Take the No Windows-Booting Pledge
Mac users have a lot of strange habits. We are known to have rituals when we unpack our latest machines. We will argue passionatelyabout the virtue of one menu bar item (over whether even using menu bar items is mac like) over another for hours on end. And yes, we will even create websites dedicated to discussing the minutia of the Apple experience.
But perhaps the biggest way that we define ourselves is in what we are not (Beeblebrox, affectionally, is not included in this generalization). We are not Windows users. Adamantly NOT. Everything that Windows represents, bloat-ware, an inconsistent user experience, an unrefined UI is what we Mac users are not.
Which is why the latest obsession to hit the Mac community is one that I find so odd. That being booting Windows natively. I am writing this from a brand new MacBook Pro (just got it today, in fact). It, so far, appears to be a beautiful machine. The screen is bright as heck, the processor is zippy. OS X runs beautifully within its dual core Intel framework.
And yet so many people out there want to boot Windows on this machine? Why oh why, I ask. I can understand, even respect the hackers who want to do it out there to see if it can be done. But the fact that this seems to be so popular (there are sites, wikis, forums dedicated to just this one task) seems to me to bode ill for the Mac experience.
If OS X is so darn freakin’ good why do people want Windows on their Mac. Buy a Dell, at least its ugliness will match the ugliness of Windows. Virtual PC was already enough of a weird thing, but booting Windows on a Mac? Sacrilege, I say.
Sure, I can hear already all the good responses. Like there is the real estate program I want to be able to run that is Windows only, or, look at all the cool games on Windows. But these arguments will lead to a further undermining of the Mac platform. Developers will just think, hey, if a Mac person wants it they can just dual-boot so screw the Mac platform. Not good.
So, everyone out there who is reading this I want you to take the Apple Matters pledge of allegiance to the Mac platform. Pledge that you won’t even think about trying to dual-boot your mac, now and forever. Amen.
del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Slashdot
StumbleUpon
Comments
I’ve got three words for you:
Windows Only Programs
Now we can have the best of both worlds, I don’t see a downside to this as a consumer.
I totaly agree with the “why run windows” arguement. But if the next version of OSX has a Virtualizer and can boot into Windows (like Classic and OS 9), why not. This isn’t a Microsoft vs. Apple situation. Its more like Dell vs. Apple. No matter I’ve never needed to run Windows, even in Virtual PC, so personally I won’t be dual booting. But for all those gamers that don’t want two machines this is good news. Although there is an arguement for companies like Adobe not making Mac versions of thier software, I really don’t buy it. If that was the case we’d still be running OS 9. I never bought into the fear mongering that went on when Apple switched to Intel, it was a good move for Apple and the Mac.
TT,
Notice I wrote “probably” don’t.
Nearly every Windows program has a Mac equivalent. Most people tend to rely on “that” program (and hence the feeling that running Windows can somehow make their world a better place) rather than seeking the ‘functionality’ of the program in question.
I’m not denying that dual booting has its place, but I’m theorizing, based off of my own experience as a switcher, that most who have a need for “that one app” can find the exact same functionality in a Mac equivalent rather than booting into Windows to get it.
And I have a serious question . . .
Why is it that everyone keeps bringing up CAD software as if we all use it everyday (I apologize to those who do —you are not my intended audience with this quip)? Is the entire Mac community suddenly made up of engineers? 99.999999999999999999999999999999999999% of people who use computers have never even seen CAD software in action other than on the Discovery Channel, much less have a need to use it.
A better challenge, Hadley, is to have Mac users seek out the functionality they desire from “that one app” on the Mac platform and ensure that there are no Mac equivalents before resorting to the sick world of dual booting into Windows. I know that there isn’t any functionality that I need that can’t be found on the Mac.
I have a pretty extensive post on myy thoughts about Boot Camp on my blog at http://www.macademic.net/blog
e:leaf,
There is no programming on the Mac platform for performing any HVAC load calculation. Needed to size heating and A/C.
Any Website using .net programming and requiring IE 6 and above is not totally functional. Example GPS live traking on fleet vehicles. Site can be viewed but style sheets do not match up, and many link/button feature don’t show up to utilize the browser based web application to its fullest extent. Incidentally there are several online retailers that use this as well, so even something like shopping those sites are impossible.
As far as graphic apps, CAD programming, Vectorworks is Mac supported and to me it is probally the best 3D CAD app on the market.
If MS would stop being so anal and work on being more compatible (specifically with the internet apps).
Cellular phone software is limited on Mac, especially Nextel.
I could go on and on, but I won’t. There are apps that are specific to Windows only. Some people need them, NO alternatives. Until then I will be using Windows sucky ass OS like every one else only for such apps.
Like mentioned above, if you don’t like the idea then don’t use it. Don’t belittle those of us who have no choice.
No belittling from me.
I don’t deny that programs exist that are not on the Mac. But I do assert that much of the functionality people desire (and believe is only on Windows) is to be found on the Mac.
e:leaf,
“99.999999999999999999999999999999999999% of people who use computers have never even seen CAD software”
You could come up with a more believable number than that.
