In my experience the number of reboots and downloads for the same vintage re-install of a Mac or PC is about the same. Re-installing the OS on a Mac from a 1 or 2 year disk takes about 3 to 4 re-boots and around 150 MB of downloads (includes misc. apps like Adobe, Flash, etc.)
Re-installing Windows XP from a disk of the same vintage takes 2 to 3 reboots and about the same amount downloads (again, including apps).
Add an additional 1 or 2 reboots if the machine needs firmware upgrades (about the same frequency for a Mac of PC).
Equally irritating, even on a brand new machine for Apple or Dell (and I presume others) the need for massive downloads before the machine is up to date. Why can't the manufacturers ship machines with the most current software?
Securing a windows system isn't really that hard. If you following the following eight easy steps, you will avoid most security problems... unless your users (family) really do something dumb. This procedure will work for most users (do not use for high security/military/banking applications)...
Step 0: Remove all the pre-installed crap from their new computer (this may require reinstalling Windows and the 200 MB of updates); all the manufacturer's shovelware just causes problems (especially Norton, AOL, and other free trials)
Step 1: Install all the programs they will need (pick you choices of mainstream programs...like Quicken, MS Money, Office, games.
Step 2: Set up their account as a normal user (not Administrator); check the NTFS security that they don't have write permission into directories like Programs
Step 3: Buy a cheap (but effective) home router...something by dlink, linksys, etc. Ideally don't set them up wirelessly... but if they really need wireless use a MAC filter to only allow their machine to connect... don't bother with anything fancier.... yes I know James Bond can spoof their MAC address... but really... Turn on the hardware firewall.
Step 4: Install a reliable, but light-weight AV solution (I like Grissoft AVG... it's free); set it to auto update
Step 5: Enable auto updates from Microsoft... have the installed automatically
Step 6: Turn on the windows firewall
Step 7: Remind them to leave their machine turned on so autoupdates are applied (unless you're worried about physical security, there really isn't a need to have them log off).
This configuration will block active X controls (make sure you install whatever they need); between the AV solution and write-protecting the various directories you should be set....
It's really not that hard to have a secure setup for windows.... 95% of the problems would be avoided if people did not run as administrators. In this configuration the machine will be rock solid... I've had system never require a re-boot (except for the odd update).
Step 8: stop by every so often and say hi... ask for a free diner in exchange
Apple has been doing this for years.... sites or publications that don't give glowing reviews are not invited to press conferences, don't get the cool swag, are excluded from preview announcements, don't get access to excutives. It's one way that Apple manipulates (influences) the press... that's why sites that always give great reviews (see Wall St. Journal) always have easy access to the newest equipment and executives.
Review sites are rampant with fradulent reviews on both sides. Manufacturers are giving hardware in exchange for favorable reviews and meanwhile many of the review sites are just shills for hardware vendors. It's always been somewhat true that the advertising side of publications had some influence over the editorial side, it's just gotten much worse (and easier to cheat
The application either works on my platform or it doesn't. If it works on my platform then I'll use it... otherwise I'll pass. The platform issue is moot... sort of like saying the iLife suite is bad because it doesn't work on my PC.
On the otherhand, close integration between the OS and the browser can make for a more seamless experience (and DOJ interactions). IE 7 works on 75+% of the PCs in the world and probably nearly 100% of the PCs in companies with more than 500 employees.
2. Slowly improve it until the market finds it semi-acceptable.
I believe when iPod/iTunes was first announced it was Mac only... the would be in the "slowly improve it until the market finds it semi-acceptable" category. In addition, there have been a series of "flaws" to use such a crass word about Apple with the iPods... non-replacable batteries, defective batteries, scratches... etc.
For fast time to market, nearly everyone continously improves their products after they have been released. This is generally good for consumers...as companies face competition and learn more. Overall, even if you don't buy a competive music player, the more competition the better... driving more featuresand lower prices.
What a hack... You think after you've dropped a couple of bills on a brand new computer it would be designed to work correctly.
Seriously guys...why can't Apple make a laptop that doesn't double as a Friallator? It seems that with all that computer power available in a laptop, the system could do a better job at adjusting fan speed... perhaps on the power control panel there should be various settings... simmer, roast, boil and flame (Apple with Sony batteries only). Alternatively, Apple could come out with a line of cookware design to work with your laptop.
