Appleis new killer cat, Panther, seems to be a hit; reviews that border on raves are popping up all over the place. Hereis an article from the Independent, a newspaper from the U.K., titled, Charles Arthur: iCan Panther fit into a Windows-dominated world?i. The author, Charles Arthur, tells of his brotheris efforts to rid neighbors and friends of the MS Blaster virus and uses the story as backdrop to show how a Mac running Panther would be a boon in a Windows domain. Hereis an excerpt:
There are two reviews online already: The Independent had the UK exclusive, and after testing it on a number of machines, thereis no doubt itis a big improvement on 10.2, or "Jaguar", as its predecessor - released last August - was named. (You can find the reviews at http://news.independent.co.uk/digital.) Suffice to say that itis a worthwhile upgrade. But beyond that, how does Apple, with Panther, fit into a world that is dominated by Windows and Microsoft? The answer: very quietly, but very, very thoroughly.
Here are the pieces of the strategy. Apple has made a lot of noise with the launch of iTunes for Windows. It behaves exactly like iTunes on a Mac. It only works with Appleis iPod music player. And thatis a small step towards getting "mindshare" among buyers of computers about what their next machine might be. If iTunes doesnit behave like other Windows applications then thereis always the possibility people will prefer it. Itis slim, but thatis what mindshare is about.
Second is the virus question. Microsoft has been taking out full-page newspaper ads, which say "With all the recent news coverage about malicious computer viruses, it can be confusing to know how to protect your PC". It can be, but it would be a lot better if one didnit have to take the steps that Microsoft advises - turn on the firewall that comes with XP (but which was left off by default); download the giant security patches, so you only have to worry about the next security attack; and get antivirus software. The implication is that viruses are a sort of computing Act of God.
The article is a good read; stop by the Independent and read the full article.