Hey, I am not saying CAD users are the important group for Mac. Just so you know. Almost everything (mechanically function which include your PC and Mac to a car) you see in front you was design in CAD programs. I wouldn’t be surprised that the designers working on Apple product sometimes need access to PC programs to complete their jobs.
So, why don’t you just come out your little cube and try to understand what other people’s need from a computer. At the end we are all Mac fans, just with different needs.
Amen. I will never boot windows on a Mac. That would defeat the purpose of owning a Mac. I will also break the arms of my friends who try to dual boot their iMac’s.
Then again, there are sure to be functional equivalent program in Mac version. But in many cases, there is no REPLACEMENT of what has been embedded in the PC world… At least not right away.
If company A has been using X program on PC for decades, how do you expect them to switch to an “equivalent” version on Mac without screw up the process structure.
e:leaf, if you were the company owner or IT manager, what would you do to bring Mac to your this company? Fire every one to trash all the PC to start from the scratch?? Think!
But perhaps the biggest way that we define ourselves is in what we are not (Beeblebrox, affectionally, is not included in this generalization).
Ironically, I will probably not be using Boot Camp at all. I use my current machines more or less simultaneously, so shutting down my Mac in order to boot up Windows when I have two perfectly fine Windows machines sitting right next to me makes no sense.
I do agree with Hadley on his main point, however, that the hysterical excitement about running Windows on a Mac from a bunch of avowed Windows-haters seems a bit incongruous. I don’t really understand it, especially when one would expect a little more crisis of faith. Apple was never going to switch to Intel. Apple was never going to boot Windows. Now they’ve done both.
At any rate, I am glad to see that the hysteria seems to be dying down somewhat, with most people now restating what I said yesterday amidst the insane hooplah, that this product is primarily for existing Mac users who need to run XP-only apps without the need for a seperate Windows box.
Dingo:“I will also break the arms of my friends who try to dual boot their iMac’s.”
I hope you’re serious about it. Really. Otherwise you’re just a stupid zealot.
Scott:“This is the kind of mentality that makes Mac users look bad.”
Sure. That’s the very reason I’ll never buy a Mac. There are some other reasons, but I don’t really want to explain anyone why they’re so perfect. So I’ll just stick to iPods.
And, by the way, dual-booting is a pain. I’ve tried it with Linux, it’s really not worth it. So there’s absolutely no reason to be afraid that developers won’t make software for Macs. (Except for games, of course).
You know, it’s this kind of thing that makes me laugh… all of you zealots out there think you’re so clever, thinking if you take some stupid pledge from some Apple evangelist site, you’ll be screwing Microsoft. But you’re not.
The truth is, people need Windows. Contrary to what you believe, not every application in the world is Mac-compatible. And by creating Boot Camp, Apple has not only attracted potential buyers but has also opened up a huge opportunity to increase marketshare. So what’s really going on is business smart, and as far as I’m concerned, that’s great for Apple.
So to you people who think that you’re really hurting Microsoft: stop. PC users don’t care. Mac users don’t care, and anybody who actually takes a second to look at sites like this think you look like morons. And Scott is right: It’s this kind of cult-like mentality that makes Mac users look bad. So stop it with all of these idiotic posts and stop worshipping Apple like it’s your whole life; they may make great products, but it’s just a company, for god sake.
...oh, and by the way:
“What a stupid moronic idea this pledge is…”
He’s right.
Apple has not only attracted potential buyers but has also opened up a huge opportunity to increase marketshare.
It should be noted, and as someone else pointed out, the marketshare increase would come at the expense of hardware manufacturers, not Microsoft.
If someone buys a Mac to boot XP and then buys XP to run on it (or even if they already have it), the net gain in OS marketshare is pretty much nil.
I take the pledge!
“Developers will just think, hey, if a Mac person wants it they can just [use a cheap PC] so screw the Mac platform.”
They’ve been doing that for decades, what else is new?
“If someone buys a Mac to boot XP and then buys XP to run on it (or even if they already have it), the net gain in OS marketshare is pretty much nil”
Beeblebrox, the market is not smart enough to separate the Mac users who run Mac OS X and the Windows users who run Windows on their Mac hardware.
All the market is going to look at is whether the Mac has 5% or 10% or 15% marketshare.
The argument that the Mac installed base, for example, numbers around 40 million or so flies by the heads of virtually everyone except Mac users. The market, as a whole, is too simplistic than to look at anything beyond the bottom-line marketshare number.
Which is why this pledge is ill considered. Every Intel-owning Mac user should pledge to INSTALL Boot Camp, so that when the next Windows dweeb comes up to them and say, “Well, the Mac can’t run….” you just hit Restart, hold down the option key, and sit back.
For those who think Boot Camp is still a bad idea, just head over to daringfireball.net and read John Gruber’s assessment. Boot Camp makes XP the new “legacy” OS a la Classic. It’s a set-up to make Windows obsolete!
Just take a look at Boot Camp’s Windows logo - Apple altered the logo so that there is a big fat “X” located squarely in the center. That should give you an idea of how Apple is positioning Boot Camp.