The MAC @ 20

Forbes.com ^ | 12.15.03 | Quentin Hardy

[yankeedame]

The Mac @ 20
Happy Birthday, Mac!

Quentin Hardy
12.15.03, 12:00 PM ET

It ought to be dead by now, beset by time and big competitors. Be grateful it isn't. For in all its iterations since it was introduced to the world in January 1984--the Macintosh, then such sequels as the Mac II, PowerBook, Power Mac, iMac--the world's most persistent computer brand has done the most for all computer users. Not through market share, of course--bad business decisions, bad luck and bad behavior from friends and foes ruled that out years ago. But the Mac, always built by the rule that good design is paramount, has challenged and inspired everyone in the digital world.

The most famous innovation, of course, is the original Mac's graphical user interface, which Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) Windows appeared to copy over several generations. Microsoft, which denied this from 1985 on, paid Apple Computer (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) an undisclosed sum in 1997 to end allegations that it had poached Apple. Never mind that Apple was itself accused of poaching the interface from Xerox (nyse: XRX - news - people ). The Mac was key in the advent of desktop publishing, too. Wi-Fi, now one of the hottest things in networking, got its start in 1989, when Apple engineers were looking for a way to wirelessly connect the Mac to a printer.

Then there is the PDA. Maybe everybody was wrong to laugh at that Mac cousin, the Newton, which never took off but lingered on the market until the spring of 1998. Apple's hit product iPod is the first piece of hardware expressly built for the "digital lifestyle" (with the Mac at the hub) theme announced by Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs in 2001. Gateway (nyse: GTW - news - people ), Dell (nasdaq: DELL - news - people ) and Hewlett-Packard (nyse: HPQ - news - people ) now talk about selling consumer gear and PC-centered media products, but Mac was there first. Even OS X, the Mac's newest operating system, is based on a Unix computing approach only now hitting PCs through the migration of Linux to the desktop.

How could one product line bring so much to the industry? Because the Mac team has always understood that really great design makes an object seem like a hitherto-unknown part of oneself, a new way to encounter and express yourself in the outside world. How that happens may be impossible to pin down, but you know it when you see it, and it is inspirational, it is emotional. PCs are functional, even well made, but they do not inspire.

Great design is not just about surfaces; it runs from deep function through outside aura. Engineers felt inspired by the guts of the first Mac, and its close ties of hardware and software that have always made it far easier to configure and upgrade. Ordinary users fell for touches like the smiling Mac icon that came on as the computer warmed up, as if the machine was relating to you, promising to be along in a minute. They liked the straightforward shape, with a desktop terminal almost the same length and width as a piece of paper. Marketers were spellbound by the first Mac ad, that famous "1984" spot where the sprinting woman threw a hammer through Big Brother's (read: Big Blue's) droning rant. It showed nationally once, but it still elicits passion.

One more thing about great design: It comes from a single vision, not a committee. The PC is Microsoft's operating system, Intel (nasdaq: INTC - news - people ) chips and a bunch of stuff from nameless factories in Taiwan, all hung together. It is a committee product. The Mac, even with chips manufactured by other sources, comes from a few people at Apple, sharing a common vision.

Most of the Mac's life, whoever was on team Mac could count on Steve Jobs standing behind them, telling them that their latest idea sucks, ranting that they'll have to do better. Love the guy or hate him, we have all benefited from his tyranny.

Too much at times is made of Jobs' genius, as when the iMac came out in several colors. A computer that wasn't beige! What a visionary! Really, this was more an indictment of Silicon Valley, 20 years into home computers, than a testimony to Steve's big brain. He did not always get it right the first time, either--the first Mac lacked enough memory, was a commercial failure and led not only to layoffs but to Jobs' own ouster in 1985. 2000's PowerMacG4 Cube was also a high-priced flop. But more than most, he learned and adapted, and drove his teams to improve--over the long haul, great design can handle the odd failure, but not the failure to learn.

Happy 20th, Mac! Take the day off, team. Chill, Steve. Just come back to work tomorrow.

[Orangedog]

I agree. Even us old Atari computer guys knew when to let go.

[Woahhs]

We are not worthy. We are not worrrrthy!

[Liberal Classic]

Correction: "Neocon Crawls Out Of Hobbit-Hole to Reconstruct South Using Intelligent Low Carbohydrate Design Modeling Program On A Macintosh"

[Orangedog]

I was just starting to build clones that year (or the next). I could build a dual floppy XT for $720 or buy one from IBM for about $1,500. The MAC was more expensive.

Funny how the prices never change, but the MAC is always more expensive, no matter what year you pick.

[TheBattman]

Couldn't resist :)

I have seen that several times. What's funny - I find it difficult to believe that guy every really used a Mac - instead coming up with this idea through skimming a few tech help boards and ancient machines - A lot of the problems he mentioned either have never existed or have not existed since some of the very earliest versions of the OS. If we are going back that far to find something that serious to gripe about - lets look at the Windows versions from the same time frame. Oh - wait - some of these problems were killed off before any of the more "mature" versions of Windows were even released.... And no, I'm not trying to convince anyone the Macintosh platform is the one they should use. I gave that up quite some time ago. All I will say is - I am forced to use Windows, and I choose to use Macintosh for everything I can. At work, 80% of my work gets done on an 11 year old PowerMac 7200/75 (Yes, 75 Mhz), mostly because that machine crashes FAR less than the Windows machine in my band room (Just over 2 year old 550Mhz P3, Windows 98 SE). I just did a lot of updating and house-cleaning on the Windows machine - it is now down to crashing/freezing 3-5 times per week. The old 7200/75 has crashed/frozen 2 times in the last 8 months. I hate how slow the old Mac is - but I love how reliable it is. Use what you want, just don't gripe if it doesn't work.

