« iPod as hard drive |
Main
| iPod sale »
January 30, 2004
Why not move to OS X?
Posted by Sandy
PC World Senior Editor Rebecca Freed has written an interesting piece about Mac OS X holdouts.
What do you think? Why are some Mac users clinging to the classic Mac OS instead of upgrading to Mac OS X?
PC World readers told Rebecca that they were waiting for specific software (e.g. Quark XPress 6), and unwilling to buy new hardware. Some expressed concerns about backward compatibility and Classic performance; others pointed to known bugs in Panther, like the FireWire debacle and current networking issues.
I've been using OS X since the beta. In my experience, new users and Windows "switchers" take to OS X pretty quickly. Windows folks need some hints about keyboard shortcuts (e.g. CTRL+A = Home) but they seem to get comfortable pretty quickly. (Hey! The Dock is like a bigger, prettier version of the Taskbar!)
I think many of the OS X holdouts are simply resisting change. A lot of ink has been spilled to complain about the Dock, the new Finder, and all that's missing from the new Apple menu. Although some of those complaints are rooted in real usability considerations, many are simply statements of preference for "the way it used to be." (The vast majority of early OS X shareware was focused on bringing missing OS 8/9 behaviors to OS X.)
Until OS 9 users experience the freedom of running a dozen apps at once without fear of freezing or Type 2 memory errors, they won't know what they're missing.
Could OS X be better? Absolutely. But the classic MacOS has joined the ranks of the Amiga, BeOS, and OS/2 in the OS hall of fame. Even if they were somehow better than the current options, they're not coming back.
It's time to move on.
Comments (2)
| Category: Analysis
- RELATED ENTRIES
- › More NBC shows coming to iTunes
- › More NBC shows coming to iTunes
- › Conan the Contrarian
- › NBC Universal TV shows added to iTunes
- › Sony DRM has built-in Apple DRM?
- › Intel delay predicted
- › iPod sales up 400%
- › Samsung guity of price fixing
1. Robert on January 31, 2004 01:35 AM writes...
Your thoughts about that topic reflect really what a "switcher" thinks: just wonder why others won't follow. For myself, it took me three months to decide, okay I should switch now to os x else I'm feeling like my dad who won't change the kind of car anymore...
Permalink to CommentBut there are some serious issues: a friend of mine has a dtp- and pre-print production studio. He just says: why change a horse in the race? Some driver are not well supported and postscript printing and working with plotters are not in the state he wants to test it in real life. Having a REAL working font-management tool is much more important for him than a shiny dock.
In my opinion, Apple seems to latch some support to their renegades of the 90s - the dtp industry. In Switzerland there were three huge newspapers (including the famous 'neue züricher zeitung') switching to wintel platform. I'm not sure if that was all about the money. Another friend of mine, a designer who also makes cartoons, does simply not switch because 1) he is just too busy to take time and get used to the GUI and 2) he is stuck to old habits like key-shortcuts.
I guess these were more than 2 cents. ;)
2. Jim on January 31, 2004 03:47 PM writes...
Some people resent being made to change while others are almost irresponsible about early adoption (that would be me). IN the Windows arena, there are many people still using Win95 and adoption of XP has been slower than expected. Apple now forces new purchasers to buy into OS X unless they can live with a specific, old model (the dual G4). The prepress industry is conservative and doesn't see sufficient benefit in migrating yet. But that will change.
In my group, of 8 Mac users, 7 are running OS X but 6 of those have machines bought in the past year. There again, my Mum is happy running a browser and a mail client in OS 9 and doesn't seem too fussed about having to learn anything new since she's content with her computer. I have tried to up-sell her to OS X via iSight though....
Permalink to Comment