I have tried moving onto Redhat and Macs, but there is nothing quite like Windows.

I found it hard not to go back to Windows because it just offers so much more.

- Informer, who just got a nice white PSP but can’t play the homebrew stuff except on his black one.

And then run to Best Buy and listen to some teenager on commission sell them the first PC they see.

Except Best Buy is non-commission.  Try again.

I think there are definitely a lot of myths. A big myth I’ve run into for many years comes from my Windows-using neighbors, “You have to have a Windows PC to talk to other Windows PCs” and “I need a Windows PC to run MS Office.” “You can’t upgrade Macs” is another famous myth.

I think we’ve established that the statement, “Windows PCs have a lot more hassles than Macs” is not a myth. That’s the #1 reason I use my Macs over my Windows PCs. I have a lot more hassles on every Windows PC I use and own and they require a lot more hand-holding. I had to learn, through great drama, what not to do with Windows PC to avoid getting them hosed. “Don’t use IE for shady sites” is a great example.

#2 would be that I think the Windows UI is garbage. From a task bar that orders tasks chronologically so they are always in a different order, to the printer setup that says my LAN printer isn’t a network printer but local, to the open save dialogs that aren’t consistent between applications and need to be hacked to customize the limited 6 shortcuts on the left pane, to the print dialogs that are not consistent across applications…

This sums up the Windows UI pretty well: Click on one of the tabs in the dialog, click on Properties, click on another tab, then click on Advanced Properties, realize it’s not in Advanced Properties and than go back and click on Preferences. That’s the printer dialog, for example, and almost every other Windows dialog.

#3 Apple’s passion for making great software. Like Nick, I really like iLife, but I also use Apple’s Pro apps and I think they are the bomb.

Now this doesn’t mean I think Microsoft is evil and Apple is noble, like many Mac zealots. That’s ridiculous. I think Apple would be much like Microsoft if they were in their shoes. And if a Windows PC came out that had none of the hassles Windows XP has, had a much better UI (I’m not impressed with Vista, I mean it has the same freakin task bar), and some software that I preferred over the Mac equivalent, I’d easily switch back to Windows PCs as my main system.

Unlike some of the “crapintosh” Windows zealots, I don’t have animosity for Apple because of their advertising, or for any other billion-dollar corporation. Use whatever solution you think best fits your needs. Having animosity towards a company or CEO is just weird.

OS X can be completely customized through 3rd party freeware/shareware, BTW.

I use to power up my PCs for games that I couldn’t get on my Mac, but the cost of upgrading them to be able to play the latest games got to be hard to justify when you can get all three gaming consoles for less than the price of the best gaming video card out now. PC game sales have been going down for years (down 10.5% in just the first half of 2005) and I think that PC gaming is becoming more and more insignificant because of consoles.

For the price of a dual-core PC with a high-end PCIe video card, you can get yourself a Mac and all 3 consoles and an HD TV with surround sound.

Very nice article, Nick. I’ve been telling people this for years now! For some, they need an Apple. For others, a custom-built PC by yours truly is best.

For yet others, a Dell PC with the whole shebang for $599 is right on the spot.

But the important part, as I learned when I worked at a used/new/refurb computer store (Computer Renaissance) - you gotta ask the people what they are doing with their computer and why they think they want X or Y.

It’d be nice if people would think of these things on their own - but many do not, assuming a computer is like an appliance. Well, it isn’t, and never will be - maybe a CUTDOWN computer, such as a game console or a Web portal device - but never a full-on general purpose computer.

And given the breadth of tasks a computer can manage, it’ll be that way for a long time.

May the consumer open his eyes, do his research and find what fits best for him. If not, may more Best Buy employees sell their wares with the consumer’s needs and wishes in mind!

You know, I’d love to see a psychological study of users of each platform done to see what it is about that platform that keeps some people stickin to it.

