
  dialogs merely by pressing Return. Needless to say, a blank
  password is a huge gaping security hole with razor sharp edges,
  so consider yourself forewarned. I wouldn't recommend doing this
  on a machine that's always accessible from the Internet, and
  I'd reset a password on a laptop before leaving home in case
  it was stolen.


**Energy Saver Returns** -- The options in the Mac OS X Energy
  Saver preference pane have never matched up to those in Mac OS 9's
  Energy Saver control panel. But with Jaguar, much of that control
  is back, so you can set different options for when your PowerBook
  or iBook is running on battery power or is plugged into the power
  adapter, and there's a checkbox that claims to reduce the
  processor speed. Four different presets give you canned choices
  for Highest Performance, Longest Battery Life, DVD Playback, and
  Presentations, the first two of which provide the same settings
  whether or not the laptop is plugged in. Personally, I'll be
  setting my iBook to save power when using battery, and provide
  optimal performance when plugged in. It's too soon to tell just
  how well this additional control will help increase the battery
  life of laptops on the road, but any improvement will be welcome.
  One addition I'd like to see - an option to lower the screen
  brightness automatically when using battery power, since my
  experience is that's one of the major consumers of precious
  electricity.


**Smooth Operator** -- Hidden away in Jaguar's General preference
  pane is a new pop-up menu that lets you configure Mac OS X's font
  smoothing style. It's worth checking this out, since the default
  setting may not be ideal for your monitor (my iBook defaulted to
  "Standard - best for CRT" for instance), and everyone has
  different visual preferences.


**FTP in the Finder: Keep Trying, Apple** -- Jaguar is growling at
  another class of software - FTP clients. That's because you can
  now mount FTP servers as disks in the Finder, just like any other
  network volume. Just type a full FTP URL like the one below into
  the Connect to Server dialog (access it from the Go menu, or type
  Command-K) and click Connect. If a username and password are
  necessary, the Finder will prompt for them. Unfortunately, in
  our testing, Jaguar can only get read access to FTP servers,
  even if you add your userid and password to the FTP URL. Worse
  yet, several of us have managed to lock up Jaguar completely
  using this feature, so be careful. Finally, Jaguar's Finder FTP
  client doesn't appear to work at all with Peter Lewis's elderly
  NetPresenz FTP server, which is undoubtedly still in wide use
  on older Mac servers. I'd recommend keeping your favorite FTP
  client around for a while.

<ftp://ftp.tidbits.com/>


**In the Red with Force Quit** -- Two new tweaks related to
  forcing applications to quit have appeared with Jaguar. First off,
  if an application isn't responding, it appears in red in the Force
  Quit Applications window (accessible from the Apple menu or by
  typing Command-Option-Escape). It's a nice touch that simplifies
  identifying the application you want to quit. Second, if an
  application isn't responding, Control-clicking its icon in the
  Dock presents a menu with Force Quit instead of Quit; previously,
  you had to hold down Option while clicking the Dock icon to get
  to the Force Quit menu item. One final tip that works in previous
  versions of Mac OS X as well: after you've forced an application
  to quit via the Force Quit Applications window, you can close the
  window quickly by pressing Escape - it's easier than clicking the
  tiny close window control.


**Classic Warning** -- Classic appears to work basically the same
  as it has in the past (though it will likely prompt you to let
  it update some items in your System Folder), with three notable
  changes. It launches faster, a new Memory/Versions tab in the
  Classic preference pane shows you the memory usage for each
  Classic application (plus background processes), and you can now
  set an option in the Classic preference pane to let you approve
  each launch. No more watching Classic load when you didn't even
  mean to launch it. (Classic isn't a serious CPU hog as long as
  there aren't any Classic applications running, but if there are,
  it can eat a hefty percentage of your CPU cycles.) Another piggy
  application is Microsoft Word X, which munches CPU cycles whenever
  it has open documents, so if you're not using a Word document,
  close it to make extra CPU cycles available to other applications.
  You can see what's happening by using Jaguar's improved Process
  Viewer utility, which now shows proper names for Carbon
  applications, thus eliminating the need to use the "top -u"
  command in the Terminal.