I read your article about the "Microsoft fallacy", but you seem to have totally ignored the corporate market. If a Fortune 500 company really wanted to buy machines without Windows licenses they could easily cut a deal with Dell. Dell already sells machines without OS's (see the workstation/server pages) and can special price & configure machines--in fact, they'll even preload any OS/software you want on a machine (minimum quantities apply). However, big corporations really want Windows--it's easily remotely administered, works well with other applications (especially Exchange) and there is a large ecosystem to support it. From secretary training (how to log in, use word) all the way up to advance internals experts. From a corporate point of view, Windows just works.
Because the big corporation use Windows, all of the smaller firms that buy or sell to the big corporations frequently need to use windows. Sure I could deliver a presentation myself using keynote, but the first time I send it to a corporate client will be the last time with that client. Same thing with sending a document in a "weird" apple font (sure they can open it, but it will look strange--the question will come back "can't you just put it on a PC?".)
The iSeries (iTunes, iMove, iGarageBand) is essentially meaningless in the corporate environment. Apple has pretty much given up any hope of getting more than a pip of share in companies with more than 500 employees. The same thing is somewhat (although not completely) true in the educational market.
The training cost of a new hire who doesn't know how to use Windows/Office is higher than one who does--two identically candidate--one who is ready to go and the other who "gee I've only used a Mac, but boy can I operate GarageBand" which would you hire?
Apple are cool, shiny objects--just keep them at home.
Why is it on./ that we have articles like this once a week or so, yet I've never seen a headline like "Why Apple can't complete with Microsoft for Operating System", or "Why Apple will never amount to anything in the corporate environment"?
Apple has less OS market share than the "minor" ipod-wannabes, yet the./ crowd still thinks Apple matters in Operating Systems. In the corporate market, Apple has basically 0% market share... so by the iPod "logic" used in this article, why should it even bother to compete.
Also, the market share for "other" in the portable music play market varies considerably depending on what you count as portable music players.... the biggest share is still CD/radio players if you include the auto market.
The same could be said for Windows.... there is Windows and there is everything else... With a 5% share is OS X even relevant?
Is the macintosh relevant is a better question...
on
The Relevance of Windows
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· Score: 2, Insightful
With a 95+% share of the overall market and a nearly 100% share of the corporate (250+ employees) windows remains very relevant. There is a whole "ecosystem" of windows that will keep it around for a long time.
Yet with less than 5% share and almost 0% of the corporate market, the./'er argue about the relevancy of (pick one) Mac OS X, desktop Linux, Amigas, etc. The real question is should anyone care about the Mac? Will that be around for the next 5 years?
Hardware is almost required to debug some low-level system code. Real-time stuff, like device drivers and scheduler really requires hardware tracer to determine what happened and when.
With XP, almost all of the crashes are due to bad (usually non-MS) device drivers. If you run a system with pure MS drivers and quality hardware you'll never see a BSOD. If you run the usual business suite of software (Office, Outlook, IE) you probably never see an application crash.
It's the crappy hardware and badly written drivers that cause the crashes. That's the difference with Apple.... since they control the hardware there's less crashes due to bad hardware and there are fewer third-party drivers for Mac hardware. The software is probably the same quality.
How would this be any different for an Apple user who is told to enter their root password (and first given instructions on how to enable it). Generically this is called the "dancing bunny", if people really want to see the dancing bunny, they will follow amazing instructions... here install this new bios, ignore that warning, disable the whatever.
The best a good adminstrator can do is use strong policies and never let a user run as adminstrator. The home user is pretty much screwed.
Of course the facts point out the opposite. Even in the 5+ years of the iPod, Apple's market share has barely budged. They might have gained a fraction of a point in the home/consumer market, but their share in the business (especially 100+ employee) market has remained the same. With Apple just becoming a consumer gadget maker, it's harder then ever to recommend them for the business market.
Just like the iPod has an ecosphere of attachments, Windows has a much larger ecosphere in the busienss market--from Exchange to system adminstrators Apple can never succeed in the mid- to large-sized business.
Would the fanboi response be different if this article was titled "Microsoft: will it ever die in the enterprise market?"
I think the same comment could be made about iTunes. What is iTunes other than another distribution channel? Itunes doesn't create any content, they just repackage it in a faster (but somewhat less valuable format). There's no real innovation in itunes... any more than there is in a highly efficient distribution channel. It's just that itunes is a bright and shinny object... where a distribution channel is kind of gritty and back room.
Why is it that 5% (or less) marketshare for Apple computers is hugely important, yet when other MP3 music players have 5% share it doesn't matter? Apple has only 70% of the music player market (depends on what you include)... that means the competition must have 30%.
