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OS X: Take the Bitter with the Better- Stephen Van
Esch
Dec. 20, 2000
Like it or not, OS X will be a reality in a few short months. All
of the hand wringing, hair tearing, and general sighs of resignation
(along with a few cheers) will be done, and OS X will make its
debut. And it's in your best interest to swallow the medicine (sweet and
bright as it is) as soon as possible. A good chunk of Apple's future success hinges on OS X. And, while
the OS may be brand new and the transition may be less than smooth,
the critical mass necessary to drive software development is a stark
reality that can't be ignored. There are several people that I've talked to and others that I've
corresponded with who are digging in their heels and proclaiming that
they will be sticking with 8.6 (or 9 or whatever flavor of the Mac OS
gets their juices flowing). In the long run, though, this will
probably do more harm than good. As it is, the Mac market is just big enough to warrant some
attention from the big software manufacturers (and many smaller
ones). Right now they write programs to run on the (soon to be) old
version of the Mac OS. Faced with a decision on whether to develop
for OS X, Classic, both or (shudder) none at all, I suspect that
several companies will wait to see the reception the new OS receives.
If adoption is slower than expected, projects could potentially be
delayed or, at the very least, reexamined. If OS X sales move slowly, development may lag, which could be a
problem for the entire Mac community. None of us want to see Apple
attacking Classic (in the same way Microsoft is currently attacking
Windows 95) to ship the new OS. That sends a negative message at a
time when negative messages are not what Apple needs. Ultimately, I suspect that switching over to the new OS will be
like pulling off a bandage - painful for a few seconds, but that's
it. Recent reports that some tools originally designed to bring back
Classic functionality are being abandoned by users as they get used
to the new OS only support this theory. So, swallow your fear, anger, trepidation, whatever, and snap up
the final version of OS X as soon as you get the chance. We'll all be
better off.
- <back to the
original article>
Stephen Van
Esch is the founder and president of
the
E-learning Foundry, an online training
resource for Mac users. Steve loves the Mac and is doubly bilingual,
since he's also fluent in Windows and French. Recently on Mac Scope- Connecting with the broader Macintosh community, 04.06.
"But beyond the very minor celebrity status that came with being published on Low End Mac, it gave me a real opportunity to participate in the Mac community."
- Hardware failure, that rare Mac headache, 07.09.
Macs are usually pretty reliable, but a hardware failure after just two-and-a-half years is still disappointing.
- Still waiting for iTunes Music Store Canada, sort of, 06.23.
While the pay-per-tune model makes sense, Apple's post-purchase copy management flies in the face of Canadian copyright law.
- PearPC's slow Mac emulation - What's the point?, 05.26.
"For all those Windows folks who are gussying up Windows to look like OS X and getting excited over PearPC, please just buy a Mac."
- More in the Mac Scope index.
Links for the Day- Mac of the Day: 15" iMac G4/800 MHz, Jan. 2002 - The iMac is redesigned with a flat panel display and G4 CPU.
- Group of the Day: Mac Canada is our list for Canadian Mac users.
- December 1 in LEM history: 99: Monitor dot pitch - 00: Macs for new users - Everybody wants to use iMacs - Career options - 03: Pfinder: Panther-like Finder for legacy Macs - 04: Why I use an eMac, iBook, and Power Mac - ThinkFree Office - MacLink Plus 15 - 05: PowerBook 190 still a great laptop - Eudora, the Mac's most powerful email client - 06: Core 2 'Books cooler and faster
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Mac Scope articles copyright © 2000-04, 2007 by Stephen Van
Esch. �
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