“You’ve no doubt seen Apple’s infamous Switcher ads. Who hasn’t? In ad after ad, a Windows PC–played to humorous effect by affable comedian and “The Daily Show” contributor John Hodgman–is played the fool by Mac, a barely tolerable student slacker played by Justin Long (who I’m sure is a fine guy in real life). The Switcher ads are painfully effective, though anyone with even a modest understanding of what’s really going on today in the PC marketplace will tell you that Apple’s claims often stretch the bounds of credibility,” Paul Thurrott writes for SuperSite for Windows.
MacDailyNews Take: How about some examples and proof of Apple stretching the bounds of credibility in their “Get a Mac” (not “Switcher”) ads, you ask? Thurrott, predictably, offers none.
Thurrott continues, “So why do I mention this here? After all, as a Windows IT Pro UPDATE reader, you’re ostensibly an IT pro of some kind. What could these consumer-oriented bits of fluff possibly have to do with work? …My feeling is that consumer- and business-oriented technologies have been cross-pollinating since the dawn of the PC era… The reason this is important to IT pros is that the cross-pollination… is in danger of reaching a tipping point.”
These Apple Mac ads are, Thurrott continues, “in my mind, to computing what the ‘swift boat’ ads were to the 2004 US presidential election. To date, Microsoft has had an unspoken rule about its competition in the consumer OS space: It pretends there isn’t any. But with Apple making steady ground in OS market share since Steve Jobs returned to the company, especially in key markets like the US, consumer sales, and, most especially, the mobility market, it’s time for Microsoft to respond. My hope is that the company can make a more effective and more aggressive response than the one that sunk John Kerry’s presidential aspirations four years ago.”
“Microsoft has been notably silent, allowing Apple to control the discussion and let perception become reality. And honestly, why would Microsoft even license Exchange to Apple? Are they crazy? Between this and all the other ActiveSync licensing, they’ve effectively ceded the smart phone market to their competitors,” Thurrot writes. “What’s next? A license to run Windows applications on the Mac?”
MacDailyNews Take: Rhetorical question, we know, but we already have a license. We can run Windows apps on our Macs already.
Thurrott continues, “It’s time for Microsoft to respond to the challenges it faces with leadership and authority. And if you care about the systems you support now, your jobs, and your very livelihood, you might do demand the same from the company. All of us have backed the same horse. And from what I can tell, that horse looks like it’s ready for the proverbial pasture.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Demand all you want, but just because you’ve backed the wrong horse doesn’t mean you can force it to win. Your horse is lame (always has been). The race is over. Most people don’t see it, yet, but it’s over. Apple Macs are the only universal computing systems available today (outside of Psystar 
). Apple’s Macs run the world’s largest library of software. Even Paul Thurrott himself has already recommended that people buy Apple’s iPhone 3G and also recommended that people buy Apple Macs, calling them “the ultimate PC.” For Jobs’ sake, even John Dvorak is advising that people buy Macs!
The “Get a Mac” ads are effective, but just like the so-called “swift boat” ads, they are not the main reason for success of one and the failure of another. Apple Mac is gaining converts because:
• People are sick and tired of Windows frustration
• They can find Macs much easier now due to the growing network of Apple Retail stores
• People are becoming more tech savvy
• Apple Macs are superior personal computers than Windows PCs
• People are finally realizing that Apple offers better support and higher customer satisfaction
• The iPod (and iPhone) has introduced or reintroduced people to Apple quality
• Word of mouth from family, friends, and co-workers
• There are more reasons, but we’ve made our point: it’s not just “Get a Mac” ads driving the change.
IT people, the best way to protect your livelihoods is not to demand that a massive bureaucracy devoid of effective leadership somehow magically begin, after 30 years, to create quality customer-focused products while obsessing over every minute detail, but to instead stop throwing up roadblocks and perpetuating outdated, laughable myths, and embrace the superior Mac OS X platform – you’re going to be using it in some or many forms sooner than later.
“though anyone with even a modest understanding of what’s really going on today in the PC marketplace will tell you that Apple’s claims often stretch the bounds of credibility”
It’s true. Justin Long made me believe my new Macbook would come with an iMovie of a hot French chick and would use Time Machine to clone itself every hour.
