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The Back Page - John C. Dvorak: Talking Sense...

by - September 10th, 2004

The last time I took the time to write a column it was to smack John C. Dvorak around for some flame bait he had put out. This time I come to praise Mr. Dvorak, not to bury him, and not in that Marc Antony kind of way, either.

The reason for this praise? Believe it or not, it's a column he wrote about Macs, Windows, and Linux.

Yeah, I know, it almost seems like I am setting you up for a joke, but I'm not. Mr. Dvorak wrote a piece about the very subject he has excelled at fanning for many years, the platform wars, and I think it's a very interesting piece. In fact, like watching his (now canceled) TV show on TechTV, reading it is a reminder of just how smart this man can be when he wants to be.

Anyway, enough praise; let me show you what I'm prattling on about:

I don't want to sound like I'm bashing Macs again, because I'm not. I'm trying to make the point that the criteria that define the Mac as a superior machine are not the ones typical PC owners use. For some niche users, they are: If you're an art director working almost anywhere, your criteria lead you directly to the Mac.

Most buyers are not art directors, however. The factors of versatility (lots of available software) and price (the cost of a machine) seem to be what the public cares about when buying a computer. Those are the only two points on which the PC beats the Mac. It also tells me that Linux boxes, which are actually cheaper, could surpass Windows machines if only there were more software for them.

See that? It makes sense, or it mostly makes sense. He also talks a bit about the amount of software on the different platforms being a major factor in platform choice, and I don't think that's much of an issue any more. It was throughout the 90s when you could walk into a computer store and see acres of Windows software, and little or no Mac software, but walk into a computer store today, and you'll see little or no software at all, for any platform. There's too little money in selling software in brick and mortar stores any more.

That's just nitpicking, however, as Mr. Dvorak's main point about why different people choose their platform is truly right on the money. It doesn't solve anything, and it's not going to change anything, but it's a great observation.

The proof of that observation/pudding is all around us, too. I choose the Mac platform for its quality, the way I can get my work done without the computer getting in my way, the ease of use, the way the software is built for the hardware (and vice versa), etc. The same is most likely true for most of you reading this.

If everyone else was looking for the same thing, they most definitely wouldn't be buying cheap Windows boxes, because they don't get those same qualities in a Windows box. Other criteria, therefore, are guiding their choices, ignorance more often than not being chief among them, but that's really beside the point.

So, there you have it. Interesting and relevant food for thought from John C. Dvorak (you can find it at PC Magazine's Web site).


began using Apple computers in 1983 in a high school BASIC programming class. He started using Macs in 1990 when the Kinko's guy taught him how to use Aldus PageMaker, finally buying a Power Computing Power 100 in 1995. Today, Bryan is the Editor of The Mac Observer, and has contributed to the print versions of MacAddict and MacFormat (UK).

You can send your comments directly to him, or you can also post your comments below.

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Observer Comments

Show: Subjects Only | Full Comments
Close Name:AFCdtLoeb Posts: 2533 Joined: 20 Jul 2004
Subject:

Well I'll be..... Mr. Dvorak, I applaud you for this. Perhaps the "Sense sticks" we beat you with all the time finally knocked some logic into you.

View Name:Guest
Subject: He's still on the M$ payroll / Booganosefunk
View Name:Guest
Subject: One Problem
Close Name:Semeyaza Posts: 130 Joined: 29 Aug 2002
Subject:

In many ways the price factor is against wintel boxes too... since a Mac has a much longer life span and software don't need to be replaced at avery drop of a hat, we all know Mac are cheaper on the long run.
The problem is mos people don't think that way... they look at prices in the exact moment the purchase something and that's it...
And this is not even ignorance, but just short-sightedness (hope this is correct, I'm not native english speaker

Perhaps Apple should try a campaing pointing to that also...

cheers

Close Name:kenaustus Posts: 601 Joined: 27 Jun 2003
Subject: Apple's challenge

is to get people to take an informed look at Macs. The problem is that when most people buy a computer they are told the old line about Macs being too expensive and no software. The person telling them is a commission salesman who knows where the money is - his money, that is. I call it The Bubba Syndrome and it moves a lot of PCs.

