For the love of Apple

     There aren't many products on the market that will draw a cult following, but one company has gathered a cult following for nearly everything they create.
     Apple Inc. has been able to grasp consumers with their cutting edge design, integrated products and easy to use interfaces for years, but it wasn't always like that.
     The first line of Macintosh Computers was launched January 24, 1984 and some may even be familiar with the tagline made famous by Apple Inc. in their commercial, stating that 'you'll see why 1984 wont be like "1984."'
     According to Ken Polsson, in his book titled, "Chronology of Apple Computer Personal Computers," the Macintosh line of computers launched by Apple Inc. were the first line of personal computers to use a mouse and a graphical user interface, stepping away from the previously used command-line interface.
     For some time, the computers were extremely popular, until the early 1990s when consumer demand changed to the Wintel platform, or what many people know today as MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows.
     After a few years, Apple Inc. changed the game, and created the iMac, or the all-in-one desktop that consumers loved, and profits for Apple Inc. skyrocketed.
     But what exactly is it that creates the cult following the Apple Inc. has developed for its products?
     Brett Bird, a senior from Spokane, Wash., studying Film, and an avid Mac user, said Apple challenges you to think differently.
     "Apple has shrouded their product releases in secrecy, while most companies are very public with their releases," Bird said. The aesthetics of their designs and the principles they use in engineering are completely unique. While PC's are basically a collaboration of the cheapest components, Apple has basically engineered the entire experience from purchase to recycling."
     Bird continued to say that it was Apple's rock-solid performance and aesthetic design that drove him to "convert" to becoming an Apple user in 2003, and he hasn't looked back since.
     But the feelings aren't the same across the board.
     Adrian Grow, a senior from Newport Beach, Calif. studying psychology uses a PC for his school work and psychological research.
     "Certain programs don't exist for Mac's, you have to have a PC if you work in a certain field or occupation," Grow said. "Macs cant do everything, they are limited and they aren't for everyone."
     In a recent BBC documentary, "superbrands" like Apple Inc. and Google Inc. were studied and researched to find out why these brands have such a huge following.
     An article written by Emil Protalinski on techspot.com said Apple imagery has the same reaction in a consumer's brain as a picture of their own religious deity might have.
     "UK neuroscientists have found that Apple imagery activates the same parts of the brain in Apple fanboys that religious imagery does in followers of that religion," Protalinski said. "In heated arguments on the Internet, some users sometimes say that Apple is like a cult, and it seems there might be at least some truth to that."
     According to the article by Protalinski, the phenomenon of a religious response to a brand or product has only been confirmed for the Apple Inc. brand.
     But still, the questions exists, why is this happening.
     In the LDS Church, we have a spokesperson; the prophet,  counsel; the Ensign and other various forms of church media and new information that comes out; generally every six months at General Conference.
     For Apple Inc., they too have a spokesperson; Steve Jobs, counsel; the instruction booklets with their products and new information that comes out; generally every six months at the World Wide Developers Conference.
     Certainly, this does not insinuate that Apple Inc. is following the pattern of the LDS Church but at the same time, the structure of the "brand" is the same.
     The announcement of a new product may create that same stir as something an LDS Church member looks forward to hearing at general conference.
     In no way does this trivialize religion, but Apple Inc. may have been intrigued by religion and how they have achieved so many followers in something so many have never physically seen.
     When Steve Jobs announces that something new is on the horizon, technology junkies' ears perk up, just like those of members of any given religion perk up when their spiritual leaders speak.
     It may not be a spiritual enlightenment, but something is certainly happening in the minds of Apple consumers.