“In the struggle between Apple and Microsoft for the minds and hearts of computer users, clearly Microsoft has come out ahead. Despite its second-place finish in the operating-system race, however, Apple continues to fight and win key popularity battles on the secondary hardware and music fronts,” Walaika K. Haskins writes for Sci-Tech Today. “To its credit, Apple continues to defy certain ‘expert’ predictions that it will fail, particularly with the company setting the industry standard for music downloads and portable music players. In addition, with analysts estimating that as many as 500,000 Windows users have switched to Mac under what observers call the ‘iPod halo effect,’ the reports of Apple’s demise clearly have been overstated.”
“What lessons can we all learn from the company’s success? According to technology experts, the differences between Apple and other manufacturers can be summed up in one phrase: Keep it simple and innovate,” Haskins writes. “One major difference between Apple and Microsoft might be the type of person that each company perceives its users to be. ‘It’s almost like Microsoft is designing for geeks and Apple is designing for real people,’ said Joe Wilcox, a senior analyst at Jupiter Research. Wilcox said that, in terms of functionality, Microsoft’s approach produces interfaces that are too complicated. You have to plug in something that launches a wizard, he explained. Then you have to go through several steps to get a device to complete a first-time configuration. ‘Whereas Apple’s common-man approach is ‘you plug it in and it works,” said Wilcox.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Macintosh. It just works. The vast majority of personal computer users would be far better off, happier, and more productive with their personal computing experience if they dumped their Windows PCs today and got themselves Apple Macs instead. As we’ve written before: “Apple teaches computers about people. Microsoft teaches people about computers. Apple’s way is better for people.”
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MS has the minds, yes. But I doubt they have many hearts.
Oh boy, here we go
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“It Just Works” Oh, were it only so.
If it just works, why do I have to pay so much to ensure somebody at Apple will talk to me about all the times it doesn’t work and why do I keep getting all these notices from Apple about the things I have to do to keep it working.
It does work better than the systems used by 96% of the population who own and/or operate personal computers. But, it does break and it does so with regularity and predictibility – especially Apple’s own software products, like parts of iLife, that Apple refuses to support in spite of thousands of voices asking for help. Don’t believe me, check out the discussions boards on Apple’s own web site. How can they keep ignoring all these people who have paid good money for products that do not perform as promised? Freeking amazing.
“It Just Works” is a lie.
if you want to know how a computer works, buy a PC. If you don’t give a shit, then buy a Mac.
Apple is not only setting the standard for music downloads but also the operating system. M$ waits to see what Apple does and then slaps themselves in the forehead and wishes they thought of it. Then they begin to come up with ways to copy it, but first they have to bugger up the idea in some insane way to make it more of a geeky, non-intuitive, ugly thing. The last step is marketing. How do we make this look like we created the whole concept? In this, the relatively minor market share of Apple and the ignorance of the masses become useful.
The above copying process takes about 6 years.
“Apple’s Mac vs. Microsoft’s Windows”
If you’re going to compare Apples to rotting Onions, then it shoud be OS X Tiger vs. Windows XP.
Johnny,
Nothing is perfect. As you say in your post, Apple’s Mac is as close to “It Just Works” as the world has today – by a long shot, too.
Contrasting my experiences with Windows vs. Macs, I think “It Just Works” for the Mac vs. the nightmare of Windows sums up the whole 10+ years that I’ve been working with both quite nicely.
MDN brilliance:
“Apple teaches computers about people. Microsoft teaches people about computers. Apple’s way is better for people.”
You HAVE to know how a computer works in order to use a pc. With a mac, you don’t have to know how it works, you just get stuff done and take it for granted most of the time.
MS should have used “Geek Ready” instead. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
‘It’s almost like Microsoft is designing for geeks…’
Are you f’ing serious? Come on, I resent that. I’m a geek. Linux is designed for geeks, not Windows. I don’t really know who Windows is designed for, because its design is crap.
I am far less productive using Windows at my current job than I am at home on my Mac or at my previous job where I was a Linux administrator and ran Linux on my desktop.
