Low End Mac Reader Specials
TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com
Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how
to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full
Tilt Poker Mac.
Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.
Mac Lab Report
Why Windows Is Important
- 2001.06.21
If I could eliminate Windows from the face of the earth, I wouldn't do it.
You heard me right - me, diehard Mac fan from back in the 80s, Windows-basher from waaay back - I wouldn't wipe Windows off the face of the earth, even if I could.
That's because of the nature of competition. Competition makes us stronger, not weaker. One cellphone service introduces free weekend minutes; so the others do, too. If there were only one cellphone company, everyone would be carrying three-pound behemoths and paying more for each call than a pay-per-view movie.
Competition exists in a capitalistic society to drive down costs, increase features, and increase efficiency. Without competition, a monopoly forms, which tends to stifle innovation, increase costs, and generally suppress anything that leads to change.
Microsoft understands this - unfortunately, they understand it only to the degree that the Justice Department makes them understand it. However, as a corporation, they still have a corporate philosophy geared toward exploiting their monopoly on operating systems and everything else they make including email software and office suites.
Remember when you used to play Monopoly, the board game, and you'd beat your younger sister or brother to the point where you owned everything except one or two properties, and you'd make loans to your sibling so you could keep playing, stringing them along on the false hope that they actually had a prayer of coming back to win? Stretching out the victory, so to speak? That's Microsoft's game. They are a monopoly, and more importantly, they like being a monopoly.
Therein lies the difference between a capitalist and a monopolist: If Microsoft could eliminate the Mac OS (not to mention Linux) from the universe without being challenged, they would. (What about the profitable Mac Business Unit? A write-off.) But the Justice Department is Mom, telling you to let the little kid win every now and then to keep the peace. So you obey Mom, but secretly in your heart you like holding the other kid hostage to your powerful monopoly.
I wonder if Bill Gates played Monopoly as a kid. If I'm ever in the same room with him, I'll ask.
Case in point is Microsoft Outlook. Microsoft Outlook Exchange has been web-accessible for some time. Exchange is the corporate-level server version of Microsoft Outlook. (This is not the same program that has been infiltrating its way into Macintosh systems for some time now. Exchange is made to be hosted from a company server and provides public posting and calendaring functions as well.)
If you implement the latest security update for Exchange from Microsoft, then users of Netscape (any version) can no longer access their email, because the security requirements are only met (naturally) by Internet Explorer. This is monopolistic behavior, pure and simple. And it's kicking a competitor when you've already beaten him, which is just bullying. It may also be a preemptive strike against a Netscape revival by AOL. And, of course, the problem is portrayed by IT as a deficiency in Netscape, not a monopoly-building strategy by Redmond. We're talking about your gol-darned security here, Hogarth.
Another way Microsoft secretly maintains its monopolistic pressure is through the training it authorizes for Microsoft Certification. I have heard from participants in the training that trainers spend weeks repeatedly pointing out the things the Mac cannot do on a Microsoft Windows network, and participants are clearly made to feel that admitting to Mac ownership will result in ridicule or worse. This is something that is not in the public eye as much as the browser wars, but it is more insidious and damaging to the Mac overall, because it puts people in a position of power over individual users, who are essentially defenseless against such arguments.
The solution is the Holy Grail of Mac Advocacy: market share. We used to get a lot more respect when Mac market share hovered around 10-15% instead of the paltry 2.5% it does now. Apple would once again hover in the top five computer manufacturers at such a market share.
Will the new Mac retail effort by Apple be enough to return Apple to the public eye? I hope so. Will Microsoft suffer any long-term economic impact from the Justice Department's case against them? Probably not, other than lawyerin' fees.
It's better for the world of computing if the Mac is successful. Let's hope that Mr. Jobs' endeavors are successful and Mr. Gates starts behaving as if he really believes that Microsoft should not be a monopoly, instead of just pretending for Mom.
The future of the computing eXPerience depends on it.
Jeff Adkins is a science teacher who isn't afraid to state his preferences in computing platforms. In his classroom he has everything from a beige All-in-One to a a G4 XServe, and they all work together nicely. He calls himself the "poster child for technology integration" in the classroom. He was the 2006 Outstanding Educator of the Year for the California Computer Using Educators (CUE) organization. He also maintains a site for astronomy teachers at www.AstronomyTeacher.com.
Recent Mac Lab Reports
- Microsoft Word 2004 vs. iWork Pages 1.0 for writing a book, 01.10. Microsoft Word is great for technical writing, powerful yet slow, while Pages lets you concentrate on just writing, making it great for novels.
