Hi. You’re reading what InfoWorld refers to internally as “The Apple Blog,” and that’s just what it is. I pulled the blog’s name out of my hat just before the clock ran out. I had to squeeze an Enterprise in the title somewhere to fit InfoWorld’s brahnd, Apple and Enterprise just don’t sound right together in a three word title, so we have The Enterprise Mac.My translation is “everything related to Apple that is of interest to grown-ups with jobs.”Everything? Every damn thing. Everything Apple does, thinks, projects, envisions, makes, sells and screws up goes here. Mighty Mouse? Yup; that’s my first entry. iPod? The Motorola iTunes-enabled phones with the bill acceptor slots on the side? Yes and yes. Mac mini, iMac, Airport Express, iBook? Ask all you like, the answer is “yes.” Except for eMac. Can’t abide those things. I get an eye roll, a “yeah, right,” butt-smooching sounds and bent-over gestures from InfoWorld co-workers when I make my case for server room to lifestyle Apple coverage, but I know I’m right. My track record as a tech industry psychic puts a swagger in my step and a fire in my gut. I say, screw humility and decorum, or at least make a good show of it. It’s a blog!Bragging aside, after four years of having Apple under a microscope, with a long break, ending now, during which I had to reduce my study to an avocation, I don’t think myself brilliant for seeing what comes up obvious no matter how I rearrange the facts. Apple is turning chosen segments of the tech industry, on multiple fronts simultaneously and by one half degree at a time, on their heads. By that I mean that Apple continuously forces players in each segment to nudge up their baselines for things that they back-burner like fit and finish, style, functionality, usability and innovation. Competitors make themselves crazy to mimic Apple, because Apple’s got obscene customer return rate, buzz, upsell (more accessories per purchase) and cross-sell (iPods sell desktops, desktops sell servers, and so on). Apple’s customers are locked-in by choice–and who wouldn’t want some of that? Microsoft would die to have 80 percent of Windows’ installed base upgrade to the newest release. Dell longs to have people take out second mortgages to buy 64-bit, dual-processor workstation-class desktops the way people did for Power Mac G5. But Apple is a flea next to Dell and Microsoft on volume and market share, right? Who cares about repeat business from an installed base of a measly 20 million?I know the secret. I’ll convince you, but you’ll have to keep up.Truly, welcome. It’s a privilege to be here, and my thanks go out to Steve, Kathy, Kevin, Anuj, Pam, Keri, Cameron and so many others. This required more effort from more people than you can imagine, and I’m grateful. Now, on with the show. Software Development