**Window Layering Improved for Eudora** -- Possibly my favorite
  change in Jaguar is a fix for one of Mac OS X's window layering
  problems. In Eudora, if you Command-click a URL, it opens in a new
  browser window in the background, a fabulous feature I use many
  times a day. Or rather, a feature I used to use, since a bug in
  Mac OS X resulted in a background window being drawn over all of
  Eudora's windows, forcing me to switch processes manually to layer
  the windows properly again. In Jaguar, this feature of Eudora
  works correctly again. (If you're reading this using Eudora and
  Command-clicking doesn't open browser windows in the background
  for you, double-click the URL below and accept the prompt;
  otherwise, you can copy and paste the URL into a Eudora message,
  then double-click it. For more information on x-eudora-setting
  URLs and a full list of them for Eudora 5.1.1, send email to
  <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>.)

<x-eudora-setting:258=y>

  That said, Eudora can have problems downloading graphics in HTML
  messages when QuickTime 6 is installed, as it must be in Jaguar.
  If you experience crashes in Eudora while downloading graphics,
  turn off automatic downloading of HTML graphics in the Fonts &
  Display settings panel and resist the urge to download them
  manually. Qualcomm knows about the bug and is trying to fix it.


**Just Find It!** I've never been a fan of Sherlock. It provided a
  slow and clumsy interface for finding files, and I always found
  its channels harder to use than just going to the appropriate Web
  site or search engine. I'm reserving judgement on Sherlock 3,
  which is similar to the more-capable Watson, but the excellent
  news is that Jaguar gives us back the old Find utility for finding
  files. It's simple, focused, and sprightly, plus it can have
  multiple results windows. Multiple criteria are available, and it
  can limit searches to Everywhere, Local disks, Home, and Specific
  places (which you can add by dragging folders in from the Finder).
  Find is available from the Finder's File menu; you can also of
  course type Command-F to activate it.

<http://www.karelia.com/watson/>

  I also like the new Search field in Finder window toolbars, which
  enables you to search the contents of the currently selected
  folder, and all its sub-folders. However, it only shows up as a
  field only if the toolbar is set to display either Icons & Text
  or just Icons - if you've set toolbars to show only Text, you
  get a Search button that launches the Find utility. To change
  the display style, select Customize Toolbar from the Finder's
  View menu, and adjust the Show pop-up menu.


**Sharing is Good** -- With Jaguar, Apple has significantly beefed
  up the Sharing preference pane, which previously let you start and
  stop file sharing, personal Web sharing, FTP access, remote login,
  and reception of remote Apple Events. All that is still available,
  but Apple has added Windows File Sharing (via SMB) and Printer
  Sharing for sharing all the printers your Mac can see. One tip:
  To share printers with Mac OS 9 machines, Apple claims you'll
  need to use Printer Sharing under Classic - setting it up in
  Jaguar won't work. Two other tabs in the Sharing preference
  pane let you configure Mac OS X's built-in firewall and Internet
  sharing, better known by its previous name, Software Base Station.
  Both offer only basic configurations, but they should suffice for
  most people (and if you need more from your firewall, check out
  the $25 shareware Brickhouse).

<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=1733+1734>
<http://personalpages.tds.net/~brian_hill/brickhouse.html>


**Get Info Returns** -- Mac OS X's Show Info window has long been
  an annoyance, thanks to its refusal to let you open more than one
  instance of the window (making it hard to compare multiple files).
  Also bothersome was the pop-up menu you had to use to switch among
  the five different informational panels. Jaguar takes a swipe at
  Show Info, renaming it Get Info, restoring our ability to open
  multiple info windows to compare files, and giving the Get Info
  window five different disclosure triangles so you can show only
  the informational panels that interest you. However, it works a
  bit differently from the way Get Info worked in Mac OS 9. When
  multiple items are selected, Mac OS 9 would open a Get Info window
  for each one, whereas Jaguar opens a single Get Info window with
  combined information. To compare files, you must open a Get Info
  window for each one individually.

