F. J. Taylor

Back to School on the Cheap: Another Round of Mac vs. PC

Folks, just ignore jack dweeb (sorry! dee!) - he is obviously clueless, and has no knowledge of the background of the two companies, their relative health, etc. (FYI, jack, in the "earlies" Apple was the Big Dog with something like 55% of the world market - obviously a lot smaller market then than now, but the point is the same).

MS gained market share when it hooked up with IBM (then "Deep Pockets") and licensed the lame DOS OS Bill and Paul (mainly the latter) had bought and re-worked. Nothing to do with performance or quality.
By this means (along with some pretty sharp dealing and later monopolistic gangstering) later it became the new Big Dog.

However, they did put out some OK apps along the way, like Word (And jack, did you know that Word was originally developed by MS for Apple?)

However, in this much more sophisticated market, people are now twigging to the many superior aspects of the Apple OS X and software, and the word is getting around. I was a long-time DOS and Windoze user (by job necessity), and ran both Windows and Apple LANs. That was how I came to learn the superiority of Mac, and I switched completely when I left that job. Our house is entirely Mac now, and I have a lot of friends in engineering and programming, etc., who are switching as well. (Especially after the Vista debacle.)

However, some people (like you) will never figure out what real quality and value is - and you will end up using and backing Microsuck forever (or until their ultimate demise). And that's fine - for you. However, for those of us whose lobotomies have healed, we will continue to use and buy Apple, which now also runs Windows - and runs it better than Windows-specific machines. I have a copy of XP on my wife's Macbook for a Windows-specific program she needs. It loads faster, better, and runs more stably on her Macbook than on a comparable Dell, Acer, or HP. No Windows boxes can do that.

So stick with MSFT - I can also recommend some other premium buys, like Ace Buggy Whips and the Gaslamp Mantle Manufacturing Co.

Long on Apple - and proud of it!

(And BTW, jack - I bought it low and have since sold off some when high, and already made three times my investment back - with some "house money" left over for fun - . Can you say that about your MSFT?)

Apple Asks Microsoft to 'Quit Running Those Laptop Hunters Ads'

I have owned and run MS Os and products since DOS 3.0 (on an IBM XT), all the way through NT and XP. I have taught computers, and was a sys admin working with both PC and Apple LANs, and I have used other platforms incl. UNIX, and all major apps for the relevant platforms.

Since the intro of the Mac, I have grown to consider Apple to be the more advanced and better software and (esp. in the days when they made all their own peripherals,) the best in hardware, hands down. However, I had to use DOS (and later Windows) for my work.

Just before I retired in 2002, I switched to Apple and have never once looked back or regretted it - except for not switching sooner.

Now, with the Intel architecture, if you need Windows for work or some other reason, it will run Windows - and it loads faster, and runs more stably on the Mac.

I cannot imagine what kind of PC or version of Vista Joe K is talking about, or what version of Apple OS - or for that matter, what color the sky is on his home planet...

As for the people who are complaining about Apple users' responses, I challenge you to find any comparable dedicated group of Windows fans - especially after Vista - best thing MS ever put out - to boost Mac sales.

Are Microsoft's Anti-Apple Ads Actually Working?

Let me see... MS has to PAY people a GRAND apiece to buy their dreck in order to get "satisfied" customers?? While Apple, who admittedly has a higher price point, is selling them out the door... and yet MS's "ads" are having an impact? Help me with this...

I don't know who BrandIndex and AdAge are, but my guess is they are on MicroSuck's payroll. I don't know ANYONE who has bought a computer based on MS's schlock ads.

As for the paid shills in the MS ads, let's see how they view their purchase 6 months down the line, when they are tired of slow, crappy, buggy, underperforming software, and hardware that can't even interface with its own brand. (Ever try to get an HP running Windows Anything to interface with an HP printer or scanner? It isn't pretty...)

I was a sys admin for a PC network and a Mac network, and I ran DOS from 3.0 forward to NT and a bit of XP (not bad for MS, but still not great). Then I switched to Mac myself - and was only sorry I hadn't done it years earlier. I would sooner stick sharpened pencils in my eyes then ever use Windows again...

I think you will find my experience echoed in most of those who have switched (terminal masochists not included). "Once Mac, never back."

This "story" seems to me to be just one more attempt by MicroSuck and their allies (and shareholders!) to manipulate market perceptions, and lower Apple value.

Apple is a great company that produces the best software in the business, and the best hardware. They are typically two to three years ahead of the "competition" - as witness the iPod, iPhone, and all the rest the others are trying (and failing) to catch.

