“Since OSX, Apple users have had a taste of mainstream-OS agony, enduring pay-to-play service packs like ‘Jaguar’ and ‘Panther.’ Late last month, they were treated to a critical security flaw, along with the griping that comes from security professionals when the folks at headquarters don’t treat it as seriously as they should. The most severe of the threats was patched only this morning, with little fanfare,” Seth Jayson writes for The Motley Fool.
Full article, mostly concerned with reports that Microsoft has decided that the 20 most common pirate keys would be shut out from Windows XP SP2, here.
MacDailyNews Take: Jaguar and Panther were not “service packs.” They were not “point upgrades” in the most widely-used sense, either. These were major new versions of the Mac OS X opertaing system. Apple’s insistence in using a confusing “point” naming system continues to confuse the easily-confused and those unfamiliar with the Mac OS X operating system. Mac OS X has had five major versions so far: Mac OS X Public Beta, Mac OS X 10.0 “Cheetah,” Mac OS X 10.1 “Puma,” Mac OS X 10.2 “Jaguar,” and currently Mac OS X 10.3 “Panther,” with Mac OS X 10.4 “Tiger” to be previewed at WWDC on June 28th. These are not “point updates” as anyone who has used them easily understands. Also, overblowing a so-called “critical security flaw” that actually caused little or no damage in the wild is foolish nonsense. And finally, we’re “Mac users,” not “Apple users.” One is a platform and the other is a company. The only “Apple users” we know are Microsoft’s R&D department.
Now, Mike Ron and Carl (our own little 3 stooges), your words hurt ssssoooooo much. HA. When the only thing you boys can bash about Apple in their Advertising, its really really sad.
A propos SP2 blocking out pirated copies etc — it is kind of funny. One of the price advantages of windows used to be that it was “for free”. People buying a computer wouldn’t have to buy any software if their social network was larger than one (excluding themselves). One of windows strengths has always been it’s low cost (zero)…
Apple is way too small, relative to the PC world, to take on Microsoft directly. It’s not fear, it’s prudence, as discretion is the better part of valor. Their advances have to come in areas where their competition is smaller than them, like the iPod and ITMS. And what about the switch campaign? Didn’t really get a lot of people switching, did it?
I know a guy who is running XP on a nice Sony PC, and got so many viruses and Trojans that he couldn’t even get on-line to download any fixes. He paid someplace $80 to clean it up, and the first day he had it back, he got the Sasser virus and some other stuff, so he’s down again. When I suggest to him he ought to get a Mac and leave all his troubles behind, he just looks at me blankly. He’s got money, so that’s not a problem, it just hasn’t occured to him yet. Maybe some day he’ll get curious enough to drop in the Apple store here in Seattle and check it out, who knows? Meanwhile, it’s his loss, not mine, so I don’t worry about it.
It does seem like Windroids are getting desperate though, seeing the Mac world passing them by, like a Ferrari passing a Hyundai.
I am an apple user – I still have my 2c and 2GS set up, and I still use them. Admittedly their use is maily to get data from them (through a 7600/200) to a format that then can be used on other systems. Oh, and *some* games…
well no metter whar operating system you use it will do the job (evntually in windows environment) the reason why people go for apple is because a)its better operating system, even pc mag. admits to it and b) apples hardweare e.g. computers are far superior build then any of the pcs will ever be.
Hey, looking forward to the Tiger Service Pack guys.
I don’t remember Microsoft giving away copies of 95,98,ME,NT, or XP for that matter. Also for a full copy of any one of those brand new was $300.00 retail.
$129.00 for OSX is a really great deal. Security flaws that were never broken into in the real world doesn’t mean anything. Windows has caused millions if not billions of dollars to companies that have gotten bugs,viruses,trojans, and worms because of security problems. Name one company that was effected that was using OSX of any version? Well I’m waiting……….
I recently heard a senior financial executive refer to himself as an “IBM user.” I asked him if he had a thinkpad. He said no, she just meant a PC. Of course, I couldn’t help myself but to explain that Macs are Personal Computers (PCs), and that the G5 processors in mine are made by IBM. I said my Apple is more IBM than his Intel/Dell/Microsoft machine.
