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. 
