It’s the PC vs. Mac squabble:
If the Obama campaign represented a sleek, new iPhone kind of future, the first day of the Obama administration looked more like the rotary-dial past.
[…]
One member of the White House new-media team came to work on Tuesday, right after the swearing-in ceremony, only to discover that it was impossible to know which programs could be updated, or even which computers could be used for which purposes. The team members, accustomed to working on Macintoshes, found computers outfitted with six-year-old versions of Microsoft software. Laptops were scarce, assigned to only a few people in the West Wing. The team was left struggling to put closed captions on online videos.
Emphasis mine. I’m reminded of a quip I heard a while back: the only thing smugger than a Mac user is a Mac user who drives a Prius.
If Obama’s folks expected the White House to be full of Macs, that’s not just a technological issue, it’s a cultural and religious one.
Bah! The only thing I like about Macs is how they are much, much less vulnerable to malware. Other than that, I much prefer PCs, with their two-click mouses and straightforward menus (none of this “bouncing icon” crap).
Funny, but suggests a lack of managerial experience in the Obama administration.
I believe Illinois state government tends to be all Dell. Why? Ethics requirements in procurement require lowest bid after notice on the internet. IBM used to get a lot of the contracts because it had a lot of tech support hovering in the buildings and providing educational seminars at retreats at recreational sites. We don’t trust the government any more to evaluate the intangible values associated with procurement.
PC’s are to Macs as Hummers are to Lexuses. Clunky, clumsy, ugly and failure-prone vs. sleek, fast, beautiful and maintenance-free. But I’m not suggesting that PC users are necessarily as ugly as their 80’s era machines. I am sure that out of the many millions of PC users at least a dozen are perfectly decent folks.
Last January of ’08 was the last straw. Having purchased numerous layers of virus protection including annual maintenance updates and an automated weekly backup system, my Microsoft-based system became DOA.
Like most, I rely on my PC for, well, just about everything: business, banking, media, etc.
When the PC failed, unbeknownst to me, the backups that I thought were there for the uploading were simply not there. Surprise!
Except for the artsy-fartsy crowd, business is done on a PC. My architectural business is no exception. Having learned that Macs are not prone to the same defects inherent in Microsoft based systems–perhaps a racket of convenience: constant software updates with vulnerabilities, consultants to fix the problems, consultants to recommend Microsoft compatible protection software, etc.–I wanted out.
Purchased the Mac Pro and installed a some software (VMware) that allows me to run my Windows’ programs (the business side) on my Mac. Do almost all my web searching, downloading, streaming, etc. on the Mac side. No degragation in speed whatsoever. And more importantly, no computer problems for the past year.
Now I have no faith in Obama’s administration. He will fail because he 1.) is just another empty suit by-product of the Chicago Daley Machine, 2.) is not smart (note inappropriate pauses in unscripted responses), 3.) hasn’t had a real job in his life, 4.) has extreme socialist tendencies, and 5.) is clinging to racist theories that no longer apply to a post-60’s era.
But as far as Obama’s people being Mac users, I’m going to give them full credit; it likely to be the only positive amongst the onslaught of bad policies coming down the pike.
It’s not the Microsoft vs. Mac issue that bothers me. I use both and most people should be able to adapt quite easily. The bigger question is why the Obama/Axelrod/Emanuel crew didn’t start working this out as soon as they were elected. Appoint a Tech Tzar for the transition. Poor planning.
Gitmo and banning former lobbyists are two other issues that haven’t been thought through. What else? Oh, I forgot. The Democrats handed over bailout money without guidelines for its use.