Ivory Tower

Look and Feel

By Ted Bade

We have come a long way since those days in the 1990s when Apple seemed like it was on the brink of failure. Back then they had no leadership and no real plan for the future. If it hadn't been for dedicated users, Apple would have had no real market. As it was, their market share dropped from a respectable number to almost nothing. It was a terrible time for Apple Corporation.

 

Today that has all changed. Apple once again has a respectable share of the computer market. More importantly, they took advantage of the consumer interest in digital entertainment, created the iPod and the iTunes store to give people easy access to both music and videos. Because of their excellent market timing, Apple took a lot more then a respectable chunk of this market, sky rocketing to almost a monopoly.

 

The success of Apple in the digital entertainment industry has put Apple in a good light in the eyes of many people. While no piece of electronics is flawless, there have been few consistent complaints about the iPod or iTunes. Sure, there have been isolated cases of this or that problem, but isolated cases only. Not so many that groups of consumers would band together to make any real noise. Because of this positive attention, consumers look toward Apple as a dependable company, and often consider buying other products as well. This has caused an increase in Apple's computer market share over the past few years.

 

And now this positive attitude has shifted toward the business market. It is interesting how the market moves. Years ago, when Apple offered the Apple ][, and IBM had their PC, businesses flocked toward the IBM model, since Apple was considered more a consumer toy or hobbiest computer. As time passed, people who used the IBM form of computer at work, decided that having one at home was a good idea. Colleges decided that teaching students to use these computers and their popular business applications was also a good idea. So more and more people bought the IBM/Windows based computers. It was familiar, often discounted for employees of larger companies, and it got the job done.

 

Then the Hackers and the concept of malicious computer code crept into the arena. There is always someone who for either the right or wrong reason, is very upset with some company, group, nation, or what ever. Malicious code gave some of these people with the right skills the ability to cause a noticeable effect all over the world that used computers. In the early days, they wrote malicious code for either Windows based PC or Macintosh. But because of the superior market share of the Windows PC, (and perhaps because there was more angst with this aspect of the market), malicious Macintosh code disappeared, but became a daily experience for the Windows based PC. While none of this code stopped the industries, some of them caused slow downs and all of them created a large secondary market which provided protection and detection of malicious code.

 

In a way, the existence of these hackers, that were trying to perhaps make a point against corporate greed, created a number of large companies that made and continue to acquire a lot of wealth. Think about it, large companies such as Symantec or McAfee probably wouldn't exist if not for the producers of malicious code.

In this arena, Macintosh computers fell behind. Some people say that because of the Mac's small market share and the limited effect a piece of malicious code would have, people who wrote such code didn't bother with the Macintosh market. While, to a point, this is probably true, I often wonder if the lack of angst toward those companies that traditionally use Macs as well as the toward Apple Corporation itself, was part of the story.

 

To me this becomes even more apparent today. Those same giant companies that owe their existence to the malicious code producers, would just love to add the growing Macintosh market to their folds. It annoys me to no end every time I see one of them sponsoring a contest to break into a Mac. But what I am seeing is that, yes, it can be done, and yes somebody walks away with $10,000 in their pockets, but no, we don't see a flood of malicious code attacking the Macintosh arena. Could it be that a majority of this malicious code has a specific target and it's not the home consumer enjoying their Macintosh experience?

 

Computer users have changes and matured over the past several decades. What I see now is that the consumer is becoming educated. They want functionality, good customer relations, and a computer that works the way they do. Being more educated and experienced with using computers, they are less apt to just buy what they are familiar with and more apt to use their experience and skills to find a machine that fits them better.

