After Apple's annoucement of the iPod, a FireWire-based portable music player with 5 gigabytes of storage space, many Mac fanatics were pissed off that it didn't live up to the unrealistic expections they placed on the computer company.
"iPissed," said one 12-year-old poster on MacAddict's forums.
Apple
had sent an invitation to various media organizations on October 17 saying
they would introduce a "breakthrough digital device" and "Hint:
It's not a Mac". With these eight words, Apple sent the technology
world into a frenzy, coming up with more crazy ideas, false rumors, and
faked pictures than the Internet world has ever seen.
Guesses ranged from a PDA, a set-top CD/DVD/PDR/MP3 thing, the iWalk, and a blender. (boy, were we wrong on that one!)
When the annoucement turned out to be merely the best MP3 player ever created, virtual riots could be seen breaking out all over the web. Many didn't understand that "breakthrough" is commonly used marketing-speak, just as when Jif says they have the "best" peanut butter or Microsoft says they're "innovative".
"I read at least a dozen posts by annoymous people on the Internet who said it would be a PDA," said Jim Jenkins on MacNN's forums. "I went out and bought 10,000 shares of Apple stock based on that information. Well, Apple can expect a lawsuit from me, those dirty, lieing bastards!"
"Including FireWire in a portable MP3 player might be breakthough and putting that much storage space in an MP3 player that's that small might also be breakthrough," said iKrad on a MacAddict message board. "But it's not breakthrough enough. I'm never going to buy a Mac again. And I'm not going to see 'Monsters Inc.' either."
"Hey, I have an idea!" wrote Bobby Griffin on a bathroom wall. "Let's come up with a bunch of funny names for the iPod! Like, iPoopy! Hahahaha! That'll show Steve!"
One Mac user, Jeff Obee, placed a preorder for an iPod, but still claimed he was pissed.
"Yeah, I'm pissed off that it's not better," said Obee. "But it's still pretty cool."
After the first few hours of hate traffic that impregnated the Mac community, the flames wore off and people went back to complaining about Apple's high prices and asking when the LCD iMac would be released.
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