David Groover wrote: >For myself, not yet on X, I am looking forward to it because my computer >experience and attention is about innovation, as well as creativity, as >well as figuring a way to make a buck.
I can't help weighing in with my perception of this problem with constant "progress." As David says, his relationship to computers is about creativity and innovation, and I'm sure many (or even most?) of you share that focus. Many people need all this power and capability that I only dimly understand for their businesses or personal interests. But there are also those of us who are not geeks, and don't really enjoy facing crashes, workarounds, writing scripts, etc. We just want to do word processing, send email, and run a few programs that happen to fit our lifestyles. For us, this constant "improvement" in operating systems is just a huge aggravation that makes life harder, not easier. Permit me to use some personal examples. As a part-time college teacher, I use my computer to write a syllabus, receive attached file assignments from students, and to write tests. Since text publishers provide huge test question banks on CD or disk, I'm concerned that a publisher may not bother to write a version of the test making software for Jaguar, Tomcat, Crocodile, or whatever the next Apple innovation maybe in the future. I have a gradebook program called Micrograde that enables me to assign weights to assignments, enter grades, and let it do the number crunching. For several years I used to write simple spreadsheets in Excel for this purpose, but this program has all kinds of extras like various reports, attendance records, etc. that make it much easier to use. What if the company that wrote the software tires of dealing with the limited Apple market and doesn't update the software for some latest Apple idea of progress? I'm screwed. On a personal basis, I have a cookbook program that allows me to enter recipes and then retrieve them by ingredient, region, cooking method, etc. The company that wrote it has long been out of business. When I finally get a new computer that will only boot in the new OS, then I will have wasted hundreds of hours entering recipes that I can no longer access unless I maintain a separate computer just for that purpose. I believe I brought this up once before, and got all sorts of suggestions about building custom databases to replace the program, but that's not my thing. I just want to buy a program that does it right, and then not mess with it any more. Geeks may want to write their own, but I don't want to reinvent the wheel. I also have a program that keeps track of my cycling and running mileage, average speeds, etc. and I think that company is out of business too. So when I get a new computer that will only boot in some new OS, I will have lost years of workout records. Is this a tragedy? I suppose not, but I'd rather not do it. I'll have mercy on you and end this list of concerns. But my aim was to show why many of us don't welcome "progress." My computer, running OS 9.0.4, is stable, friendly, and does everything I need without me understanding its guts. I'm not interested in pushing the edge and exploring new frontiers. I just want to use the computer as a tool to make my life easier, not harder. And I've heard enough on this list about OSX to convince me it would make it harder. Bill McIntyre San Clemente, CA (949)498-1174 voice (949)498-2331 fax ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe send a mail message with a SUBJECT line of "unsubscribe" to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> or <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
