Stephen Hackett Brings Back the Apple History Calendar for 2023
After successfully crowdfunding and shipping an Apple hardware calendar last year (see “2022 Apple Hardware Calendar from Stephen Hackett,” 2 July 2021), Stephen Hackett of 512 Pixels and the Relay FM podcast network is at it again. With a $32 pledge to the Apple History Calendar Kickstarter, you’ll receive the physical calendar around November. The name has changed slightly for 2023 because this year’s calendar will focus on Apple software dates instead of hardware dates. But it will still have gorgeous high-resolution photos of classic Apple hardware from Stephen’s extensive collection. Pledge $38 or more to get the physical calendar, plus digital wallpapers from the calendar and some bonus stickers. You can also pledge just $5 for the digital wallpaper pack. Much like last year’s blockbuster success, this year’s calendar has already exceeded its funding goal by about six times.
As I read the fifth or sixth mention of Stephen Hackett’s calendar on yet another site, I begin to realize how insular and inbred the Apple-enthusiast commentariat is getting.
I think it’s more that Stephen is pretty well known and liked, and his calendars are legitimately cool.
My question is if there are any new voices in the Apple tech community or if the world has changed such that new people aren’t focusing on Apple anymore.
Well I think it’s not entirely unfair to state that the “Apple-enthusiast commentariat” is per se not very diverse. Considering where Apple is at home and what otherwise in this industry gets promoted these days (even by Apple itself), those Apple aficionados that get lots of air time even these days are still by and large “old white men”—and I say that as myself an old white man.
The one notable exception that immediately comes to my mind is Joanna Stern whose job was to replace a very well known (and also rather higly respected) “old white man”. Personally, I think she did a great job at taking over his spot and introducing perhaps a breath of fresh air.
I see a bit more more diversity when it comes to “YouTube reviewers”, but because those folks often strike me more as shills (paid sponsors is perhaps more accurate) than actual reviewers/commentators/geeks/wizards, they are IMHO not really a replacement for a more diverse crowd among the “establishment scene” for lack of better words. No offense intended.
You’re right about well-known and well-liked…and I’m a fan of his work so my comment wasn’t a knock on Stephen…just an observation that maybe it’s getting a bit cozy…
Indeed, speaking as an older white guy too… And yes, Joanna Stern does a great job, but she’s mainstream press, not Apple-specific.
More what I was getting as it that we’re not seeing many younger people getting involved, regardless of other aspects of diversity. (And I do agree that YouTube is probably a counterexample to this, with Marques Brownlee being the main person I think of in that world, though even there, he’s not Apple-specific. But I’m just not into YouTube enough to know more.)
To an extent, I think that may be due to the size of the Apple ecosystem. When it was smaller, it was easier for someone to focus on it and make a name for themselves, much as most of those of us associated with TidBITS did. Now that Apple is huge, big outlets like Joanna Stern’s Wall Street Journal have started to do real Apple coverage, making it harder for new voices to stand out on their own.
Plus, as @glennf and I were discussing the other day, in many ways, the Apple world just isn’t that exciting anymore. Things like electric cars and cryptocurrency have a lot more going on to excite writers and readers.