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Stop the Noiz
Second Class Software: Now It's Windows' Turn
Frank Fox - 2009.09.24 - Tip Jar
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The other day I finally read a Paul Thurrott article that was music to my ear, his review of iTunes 9 for Windows. No, it wasn't any less full of his usual Microsoft bias - in fact, his brief rant about Apple's lock-in strategy sounded like the pot calling the kettle black.
Apple's software, devices, and online services are very much designed to keep you locked in to the Apple family of products at all times. The key to this lock-in strategy, the nexus, is iTunes.
I guess he can overlook the Microsoft policy of using its monopoly power to drive out competition.
It wasn't his blind favoritism that I enjoyed. No, the best part was his complaint that the Windows version wasn't very good.
I don't get why Apple can't just make a good Windows application. Come on, Apple, stop treating Windows users like jerks and make a real Windows application, for crying out loud. We are your biggest customer group by far, after all.
I got a big smile thinking about how a Microsoft mook like him was getting just a small taste of what Mac users have been forced to endure.
The same thing has happened to Mac users for far too long. There are countless other ways this ugly fact has shown up, like there isn't a Mac version yet, or it's missing features, or the new version came out first for the PC. It is annoying enough that years ago many people left the Mac so they could get the support they deserved.
Why did I smile after reading about Thurrott's problem? It is not that I think anyone should suffer with bad software; it is because I believe:
- You can't understand someone else's problem until you experience something similar. I hope Thurrott now feels a little empathy for Mac users (but I doubt he will make the connection).
- The tables have turned, and Macs are no longer a tiny market that developers can ignore. The Mac versions are getting better - and so has support.
- Regarding Microsoft: As you sow, so shall you reap. Microsoft has sowed a lot more pain by making things as incompatible as possible. They avoid standards and instead use their own proprietary methods. It is time for them to reap a little trouble in return for any software designed first for the Mac.

Mac sales took a big dip in from 1996 through 1998.
Thanks go to Steve Jobs for pulling Macs out of the dark days of dwindling market share and
moving us to a place where Apple software is talked about on Windows
Supersite.
Recent Stop the Noiz Columns
- Apple's Tablet an End Run Beyond Netbooks, 11.20. Whatever Apple has planned will leverage existing technologies while going beyond what its competitors can offer.
- Psystar Joins Ranks of Dumb Criminals, 11.16. The judge has ruled, and Psystar has been found guilty of illegally using Mac OS X on its computers.
- My Windows 7 Launch Party, 10.23. "The final surprise was that things started to slow down during my demo. I had XP Mode running, several open windows, and a half dozen other apps running."
- Windows 7: Bait for Windows XP and Vista Users, 10.19. While Win 7 is competing with OS X in features, it's target audience is Windows users, not Mac users.
- More in the Stop the Noiz index.
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- Group of the Day: System 6 is the email list for those who choose System 6.
- November 21 in LEM history: 00: OS upgrades, downgrades - AltiVec vs. Pentium III - 01: Saved by the clones - Computer of the future - 02: Apple Education: Let's get to it - 03: Panther lets Macs and PCs work together, - Lombard SCSI bug - 05: 3 survivors from the 1970s - Real world battery life inadequate - Windows to Mac file transfer with Zip disks - $99 alternative to Microsoft Office - 06: Parallels 1.0 far more polished than beta
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Recent Content on Low End Mac
- i5 iMac Benchmarked, Mac mini 'Shouldn't Be Overlooked', Twitter Client for Classic Mac OS, and More, Mac News Review, 11.20. Also why Apple leaves the low end to others, 10.6.2 fixes video playback problem in 27" iMac, 3D Leopard and Snow Leopard performance, and more.
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- Replacing the Hard Drive in a Clamshell iBook, John Hatchett, Recycled Computing, 11.19. Yes, it is one of the most difficult Apple notebooks to disassemble and reassemble, but a 10 GB hard drive just will not do.
- IBM Model F: A Great Old Keyboard with an Outdated Layout, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 11.19. Although it used a different technology than the revered IBM Model M keyboard, the Model F was a great keyboard in its own right.
- Soft Touch Keyboards, Wireless Mouse Options, Loving SeaMonkey 2, and More, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.18. Also the future of browsing with PowerPC Macs and the multiple mouse input bug introduced with OS X 10.5.8.
- More links in our archive.
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- More deals in our archive.
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