[Editor's comment.] Installing and configuring Wordpress isn’t actually that easy and the creator of this blog has been developing software longer than any teenager has been alive. This site isn’t called the Technical Fact Repository. It has the key word prognostications in the title. Guesses based on observations by someone who has been developing commercial software for 27 years. The same sort of guesses that I make every day when it comes to things like (what should I name this button so as to confuse the fewest number of users? How should I structure the system so that it doesn’t blow up in 5 years?). In the past I knew that companies like Sun were basically zombies (I loved Sun in the 90’s). I knew that fuel cells wouldn’t go anywhere any time soon (they do have a future). And I knew that Y2K was going to be a huge steaming pile of hype. I am not always right but I am rarely wrong on tech. Non tech, ignore me as I was sure gold was reaching a peak a few weeks back. A good example of a tech failure I got wrong was Transmeta. I loved those guys and their product. What I didn’t keep in mind is that fighting Intel is basically like Iceland trying a D-Day style invasion on the continental US. Iceland might spend a few happy moments on the beach and even occupy some land until the US Army actually realizes they are there and bothers to show up.

microsoft have some of the best brains on the planet in their employment. I’m sure that if this is true they know what they are doing

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Correct me if I’m mistaking, but Mac OS has never been a OS for Enterprise. Probably, because they don’t provide business oriented tools like Microsoft Exchange or so.

“elusively” used microsoft for my desktop operating system and for many of those years I used Microsoft as my server system.

from a guy who used MS for 28 years and finally moved all Apple

Interesting story. Just one thing you might consider. Cost of hardware is almost insignificant in the scheme of things. TCO should include software costs, training, support, repair costs, longevity. My understanding is that when all those things are taken into account, Macs almost always come out ahead. Cheers. DD

BMW’s suffer, JUST like Macintosh, from the biased rumor that they are “overly-expensive high-maintenance machines for pretentious rich people”.

My 2000 BMW 3-Series has recently passed the 150,000 mile mark, having seen 3 countries and both oceans bordering America, with the worst failures being a broken headlight switch and a heat sync in the A/C unit. I pay $59 for 7 quarts of 5w30 synthetic, $20 for spark plugs, and $100 for brake pads, just like Ford and Chevy owners.

I bought my BMW used for $9000, and it has cost me only as much as a Toyota Camry to maintain, and MUCH less in gas and service than my last vehicle, a 2000 Toyota 4runner. Sure, both BMW’s and Macs are best serviced by a brand-specific shop, but both companies are so unique in their engineering, it certianly makes sense. I’m poor and can’t afford new transmissions or blown headgaskets. My Bimmer has never let me down, and I’ve put some miles on it.

My favorite Powerbook, a Lombard 333, has traveled across 10 countries on 3 continents, survived drops out of moving vehicles, and has suffered only a dead battery and some cosmetic blemishes for the trouble. I bought my Powerbook used for $400 and only recently upgraded to a Macbook. My Macs always end up costing more than a similarly-equipt PC, and there is always a moment of consideration when I take a look at both side-by-side. If you have any doubts on the value of a Mac (or a BMW for that matter), take a spin around eBay and compare the Powerbook G4 400’s and 500’s to a smiliar Dell Latitude CPx. The Powerbook is still worth hundreds more and would fit in amongst a lineup of the newest and most stylish laptops.

Macintosh and BMW both remain technologically and stylistically relevant for much loger thanr their respective competitors. The smooth lines of even a 15 year old Powerbook (like the 540c) and the clean, angular interior of a similarly old BMW e34 5-series both remain relevant years after they were eclipsed by more advanced models.

In my opinion, the value of a product is determined not at its inception, but years later when you come across it on a Thrift Store shelf and still feel a desire to own it. Do you still feel that flame of desire when you see a Dell 486? A 1990 Ford Tempo?

That said, I don’t think I would own a Mac if PCs had proven themselves as stable for my hobbies and profession. I also feel that some people are buying Macs for the wrong reasons these days. They are really just wasting a lot of really well-thought technology if they only use it for the ole ebay/gmail combo. For that, I would maybe spend $500 on the “rollback” at W-Mart.

To each their own I suppose.

Matt Hanson

Susan Kishner