I bet he thought about that conversation at least once or twice since then (I have.)
This was my response to Seth:
Seth,
You love to hear from Apple fans, so you’ll love this!
I just want to take issue with you regarding some fundamental issues and inaccuracies in the article quoted in the subject of this e-mail.
Let’s deal with each item individually: –
[I]Word came out of Redmond that, in fact, the 20 most common pirate keys would be shut out from SP2. Microsoft critics wasted no time in venting their spleen.[/I]
Well, let’s analyse the Apple way of dealing with this problem – no activation keys, no serial numbers, no forced ‘route march’ to an equivalent of Passport. Apple relies on the integrity of its customers to ensure that there is minimal piracy, and Macintosh users – who, according to research, tend to be higher earning and better educated – largely honour that trust.
As if that honour-based system – which supplies a single copy of Panther for a mere $129 – were not enough, Apple also makes it possible for up to five computers in a single household or address to upgrade to Panther for ONLY $199. That’s right, five computers can upgrade for a mere $40.00 each. Compare this to the fees payable to Microsoft for five computers to upgrade to Windows XP Professional (the functional equivalent of OS X 10.2 Jaguar), and I think you’ll find that Apple deliver by far the better value.
Even more tellingly, volume users of Apple’s current OS (e.g. those companies and entities with 10 or more users) enjoy similar value benefits when engaged in the Apple Maintenance Program (AMP).
Between 10 and 99 seats, a company can upgrade to Panther for $119/seat, and can get free upgrades for 36 months for $207/seat – a total of $326. Given that Apple appears dedicated to issuing major point releases (e.g. Jaguar [10.2], Panther [10.3]) on a near 12-month cycle, a company could expect to receive the current product (Panther) in addition to three major point releases: this equates to $84.00 per upgrade.
And if you have over 1000 seats, that cost reduces to $246, or $61 for each point upgrade.
In either of these last two cases, go to Microsoft and ask them what $84.00 buys you. Actually, have some fun – ask what $61 will buy.
But I can tell what you’re next issue is going to be�
[I]Since OSX, Apple users have had a taste of mainstream-OS agony, enduring pay-to-play service packs like “Jaguar” and “Panther.”[/I]
An interesting interpretation, but sadly as inaccurate as an Iraqi intelligence report.
Unfortunately you have been sucked into the Microsoft view of semantics and Jaguar and Panther were not service packs in the sense that our friends in Washington State use the phrase.
Panther contained around 150 genuinely new features including�
Revisions and improvements to the Finder, including the inclusion of inbuilt archive creation and secure file deletion
Expos�
iChat AV
FileVault
Fast User Switching
Revisions and improvements to Mail, including IMAP support for Exchange and support for e-mail threads
Revisions and improvements to iDisk for .Mac users
A massively optimised version of Preview which is probably the fast PDF document viewer in the mainstream world
Font Book
Built in Fax client
As I cannot find publicity material related to Jaguar, I cannot be so specific about the number of new features. However, they included�
The original version of iChat
Bluetooth
Inkwell
Personal Firewall
Quartz Extreme
Rendezvous
And both of these versions contained full versions of developer tools which are there to inspire the next generation of professional and hobbyist programmers to use their imagination to create applications that exploit OS X to the full.
So I paid $260 (well around �200 actually) and when I plug my generic no-name Taiwanese BlueTooth adapter into my three-year old PowerBook (which is running Panther as well as the machine I’ve just bought for the CEO of one of my clients), do you know what happens?
Everything that should!
I can sync my phone’s phonebook with Address Book, send SMS messages through the Address Book, receive pictures from my friend’s camera phone, and sync with BlueTooth equipped PDAs.
My friend, who has a Sony Vaio, a Sony Cli� and a Sony-Ericsson T610, cannot do any of these things because he can’t make sense of the Sony support web site and none of the functionality is there straight out of the box. And he gave up trying after a week, because he has a life.
So, as a result, he has an account on my Macintosh so he can come here and back up his phone – which took all of two minutes to set up.
