Moving at the Speed of Creativity

Do Windows users like this deserve suffering on in ignorance? Perhaps. It may not be worth many heartbeats or much breath to try and convince someone operating under fervent delusions, as Mr. Wall apparently is, that another reality exists when it comes to computer operating systems.

I have written at length about why, as an technologically literate and savvy cross-platform computer user, I prefer Macs everytime I can make a choice. Let me quickly summarize, not because I am optimistic I can change Mr. Wall’s perceptions and beliefs, but because others may read this and have a more open / reasonable perspective than his.

1. I love to be creative with multimedia. The power my Mac affords me to author digital movies, post content quickly and with style to the web via .Mac, and master my own DVDs is unmatched in the Windows-world. I know because I am a Windows user and have to and do use Windows-version software tools. I actually use WindowsXP every day at work, but when I have a choice, I almost never choose comparable Windows-based software when there is a Mac alternative (which there is 95% of the time.) Windows software tools just don’t stack up in ease of use, beauty of interface, or power.

2. I do not own a Mac to play videogames, as Mr. Wall seems to assume in his article that every Mac user must. I, like most in the video game playing generation, own a videogame console for this purpose. I use my Mac to work, to write, to create, and to communicate.

3. People who complain that Macs are too expensive are apparently still perceptually living in the 20th century. What is expensive about a $500 Mac Mini or a $950 (educational cost) iBook laptop? Relatively speaking to the Windows world, these prices are great. Especially when you consider the amazing multimedia power you have with the iLife suite, that comes with every Mac sold right out of the box. Take a trip over to the Apple Store and check it out. The days of Macintosh computers being comparatively more expensive to Windows computers are over.

Let’s bring this down to a very basic level. What is my 7 year old able to do at the controls of a Mac here at home? Lots, but some of the coolest things he’s been doing lately including authoring his own CD of 10 original songs (including drum, bass, guitar, and his own voice tracks) over the Christmas holidays with Garageband, and videoconferencing with me and his grandparents (100% independently using his own login) using iChat AV.

Perhaps if Mr. Wall met my son and others like him, who use Macs to do amazingly creative and engaging things, his perception of Windows-alternative operating systems might change.

The date Mr. Wall wrote his editorial piece is a bit ironic, especially given his attitude and opinion regarding the superiority of the Windows operating system. Sure, every operating system needs security patches every once in awhile, but with Windows XP Microsoft has taken system patching to new, ridiculous heights. On April 12, 2005– the same day Wall authored his piece about Macs and Mac users for the KSU Collegian– computer analysts declared it “Microsoft Patch Day.” On this one day, Microsoft released eight different updates to address 18 different vulnerabilities to the Windows operating system family. Boy. What a great day to be a Windows user! And to even gloat about it to Mac users! The the thousands of viruses, worms, spyware and adware programs that plague Windows systems are essentially an amusement to Mac users. We just don’t have to worry about those problems. It does not seem that Mr. Wall is aware of this contrasting reality.

People who bad mouth Mac users and Macs provide reason for the rest of us to shake our heads sadly for the suffering of the ignorant. It’s no skin off our back for others to keep supporting Uncle Bill and keeping the MSFT stock price afloat with plenty of quarterly profits. All the Microsoft employees and stock holders thank them profusely.

As for me, I’m looking forward to the release of Mac OS 10.4 Tiger not only because of cool, functional tools like Dashboard and Spotlight, but mainly for the RSS feed support that will be integrated into the Safari web browser, and the multiuser functionality of the iChat videoconferencing program. The scalable H.264 video codec, built into Tiger, is amazing for its quality and compressibity. I’ll be able to have audio conferences over the Internet with up to 9 other people simultaneously, using iChat, and have multipoint videoconferences with up to 3 others. Is Wall doing this now, or will he be doing this soon, using Netmeeting or even the new MS Office Live Meeting? Doubtful.

Will the “wonderful” new Windows operating system (code named “Longhorn,” so you know it is going to be several bricks short of a full load) from Redmond be able to deliver such robust functionality, without the virus/spyware/adware headaches of Tiger? That answer would also be a big NO.

If you share the attitude and opinion of people like Mr. Wall, by all means: Keep enjoying your Windows world. If your mind is no more open to alternative operating system possibilities than this April 12th KSU collegian article suggests, perhaps suffering with the limitations and disadvantages of your current operating system is a fate your perspective naturally invites and deserves.

As for me and my family, we’ll keep using our Macs to create and communicate in ways people stuck in the Windows-centric world can only dream about.

If you want to catch up with my kids in about 30 years, tune in to the Nobel Prize website. When you watch the video clip of the awards ceremony in 2035, you’ll be able to see my children pretty clearly, since they’ll be the ones on the stage receiving prizes for their creativity, imagination, and brilliant abilities to think out of the box and solve the problems “others” with closed minds said were unsolvable.

I’m sure the creativity which is unleashed by a digital bridge as powerful as a Macintosh computer will have been a key element in the history of their intellectual, social, and cultural development.