Tom Yager: People who prefer OS X don’t say they have a specific admiration for alpha-blended shadows and anti-aliased text. I doubt most users can name the individual elements that draw them to the Apple GUI. Instead, users say they say they like the Mac. They like Apple for making it for them, and it does feel as if it’s made just for them. You know you’re using the right software when, night after night, you have that “oh crap, I was supposed to be home an hour ago” moment. OS X engages me that way without obviously working at it, just by respecting the fact that humans use their software. I constantly feel this way about Mac OS X. It just gets out of my way and lets me work. I don’t feel like that when I’m using Windows. I feel like I’m constantly at odds with Windows. For example, tonight I went to check a PDF that I had posted to my church’s website. I wanted to make sure it looked right under Windows, since we used some funky fonts on it. But whenever Adobe Reader tries to launch, it tries to install Microsoft Journal Viewer. Why? Well, I haven’t figured that out yet. So I hit cancel, so it won’t let me install because I don’t have the Office XP CD with my anyway. It backs out of the installation, only to start all over again. It does this several dozen times before allowing Adobe Reader to launch. Tonight I left Adobe Reader running to save time.
Chad Dickerson: I used the Mac running OS X to replace a PC client and Linux server; the level of functionality was raised; and I did more with less. All the GNU and Unix tools I’ve used for years were right there in OS X: ps (process status), rsync, top, SSH (secure shell), Apache, Samba, and various Unix shells. I was able to access Windows file systems, and I easily shared Mac files to the Windows machine on my network via Samba, the open source file-sharing stalwart. I hardly struggled even for a second. I love it when hardcore Mac bashers try OS X for the first time. It’s like an epiphany. I remember even back in the days of the original Mac OS X Server (the one that looked entirely too much like OpenStep), I showed it to a high school kid who was always telling me that Macs were for sissies. I showed him that it was based on BSD and what it could do. He put the machine through some paces and came away rather impressed. Of course, the Mac OS X situation has improved considerably in the four years since that happened.
Bill Fenstermaker: I’m liking an Apple Product. Granted, Bill is only talking about iTunes here, but it’s a big step for him.
Kevin Mitnick: This weekend I’m going to try to figure out how to migrate my Windows apps. I have certain security applications that work under Windows so I’m trying to figure out how to do that. I know there is an application where you can run Win apps under OS X. I plan to get pretty familiar with the Mac. Come on, even Mitnick likes the Mac! It was given to him as a gift by none other than Wozniak himself upon his release.
PC Magazine: The G5 performed significantly better than any previous Mac—and equaled or bettered the performance of Intel-platform machines—on our all-important graphics and content creation tests. As a 64-bit operating system and applications emerge, users will enjoy the dual 1-GHz front-side buses and rapid access to up to 8 gigabytes of RAM. The G5 is an important step forward in desktop computer technology and a vital cornerstone of Apple’s future. OK, this is PC Magazine, the magazine that hates Macs. Mike and I found all sorts of examples of bias in one of their latest issues, featuring some round-up of systems. And they rate the G5 as best of the best.
TIME Magazine: It’s a disarmingly simple concept: sell songs in digital format for less than a buck and let buyers play them whenever and wherever they like—as long as it’s on an Apple iPod. Jobs had proved the idea back in April when he launched the Music Store for Mac users, who represent only 3% of the computer world but promptly gobbled up a million tracks in the first week of business. By October he was ready to set the Music Store aloft in the 97% of the world that uses Windows PCs, and the prospect of converting millions of music pirates into credit-card wielding music buyers was enough to make even the most jaded rock stars take notice. Invention of the Year! You’re not alone, Bill. You’re not alone.