Subject: Essay--Macintosh and Ease of Use
Sent: 12/19 10:02 PM
Received: 12/20 10:41 AM
From: Guy Kawasaki, Kawasaki@eworld.com
To: Peter Sichel, psichel@kersur.net
macway-for-guy@solutions.apple.com
This was contributed by <psichel@kersur.net>.
Why the Mac Will Remain Easier to Use
With all the hype around Windows 95, it's easy to imagine that
as Windows gets better, it's closing the gap and may someday be
easier to use than Macintosh. In fact, this is very unlikely to
happen for some important fundamental reasons. It's no accident
the Mac leads in ease-of-use and the PC industry hasn't been able
to catch up. Let's consider why.
1) Stronger vision and commitment to making technology easy to
use.
Apple was the original innovator that applied the best
computer science research to the problem of building an affordable
easy to use personal computer.
While Microsoft is certainly committed to making Windows easier
to use, it is also committed to backward compatibility with much
older technology (DOS) as a core marketing strategy.
2) Stronger integration that comes from "controlling"
more of the system (hardware and software). It's harder to innovate
when you don't control large parts of the system.
Apple believes hardware capabilities drive OS development.
Hardware advances and falling prices continue to play an important
role in shaping the industry. Apple leads the way in integrating
easy-to-use networking and multi-media, and is uniquely positioned
to offer complete solutions.
Microsoft believes applications drive OS development, and thus
will almost always be behind in taking advantage of new hardware.
Even the latest 32-bit Windows 95 uses the Pentium as a fast 386.
3) Different approaches to solving the fundamental problem: How
to get software to run on the user's hardware?
Apple: design the hardware and software to work together
by retaining control of key pieces while opening others. Do it well
enough and use a compelling vision along with market strength to
get others to follow. Since the Mac market is much smaller, Apple
must rely more on its vision to attract developers.
Microsoft: make the software configurable enough to support a
vast array of hardware options. Do it well enough and use market
strength along with a compelling vision to get others to follow.
The PC industry desperately needs a leader to pull all the diverse
pieces together, and for many, Microsoft is the only player with
the resources to do it. The goal of supporting so many diverse
options means it will never be as easy to configure Windows as
a Mac.
The need to support specialized hardware is one of best reasons
to choose a PC over a Mac. Following the largest crowd to be safe
is perhaps the worst.
While no one system is best for everything, in general, Mac's will
be easier and less expensive to use for the forseable future. If
Windows hasn't caught up by now, it isn't going to anytime soon.
Please send comments to: <>. Peter Sichel
is Chief Engineer of Sustainable Softworks, a small startup dedicated
to finding a simpler way.
________________________________________________________________________
Guy
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