Back when you could still buy 80286 and 80386 PCs new in the
store there wasn't much difference between the operating system
that ran on them. You ran MS-DOS (or PC-DOS if you had an IBM -
that's one of the first examples of PC "customization" that I know
of).
I have found that the things that some companies install on
their PCs make them harder to use.
When Windows 3.1 came out, companies such as Compaq and Gateway
2000 started bundling it with their systems - and changing the
interface, startup screen, or icons in the program manager to make
it "fit" their systems. Windows 95 was the OS that finally got
almost all PC companies to start making changes to the OS that they
shipped on their computers. From changing the desktop pattern to
changing the colors of the interface, there was almost always
something different about each PC that you looked at.
Today the same version of Windows on two different computers can
look like two different operating systems. The trend seems to be
changing the default Internet applications and desktop settings.
There also seems to be a contest going on to see who can add the
most "help" files. Who that is helping I honestly don't know.
Hewlett Packard makes it hard to access the BIOS on some of
their machines, and Windows usually has a bunch of extra
applications installed and taking up space, which you may or may
not want.
HP has a particular problem with upgrades. Some HP's need an
HP-specific CD to upgrade to Windows ME; others, which are
perfectly capable of running Windows XP (even though I would never
run it), are unable to do so because of BIOS issues that HP refuses
to address (last I heard).
Compaq used to be awful when it came to this, but they are
getting better. Some of their older Presarios and Prolineas used a
special partition on the hard drive to store a program that let you
access the BIOS. Erase the hard drive, and you're stuck unless you
have the disks. The Presarios also came with software installed
over Windows that ran a Compaq-specific logon program before you
could actually get to your Windows desktop.
Then, of course, there are all those buttons that are supposed
to give you "easy access." To what, I wonder, because when I tried
them, all I saw were messages asking how I wanted to configure the
buttons.
Oh, then there's my favorite, Gateway, which forces you to sign
up with AOL if you want to run Internet Explorer. I am serious -
you must "try" AOL before Internet Explorer will start to work.
Once you've used AOL, IE will work fine, and then you can uninstall
AOL. Perhaps this has changed in Windows XP, but it certainly was
true in Me.
What does this have to do with Apple? Does Apple have any of
this?
Since Apple makes the hardware and the software, they have no
need for it. They don't need to "customize" the operating system,
because it is already made by them. I can customize it myself if I
want to: I can easily change the startup screen, desktop pattern,
icons on the desktop, and even the way programs are organized on
the hard drive.
How about if I sold you that computer, with all of my
customizations on it. Wouldn't that be difficult for you to use? I
certainly would have a hard time using it if I wasn't the person
making those changes.
It is much easier for people to have consistency in an operating
system.
If I went out and bought the Windows Me CD-ROM and installed it,
the interface and icons would be set up one way. If I went to the
local CompUSA and bought a Dell, everything would look a different
way. It would probably have a Dell pattern on the desktop, icons
for programs provided by Dell, and possibly even a Dell startup
screen.
I know it can be argued that if companies weren't allowed to
make any changes to the OS, Microsoft would have complete control.
This is probably true, but nowhere did I say that companies should
stop customizing Windows (although they should make it easy for
consumers to undo, if they wish).
I am simply saying that the Mac is easy to use because it does
not have this customization. It is consistent. Mac OS X looks
like Mac OS X on any Mac. Mac OS 9 looks the same on all
Macs.
The Mac OS does not need to be customized; there is no reason
for Apple to change anything in the interface of the OS for a
particular computer. Since Apple does not have to try so hard to
make their name known in the OS, it results in a much cleaner feel
and an OS which is simple, and even sometimes fun, to use.
