Re: [Leica] Apple for a died in the wool Windows guy

[Carl Pultz <cpultz@earthlink.net>]

- - --- Martin Howard <mvhoward@mac.com> wrote:
 > Carl Pultz wrote:
 >
 >> It's one of those colossal ironies that the
 >> (deservedly) hated
 >> Microsoft made possible the most democratic
 >>revolution in technology
 >> (for the average person, not a unix programmer)
 >>built on a platform
 >> created by the equally ignoble partner of
 >>fascists, IBM.
 >
 > Revolution: The overthrow of one ruler and the
 > substitution of another
 > by the goverened.
 >
 > Democracy: Government in which supreme power is
 > vested in the people
 > and exercised by them directly or indirectly through
 > a system of
 > representation.
 >
 > Facism: A political philosophy that exalts nation
 > above the individual
 > and stands for a centralized autocratic government,
 > headed by a
 > dictatorial leader.
 >
 > So, if I'm reading the above correctly, the
 > democratic revolution must
 > be the one in which the goverend people (the
 > average, non unix
 > programmers) overthrow themselves (the rulers, since
 > it's a democracy),
 > substituting their own rulership for something new
 > -- presumably in
 > this case, the deservedly hated Microsoft, who
 > partners up with IBM to
 > create a system in which a centralized, autocratic
 > rulership is headed
 > by a dictatorial leader with little concern for the
 > individual (back
 > again to the average user).
 >
 > Yep... sounds about right to me.
 >
 > M.

Cute.

By democratic I meant that by now, pretty much anyone who wants a computer 
can have one, thanks to the easy availability of PC hardware. Even if it is 
a stinky windows box, it's still a computer. :-) Most of the people on this 
list have no problem acquiring whatever system they want (every few years), 
but that is not the way most of the world is. Think about all the change 
that has occurred since the introduction of Windows 95. Is revolution not 
an appropriate description? Should that revolution have belonged to Apple? 
Maybe. Did they do it? No. You couldn't touch a MAC for anywhere near the 
cost of a PC.

That doesn't mean that they aren't capable, elegant machines that deserve 
all the affection MACoids give them. It just isn't fair to oversell the Win 
vs. MAC argument. And it's not correct to ignore the obvious truth that for 
millions Windows works.

I once filled a dumpster with a very well known photography corporation's 
retired MACs and tons of very costly proprietary peripherals. Tried to give 
some away to employees, but no takers. Meanwhile, back at the desks were a 
couple dozen windows machines that were as old as the MACs still making 
money for the company, and running like tops. Not just because I'm a great 
support tech, which I am, but because they really worked. When time came to 
retire those beasts, not a one hit the landfill.

The reason I piped up on this topic was simply to say that Windows doesn't 
suck. It's a perfectly reasonable alternative for a person on a budget, 
someone who's applications are very diverse or who wants what most other 
people have. It's Microsoft that sucks.

I supported Windows systems in a corporate setting for six years, from 
WIN/OS2 to the dawn of XP. A lot of toil and a lot of tears. But with 
hundreds of users, all kinds of wacky, heavy duty apps and multiple network 
protocols, hundreds of laptops, far too many antiques, all of it worked and 
made money. Users were way more of a problem than the platform. Millions of 
dollars of business depended on Win95 laptops, which I thought was absurd, 
but they got away with it.

You would not believe what is done with Windows machines. One very large 
company runs it's entire payroll on a Pentium90/Win 95 box which is covered 
in dust, crammed into hot cabinet, connected by modem, never rebooted. 
Stupid, foolhardy, insanely penurious? Absolutely. But, it keeps working......

Anyway, it's not a religion, except to the Apostles of Apple. It's a stupid 
computer. I'm all for Linux, though I'm not yet very skilled with it. 
(Wouldn't give one to my mother to figure out!) And I guess MAC is still 
better for color management, so I should have one for photography, and to 
experience the legendary superiority. And to see one is to want one! But at 
the moment, I have to stay with the people's choice, down here with the 
democratic rabble.

Best -

Carl

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