Ads, Schmads - whatever MicroSuck does isn't going to be enough - unless they miraculously start turning out cool, designer hardware (Zune?) and software that isn't bloated, buggy and crash-prone (Vista?). Not bloody likely. Even though Monkey Boy has told the drones that they have to start being like Apple, there is no way they can change the entire corporate culture they have been developing for years. MS is a huge, terminally dysfunctional giant, rather like Gulliver, bound in the toils of the Lilliputians...

Three New Microsoft Commercials Making PCs Cool(er)

Amusing commercials. I liked the guy in the shark cage - "I'm a PC - and I'm scared!" (Of course, I would be scared too if I were still a PC user...).

However, it is sad in a way, that the giant of the industry feels compelled to try to defend itself against a small, although spunky, challenger. It's as though Ali suddenly got the feeling that he needed to retaliate against some fly-weight.

No matter WHAT Windows does to tout their OS or dress it up, will always be what it always has been - a poor knock-off of the Mac OS. As we used to say when they first ripped off the concept; "Windows 95 = Mac '89" Has anyone noticed that Mr. Ballmer is desperately trying to become Apple? Not only by the commercials, but he is even sending out memos to the staff saying that they have to "do it like Apple."

Microsoft has done some things well in the past. Word (which was originally written for Mac) was a good WP before they crammed it with useless add-ons and bloated it beyond belief.

Same with Works - formerly one of the better office suites out there. (Most people don't need Office, unless they are in (Big) business.)

My advice to Microsoft is get back out of the OS business (which has always been mediocre) and on to doing what they used to do well - developing useful software.

I was primarily a Microsoft user (DOS 3.x through Windows NT) for over a decade, though I also used Apple, as well as Unix, Linux, and other platforms.

I have run LANs (both Windows and Mac) as a sys admin, and used and taught all major applications for both.

Though I had my Windows systems as well-tuned and maintained as possible, they still required infinitely more work to keep running than the Macs. I also noticed the differences in ease of use for the end user, and how everything just WORKED together.

It was that exposure to Mac that made me a convert, and I made the switch just before OS X. Though one of the last iterations of OS 9 was a bit rocky, I have still never regretted it, and only wish I'd done it years before. I have been running only Apple for over a decade now, and am still LOVING it!!!

DOS or Windows was NEVER as smooth, easy, and fun as the Mac, and is incapable of being by its nature and design. I will NEVER return to Windows (I'd sooner stick pencils in my eyes!), and loathe even helping friends who are still mired in the MS nightmare. My sincere advice is get a Mac and join the growing legions who are actually using their computers for fun and as a useful mind-tool (what I originally wanted a computer for) instead of nursing a finicky, slow, annoying, buggy, pain in the posterior!

However, Macs now run Windows too - if you really need to - and they run them smoother, better, faster, and more stably (at least through XP). I have installed it on several computers whose users needed the Windows for work - and it works better than on comparable PC-designed boxes. (I can't explain this, because the parts are all obtained from the same manufacturers these days!)

BTW, I notice how some people in these columns attack Mac users and use demeaning descriptors for them. (And I will admit some of the Mac fans can be annoying at times.) However, did it ever occur to any of these people to wonder just WHY the Mac users are so strongly loyal and enthusiastic about their product? Could it just be because it actually IS a pleasure to use?

(Disclosure: I hold shares in Apple and remain long despite the turbulence of the present market. However, I was as big an Apple enthusiast even when I didn't have a dime of stock!)

Microsoft: Still Master of the Operating System Domain

This gentleman either works for MS or has been living under a rock.
All the above comments about Vista being an even worse piece of dreck than Windows historically has been are quite correct, and I am seeing MANY defections - including former die-hard Windows / DOS users and even IT professionals (such as I once was).
As one engineer friend remarked to me; "I waited six years fro THIS???" (He then promptly went out and bought a Mac.)

It has nothing to do with the cute ads - it has everything to do with the cruddy Windows OS and products - speaking of which, the iPod and iTunes have been responsible for bringing in thousands of former Windows users, and I see iPhone and iPod Touch are already doing the same. (How many iPods do you see out there? Now, how many Zunes? I rest my case.)

The chap from Finland is correct as to Apple being a growth market (percentage-wise), as is the gentleman who mentioned that Windows is forcing Vista down consumers' collective throats by dumping XP - this is not "growth" or a viable commercial success strategy - it is the act of a desperate megalomaniac, and will drive even more disgruntled users from it - especially now that Mac runs Windows better than Windows-specific boxes. All you need is your old copy of XP and Boot Camp (free from Apple). Also, Apple has long run Office and most other Windows business apps. So explain to me why we need Windows OS, and why you think it is going to retain market share, no matter how many (not-so-)funny men they hire?

