Apple released its sales data on April 24, and in our Q2 earnings liveblog, you can also reference some of the figures Apple reported, supporting the continued success of devices like the iPhone and iPad. Apple said it sold 4 million Macs during the quarter, a 7 percent unit-increase over the same quarter a year ago. We also reported on IDCs’ report, which confirms that Apple’s got a definitive hold on the tablet market. Apple has not yet announced exactly which of its Mac lines will get the Ivy Bridge processors, or to what extent, and now is perhaps the best time for the Ars community to tackle these topics.
As usual, a lot of discussion about the current state of the Mac line, and you will also find some similar discussions in the dedicated thread for the 2012 Q2 earnings report. Users like noob, who provided their own take on some of the sales figures, “-More iPhones sold than expected, fewer iPads sold than expected (by a small bit), fewer Macs sold than expected (by a fair amount)” Though there are plenty of variances in Apple sales, many of the OpenForum members provided their analysis of what this will mean for Apple’s future. Is the horizon dominated by the radiance of iOS or the Mac line? You can read the full post here to find out.
Another thread, titled, “So, it looks like the Mac has crested” asks similar questions about sales of the Mac. This thread is located The Battlefront, a place where Ars readers have used in the past to argue about computers. As you can imagine, discussions have sometimes gone down long winding paths, sometimes erupting in some heated flame wars. And yet, who knew that such conflict could generate sublime haikus?
You heard right. Ars Openforum has chosen this poetic form of haiku to discuss the current state of Macs, and it happened early on in the thread. As a response to targetnovember’s suggestion that haikus were the best way to discuss, fil wrote:
- Poetic venture
- A twitch in the HP corpse
- Soon at peace again
the_stig_1 added:
- Flotsam and jetsam.
- Shining intellect, behold!
- Brain, brain, what is brain?
Later haikus continue to dispute other assertions by forum members, and just to make sure discussions stay healthy and constructive, Horatio reminded everyone:
- Personal attacks
- Forbidden by policy
- Please keep it friendly
Though some of the posts are certain in their analysis of the state of the Mac in Apple’s sales, eumaeus’ double haiku took a more middle-of-the-road stance:
- No glass can show u
- If Apple is more like Rome
- Or Alexander.
- But my MacBook Air
- Blind to the future, twinkles
- In the sun today.
Stratus Fear’s opinion on the literary nature of this Ars OpenForum thread:
- So incredible
- Thread completely delivers
- Very full of win
We'd like to know what you think Apple has in store for its line of Macs, which include the laptops, iMac and the Mac Pros. Share your thoughts with us via the comments, and feel free to create your own haikus. If you’re new to the OpenForum, register for an account and join in the discussion.
Listing image by Photograph by Walter A. Aue
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