Apple’s credibility is stretched almost as thing as Paul Thurrott’s!
Wait…
You might be right, but Apple still needs to offer “poor” ppl a low-cost Mac. Jobs needs to reconsider this “We can’t ship junk..There are thresholds we can’t cross..”-attitude.
Many, many ppl would be to get a Mac if there was a cheaper version available. It might be junk to Jobs, but not to them. Mac market share will never beat Windows as long as Apple dont offer low-cost Macs – whether its a matter of actually having a choice or not.
I don’t like those commercials. Confident people don’t bash the competition ;-(
Apple, shut up and just deliver good revolutionaty products. That’s all we’re asking
Steve Jobs, you better start contributing to the global goodwill. Bill Gates has the good role today.
The very last sentence from Thurrot’s story says what we’ve always known: IT guys favor Windows because their jobs depend on it — NOT because it is the better computing platform.
“…And if you care about the systems you support now, your jobs, and your very livelihood, you might do demand the same from the company. All of us have backed the same horse. And from what I can tell, that horse looks like it’s’ ready for the proverbial pasture.”
Forget pasturing a lame horse. Do what they do to most horses with broken legs, humanely put a bullet in their head. That’s the best thing for Windows (and arguably some of the IT people I’ve had the misfortune of knowing).
I can’t believe how effective the Get a Mac ads are, even to the point of getting under the skin of Gates and Ballmer.
People used to complain and say they were tired of seeing the same idea over and over but I think the ads are starting to become apart of our culture just like the iPod spots. That’s bad news for Microsoft.
Also, I don’t think Apple would’ve produced the same effect if they ran those commercials showing OS X in action like you fanboys initially clamored for. Guess it’s a lesson that you should leave advertising to the pros.
amyhre,
What’s your “humane” solution for “lame” fanbois with “broken” brains?
I see the writing on the wall. I’ve been working in “Microsoft Shops” for years, using Visual Studio, C#, VB, SQL Server, ASP.NET, IIS, Windows Server, SharePoint, etc…
Sure, I may have a nice sweet job for another 5-10 years (maybe) as Microsoft winds down, but I have serious doubts about microsoft’s dominance after that time, and I want to still have a job.
I have an iPhone, Macbook, and I’m learning Objective C 2.0 and writing iPhone apps.. but I almost feel silly doing this too, as Objective C 2.0 is just not very widespread. Do normal Mac developers just write in C++, or do you guys actually use Objective C?
Low cost Mac? That’s all we need! And it doesn’t have to be that low. Starting point: $759.
A good $759 complete solution and Apple worldwide market share quadruple in 2 years.
Apple don’t have to hit 30% market share worldwide… a good, stable 15% and game over.
@R2 – R2 is right – Jobs and co. tried in the past to pit mac’s versus windows via a technological standpoint and it almost put apple out of business…consumers don’t know or don’t care to know how the machine works they just want to buy a reliable machine….Since windows is not reliable apple is filling that need and advertising it to the masses in a way that they can relate…not techno gibberish…
I love how politics gets dragged into completely irrelevant topics.
“And honestly, why would Microsoft even license Exchange to Apple?”
Because Microsoft doesn’t want to face another 10 years of legal problems resulting from anti-trust complaints. Paul, you are a moron.
“Bill Gates has the good role today.”
Guess again.
Criticisms Overview:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_and_Melinda_Gates_Foundation#Criticisms
“Dark cloud over good works of Gates Foundation”
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gatesx07jan07,0,6827615.story
“Unintended victims of Gates Foundation generosity”
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gates16dec16,0,6256166,full.story?coll=la-home-center
And more. Check the references.
“To date, Microsoft has had an unspoken rule about its competition in the consumer OS space: It pretends there isn’t any.”
First rule of Marketing: Never pick on anyone smaller than you. It makes you look bad, and it draws attention to your competitors. For the exact same reason, Apple’s iPod marketing never mentions other music players.
I can remember when the “Get a Mac” ads first came out and a lot of us thought they were lame. Turns out they’ve been pretty darn effective in the market, and that they get under the skin of the Thurrots of the world is an extra added bonus.
