Matthew Rothenberg

Is Apple Computer an anachronism? Its a charge thats often been lobbed at the Mac maker by the PC majority–with some justification. As the last company to roll its own vertically integrated hardware and software for individual consumers, developer of the last commercial desktop OS to offer any real challenge to Windows decade-plus hegemony, and […]

Prognosticating about Apple Computers next moves, like hunting bear, can be a treacherous two-way street: Sometimes you get the drop on new Macs, and sometimes new Macs get the drop on you. In that vein, I think I emerged from the product announcements at last weeks Macworld Expo/San Francisco slightly the worse for wear. Sure, […]

A confession: When it comes to larger-than-life, highly animated characters, “Jimmy Neutron” and Chuck E. Cheese each claimed more winter-vacation brain cycles chez Rothenberg than did Steven P. Jobs. Nevertheless, I did manage to have my well-worn Carnac the Magnificent turban cleaned and blocked, and Ive spent some quality time shaking the Mac grapevine like […]

Even for self-styled Mac pros, the introduction of the consumer-friendly iMac remains a watershed event in the history of Apple. Between its striking industrial design and appealing specs, the entry-level desktop system proved that master marketer Steve Jobs was truly back in Apples saddle: The all-in-one systems distinctive aura of one-button consumer cool recalled the […]

Of all the symbols of the Mac ecosystems proud independence from the status quo, the timing of Macworld Expo/San Francisco is one of the most durable. Falling during the first weeks of January, this venerable trade show has complicated the holiday schedules of Mac developers, enthusiasts and journalists alike since the platforms infancy. At the […]

Right on schedule, the Mac OS X-native version of Microsoft Corp.s Office suite hit store shelves on Monday. The Office X suite, has been tuned to the Carbon APIs in Mac OS X, Apple Computer Inc.s Unix-based operating system. It carries a price tag of $500, and upgrades are $300 each. Until Dec. 31, Microsoft […]

What if Apple Computer opened a store and nobody came? Thats a question Ive been asking myself as the Mac maker heads into its first holiday shopping season as a bona fide shopkeeper in the classic — not the virtual — mold. Apples fledgling chain of brick-and-mortar retail outlets (which CEO Steve Jobs unwrapped with […]

The second edge of Apple Computers finely honed marketing sword nearly lopped off a couple of the companys fingers this week, when CEO Steve Jobs took the wraps off Apples first non-Mac hardware product in nearly three years. Last weeks cryptic summons to witness the unveiling sparked a level of anticipation that would be absurd […]

The Mac OS X-native version of Microsofts Office suite took another step closer to store shelves on Wednesday, Oct. 24, when the company set a shipping date of Nov. 19 for the productivity package. Microsoft said it has begun offering preorder sales of the Office X suite, which has been tailored to conform with the […]

CUPERTINO, Calif.—Apple Computer Inc. on Tuesday burnished its vision of a consumer-friendly “digital hub” when CEO Steve Jobs introduced a new product category that breaks the Mac mold: the iPod, a portable digital audio player equipped with a FireWire connection. For good measure, Apple also took the wraps off Version 2 of iTunes, the companys […]

Score another one for the dark horse! When Apple Computer – the perennial longshot in the PC race – took the saddle blanket off its fiscal fourth-quarter results Wednesday, the Mac maker proved to have beaten analyst predictions and its own third-quarter performance. And in a truly dismal year for the PC industry, Apple demonstrated […]

Apple Computer on Tuesday, Oct. 16, fulfilled the predictions of Mac handicappers across the Web when it rolled out buffed-up configurations of its professional and consumer laptop lines. The latest iteration of the professional-strength Titanium PowerBook G4 includes a top-of-the-line configuration that packs a 667-megahertz PowerPC G4 processor and a 133-MHz system bus. The system […]