I come back from a summer hiatus and look at all the changes in the mac world. First of course is Tiger, then we have the switch to Intel chips, and now to top it all off Apple creates a multi button mouse.
My need to comment has pulled me back into the fray earlier then hoped. Also I need to get the design of this site done.
Enough has been said about Tiger, good and bad, my experiences and opinions are mostly positive. On the other hand this Intel chip hullabaloo doesn’t upset me for the same reasons many others are offended.
It is often overstated that Apple is a hardware company. It may be true that they derive the bulk of their profits from hardware sales (maybe they’re an ipod company now), but that would be like saying Mcdonalds is a french fry company. From what I understand Mcdonalds makes the bulk of their profit from french fries and soft drinks. What makes Apple and their machines different is the OS. The OS is what makes Apple, well, Apple.
Intel or IBM/Motorola? In truth, I do not care what the chip is as long as I get my quality mac hardware that I can rely on. I believe the only real issue lays in Intel being the only option in the desktop chip market.
Is it really a shock that this is happening? No, not if you have been paying attention. Above all Apple is a business and they must use suppliers that can fulfill their promises (as we all know the PowerPC chip is way behind where we were promised). Next OS X is basically NeXT which ran on Intel and its core Darwin can run on almost anything you’ve got. The issue was probably not as much getting the OS to run on another chip as much as getting third party applications to run on Intel.
Is this good for Mac users? I am not sure. It should definitely be good for Apple. The diffused line between Intel and Windows will have some more folks considering a Mac who normally wouldn’t.
After everything else happening a small blip that went largely unseen by most was the Mighty Mouse. That is the most asinine name I have ever heard, I expect more of you Apple. Well as I have myself invested in third party multi button mice it may be a while till I get one. Maybe if they take it Bluetooth I will make an order. The reviews I have heard on the mouses performance are mixed, I will have to drag myself to an Apple Store and check one out. And why did they release these just two weeks after I bought a new machine?