Johnny–
“If it just works, why do I have to pay so much to ensure somebody at Apple will talk to me about all the times it doesn’t work and why do I keep getting all these notices from Apple about the things I have to do to keep it working.”
Why does mine work unassisted and you have troubles? Some maroons even have a hard time driving.
Johnny,
Wow. I’m amazed at your story. I work at a company where we have used Macs exclusively since 1987. We have been through literally hundreds of machines. Care to guess how many times we’ve had to call Apple for tech support or send a machine back? Zero, zilch, nada, empty set. Not a bad track record. If we’ve been through hundreds of machines over the course of 20 years, and you are having these problems with your Macs, Apple must have it out for you personally.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” /> BTW, we are still using some beige Macs and they are still going strong.
What am I doing wrong? I’ve been a Mac user since 2001, and I’ve never had a virus, rarely had a system crash, had only two kernel panics on my Intel iMac (both when I left it on sleep overnight), never had to call Apple tech support…why am I such a loser?
I set up my own Airport network in 15 minutes…and it would’ve been 10 if I’d realized I needed to reset my cable modem instead of swearing for 5 minutes.
Yes, Apple does “just work”…
MW=instead; I’d rather get stuff done on my computer instead of worrying about viruses and settings…
If you need help driving, or keeping your Mac running and on the road, then you should never have been given a driving license in the first place…!!!
Apple’s Mac v. Microsoft’s Woindow:
Macintosh refers to hardware and Microsoft does not make comparable hardware, so there is no comaprison.
A better comparison would be:
Apple Macintosh running OS X 10.4.6 v. Alienware running Microsoft XP (SP3)
Not a bad article, but even Wilcox suffers from a perception problem. He writes: “Apple’s common-man approach is ‘you plug it in and it works.”
Why is the “common-man” approach (vs the geeky approach?). Shouldn’t this just be the common-sense approach?
Dear MDN,
Microsoft has always enjoyed a great relationship with Apple, as competitors and allies. We have enjoyed contributing to the development of Mac experience with our suite of Office products for the Mac, MSN Messenger for Mac, and Virtual PC. No doubt, our relationship will continue be beneficial for both companies now and for the future.
That being said, we feel your characterizations of Microsoft have been unfair to say the least, but hey, it’s business. And I don’t think I look anything like Uncle Fester.
Enjoy reading your articles,
Steve Ballmer
John L. “Johnny” Pierson,
If you’re going to make a statement like that, please back it up with “specific” examples of what you’re talking about. As a Mac user of 17+ years, I can say that Macs have been pure joy, especially after OS X was released. Yes, it has its shortcomings, but they are few and far between in comparison to the headaches of Windows PCs.
Windows is not designed for geeks. It’s designed for people who do not value their time and who pride themselves on their ability to suffer. I’m serious — have you ever noticed how PC zealots will brag and brag about their ability to know the arcane depths of Windows and figure out how to make things work that shouldn’t have been broken in the first place? If you add it all up, all that brainpower spent storing this unnecessary information, and all the time spent figuring it out add up to one big productivity decline for a business, and for a nation. While Windows fanboys count their scars and brag about how many DLLs dance on the head of a pin, the rest of the world gets things done.
Why couldn’t this guy write this article for some bigger magazine than “Sci-Tech Today”? More people need to read this article.
POSTER:
You got it 0 correct man. In addition, lots of them actually enjoy tinkering with it. It’ like a sense of purpose thing. Like if all machines ran great, then they could not justify the “geekage”.
Macs are for people that care about getting therir stuff done, not fiddling with hardware and software glitches, Linux is for Geeks, Windows is for idiots that refuse to listen to reason. Windows is for retards (apologies to the retarded public that this does not apply to).
“It just works” for me!
MW = himself
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as in, “It just works” with FUDsucker Proxy as himself
or is it playing with himself?
My 12 inch PB G4 is still going strong after nearly three years. Dropped it twice too!!!! I post from it now. Muahahahahahaha!!!!!
MDN: “Apple teaches computers about people. Microsoft teaches people about computers. Apple’s way is better for people.”
Those words were stupid the first time and still are.
BTW, Microsoft does not make computers.