A Real iPhone Challenger - Barron's

HO-hum... yet another "iPhone killer" - yeah, right! Like Zune and the rest killed iPod?

HTC? Never heard of it till now. Never even SAW one. (I've seen hundreds of iPhones, however.) AND it runs Windows??? If it doesn't run Apple OS, I am not interested. I am a former DOS / Windows user and systems administrator who migrated to Apple about 10 years ago and have never looked back - so I want as little to do with MS dreck as possible.

The only close competitor iPhone had was Blackberry - and with the new generation, that is going to be sucking eggs soon.

I have no idea where these gentlemen are getting their outlandish ideas - but I can make a guess... Redmond.

Microsoft: iPhone Envy Is Starting to Show

Yet another iPhone killer... ho-hum! No doubt as successful as Zune was at "killing" the iPod...

It always amazes me when I hear ANYBODY telling me how great MS and its products are - after over 20 years in computing, and having dealt with MS from 3.0 forward in every capacity from end-user to sys admin, I can state with complete confidence that MS is not even in Apple's league - and never was, but especially since the advent of OS X.

As MS loses market share to Apple AND Linux, I am sure their attempts to regain their former status will continue - but unless they change their entire model, they will continue to be unsuccessful...

Microsoft Adds Content to Zune Marketplace

What's a Zune...? OH, you mean Microsoft's "iPod killer" - the one that nobody buys or listens to...

Seriously, NO amount of "content" can save that dog - and NBC is foolish for moving that direction. 2 million since 06 is "respectable"? In whose calculations?

Zune is an irrelevance, and MS is increasingly becoming one as well.
Invest in them if you want to - after all, it's your money, and you can waste it as you wish. I would rather use mine to start a fire - that way at least you'd get some good from it!

Windows Collapsing Under Its Own Weight - Gartner

NOTHING Windows does can fix their lethargic, bloated, and essentially crappy OS. Windows should do what they do best - software for the office environment.

To was_fred and the others: Classic apps DO run on Mactels running 10.4.x under Rossetta Stone (I am using them on this MacBook Pro!), but I am not sure about Leopard.

To rampman and his fellow Windows lovers and fanboys - the ONLY reasons MS ever took the lead from Apple and other innovators was that Gates made the decision to license, and tied his fortunes to Deep Blue's Deep Pockets and powerful sales team. They had a fairly good WP (Word - originally made for Apple!), and later other good office apps - but their OS was always lousy. (And I would know - I ran it from DOS 3.0 forward!)

Also, Google's FREE office apps are making serious progress, as is Linux and other Open Source stuff - and Apple is gaining market share by the minute! (Much of this thanks to Vista!)

Windows is going down the tubes - it may die hard, but unless they totally change their model and M.O., they are going down...

Apple, Microsoft Run for the Clouds in the New Client Software War

The author and many commentators have some interesting and valid points.

However, I agree with several of the comments re: the fact that web-based apps, while having great potential, will not likely dominate the market any time soon - especially since many (perhaps most) of us prefer the security and ease of use of device-based apps.

Apple is fully aware of and pushing the envelope of web-based computing, and is on the cutting edge of web-based computing as several comments correctly point out. Leopard, the iPhone, and Air were intended to inaugurate this, but Mr. Jobs soon learned that the public are not "there" yet.

An analogy might be Net-based sales vs. "bricks and mortar" - a few years back, the dot-com bust was littered with great and innovative on-line sales ventures that failed for only one reason - the Great Unwashed was unready for the concept. Now, Net sales are a large and growing segment of the economy.

I love iPhone and Air, and intend to get the former shortly. (I am waiting for Gen 2 and ( hopefully ) an eventual open provider system - or at least a fool-proof hack!) If I were still a Road Warrior, I'd have an Air in a heartbeat!

I differ strongly with the author's opinion that hardware innovation is finished - quite the opposite.

As some commentators correctly pointed out, this merely betrays a lack of knowledge about what is happening right now in computing - though retired, I have friends who are still deep in tech, and though they cannot speak in detail, there are developments afoot in the coming "Computer Revolution" that will make the first one pale by comparison.

Re: MS - they are far too slow, clumsy, and ungainly to ever come close to out-maneuvering Apple in products or in the web-based world.

Re: gentleman from MS's comments on Zune - with all due respect, I cannot think of a single aspect of any MS product that outdoes Apple - let alone Zune, which in my opinion is a singularly clumsy and unlovely attempt to knock off the iPod - much as Windows was a clumsy and unlovely attempt to knock off the Apple GUI. I would say Zune sales and usage vs. iPod sales and usage adequately reflect this.