I mean, in this day and age, there’s very little you can do on one platform that cannot be done on another, and any gaps that do exist are closing almost daily. I’ve long since held (at least four years now) that there is no way to determine if one platform is better for a generalized mass of folks than the other one. At least, noone has put together the impressively humongous effort with the studies, research and manpower it would take to truly rate all platforms against one another in an objective, thorough manner.

It seems to me that for most folks, and especially those who have little to no experience with other platforms, there is more to it than what folks want to do with the computer - more to it than X is better than Y.

I have no idea what that might be, but given that there are a loud number of zealots on all sides of the Xgon for each platform, people certainly do have an emotional and personal attachment to the one they use.

Is it the same as why folks pick a Ford over a Chevy? Is it that each platform has it’s own “personality” that each person gravitates toward?

I have no trouble admitting that I just don’t get the love affair of any zealot with their respective platform - it seems to me that there should be logic involved with what you choose, and I have done just that in every purchase of every computer I’ve owned. But perhaps that is why my home-brewed machine on the x86 platform with Windows is what I choose. It’s neutral. I have no love for Windows. I enjoy it, but if I was forced to use another, I’d have no problems adapting and becoming proficient AND enjoying my experience (as it is now with the Mac OS, as I make a living in the print media using a G5 and OS 10.4).

But perhaps people just go with their gut most of the time…

I guess my take on it, as I understand it from the experiences of my life, reading others’ experiences and myriad other ways I’ve come across computing information - is that I believe there is no “best” for everyone, sometimes a person needs what makes them feel best and sometimes the logical approach works best. We can argue and convince and flame and bitch and moan and whatever all we want - but none of that changes the diversity of needs and wants of computer users, and none of that will prove or finalize that one or another is better or worse.

We can give reasons why we THINK that one is better, and we can easily prove why it is for ourselves and people close to us - but anything beyond that is just the same as politics… A lot of spin and a lot of opinion that is based more on bias than on reality…

Biased people have weird animosity towards Microsoft or Apple. They huff and puff about Apple’s advertising and get really mad about it, or they get really mad about Steve Jobs’ comments or “reality distortion field”...or they huff and puff about Microsoft’s “attempts to take over the world”. Ha! I don’t understand how people can get so mad like that.

Biased people also never criticize the platform they prefer.

When I want to buy a digital camera, I take my friend’s and neighbor’s opinions on their digital cameras seriously. I listen to what they like and dislike. I also read reviews and go look up the tech support forums to see if there are more problems with one camera over another.

If my neighbor hates his Nikon and gives me specific reasons as to why he doesn’t like it, I don’t take that as spin or bias. I take that as someone who genuinely dislikes that product and has valid reasons. It’s up to me to decide if his/her reasons apply to me. One person may think that Nikon has too many hassles. Another person may put up with the hassles in order to have a greater selection of lenses. A biased person doesn’t admit the problems or limitations of their preferred platform. A reasonable person admits those issues exist but justifies putting up with them.

An interesting article from the Wall Street Journal today that addresses the issue of the differences between Macs & PCs and goes a log way to explain why people have their preferences:

http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/ptech-20051229.html

(I’m not impressed with Vista, I mean it has the same freakin task bar),

Here’s something kinda cool…
In Vista 5270 (Dec.CTP) you can hide the taskbar completely and use the new window switchers (atl-tab and windows=tab).  For the most part they act kinda like Exposé now.  There are a few more options for stacking windows now too.  In the past you could always cascade and tile windows but now you can stack them in two new ways (side by side being one of them).

I got the idea from watching a few channel9 videos where the Microsoft guys were zooming around in various applications (Visual Studio, MS Office etc.) and around the system itself without even thinking about grabbing the mouse.  Nothing short of amazing was the speed at which these guys moved.

Actually, most of those guys were demostrating on XP and just using the ALT-Tab, CNTRL-Tab features… I think Vista makes it a lot more discoverable to the average user now.

