Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!wuarchive!texbell!bigtex!milano!lad-shrike!ut-emx!osmigo
From: osmigo@ut-emx.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: IBM vs. Mac - Long (was Re: Xerox sues Apple!!!)
Message-ID: <22527@ut-emx.UUCP>
Date: 19 Dec 89 16:09:31 GMT
References: <5842@eos.UUCP> <10684@encore.Encore.COM>
Reply-To: osmigo@emx.UUCP (Ron Morgan)
Organization: Speech Communication UT Austin
Lines: 52


>I'm tired
>of the "technological" priesthood" who want technology for themselves and
>don't give a shit about bringing it to the rest of the world.
>Jeff d'Arcy

Damn straight. I think if Jobs made *any* contribution to the computing
world, the concept of the "toaster" computer was it. "The computer for the
rest of us." Granted, he built in some technical limitations (small memory,
no slots, etc.) that were suboptimal, but what the heck: a Porsche with a
plastic dashboard instead of a wooden one is still a Porsche.

I'm a case in point. I majored in liberal arts (English, Philosophy,
Psychology, Education) all the way through 250+ hours of college/graduate
school. I don't know SH*T about computers *or* programming. Then along came
the Mac, which provided me with a productivity tool of staggering technical
sophistication, and I didn't have to spend a month memorizing commands like
"CP/:D1.whoopee.%\\kipperedherring" just to start something up. No, just point
at the little icon and <click> and presto, an entire document was left/right
justified in 3 seconds, or a font was changed, or a picture pasted into
the middle of a page. 

I remember using a PC-AT for a project about 3 years ago. I eagerly booted
the thing up, then spent an entire afternoon poring through an 8 inch stack
of manuals. My prof asked how I was doing, and I said, "gee, I think I'll be
able to get started by tomorrow!"

In contrast, I've seen secretaries who have NEVER used a computer before
take a Mac out of the box, boot up MacWrite, and start cranking out
beautifully formatted correspondence in less than an hour. Try THAT with
your typical "mess-dos" machine.

I was amused when, in a local bookstore, I saw a HUGE book on "Using Micro-
soft Windows." It must have been 3 inches thick. Imagine a 1200-page book
on "using Macintosh windows." Gaaaaaaaaahhhhhh.....

I'm on my second Mac now, an SE with 4 megs RAM and a 40meg external HD. By
carefully setting up a work environment with tools like OnCue, Multi-
Finder, and Macromaker, I've created a personal workstation with power that
existed only in science fiction novels a few years ago. By God, I'm PROUD
of this thing! (pats Mac, tear rolls down cheek)

And yes, after all this time, let's have some dialogue on IBM vs. Mac, as
long as it's sensible and realistic, and not meaningless jaw-wagging like
Woody's (sorry, Woody). I'm sorry if it bothers all you "engineers" that want
to sit here and talk about nubuses and stack heaps (whatever those are).
I've learned some interesting things, and have been exposed to some valid
viewpoints, while reading this discussion. If you don't like it, you know
where the "K" key is.

Ron Morgan
osmigo@emx.utexas.edu