Several things are changing this landscape. The iPod over the long run will be a major help, as will The Music Store. The new iMac is definitely going to have an impact on switching to Macs, but only after supplies are abundant. Promotions like Cram & Jam are also a significant factor in Apple's computers. College kids with one will likely stay on the Mac platform and college kids without one will be wanting one before the semester is over.

The Apple Stores are also going to have a huge impact on Apple's future, especially in 3 - 5 years when there are a lot more and IBM is delivering Gx chips without problems . . .

As for Linux, you'll know it has really arrived when Apple comes out with iTunes and The Apple Store for them.

View Name:Guest
Subject: Not all good sense
View Name:Guest
Subject: I think hi hit it right on the money
Close Name:Bryan -   TMO Staff Posts: 7325 Joined: 11 Jun 2001
Subject:

Thanks for the note about the link, Guest. I've now added a couple of links to the piece.

View Name:Guest
Subject: Dvorak...still a Microsoft shill......
Close Name:Semeyaza Posts: 130 Joined: 29 Aug 2002
Subject:

Problem is Apple does not press enough about how things are changed... not enough commercials and not the right ones...

the commercial with the G4 iMac mimicking the man was nice and cool.. but it did not imply anything about easy of use or compatibility with the PC world... or even about software or whatever...

I would have not switched based on that commercial.. I switched cause I saw a Mac running at a friend's home... I saw the actual thing working and that's what hooked me...

Apple needs to start a campaign that promotes these kind of things... like the switch campaign, but less trite...

cheers

View Name:Guest
Subject: your all missing the big reasons and a major point
Close Name:MrKai Posts: 23 Joined: 18 May 2004
Subject: Its very VERY VERY SIMPLE people.

Apple will never EVER rise above a *maximum* 10% share, because of plain old human nature.

The things that matter to mac users just DON'T to 90% of the rest of the population....

But its like that with *everything* that is an optional purchase. Everything.

Its even like that with food. I know people that will put the most *foul* low quality food into their mouths, because better food isn't a requirement, nor is it a consideration.

I know folks that spend a ton of money on something, but will use the most *crap* stuff in the world to "maintain" it.

No matter how many commericials, ads or whatever apple runs, the vast majority will not pay a premium over Price X for a quality product.

The iPod is a fluke; it is more a *cultural icon* status ssymbol, and its cost is *just* low enough that enough folks pony up.

But yeah, most people like crap, so that's what they look for.

Hell, i actually had one guy i know, and a smart guy too, tell me that Apple's stuff is *no better* than anyone else's and that 'Mac People' are gullable.

I *know*...its nuts...but really guys...Apple is where they are because there is nowhere else for them to be. They would have to effectively become another company to get anything more than 10%

Then we'd all buy something else

-K

Close Name:Semeyaza Posts: 130 Joined: 29 Aug 2002
Subject:

I don't think I'm still on a Mac just cause I'm used to it... For me, at least, is a better experience than anything windows gave me.

And in my line of work the asian languages handling under OsX is just too much a boon to turn back to windows (even if most of my colleague still toil under that system).

Still it's true that changing from what you are used to, even if it's crap, is very difficult for most people...

Cheers

Close Name:MrKai Posts: 23 Joined: 18 May 2004
Subject: Yeeaaah but...

Quote
Semeyaza wrote:
I would have not switched based on that commercial.. I switched cause I saw a Mac running at a friend's home... I saw the actual thing working and that's what hooked me...


And realized it was worth the asking price.

This is the thing that puts you in the target "niche"...

Apple can make the greatest pitch in the world, using the most broad modern medium there is for this sort of thing, but for one, it is "beneath" them*...and they don't care *nearlyy* as much as the "userbase" does.

The Pitch of The Century would still fail when the price comes up

-K

*an infomercial, silly

Close Name:DawnTreader -   TMO Staff Posts: 13427 Joined: 04 Jan 2002
Subject:

IMHO Dvorak is just filling print space. Nothing new is revealed about his PC world view. Whether or not he likes the Mac he knows mentioning Apple increases his readership.

The article is a subtle capitulation the Mac will continue to sell and Apple will remain in business regardless of his view of the company's products or their "niche".

