Picture and Video - Who does rumors benifit?

Recently, a person who shall remain nameless (He has requested that his nic not be used), posted a picture of the supposed new Mac mini on Macrumors.com followed by a video. What drives this individual to leak information about Apple's latest product? It is hard to say.  In his posting, he stated

"Why I did all this? Maybe you do not believe it, but I love Apple and somehow I think this can help to sell it, as more people will wait for it. It is good ad for them, I think. It is worth waiting!" (Forum post from macrumors)

So my question for all of you to think about is whether rumors help sell Apple products or hurt Apple?

One argument is that there is no such thing as bad publicity.  On the other end of the spectrum, there is the belief that expectations that don't come to fruition, lead to consumer animosity. It may all depend on the rumor.

So what do you think?  Who really benefits from Apple rumors? I am still on the wall about this one. What I do know is that the rumor sites traffic skyrockets and the advertisement dollars come flowing in.

iWork 09 Trojan - bootleg copy

For those of you who know me, you guys all know how I feel about copyright violations.  I wonder what Apple is going to do about this one.  Torrent copies of iWork with Trojans? That's almost comical.  Jeezes, so I steal a software and I get a virus? I am young, but am already wise enough to know that nothing is free in life. Crime does not pay.

Is Apple building a new iPhone....O..kay...

So this morning I read a bunch of dumb articles about Apple making a new iPhone.  Dude guys. Come on! This is so obvious. You don't need to even ask this question.  How can a tech company that prides itself in innovation not constantly build new products. You don't need a source or fancy technology to figure this one out.

So what would a new iPhone look like? Who knows.  Sources say that it will be made of adamantium, as it can be lighter and stronger then the plastic that is currently used.  It will have 8 processors and a 65 inch, 1080p, 480hz display that rolls up and fits in your pocket.

No Steve at Macworld and the last Macworld for Apple?

Wow! What a twist of events.  I bet nobody saw that one coming. So I reached out to a source, we will call her "Insider E,"  to get her feedback as to why the sudden move.  Her initial response matches what all the other news sources had said.  "Apple does not need Macworld. It does not benefit [Apple] the way it once did." She explained that the endless hunger from fans for new products caused by these shows are not beneficial to Apple in the long run. These shows and the rumors leading up to them hurt  Apple, she said. 

"Apple is about creating amazing products that customers never dreamed of. Apple is not about creating products that the market want. That is called commoditization and we leave that to other companies. "

So there you have it.  It makes sense to me.  So Apple's stance is that rumor sites are bad and trade shows are feeding the frenzy.

We then had a long conversation about what my goal is with this blog site and why am I wasting my time on this. My response, was that if what she said is the DNA of Apple, to me, that's what keeps feeding my curiosity of "what's next." Apple is like watching a good movie that full of suspense where you never know what's going to happen next.

Plus, their marketing strategies at times are brilliant, completely unexpected and yet effective.  Great research information for a future master thesis. 

Macbook Pricing Follow-up and chat with "Insider C"

I don't know if any of you recall way back before the October 14th announcement of the latest MacBook/Pro, there was some yapping about this so called "$800" MacBook. I been trying to find out via my sources at an undisclosed Apple store where this info may have came from to get some additional insight.  As it turned out, the screenshot presented by Zollotech is straight from one of Apple's shipping and receiving systems. Our source, "Insider C" stated that this was not really that secretive. Almost anybody in the store could have pulled this data via one of the couple of systems that had access.  The data as she recalls was available months before and everyone knew that they belong to new products.  No secret there.  As for why people even thought that the price was for a MacBook, she couldn't figure that out.  According to our source, that was just pure speculation.  Any Apple store employee who had worked long enough to see a prior launch could have told you that the $899 was not for a MacBook. Whichever source that the various sites used to verify that info, must have been sleeping on the job.

$99 iPhone and Walmart

So I decided to go to Walmart this weekend to do some investigation on my own.  While walking around, I have to say that the employees at Walmart are very different from those at the Apple store.  Both are friendly, yes but the Apple employees seem to be from a different crowd.  Walmart and Apple stores are like from different planets.

So onto my mission.  I walked into the electronic department and went straight up to a sales guy.  Asked him when could I buy my $99 iPhone.  He smiled and said that he has been asked that question all day.  He hinted to me that there will be an iPhone but it will not be $99.

My next stop was to check with my Apple buddy to see if he has seen  a $99 iPhone in their store system.  He said "No"

So okay.  No 99 dollar iPhone at Walmart and no 99 dollar iPhone at Apple stores.... So what am I rambling on about today?

Basically, there is no way in the world that Apple will let Walmart sell a $99 dollar iPhone if they do not plan on selling a $99 iPhone themselves.  It would be counterproductive.  All those people that would normally go to an Apple store to buy an iPhone would end up at Walmart.  They would be there buying not just the $99 iPhone, but also buying the cheaper iPhone case and accessories.  That would hurt Apple's store business and add more profit to Walmart. My take is that Apple stores have been successful not just because Apple is successful, but also because they are profitable. What else would explain the sustained growth and number of stores they have opened to date? I doubt that Apple wants their stores to end up being like Gateway where the failure of the stores dragged the overall business down even further.

Breakfast with "Insider B"

We often hear rumor sites talk about sources but never hear much about what kind of person makes a good source. I am going to take a different spin here and let you get to know the source better before a story is posted. And of course, we are not going to let you know this person too well or else, they may get caught.

This morning I had breakfast with a buddy of mine who claims to be an inside source. I explained via a prior phone call that the meeting was going to be about introducing this person who will now be known as "Insider B" to readers. Below is my interview with Insider B over coffee.

Me: So, how did you end up telling the world about Apple?

Insider B: Hey, I don't tell everybody everything.

Me: Sure okay, then how did you end up being a source?

Insider B:  I was at a club in SF for a party and met someone who works for one of the many rumor sites.  I told her who I worked for and she started asking questions about my job.

Me: So what is it that you do for a living?

Insider B:  I spend my time sleeping in the office and telling my boss that I am busy so that he leaves me alone. I am an engineer.

Me: What do you  "engineer"

Insider B: Can't say more then that for now.

Me:  So you met this girl at some club and... Sounds like a dumb story at this time.  Feed us some real info.

Insider B: Well, I gave her my number and email address and a couple weeks later I got invited to some party where I sat down with her friends and started hanging out. Every once a while they ask questions about what I am up to like any other friend would. We rarely talk about my work. If its about rumors, most of the time, they already know what is up and am just looking for confirmation.

Me: So why do you do it? Isn't Apple a super secret place?  Aren't you afraid of the guys with the black suits and shades coming after you?

Insider B: Not sure why I do it to be honest. If  I really think about it, yeah its risky.  I could lose my job but my friends at other companies will take care of me. Plus its fun getting invited to all sorts of parties that these websites host.

Me: Dude, your a trip. So what are you working on these days.

Insider B: Can't talk about it.  I am under NDA.

Me: That's messed up. After all I done for you! Fine, I'll invite you to some parties. Send you Shark's game tickets.

Insider B: Ha-ha.

Me: Fine, take your coffee and run.  I got others that are more grateful then you.