Opinion: Apple -- Here to Stay

MacCentral ^ | March 08, 2005 | Don Tennant

[r5boston]

Nearly a decade ago, just a few months after Microsoft shipped Windows 95, I asked Bill Gates if it was a conscious decision in the development of that product to give Windows more of a Mac look and feel. Of course I knew he'd say it wasn't, but I couldn't resist asking. "There was no goal even to compete with Macintosh," Gates proclaimed. "We don't even think of Macintosh as a competitor."

That was a crock, so I pressed the issue a little. I asked him how he accounted for the widespread perception that Windows 95 looked a lot like Mac 88, and whether the similarity was just a coincidence. I didn't expect a sobbing confession of mimicry, but I thought it would be cool to see how he'd respond. Surprisingly enough, Gates shifted gears and became more forthcoming.

[SlowBoat407]

Curiously enough, shares of Apple (AAPL) are trading higher today than shares of Microsoft (MSFT).

Yeah, but lower than when I bought them. Grrrr.

[xrp]

2036 at the soonest.

[Melas]

You just described me as well. I'd gladly switch if I weren't a gamer.

[SlowBoat407]

I've never seen anything bring out the worst in otherwise compatible people like Mac/PC and creation/evolution. That's why I try not to discuss religion.

[Bush2000]

You just described me as well. I'd gladly switch if I weren't a gamer.

No problem! All you have to do is lose your sense of adventure, interest in fun, and self-esteem; develop a fetish for oddly-colored plastic; and constantly exhort people to "switch" to your platform.

[Melas]

Exactly. Truth be told, 20 years ago the Commodore Amiga was the best computer available. It was technically, light years ahead of both the PC's and Macs out there. However, being technically superior didn't mean a whole lot in the end. The Machine slid quickly into obscurity.

[Born to Conserve]

"...if you count the IPod, it does. Easily."

Are you including Apple bumper stickers too?

[Melas]

No comparison. Console games and PC games are still seperate genres, especially when it comes to role playing games. I have an X-Box, a Ps2, a Gamecube, and my PC is built for gaming. The 3 aren't interchangable.

[SlowBoat407]

All you have to do is lose your sense of adventure, interest in fun, and self-esteem...

Hmm. I never realized how much time I was wasting on my sailboat and in the theater. For the record. I use a Mac. I like the Mac. Use what you like and what helps you do your job. Be excellent to each other.

[HAL9000]

Windows will be untouched on the desktop for at least the next half decade and possibly a full decade. Linux won't rise to the occasion anytime soon and Mac never will.

I believe is true for China, where Bill Gates is praising their Communist dictators and low-cost labor. But in the United States, consumers are getting tired of Microsoft's miserable, low-quality crap and Gates's anti-American rhetoric.

It's remarkable to see how many FReepers are dumping Windows and switching to Macs recently. (And a few have switched to Linux too)

[Melas]

I actually like Macs, I just don't want to own one because I can't use a Mac how I want to use my computer. Mac guys just don't seem to get that.

[zencat]

Macs don't even ship with a two-button scroll-wheel mouse.

The scroll-wheel is the most efficiency increasing part of the user interface.

[sittnick]

This article seems to be written by somebody who "...wasn't there." I have worked on Macs since 1983 (pre-release models at U of Chicago) and was a Mac administrator up into the early '90s. I also was a PC administrator and resource specialist, as well as dabbling over the years in CPMs, and a touch of Unix and Linux. Today I oversee a mixed environment at a publishing company but spend most of my time in W2K (no XP here).

There is plenty of room for more than one hardware platform/operating system.

Macintoshes had many good features, but the Spindler/Scully years were a wreck. Copland and Quickdraw GX were costly mistakes that Apple could barely afford. The Motorola 680x0 CPUs ran out of gas at the wrong time for Apple.

They might have been able to survive a high priced base unit, but they could not keep 10% market share (which at one point was higher than any individual manuafacturer) with a high priced base unit that STILL needed upgrades to sing. (For instance, a base Mac SE/30 running multifinder in system 6 multitasked better than a DOS based PC, and could access 4MB easily, but the base model came populated with 4 256K modules, with no empties. The old 90 day warranty wasn't too attractive either. Some products always ran better on a PC (eg almost any PC database program versus 4D or FileMaker Pro on Mac).

Steve Jobs sabotaged efforts to move Macs into the corporation because he not only forbade the software to function like the DOS counterparts, but even made easy file-sharing impossible (e.g. Lotus Jazz, dBase Mac).

Apple has come to the party late with true pre-emptive mulittasking. They have actually put some of the bloat in the OS that makes it look MORE like Windows.

On the other hand, there IS something to be said for having the OS and hardware come from the same company. It can mean fewer compatibility issues. It does drive better technology (e.g. USB languished on PC motherboards while MS took its time implementing. Apple came out with the iMac wihich relied exclusively on USB for almost all peripherals.)

What this all means is that Windows has some good features, MacOS has some good features, and Linux has some good features. All would do well to strive for interoperability. I drive an old Chrysler, my wife drives a Ford Aerostar minivan, and others drive Toyotas and pickup trucks and Corvettes. There is a use for all, and one being good does not make the others bad.

[bikepacker67]

I believe that when I see them blocking the WMA format.

[sittnick]

Exactly. Truth be told, 20 years ago the Commodore Amiga was the best computer available. It was technically, light years ahead of both the PC's and Macs out there. However, being technically superior didn't mean a whole lot in the end. The Machine slid quickly into obscurity.

Good point, if it did, I think we would have switched over to the DEC Alpha chip some time ago!

[antiRepublicrat]

When it was current it wasn't trash. Those of us who ran NT 4.0 starting about 1995 had a significant period of 32 bit reliability before MAC got to OS10.

Both OSs have had their periods of being ahead and behind on things. Windows didn't get a halfway decent UI and easy operation until 95, and didn't combine that with stability until 2000 -- but it still had old basic architecture problems brought forward because of Gates' decision to base the NT API on the Windows 3.0 API.

Meanwhile, Mac was far ahead on UI and usability until 95, when it was only a little ahead, but then it was behind on protected memory, preemptive multitasking and multiprocessing. But with OS 10 they have the whole bag: a superior architecture with no old baggage and superior UI and usability.

I haven't had a PC crash due to software in nearly 10 years.

I have, even on systems with all Microsoft software.

[Bush2000]

I believe is true for China, where Bill Gates is praising their Communist dictators and low-cost labor. But in the United States, consumers are getting tired of Microsoft's miserable, low-quality crap and Gates's anti-American rhetoric.

Tell it to Apple China, shill: http://www.apple.com.cn/

Think Different. Think Communist (TM).

It's remarkable to see how many FReepers are dumping Windows and switching to Macs recently. (And a few have switched to Linux too)

Time to bump your Thorazine dose. The hallucinations are coming on strong...

[SlowBoat407]

Well said.

[Bush2000]

I have, even on systems with all Microsoft software.

And, as we've already discussed, you aren't administering your machines properly; so, it's no wonder you're having issues...

[antiRepublicrat]

Macs are probably the better machine but most software now is being developed to run primarily on Windows based PCs.

That is meaningless unless you specify a task the computer is supposed to perform and any other mandated software requirements. In general, software for pretty much anything you want to do is available for the Mac.