I’ve stopped using the taskbar completely in the last few days BTW…

That WSJ article is just thinly-veiled Mac advocacy.  He basically wrote off e-Machines as a “small” PC company even though they were far larger than Apple in terms of sales.  He failed to mention Sony, whose focus is similar to Apple’s but more slanted towards TV and digital media integration (did you know they were the first company to bundle music making software with PC’s?).  And of course, the two elephants in the room named “Toshiba” and “HP” might have something to say about that as well.

Once could go on to say that Apple’s computer focus is more often on content creation workers than regular consumers but that might destroy his point of Apple advocacy.  If you look at the only place you really see Mac ads nowadays then that point would be undeniable…

And here’s the thing I don’t understand…
Walt Mossberg writes for the Wall Street Journal which is primarily read by business people who are, inturn Windows users and very much a part of the “IT” comtrolled world.  So why would they care for his articles?  Maybe that would explain why Apple’s stock price is so high, huh?

Actually, most of those guys were demostrating on XP and just using the ALT-Tab, CNTRL-Tab features… I think Vista makes it a lot more discoverable to the average user now.

In XP, those features are hindered by the also-annoying SDI applications. Having a task button or icon for every single window hinders productivity, for me.

Does Vista get rid of SDI and default only to MDI? That would be wonderful progress, IMHO.

To me, pressing ALT TAB 15 times to get to the application I want is not productive.

The other problem I have with this method, on both Windows and OS X, is the fact that it’s ordered chronologically. I can easily switch to Photoshop in OS X right now because there is always an icon for it in exactly the same spot in my Dock. It’s always there and it’s always in the same spot, along with Safari, Word, Mail, etc.

A Vista Exposé would be a wonderful feature, as it is in OS X, if they implement it like Apple and not in 3D like some of the earlier images I have seen of it. 3D makes no sense at all, to me, and only hides the thumbnails that communicate to me what those documents are.

That WSJ article is just thinly-veiled Mac advocacy. 

That’s what Walt does, really.

I think he makes good points about targeting IT, if his facts are correct.

But you are right that there are lots of PC companies out there targeting consumers.

Once could go on to say that Apple’s computer focus is more often on content creation workers than regular consumers but that might destroy his point of Apple advocacy.  If you look at the only place you really see Mac ads nowadays then that point would be undeniable…

I respectfully disagree. Apple’s focus seems to be on the consumer based on their success with the iPod, iMac, iBook.

The ads from Apple that I see are consumer ads for either iTMS/iPod and iLife, in magazines like Entertainment Weekly and Time.

The bulk of Apple’s revenue definitely comes from the consumers and not content creators.

But that doesn’t mean that no PC company targets consumers.

Having said that, one could argue that all of the IT-oriented features and applications Microsoft works on takes away from the consumer-oriented “just works” aspect that could be more prevalent in Windows. It seems the OS is designed for IT and some nuggets are thrown in for the consumer.

KG, did you see that quote from Ballmer about lower yields of PowerPCs from IBM for the XBox 360? Amazing.

In XP, those features are hindered by the also-annoying SDI applications. Having a task button or icon for every single window hinders productivity, for me.

You do realize that nearly everything on the Mac outside of tabbed web browsers is SDI, right?

I thought you hated MDI because of the lack of separate windows in Macromedia, Office, and Adobe apps?

To me, pressing ALT TAB 15 times to get to the application I want is not productive.

The new ALT-TAB works more similar to Exposé in that you get one live scaled thumbnail for each window on open and you can click on the window you want to switch to.  Each icon has another icon showing which app it belongs to and the windows are laid out in the order in which they are stacked on your desktop.
Even windows that have been minimized show up there.  There’s a couple things about it I don’t like but overall it’s very nice and quite speedy.

http://www.extremetech.com/slideshow_viewer /0,1205,l=167893&s=200&a=167795&po=8 ,00.asp

A Vista Exposé would be a wonderful feature, as it is in OS X, if they implement it like Apple and not in 3D like some of the earlier images I have seen of it. 3D makes no sense at all, to me, and only hides the thumbnails that communicate to me what those documents are.

