A Mac Owner’s Lament

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette ^ | June 16, 2005 | Pat Lynch

[quidnunc]

Not since Walter Mondale suggested that he might raise taxes have I had such a terrible, sick, sinking sensation deep in the pit of my stomach.

Things like the Michael Jackson verdict, using Christina Aguilera’s music to torture prisoners at Gitmo and the rising cost of gasoline are inconsequential compared to Apple Computers’ abrupt surrender to Intel.

This is serious business. To put things into perspective, my devotion to the Macintosh is of an intensity similar to Paul Greenberg’s feelings for "the South."

This has been going on since 1987. I think my first Mac was called an SE, and it had one full MB of RAM and two floppy disk drives. There was no internal hard drive, so you had to save whatever you did on floppies.

Of course, there was a keyboard and the trademark mouse. IBM people just detested the mouse. Somehow, using that thing made traditionalist computer geeks feel less professional and superior, but Mac people never cared. We just wanted to get our work done.

I paid $3,400 for that first system, and that was in 1987 dollars. We’re talking real money, folks. There was not much software for the Macintosh, but Mac-Draw and MacPaint made ordinary people into (drum roll, please!) MacArtists. The word processing program was known as—what else?—MacWrite, and it set the standard for a decade.

All the while, IBM folks were scrambling to learn weird and incomprehensible codes. Life was good.

After awhile, I decided to add on a 20 MB external hard drive. That cost $400, but it was so much more convenient than shuffling all those dadgum floppies. I vividly recall the serene sense of empowerment derived from possessing such unprecedented storage capacity. The 10-inch screen and processor fit in a case, and the display was black-andwhite.

Mac users become personally involved in the life of their computer and are always trying to improve its operating environment. In due time, I also expanded the RAM to 4 MB, and that probably cost $300.

When you pop open the case of one of those old Macs, the signatures of the original design team are represented on the interior surface, including that of Apple’s founder, Mr. Steve Jobs, the traitor.

Jobs may someday be excused for crossing over to the dark side, but those of us who have come up through the ranks are not happy people. While we were paying more for a more stable and useful operating system, those rascals on the other team were stealing the clever desktop analogy. They even added a mouse.

We went through a lot to stay loyal to the superior computer. My present iMac G3 is the first Macintosh I have ever owned that had an internal modem. Friends, this little puppy has a 500-MHz processor, which was scalding hot when it was new three years ago. If you watched the Apple commercials, you know that it was registered as a national defense secret or something like that. That is one reason this switcheroo is so bewildering.

The iMac G5 desktop computer is a thing of beauty. Its PowerPC processor is an engineering triumph, except for one little thing. It’s too darned hot. That really matters on laptops, which are supposedly the biggest selling models.

Macintosh has been held back one full generation with a G4 PowerBook, which is just a cat’s hair slower.

It is a business decision for Apple to make nice with Intel, but I don’t have to like it. Usually, when I am informed that some action was purely a "business decision," I have just gotten the shaft, so excuse the skepticism.

When you think about brand loyalty, remember Macintosh, "the computer for the rest of us." Its superior operating system and amazing stability have far outweighed the expense and inconvenience, but it would be nice to see the corporation display a tiny bit of sensitivity to the folks who consistently give this company a 3 percent share of the personal computer market. That may not sound like much, but Steve Jobs seems to be doing OK.

We mere customers are now left to wonder about whether our software will work on the next generation. Should I buy a Mac to replace this aging G3? These are also provocative business decisions.

Memo to Mr. Jobs: Change is always bad. Uncertainty is worse.

[Petronski]

I think without Apple there would be no Rush Limbaugh.

Huh?

[NoCmpromiz]

What can't cell phone do these days?

Ummm... get reception here in the house...

[Nachoman]

What can't cell phone do these days?

In my part of the world, it can't keep a call up half of the time.

[shellshocked]

"Not since Walter Mondale suggested that he might raise taxes have I had such a terrible, sick, sinking sensation deep in the pit of my stomach. "


No need to read further. He outed himself as a liberal. His comments won't make any sense and will be biased and full ofpropaganda.

[FlingWingFlyer]

I owned a 128K, 512K, SE and a Performa before I finally got fed up with Apple. Went to a Gateway and haven't been happier.

[Brian Allen]

<< I paid $3,400 for that first system, and that was in 1987 >>

Around that time, for around Seventy-Five Hundred Australian Dollars, I bought my fourth Apple and second Mac: an SE-30.

Much upgraded and fitted with many mod cons and bells and whistles -- and, most importantly, with Hellcats Over The Pacific! -- it still works.

[BooBoo1000]

What is a "Mack"?? does it come with Fries?

[cabojoe]

Windows to Run on Intel Processors
By Russell Skingsley

Redmond , WA - Microsoft announced today at a press gathering that Windows XP will be ported to work on the Intel range of x86 processors.