Close Name:Halix Posts: 38 Joined: 03 Sep 2004
Subject: PCs are not cheaper

If you compare equally equipped PCs to Macs, the PCs will always be more expensive. Try going to the DELL online store and configure a machine comparable to the new iMacs. Even if you use the slowest processor to push down the price the iMac is way cheaper.

What PC makers offer on the other hand are computers that are so badly built, with lousy components, no FireWire, XP Home edition and absolutely unaccessible innards for regular users to upgrade, that they can offer a matching price for what such a machine is worth... almost nothing.

The DELLs and Gateways don't even care about bad the user experience they are offering, because most people just regard the lost time as normal and think its their own fault that their cheap PCs break all the time.

It's the same lack of intelligence and responsability that makes people buy cars that can go 300 km/h (where can you drive that fast in the US?), that use 15 liters of gas/100 km… while knowing exactly that burning petrol is the most stupid way to use this valuable but restricted natural resource. Lack of foresight and intelligence is human, and this hasn't changed since Voltaire bemoaned it.

So why should this situation be different in the Mac vs. PC question?

________
The only thing we learn from history is that we dont learn anything from history.

View Name:Guest
Subject: TMO is wrong on this, as was Dvorak
Close Name:Jonovitch Posts: 19 Joined: 06 May 2004
Subject: Giving even more credit to Dvorak

Bryan (and everyone else who think's Dvorak's an MS "shill"),
here are two more Dvorak articles that make a lot of sense and hardly pander to Microsoft:

"Shorthorn"
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1643598,00.asp

"Kill Word"
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1631430,00.asp

Jon

Close Name:DawnTreader -   TMO Staff Posts: 13427 Joined: 04 Jan 2002
Subject:

Dvorak is not an MS shill. While his anti-Mac bluster usually makes its rounds quickly through the Mac community, he certainly does not have great affection for Microsoft.

Despite his sometimes over-the-top comments about Apple, he is a bright guy who often has very constructive things to say.

Close Name:Sanjay Posts: 29 Joined: 05 Jul 2001
Subject:

Quote
Halix wrote:
If you compare equally equipped PCs to Macs, the PCs will always be more expensive. Try going to the DELL online store and configure a machine comparable to the new iMacs. Even if you use the slowest processor to push down the price the iMac is way cheaper.


But in some way that is Dvorak's point. To get equal spec, you have to add things like Firewire, Ethernet, some way of adding Airport, etc. The point is that Apple's consumer level machine has a lot of value-added features. Unfortunately not all users a) appreciate b) need or c) want these. They end up paying for features they won't use. Yes the same PC is more expensive, but Apple don't have a stripped down model with similar performance.

Not everyone has a Digital Camcorder or external HDD, therefore a Firewire port is unnecessary. As Mac Heads we all know that once you see iMovie and iDVD, you'll want a Digital Camcorder, but people don't see this when buying a PC, so its not in their criteria for choosing a machine. Hence, I think, Apple's try-before-you-buy retail store strategy.

I am no advocate of the stripped down "headless" iMac, quite the contrary. What Apple needed to do was to get the iMac G4 down to eMac prices but LCD demand and Motorola production issues drove component prices up. Hopefully the iMac G5 will eventually go there, and the issue of cheaper vs value added will disappear.

Sanj

Close Name:wolfcreekadman Posts: 3 Joined: 05 Sep 2004
Subject:

Years ago, Dvorak was a Mac columnist! Then he switched sides. After that, when he wrote about Macs, it was mostly critical...sometimes on target, sometimes not. To me, he's kind of like Rush Limbaugh: he writes hysterically at times just to get a reaction and keep his job. I'm not being critical of him; he's got to make a living, too...like the guys on Crossfire.

The sad part is that when he switched, the Windows platform was unbelievably clunky. Apple OS was magnificently better...that's why Microsoft copied it.

Today when Dvorak is complaining about Apple/iPod/iMac, he really misses the point: The PC mass market is mostly about Wal-Mart costs and value. The Apple market tries to reach an audience that is willing to pay more for style, performance, and innovation. With the iPod, Apple did more than sell a music player: they changed our culture and the way we do things.

The new iMac demonstrates that style, performance and innovation are still possible for a desktop computer, and, that, yes, it is affordable...but not at Wal-Mart quality and prices.

View Name:Guest
Subject:
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