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I switched. I did this last May, in a fit of despair after suffering one indignation too many at the hands of Microsoft's monopoly operating system.
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Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

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Mac OS X column debuts - Let's share the excitement


Jan. 1, 2003


By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2003, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2003, The Post-Standard

   I'm a switcher.
   If you've seen the ads Apple Computer has been running on TV and on the Web, you'll know what I mean.
   I switched to a Mac. Like the weary Windows users in Apple's advertising, I finally got fed up with the problems and dangers of Windows and bought a Mac. I did this last May, in a fit of despair after suffering one indignation too many at the hands of Microsoft's monopoly operating system.
   I still use my Windows PC for e-mail and for Web-page editing. When I've finished those two conversions -- the mail is especially troublesome to change over because of the volume of mail I get and the thousands of messages I keep track of -- I'll be able to retire my Windows PC to the sort of mundane chores that Windows seems to be made for. I'll be able to use it to maintain my home network and to make backups of files on all the other computers.
   I'll also be able to do troubleshooting on that Windows PC to help readers who have problems with Windows and to try out new Windows software for my other newspaper columns.
   I'm not a game player, so my PC won't be needed for what seems like the main purpose of many Windows computers, playing major computer games. Windows is great for that, no doubt about it.
   But it's not great for a lot of other things, and that's probably why I lost patience and switched. When a company works so hard to create a monopoly in computer software, it has no excuse for doing a sloppy job. But that's just what Microsoft did. Windows is too hard to use in some ways and too fragile in others. It's a stationary target for the Internet sharpshooters who work hard every day to plant viruses, worms and spyware on Windows PCs.
   And it's inexcusably prissy. Microsoft monitors your installations, assuming that you are a thief unless you prove otherwise; it tracks the music you play, for reasons that no one I know could condone; it does its best -- or perhaps worst -- to force new users to sign up for an Internet "passport" that allows Microsoft to pry into their private lives, and it continues to ignore safety in favor of its own corporate interests, to the detriment of millions of Windows users around the globe.
   To cite only one example, it refuses to remove the scripting service from Windows, even though it is the primary way that such invaders as the Klez Worm take over Windows PCs. The scripting service, or "Windows scripting host," has only one purpose -- to allow someone else such as a Microsoft programmer, a virus writer or a hacker to trigger actions on your PC. Yet Microsoft has kept such a dangerous system intact. It's no wonder that Windows itself has been described as a virus. It's not surprising that Microsoft's own security experts have warned all Windows users to change the settings in Windows so that not even Microsoft is listed as "trusted."
   This is just plain nonsense.
   I couldn't stand it any more. I switched.
   And so has this column, which has been covering Internet topics week after week. I started writing a separate newspaper column about the Internet six years ago, when the World Wide Web and e-mail were mysteries to most of us. It appeared alongside my long-running technology column, "Technofile," which has been appearing without interruption every week for 20 years. (Yes, I'm having a 20th anniversary party -- a virtual party, that is, and you're virtually invited. I'll tell you more about it later this year.)
   But it's time for the Internet column to make way for coverage of the amazing new Unix computer called the Mac. I'd guess that most Windows users and many people who still use old Macs don't realize that every new Macintosh is actually a Unix computer, as powerful as the Unix servers that handle information bouncing around the Internet and as bullet-proof as the Unix data centers that keep banks in business.
   Apple did what had never been done before. It married the no-holds-barred reliability of Unix with an exquisite user interface more modern than any other on the planet. The new Macs have gorgeous displays, too, and they're perfect for what Apple calls the "digital hub": They can capture digital video and make DVDs with a couple of clicks, record CDs with a simple drag and drop, play Internet radio stations two minutes after the computer is unpacked and turn hundreds of still pictures into video-disk presentations that anyone can play without needing a computer.
   I want to share my excitement with you. If you're a Windows user curious about the main alternative to Windows, drop by each week and I'll show you what a modern Mac can do. If you're still using an older Mac, you'll want to find out how the new Macs are different. If you already have a new Mac running Apple's variation on Unix called OS X, you're just the person I'm trying to reach. I'll have tips and tricks, techniques and reviews.
   In a sense, this column is a minority report. Macs have only 5 percent of the worldwide computer market. Windows users might be tempted to dismiss this market share as too small to worry about, but it is the same share that Mercedes-Benz has in the automobile market. I'd say Apple has good company.