That’s Flip3D   a.k.a Windows-tab
It sucks… the new ALT-TAB is so much better.
Microsoft should just change it to resemble Exposé IMO.  I think Exposé is just one of those things that should be part of the standard computer user interface like minizing windows (or the idea of windows entirely), desktops, alt-tab, “file” menu’s etc.
Every computer should have it although I still think there are some improvements that can be made in that area.

I respectfully disagree. Apple’s focus seems to be on the consumer based on their success with the iPod, iMac, iBook.

The iPod isn’t a computer so I won’t address it but the iMac and iBook seem to get hand me downs from the “Power” lines which are aimed towards the creative crowd.  They don’t operate on their for their own sake like how HP’s business lines operate in relation to their consumer lines.  For instance, when a new Intel processor comes out or jumps up in speed you will never see HP use that product to create separation from their business line whereas Apple would do something like that.  That IMO says they are holding their Pro line well above their consumer lines in the same way that Dell’s business line decisions have shaped a fair portion of their consumer lines (not really the XPS line though).

Dell’s consumer line of computers is even more successful than Apple’s consumer lines yet for the most part they are just as influenced by their business line as Apple’s “i” line is by their Pro line.  Not much difference.

The ads from Apple that I see are consumer ads for either iTMS/iPod and iLife, in magazines like Entertainment Weekly and Time.

I said, “Mac ads” not “Apple ads”. You see Mac ads all the time in Videography, Studio Mag, Photoshop Mag, Design Graphics, Popular Photography, DV, and such.  The only things they really advertise (as far as computers) are their Pro lines and Xserves/Xgrid.  The “i” lines have no real advertising presence IMO.
They seem targeted towards the Mac’s typical user base, customers, and fans.  That’s probably why they need no advertising.

Having said that, one could argue that all of the IT-oriented features and applications Microsoft works on takes away from the consumer-oriented “just works� aspect that could be more prevalent in Windows. It seems the OS is designed for IT and some nuggets are thrown in for the consumer.

In terms of XP I’d agree with that 100%.  Microsoft pretty much made XP to be the basis of a much more complete experience provided by the companies that generally sell computing to the world: the OEM’s.  Those OEM’s are supposed to take XP and customize it into their own thing kinda like how Ubuntu, Xandros, Knoppix, and Linspire are customized versions of Debian.  But no, the major OEM’s had to be stupid and lazy.  A few smaller manufacuters like Bang and Olufsom, Tascam, and Digidesign (Avid)did the correct thing by highly customizing a XP base into something great (like Ubuntu) but most OEM’s were just happy to ride on the Windows brand name.  Apple did the same customization thing to FreeBSD.
I read somewhere that they actually considered going with NT for the core of their next-gen OS (which became OS X) but jumped at the chance to reaquire Steve Jobs and NeXT.  Things might have been quite interesting now if they had done the NT thing and switched to Intel then like some have suggested they were thinking about doing.  But that’s OT.

But anyway, Microsoft is going to remedy the situation with Vista by creating specific versions of Windows tailored to certian markets.  That’s why there are so many more Edition’s this time around.  Us enthusiasts will get a more fully integrated experience that “just works” out of the box by going with the Ultimate Edition.  We’ll get all the digital media stuff for photos, video (editing), games, DVD authoring and ripping, and Media Center/Tablet functionality in addition to more advanced features like the subsystem for Unix apps, Virtual PC, remote desktop, system performance tweaker, and probably some extra Windows Live-type stuff and no activation.

Lazy OEM’s get what they want in Home Premium Edition. And all the other editions probably won’t show up in the consumer space but give the more creative OEM’s and IT people what they want.

Looking at Paul Thurrott’s list of features for each edition I think MS has done a great job as long as only two of those editions go mainstream (ultimate and home premium).

KG, did you see that quote from Ballmer about lower yields of PowerPCs from IBM for the XBox 360? Amazing.

Nope, but we knew Xbox 360’s would be scarce around X-Mas time.  What’s amazing is that IBM and Microsoft put out 500,000+ of those CPU’s in a month and Apple somehow couldn’t get 100,000 PPC’s in a quarter.