 

With experience comes the willingness and even desire to take control of the machine. Rather then wait for a solution from the IT guru for every little issue, they want to deal with most of the daily issues by themselves. A Windows machine really requires a lot of specialized knowledge. Consider the recent release of XP service pack 3. My day job boss tried three times to upgrade his work machines, but failed due to some problems in the mysterious Windows registry. He was required to download a special application and go into this registry and modify certain files that were the issue. Had he lacked experience and done something wrong, his entire computer would stop working. Manipulating Window's registry files is a scary thing, requiring a lot of skill and experience, and a cause of a lot of problems. An experienced IT guru won't see this as a problem and might even consider the registry as a benefit to using the system. But not the home user. I don't want to spend my money having some Geek do things on my machine, I want to be able to handle the day to day stuff, like installing an upgrade or a new piece of software. Perhaps even installing basic hardware, and even modifying the system to my way of doing things. That’s the Macintosh way ☺

 

That's what using a Macintosh is all about. Empower the user to take control of their computer. Using a computer doesn't have to be difficult. Using a Mac can be really easy. This is not to say that everything is perfect or that problems requiring the guru never occur. Mac OS X has some problems and every so often, an issue occurs that requires a guru. However, this isn't the norm, but the exception. A lot of the issues people have with Macs and computers in general center around a lack of experience. This is especially true for those people who used Window and switched to a Mac. Like trying to speak a new language in a foreign country or driving in a country with different rules of the road, learned behaviors and habits become a source of annoyance. This is especially true when those aspects of using Windows that a person actually become comfortable with, they are often just different enough in MacOS X that they become stumbling blocks.

 

My advice to the switcher is to hang on and gain the Macintosh experience. Once you pass a certain point, you might find that using the Mac has become so easy that the stress of dealing with machines just fizzles away. In my case, I found this lead to me being able to easily analyze issues in other operating systems I work with in a considerably more logical manner. Rather then being uptight and stressed out, I was able to think, "yes, this can be done. All I need to do is figure out how to do it with the rules of this system". Which doesn't mean I am any less frustrated when I have to reboot Windows for every little thing that happens, but I look at it with a lot less stress. (Especially since I know, when I go home, I won't have to deal with any of these issues on my Mac!)

 

This is where I expect the market to move. People want computers that are easier to use, that don’t require an expert on a daily basis, that can easily be modified to quickly provide those tools that are used daily and not clutter the screen with tools used rarely. Apple has done a lot of this with MacOS X, although there is room for improvement. But I will say that they are very far ahead of Windows or any other Operating System in this regard. Even compared to the almost unlimited manipulations available to a Linux user, the Mac is better. Because it is easier to get there.

 

I expect that the next big thing with computers isn’t going to be a new piece of software that does something we hadn’t thought of before, but an Operating System that learns how the owner uses the computer and acts on this knowledge to anticipate their needs. While some people might like having unlimited ability to modify their system, I believe people take a lot of comfort in having a set of rules to follow. They become familiar and therefore comfortable with these rules.

 

This is one of the biggest differences between Mac OS X and Windows. Apple has always tried to enforce programmers to follow a specific set of User Interface guidelines. Consequently, almost every application you run on the Macintosh with have a similar look and feel. All the basic aspects of running an application will always be found in the same location from program to program. In the Window’s arena this isn’t always true. While there is a general standard, no one seems to enforce this. So a user might move from one application to another that have a completely different interface styles. This is fine for experienced people, but a turn off for the novice. More importantly consider this, if the basics of the interface are standard from program to program, any new user won’t have to learn where the basic stuff is and can concentrate on learning the controls specific to that application. The learning curve is smaller.

 

Imagine a computer that learns as you use it. I love the fact that my word processor knows that when I type “hte”, I really meant to type “the” and will change it for me. I could take the time to teach it more of my common typing errors. Imagine a computer system that learns from your actions. That notices how you make corrections in typing, or remembers how you altered a photograph, or what tunes you like to listen to, then makes suggestions to you. We now have enough computing power in our machines to be able to do this.

 

Intelligent operating systems that respond to how the user acts and modifies itself accordingly. Apple could write this code, they have a very good set of rules for a consistently good human user interface. We just need them to write the code into their OS.

 

This, I believe is the future of the computer Operating System and the next big thing with computers and intelligent electronic devices.

 

That’s all I have for this month.

 

As always, keep on using your Mac!