- iWeb a great tool for quickly creating an attractive website, 09.11. Apple's iWeb software isn't just easy to use, it also integrates nicely with .mac and other programs in the iLife bundle.
- Use your Bluetooth phone to control your Mac? Maybe, 02.27. Salling Clicker software turns many Bluetooth phones into remote controls for Bluetooth-equipped Macs.
- Two more markets the iPhone could conquer, 02.01. How Apple could redefine the ebook and calculator markets with a pair of free apps for the iPhone.
- More in the Mac Lab Report index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: Mac Pro, Aug. 2006 - The last Mac to go Intel, the Mac Pro has two dual-core Xeon CPUs at 2.0-3.0 GHz. 8-core option added in 2007.
- Group of the Day: Mac mini List is for anyone using or contemplating a Mac mini
- March 20 in LEM history: 00: Adobe isn't making friends - Raising the dead - 01: Milking the Mac for all it's worth, - 02: Keeping the Web free - Macally CardBus USB - 05: Copyright bullies - 07: The iPhone: Is it a Mac? - Improve productivity with a second display - 08: The rise of the Microsoft monopoly
- Support Low End Mac
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Does iPhone OS Need Multitasking?, iCab Comes to iPhone, Canada's Proposed iPod Levy, and More, iNews Review, 03.19. Also the iPad paradox, Freescale demos $200 tablet, gardening apps, aluminum iPhone stand, steel iPhone case, and more.
- Could iPad Replace the Mac?, Mac Sales Up in 2010, Avoiding Windows 7 'Whenever Possible', and More, Mac News Review, 03.19. Also why your next Mac may be an iPad, science blogger abandons Apple, the benefits of standing while working, and more.
- The Mobile System Stampede, Lithium Battery That Can't Explode, Affordable SSD Options, and More, The 'Book Review, 03.19. Also June 2007 MacBook Pro external display issue, laptop stands, 1 TB ultraportable hard drive, Mini DisplayPort/HDMI adapter, and more.
- CardBus WiFi, the Shiira Browser, Ridding the Web of Flash, and Macs vs. PCs, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 03.18. Mac longevity, Shiira speed, ambidextrous Mac and Windows use, and how Flash benefits Apple.
- How to Zoom Your Browser for a More Readable Web, Steve Watkins, The Practical Mac, 03.18. Instructions for zooming text and pages in Safari, Firefox, Camino, and Opera.
- How Ad Blocking Hurts Your Favorite Websites, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 03.18. Ad income keeps the Web free. Blocking online ads hurts your favorite websites.
- Taking Apart the 12" PowerBook, John Hatchett, Recycled Computing, 03.17. There are a lot of steps involved in disassembling a 12" PowerBook. Proceed with caution.
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
- Best Intel iMac Deals, 03.17. Used 17" from $600; 20" from $750; 24" from $825; refurb 21.5" nVidia, $999; new, $1,099; refurb Radeon, $1,299; new, $1,399; refurb 27" 3.06, $1,499; more.
- Best G5 iMac Deals, 03.17. 17" 2.0 GHz, $380; 1.9 GHz iSight, $479 shipped; 20" 1.8 GHz, $509 shipped; 2.1 GHz iSight, $549 shipped.
- Best Time Capsule Deals, 03.17. Close-out 500 GB, $140; new 1 TB, $279; used 2 TB simultaneous dual-band, $400; new, $455. Shipping included.
- Best iPad Deals, 03.16. 16 GB iPad, $499; 32 GB, $599; 64 GB, $699; 16 GB with 3G, $629; 32 GB 3G, $729; 64 GB 3G, $829. Free ground shipping.
- Best iPod classic Deals, 03.12. Used 20 GB, $119; 40 GB, $139; 60 GB, $159; 30 GB video, $129; 60 GB, $159; 80 GB, $169; refurb 120 GB, $189; new, $214; 160 GB, $228 shipped.
- Best G3 iBook and AirPort Card Deals, 03.12. 366 MHz 12" clamshell, $89; 466, $125; 500 white CD, $100; 600, $199; 800 Combo, $239; 14" 900, $225.
- Best Xserve Deals, 03.12. Used 1 GHz dual G4, $499; 2.0 dual G5, $599; 2.3, $749; refurb 2.26 4-core Nehalem, $2,499; new, $2,699; 8-core, $3,449; refurb 2.66, $4,299; new, $4,799; more.
- More deals in our archive.

