Our favorite computer company does a lot of things right, but we all know they also do things wrong. Apple Computer deals us wild cards every year, introducing the computer world to new and exciting products, nobody thought possible. Starting with the iMac, and continuing with the new iBooks, it seems at times they just can't go wrong. But, there are some peeves that many users still have today, that if fixed, would increase their popularity exponentialy.

The first one is a little selfish, but I would be very happy if Apple brought an Apple Store to Wisconsin. So far, the only one coming to the Midwest, is going in the Mall of America in Minnesota. The closest CompUSA is 300 miles away, and the closest Apple Store is going to be 500 miles away. This makes for quite the trip just to see Apple's latest offerings.

They should also gives students and educators a larger discount. Dell has been winning over the education field, mostly because they give larger discounts. Apple gives students a whole $50 off on most of their machines, which in many cases, doesn't even cover the sales tax. Lower educational prices could do a lot for Apple to get back in the educational fray.

Sort of combining the last two ideas, when Apple opens their Apple Stores, they should allow for educational discounts right in the store. If students and educators bring their respective identifications, the discount should be applied right at the store. What better way to give educational buyers a great in-store experience?

One thing that Apple should include with the new G4s is a good software bundle. iMacs and iBooks get AppleWorks, Nanosaur, Bugdom, and quite a bit more. Even Cube buyers receive a free copy of AppleWorks. What do G4 buyers get? The OS and iMovie 2, which is useless to many of us. The PowerMac G4 is already selling well, but I think it would sell much better with a good software bundle.

Something Apple hasn't done for many years, is bring a MacWorld Expo to the Midwest. Those of us who live here, would need to get expensive lodging, expensive Expo passes, and very expensive flights across the country. That is the main thing keeping many of us from experiencing this event first hand. I'm sure a Midwest Expo would be just as popular as a coast Expo. Not to mention different people would finally get to see the new products and Steve Jobs.

On a completely different note, have you looked at RAM prices lately? 128 MB only costs about $50 from many third-party merchants, while Apple is still charging $200 and up for that same amount. This is just ludicrous. Now, I know Apple buys their memory in bulk, and they need to keep from loosing too much money, but if they were to reduce prices on their RAM, they could clear out inventory, and buy more at today's prices. This will not only effect customers wanting more RAM in their systems, but will also drop the prices of their machines. And we all know what price drops can do.

Another component for upgrading computers is the PCI slot. Currently, the only Mac model with PCI slots is the PowerMac G4. And while the iMac sales are soaring right along, the Cube sales continue to tank. If Apple were to put just one PCI slot in the Cube, and maybe even one in the iMac, those machines' expandability could be increased 10-fold, which would make those machines fly off shelves much faster.

Finally, the Unix/Linux community has been scrutinizing Apple for milking the Open Source community, without giving anything back. If Apple were to open source Mac OS X, this would not only give a LOT back to the open source community, but also increase Mac OS X's stability, compatibility, and much more. I'm not saying everything should be open for improvement by anyone who wants, but rather just the core stuff. By keeping all of the Auqa, Classic, etc. layers closed source, they will keep their intellectual property, while increasing Mac OS X's viability.

Some of these things may seem out of this world, but I think if Apple were adopt a few suggestions, they could enter new markets, bolster sales, and most of all, increase their market share. While it will be a LONG time before Apple could ever overcome the Microsoft/Intel monopoly, these small things sure could help speed it up.