So now that you’re implying that the CPU’s Microsoft got are similar to the one’s Apple got then don’t you think it’s interesting that Apple had problems shipping 25,000-30,000 processors per month(and that’s the combine number of high-end and low end) while Microsoft didn’t hit problems until they got to around 20 times that amount? And IBM had to manufacture the same amount of cutting edge ATI video cards as well. That’s Amazing.

Obviously something must be different in that Microsoft situation compared to the Apple situation, wouldn’t you say?  Maybe Apple’s at fault here?

I was really thinking that I’d use Expose more now that we are 100% OS X.4, but I find that no windowshading (ugh, I liked that) has me just doing what I used to do in Windows, using the Apple-tilde to cycle through the documents. Expose still requires too much effort to work within my workflow…

I wish Apple had decided to make an option for windowshading. Further, I kinda wish that Exposé worked more like the Apple-Tab, in that it would just overlay the windows to choose from without actually moving things around on my screen - like the new Vista Alt-Tab.

And oddly, now I have windowshading in Windows, without paying extra for an application to enable it (built into nVidia drivers) - but I can’t do the same in OS X… Funny how things work out…

I wish Apple had decided to make an option for windowshading. Further, I kinda wish that Exposé worked more like the Apple-Tab, in that it would just overlay the windows to choose from without actually moving things around on my screen - like the new Vista Alt-Tab.

Apple should have provided options for many of the old Mac OS UI features.  The Window tab thing was kinda cool too.

You do realize that nearly everything on the Mac outside of tabbed web browsers is SDI, right?
I thought you hated MDI because of the lack of separate windows in Macromedia, Office, and Adobe apps?

MDI has a single task button for the application and none for each document. That’s OS X. Context is important here, KG. We were talking about the task bar.

The new ALT-TAB works more similar to Exposé in that you get one live scaled thumbnail for each window on open and you can click on the window you want to switch to.  Each icon has another icon showing which app it belongs to and the windows are laid out in the order in which they are stacked on your desktop. 
Even windows that have been minimized show up there.  There’s a couple things about it I don’t like but overall it’s very nice and quite speedy.

I don’t like the idea of the documents I want out of the way (minimized) showing up in all that

The iPod isn’t a computer so I won’t address it

Ah, so iPods have nothing to do with their computer business? Front Row and iTMS, the design of the iMac...you are just going to ignore those when discussing if Apple is more focused on consumers or creators?

the iMac and iBook seem to get hand me downs from the “Power� lines which are aimed towards the creative crowd

You aren’t really making any sense here. Slower processors being in consumer systems doesn’t really address whether or not a company is focusing in on one market more than another.
The iMac is designed from the ground up for the consumer. So is the Mac mini and the iBook.

For instance, when a new Intel processor comes out or jumps up in speed you will never see HP use that product to create separation from their business line whereas Apple would do something like that. 

So HP and Dell don’t separate their products with workstations and desktops?
Telling me that Apple segments their product line into pro and consumer doesn’t at all relate to whether or not Apple focuses more on consumers or content creators.

I said, “Mac ads� not “Apple ads�.

I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen a PowerMac ad. I see iMac ads and Mac mini ads.

You see Mac ads all the time in Videography, Studio Mag, Photoshop Mag, Design Graphics, Popular Photography, DV, and such. 

So your logic is because you see Mac ads in content creator magazines, they are more focused on content creators than consumers? That’s flawed logic, really.

The only things they really advertise (as far as computers) are their Pro lines and Xserves/Xgrid.  The “i� lines have no real advertising presence IMO.

Ah, so the whole Switcher campaign was for content creators? No, it was for consumers. The iMac TV commercials were for content creators? The flying Airport base station? The colors iMac commercial? The Hello iBook commercial? The Think Different commercials?
The current 2 full page OS X Tiger ads in Time magazine are for content creators?
Apple spends a fraction of their advertising dollars on content creators. They spend the bulk of their ad dollars targeting consumers.

