Really bad blogging

The Bradenton Herald recently ran this really lousy piece supposedly filling us in on the differences between the Mac and the PC. Normally I don’t bother to respond to such poorly researched articles, but this one is so laden with misinformation I just couldn’t help myself.

If you’re that interested in the Mac, then take a quick read of Clarence Williams article at the Bradenton Herald. Here’s my response, Clarence:

First of all, Apple market share is between 3 and 6 percent, not a mere 1 percent, depending on which market you measure (e.g.: U.S. or worldwide). (See below for citations). Here in the U.S., they’ve got a respectable 5.9%. And perhaps more impressively, if you are only measuring laptop market share, Apple is at 17.6%.

And you say that Apple did not make the first personal computer, but you may be mistaken there, at least depending on your definition of “first.” In 1976 the Apple II was the first successfully marketed personal computer—but, you are right, it was not literally the first personal computer. Nor was the Apple I, built as a prototype in 1976. The first desktop all-in-one computer was in fact the The HP 9830, introduced in 1972. It even had BASIC in ROM, but few people know about it because HP marketed it primarily to scientists and engineers, very quiet people. (See citations, below).

I also can’t help but point out that Apple technology is largely based on open standards, not proprietary ones. Their new systems are entirely Intel based, using very standard architecture and components. In fact, so standard that they can run Windows just fine. The operating system is based on BSD Unix, which is open source and, in fact, Apple contributes all their modifications to the source base making it easy for anyone to download their work. There is essentially one piece of proprietary technology in Apple computers today—a chip that allows you to install OS/X. This is how Apple prevents you from installing OS/X on “any old PC.” (Although, some people have found a way to hack the system, and have in fact done so).

The only proprietary bits of OS/X are in some extensions to the operating system, such as CoreGraphics, and Apple desktop applications, such as iLife, iTunes, and whatnot. These applications have nothing to do with the computer or operating system itself, strictly speaking—in fact, some are available on Windows. The iPod is also proprietary, of course. So, perhaps you were talking about their proprietary initiatives after all—but I had the impression you were talking about the operating system, which most definitely is _not_ as proprietary as Windows, for example.

And yes, I have to take issue with your claim that I “need a PC” to connect to my company VPN. Not so at all. In fact, at this very moment I’m using my company VPN, accessing files on our file server, and sending and receiving email from our corporate Microsoft Exchange server… all from my Mac, using OS/X’s built-in VPN technology and Apple Mail. (I could use Thunderbird or Mozilla or several others, but I prefer Apple’s Mail).

One last point… You make a point that I’m “limited to the software that will work with it.” Yes, I am. Fortunately for me, that includes literally thousands of native OS/X programs that do just about everything I need—even read and write Microsoft Office documents flawlessly. But, if that’s not enough, I can also run Windows programs on my Mac, side-by-side with my OS/X applications. Parallels and VMWare Fusion both offer me the ability to “mix and match” my OS/X experience with Windows. Personally, I don’t use it much—now and then I’ll fire up the Windows version of QuickBooks online, because I like it better than the Mac version, or Internet Explorer 7 for those rare web sites that only work with one browser. But, that’s about it.

Sources:

  1. http://www.betanews.com/article/Apple_Nears_6_Percent_Market_Share_in_US/1187801078
  2. http://feeds.macworld.com/~r/macworld/topstories/~3/146691396/index.php
  3. http://daringfireball.net/2003/07/market_share
  4. http://www.blinkenlights.com/pc.shtml
  5. http://developer.apple.com/opensource/index.html
  6. http://www.parallels.com/en/products/desktop