Windows 2 Apples Episode 1

Windows 2 Apples

This is the text of our Netcast currently posted on the iNetSynch .Mac Web at

http://web.mac.com/inetsynch/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html

Good day and good morning or evening as the case may be. This is Sam Caldwell of the Windows to Apples podcast. As you might suspect this netcast focuses on comparisons between Apple and Microsoft products from the perspective of a long time Microsoft user. My intension is to offer a balanced comparison and constructive critical review of the strengths and weaknesses of both companies as well as tips to others shifting to the Apple way of doing things.

First a little background on your host. At the time I entered college, engineers were being laid off at an alarming rate … the papers were posting stories of engineers working at McDonalds and I the perpetual tinker chose psychology rather than engineering as my major.

In 1977 I purchased a Commodore Pet replete with built-in monochrome screen, a whopping 8 K of ram, tape drive and infamous chicklet keyboard. Unbeknown to me at the time I had begun a chain of events that would lead to a major shift in my career and life. I also purchased a Rockwell AIM computer … which was an exceptional machine in its day in that it had a built-in 40 character LED display and thermal printer. With a 3rd party enclosure it was very much like a line powered laptop. At work I used the Pet and AIM computers to implement communication aides and accessible teaching systems for our physically challenged clients.

Within a few years I had quit my job and started my first company using 6502 based microcomputers including the Apple II as the “brains of” of systems designed to measure subtle changes in physiology such as my old friend skin resistance.

When Apple made the shift away from the open architecture of the Apple II to the closed “we know what’s best for you” Macintosh I abandoned Apple and focused on Microsoft based machines from IBM and others. Most of our early code was written for DOS and we would only shift to Windows after the introduction of Windows 95.

I had ignored Apple and the Mac until recently when I made the decision to start to new business focusing on what some call WEB II technologies. I might add I also shunned the advice of my long time friend and Apple fan to buy Apple when it was $20 a share. I assured him Apple could never effectively compete with Microsoft and I would put my money on Mr. Softy. Ah the pain of hind site …. now of course he can enjoy the lifestyle befitting an Apple true believer while I watch the flat line laid down by the chart of my Microsoft stock.

Last year I bit the bullet and purchased an Intel based 20 inch iMac and 30 gig iPod and thus began my foray into the kingdom of Jobs. I must admit that my first exposure to Apple was refreshing and very reassuring. There was some small glitch in my on-line order that required I call Apples sales and I still remember how professionally and smoothly the problem was handled. The fix was made even sweeter with the offer to drop the shipping charges. I remember thinking, “this really feels good … now if only I have bought that stock at $20 a share”.

The warm fuzzy feelings continued to build when the iMac arrived on schedule and was un-boxed. I was immediately struck by the packaging. So neatly wrapped and clearly marked or at least so I thought (later I was to discover a nasty little surprise that would have been a non event if the labeling had been as complete as I initially assumed).

The machine itself was a work of art … a beautiful white monitor with acrylic plastic cover protecting the glossy white finish and best of all no nest of wires to connect all the bits and pieces. I had always been fond of all in one PCs and this was a beautiful implementation of that design concept. I admit this was the first time in a very long time un-boxing and setting up a new computer was more fun than work.

As I set the system up on my desk I had to lay it on its side. Once erect, I stood back to admire it only to my horror to see a clump of paper clips stuck to the bottom right corner. I was shocked and more than a bit angry knowing that the unlabeled controller magnet had been within few millimeters of my external hard drive. I had never expected a rather powerful magnet to be in my LCD iMac case and was unhappy Apple had not seen fit to warn me. Luckily it only served to snare my lose paper clips and not erase my data.

In my mind the magnet which by the way does a very poor job of holding on to my controller is a Job’s design decision that exemplifies his preoccupation with beauty over all else. A simple Velcro patch or molded holster would be more utilitarian and safer but admittedly not as unobtrusive or “elegant” as the magnet.

I had begun my iMac adventure with a preponderance of positive feelings which continued to build as I admired the beautiful display, keyboard, hidden indicator lights and almost instant on response to powering up. However, the lovely warm glow began to dim when after only ten minutes of powering up it locked on to the net and began a lengthy series of security updates. Shades of Windows and not the out of the box experience portrayed in the wonderfully entertaining Apple advertisements.

The glow was almost extinguished when I discovered the machine had been connected to the internet for almost two days with the Apple firewall disabled by default. Luckily I had connected though my firewall enabled router and I assume no damage was done. This exemplifies what I feel is a pervasive belief by Apple in their own advertising copy and the foolish promotion of Apple machines being immune to hackers. I am convinced this will change as more and more attacks are made using platform independent security holes in WEB 2 tools such as Java scrip and as the Apple OS and Safari now embedded in the iPhone make Apple a much more attractive target to hackers.

Future netcasts will document my exploration of the preloaded Apple software that according to Apple make it ever so more fun and productive than the staid old PC. I will also share my feelings of déjà vu as I see the increasing frequent Microsoft like security updates to my iMac that eventually lead to a face off between Apple and Microsoft support as well as an introduction to the refreshingly helpful Apple enthusiasts many of whom publish excellent how to blogs and podcasts.

Please feel free to share your own feedback and the lessons you have learned.

Until next time trust that change is forever with us and tomorrow is always a new adventure.

Cheers