Dear Microsoft, I am Dumping You

Dear Microsoft,

For years I have been a big fan of your company, products and people. In fact, I own Microsoft shares. And I've even been to the Microsoft Museum. Unfortunately, I am dumping you for OS X and Web 2.0.

Let me say first that I understand the position you're in, really. You're trying to please all the people all the time. There's a lot of pressure to perform like you did as an adolescent. Unfortunately, for all of the wonderful changes that are taking place inside, I still feel that you're not at the center of my life as you once were. And I am not the only one who is fed up. Just look at Jeff Jarvis. He bought a PowerBook too.

Today, the Web is where the action is. It's the new OS. This means I can safely return to my old flame - the Mac - and yet still experience most, if not all of the hot new applications that are being built on AJAX on my new 15" G4 PowerBook. In addition, I don't have to put up with patches, viruses, spyware, slowdowns, bloated registries anymore. And if I need to have a one night stand with you, I always have that option. You're on call.

I was at Woodstock Gnomedex. I felt the love in the room as you embraced RSS. Heck, I wore the jacket. And I am sure Longhorn will be hot and it will get many more people using feeds. But I fear that by the time Longhorn comes out (next year?) you will be less relevant than before. More people will be gravitating to the new wave of Web applications built on AJAX. Many of these applications will suffice as a more than adequate replacement for the 2% of Microsoft's product features they use regularly. Look at the success of Gmail and Backpack - not to mention Socialtext and Wikipedia. That has to have you worried - perhaps just as much as the large number of Macs you faced in the room.

If I were you, I'd make a big bet like you have in the past. I would bet the company on Web 2.0. I would start developing new Web apps that make us say G-who? So far, you've been largely absent from this party - like the quarterback who skips the high school prom because he can't get a date. Put your chin up, incetivize your PhDs and start embracing the Web as OS. MSN Virtual Earth looks like a good start - but give us more.

The good news is that I'd like to stay friends. Not only am I willing to help you out however I can, I will still stick with Office 2004 for the Mac - at least until there's a Google Office that replaces it.

Wuba Wuba Wuba

Forever your friend,

Steve

Comments

[Nick]

Steve,

You'll enjoy Office 2004 for OS X. It's the best piece of software microsoft has ever made, in my humble opinion. Better than Windows counterparts, they really stepped up to deliver for OS X.

Granted, there are problems, but any software system of such complexity will be, well, complex.

Cheers, and welcome.

[Jeremy Pepper]

Woodstock had sex and drugs. I didn't go to Gnomedex - just had the luxury of reading all the things that went, or just badly - but I just can't imagine the sex and drugs flowing freely at Gnomedex, or the same long-term societal influences that Woodstock had, which we still see around 40 year later.

As for the switch to OS X, pencil me in the Windows camp for a long time. I had my fun with Mac during college, loved my IIsi, but it was time to move on to the corporate world. And, while I have had the ups and downs of being a Wintel lad, it works well for me.

[The ViewMaster!]

*Glad* 2 Know That, I'm NOT The Lone Ranger (The L1 Ranger) On This Issue!!! ;-)

*CLEVER* Article, Steve!

Mahalo!

Aloha!

[Tinu]

Refreshing style departure. - who knows, Microsoft may make a strong comeback. But I hear you...

[The ViewMaster!]

TEST!

[Andrew Denny]

I spent 18 months with OSX, attempting to 'feel the love' that's evident with Apple. I left last month, and regretfully I came to the conclusion that it just doesn't work the way I want it to work, and I found it rather less intuitive than I thought I would the day I opened that shiny white box.

One analogy I can think of is Esperanto. It makes sense to have a logical language, but language changes, and a world speaking Esperanto would very quickly twist and change it, and reduce its rules to nonsense, unless it remains a minority language of authority, like Latin.

One could always impose the computer we use by law, perhaps. We do that with money, for example, and with weights and measures.

Probably only the technical or wealthy elite 5% of population in any country ever wanted a cool new currency or measuring system. The rest of us just want to tweak the imperfections.

Ultimately, the problem Apple have is that all computers are far from perfect anyway, and will change quickly.

I'd be willing to stay with Apple if only I could tinker it to work the way I want to, just as I would happily switch to Esperanto if I could tweak and irregularise it to fit my style of writing.

But as one Apple evangelist said to me resignedly when I asked him how to change my iBook to work the way I found useful in Windows, 'why bother? Why not just buy a PC?'

At barely half the cost, I agreed with him, and switched back. How dare I, how contrary of me! How frustrating for all those Macophiles, metricationists and Esperanto grammarians.