Microsoft denies that this has anything to do with recent announcement from Apple Computer at their worldwide developers conference.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was enthusiastic about the move today as he described one of the largest moves in the operating system's history.

"We want to show the world that we can innovate just as well as Apple, this is not about copying them, it's just coincidental."

He described the process by which developers will be able to make the transition. "Anyone who is using our current set of development tools will be able to recompile for Intel and be working within years"

Microsoft will be offering a developers' transition pack that consists of an Intel Pentium 4 based PC with a prerelease version of "Windows for Intel" for $99,999. Ballmer justified the price tag by stating that developers "who make serious money from Windows" will want to be on this transition early in the development cycle. "And besides, there's a 'where's Clippy?' coloring book inside every developer pack," said Ballmer.

When Mr. Ballmer was asked from the press gathering whether Bill Gates had been consulted about this "move" he became agitated as he said that he "need not consult Bill on every little technical issue."

Apple has suggested a two-year time frame for their switch to Intel. Microsoft is not so optimistic, they believe that their transition will take 5-7 years due to the plethora of different hardware implementations they must support.

"Moving from one processor to another is easy", he said, "Moving from one processor to that same processor, well, that's difficult."

Related News

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[Brian Allen]

Kinda.

It cooks [Deep fries, if you prefer] winDOS operated boat anchors [Also known -- since the term was invented by and stolen from Apple, "PCs"] and eats them for breakfast.

<];^)~<

[Swordmaker]

An article from a guy who seems to think what's under the hood is more important that what the ride is like...

PING!

If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.

[BlackJack]

all your os are belong to us

[DB]

"Of course, there was a keyboard and the trademark mouse. IBM people just detested the mouse. Somehow, using that thing made traditionalist computer geeks feel less professional and superior, but Mac people never cared."

This guy doesn't know what he's talking about. I was using a Mouse Systems optical mouse in the early 80's before there was a Mac. So were all the other PC users I knew at the time.

[anonymous_user]

... but where will the arguments go that said Macs had superior performance because of their processor?

Macs will have superior performance on your processors too. ;)

[claudiustg]

Mac+
IIsi
Mac SE30
PowerBook 100
PowerBook 140
PowerBook 165
PowerBook Duo 230
PowerBook Duo 2300c
iMac
PowerBook G3 bronze
iBook G4
iMac G5

No Wintel

[Betis70]

I like my Mac. I could care less what processor it uses. Having Unix under the hood makes my life easier and the GUI is super nice to work with.

I use my computers to advance my programming knowledge--I have 3 different processors (Power PC, Intel, Sun) running them. All can run Apache, Tomcat, Ruby, and just about anything else I decide to fiddle with.

This guy needs to grow up and buy a clue.

[Betis70]

>>On the otherhand, mac users will buy ANYTHING that will run on a Mac

I haven't had to buy any software for my Mac. Everything I need is in the OS, or available on Darwin Ports or Fink or as a tar file.

Do you just use your computer for gaming? Because I can't think of much that is available for Windows that won't run on Macs other than high-end, cutting edge games.

You seem to have an intense hatred for Macs. Why people like you give a hoot, I'll never know.

[derllak]

I wouldn't whine too much about the decision to switch from Power PC to Pentium processors. The end result could mean cheaper Macs, with equal or better performance. The big question is will the Mac software simply be ported to run on standard PC (a big threat to Microsoft and a cheaper Mac for you), or will the hardware design still be proprietary but using an Intel chip instead of an IBM chip? If the design is proprietary, then Apple is dead, but in the few short years before its demise, you will be able to buy a cheaper and more powerful Mac laptop than before.

[SteveMcKing]

What a WHINER! They're only changing processors.

[pageonetoo]

Nathan.
Like Claudius, I have owned a lot of Macs. Stuff it. You do not know about Macs, and you are here just to interject BS.

I have used them since shortly after they came onto the scene. They work.

I do not now, nor have ever, owned a WinTel machine. I have used some. I will continue to use Macs.

If you don't like them, you can say so. But, please stop making snide, irrelevant remarks about the users. It does nothing to advance your image... and makes you look like a child.

Past Macs I have owned-

FatMac -1984
SE
SE 30
II ci
II cx
LC
Outbound (3rd party early powerbook w/Mac+ rom)
PB 140
PB180c
660AV
880AV
IIvx
Centris 6360
PB 5300c
G3 Desktop
G3 iMac
PB G3 Wallstreet (2)
G4 Desktop
PB G4 Titanium
PB G4 17' (Aluminum)
G5 sgl processor
...and some others...

Present Home Airport Extreme Network-

G3 Indigo iMac- sys.9 (wired to net)
G3 Desktop server- sys 9, 10 Airport
G4 Desktop- sys 9, 10, Airport
G5 Desktop- sys 10, Airport
G3 Wallstreet- sys 9 (wired, when necessary)
G4 PB- Sys 10, Airport
Cable Modem
OfficeJet 5510xl

Have a nice day...