Speaking as one of the upper 10%.......

[RedRock]

Speaking as one of the upper 10% (see the story at money.iwon.com/ht/nw/bus/20050722/hl_bus-n22395787.html ), I thought you eager and excited folks might want to preview the new Windows OS "Vista" now instead of waiting 1.25 or more years, and it's oh so easy and pleasing to do: just get a Mac and use the Mac OS either from two years ago (OS 10.1) or, if Microsquishee gets it together and (again) appropriates some of the new Mac OS features, such as Spotlight or Dashboard, from earlier this year (OS 10.4) (see www.apple.com/macosx/).

And if you're one of the millions already enjoying Podcasts on iTunes (which is another Apple bigtime winner with over a half-billion song downloads so far), think about this: Microsluggish refuses to refer to Podcasts as such---something to do with the "pod" in the name, as it seems it kind of hearkens to another Apple success, the iPod (of which our own Fearless Leader and Benevolent Dictator has said nice, nice things!). Reminds me of the early days when Microsnotty refused to use the word "mouse" when it too was considering using them, because, of course, Macs used a mouse, and instead called them a "pointing device."

Yessir, I'm an original "WIMP" computer user, as we MacUsers were called 2 decades ago (WIMP=windows, icons, mouse, pull-down menus), and proud of it, and Microsluggish again makes me beam with its latest announcement.

So while you all are thumping me on the playground with your Windows systems, just remember I'm dying with dignity and true avant-garde style.

[Woody]

Not being much of computer guy, I really can't comment other than good natured ribbing...however, those that I know who are computer sorts say that Mac/Apple have long been superior products. The big difference has been in advertising, and that is where Mac has lost the battle...any truth to this from an objective standpoint?

[Lamron]

Back in the 80's when home computers were really getting common, Mac focused on advertising to the professional and developed very good productivity software. IBM advertised to the "common man" who wanted a combination of productivity and entertainment. That demographic is, of course, much bigger. IBM started getting the larger consumer market share, and software developers follow the hardware market. If you're going to develop new software, you go after the larger market. So now IBM has more software available and the consumer buys the hardware with the most software available.

As the balance started to slide towards IBM, Apple shot themselves in the foot by wanting to control the licensing of MAC software. While this may have insured that nothing but quality MAC software was released, it also scared off many software developers. When IBM has larger marketshare, more software, and ANYBODY can write new software, the result is inevitable.

It doesn't really matter that MAC's are better in many ways, if you want to be compatible with the rest of the world, you buy a PC. Most MAC users are people who need/want the particular advantages it has, particularly in the audio/video production area, more than they want general compatibility.


Since what used to be the "IBM PC" is now 98% dominated and controlled by Microsoft Windows, MS has slacked off in development of better opperating systems. They've gotten so used to dominating the market that they don't HAVE to do anything to keep people buying their products. To be fair, they are also the most attacked by hackers, virus writers, lawsuits, governments, and the demands from bussiness users.

This has allowed MAC to make big advances in marketshare in the last few years. Better advertising, regular upgrades, virus resistance, and annoyance with MS have made lots of people take a closer look at the MAC system.

[RedRock]

Thanks, Woody, for noting that this is just good-natured ribbing.

Thanks, Lamron, for the succinct summary of marketing/advertising. I concur, in general.

However, the "number of software programs available" argument is somewhat misleading. There are multiple Mac software applications for everything you want or need to do with a computer. Sure, with the bigger market for IBM/Windows, there might be 70 first-person shooters instead of 12, or 8 word processors instead of 3, etc., but there is nothing I need that isn't available one way or another, and the major Mac write/draw/database/communications programs come already bundled with new systems, and you can download other free browsers, etc., so you don't have to go buy MS-Office (and see compatibility, below) or use MS-InternetExplorer. Even a lame new game might sale 30,000 copies to Windows people and make someone several hundred thousand dollars, but 30,000 Macusers aren't going to plop down money for just any old piece of code, and they don't usually get that, either.

And the "compatibility" issue is almost a non-issue. Documents that mainstream applications (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Photoshop, etc.) create today are nearly interchangeable directly from one platform to another, and if not, those applications can "save as..." to many file formats that each platform/application can read. And most major applications have versions for each platform or read files generated by other applications, even across platforms. I can open and read almost any word processor file from either platform. If I didn't tell you I was on a Mac, you'd never know when I email you (generic you, not Lamron), visit your website, play internet games with you, read your pdf info file, pay your invoice with my on-line bank account, review your digital photos, print your death certificate, or write your autopsy report, etc., etc., etc.

Yes, I like the Mac, but I use a Windows box at work because the powers that be decided that and won't let me bring anything else in, but why I wrote all this, why I started this, is simple: I had to take my middle child out to buy the new Harry Potter and the Half-Baked Prince book at midnight when it first became available, and it reminded me of the news media hoopla that happened when Windows 98 came out, with people waiting in line for hours for midnight sales of the new OS (and btw, Windows 98 = Mac 95), and then I saw the news article about Longhorn/Vista coming (maybe) in late 2007, when there have been 3 major Mac OS upgrades the last 3 years, and I knew the 3-ring circus would happen again. So I thought I'd just do a little good-natured ribbing!

Now the interesting thing will be in late 2007, when Apple begins to switch to Pentium chips but keeps its unique Mac OS! The cost of a Mac might significantly come down, then, and marketing might change, somewhat, to target the MBA types, and TeamSpeak might actually write a Mac client!

[desmo2]

Since I'm fairly computer illiterate anyway and it would only take about 5 minutes for me to relearn everything I already know for a new system, jumping to a non-Windows OS doesn't sound like a bad plan. I'm frustrated with the seemingly fragile nature of Windows. Unfortunately, my wife is just too familiar with that system, and Mac is just too foreign to her. She gave me a rather long, factual, intelligent sounding reason why she won't go to Mac, but since I don't speak the language she may as well have been speaking Klingon.

[Woody]

Lol.."Harry Potter and the Half Baked Prince" Well done Redrock

Thanks Lamron and Red for the info on the Mac Debate...Very interesting reading...I remember when first taking computers in school they were all apple computers

Widowmaker...DO NOT READ BELOW
Desmo: I am experiencing the same frustration re using windows....however the reason that you can't understand the Mrs when she starts babbling computer stuff isn't because the topic is difficult to grasp, its merely that wives do that no matter what the topic, they confuse the issue with nonsense!...luckily we husbands develop selective hearing and just nod our heads...Additionally...Oh Crap! Here comes the wife...gotta go!