What is Leopard Up Against in Vista?
Before too long, Vista will be released upon the world. Will it be a match for Leopard which will follow a few months later? What will Leopard be up against? What will it take for Apple to convince people a Mac running Leopard is better than a PC running Windows? Can Apple do that?
Let me present an email I got from a techie friend in the Windows world:
Well, I can actually say, I really like Vista.
Really fast, prompts with security crap all over the place which I like too.
Hmm, MS have released some good software finally
Of course, Mac users will be gagging on the coffee and it’ll be spluttering out their nose all over their pristine white/black/silver (or white & black) Macs. Especially that line about liking all those security prompts.
I wonder what those prompts say? Maybe:
Hi. Whoops. Hang on, don’t panic. I’m not a virus, this is Vista talking to you. Just a friendly reminder that I might look pretty hot but I’ve actually got more holes in me than Albert Hall. So I’ll pop up every now and again just to reassure you that installing every security program on the planet is a good thing. See you soon!
A few minutes later:
Hi, me again. Am I still running? Huh!! That’s pretty good! You must know something about computers. Anyway, just popped up to say I’ll leave you alone for a bit.
Another few minutes later:
Hi! Guess who? I hope you don’t get sick of me, coz it’s really important I keep popping up and reminding you about all the risks of using me. Next time I’ll tell you a few. Bye-ee!
Just when you’re taking a sip of coffee:
Panic! Panic! Abandon ship! BWARRP! BWARRP! BWARRP! Hey I hope I didn’t scare you. Just testing the ol’ warning system. All part of the security. I am here to serve.
And much too soon:
Hey dude. Can I call you dude? We are old friends now. What you need to know is, basically, I’m totally crap. Looks can be deceiving. But hey - you’re the one using me. Chortle, chortle. Oops, back soon, gotta give some resources to Aero - he needs all the resources he can get. Between you and me, he’s a . . .
Not much later at all:
Smart alec Aero cutting me off before. Anyway, what’s he know? Security’s what’s important. And the best prevention is lots of messages. Me popping up. Lot’s of reminders. That’s the way to go. Coz you gotta be really careful. There’s lots of viruses, infections, spyware, trojans & adware out there - let’s just call it VISTA for short, eh? I kinda like that name. Catchy, eh? Well, better go. See ya soon.
And so on.
It’s funny you know, after installing Windows on my Mac, the thing that struck me most was the pop ups. The little bubbles reminding me to do stuff. They started to drive me nuts. And it seems Vista is going to have more because Windows users like them - and even need them.
I use Growl on the Mac and it’s wonderful. Apple should buy it and integrate it. Growl tells me something has happened that I want to know about.
Windows just nags. The messages in Windows all seem to be reminders. “Don’t forget to get a virus checker” “Don’t forget to activate” “Did you put the cat out?” “Have you got that huge pimple between your shoulders checked out yet?”
So what is Leopard up against?
So okay, we had a bit of fun, but now to the main question.
The other part of that email is that he likes Vista and is impressed. Sorry Leopard. Game over. This scenario is going to be repeated all over the place. Every magazine that reviews Vista, every IT manager that sees it, everywhere you are going to hear how great Vista is. Why? Because it is better and looks much better. (Ironically, it’s better because MS cut so much out of it.)
That’ll be enough for them. I tried telling him it was all copied from OS X but it was as if I hadn’t spoken. No acknowledgment of all. To Windows users, the copying OS X issue is irrelevant. Vista users aren’t going to give a rat’s brass monkey (no I don’t know what that is but it sounds good). They don’t care who invented things first. All that matters is that their system, Windows, does it now.
It’s a good thing that Leopard is coming out after Vista, after the gushing has abated. Otherwise Leopard will be lost in Vista’s adulation.
Lastly, I got an email from him a few days later that simply said:
First bug found. Hard disk corruption for no apparent reason.
The casual acceptance is what strikes me about that. No cursing, no name calling, just an acceptance. Hey, it’s only a hard disk corruption.
Although this is just one guy, it’s a reasonably safe generalization to say it’s fairly reflective of Windows users. We know Mac users stick to Mac because of a sometimes blind devotion, but Windows users are just plain apathetic. Whether it’s a plethora of messages or a behind the times OS or bugs that crash the system or even all the possible infections, it just doesn’t bother them enough. They’ll switch when it hurts enough. And Vista is not going to hurt enough.
And that’s what Leopard is up against.
