Information Week – May 11, 2007:
Apple has one. So does the Java community, Oracle, IBM, and Google. Lord knows anyone who uses Linux or free and open source software is dedicated to spreading the gospel of St. Linus Torvalds and St. Richard Stallman. But does anyone really worship the Gods of Redmond?
I was chatting with some Sun Micro PR people who commented that Microsoft’s problem these days is that it doesn’t have a passionate user/developer base.
The theory is that while Microsoft certainly owns the majority of user systems, no one seems to really be evangelical about its software.
Think about it. When was the last time an editor was fired because of a scathing article entitled, “10 Things We Hate About Microsoft?” When was the last time a group of developers stood up at a VS Live show and shouted … “Yea, man! Orcas Rocks! Language Integrated Query is da’ Bomb! New and improved ADO.Net? Oh, no you didn’t!” It just doesn’t happen.
Rob Enderle, principal analyst and founder of the Enderle Group, suggests Microsoft did have a religion and a passionate audience up until 1995, but Microsoft never really nurtured them and they died off.
“Now Windows is just part of the PC,” Enderle said. “There are still those that admire the company and Gates, but the passion that exists around FreeBSD, Linux, and Apple simply has no analog in Windows. Great products come from passion — when Windows lost that, it lost its heart.“
I think the answer is obvious. To be a “cult,” you pretty much have to be a minority. Windows users and Microsoft-ophiles aren’t in the minority.
Case in point. You want, say, an FTP client for Linux: you search for “FTP client Ubuntu” or “FTP client redhat”. For Mac, it’s “FTP client Mac”. But for windows, it’s just “FTP client.”
22 – “…and Windows people will have a hard time dealing with the single menu interface.”
…and the one button mouse.
Whether Vista is good or not, the public perception of it, the price and M$ not supporting XP after next Jan. is the best thing that ever happened to Apple.
All that jazz about Windows users using Windows out of ignorance doesn’t always hold up. I’ve tried out two distros of Linux and a Mac as my main computer and it just didn’t do what I want it to do. I’m running Ubuntu on another desktop of mine right now just to familiarize myself with modern incarnations of Linux, but when it comes to practical use I turn to my XP machine. But at the same time I’m far from fanatical in my support of Windows. I just like to put my friends in their place when they start up about Windows’ constant rebooting, rampant viruses, the Borg monitoring everything I do, etc. A lot of the arguments against Windows are either outdated, mythical or just childish.
And all the work that goes in to keeping a Windows machine running smoothly… I’m not quite sure what you’re talking about. I visit some seedy sites and I don’t remember the last time I had a virus. I’m behind a hardware firewall, and I just automatically run (the free versions of) AVG and Ad-Aware once a week and most of the times nothing comes up– and when it does it’s far from critical. Maybe its just luck?
OK, so which is the best car? Instead of asking the general population, I ask auto mechanics. You could say developers are akin to mechanics in the software field. Personally, I like using the new Visual Basic 2005 environment. Guess that puts me with Windows. Apple? I’m still trying to figure out where the right mouse button is located. It’s where? Oh, that was intuitive…
My computer is a tool, not some god. It helps me work and pay the bills.
33. No you are correct. AVG free and Ad Aware or Defender (or AVR Free antispyware) runs quietly in the background, I own 6 computers all running this and never have I gotten a virus. What I see as a tech these days, are the people who do get malware, are people who download those obnoxious screen saver programs, (and they’ve agreed to it in the EULA agreement) or gotten it downloading from Limewire or Kazaa. And I dont see that much anymore.
#35 I’m with you. I can’t honestly say how many years ago it was the last time I had a PC “bluescreen” let alone catch something.
The volume of machines I “fix” has significantly decreased.
One thing still remains a problem: file sharing. I have yet to encounter a PC with LimeWire, etc. that does not also have “crud” running on it. And I do mean every single one.
36. But even using Limewire, AVG will pick it up before it causes a problem. The people who do have problems, either dont have any protection, or they let it expire. Its free, so WTF.
The simple reason is that you can’t create a cult when you are part of the mainstream. Microsoft when a lot of perspectives is simply the only game in town. There are a lot of alternatives, but many people just simply do not want to use them. It is not because they are not thinking, but because of the wealth of applications (SPSS, AutoCAD) and drivers (Visioneer, HP) that a unified platform like Windows can provide.
