An Alternate View of the Intel Universe
Bill, just some thoughts in reply to your iMac posting, followed by some general comments:
iMac:
The CPU -It is my understanding that with the Virtual PC software, the iMac runs Windows at Pentium II speeds. The iMac's .25m parallel processing PowerPC CPU laptop chip process up to 40% more work than even a faster Pentium II. (It also draws 1/4 the power, generating 1/8 the heat while doing so.)
The Monitor -For better or worse, the built-in monitor is part of the cheap iMac package, not a cheap extra. I only mention this in case some of those cheap Wintel clones you mentioned do not include a cheap monitor in the prices quoted.
The OS -The OS used is fully Plug-n-Play, is user transparent, is easier to learn, and presents the most pleasantly non-technical computer user experience yet possible. In fact, the Mac OS is often said to be as easy to use as a toy, and yet it is at least as fully functional as any other OS yet marketed for personal use.
The Marketing Vision -The Mac product's marketing has positioned the Mac computer line as an alternative mainstream computing platform from day one, and it has done so without apology.
Software Compatibility -As a low cost clone of existing Mac G3 computers, the iMac carries on the long tradition of backward compatibility for software programs. Virtually all of the 12,000 commercially available Mac programs run swift and sure on the new iMac product. (My 1989 Wingz v1.03a spreadsheet program, for instance, runs quite well, thank you.)
The Wintel Advantage -As for Wintel having won away the hearts and minds of Mac users by virtue of superior OS and Hardware, there is little evidence of this. The Apple monopoly stumbled, plain and simple. It can happen. The winning Wintel advantage is mostly that Wintel is the mandated OS in a world caught up in computational orthodoxy. But, that's human nature, and I for one won't fight it.
Comment;
If it is any help to you, that is how some people think on some of the issues you brought up. Please do not believe Mac folks are crazy or isolated. We just have slightly different points of view. In fact, these other perspectives were created by the very success of the Wintel platform itself.
Making choices creates alternatives. Basically, the body of necessary trade-off decisions Wintel rightly had to make along the way is what created the prosperous & secure non-Wintel computer community.
If you think about it a little, you may realize that Motorola, Apple, and IBM are no real threat to Intel as a standard. In order for Intel to succeed as well as it has, it has had to make some sacrifices along the way to maximize its potential. The roads not taken have created the smaller alternate computing universe seen as a secure business opportunity to the non-Wintel firms. Intel is doing great by doing what its doing. Apple and its little iMac is doing great by doing what its doing. The whole thing comes down to the fact that, as the California 49ers used to say, "You just can't get ALL the gold in the stream."
Hal
PS: Intel makes a fine investment for me. My Mac orientation helps to keep me objective by not falling totally in love with the stock. Have a nice weekend. HR
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