@Thurrott (I know you are lurking here somewhere.)
1- ” Switcher ads” are a different (Ellen Feiss) ad campaign. This is the Get-a Mac campaign.
2- Are you encouraging IT professionals to pressure MS to improve their products or it might be end of their livelihood?! “Fixing” and securing he shoddiness of MS products is what provides them with 90% of their work. What is wrong with this picture?
Wow, Thurrott sounds genuinely worried about Apple getting too much more market share and success.
Funny how he complains about the iPhone getting exchange support but he’s ok with RIM using it. So, I guess it’s ok for RIM to be very successful with it’s blackberry but not for Apple.
The guy is obviously anti-mac (and that’s ok, it’s a free society). This frantic message to microsoft is proof.
I would have thought he would have been championing how competition between Apple and Microsoft has bettered Apple and hence our lives. Instead, he pleas to microsoft to get moving.
@Mac+
I don’t really like the ads that much either, but I’ve had more Windows users tell me they love them and that it’s one of the reasons they are considering buying a Mac. The ads appear to be effective.
@he he he
Introduce them to a Mac and OS X.
Oh, wait…you meant Apple fanb.. (ouch! I just can’t bring myself to type “bois”..damn! I did it anyway!
Microsoft is now much too far down the road to even consider backtracking, let alone changing direction. Considering that it saddled the corporate world with Windows, MS ensured its own downfall.
In other words, by ‘owning’ the corporate market, MS is chained to outdated legacy code, and an OS with all the personality and use as a doorknob. Vista isn’t even a new OS! It’s XP with a splash of glossy paint.
MS is going to whither slowly, as Apple will become the solution, rather than the crutch to enterprise.
He wanted John Kerry? That explains everything.
@pcdeveloper:
obj-c is the de facto language for accessing the Cocoa framework, which is the de facto API for OS X (whichever flavor you choose).
there are python, perl, and ruby wrappers, but in the end obj-c is the main language for programming on os x.
Oh, for crap sake people. IT is hardly ever the reason you are stuck with PCs and Windows. Sure there are some IT folks who are terrified of change and what the Mac brings but I, a seasoned IT Professional, have had a constant up-hill battle to switch to Macs all thanks to the Accounting department and the Directors. These are the individuals who spew more FUD than any IT person I have ever encountered. Contrary to what you think of your IT Department they more than likely have a better idea of just what the hell is going on in the technology world than you ever could dream of. Stop bashing IT. You look like the fools you paint us as when you do that.
Paul Thurrott has a Mac in his house but he makes his living from Microsoft products. That is probably why he is getting shrill and out of touch with reality—he’s caught between Scylla and Charybdis. (Where Microsoft is Scylla, and their product line is Charybdis.) I understand that Microsoft is gearing up an ad campaign, but given the vapid Zune ads, I don’t think they can pull it off. It will be a spacewalk in a vacuum of quality, facts, and products.
The truth is the IT industry is in fear that they’ll no longer be needed or will be downsized when Mac OS X takes over. What they fear is the CEO, CFO, CIO and the onslaught of upper management asking the question why aren’t we using the Mac OS X and UNIX in place of the outdated outmoded Microsoft Products that are costing us far more then the alternative.
The Old IT guard has another problem and it’s with New Grads. Many are not accepting top level recruiting positions without the companies guaranteeing them that they computer will be a Mac at work. I’ve had many big name consulting clients that have done just that their top recruits only took the positions after the companies agreed to their Mac demands. Companies IT departments are slowly being forced to incorporate Mac OS X systems into more and more of the company. A few more years of Mac using collage grads and the tipping point for IT change will be at hand even if Apple Stopped running the, Get a Mac ads, today.
My favorite Get a Mac ad is the UK one titled “Naughty Step”.
@ “@MDN”
Poor people (or “ppl” as you call them) are in pretty rough shape if they can’t afford VOWELS for all their words.
By the title of the article, I thought that maybe Turdrot may be awakening from the Matrix, but no luck. He’s still a clueless ass.
Whoa! Despite that conclusion, it sounds like someone has a very large bug up his butt.
One of the reasons people keep buying Windows PC comes straight from this Microsoft Windows lifer. Job security (“very livelihood”) ! These guys are like drug pushers, as people switch to Mac their job is over.
