Mac User For a Month #5
Long Live Apple
- 1999.11.24
The biggest excuse for a PC user to avoid the Macintosh is that, "Mac's are for desktop publishing, and I don't do that."
The real reason your average PC user doesn't use a Macintosh is because it isn't all around them. People adapt to and accept what they are surrounded by. Sadly, that is Microsoft Windows.
But lately people have not been accepting their surroundings, and everyone is looking for an "alternative" to Microsoft. "Down with Microsoft," the Windows-using lemmings scream. "Give us an alternative."
Be careful what you wish for - you just might get it. Before I announce if I am going to be a Macintosh user for life, I would like to introduce a scenario that I don't think to many people in Wintel land have thought about.
Let's say that Microsoft does get split up, Windows 2000 bombs, and the public gets their way by Microsoft getting wiped off the face of the planet. There is an old saying, "Don't **** wear you eat," and I think PC users don't quite understand that. If PC users loose Microsoft, their PCs will be little more than paperweights. All the PC applications and games will be ported to Linux. "We don't know Linux or Unix!" the PC users will scream. "Why should we have to learn command line now? We didn't have to with Windows."
You made your bed; now you have to sleep in it.
Microsoft will fall, and Linux will thrive in the x86 arena. The power/influence will be taken away from the so called "professionals" and put back into the hands of geeks like myself (where it belonged to begin with). My dollar value in the IT field will triple, because I have worked with Unix for many years exclusively in the information technology field. PC users will be running scared, screaming "What do we do!"
Macintosh users will rejoice in their victory over Microsoft, and I think the Mac users will welcome Microsoft refugees with open arms. It's just in your nature, and that's what puts the Macintosh crowd above the rest.
So will I continue to be a PC user, or convert to the Macintosh platform? Yes to both.
For the general public, I think the Macintosh is the future. For
a user such as myself, I like to work on several platforms. I
welcome everything that is new and exiting with an open mind. For
my day to day tasks, I will continue to use a Mac. Perhaps when I
start playing with Mac OS X
Server, I
will be able morph some of my other activities as well. My Quadra 605 will need to be replaced,
because it just doesn't offer the power I need.
I think a G4 may be in order to become my full time computer. Except for the Quadra's speed, the Macintosh is top notch. The Mac OS is superior to all other mainstream OS's. Networking needs to be improved a bit, but I will save that for another time. Security is flawless, but that's what happens when you have people who know what they are doing.
I now consider myself an official Macintosh user, but the metamorphosis is far from complete. Until it is, I will continue to tell you all about here at Low End Mac.
Long live Apple!
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: Macintosh Portable, introduced 1989.09.20. The nearly 16 lb. behemoth was innovative but not a smashing success.
- Support Low End Mac
Recent Content
- Fix Home Button Delay, Tablet the Ultimate Mobile PC, iPad Notebook a Possibility, and More, iOS News Review, 2012.02.10. Also using your iPad at work, two photo editors, a new iPad text editor, Macally's magnetic iPad 2 stand, and more.
- White MacBook Goes End-of-Life, Logitech Touch Mouse Supports Gestures, Firmware Updates, and More, The 'Book Review, 2012.02.10. Also MacBook Air better than any Ultrabook, docks for MacBook Pro models, Intel offers improved SSDs, and more.
- Mac and iOS Browsers: Options Galore, Freeware Forum, 2012.02.10. Safari is adequate on Mac and great on iOS, but the range of good alternatives is stunning. LEM writers share their favorites.
- Apple's Support Lead Shipping, Smartphones Outsell PCs, OS X Ported to ARM by Intern, and More, Mac News Review, 2012.02.10. Also the power of Tex-Edit Plus, Google and Twitter are already censoring the Web, Snow Leopard Security Update, and more.
- LogMeIn: Remote Screen Sharing for the Rest of Us, Alan Zisman, Zis Mac, 2012.02.09. Configuring the Mac's built-in screen sharing to work over the Internet can be difficult or impossible. LogMeIn makes it easy.
- 15 Years Ago Motorola Unveiled the PowerPC G3, Low End Mac Round Table, 2012.02.06. The G3 processor was optimized for real world Mac software and made a big leap forward in efficiency.
- Don't Kill Caps Lock, Learning to Love the iOS Keyboard, and an Adaptive iPad Keyboard, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2012.02.06. The Caps Lock key has a useful function, the iPad's keyboard really is useful, and checking out an adaptive keyboard for the iPad.
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
- Best MacBook Air Deals
- Best iBook G4 Deals
- Best iPad Deals
- Best Classic Mac OS Deals
- Best Apple TV Deals
- Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals
- Best Power Mac G4 Deals
- Best Mac OS X 10.6 Deals
- More deals in our archive.
About LEM Support Usage Privacy Contact
Follow
Low End Mac on Twitter
Join Low End Mac
on Facebook
Low End Mac Reader Specials
TypeStyler 11 is now in the Mac App Store!! -- Special Introductory Price of $59.95!! -- To Buy From The Mac App Store Click Here Now!! Or buy direct
from Strider Software.
Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker and Mac Casino applications in minutes.
Favorite Sites
MacSurfer
Cult of Mac
Shrine of Apple
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac Museum
DealMac
Deal Brothers
Mac2Sell
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End Mac FAQ
Affiliates
Amazon.com
The Apple Store
The iTunes Store
PC Connection Express
GainSaver
Parallels Desktop for Mac
eBay


