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Let's take a look at some of the possible positioning of such a product, if it is to exist.

First, there is the Mac Design. In recent times the only "miss" in Apple's design was the iMac. While some people loved it, they were pretty much Apple apologists. The rest of the world met the lackluster design (How could you design a machine at that time that didn't have a wireless mouse. The ads made it look like it had a wireless mouse, but it didn't). Ugh. However, other than that the record has been good, and I (no Mac apologist) like the look of the whole iPod package a great deal. The design is simple, effective, and distinctive enough that people actually stop you on the street and ask "How do you like your iPod?" Apparently they recognize it from the tell-tale white earplugs and wires. One role for a new Mac might be to simply carry this distinctive design into a wider equipment offering.

Second, there is the Mac PDA. If the current rumors are correct, and the device lacks a display, then it is unlikely that it is being targeted for this market (unless there is a simultaneous annnouncement of a pocket-sized display unit). While this could happen, it is far enough down the tree of assumptions to make it difficult to say much more now, in anticipation. This discussion, if relevant, can take place after the announcement. Since the PDA market seems to be collapsing on its own, it would be unusual for this to be the target market.

Third, there is the Game Mac. In this marketplace it really seems that size matters. The marketplace is quickly divided into desktop/TV monitor sized game environments, and small self contained portable environments. As is the case made in the PDA discussion above, it seems unlikely that Apple would be interested in creating a device small enough to compete with the hand-held game devices. It certainly would be possible to compete with PCs here, but, again, that would seem like a relatively low-margin proposition, at least until a substantial user community is developed to create enough demand to be worth it.

Fourth, there is the Media Center. This would be a tantalizing possibility. First, it has always seemed strange that Apple has left TV pretty much out of its picture. It clearly has lots of software and hardware capability devoted to sound processing, and to the processing of both still and animated images. Yet it has never had any particular link into the TV world where so much time and money is spent. At the moment, most of the PC based devices that occupy this market domain cost $2,000 and up. While these costs are falling dramatically as we write this, there is still a considerable opportunity for profitable entry to this market, and no one seems to have cornered this market yet. The current battle seems to be between Sony and HP, as the major manufacturers, a;ong with lots of speciality small firms that occupy most of the surrounding market territory.

Fifth, there is the Cheap Mac. Perhaps this is all in response to the growing number of PCs which occupy the $500 and under marketplace. However, this would be a more complex move for Apple than it might be for many of its competitors. The PC exists in a world where there is a lot of free software, and in this world the cost of hardware is a very componenet of overall cost of operation. In the Mac world, software tends to be more expensive, and thus hardware costs are a lower proportion of the cost of ownership than would be the case for a PC. As a result, cheap hardware, while always attractive, may not be as significant drawing point as would be the case.

Sixth, there is the iPod Manager. And this may be the most attractive of all. The iPod has been a stunning success, and where there is a lot of competitiive product nipping at its heels, no one has yet been able to take a very substantial bite of the marketplace. While it looks like the Photo iPod is turning out to be pretty much a failure, there is still a lot of opportunity to build systems that use iPods as the head end.