Microsoft shot the new horse (Vista) and told people to downgrade to the virus infected old horse (Windows XP). Yeah, the same “Windows hell” Gates was upset with! That horse was a bad copy when people got it years ago!
http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/17663/
@ @MDN: There IS a mac for “poor people”, the $599 Mac Mini. Its perfectly capable, and you could use your current keyboard, mouse, and monitor, (if its VGA, you can get an adapter for around $2 on eBay)
@Mac+
Global good will? What the hell kind of wimpazz liberal are you? You sound like your typing from Ballmer’s desk himself….under his desk! Are you Ballmer? Are you Ballmer all huddled up in a corner crying not knowing what to do?
All Apple is doing is telling it like it is. Yes its a bit exaggerated and made to be entertainment but all those get a mac ads are doing is taking advantage of all the flaws that Microsoft fully knows about but don’t care enough to address. Why don’t they care? Because they run a monopoly so why should they.
Well the tech users have grown up….the PC isn’t a wonder device “oooo what is that?” and people simply know better now.
Global goodwill……Gates is a good guy. Gimme a freakin break with that manipulative politically correct garbage! What the hell kind of crapped up evil world do we live in now that people actually talk like that.
I’m shaking my head back and forth in disgust.
“Microsoft has been notably silent, allowing Apple to control the discussion and let perception become reality.”
Actually, Apple has been letting reality – at long last – become perception.
Come on we want MS and Windows to last forever…if not who would we make fun of?
Coming from the perspective of a 21 year old college kid… The people I know who have recently bought or are planning on buying a computer (PC or Mac) plan to spend $1000 to $1500. These are people that know that to get a good computer, you need to spend that much money. The older, not as tech-savvy crowd, who read e-mail, causally browse, and maybe organize some digital photos, aren’t willing to spend that much and get that “low-cost” computer (in which the Mac Mini is a viable option).
What Apple realizes, however, is that the baby boomers will buy maybe 1-5 computers the rest of their lives, while college aged kids (where their market share is beginning to become massive) will buy 10-15 computers, at least. Apple definitely does not need to “cross that threshold” and “ship junk”
To save suffering, they shoot lame horses, don’t they?
Thurrott by any other name is still a jerk, old wounds heal slowly. Don’t know why MDN even posts his crap unless they, like Paul, are trolling for hits.
@Mac+
“Low cost Mac? That’s all we need! And it doesn’t have to be that low. Starting point: $759. A good $759 complete solution and Apple worldwide market share quadruple in 2 years.Apple don’t have to hit 30% market share worldwide… a good, stable 15% and game over.”
DUDE, you need a Dell. LOL
I bought a MacBook with combo drive, refurb, like new will full warr. and lookes great. $ 850. You got to be quick.
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en
I think changing “credibility” to “believability” – especially given his primary audience – would have improved that part of the article. When a Chevy geek tells a Ford geek that a Malibu will outrun a Taurus, there’s bound to be a believability gap, even if it’s true. Replace “geek” with “mechanic” and there will be a lot of “givens” and “buts” in the discussion. The difference between “credibility” and “believability” is modest … between <u>given</u> facts and <u>perceived</u> facts, all in the eye’s of the beholder.
Perceptions are changing, these days. “Get a Mac” is helping do that. M$ is helping, as well, with Vista and other products. Ads would not help M$ recover any lost lead, in my opinion. I could be wrong. I believe you need a product AND room to grow to benefit from ads. They really have little of either.
the shit bin would be more like it!
Aren’t the Switcher ads from the 90’s or early aughties (whatever decade we’re in now)?
I hate to say it, but Thurrott has some good writing there. He tells us that Apple’s Get A Mac ads “often stretch the bounds of credibility”, but provides no examples. Then, while we are still anticipating support for that statement he equates the Get A Mac campaign with the “Swift Boat” ads which have been largely proven to have included lies, gross exaggeration, and deceptive misstatements. Without writing anything actionable, Thurrott has led his readers to associate the Get A Mac campaign with the tainted “Swift Boat” ads. That’s good writing.
Bad journalism, but, eh, whatcha gonna do?