MS's early success had much less to do with product superiority (none) than with the early decision to license, early teaming with Deep Blue, (and Apple, for that matter), etc.

(Disclosure: I DON'T work for Apple, though I am a user, and I previously used every MS system and product from DOS 3.0 through XP, as well as Unix and Linux. I have run LAN networks of both Apple and Windows, and I wouldn't return to Windows under pain of death, nor would I touch the extremely clumsy and ugly "Vista" with a fork.)

Handset OS Fragmentation is Here to Stay

While Dean has a number of good points as usual, he misses several facts - here in Europe, iPhones are flying out the door - they cannot stock enough to keep up with demand. Even in countries where it hasn't been "officially" released yet, it is selling like hotcakes. I understand from friends in Asia that the same applies there - there are even iPhone knock-offs and look-alikes appearing. (Be careful of where you purchase them!)

The iPhone already number 2 or 3 (depending on whose figures you use) among smartphones - this is only 6 months after its release, and before the release of SDK, the 3G and MS Exchange-capable, increased capacity versions, etc.

All of this indicates by any reasonable standard that the iPhone is indeed rapidly changing the face of the entire industry.

As to the overall theme of platform wars, etc, I imagine that they will continue for some time, although it is my hope that the Unix-based platforms (esp. those who have embraced Open Source) will prevail, as they are quite simply the smoothest, most stable, most secure, and best.

For me personally, Apple will remain the platform of choice for all those reasons and more. I am just waiting to get my iPhone till they intro those items I mentioned above (probably later this year) and (hopefully!) drop the locked provider deal so I can deal with a provider of my choice.

Under The Radar News - Friday

Eli, you always have things of interest, are a compendium of information and (mostly!) good ideas, and I love your columns. That said, you are way off the mark on iPhone vs. Google.

First, as Miner himself said; "That's for a device that doesn't even exist yet." He's right - it doesn't - and it may never exist. (Though I tend to think it will emerge eventually.)

I am a big believer in the Open Source movement - it has some remarkable people doing remarkable things that need to be done.

However, I don't see Android (if and when it emerges) as being even a match for iPhone, let alone a killer. The iPhone already has generated some self-proclaimed "iPhone killers" a la the iPod - but we see how far they went. (What's a "Zune" again...?)

Put simply, a hodge-podge of Open Source software for a mobile device is simply no match for the smooth, slick, well-integrated iPhone. This is all the more relevant because the Apple OS and Mac is once more a growing market share, thanks to iPod, iTunes - and especially thanks to Microsoft's Vista, which is driving even die-hard MS users away in droves - and into the arms of Apple. (I just helped yet another life-long Windows tech convert the other day!)

It's like the difference between Linux and OS X - both are Unix based, and have safer, faster, and more secure operation than Windows ever did or ever will. Both have nice GUIs (now that the interfaces on Linux have been substantially improved). But if you want to run a Unix based machine with the best GUI out there - you want a Mac!

Likewise, if you want a great mobile device designed for web-based work, and that also has a lot of terrific native software supported by the best support team out there, and that will seamlessly interface with the growing number of Macs - you get iPhone - this a no-brainer.

That said, I believe there will be a market for Android, and that it fills a much-needed gap. I also hope it spurs Apple into some much-needed reforms of the iPhone and their business model (such as being locked to one provider).

However, when I buy, it will be iPhone. (BTW, my stepson [another die-hard Windows convert!] just did - and he loves it!!!)

Three Reasons I Chose Microsoft over Apple for Home Media

I imagine Mr. Hawk is not aware that any Intel MacBook runs Windows - and it loads faster, runs smoother, and with less crashes than Windows-specific machines. We run XP on my wife's MacBook for a Windows-specific program she needs, and it runs rings around the same program on Dell or any other PC box I have seen it on.

(I have not tried Vista, as I have used it on Windows machines and it is even more horrible than most Windows products - to the extent that my local PC shop owner, along with many others, is abandoning Windows for his own use, and adopting Mac. The consensus seems to be; "I waited 6 years for THIS???)

As to XBox, I cannot speak to them, since I have no interest in or use for them in their main role as game boxes, but I have my home wired via Airport, and it all works seamlessly through my MacBook Pro.

I am unsure why Mr. Hawk is having trouble with iTunes, unless he is perhaps using the Windows version (which although on an inferior OS, has still converted many Windows users to Apple). I have had minus zero problems with iTunes even though I have over 3000 (legal!) songs.

However, that said, there is no excuse for calling Mr. Hawks or anyone else an "idiot" for exercising his choice of hardware and software. After all, it is his money and his decision. I myself would rather suffer a slow and horrible death by any means rather than use Windows voluntarily again, but "de gustabus non disputandum est."