Now's the time to check out Mac

As we’re being forced to change to the new Microsoft VISTA this is a great time to think about changing to an Apple.

Adopting Vista demands that we purchase new versions of all of our software to use on the new system; a boost for Microsoft and other software provider sales. The old stuff that’s lasted years won’t work anymore. VISTA however is a system that has been the subject of consumer frustration and a push back by business and consumers alike who have asked - begged - Microsoft (MS) to continue supporting XP. MS has refused and stopped selling the system today.

Since we have to spend a considerable amount of money to acquire new software, this is the time to explore the better of the two systems, the Mac. MS won’t mind, you have to purchase your MS Office again anyway. Mac is user friendly, easier to use and has a graphics capability that far surpasses what you've been taught is a "good system." The Mac has been an imortant part of Microsofts success. Without Mac, MS would have been subject to tighter trading restrictions worldwide as it would have owned the market with just one operating system available - Windows. They would have had monopoly in its truest sense which many claimed it has has anyway. Macs have been the only alternative system for nearly three decades. Here’s a little history.

At the beginning of the 1980s the personal computer market was just beginning to develop. IBM running DOS and Apple had an equal opportunity to conquer the emerging market. Apple had innovation, imagination and energy on its side – the key ingredients that Microsoft had in the 1970s.

Then Apple made a grave mistake and hired a blithering idiot as a CEO, John Scully. Scully was a dipshit who worked for Pepsi with some success selling soda. During his 10 year tenure at the Apple (’83 – ‘93) Scully single handedly took Apple from a position of competitive market dominance to that of a minor player. He did this by confusing consumers with an array of product lines, not listening to feedback from business market, giving away part of the Apple Graphic User Interface (GUI) license to MS. Worse, he traded short term shareholder gain with high per-unit prices and profit margins against aggressive market share acquisition. The Mac became a niche market product.

You may think “hey, he was up against Big Blue, IBM.” They were but despite all the hoopla, IBM nearly turned its back on the PC in the early ‘80s. They didn’t see the market potential as they owned the computer market at that time lock, stock and barrell. The personal computer was a pet project developed with third party off-the-shelf parts in the Boca Raton complex. This was an opportunity that Apple – Scully - missed to soak the market.

Scully lined his own pockets doing something that a spastic monkey could have done because Apple sold itself. He was the highest paid executive in the US in 1987. He should have sat back and let the money roll in and left what wasn't broke alone. Instead he did everything he could to screw up Apples market share through his "innovative" management style. Eventually the board of directors saw through his "style" and they dumped Scully and re-hired Steve Jobs in 1996 by paying $430 million for his failed NeXT computer company. The rest is history. Hello profitability for Apple and hello (eventually) iphone. Jobs saved the day.

Check out your local Apple store and decide for yourself. You might be glad you did.



Comments about John Scully are the opinion of the esteemed author and do not reflect the opinion of Gold Coast Media, our sponsors, advertisers or media partners.