Apple News, Analysis and Podcasts

I've been an advocate of Macs since my first introduction to a Mac Plus in dorm room back in 1986. Ever since then I've never seen the reason behind PeeCees — whether MS DOS or Windows. DOS was just plain ugly. I shutter to think if Apple hadn't brought us the Mac, then we'd probably all be running MS DOS version 31 — and would it ever be blazin' quick to see a directory! And then there is Windows. In my mind Windows has always just been a Mac user interface knock-off. Sure Windows improved on some items, but its essence is still a second rate knock-off. Let's not even get started with security woes or viruses (or is that viri?) that plague the PC world.

For a long time now I've been a Mac advocate but also a defendant. "Why do you use a Mac?" My answer for nearly 25 years has been, "Because they just work (duh)". The duh part was never said out loud, but it was implied. While your company, your organization or your household needs to have a geek squad a phone call away because the hardware, the software or a combination of both are cheap first and quality maybe, you can't live without a true geek close at hand. On the other hand we Mac users get work done, virus free, and in far more creative manner.

Back at MacWorld 2001 Steve Jobs gave Mac resellers an earful by telling them they were on par with used car sales people when it came to selling Macs. Five months later the first Apple Store opened. The critics pointed to Gateway's failed retail effort and pronounced Apple's new retail channel dead on arrival. 10 years and 356 stores later, Apple's retail strategy has made the wise look incredibly foolish. How else do you explain the most Macs ever sold in one quarter reported last week by Apple CEO Tim Cook? While the Apple iPhone and iPad steal the PR thunder, people are buying Macs in record number.

As these "consumer products" draw multitudes into each Apple store, they also expose people to the coolest looking and working computers in the world — Macs. What's more is the fact that iPhones, iPods and iPads work seamlessly with Macs. Plug-n-play has never seen such a solid relationship in the PC world. With PC's you're always just a driver away from an external device working proper. Macs rarely show that ugly side of computing and people are tired of someone else having to fix their goods that "broke" by no fault of their own, so Macs are selling like hotcakes.

When it comes down to it, Apple's success with the Mac can be traced back 25+ years — "They just work (duh)". 

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