Well Kelly, I’m right there with Dan Knight, I spend time reading the upgrades and innovations, I even joined the x beta ride way back when, but it did nothing to improve my needs. For me, it complicated the process, demanded new hardware and software, but the biggest problem was the learning curve. I have to show others how it works and why they need something new, and it’s just not there. For a desktop publishing office, filing, email, telecommunication, (hotfax telephony, conferencing) OS 8.6 to 9.2 does it all, and does it on a modified G3 233 (292)500+ram and I perform more functions on this Box than most of the people I do business with. Most computers are task specific, a Doctor’s office runs 4 maybe 5 applications, as does a Lawyers office, and the suppliers I deal with use only 3 or 4. The State computers are task specific, to each their own, some have no internet access except email. My buddy who own the newspaper has a pile of G4’s, uses six programs on 99% of them and only internet access to his administration department. His kids at home have more capability than he does at work, he says, and all run OS9.
iCandy aside, I don’t see the need to go to OSX.Fastcat, spend 5 grand in hardware, software, and another 5 grand having my head examined for doing so. In the end I will have almost exactly what I have today with a whole lot less time on my hands. I’ll have to reeducate others on the process, taking them away from what they really like to do.
On a personal level I like to fiddle with code, but that’s a hobby, in the real world production is the key, and OSX really does nothing to hasten the tasks in my world.
I really think that OSX is still in beta, honestly, and until they make it user friendly, it’s only going to appeal to mac enthusiast, anti MSers, and switcher who want to be seen as thinking different. Even our local school who has at least 300 iMacs still run OS9., when asked why they don’t use the free OSX upgrade, they say, we don’t have the time to teach it, or the software to run on it. This is the case with most folks, try as I may to get them to buy a Mac for ease of use, it’s harder now because Apple made it that way, it seems to me.
I haven’t found one person running their business on OSX, no one who doesn’t find themselves defaulting to Classic for unavailable software, or just because they don’t want to loose production time teaching others a whole new way of making a paycheck.
It’s a tough sell, though the future of Mac is riding on it. I think it has to be smoother, resembling the Classic and operating in the background.
Dixie