@Real IT Guy
In a way, it’s really, really funny to watch the MS advocates scramble madly to rationalize Apple’s ascendancy, and simply wish it weren’t so.
And I didn’t say IT departments were purely to blame, but consider the self-propagating industry MS created with Windows? People do crazy things, sometimes, to cling to their jobs, no matter how pointless or irrelevant the job is in the first place.
That alone is MS’s greatest weakness, an inbuilt culture of standing still, which is now manifesting itself to the logical conclusion.
Stagnation and decline.
Maybe Thurrott isn’t so stupid as to see what’s coming over the horizon, and why it will appeal to, and tempt away from Windows, his beloved IT pros: ZFS and the host of other features Snow Leopard (and especially the Server version) will have, which M$ can only dream about using.
Like some third-rate side-show magician, he’s using smoke and mirrors to divert their attention…
I am a sales manager at a car dealership, and the other day I mentioned to a customer something that our computer is incapable of doing and he said, “It must not be a Mac.”
I thought for sure that somehow, the subject of my passion for Appleust have come up between him and my salesman (he has a Mac too, by the way, and his kid even has an Apple sticker on his skateboard).
I asked him, being curious, what brought the subject up… He said, “the ads are al over TV!”
As soon as his wife caught up to the conversation, she piped up with, ” Oh yeah, I want one of those!”
Yes, I’d say the ads are effective.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” />
well, Apple’s ads are certainly one-sided if not also unfair. and very very aggressive. if i were a Windows guy, sure, i’d be righteously offended.
MS problem is, the overall critique of Windows in Apple’s ads “sticks.” not because each ad is completely accurate, but because Windows is clearly flawed and not really user-oriented, and the ads just remind everyone of that fact. with humor. and they are short too. so you actually watch them.
I was just in the Apple Store in Charlotte this morning. Sales rep. (a web designer) asks me if I’m a Mac or PC user. I give him the mock “how dare you face” and he tells me he counts about 90% PCers at the current customer ratio.
In an Apple Store.
solid
This sums up pretty much what the problem is with the state of IT today.
“If you care about the systems you support…”
IT’s job should not be to support “the systems”
IT’s job should be to support the user. Go do a google search for the Computer Users Bill Of Rights published by Business Week. It a horrifying manifesto that scares the be-jesus out of IT.
It states clearly that the user should be able to use the computer to accomplish tasks and that the computer is a tool to allow the user more efficiency and functionality.
IT is interested in controlling computers and systems. They care about the systems, and they REALLY don’t care about what users want.
The Mac allows the USER to get the job done. Without IT in control.
That terrorizes IT guys.
@Ampar
Thanks for those links.
@Bluefin
Think before you speak. Don’t pin your opinion on all of IT professionals out there. Changing systems is not a terrorizing thought for IT. The backbone of any decent company has to have a solid infrastructure, be it Mac, Windows or Linux. That is never going to change and the need for someone to support it is never going to go away.
It would appear the ongoing perception here is that IT only goes around fixing Windows problems. That is simply not the case. There are deployment needs, upgrade needs, not so savvy user needs, server needs, planning needs, programming, SOPs, security, etc… I support both Macs and PCs and for every three PC tickets I get, I get a Mac ticket. …and before you fluff your feathers over that, note that the ratio is about 3:1 PC to Mac here.
Calculators didn’t eliminate the Accountant, Medicine didn’t eliminate the Doctor. So how in the world would a Mac eliminate the IT Professional?
I have been an Apple fan far longer than many of you and this sickens me to see the actual “Holier than thou” syndrome PC users spoke of Mac users in the past actually come to fruition. Get over yourselves. It’s a freaking computer not the cure the world’s problems – even if it is a sweet computer.
The gap between IT jobs and IT College graduates is getting wider and wider. Technology continues to touch every aspect of business everywhere, as everything evolves, and the number of IT jobs are continuing to grow and grow. However, here in the good ole USA, kids are getting worse and worse at math and science, and for the last several years, the number of IT college graduates is actually going DOWN, despite the insane number of open positions!
