Recently, I sat quietly during a long discussion about Y2K problems with the computers at my workplace. We reviewed page after page of computers that were determined must be replaced because they were not equipped to handle the coming of a new century.
Then the group turned the page to a list of Macintosh computers that we use for publishing and design work. The experts agreed that, by all accounts, the Macs should not need to be replaced because the operating system and most software, is Y2K compatible and has been so for many years.
Having recommended the move from Windows PCs to Macintosh in our graphic services area two years earlier, I smiled to myself as the page was flipped to another listing of PCs and Y2K incompatibility problems.
In the end, it was determined that nearly 90 percent the PCs we owned would need to be replaced at a whopping dollar figures.
There's a saying that's been circulating around the web for several months trumpeting the superiority of the Mac OS. It's says something like, "Macintosh. It may not be perfect, but at least we knew there would be a year 2000!"
I guess it's that kind of engineering that has always attracted me to the Mac platform. I bought my first Mac when I was writing my master's thesis because it was simple and did not get in the way of my writing. I've read that many famous writers use the Mac for the same reason. Designers will tell you the same thing. The simplicity of Mac OS design and the machines that run it doesn't "get in the way" of one's work.
While Apple Computer may have "gotten it" in the engineering department, Microsoft and "got it" in the marketing department ... thus, the world runs Windows, not the superior Mac OS.
But as I have mentioned earlier, that may be changing. By all accounts, Steve Jobs seems to have learned a lot since being ousted by the company in the 1980s. Check out Apple's earning record over the past year ... wow! I say it's 'bout time!
But back to Y2K. Think about the billions the world will spend to fix a problem with Windows that has its roots in MS-DOS. What a shame the world has standardized on Windows! Think of the resources those billions could provide business and individuals if they were not faced with upgrading a computer in the next year and a half!
Macintosh user, regard yourself as a very smart computer user. YOU knew there would be the year 2000 too!