Microsoft has 95% of the PC OS market... why should anyone care about OS X with less than 5%?
Whether legally wrong or not doesn't really matter. The standard that one's action should be judge by is "would you be ok if this decision was on the front page of the WSJ or Newsweek?" It's fortunate that the press still has some spine left and holds business leaders up to this standard.
I believe that Apple is "fast following" the Dell trend in recalling exploding laptop batteries. Apple "we don't need no stinking recall" has finally been pressured into recalling their exploding batteries.
Technically correct... all computers have been (were, actually) banned. So the statement "No Dell computers are allowed on flights from the UK is correct." One could also say, that "All computers running OS X have been banned from flights"
If some friend had given you the same report on a Dell--it makes funny noises, paint problems and occasionally has backlighting problem--would you have said "oh well, it's not really a big deal". Or would you have ranted about crappy Microsoft software and shoddy manufacturing.
It's the Macintosh buyer's smugness (aka RDF) that allows the firm to get away with lower quality. Having bought a Mac, the owners are loath to say that there are any problems. With PC's users are much more likely to complain because a) it can do some good since there is competition and b) they can always buy something else.
I guess that's the advantage of competition. If Dell or HP makes a crappy machine, they know that their customers can easily switch to another vendor.
With Macs, Apple knows that the customer is "stuck". Quality isn't as important, as the customer has already invested in software and training that is Mac-specific.
The parent post is now stuck with buying Macs--and even worse really doesn't have a second-source for repairs as almost all the non-Apple Mac dealers have been put out of business by Apple stores.
Apple has a de-facto monopoly among existing Mac users. Take it or leave it.
Why go through all that trouble.... most companies (> 100 employees) look for compatibility and easy management. All the consumer fluff (iTunes, garage band, imovie, ipicture) has no place in most workplace settings. If you're looking for a stable, well-accepted, easy-to-remotely manage environment Windows XP pro with Window Servers is about the only solution. For home users, very small businesses and creative types the Mac has a place, but it doesn't play well in a corporate environment.
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In my experience the number of reboots and downloads for the same vintage re-install of a Mac or PC is about the same. Re-installing the OS on a Mac from a 1 or 2 year disk takes about 3 to 4 re-boots and around 150 MB of downloads (includes misc. apps like Adobe, Flash, etc.)
Re-installing Windows XP from a disk of the same vintage takes 2 to 3 reboots and about the same amount downloads (again, including apps).
Add an additional 1 or 2 reboots if the machine needs firmware upgrades (about the same frequency for a Mac of PC).
Equally irritating, even on a brand new machine for Apple or Dell (and I presume others) the need for massive downloads before the machine is up to date. Why can't the manufacturers ship machines with the most current software?
Securing a windows system isn't really that hard. If you following the following eight easy steps, you will avoid most security problems... unless your users (family) really do something dumb. This procedure will work for most users (do not use for high security/military/banking applications)...
... have the installed automatically
Step 0: Remove all the pre-installed crap from their new computer (this may require reinstalling Windows and the 200 MB of updates); all the manufacturer's shovelware just causes problems (especially Norton, AOL, and other free trials)
Step 1: Install all the programs they will need (pick you choices of mainstream programs...like Quicken, MS Money, Office, games.
Step 2: Set up their account as a normal user (not Administrator); check the NTFS security that they don't have write permission into directories like Programs
Step 3: Buy a cheap (but effective) home router...something by dlink, linksys, etc. Ideally don't set them up wirelessly... but if they really need wireless use a MAC filter to only allow their machine to connect... don't bother with anything fancier.... yes I know James Bond can spoof their MAC address... but really... Turn on the hardware firewall.
Step 4: Install a reliable, but light-weight AV solution (I like Grissoft AVG... it's free); set it to auto update
Step 5: Enable auto updates from Microsoft
Step 6: Turn on the windows firewall
Step 7: Remind them to leave their machine turned on so autoupdates are applied (unless you're worried about physical security, there really isn't a need to have them log off).
This configuration will block active X controls (make sure you install whatever they need); between the AV solution and write-protecting the various directories you should be set....
It's really not that hard to have a secure setup for windows.... 95% of the problems would be avoided if people did not run as administrators. In this configuration the machine will be rock solid... I've had system never require a re-boot (except for the odd update).
Step 8: stop by every so often and say hi... ask for a free diner in exchange
Is anyone surprised by this?