[Isaack]

Well, you won't excactly be free of patches. They still happen on OS X and perhaps just as often if not even more often than on Windows.

[Richard MacManus]

Steve,

I wouldn't count Microsoft out of the Web 2.0 world just yet - have a read of my post from April entitled Is Microsoft a Web 2.0 company? (alt title: The Center of the Universe). A pompous title, I know. But here's the summary:

"Yes Microsoft is a Web 2.0 company, because their goal is to use the Web as a Platform. The difference is they'll use the Web as a Platform via millions of Windows-run 'devices'. That'll be their interface into Web 2.0."

By devices, I'm talking about everything from mobile, television, so-called "media centers".

[Fourputtinski]

I switched to a Mac a few months ago and am never going back to Windows. Go Apple!

[Jack DeNeut]

VirtualPC is quite slow, and it's hard to run any serious app with it on Mac OS X.

If you still have your former Windows box, I'd run VNC server on it and then use Windows on your Mac from a VNC client (like Chicken of the VNC). You'll then get a full-speed experience when you need to run Windows on your Mac. You'll also not need to worry about emulation issues, as you'll be running a real copy of Windows on Intel. I find it very useful for testing my web apps in Internet Explorer.

[david parmet]

Welcome to the Dark Side Steve!

You'll love it here, just as long as you keep drinking the Kool Aide ;-).

All seriousness aside, the Mac is a computer for the rest of us who want to do more than just struggle. If you have any questions, feel free to drop me a line. And trust me, you'll never want another computer ever.

[Bren]

Totally agree. I'm in the midst of a switch myself!

There's something going on, isn't there? I'm hearing a lot more about people switching these days.

[The ViewMaster!]

Computer Video Should Be T.V. Equivalent By Now!

[The ViewMaster!]

http://www.theoceanview.net/2005/04/waikiki-beach.html

This Should Be "Full Screen" As Good As My Television!

[The ViewMaster!]

This Should Be "Full Screen" As Good As Your T.V.:

http://www.theoceanview.net/2005/04/waikiki-beach.html

Not In Sum Lil'Box In The Center of The Screen!

Com.On!

"Full-Screen" T.V. Quality Media On My Computer!

It's 2005!

Com.On!

Aloha!

;-)

[The ViewMaster!]

UpDated: http://www.theoceanview.net/

[sailfish]

Steve,

Welcome to the wonderful world of Macintosh!

We live in a malware free world, where computers work for you instead of you for them!

I have been using Mac's for over 20 years and only got 1 virus 16 years ago. We only use anti-virus software to clean stuff off of files before sending to, yup, windows users!

People who continue to use Windows IMO suffer from the Stockholm Syndrome effect, they don't get to feel the freedom of a Mac, they just don't have a clue!

It's not just about cool, Mac's just work and we have better things to do in our lives than be slaves to Microsoft's inferior software.

We get plenty of new "from windows" users all the time and the first thing they say is WOW! and "I never knew it was so good!"

Come visit us if you need any help in the "URL" field.

We are a Authorized Apple Support Group.

http://homepage.mac.com/hogfish/PhotoAlbum2.html

[Quevar]

Congrats!!! I've been a long time Mac user, but administer the public PC's in my lab. They get messed up all the time. Even running XP, we still have to build them again every 6 months or so (pretty easy since we make an image of the disks, but still annoying that we have to).

I've noticed over the past three years that more and more of the people in my lab are using Macs - they are starting to see the advantage of using a Mac over a PC.

[Mikw]

I switched also a few months back. I was able to customize my Mac to work the way I want it to. It takes a little effort at first, but well worth it. Now I would never switch back. As far as updates... most are small and I guess thats why the security is so good. I'm actually planning my next Mac purchase. Never going back. Pure pleasure!

[Kulmalla]

You are really hip and hop. I think you made it clear by using every "cool" word that you can find in techworld. Thanks to you i just won the bullshit-bingo. But where you were in year ago, when those problems really existed? And don't tell me you are somekind a n00b idiot, who installs all kind junk software. I'm not telling your reasons are bad because they so non-true if you have even little street smart. They are just rubish. And whats this crap about using Web as OS. I mean how lousy OS would that be. You sound like those millenium hightech guys who was kicked out on 2001. So good luck with your Mac and please dont come crying back.

[Ramon Ray]

Steve is Wrong. I JUST fell in love with MSFT. I've been using ever other email client BUT MSFT Outlook for years. I swore by my Palm PDA and have been a Word Perfect user since dirt.

