I stumbled across a post recently by John Gruber on his Daring Fireball blog that shared some perspective on Apple Inc. from David Pogue, a well known tech reporter who has written about Apple for roughly 42 of its 50 years.
Daring Fireball linked to a post that outlined some of Pogue’s highlights across his years covering Apple for the New York Times and other publications. It’s a worthy read because Pogue shares several anecdotes of his interactions with Apple, and specifically, Steve Jobs.
Pogue has written what may be the definitive history of Apple in a book, “Apple: The First 50 Years,” which was published to coincide with the company’s 50th anniversary on April 1.
What I really liked though, is a link to a video Pogue made for the NY Times in 2007, singing a parody of “My Way” with people standing in line to buy the first iPhone at the New York City Apple Store. It’s hilarious, but also shows the hundreds of people lined up to enter Apple’s famous 5th Ave. glass cube to buy the first iPhone. Watch it below.
The sight of all those people in the queue stirred memories for me of long lines outside of OKC’s Penn Square Apple Store and other retailers back in the day when new Apple products were launched.
I emailed Gruber a note of thanks for the link and how much I miss the camaraderie and festive atmosphere of those lines during Apple launches.
He replied: “It really was a special couple of years. I totally get why it couldn’t last forever, but it was really something for those early iPhone years.”
My first experience with a big new product launch was showing up at Penn Square Mall before dawn for the launch of the iPhone 3. I was surprised to find a long line of people waiting outside for the mall doors to open so they could rush in to grab a spot inside before the Apple store opened.
What struck me about the lines of people waiting for hours to buy an iPhone — and later, the iPad — was how festive and full of anticipation the people were. Apple employees periodically came out to hand out bottles of water, pastries and high fives to those waiting in line.
As for me, I chose to wait a few days after the product launch when I could walk into the store unfettered by a long line.
Those festive lines of yesteryear are long gone. When new products are released today they can be ordered online in advance and delivered to your home on launch day.
No lines, but no thrill of anticipation or sharing the moment with your new found friends. I miss it.
MORE APPLE GOODNESS
In case you missed it, Apple’s 50th anniversary as a company came and went on April 1. That’s the day in 1976 that Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne filed incorporation papers for what was then called Apple Computer.
There are stories and profiles all over the tech media about the anniversary. If you are interested in the perspective of folks who have covered Apple for four decades or more, I recommend visiting Jason Snell’s sixcolors.com. Jason and a host of other writers share their perspectives on covering Apple through the years.
Snell also wrote an excellent review of Pogue’s new book, “Apple: The First 50 Years,” for the Wall Street Journal, although it requires a subscription to either the paper or to Apple News+ to read it.
Gruber’s Daring Fireball also offers perspective on the anniversary, including a link to his own podcast with Pogue about the book as well as an anecdote from the conversation.
Apple itself celebrated turning 50 by hosting music events across the globe, including one at its Cupertino, Calif., HQ that featured Paul McCartney. Check out Apple’s photo gallery.
Jim Stafford's BlogOKC 