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Comments
The only situation where it does make sense as far as I can see is for more serious gamers. In that case it is a much better value proposition to build your own custom system and swap retail parts out incrementally for upgrades.
But even an iMac is a rather good non-serious gaming platform currently. Though I would like to see more and better Graphics options on the line.
I love the way Beeblebrox has finally accused a windows user of being a MacTard.
Don’t start drinking the kool-aid, Ben. Sterling said that MS copies from Mac. That part is true.
What makes a Mac-tard is either the complete denial of any specific instances in which Apple has copied anyone else (quoting from Daring Fireball to make this argument on your behalf is automatic qualification) or the outrage at MS allegedly doing nothing but copying the Mac coupled with the casual dismissal when Apple does the same thing.
And I doubt you’ll see Sterling making such an argument.
Correction: I attribute comments to Sterling (for some reason) that should have been attributed to “reluctant windows user.”
My bad.
Perhaps the fundamental difference between an (educated) Mac user and an (educated) PC user is that the PC user thinks it’s a good idea to build your own computer.
First, I think the OPTION of building your own PC and being able to run Linux or Windows on it is a net positive over Apple’s locked-down systems. It’s true that do-it-youselfers are a very tiny minority, but I personally like that option. It gives you much more flexibility in terms of hardware.
Second, this could just as easily apply to installing OS X on ANY PC, not just ones you build yourself. If you have a cheapo PC around and are simply tired of Windows, you could install OS X the way many people have done with Linux; either dual-booting or replacing the OS entirely. I would do that with my current laptop if I could.
Do you know how many hours are wasted assembling, forgetting that screw or jumper, installing the OS, setting things up, downloading patches, downloading updated drivers, Fix setting issues…Buy an Apple product, get high end stuff, turn it on, answer some questions and your good to go.
This is a false argument. The choice is not between building your own PC or buying a Mac. It’s between building your own PC or buying a pre-assembled one. That really has nothing to do with Macs, other than the fact that you can’t build your own Mac at all.
quoting from Daring Fireball to make this argument on your behalf is automatic qualification
Have you ever *read* daring fireball?
Because it is utterly fucking brilliant. It has the most objective and rational discussion of Apple related shenanigans out there. You and Chris Howard are the only people I have ever heard slag it off.
I ask you… why?
I’ve been planning on switching from PC to Mac for over a year. Haven’t done it yet, and it’s not because I’m apathetic. It’s darn expensive to chuck thousands of dollars worth of hardware & software in order to switch platforms. XP has been very reliable for me, and I see no advantage to upgrading—except for the fact that I’m a web designer and I *absolutely need* to have Vista on a test machine.
There are many reasons why people won’t or can’t switch from MS to Mac. Apathy is one reason not to change, but not the most important one. Cost, inconvenience, habit, fear, annoying Mac fanboys, etc. also come in to the equation. It’s hard to change when what you’ve got seems good enough. (How many people are in personal relationships that are less than ideal? Or flat-out harmful?)
In my own case, the Intel conversion really hasn’t helped me. I rely almost exclusively upon the Adobe Creative Suite for my work, so until that’s all sorted out I really can’t justify the switch in a major way. Until then, I’ll be purchasing a MacBook as a way to begin learning my way around OS X. It will be another 6 to 9 months before I can make a full switch.
Fundamental change takes time. The fact that Vista will basically require a new (or virtually new) PC will give some people an opportunity to re-evaluate their OS of choice.
I’m pretty confident that I will ultimately be very happy with my decision to ditch my PCs in favor of Macs. But I am *anything* but apathetic about it—I’ve spent countless hours calculating cost/benefit analyses. It’s a big, big deal to me—my livelihood depends upon my computers. So cut the PC users some slack, OK? We’re not all idiots. Some of us actually are able to use a PC for days, nay *months* at a time without crashes, reinstalls, and all those other things that are supposed to be frequent occurrences with a Windows machine.
I’m always interested to hear people’s personal stories, but I’m a bit leery when someone takes a single conversation and turns it into “a reasonably safe generalization.” Many people will get Vista and love it. Many won’t bother to upgrade. Many will say “screw MS” and never look back. Different strokes, folks, and that’s what makes life interesting.
Of course I’ve read DF. It couldn’t HELP but read it when it was thrown at me every time I pointed out that Apple ripped off Konfabulator.
DF’s argument in defense of Apple on this issue was objective and rational in the same way Rush Limbaugh is objective and rational. In other words, it sounds objective and rational to someone who already agrees with it, but in reality is filled with double-standards, equivocating, and outright bullshit.