Apple has been doing this for years.... sites or publications that don't give glowing reviews are not invited to press conferences, don't get the cool swag, are excluded from preview announcements, don't get access to excutives. It's one way that Apple manipulates (influences) the press... that's why sites that always give great reviews (see Wall St. Journal) always have easy access to the newest equipment and executives.
Review sites are rampant with fradulent reviews on both sides. Manufacturers are giving hardware in exchange for favorable reviews and meanwhile many of the review sites are just shills for hardware vendors. It's always been somewhat true that the advertising side of publications had some influence over the editorial side, it's just gotten much worse (and easier to cheat
Nearly every app on the mac has it's own interface.... I think MS is merely copying the mac style of no style.
The application either works on my platform or it doesn't. If it works on my platform then I'll use it... otherwise I'll pass. The platform issue is moot... sort of like saying the iLife suite is bad because it doesn't work on my PC.
On the otherhand, close integration between the OS and the browser can make for a more seamless experience (and DOJ interactions). IE 7 works on 75+% of the PCs in the world and probably nearly 100% of the PCs in companies with more than 500 employees.
Maybe it will have a built in virus that will infect other operating systems. Damn.... Apple already did this.
2. Slowly improve it until the market finds it semi-acceptable.
I believe when iPod/iTunes was first announced it was Mac only... the would be in the "slowly improve it until the market finds it semi-acceptable" category. In addition, there have been a series of "flaws" to use such a crass word about Apple with the iPods... non-replacable batteries, defective batteries, scratches... etc.
For fast time to market, nearly everyone continously improves their products after they have been released. This is generally good for consumers...as companies face competition and learn more. Overall, even if you don't buy a competive music player, the more competition the better... driving more featuresand lower prices.
What a hack... You think after you've dropped a couple of bills on a brand new computer it would be designed to work correctly.
Seriously guys...why can't Apple make a laptop that doesn't double as a Friallator? It seems that with all that computer power available in a laptop, the system could do a better job at adjusting fan speed... perhaps on the power control panel there should be various settings... simmer, roast, boil and flame (Apple with Sony batteries only). Alternatively, Apple could come out with a line of cookware design to work with your laptop.
Perhaps ZUNE/SanDisk/Sony/Reo/??? will be the 5% innovation now that iPods have stagnated (unless you count RED as an innovation)
I read your article about the "Microsoft fallacy", but you seem to have totally ignored the corporate market. If a Fortune 500 company really wanted to buy machines without Windows licenses they could easily cut a deal with Dell. Dell already sells machines without OS's (see the workstation/server pages) and can special price & configure machines--in fact, they'll even preload any OS/software you want on a machine (minimum quantities apply). However, big corporations really want Windows--it's easily remotely administered, works well with other applications (especially Exchange) and there is a large ecosystem to support it. From secretary training (how to log in, use word) all the way up to advance internals experts. From a corporate point of view, Windows just works.
Because the big corporation use Windows, all of the smaller firms that buy or sell to the big corporations frequently need to use windows. Sure I could deliver a presentation myself using keynote, but the first time I send it to a corporate client will be the last time with that client. Same thing with sending a document in a "weird" apple font (sure they can open it, but it will look strange--the question will come back "can't you just put it on a PC?".)
The iSeries (iTunes, iMove, iGarageBand) is essentially meaningless in the corporate environment. Apple has pretty much given up any hope of getting more than a pip of share in companies with more than 500 employees. The same thing is somewhat (although not completely) true in the educational market.
The training cost of a new hire who doesn't know how to use Windows/Office is higher than one who does--two identically candidate--one who is ready to go and the other who "gee I've only used a Mac, but boy can I operate GarageBand" which would you hire?
Apple are cool, shiny objects--just keep them at home.
Why is it on ./ that we have articles like this once a week or so, yet I've never seen a headline like "Why Apple can't complete with Microsoft for Operating System", or "Why Apple will never amount to anything in the corporate environment"?
./ crowd still thinks Apple matters in Operating Systems. In the corporate market, Apple has basically 0% market share... so by the iPod "logic" used in this article, why should it even bother to compete.
Apple has less OS market share than the "minor" ipod-wannabes, yet the
Also, the market share for "other" in the portable music play market varies considerably depending on what you count as portable music players.... the biggest share is still CD/radio players if you include the auto market.
The same could be said for Windows.... there is Windows and there is everything else... With a 5% share is OS X even relevant?
With a 95+% share of the overall market and a nearly 100% share of the corporate (250+ employees) windows remains very relevant. There is a whole "ecosystem" of windows that will keep it around for a long time.
