Apple’s Mac: 20 Years Later And Without A Channel

Perhaps it is fitting that I arrived bleary-eyed at a San Francisco hotel the first week of January and casually glanced at a sign for a trade-show agenda. It seemed as obscure as the thousands of ubiquitous placards I have seen providing details of bus schedules or keynote addresses for a wide variety of conferences. That is until I looked more closely. The steel pedestal framed the agenda for Macworld. Macworld? Not one to blame others, I wondered how in the world I could find myself unaware that Macworld was scheduled for the next day. Did I miss the e-mail from Apple's PR department?

To be honest, I haven't received a call, e-mail, note or any correspondence from Apple in years. Years! It is as if the company turned its back on the business-to-business market to focus on its consumer-electronics gadgetry and innovative iPod device. What an irony, considering I was once editor of a newspaper dedicated to Apple's Macintosh. Suffice to say, I was one heck of a Mac bigot in those days. I idolized Steve Jobs, traveled faithfully and constantly to the Cupertino Mecca Apple called home, had ongoing dialogues with the now-infamous Apple CEO John Sculley and was invited to Steve Wozniak's palatial home for a holiday party.

Back then, I'd have near screaming matches with friends and colleagues in the industry who did not understand the Mac's role or just how innovative it was. Come to think of it, my boss and I still have the same argument over Mac vs. PC. And, yes, I will confess that I have one of the hottest Mac notebooks in my office because our company publishes its products using Mac technology. I guess old habits are hard to break.

Still, the reality of just how far Apple and I have drifted apart didn't hit home until the day after I arrived in California. While traveling on the 101, I heard a radio reporter's account of Steve Jobs' marathon keynote to the Mac faithful, where it was mentioned--rather casually--that it was the 20th anniversary of the Mac's introduction. Well, maybe my invitation to the big party celebrating this milestone got lost in the mail, but it got me thinking about the Mac's debut at the De Anza College auditorium in January 1984.

I have written this before and I will state here again, nothing could ever come close to the introduction of the Macintosh. I was there, mesmerized by the event transpiring before my very eyes. I distinctly remember the shining enthusiasm of the hardware and software engineers who brought the product to life. There has never been another product introduction like it. The Mac arrived by speaking on stage to Jobs and was ushered to market by a huge "100 Days" campaign. The world of technology and business was turned on its head that day.

Truth be told, there were computer resellers already offering Apple products back then--the Apple II--and they couldn't wait to get their paws on the Macintosh. I remember Apple sending us editors the original Mac to review and marveling at the operating system, single floppy, unique design, graphical user interface and preloaded software. Even the box it was shipped in was a work of art. My objectivity and skepticism about technology were kidnapped the day the Mac arrived, and the honeymoon, I confess, somewhat lasts today.

But the one thing Apple could never get right was how to support and build a reseller channel around the Mac in the face of increasing pressure from Windows-based machines and businesses. There were a million and one things that went wrong. If Apple had played its cards right, it could have been as powerful as Microsoft or as humongous as IBM. In fact, Apple had something no other company possessed--an amazingly loyal and passionate channel. Yet now there is little left of that channel. A year or so ago, there was a secret group inside Apple's marketing organization putting together a plan to revive its channel, but the plans never amounted to much. One insider told me developing such a plan that would eventually have to go to Jobs just wasn't worth it.

Today, the company seems intent on chasing the latest in consumer-electronics fads. I certainly applaud its recent pact with Hewlett-Packard to remarket the iPod, and maybe it does have a bright future with such devices. In fact, I have visited many Apple stores--they are packed and the service is exceptional. So, I can still only come to the conclusion that this is truly one of the most innovative companies on earth, one that has defied the odds and overcome amazing adversity. However, while Apple could unlock the mystery of making technology appealing, it could never unlock the mystery of the channel. What do you think? Should Apple try and rebuild its channel? Let me know at rdemarzo@cmp.com.