But anyway, Microsoft is going to remedy the situation with Vista

I hope so!

Nope, but we knew Xbox 360’s would be scarce around X-Mas time. 

They are more scarce than Microsoft predicted. Ballmer specifically stated that the yield of those processors was less than they expected, which is exactly what Apple said about IBM which was backed up by an IBM executive’s quote I gave you about their problems with their FAB.

So now that you’re implying that the CPU’s Microsoft got are similar to the one’s Apple got

Where did I say that? I’m saying IBM had yield issues with the PowerPC 970 and they are having yield issues (according to Ballmer) with the PowerPC Microsoft is using in the XBox 360.

Microsoft sold 44,000 XBox 360s in the first 2 days of sale in Japan. Compare that to 940,000 PS2s in the first 3 days in Japan and 500,000 PS2s in the first 24 hours in the USA.

Microsoft sold 325,902 XBox 360 consoles in the USA in all of November.

I wish Apple had decided to make an option for windowshading

It’s amazing how people have completely different takes on user interfaces. I always hated windowshading. It’s actually a fix for a flawed desktop metaphor user interface—you need to get stuff out of the way so you can see your desktop.

I was thrilled when Apple realized the flaw with this UI. I actually don’t use my desktop at all in OS X, and it’s wonderful because I never need to Hide Others or windowshade anything to get them out of the way.

I don’t really see the point of collapsing my browser window with windowshade right now, or any other window. You end up with this bar floating there and it gets lost behind the other windows and you have to go find it and then expand it to use it. Maybe I’m missing something.

Pop-up folders was another fix for the flawed desktop metaphor.

The new ALT-TAB works more similar to Exposé in that you get one live scaled thumbnail for each window on open and you can click on the window you want to switch to.

Thanks for the link.

What this looks like to me is Vista is going to continue some of the main problems I have with the XP UI. There is no quick, constant method for switching between applications.

In OS X, I can switch between Photoshop and Safari very, very quickly because their icons are always in the same spot in the Dock. I don’t have to go fishing for them like I do with the Windows task bar, which has those task buttons in a different order every time.

And because I have task buttons for Word for each document but not for Photoshop, I have inconsistency and more and more task buttons in the task bar that I have to fish through.

The new Vista ALT TAB doesn’t seem to solve this problem at all. The screenshot in that link you gave me shows SDI applications and I’m guessing that an MDI application in that list wouldn’t have individual documents (like Exposé does). Correct me if I’m wrong. If I’m right, that screenshot with three Word documents and two IE browser windows would only show one Photoshop icon ever.

Personally, I never use Exposé to show me all documents open in all applications. I only use it to switch between documents within a single application. This is faster than going to the Window menu or using the pop-up menu on the Dock icon (something I still wish the task bar would get).

So if I want to switch between applications quickly, the Dock works the best, IMHO. If I want to switch between documents within an application, Exposé works best, IMHO. If I want to switch between all documents visible on my system, Exposé works best because you don’t have an inconsistent behavior of SDI and MDI like you do in Vista. Again, correct me if I’m wrong. I’m assuming all that’s the same in Vista and I’m assuming the new ALT TAB only shows me one icon for Photoshop no matter how many documents Photoshop has open.

One thing that we can count on from Microsoft, though, is that they will give us a lot of options and ways to turn everything on/off. That’s something I wish Apple would do more of versus having to get a freeware/shareware hack.

MDI has a single task button for the application and none for each document. That’s OS X. Context is important here, KG. We were talking about the task bar.

I was refering to the Exposé (F9) vs 5270 ALT-TAB, which operate pretty much the same way.

Ah, so iPods have nothing to do with their computer business? Front Row and iTMS, the design of the iMac...you are just going to ignore those when discussing if Apple is more focused on consumers or creators?

Correct, IMO iPods have nothing to do with the computer business.  I ignore Front Row, iMac design etc. because I don’t feel it’s there focus just like the article ignored Dell’s consumer line, consumer TV line, Dell DJ line, XPS line, and Windows Media Center offerings because they aren’t Dell’s focus.  Just because Apple does offer products specifically for non-content creators doesn’t mean that’s not where their focus lies (and similarly for Dell and their IT/business stuff).