   PayBITS: Did these tips save you hours of unnecessary work?
   Show your appreciation to Adam with a few bucks via PayPal.
   <http://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=ace%40tidbits.com>
   Read more about PayBITS: <http://www.tidbits.com/paybits/>


The Branding of Apple: The Retail Bridge
----------------------------------------
  by Simon Spence <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

  In last week's article, "The Branding of Apple: Apple's Intangible
  Asset," I looked at Apple's brand and what sort of reactions it
  evokes from consumers. In this final installment I move on to look
  at how the Apple brand is shaped by the consumer's interaction
  with the product, especially by the purchasing experience in
  retail stores.

<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=06919>

  Last week's article discussed how Apple's brand promise - the way
  it attempts to portray itself through commercials, its Web site,
  its products and packaging and so on - has resulted in a strong
  brand that can evoke a range of reactions from different
  consumers. Overall, Apple has managed to build a clear perception
  of what the company's brand represents. As I suggested in the
  first of these articles, "The Branding of Apple: Brands Embody
  Values," a brand is a mix of what the company would like us to
  think of their products and how we receive and interpret these
  messages. Perception, the way in which consumers, developers,
  and the media see the company, completes the brand picture.

<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=06902>


**The Retail Link** -- Although Apple has done a good job creating
  its brand image, there was one major gap which threatened the
  delivery of this message to the consumer. Until 2001, Apple found
  that the final link for many people, the retail experience, fell
  well short of the brand promise. The crafting of beautiful
  equipment, the attention to detail that went into the design,
  and the simplicity and ease of use of the end product were usually
  overlooked when a consumer walked into a computer store and faced
  poorly displayed goods, not to mention untrained or even hostile
  sales assistants.

  For Apple, asking a consumer to buy into the idea of thinking
  different is a challenge. I wonder what proportion of consumers
  toy with the idea of purchasing a Mac, only to change their mind
  at the last minute due to incorrect advice or perhaps just the
  fact that they are unwilling to take a leap into the unknown?
  Never underestimate the importance of the point of sale as a
  part of a brand's success! Coca-Cola and Pepsi constantly vie
  for shelf placement in stores to ensure that their brand has the
  best position, and it's absolutely standard for companies to pay
  stores for so-called "end cap" positions on the ends of shelves.
  Put bluntly, the merchandising of a product can have a huge
  effect on whether or not a consumer even considers it in their
  purchasing decision.

  In its advertising, Apple challenges and inspires consumers and
  then offers integrated solutions through its products. "Think
  Different" was a call for a leap of faith to those who had not
  used Macs, and even now, "Switch" requires from users a change
  of allegiance and a change of mindset. Explaining your purchase
  of a Macintosh to a PC user is a more difficult obstacle to
  overcome than explaining buying a Dell or a Compaq.

  For the most part, buying a Windows-based PC is seen as a
  functional transaction, made purely to fulfill the consumer's
  computing needs. In contrast, and despite the practical benefits
  of using Macs, purchasing a Mac makes a lifestyle statement.
  Buying a new iBook in a world of Sony, Dell, Toshiba, and the
  other PC laptop producers sets the consumer apart, and for many
  not versed in the ways of a Macintosh, that decision requires
  a leap of faith.


**The Point of Point of Sale** -- Purchasing, and the user
  experience in making this transaction, is paramount. If, having
  decided to buy a Mac, a consumer is faced with Mac-hostile sales
  assistants or a bewildering set of reasons why a Windows PC would
  be a better choice, an already difficult decision becomes even
  more difficult. How many potential users were made to feel
  stupid for asking about Macs at their local stores?

  This is one of the most important reasons why Apple's retail
  strategy in the U.S. is correct. It helps convey a legitimacy
  on the decision made by consumers who have decided they want a
  Mac. The very presence of an Apple Store supports the choice of
  buying a Mac by making Apple, and all that is promised by the
  Apple brand, feel tangible and solid. That storefront tells the
  consumer, "You are not the only one," an important message, since
  being a Mac user can be lonely, especially if you are not working
  in a Macintosh-dominated area like education or graphic design.

