If you have been a Macintosh user for long, you know why Apple Computer is such an easy target for criticism. Up until Macintosh clones began appearing, Apple was the sole hardware supplier for the operating system that it invented.
With Mac compatibles now flooding a market that was exclusively Apple's domain, this situation is sure to change. What remains to be seen is if the Mac operating system can stand up to the challenge of multiple vendors building boxes to run it. The PC-compatible market has gone through years of upheaval due to incompatibility issues and the lack of plug-and-play features.
Hopefully, the present Mac architecture is solid enough to answer the challenge until Apple delivers a new operating system.
Though there is still no doubt that Mac is still the easiest to use personal computer, everyone must admit that its lead has been seriously eroded by Windows. The public at large does not see the difference and Apple has essentially acknowledged this in recent months.
As hard as it is to admit, Microsoft has forged ahead on a number of fronts with Windows 95...particularly in the most important arena, public opinion. Getting a modern operating system to market is perhaps Apple's greatest challenge as it competes today's personal computer market.
This situation is ironic as Apple has finally licensed its hardware business. With that out of the way, Apple must keep its technology ahead of the competition. By not delivering on a new (and revolutionary) OS soon, it could seriously hurt the clone market which it so hesitantly started in the first place.
It can be argued at what point Apple should have licensed its OS in the first place. The reality is that licensing the operating system was only part of the problem for Apple. It still takes a special hardware configuration to run the Mac OS. This is where the next generation PowerPC platform holds so much potential. Gone will be Mac's proprietary hardware specs. The new platform is supposed to result in clone manufacturers being able to build cheaper machines. However, it will also usher in an era when the Mac OS will literally be going head-to-head on its own merits with the predominate operating system that the rest of the world uses.
It may be during this time that the realities of Apple not allowing the creation of a healthy clone market years ago will come to haunt it in full form.
Think of it. Had the Apple OS gone head-to-head with Windows 1.0 or even Windows 3.0, there certainly would been a different outcome than competing against Window 95 which is being peddled "as the most Mac-like ever."
Will Apple buy BeOS and merge it into what was to the System 8? Could a second revolution be on the horizon? I only hope Apple gets to Jean-Louis Gassee, Be Inc. founder and former Apple president, before Bill Gates does.
Apple, Be and Bill Gates
The "Bashing" of the Mac
I don't know about you, but I have had my fill of Mac bashing. Since Apple announced its (admittedly) enormous losses earlier this year, one magazine after another has decided to take its shot at Apple. While Apple has deserved some serious criticism by industry writers, I can't get over how negative the articles have been.
Take for example Business Week's "Death of an American Icon" lead article several months ago. Numerous other examples could be cited, such as the Wall Street Journal's coverage (it uses Macs) and network television's coverage of Apple's woes.
Long-time Mac users know all too well the company's tremulous past. If your a recent Mac convert, try reading "The Accidental Millionaire: The Story of Steve Jobs" or "Insanely Great: The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer That Changed Everything." It is easy to see had it not been for Jobs and the Mac, there probably would not be an Apple Computer today.
I guess what bothers me most is the dismissal by large number of computer users of the Macintosh as a viable platform. I have found, by large, this category of "Mac Basher" has not used nor understands the Macintosh. If anyone ever questioned the Mac platform as being viable, they should talk to small and large businesses that use it (and believe in it) exclusively for high-end graphics and video production.
Apple has made its bed hard, so it is understandable that the company would at some point go through major upheaval to survive. I have never known an Apple retail outlet that did not have its share of customer relations problems. For whatever the reason, Apple dealers just never seemed to "get it" when it came to dealing with its bread and butter. Folk liked what they saw so much they, like I, overlooked arrogant attitudes of salespeople and bought Macs anyway.
When the first Power Macs were introduced I recall visiting the only authorized Apple store in Memphis, Tennessee, to see a demonstration. I was particularly interested in the machine's capability to run Windows applications, as the organization I worked for at the time ran "Bill's Boxes" almost exclusively. Upon asking a salesman for a demonstration, I got the abrupt answer: "Why the #$@*! would anyone want to run Windows on a Macintosh?" My answer: "For one thing, I work for a company that has 60 DOS machines!" It is this type of attitude that lost the interface war for Apple. If Apple would have not stood on its laurels for so long and licensed its OS, there is a good chance many of us who must settle for Windows 95 at our workplaces would be running System 7 or 8 or whatever today.
I believe in Mac technology, enough so that I have upgraded extensively this year during Apple's darkest hour. In the end, it is loyal Apple users that will continue to make the Mac OS a viable alternative to the Windows onslaught.