If being the minority were the only requirement for being a cult, then there would be no cult for the Ipod and clearly there is.
That said, I actually bought a mac mini about a year ago. I finally got it out of the box. I thought it could record HDTV without DRM, and setting it up to do this was a disaster. Every mac peripheral or program seemed more expensive than a comparable one for windows. I then figured out how to use a free windows program and my Samsung OTA receiver to do it and it worked much better. I can finally carry HD content on my laptop.
So what did I do with the Mac mini? I downloaded boot camp and I have to tell you all that my boot ratio is 20:1 XP to Mac.
Running limewire and not having to worry about viruses was nice and connecting to the internet was much more hassle free but that was all I saw better with the Mac. It was like owning a Betamax in the late 80s, a possibly superior machine, and going to the video store and the ratio of VHS:Beta tapes was a 100:1.
I would argue that Microsoft does have a cult following for the Xbox 360, but that is the point. The 360 is a luxury not a necessity. It reminds of the movie Pirates of Silicon Valley where the Bill Gates charachter said, “We aren’t needed. We need to be needed.”
Well, he got his wish. Windows is not a luxury. It is a necessity, and as such, getting excited about Windows is like getting excited about gasoline. The only time people get excited about it is when it is not available or the price gets too high. Windows is the software eqivalent of a commodity.
All these Apple folks who have been gushing about Apple TV make me nauseated. I have been running mp3s and video files from my Windows MCE to my Xbox 360 for close to a year now. Being able to wirelessly send content is one area Microsoft has had Apple beat for over a year.
40. “I have been running mp3s and video files from my Windows MCE to my Xbox 360 for close to a year now.”
Heck, I’ve had a computer connected to my living room computer since 2000.
Ya. Well, people tend to get more enthused and personally involved with Ferraris than with Fiestas. Fiesta owners go, “What’s the big deal? It’s not a god, it’s just a tool, it carries me to work and back, and to the store.”
Ferrari owners (and Mac users) might as well respond with the Harley motto “If I had to explain it to you, you wouldn’t understand.” When it’s “just a car” or “just a computer,” mediocrity rules the day. When you understand what it can do, can use it skillfully and effectively and, most importantly, enjoy using it, then it’s no longer “merely a tool” or appliance, but a integral part of your lifestyle.
Fiesta drivers neither know nor care about skillful driving, the cars that facilitate it, nor the consequent pleasures. To them, Ferrari “fanboiz” are nuts. And to Ferraristi, Fiesta owner are sad drones with dull lives.
Draw any parallels you like…
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#16 – gquaglia
“There are a few over at the ZDNET boards that sing the praises of Windows at every opportunity.”
There’re a few everywhere – who seem to share some quaintly naïve idea that if they just keep loudly praising MS and Gates, that he’ll smile upon them and cut them in on some of the loot.
Lotsa luck, fellas.
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#32 – hhopper
““…and Windows people will have a hard time dealing with the single menu interface.””
For about 10 or 15 minutes…
…and the one button mouse.”
Apple no longer even makes or sells a one-button mouse.
I haven’t personally used a one-button mouse since the early 90s. And I do not personally know one single Mac user who uses one either.
Looky here.
another goddam mismatched tag… that can’t be corrected, or even seen before posting.
Being able to preview before posting or edit afterwards is like using a GUI instead of a CLI – for wimps and wusses, right, John C? Pfft.
#1, I like Windows because it runs all the programs I need, is stable, doesn’t give me any trouble with viruses, works with all my hardware, and has a nice, pragmatic GUI.
That is exactly what I want out of an OS. Notice, bundled multimedia software, glossy 3d effects, and Widgets did not make the list.
I will never buy a Mac because I like my Pocket PC, and my two button mouse (with textile feedback), it would require me to spend way too much money on cross grading software, and the dock + finder + poor minimizing + lack of maximizing + a long list of other Mac GUI features drives me up the wall.
The Microsoft supporters aren’t fanboys, they’re realists.
If your self-image is based on the computer you use… your problem ain’t your OS choice…
#46 – V
“…my two button mouse (with textile feedback)…”
Wow, now that’s a new one on me; what’s it do – when you click the center button, it tells you what kind of fabric your mousepad is made of?? 😀
#43
Do you know why Ferrari uses a horse on their logo?
It’s to warn others that a big pr*ck is driving.