./'er argue about the relevancy of (pick one) Mac OS X, desktop Linux, Amigas, etc. The real question is should anyone care about the Mac? Will that be around for the next 5 years?
./.
Yet with less than 5% share and almost 0% of the corporate market, the
There seems to be a "distortion effect" on
Hardware is almost required to debug some low-level system code. Real-time stuff, like device drivers and scheduler really requires hardware tracer to determine what happened and when.
With XP, almost all of the crashes are due to bad (usually non-MS) device drivers. If you run a system with pure MS drivers and quality hardware you'll never see a BSOD. If you run the usual business suite of software (Office, Outlook, IE) you probably never see an application crash.
It's the crappy hardware and badly written drivers that cause the crashes. That's the difference with Apple.... since they control the hardware there's less crashes due to bad hardware and there are fewer third-party drivers for Mac hardware. The software is probably the same quality.
How would this be any different for an Apple user who is told to enter their root password (and first given instructions on how to enable it). Generically this is called the "dancing bunny", if people really want to see the dancing bunny, they will follow amazing instructions... here install this new bios, ignore that warning, disable the whatever.
The best a good adminstrator can do is use strong policies and never let a user run as adminstrator. The home user is pretty much screwed.
Of course the facts point out the opposite. Even in the 5+ years of the iPod, Apple's market share has barely budged. They might have gained a fraction of a point in the home/consumer market, but their share in the business (especially 100+ employee) market has remained the same. With Apple just becoming a consumer gadget maker, it's harder then ever to recommend them for the business market.
Just like the iPod has an ecosphere of attachments, Windows has a much larger ecosphere in the busienss market--from Exchange to system adminstrators Apple can never succeed in the mid- to large-sized business.
Would the fanboi response be different if this article was titled "Microsoft: will it ever die in the enterprise market?"
I think the same comment could be made about iTunes. What is iTunes other than another distribution channel? Itunes doesn't create any content, they just repackage it in a faster (but somewhat less valuable format). There's no real innovation in itunes ... any more than there is in a highly efficient distribution channel. It's just that itunes is a bright and shinny object... where a distribution channel is kind of gritty and back room.
Why is it that 5% (or less) marketshare for Apple computers is hugely important, yet when other MP3 music players have 5% share it doesn't matter? Apple has only 70% of the music player market (depends on what you include)... that means the competition must have 30%.
Microsoft has 95% of the PC OS market... why should anyone care about OS X with less than 5%?
Whether legally wrong or not doesn't really matter. The standard that one's action should be judge by is "would you be ok if this decision was on the front page of the WSJ or Newsweek?" It's fortunate that the press still has some spine left and holds business leaders up to this standard.
I believe that Apple is "fast following" the Dell trend in recalling exploding laptop batteries. Apple "we don't need no stinking recall" has finally been pressured into recalling their exploding batteries.
It's not a bug, it's a feature.
Technically correct... all computers have been (were, actually) banned. So the statement "No Dell computers are allowed on flights from the UK is correct." One could also say, that "All computers running OS X have been banned from flights"
By "lights out" the previous post did not mean pulling the plug. Although for some servers that might be a good idea.
By the way, could anyone help me find the "any" key?
If some friend had given you the same report on a Dell--it makes funny noises, paint problems and occasionally has backlighting problem--would you have said "oh well, it's not really a big deal". Or would you have ranted about crappy Microsoft software and shoddy manufacturing.
It's the Macintosh buyer's smugness (aka RDF) that allows the firm to get away with lower quality. Having bought a Mac, the owners are loath to say that there are any problems. With PC's users are much more likely to complain because a) it can do some good since there is competition and b) they can always buy something else.
I guess that's the advantage of competition. If Dell or HP makes a crappy machine, they know that their customers can easily switch to another vendor.
With Macs, Apple knows that the customer is "stuck". Quality isn't as important, as the customer has already invested in software and training that is Mac-specific.
The parent post is now stuck with buying Macs--and even worse really doesn't have a second-source for repairs as almost all the non-Apple Mac dealers have been put out of business by Apple stores.
Apple has a de-facto monopoly among existing Mac users. Take it or leave it.
Why go through all that trouble.... most companies (> 100 employees) look for compatibility and easy management. All the consumer fluff (iTunes, garage band, imovie, ipicture) has no place in most workplace settings. If you're looking for a stable, well-accepted, easy-to-remotely manage environment Windows XP pro with Window Servers is about the only solution. For home users, very small businesses and creative types the Mac has a place, but it doesn't play well in a corporate environment.