Adrienne, you’re exactly where I was about a year and half ago. I use my PCs day in and day out with no problems. No virii, no crashes. I got my work done and I was happy.
I added Macs to my workflow because of Final Cut Pro, not because I was fed up or having problems. And like you, it was a carefully weighed decision due to the heavy cost of getting into Macs. Ultimately, I went with the relatively inexpensive Mac Mini to start with. I’ve since added an Intel iMac.
And like you, I regard the fanboys as mostly a detriment.
I will say to you, however, that I have Vista installed on my iMac and it should make the transition a bit more re-assuring knowing that you have that option. I run my 3D software on it mostly, but at the moment Photoshop and After Effects run MUCH faster in Vista than they do OS X/Rosetta. So I’ll reboot for Vista to use those apps if I’m doing any heavy long-term work.
Beeblebrox,
Thanks for your comments—I’m actually considering getting an iMac as soon as Leopard comes out (well, I’ll wait for the first patch
) I figure I can use my existing CS2 suite with XP installed (I have a full version available) Then when UB CS3 comes out I can (hopefully) do a cross-platform upgrade.
So do you use Bootcamp for your Vista install? It seems kind of silly to have a Mac and be working in Windows all day long… oh well. Like I said, the transition is going to be tough, but it should ultimately be worth it!
What it comes down to and your welcome to quote me on this.
Is it worth the $400 for the OS to install it on a $300 PC? And will the new El-Cheapo PC be $700? And all those crap boxes Walmart/Best buy/Circuit City/Etc.. sells will they be upgraded? A resounding NO screams out…
The PC market as a whole has been cost based. Where the Mac Market is performance based. Period the End. That’s it. Microsoft for some reason wants to bring the PC market back to middle/high end? Forcing users that want more than an updated XP enviroment to fork out cash for a video card, JUST TO RUN THE OS… I’ve got to be the only one sitting here looking this in this manner.
Did you run 98 with 8mb of ram? Do you run XP with 128mb of ram? Do you play Unreal with a 32mb video card? Do you download large (500mb+) files with dial-up?
Adrienne, I hate dual-booting, but right now Parallels, which should soon support 3d acceleration, is emulation and is noticeably slower. I tried Vista in both BC and Parallels and there is no comparison. It’s wicked fast in BC, which has the added benefit of being free. XP should perform just as fast, if not faster.
If I was using less taxing software, I’d consider Parallels, but unfortunately it didn’t work out for me. Ultimately, I think it’s still the better solution - if you’re not in high-end media production.
It’s kind of tough right now for Photoshop users because OS X is not yet supported natively. You could look on Vista in BC as a temporary stop-gap until CS3 comes out, which should be Q1 2007. But if you’re waiting for Leopard, maybe Photoshop will already be out by then and all of this will be moot.
The PC market as a whole has been cost based. Where the Mac Market is performance based. Period the End.
xwiredtva, you can’t just say something completely baseless and silly and then proclaim “Period the End.”
The PC market is simply too big and expansive to narrow it down to any one thing. That’s the big difference here between the two. Some PCs are cost-based, some are not. Alienware is a performance-based machine, not for the cost-conscious by any stretch; whereas eMachines caters to the budget-minded. And there’s everything inbetween.
Apple is getting better about covering the market from cost-based to performance-based, but they are just one company with very few choices.
Forcing users that want more than an updated XP enviroment to fork out cash for a video card, JUST TO RUN THE OS
Again, this simply isn’t true. I ran the Vista compatibility test on my nearly three-year old laptop and it passed. The ONLY thing I won’t be able to utilize is Aero, which is nice but just eye-candy. I also couldn’t run some of the OS X eye-candy on my Mac Mini, but you’d hardly say that Apple was “forcing me to upgrade my graphics card.” That’s preposterous.
DF’s argument in defense of Apple on this issue was objective and rational in the same way Rush Limbaugh is objective and rational. In other words, it sounds objective and rational to someone who already agrees with it, but in reality is filled with double-standards, equivocating, and outright bullshit.
That is, simply, bullshit. If John Gruber has double-standards, you’re Rumsfeld.
There you see, I can accuse too, I must be just as big and clever as you are.
There’s throwing dumb words around (like you’re doing and which you think is what I’m doing) and then there’s an actual argument. I could back up the double-standard accusation against DF if you really want. But I’ve typed it so many times I’m blue in the hands.
But if you reeeeeeally want me to show you why his defense of Apple is hardly objective, full of double-standards, and outright bullshit, I will.