No Mac Software? Be Glad!
2001.01.24 - Dave Beekman
The other day I was in the local Kmart buying an ink cartridge for
my StyleWriter (it's true - you really can buy supplies for an old
Apple printer in Kmart). As I went by the rack full of software, I
stopped and browsed through the items there for a few minutes. It came
as no surprise that, with the exception of a few educational titles,
there was nothing for the Mac OS. But it got me thinking about the
whole retail software situation.
We've all heard it said that a Mac is a bad choice because, "there's
no software for it." When I used PCs, I sang that song myself - partly
because I believed it, and partly because I really wanted a Mac but
couldn't afford one. This helped to ease my feelings of Mac envy.
As Mac users, we know that the situation isn't quite that bleak, but
we do have to shop a lot harder than PC users. They can walk into their
local WhateverMart and pick from a whole wall full of titles. It's easy
to become a little envious of that. We, on the other hand, have to find
software online or in the rare retailer that carries a few Mac
items.
But is this a bad thing? I don't think so.
As I looked over the offerings at Kmart, most of what I saw was pure
junk. PC users have access to an almost unlimited variety of the most
worthless stuff imaginable. Of course, most PC owners don't realize how
bad it is - they see a lightweight CAD program for $20, a buggy old DOS
game in a slick new package, or some generic word processor, and they
snatch it up. I could buy an iMac with all the cash I wasted over the
years on that kind of stuff, back when I used PCs.
But Mac users are much less likely to get stuck with lousy software,
because the flimflam software recyclers pretty much leave us alone and
go after the other 93%. We have fewer titles to choose from, but what
we do have is, for the most part, first-rate. And we'll be using it
long after the clearance stuff has gone the garage sale route.
Don't look at the lack of Mac software as a disadvantage. Just think
of all the money you save by not buying garbage.
As I was taking my ink cartridge up to pay for it, I had to walk
past the Martha Stewart towels, and I could imagine what she would say.
"It's a good thing."
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