For those of you who think the entire IT department at your work is spending all their time and resources just fixing Microsoft errors, you’re badly mistaken. We have low level grunts fixing user’s pc woes (which is definitely worse for pc’s than Mac’s), but the rest of us are rolling out new networks, new workstations, writing new software, managing networks… And most of that stuff works pretty darn well when you know what you’re doing.
So even if the whole world switched to mac, right here, right now, we would still need just about as many people doing just about the same amount and kinds of work. It may work better, and maybe the helpdesk department would get thinned out
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” /> But those are the low level lackies anyway, so who cares?
There’s now way that the “stability” of Mac is going to somehow bridge the gap of IT job holes. Sure, we may need to be retrained, but our general skills will still be needed, fo SHO!
@ Andy
I’m not sure if your comment, “People do crazy things, sometimes, to cling to their jobs, no matter how pointless or irrelevant the job is in the first place.” was meant to be directed at IT or just the industry in general but don’t confuse IT staff with Windows and Microsoft. They are two very separate things. Windows and the end users are just two cogs in the who scheme of things IT.
I don’t pretend to understand what you do in your job so don’t pretend you know what I do in mine.
@Winston — nicely said. Here it is again:
“Microsoft has been notably silent, allowing Apple to control the discussion and let perception become reality.”
Actually, Apple has been letting reality – at long last – become perception.
There’s a saying that goes something like: You can’t demand in the boardroom what you can’t win on the battlefield.
Microsoft needs more than just a clever response to Apple’s ads: they need to make superior products to advertise. Otherwise, their new ads will just be hot air, something consumers already know. Now, if they come up with truly great products and advertise those to counter Apple, then an effective advertising strategy on their part would probably work.
A Real IT Guy:
You sound like a really competent IT guy, however in my experience you are the exception not the rule.
I’ve worked in 10 companies in my career, running Macintosh reprographic studio’s in every one, inside a larger PC-based infrastructure.
Without exception, the attitude of IT Managers is hostile towards the Mac, to the point of being obsessive, (and they call us fanboys?)
Even to this day I have to defend the Mac platform against IT Managers who know absolutely nothing of the needs of a reprographics department.
“I don’t pretend to understand what you do in your job so don’t pretend you know what I do in mine.”
Unfortunately that is my and MDN’s point: IT Manager’s do pretend to understand the needs of a reprographic department, every day, and assume that their ‘Windows everyware” strategy will fit, just like it fits in business.
And that is the ‘reason for being’ of MDN, and the reason for the attitude of a lot of Mac users you will meet.
@ gagravaar
You have some very valid points. I guess I am just fed up with the narrow-minded, double standards that often get placed in comments here. I probably just flamed up more than I should have but it gets very old defending one’s job… you know?
. . . like whipping a dead horse, in a dead-end alley, just off the Boulevard of Broken Dreams. . .
“C’mon you ol’ nag, giddy up already!”
(Let go.)
@A Real IT Guy
I think most of us would like to have someone as informed and competent as yourself in our IT organizations. Peace.
“It’s true. Justin Long made me believe my new Macbook would come with an iMovie of a hot French chick and would use Time Machine to clone itself every hour.”
No, no, no. The new Macbook will clone a “hot French chick” every hour, but it doesn’t come with a “hot French chick” unless you buy AppleCare.
= : )
Thurrott said, “And honestly, why would Microsoft even license Exchange to Apple? Are they crazy? Between this and all the other ActiveSync licensing, they’ve effectively ceded the smart phone market to their competitors”
Answer to his questions:
1. Microsoft never misses a chance to sell another license.
2. I’m sure Apple had to pay a lot for the licenses.
3. Apple would just develop its own solution sooner, thus directly competing with MS.
4. Microsoft needs the revenue due to poor Vista sales.
5. Microsoft would face antitrust litigation if it refused to license Exchange and ActiveSync to Apple, which has no true competing products in these areas.
6. Microsoft helps keep RIM at bay by keeping more Exchange users who want an iPhone in the Exchange system, rather than jumping to Blackberries.
To no longer my eMac: No problem.
I don’t know what’s more laughable- a liberal bitching about John “I served in Vietnam” Kerry losing the 04 election, a liberal whining about the TRUTH being told relative to John “I served in Vietnam” Kerry’s service in Vietnam, or a bitch using liberal tactics to defend a piece of shit operating system.
