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September 3, 2004
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http://eletters.eweek.com/zd1/cts?d=79-1062-20-37-22237-120601-1
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In This Edition
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David Coursey:
1. Linux Doesn't Make Sense for Desktops
2. The New iMacs
3. What Do You Think Of Mac Servers for Windows Clients?
4. Social Networking Still Needs A Business Model
5. Shades of WinME? Yikes!
6. Product of the Week: Microsoft Money 2005
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David Coursey
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1. Linux Doesn't Make Sense for Desktops
I've taken a lot of heat--the kind of heat that I don't
mind in the least--from the Linux loonies this week. It's
over a column I wrote saying that desktop Linux is today
a non-starter for the vast majority of users. How anyone
could disagree with this simple statement completely escapes
me.
Linux Doesn't Make Sense for Desktops
http://eletters.eweek.com/zd1/cts?d=79-1062-20-37-22237-120604-1
Is Linux Really a Contender Against Longhorn?
http://eletters.eweek.com/zd1/cts?d=79-1062-20-37-22237-120607-1
That doesn't mean Linux couldn't be made easier to use and
that someday people won't create a bunch of commercial
applications for the OS, just that it hasn't happened yet.
And if you ask me, I don't think it's going to, at least the
part about apps development. This is a practical judgment on
my part, not a moral, political or religious choice.
In the column, I went on to really fire some of the Linux
folks up by suggesting that if you want a Unix operating
system that is suitable for desktop users, you need to go
buy a Mac and use OS X. It gives you all the wonders of
Unix, plus a great user interface and infrastructure, and
real applications to boot. Overall, I find OS X preferable
to Windows XP, though the comparison is really not a very
good one. Explaining why is beyond the scope of this essay.
I got complaints saying that because OS X isn't likely to
ever be ported to the Intel architecture that my suggestion
for people to use it was deeply flawed. Of course, I never
said I was outlining the least expensive solution, at least
upfront, just one that was a better choice for desktop users
than Linux but still had the benefits of Unix underneath.
These angry readers managed to reinforce the stereotype that
desktop Linux users are merely cheapskate geeks who get
their kicks by hating Microsoft and anybody who doesn't
share their own brand of technological chauvinism.
And if that's their problem with me, I'm guilty as charged.
In short, these are nasty people who don't think people who
can't (or doesn't want to) play in the desktop Linux world
doesn't really deserve to be using computers at all. I
find this point of view, if you can call it that, totally
repugnant.
Our focus needs to be on getting powerful, easy, inexpensive
computing to anyone who wants it. We spend too much time and
energy pushing the edge of capability for the benefit of
large corporations and not enough on improving the usability
of our increasingly complex systems.
I have spent my career working to help create and promote
technology that changes people's lives in a positive way. I
am not sure how much of that we have actually accomplished.
For example, I often wonder whether computers really make us
more productive or merely change how we use our time.
I'm not sure of the answer to the question, but I won't rest
until everybody who wants/needs technology has access and
the ability to use it. That means computers need to keep
getting less expensive and more powerful, but that most of
the power needs to go into better user interfaces and
applications that are much more helpful to users than what
is available today.
I am sure there are people in the Linux community who share
this viewpoint. I have been saying for a long time that
Windows as we know it will never provide the extreme ease of
use and functionality necessary for my concept of universal
computing to become reality.
Maybe Linux--yes, desktop Linux--can provide the
underpinnings for what we need. Apple's OS X is certainly a
step in that direction, regardless of the processor platform
it runs on. But what I said--and will repeat--is that
desktop Linux has a long way to go before it becomes a
worthy successor to either Mac OS X or Windows XP.
http://eletters.eweek.com/zd1/cts?d=79-1062-20-37-22237-120604-1
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2. The New iMacs
Another column this week talked about the new Apple G5 iMac
and took the company to task for using only glamor shots of
the new machine rather than some which show it with a bunch
of wires coming out it, which is, after all, how it will end
up looking on a user desktop.
Apple tries really hard--and succeeds--in dreaming up
interesting industrial designs, though the new iMacs really
aren't terribly revolutionary. Where Apple is always found
lacking is in cable management, a necessity for integrating
their art museum designs into the real world of homes and
offices. Apple seems to think that form follows form, not
function.
Having said that, the new design is a vast improvement over
the last generation of iMacs, which may have looked cool to
some but looked silly to most, especially people who'd be
using them in offices. The new G5 iMacs, however, strike a
nice balance between looking to businessy for consumers or
too consumery for businesses. The machines still aren't
inexpensive, but I believe they are a good value for people
who appreciate the virtues of OS X. I hope Apple sells a
zillion of these new models.