You aren’t really making any sense here. Slower processors being in consumer systems doesn’t really address whether or not a company is focusing in on one market more than another.
The iMac is designed from the ground up for the consumer. So is the Mac mini and the iBook.

No, not really.  There is a definite latter of features with Apple computers.  The consumer line is designed to be lower end than the Power-lines.  Rarely if ever will the consumer line offer a superior feature set to the pro lines.  In fact, the consumer lines never really even match the por lines at any level.  How often is it that the consumer lines offer faster processors or better video cards than the pro lines or even match the por lines on those features?  Rarely.  Occasionally the consumer lines get a feature that is not applicable to the pro lines (like Front Row) but rarely do they offer parity or superiority.  You can’t say that about HP or Dell’s product lines.  Often you can order the same exact machine and specs on from Dell home as you can from Dell Business.  You can find Dell Home PC’s with much higher specs than Dell Business PC’s… that never happens with Apple’s product lines because the core parts of the consumer lines (processor, GPU, HD etc.) are dependent on what’s in the Por lines.

So HP and Dell don’t separate their products with workstations and desktops?
Telling me that Apple segments their product line into pro and consumer doesn’t at all relate to whether or not Apple focuses more on consumers or content creators.

It does when Apple purposely maintains distinct product separation.

I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen a PowerMac ad. I see iMac ads and Mac mini ads.

You’ve seen one outside of the internet or store billbord (like the ones on the front of Compusa on Market Street?
I’ve seen tons of PowerMac ads and probably even more for the Powerbook.

So your logic is because you see Mac ads in content creator magazines, they are more focused on content creators than consumers? That’s flawed logic, really.

No, the logic is that content creation magazines are the only magazines where I’ve seen Mac ads…

Ah, so the whole Switcher campaign was for content creators? No, it was for consumers. The iMac TV commercials were for content creators? The flying Airport base station? The colors iMac commercial? The Hello iBook commercial? The Think Different commercials?
The current 2 full page OS X Tiger ads in Time magazine are for content creators?
Apple spends a fraction of their advertising dollars on content creators. They spend the bulk of their ad dollars targeting consumers.

With exception to that Tiger ad in Time which I haven’t seen… those other ads are years old, particularly the Switch stuff and the iMac stuff.  I’m talking about recent advertising.

They are more scarce than Microsoft predicted. Ballmer specifically stated that the yield of those processors was less than they expected, which is exactly what Apple said about IBM which was backed up by an IBM executive’s quote I gave you about their problems with their FAB.

And yet you keep ignoring the quanity and tiem differences between Microsoft’s order and Apple’s order.  Without noting quanity and time you could say every manufacturing plant has yeild problems.  For example, if you asked Intel to give you 1 billion 2.8ghz P4’s in 1 hour then they’d tell you don’t have sufficient yeilds to do such a thing.  The important point is that Microsoft didn’t hit yield problems until they ordered a monthly (or weekly) supply that was 20 times (or more) the amount of chips that Apple needed in a month. So are you going to address the issue of Microsoft getting 500,000+ in a month vs Apple getting 25,000-30,000 in a month or not?

Microsoft sold 325,902 XBox 360 consoles in the USA in all of November.

The Xbox 360 was released on the 22nd of Novemeber… that means that Microsoft got about the same amount of IBM PPC’s processors shipped in 8 days as Apple did in the better part of a year.  So why did Apple hit the yield wall way before Microsoft did?

Yeah, I’ve played with that one, too, nick - but i don’t like things moving all over on me. I’d like an overlay, with everything else frozen in the background until I choose where I want to go. All the extra eye candy, in this case, does me wrong. Most of the time I like the eye candy, but not in this case…

As for the Xbox’s Xenon, it’s a different chip, yes, but it’s definitely as complex in many ways, and definitely uses a lot of silicon.