  For a long time the committed Macintosh user had been enthused by
  messages of thinking in different creative ways, challenging the
  status quo, and rebelling against a world of Windows. However,
  many of us also had a feeling of being pushed on stage and left
  out there to perform alone! Without a tangible retail presence
  the Apple brand, as distinct from the company, felt slightly
  fluid. For anyone outside of Cupertino, there were few examples
  of a firm presence to point to and say, "There's Apple." The
  Apple Stores link the brand to the consumer directly to avoid
  misinterpretation and distortion. Those stores make the promise
  of the Apple brand tangible.

  The physical location and design of the Apple Stores also play a
  significant role in supporting Apple's brand. They're all located
  in high traffic shopping malls and districts, and even the people
  who just walk by them are exposed to Apple's design aesthetic.
  It may take time, but that exposure adds up. Plus, once you get
  inside, all the lines are clean, with light wood and lots of light
  illuminating the products. Shelves aren't overflowing, everything
  is well-organized, and, to borrow a term from graphic design,
  there's plenty of white space so the eye isn't overwhelmed. Plus,
  there's a theatre in every store for regular presentations
  about Apple's products. Just as with all the other ways Apple
  communicates with the public, the Apple Stores have become an
  essential piece of the brand puzzle.

<http://www.apple.com/retail/>

  In contrast, conventional computer stores such as CompUSA and Best
  Buy design their premises around their own brand identity, while
  still attempting to present a multitude of brand images. They're
  crammed with products, it's tricky to find what you want, and
  signs constantly assure you that the prices are as low as they're
  going to get. Apple products don't fit into these stores well,
  and they never will - the mismatch between Apple's brand promise
  and what these stores offer is simply too great. Apple's "store
  within a store" concept aimed at addressing this drawback by
  controlling a section of retail space. However, the new Apple
  Stores act as pure Apple space, in branding terms, uncontaminated
  by rival products which detract from the central message.

  For proof of their efficacy, look no further than Apple's "100
  Minutes of Jaguar" launch event. In under two hours, over 50,000
  people visited the 35 Apple Stores. That's a lot of traffic, and
  had Apple continued to rely on other computer retailers, such
  events would been either impossible or poorly attended.

<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2002/aug/27jaguar.html>


**Brand versus Commodities** -- Dell, IBM, Compaq, and Gateway
  (despite Gateway's recent ads attacking the iMac) don't command
  nearly such power in terms of distinct brand awareness. A Compaq
  style of behaviour and the emotions evoked by the Compaq brand
  are firmly linked to Microsoft. Compaq can't legitimately claim
  that they are innovative or alternative in the PC market because
  the user experience would not match these claims, and consumers
  would instinctively notice the mismatch. Because these companies
  have no control over the operating system and spend little on
  research and development (or even on design, amazingly enough
  at this point in history), they have little control over the
  reactions user experience elicits from consumers. They can't
  capture the consumers' imagination in the way that Apple can.
  All that's left to them is to focus on price, value, function,
  and service - the PC has become a commodity.

  The power of the Apple brand, and in turn the perception of it,
  is that Apple can say they are different and deliver on that
  promise. In deciding on a computer, the consumer is asked to
  believe in the brand, to buy into a style or an attitude. Not
  everyone will want to do that, since many people prefer to fit
  in or stay well behind the cutting edge. However, Apple uniquely
  owns this territory in the computer market and it's an invaluable
  part of the Apple brand. Thanks to the Apple Stores, Apple can
  bridge that final gap between brand and consumer and no longer
  be reliant on third-party translation of the messages they are
  trying to deliver.

   PayBITS: Did Simon's three-part series give you new insight
   into Apple? Why not thank him with a few bucks via PayPal?
   <http://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=simon%40alexanderdunlop.ie>
   Read more about PayBITS: <http://www.tidbits.com/paybits/>

  [Simon Spence is head of research and information technology at
  Alexander Dunlop Ltd., a brand consultancy working with
  multinational corporations to define brand identity. He also
  provides Mac consultancy to small businesses and educational
  establishments in Ireland.]



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