Bill,
It's nice to hear verification of something I've suspected since 1984. I too was one that could geek with the best of them from the late 70's until the introduction of the Mac. At that point (when computer's we're starting to actually be useful to a wide audience) it occured to me that an interface that allowed one to get more application work done would be the wave of the future. It's been an uphill battle ever since. Though there have been many problems emanating from Apple over the years, I always figured the main problem was that "computer savvy" Wintel users never really understood what the MacOS was all about. I mean, even a supergeek needs a solid month or two to fully understand the complete power of the OS. Maybe more. The point is that most folks new "their" OS and didn't get a shot at learning another (and Apple's pricing helped insure things would stay that way.) In any general sense and many specific ones, the MacOS has always been, and still is, significantly superior.
One thing that continues to concern me, thinking about the previous post about the increasing Japanese market share, is the following possible scenario: That essentially, "Americans" will continue to fail to see the creative and productive benefits of the MacOS and continue down the road to creating a Wintel world in the West. But the Japanese, as well as other Asians, will embrace this technology and run with it, creating one more example of Americans handing over a premier technology without so much as a fight. Of course this would benefit Apple, but I would rather see the World embrace this great tool, especially since it was created in the West. It may just be that when I comes to long term thinking and the ability of a culture to recognize elegance, we just don't measure up to the Asians. I always hoped that after our experience with the Detroit auto makers, that we had learned something that would enable us to hold on to the software market. But the way the West has responded to the MacOS makes me wonder.
Scott |