Man, I won’t even begin to speculate on that stuff.

I don’t have the slightest clue nor anywhere near enough information to start making claims one way or the other on that situation…

I was refering to the Exposé (F9) vs 5270 ALT-TAB, which operate pretty much the same way.

I was referring to SDI and MDI and how having every window for an SDI application showing up in ALT TAB would be a pain, as that screenshot illustrates, IMHO.

I haven’t used Vista, but that screenshot doesn’t look like it operates the same. The thumbnails are very small and it doesn’t look like ALT TAB is using all the screen real estate per monitor like Exposé does.

IMO iPods have nothing to do with the computer business

Sure, if you ignore the fact that the iPod requires a computer. Apple highlights iTunes in their ads too, and that’s computer software.

I ignore Front Row, iMac design etc. because I don’t feel it’s there focus just like the article ignored Dell’s consumer line

I didn’t address Dell at all. I don’t have an opinion on that because I don’t know enough about Dell’s marketing and products. I talked about how Windows XP seems designed for IT more than consumers and you agreed.

I feel Apple is focused more on the consumer than the content creator because:

1. Their TV ads that they have run in the last five years have been a huge majority for consumer products
2. They spend a lot more on 2 full facing page ads in Entertainment Weekly and Time Magazine than they do for design magazine ads.
3. 3 out of 5 of their computer lines are for consumers and you yourself have commented on how dismal their PowerMac sales are
4. They focus a great deal on iTunes Music Store and that’s a consumer software product that works with a consumer peripheral that represents over 40% of their revenue
5. OS X is designed more for the consumer and not the content creator professional—the Finder is consumer, the font manager is consumer, the Mail program is consumer, the calendar program is consumer, the contact management is consumer...all of the new features in Tiger are for the consumer and not the content creator professional.

Time Magazine ad:
http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1092

The same ad appears in Entertainment Weekly.

I see iTunes Music Store and iLife ads in many more magazines than I see PowerMac ads in creative magazines.

You can find Dell Home PC’s with much higher specs than Dell Business PC’s… that never happens with Apple’s product lines because the core parts of the consumer lines (processor, GPU, HD etc.) are dependent on what’s in the Por lines.

Your flaw here is you are equating Dell’s business line to Apple’s pro line. A business computer doesn’t need multiple CPUs and the fastest video cards, but a content creator’s computer does. So your point doesn’t make sense to me.

Also, I still don’t see how having a consumer line and a pro line means Apple is focusing more on the pro line.

’ve seen one outside of the internet or store billbord (like the ones on the front of Compusa on Market Street? 
I’ve seen tons of PowerMac ads and probably even more for the Powerbook.

I have only seen that during MacWorld in SF after announcing a new product. The billboards around their keynotes usually mirror their product announcements.

Apple is spending the bulk of their ad revenue on consumers, obviously.

iMac kiosk ad:
http://www.macbillboard.com/pictures_billbo ards/0025.jpg

With exception to that Tiger ad in Time which I haven’t seen… those other ads are years old

When did the Switch ads appear? 2 years ago? How many TV ads for content creators since? Their TV ad revenue is all on the consumer iPod right now.

The important point is that Microsoft didn’t hit yield problems until they ordered a monthly (or weekly) supply that was 20 times (or more) the amount of chips that Apple needed in a month. So are you going to address the issue of Microsoft getting 500,000+ in a month vs Apple getting 25,000-30,000 in a month or not?

No, because none of that makes any sense or has anything to do with my point. They are different chips. What the chips have in common is IBM. IBM is having yield problems with their XBox 360 PowerPC processor and that has resulted in fewer XBox consoles available than Microsoft initially estimated. Ballmer said so himself. You can’t escape this fact and spin it.

FACT - Microsoft isn’t getting as many PowerPC processors as they would like from IBM. They are getting a fraction of the number Sony got with the Emotion Engine in the PS2’s initial launch.

  So why did Apple hit the yield wall way before Microsoft did?

Because they are different processors.