HOWEVER, I got fed up with my Palm PDA and switched to a Pocket PC. I see the light and how now my PDA can FULLY integrate with my email (I am moving to MSFT Outlook from Eduor and Thunderbird). With Word I get EVEN more integration.

MSFT (in many areas) HERE I COME!!!!!

[Steve Rubel]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I am sure that I will find some bumps in the road on my journey, but so far I am loving it. - Steve

[Manni]

And the reason for this post is???

As a user of Macs & PCs from virtually their inception, your stand is baffling, to say the least!

You talk of new and exciting programs, ...debuting on the Mac? Such as (Konfabulator) widgets, (Google) desktop search,..help me here? Apple Office for Mac?

Then talk about hot new apps being built on AJAX for Web 2.0. Get your facts straight on AJAX!

When was the last time Apple was involved in the definition of anything for the Web? I'm sure the next time would be the first.

Then you regurgitate the crap of the Mac faithful: bloated registry, spyware patches, etc. For shame!

Isn't OS X up to v10.4.2 already? And stealth patches, too!

I just patched my wife's Powerbook. 2 patches in what, 6 weeks? Even XP took longer than that.

Thanks for living the Windows area. We won't miss you, and enjoy life as an ostrich.

[steve Davies]

i switched 4 months ago to an iMac and am loving the experience. so much more easier to manage my music and photos. yes this computer is for home and its working for me (and the family), the kids literally dragged us into the apple store when they found out we were about to invest in a new PC. we're glad we listened to them.

[sfenerule]

Good move, Steve. Max out the RAM. Avoid Haxies. Keep space in your heart for forgiveness of SuperUser Steve's fashion mistakes. Discover Camino, Blacktree's Quicksilver, and DEVONthink. Know the peace of AAPL's version of desert island computing, ie, not getting hit in the face with a shovel every time you boot up (leave this to MegaloExcessoGiganticorp's chronic remoras, and the teeming oceans of gamesters).

[Greg Hoffman]

We feel your pain. Read the "Mad as Hell" Series about our switch from PC to Mac.

Good luck.

[Shel Holtz]

I've been using a Mac as my laptop for about four months now, a Powerbook G4. I'm trying to love it, I really am. But I usually can't wait to get back to my office and the flexibility of my Windows XP machine. I'm convinced that Mac isn't a platform. It's a cult.

[Elling]

"The web is the new OS"?

That's the same as spotting a new car seat and saying it's "the new car".

In other words... totally un-informed.

Try again, Steve. ;)

[Deb]

Way to go, Steve! For the past 18 years, I've used Mac at home. Work? Well, that's another story. Often, I've suffered through using Microsoft and couldn't wait to get back home to my Mac!

Yes, I drank the Apple-flavored Kool Aide early on. And that's perfectly fine with me.

Welcome!
deb

[Shawn Oster]

Glad you found an OS you like. An OS is just an OS is just an OS to me and getting into religious dogmatic arguments about either is always silly. There are pros and cons to both.

I've personally never had a spyware/virus issue with XP but then again I'm a software developer that keeps my machine tuned pretty tight. My friend on the other hand seemed to have the worst XP luck and now loves his Mac. I think that's great except for when he tries to evangelize it by putting down another OS.

Looking forward to putting OS X on one of my Intel machines though. That's really when I'll start see about making the switch, when I'm not tied to Apple's hardware.

[David]

What does it say that a company that doesn't blog has won you over from a company that has more blogging going on that possibly any other? Exactly. Blogging doesn't make a bit of difference ultimately.

[Ben N.]

While there is not a Google Office yet, online browser-based office suites do exist. Check out this one that I found in the East Bay Business Times:

www.goffice.com

[wbwither]

Damn straight. The world is moving on to a post-Windows future... indeed, a post-PC future. The Web-as-OS is only one part of it. And you know what? Microsoft knows this and is already moving on to a new paradigm. To quote myself, "Bill Gates doesn’t see MS being a server operating system and office suite company in 20 years."

[Terry Jones]

To the poster who complained about not being able to configure his Mac: are you serious?! You think Windows is configurable? I've been using Linux for years, and I get *so* frustrated any time I get stuck using a windows box, because I'm forced to do things their way.

[Rohan Aarons]

BYW BYE Steve I BET WE WON'T MISS YOU.

[dave]

The only service I have received in the past few years that has been helpful was Microsoft. I had trouble doing the SP2 thing and they became very pushy to get it fixed. We did email through all of this mess. They finally sent me a new copy of XP Pro with SP2. I have never had service like that. So six months later I had my system back up to full speed. I was the reason for the long delay in getting it back to full speed. I like most everyone else live in a Pc world but when I retire it will be back to the Mac world for me.