New iMac Design Looks Better for Business
http://eletters.eweek.com/zd1/cts?d=79-1062-20-37-22237-120610-1
Mac OS X in the Enterprise
http://eletters.eweek.com/zd1/cts?d=79-1062-20-37-22237-120613-1
And in case you have missed me saying in, the current
Microsoft Office for OS X is a truly great program and is,
in many ways, a model for what Windows Office really should
be. Due soon is a new version of the Microsoft Virtual PC
Windows emulator for Mac, which is supposed to offer better
Windows XP performance for people who want a Mac but need to
keep a foot in the Windows world as well.
http://eletters.eweek.com/zd1/cts?d=79-1062-20-37-22237-120610-1
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3. What Do You Think Of Mac Servers for Windows Clients?
Speaking of Macs in business, I would love to hear some
comments from IT folks about the pros and cons of using
Mac servers in a Windows environment. Or as enterprise web
and database servers or storage networks. Here's what's new
on that front from Mac Expo in Paris this week.
Apple Expo Shows Credibility Boost for Server Solutions
http://eletters.eweek.com/zd1/cts?d=79-1062-20-37-22237-120616-1
My gut reaction is 1) that these machines deserve to be
more popular than they are but that 2) they don't offer
enough advantages to break through corporate IT's strong
anti-Mac bias. Still, these are Unix servers at what seem
like good prices. Any comments would be appreciated.
http://eletters.eweek.com/zd1/cts?d=79-1062-20-37-22237-120616-1
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4. Social Networking Still Needs A Business Model
Interesting news story this week about how LinkedIn
is hoping to make a windfall off its million users. Most
of what's discussed in the story is stuff I've heard from
them in the past when they were trying to convince me not
to hate them simply because they seemed a bit clueless on
how to make a buck. Now they seem to have clues, but whether
they are good ones remains to be seen.
I am not against social networks, per se, it's just that I
don't see how they every make terribly much sense from
either a participatory or a financial viewpoint. I'm open to
being convinced if someone wants to try.
LinkedIn Preps Paid Services for Social Networking
http://eletters.eweek.com/zd1/cts?d=79-1062-20-37-22237-120619-1
Related to this topic is a story from earlier this summer
that talks about why people want to participate in these
networks. Is it the "favor economy" as some suggest, or will
people want cold, hard cash?
Do Favors or Cash Motivate Online Business Networking?
http://eletters.eweek.com/zd1/cts?d=79-1062-20-37-22237-120622-1
And if they want money, does that somehow taint the network?
For that matter, if someone sells your name to a headhunter
as a potential reference for a job candidate, should you
charge money for actually taking the headhunter's call and
providing the reference? And then do you charge the person
who needs the reference, who you may not actually know, for
giving a good reference? Once you add money into the mix,
the value of social networking seems to become really
questionable.
On a somewhat related topic--that of how "free" services
will make a buck--I am supposed to be meeting with the Plaxo
folks to find out how they to stop living on handouts of VC
money. I am deeply concerned about what I think they are
going to tell me, but don't want to say anything until I
have an actual reason to be deeply concerned. Stay tuned.
http://eletters.eweek.com/zd1/cts?d=79-1062-20-37-22237-120619-1
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5. Shades of WinME? Yikes!
That's it for this week. Remember that between newsletters
you can find out what's new with me on the eWEEK.com home
and opinion pages. No product of the week this week, but I
will point you to a blog entry on an anti-product, something
that I hope won't happen. And that's the possibility that
adding Longhorn features to Windows XP could end up creating
another mess like what happened when XP features were added
to Win98, resulting in Windows ME. It's a frightening
prospect.
http://eletters.eweek.com/zd1/cts?d=79-1062-20-37-22237-120625-1
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6. Product of the Week: Microsoft Money 2005
OK, if you really want a product....
I was really happy for the developers of Microsoft Money
when earlier this month PC Magazine awarded their newest
version an Editor's Choice. Overshadowed by Quicken, Money
has rarely gotten the respect it deserves. This is sad
because it's actually been a fine product for a few releases
now. I am not telling Quicken users they should change, but
if you are starting fresh you should consider both Microsoft
and Intuit. You won't go wrong with either choice--and
that's not just me saying it, that's PC Magazine's opinion,
too.
http://eletters.eweek.com/zd1/cts?d=79-1062-20-37-22237-120628-1
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See you next week!
Contributing Editor David Coursey is spending way too much
time in his dentist's office these days, including a root
canal this coming Tuesday (9/7). He now regrets, deeply,
never becoming a good flosser or a three-minute brusher.
Meanwhile, if you for some reason will be attending the Deep
Purple ("Hush" "Smoke on the Water") concert on Labor Day in
Sacramento look for him as part of the show medical staff,
volunteering as a Rock Med EMT.
http://eletters.eweek.com/zd1/cts?d=79-1062-20-37-22237-120631-1
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Tech Jobs
http://eletters.eweek.com/zd1/cts?d=79-1062-20-37-22237-120634-1
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Ziff Davis Channel Zone
http://eletters.eweek.com/zd1/cts?d=79-1062-20-37-22237-120637-1
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DevSource
http://eletters.eweek.com/zd1/cts?d=79-1062-20-37-22237-120640-1
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