I was reflecting back the other day about how exactly I got here. You know, where I am today. The kind of self reflection that makes a man take pause, say “Hmmmmm,” and stroke his bread — if he had one.
That’s right, I’m talking about my computer desktop and the fact that it’s a Macintosh, and not a PC.
Sure, we all know about Internet Explorer and the fact that it is pure evil, just in XP compatible form.
What’s worse is the continuance of people who continue to embrace it but then knock on my door for PC support. Well, I’m officially announcing that Walt’s free tech support no longer extends to systems running PCs. If you have a Mac or Unix issue, I’ll be happy to help, but PC support is over.
In actuality, this isn’t a political statement, but a C.Y.A. maneuver to deal with the forth coming onslaught of PC problems you’re about to face in 2006 at the hands of Microsoft.
The blind buy-in to Microsoft is about to come to full fruition, and most of the world doesn’t see it coming yet. But, I’ll give you a peek.
The machine you’re sitting on, yes – that one right in front of you, have you seen the magical box when you first installed your operating, word processor, whatever that said it had to be activated first?
If you have, then you’re familiar with the fact that the software contacts Microsoft and does a little secret handshake. The up shot is that a magical silver bullet is spent to activate your software, and should you buy another machine, want to migrate to it, and decommission the old one — you can’t. Should you suffer catastrophic failure, and need to rebuild or swap parts your existing software won’t run. Should you decide to upgrade to the newest models of machine — your software won’t run. If all this is foreign to you and you just clicked past all those ELUAs to get up and functional, please don’t call me when something doesn’t seem right in 2006.
If you haven’t seen the activation notices, then you’re most likely running on either old hardware, older software, or and older operating system version. You might want to be aware that Intel has announced the new 64-bit machines (which means 32-bit software and hardware is going away just like 16-bit did so fast), and you might be surprised to know that support for your software and hardware is ending — this June. This includes games and gaming hardware, much which is already ‘dead.’
But what does “no support”? It means that if someone hacks the operating system or Internet explorer, there won’t be a patch put out for it. If there are web pages with downloadable drivers, they’ll be pulled — take for instance the Microsoft Game Voice that I just recently from BestBuy and is still in the plastic shrinkwrap, which lets you talk to other team players — the Game Voice page is now red, and the driver is gone. And, last but not least, if you update to the forthcoming operating system, you’re hosed on both applications and hardware; you know, the stuff you have that works today.
If you’re thinking “Ahhhh… you said IF, you said IF, …I just won’t upgrade!” then perhaps you should know Microsoft is on to you. That tactic worked in the past, and it hurt Microsoft revenues when you didn’t move from Win98 or Win2000 when commanded. So, hence the solution — cut support on you. Should you need to rebuild your machine, those downloadable updates and drivers won’t be there.
But Microsoft doesn’t have to wait long either. The wave of 64-bit computing is almost upon us, the trend-setting community has been doing it for a while. Microsoft wants to join in the ranks, and software vendors also see this as a means to get on board the cash cow. Subtly, things have shifted from a purchase model to a lease model, with the customer not knowing the duration of the lease.
As the speed of development increases, you’ll soon be getting Word documents you can’t open. The new games on the shelves won’t work for your machine. And by the time you figure this all out, you’ll be stuck with a very expensive problem to fix. If this sounds like a Y2K scare, it should — except this one’s real, and the gears are already in motion already.
There is one bright spot, oddly enough. A glimmer from an unexpected contender: Apple.
Apple had the foresight to recognize that what made it popular was it’s innovative user interface. All the operating system stuff was a boat anchor — and in an astounding move, they tossed it all out, replacing it with a rock solid Open Source operating system solution. Finally, the power of Deep Thought with the gentle interface that doesn’t threaten grandma.
And, while Microsoft has been sitting around trying to figure out ways to lock you into their product line via technology and licensing schemes, Apple has produced software equivalents for all your PC applications, and then to sweeten the deal dropped the price.
Just this Friday, I watched an impulse buy for a MiniMac happen. The base machine is $499, it came with OS 9, OS X Panther, OS X Tiger, and iWorks. For the PC user, this is like getting the fastest and most advanced operating system that’s capable running Old Macintosh programs, New Macintosh programs, Unix programs, X-Windows programs, and the capability to run Windows programs for *all* versions — the bundled software gave a compliant browser, secure mail, instant messaging, address books, editor, movie creator, DVD player, PDF creation and printing, photo viewer with camera integration, 3D graphing scientific calculator, flight monitors, package trackers, weather gizmos, station guides, sound loop editor, CD and DVD burning software; let’s not forget a the page layout program, super presentation software, and oh, the whole Microsoft office suite, which you’d rather be using OpenOffice anyhow. Again, for $499.
In the PC world you can’t BUY that much software for $499, much less get an operating system and a machine thrown in for that cost. And this one literally runs everything.
In less than 12 hours of usage (as it took less than 45 minutes to set the thing up from scratch), it was his primary desktop.
“Can I do Word?” Yes. “Do I have PowerPoint?” Yes, and the Apple version is much better. “Can I do TurboTax?” Absolutely. “Games?” I’m holding Splinter Cell in my hands right now.
And guess what, there’s no licensing fluff or tricks. Apple figures that by making the price so unbelievably low that you aren’t going to steal from them. For instance, if you wanted to go from the single user version to the five-pack version, it’s only $17.50 per additional seat. You are not going to find Microsoft selling additional copies of their operating system for under $20. Ever.
Meanwhile, if you think Microsoft Office is still the killer application that’s tying you to a PC, maybe you should get the same insight that Bill Gates has in watching Google’s recent activities. Though, to be honest, you really gotta try OpenOffice before dismissing it.
Look, I’m not saying ditch your PC and switch to Mac, that wouldn’t make sense. However, there’s a more than compelling set of reasons that one of the worst marketing user exploitation is on the horizon. Apple, seeing it too, has position themselves to make themselves a more than viable option for people on a tight budget that don’t want to give up what they are comfortable with.
Consequently, I’ve written an opinion piece that puts all these things together (with links to source information) about why your next machine will be a Macintosh. It’s worth the read, especially when you find yourself surprised when your PC guru _can’t_ help you.
