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Mac Metamorphosis

Praises, Complaints, News, and More

- 2000.02.23

CompUSA revisited

I left off last time blasting CompUSA for their antics, and I received a lot of interesting email (mostly from CompUSA storeowners) commenting about how my remarks were "unprofessional" and "insulting." First, my comments are considered an opinion - nothing more - so let's not drag professionalism into this. Secondly, there is an old saying that says, "The truth hurts." To the storeowners who run a tight ship (hire knowledgeable sales people, technicians, and support representatives) this doesn't apply to you. Keep up the good work.

People are getting sick and tired of dealing with unknowledgeable people portraying themselves as computer technicians and salespeople. I have noticed that if a tech or salesperson doesn't know the answer to a question, they ad-lib something that makes absolutely no sense at all. What is so hard about saying, "I'll get right back to you on that?" Also, how can you call a computer with a soldered video card, modem, audio card, and has 3 PCI slots a "highly upgradeable computer?" (This was not a Macintosh the person was selling)

Quit reading from the script and be honest. If you can't be honest, find something else to do, because you are going to run into a guy like me someday who hears you talking nonsense to a consumer and makes you look like a fool.

My S900 & Mac OS 9

Around 1-1/2 months ago I had just finished installing Mac OS 9, and all I have to say is WOW! I am hooked on Sherlock 2 for searching the Internet. I spend a lot of time using search engines, and Sherlock 2 has not only made my life easier, but saved me from many hours of pointless searching. Sherlock 2 simply rules.

My dual 233 MHz SuperMac S900 did take a performance hit after installing OS 9 - not too much, but enough to notice applications loading slower. Also, for some reason I cannot use my RAM Disk anymore, because when I boot I get a "Bus Error." This may be because I own an S900 and not a genuine Power Mac. However, Apple's System Profiler does identify the S900 as a Power Mac 8500. I'll keep you posted on that one.

Even though the network browser was introduced in OS 8.5, I still feel the need to rave about it. "It's about time," is all I have to say on the issue. I use FTP a lot, and it is so good to have native support going instead of having to use a third party program. Please, please, pretty please give me a telnet client in Mac OS X Client!

Microsoft-ware

A few more complaints only involve Microsoft products. No wonder Mac users hate Microsoft! I use Outlook Express on my PC, and I love it, but OE5 for the Macintosh is the most poor quality port of a x86 program I have ever scene. It should have been called Outlook, not Outlook Express, because it is so bloated. I have never heard so many hard disk hits in my life when I go to open an email, and I am not even using virtual memory. It takes forever, and remember I am using Ultra2 hard drives.

My email account on the Well requires me to authenticate and stay connected with the POP server before I send outgoing email. According to the Well, this is to stop spammers, which I am all for - because no one likes a spammer. However, Outlook Express Macintosh Edition does not stay logged into my POP server. It logs in, then logs off, so I have been left with no way to send outgoing email. I was forced to use the Netscape messenger, which I feel very comfortable with on my Mac.

Microsoft Word and Excel crash on me quite frequently, and I have to come to the conclusion that Microsoft doesn't put too much thought into their Macintosh products. Microsoft, you can't just port an unstable program, slap on a user interface, and ship it! Okay, maybe the PC world is used to that, but the Macintosh crowd is used to quality products.

Good News

In the good news department, I have been approached and offered a job with Be, makers of BeOS. It is no secret that I have been a long time fan of BeOS, and I have humbly accepted. Officially, Be is focusing it's direction on the Internet Appliance market, so unless Apple revives the Newton, there is not going to be a conflict of interests between Be and myself in the Macintosh world.

Closing thoughts

It's been a crazy month since I last wrote. Battling CompUSA and PC users, starting a new job, leaving my old one, traveling the country, and working on my S900 . . . so please forgive me for all my spastic thoughts, but when one doesn't update in a month one has a lot on his mind.

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