A service pack in the Mac OS X world is normally signified as a minor point release (i.e. 10.2.3 to 10.2.4 or 10.3.1 to 10.3.2). A Macintosh service pack invariably delivers performance or reliability improvements (sometimes, if you’re really lucky, both) and is, without exception, free of charge.
Now, Microsoft can hype SP2 as much as it likes – but the reality is that, for the most part, XP Service Pack 2 will mainly deliver the kind of stability and security that Macintosh users have enjoyed since the introduction of X.
In other words, the Personal Firewall will be set to be proscriptive as opposed to totally permissive. You finally be able to block pop-ups in Internet Explorer. And spyware and adware will find it more difficult to insinuate its way onto your system.
Well, whooop-de-doo – it’s only taken over two years of grief and anguish for home and business users and millions of dollars of wasted resource time for small business owners around the world.
In reality, the next functionality release for Microsoft desktop operating system customers will be XP Reloaded or whatever name MS’s marketing department is currently using. And that is just a cosmetic stepping stone to the much-delayed Longhorn which may appear sometime in 2006, but is more likely to surface in 2007.
By which time, I will be using the full power of Mac OS 10.6.
[I]Late last month, they were treated to a critical security flaw, along with the griping that comes from security professionals when the folks at headquarters don’t treat it as seriously as they should. The most severe of the threats was patched only this morning, with little fanfare.[/I]
Granted, Apple’s public acknowledgment of the issues were perhaps less than optimally candid. However, criticising the manner in which the Security Update was released seems a little one-sided, seeing as Microsoft release their equivalents with arguably less fanfare as there simply is too much information to take in on a regular basis, especially for the home user.
If you have your Macintosh’s Software Update app to review daily (the sensible setting for broadband) or weekly (the setting for dial-up), you’d be all of seven days from installing the update. And that’s the fourth security update since April 6th, which tends to imply that Apple does take the issue of security seriously.
And just to close out, Seth: how many true OS X viruses are there in the wild? Zero, None, Nada. Whilst Windows can claim over 80,000 viruses, plus hundreds of pieces of spyware and adware.
I don’t mind genuine criticism: I personally find Apple’s marketing campaigns inane and irrelevant, and I want to see better promotion of the benefits of using OS X and iLife and Final Cut Express and Keynote and the list goes on. But your piece was, in my opinion, ill-researched and little more than a rehashing of the canards and red herrings that MS likes to pump out as FUD through its frontline media stooges.
So there you go, just one man’s opinion and your POV is still your perogative.
Seth is @ foolseth@yahoo.com
MCCFR
It is more than 85000
hundreds is more close to 26000 (spyware/adware etc)
If somebody wants to have holes then buy good old Swiss cheese instead of Microsoftian holes
Oh I forgot!
Longhorn BBQ party at my place!
MOoo!
Motely Morons have proven themselves to lack objectiveness. People who subscribe to their service are wasting their money because they are only getting disclaimers, herd-instinct positions, or biased opinions. That money would be better spent on a magazine subscription like BusinessWeek or actual investment, even on a penny stock. There are better sources of information around that are free. So, give it up!
chill kids, he’s obviously intentional ribbing Mac/Apple non-winblows users.
I sent Seth the following message.
I am sure you have received plenty of Emails on how wrong you are on Mac OS X “service packs” that are actually new versions of the operating system. Once you buy windows you don’t get all further releases. It is sad when one speaks without knowledge on a website known for it’s wisdom.
I agree with Jack A that this Fool reported was reaching to find criticism (of course, they’ll tell you to invest in Apple while knocking it – are they hedging?)
But MCCFR wins the thread with his letter – that is exactly what I would expect to see from a Mac user – a well-reasoned response to points made, and credit where credit is due. Well said! Wonder if it will get through to him? Would love to know if he responds back!
“A massively optimised version of Preview which is probably the fast PDF document viewer in the mainstream world”
I didn’t see this until 10.3.4 which apparently included some optimizations for my video card (Rage 128 Pro). Now I can fly through PDFs that used to slow me to a crawl. It’s not bad when my 1999 model Mac G4 just keeps getting faster and more stable with every OS update.