Jag's House on the Future of the Mac

Bong! . . . :-) . . . Welcome to Macintosh!

Yesterday, Welcome to Macintosh started a series of interviews called The Legends of 68k. I sat down and interviewed Jag of Jag's House. This is the second half of my interview.

Tommy: When you look at what Apple was and what it's become, what's the main difference in your mind?

Jag: They are back on top, innovating and making more money than they ever have. I remember when I was at Apple and a 10 million dollar profit was great news. Now it's four hundred million!

Tommy: Whoa, back up a minute! You worked for Apple? Do tell!

Jag: Tech support hell, see this page: http://www.jagshouse.com/thingsivedone.html

Tommy: Thinking forward, what do you see happening with Apple and the Macintosh?

Jag: The Mac will no longer be made by Apple, and Apple will slowly become a software only company. They are making more money now with just the iPod than they were just a few short years ago with everything (Macs, software, spin-off companies, etc.).

Tommy: I see that happening as well. The Mac has slowly become a PC hardware-wise. The only difference I see now is in the exterior design of the Mac itself and, of course, the OS.

Would you say that Apple could one day try their hand again at licensing the Mac OS or even selling OS X for any PC?

Jag: Yes, I think that is inevitable.

Tommy: Have you ever seen Pirates of Silicon Valley? I know I've seen it a couple times and thought it was interesting. Your thoughts?

Jag: It was quite interesting to see the story of the birth of the Mac. I especially enjoyed the Steve Jobs quote, "You're stealing our stuff!!!!!!!!"

Tommy: I enjoyed it, too. Steve Jobs made a lot of interesting remarks. Seeing the rift between Bill Gates and Steve Jobs was very interesting, to say the least.

Macs vs. Windows

Tommy: When you think about using Windows vs. using the Macintosh, do you think that Microsoft has bridged the gap in user-friendliness between Windows and the Macintosh?

Jag: Um, no. Not even close.

Tommy: Why do you think that is?

Jag: Because Microsoft has never been an innovator. They sit back and wait for Apple to innovate, then they copy Apple - and they still don't get it right.

Tommy: What comes to your mind when you think about the open-source movement and Linux?

Jag: It's cool but still way too kludgy and not even close to being usable by Mom and Pop. They said it would have been ten years ago when Red Hat first came, out but it's still a long way from that.

Tommy: Do you think the open-source movement could ever gain a foothold in the consumer market?

Jag: No. Apple has "stolen" the open source features by offering the first consumer PC with Unix as the operating system.

Classic Mac OS vs. OS X

Tommy: Was moving to OS X a smart move for Apple in the sense of the user interface compared to the Classic Mac OS? Some of the things Classic Mac OS users were used to - such as the "real" Apple menu and the Application menu - vanished with OS X.

What are your thoughts on this?

Jag: I'd much rather have the stability and features of Mac OS X and lose a couple of old odds & ends than still be using Classic. Time marches on, and so does innovation.

I haven't missed anything from the old Classic days; in fact, OS X looks more like OS 6 than OS 9 did.

Tommy: Moving from PowerPC to Intel. Again, a smart move for Apple?

Jag: Ditto. Apple has doubles it's laptop market share in six months! That's undeniably absolutely tremendous news. They've been trying to increase market share for over a decade, and they did it by going Intel and offering Boot Camp.

Jobs at the Helm

Tommy: Do you believe that Steve Jobs being CEO back then and since his return in the late 90s has been a good thing or bad thing for Apple?

Jag: Definitely good. He saved Apple and is single-handedly responsible for their current success. He made them profitable again, and Apple is now making more money than they ever have in the history of the company.

Tommy: Overall, big picture wise, do you think that Apple has made the right changes, good changes?

Jag: Yes, but on the down side their customer service is atrocious, and their quality control is not good. They currently have problems with the MacBook, MacBook Pro, iMac G5, PowerMac G5, iBook, and eMac's. That's every Mac released in the past three years except the Mac mini.

Fun Questions

Tommy: What does the Jagster do for a good time?

Jag: Play my cigar box guitars and play blues festivals and local clubs.

Tommy: That's cool! I bet the clubs are packed when you're playing!

Have you met anyone from any other Classic Mac websites or from your forum in person?

Jag: Not yet.

Tommy: What's your day job?

Jag: Fixing Macs, what else.

Tommy: How far have you gone or would you go to save a Classic Mac from a tragic end?

Jag: Not far; I can get a replacement for peanuts, so I don't put any time into restoring oldies anymore. I've got multiples of practically every Mac ever made, so I'm good to go anyway.

Tommy: What's your take on life?

Jag: Have fun!

Tommy: Thanks a lot for the interview (shaking Jag's hand) and here's to many more years of Jag's House!

Jag: Thanks!

That Jag, he's quite a character! Be sure to check out Jag's House.

I'll be continuing The Legends of 68k with more interviews with the Legends of the Classic Mac websites that you won't want to miss.

Now I dip into the mailbag to pull out another wonderful story of how one of our reader's joined the Apple world! I want to thank all those who've sent me their stories so far! :-) If you have a story to share about how you joined the Apple world, shoot it to me at thomas (at) lowendmac (dot) com! Who knows, it may even get included in a future Welcome to Macintosh article! :-)

This one comes from Bob Michael, who started out with a Commodore VIC-20 and joined the Apple world with an SE with dual-floppy drives:

"As soon as computers became available to the public, I was interested. I would have liked to have had an Apple II but couldn't afford one. I got a Commodore VIC-20 and had as much fun with that as I could.

"The industry progressed, and it came time for something more, so I did a lot of research. From what I read, I decided to try a Mac - mainly because it came with HyperCard. I was convinced because of the alleged ease of use of the Mac and the ability to write my own programs with HyperCard."

"I bought my first Mac in 1987. It was an SE with two floppy drives. They were quite expensive, and I couldn't really swing an SE with a hard drive. I figured I would add one later (I actually added a removable Syquest drive).

"I had a bunch of fun with that computer and loved HyperCard. I still don't think there is anything that matches the simplicity, power, and beauty of that program. It was a masterpiece.

"I ended up teaching Macs and HyperCard to teachers through a friend's consulting company for a while. I had a lot of fun doing that. People I met during those teaching days still talk about 'the beginning'. The industry grew in leaps, the Macs got left behind in a lot of schools, and my friend got out of the instruction business."

"I've been Mac ever since, having a couple of models and using them probably past their prime. My kids are Mac fans now, having grown up with them.

"I evangelized Macs to friends for a while, but it is a futile effort most of the time. I'm glad just to enjoy mine now. I use a PC at work, and the users have been through plenty of frustration, so when I get my next computer at work, I think I'll try for a Mac, since it can run Windows so well (the usual stumbling block) - and maybe make a few converts again."

Go to the Legends of 68k index.