Not at all, Adam. No need to apologize for your cluelessness. :-)
> Apple should stick
> to keeping happy its high-end bread-and-butter: graphic designers and
> hard-core developers.
That is mostly what we're doing, but that in itself is not a growth
strategy. We need a volume hit, and IMac is it.
You cannot compete simply by having a quality
> product, because in this domain people care more about cost (and
> perceived value) than they do about taste.
I think the market is a little more differentiated than that. Sure,
some people just want the rock bottom price. However, you forget one
big thing: fear. A lot of people are terrified of buying non-brand name
computers, and most wouldn't even dream of trying to piece one together
like you did. If people can buy a computer with the Apple brand that
sounds like it isn't already obsolete, there's a large chunk who will.
Anyone care to place bets on what Apple's marketshare for consumer
purchases will be this Christmas? Seriously. Heck, I'll mail an iMac
(or other Apple) T-shirt to whomever guesses closest, if at least five
FoRKers respond.