[Orangedog]

...but if there's peeing in the collective punchbowl ahead, it won't be coming from the Apple end of the room.

fighting...peeing in punchbowls...a Jedi craves not these things.

[UncleDick]

If owning (and loving) my Mac makes me an insane cultist, then pass the Kool-aid!!

[Orangedog]

I'd consider a Mac just as soon as I can cobble one together from parts not made by one company. Guess I'm just old fashioned and like to assemble my own. It's bad enough I have to deal with Gates and Ballmer for my OS, but there's no way I'd want to end up being stuck dealing with Steve Jobs for the OS and the hardware.

[stainlessbanner]

"Neocon Crawls Out Of Hobbit-Hole to Reconstruct South Using Intelligent Low Carbohydrate Design Modeling Program On A Macintosh"

Please put me on your ping list!

[xrp]

Longhorn OS, which, some industry observers opine, will chip at the base of internet freedom by forcing net IDs on users.

Except for the millions of users who don't use Microsoft OS (Linux, Lindows, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, Mac, etc).

[Petronski]

"Unix Jihad?" That's great.

[Poser]

"However, a new day is dawning for Apple. Their new systems are priced well, they don't cost twice as much as an equivalent PC any longer, and OS X is simply fantastic. Here's hoping they can do well from here on out."

Little has changed in 20 years. Software features and standardization are still the most important factors in computer purchasing. The hardware is secondary. That is why Apple is most likely to maintain only a small market share.

Apple had a big lead in graphics during the 90s, but that is no longer the case. They lost their advantage in K-12 education as well. Schools used to be almost completely Mac. Now they are almost completely PC.

Apple's market seems to be people who are contrarians. It's a brand loyalty thing. While that isn't the biggest market, it is one that will always exist. Linux is now competition for Mac for that market.

Hardware and software change rapidly. The standard platform doesn't. Apple can't compete for the vast, standard desktop market. They can't compete on price. They can compete on brand and other image factors. Maybe they can become the Harley Davidson of computers (or perhaps BMW is more appropriate).

In any case, competition and innovation are a good thing and Apple will probably survive a while longer.

[psychoknk]

How else do you explain their willingness to spend 4X the amount of money for the effectively same product?

I have a feeling that the mac hype might have something behind it. I few of my friends started buying macs, and they now swear by them. I even pointed out that some of the accessories could be bought from a third party for cheaper(i.e. external firewire drives), but they stick with Apple because they claim it is more reliable. Personally, I don't have too many problems with Windows, but that is because I am a computer geek and assemble/tweak all my computers (hell, I even took apart my laptop to teach it a lesson). I've tried linux, but it didn't strike me as something I had the time to learn.

[breakem]

MAC user since 1985. I let my wife and daughter talk me into a windows machine dec 2001. Spent over 200 housr on the phone and several hundred dollars on technical assistance. Several viruses and reloaded the system twice.

Never called for technical assistance on any of my MACs.

I'm a simple user. Don't want to attend training or learn what is going on inside the machine.

I'll not make this mistake again.

When will G-6s be out?

[AZLiberty]

When I buy, you can bet a new model is due within a month!

MacRumor's Buyer's Guide can help you out there.

[Elliott Jackalope]

You do make some good points. I was a Windows user until I bought a machine with Windows ME on it. That was enough to send me running screaming into the Apple camp. Just got totally fed up with the nonsense that came with owning a Windows machine. Macs are pretty much immune to viruses, they don't have the problems that I experienced with Windows machines, all in all I'm much, much happier using Macs than I ever was using Windows.

I now have three Macs, and all but one of my PC's has been tossed out the window, no pun intended. That one PC that I have left is used as a plotter driver, since HP has chosen to not support OS X for their DesignJet 500 series.

I used to help out people with their PC problems, until I got tired of them calling me every other day for free tech support. I now tell them all the same thing, "Get an Apple". Once they do, they never call me for help again, because they don't have any more problems.

[GOP Jedi]

Except for the millions of users who don't use Microsoft OS (Linux, Lindows, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, Mac, etc).

True enough, but these users don't make up a critical mass. Users of Microsoft's OS do. By sheer dent of their numbers, they define how the internet is fashioned (by chosing a certain browser over others), and select most of its standards. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but if an MS OS comes along which compromises the freedom of the current internet (requiring hardwired ID codes for hardware, creating an opening for governments to require internet IDs for financial transactions [thus permitting them to track users, block access across borders, etc.], and so on), those who champion the use of the classical PC will have foisted a monster on all of us. Unlike the alternate OSs you list, Longhorn is rumored to contain many such features.

[xrp]

Well, now that my computer gaming days are behind me, Windows 2000 Pro/XP Pro are the last MS OS that I plan on using.

[breakem]

Thanx for the link

[brbethke]

Never! I'll give up Star Raiders when you pry that joystick from my cold, dead hands!