Fun_People Archive
28 Jan
A Timely Response

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From: Peter Langston <psl>
Date: Tue, 28 Jan 97 18:04:48 -0800
To: Fun_People
Subject: A Timely Response

[A surprisingly enthusiastic thrust in the PC/Mac wars...  -psl]

Forwarded-by: Larry Yaeger <larryy@apple.com>

[Background: Walter Mossberg, an influential technology writer for the San
Jose Mercury News, who is normally reasonably supportive of the Macintosh,
recently published a very negative editorial about Apple and the Mac.
Here's a refreshing response.  -  larryy]

From:	david_forte@timemagazine.com (David Forte)
To:	editor@wsj.com (WSJ Editor), waltwsj@aol.com (Walter Mossberg)

Dear Walter,

Here we are at the flagship magazine of the world's largest media company
wondering where technology writers like yourself are getting this stuff.

We do not find the Mac unstable. We do not find its operating system to
be antiquated. We run an extremely sophisticated nearly all Macintosh
computer network that spans four continents and is responsible for the
weekly publication of TIME Magazine. We use Macs and not PC's because the
PC cannot do things the Mac has been able to do for years. We find this
to be true even now.

Since when is 95 supporting pre-emptive multitasking? Since when can you
run 95 on older hardware models? Why isn't Microsoft getting bad press
because they abandoned everyone from a 486 on down?

Windows 95 runs over DOS, if you are calling that modern. Windows 95 is
NOT 32 bit clean (Mac OS *is*), if you are calling that modern. Windows
is not a true object oriented operating system; Mac OS is, and always has
been. The Mac is plug and play, Windows is plug and pray. PC's may be (a
little) cheaper to buy, but they are far more expensive and complicated
to support. They simply offer LESS to the user. We find the software
available for the Mac to be more than adequate to publish our little
magazine. We find it better for authoring web pages. We find it to be a
better communication tool in general. We find easier to train people on.
We get great support from Apple. We do not feel abandoned or confused
with their upgrade plan. This comes from someone who has both on his
desk.

If you really are a former Mac enthusiast, please remember the last time
Steve Jobs and Apple came up with new operating system: it took a long
time for someone to come up with a really bad copy.

Please, Walter, for everyone's sake...IGNORE THE PROPAGANDA AND FOCUS ON
WHAT YOU SEE.

Thanks,
David Forte
Technology Manager
TIME Magazine

© 1997 Peter Langston