To JAB 710:
Why should we care what you think? Honest question.
Thurrott said, “My feeling is that consumer- and business-oriented technologies have been cross-pollinating since the dawn of the PC era…”
Where the fsck has this goob been for the last 30 years? He has a feeling they’ve been cross pollinating? Duh! Is this guy qualified to write about computers.
Oh, wait, this is Paul Thurrott… of course he isn’t.
the horse needs to go to the glue factory, not the knackers yard.
Microsoft has had their day and its time that another company leads the pack.
My message to IT ‘pros’ is to stop sticking your heads on the sand and embrace change because there is fuck all you are gonna be able to do to stop it.
You wanna safeguard your careers? Then start learning about other OSs and join the new era of techonolgy and open standards.
Thurrot writes. “What’s next? A license to run Windows applications on the Mac?”
MacDailyNews Take: Rhetorical question, we know, but we already have a license. We can run Windows apps on our Macs already.
OK, had an email exchange with Thurrot and he was speaking about running windows apps native on Mac without sub programs like parallels. NOTE: Thurrot uses a MacBook for his writing- running Windows.
MDN sez:
“IT people, the best way to protect your livelihoods is [to] embrace the superior Mac OS X platform – you’re going to be using it in some or many forms sooner than later.”
Um. Actually, that comment falls on deaf ears. Here’s why: You’re wrong.
FACT: Macs = LESS IT staff. Not equal IT staff. Not more IT staff. I.E. Macs = lose your job for as many as 90% of IT staff. That percentage is not related to Windows market share. It reflects that fact that it takes as little as 1/10th the IT staff to maintain a Mac than it does a Windows PC.
That number fluctuates depending upon how the computers are used, how many people have accounts on a single computer, how well trained and how knowledgeable the IT staff is, etc. With Windows XP I personally believed the required IT staff somewhat declined. But my experience with Vista has convinced me that the 90% more IT staff number is right back up there again. (Yes folks, Vista really is a bigger PITA than XP).
Conclusion: Windows IT support staff fight to keep Windows as the standard OS in their offices because it keeps them employed. No way do they want to lose their jobs to vastly more efficient and money saving Macs.
Therefore, the people to appeal to with Switch-To-Mac logic are the bean counters. The accountants. The Chief Financial Officers. The CEOs. Don’t bother with the IT staff, and mostly likely not the Chief Technology Officers either. You could try appealing to the actual computer users, but nobody in bizness listens to them. That would be communism!
Real IT Guy, who I know is the exception rather than the mainstream I can empathise. However I have seen so many IT people instill fear into users and managers to keep their empire. That is what the article is about and I must say Turddot is calling to the masses to support the house of cards.
It is all between the lines.
Thurrott continues “It’s time for Microsoft to respond to the challenges it faces with leadership and authority.
Translation: It is time for MS to be a bigger bully than every before and continue to write software that cripples third parties and that makes the user experience exactly where MS wanted you to go today.
This is really what Turdrot is worried about: “And if you care about the systems you support now, your jobs, and your very livelihood, you might do demand the same from the company. All of us have backed the same horse. And from what I can tell, that horse looks like it’s ready for the proverbial pasture.”
Translation: “And if you care about the hatred, vampirism, empires that you have built up thanks to an inferior operating system that has been foisted upon the world you better ensure that MS continues to do this.The evil empire is about to fall.”
And so it shall.
I’ve always found it funny yet irritating that PC wankers call the Mac character “insufferable”, “arrogant”, “conceited”, “obnoxious”, etc, etc, etc, when the fact of the matter is that the PC character played by Hodgman who is obnoxious and insufferable, prone as he is to dismiss and deride the Mac character at every turn. The fact that PC wankers constantly make this assumption about Long’s character is classic projection: seeing ones own faults in the character of others.
It’s not Apple’s problem that PCs are a nightmare for the average user, that Microsoft’s security and costs are atrocious, or that technology under Microsoft is a stagnant pool of bad ideas and broken promises. But by gosh, Microsofties will do everything in their power to make it seem that Apple is a horrible company for shining a light on just what a miserable product Microsoft has peddled all these years.