Why I think Apple's about to sell out (if it hasn't already)

[This was an old post from '07/'08. I took it down because I was applying for a job at CG Computers, which is a Mac-centric store. Since I'm not hired... what the hey.]

Don't get me wrong, I love Apple. I've been using Macs since 1993. Leopard came out some time ago, and, like many Mac fans, I was thinking of upgrading. But once, you upgrade, there's practically no turning back. If you downgrade, the lesser version is going to be a bit off since it's already had the new one. (Just like Firefox 1.5. I accidentally installed Firefox 2, found out I didn't like it so much, and tried to stop halfway. Firefox 1.5 still runs, but the Theme is a bit off. At least, though.)

Anyway, I went down over to the store, and checked out Leopard for myself. One of the reasons I was pretty excited about it was because it's said to have around 300 changes(!!!) with this new release. So I went to fiddle with one of the MacBooks.

Didn't like it.

For one thing, everything looked like iTunes, even when you're not IN iTunes. And they integrated the stuffs with the stuff on the left, and they did away with the many-windows thing that I like (at least, I think they did). Checked out Time Machine, it looked cool, but then I wondered, "How much memory is this going to take UP??" Back-ups need memory too, and I've always been a bit crazy with my memory. *heehee* There was this brochure listing the 300 changes so, on my way down, I read through it. More than half of those changes really didn't apply to me. I mean, Terminal?? I don't use that. I don't even know how to use that! Whenever I try to put in my Admin password, I couldn't! Mostly programmer/source changes and stuff, stuff I don't even get. My judgement might've been pretty hasty, but I REALLY didn't want to upgrade after that.

And lucky that I didn't.

I read this article in the papers the other day about how more and more Mac users are downgrading back to Tiger (Leopard came out, oh, sometime October/November; the article was in December). Hmmm. Reminds me of another recently-out OS that people said was kinky.

*cough* Vista *cough*

I googled the term 'downgrading to Tiger', and true enough, I read a forum post somewhere that the new Leopard might be the new Vista. It keeps hanging. Jonathan said he heard that with Leopard, you can get the Blue Screen of Death (BSoD), which is something that I've never experienced before with my Macs. Sure, the thing freezes. But no blue screen. All my frozen screens have been technicolour.

As the new OS's keep coming (OS X onwards), I feel that Apple's slowly crossing over to the dark side. That is, ahem, Windows.

*cough* Intel processors *cough*

One niggle I've always had with OS X was the fact that it reminded me too much of Windows. I'm not entirely sure who copied who this time around (since OS X came out around the same time as XP, if I'm not wrong), but OS X's interface looks quite a bit like Windows. Move the icons to the left, turn the Dock Hiding off, lose the menu at the top, and there you have it. Rather familiar-looking, don'cha think? Maybe they're trying to get Windows users to convert and thought that their Windows-blown minds wouldn't be able to handle the original simplicity. Hahaha. Although I gotta admit, the Dock comes in mighty convenient sometimes.

About my quibble with Intel processors: Yeah, they're faster (my laptop runs on PPC, which lags sometimes. But there's probably 'cos I have loads of crap on it), and sometimes I wish that I'm running on Intel. But one thing that Intel cannot run, is the Classic OS 9 environment emulation-thingy. Either they didn't include it in, or they couldn't. Sure, you got SheepShaver and Basilisk. They're free, if you know where to get 'em. But it's extremely tedious trying to get OS 9 itself installed (it's hard trying to get the OS itself!), since SS and B are open-source, and require you to know command-lines and Linux functions (which I know absolutely jack about, I'll have you know). And they only have updates up to System 7. System 8 is virtually extinct. Can't find it anywhere, even though it's supposedly free or something. I wouldn't give up Classic for the world (unless I can find AND figure out how to run System 8, which is the one before they started The Change). There's no other way I can run my games. They're ancient.

I remember when:
1) There weren't so many drop-down menus on the right, just the time and the applications in use. Now there's Spotlight, and a host of other things you can add on. Spotlight might be intuitive, but I really don't dig Internet cookies coming up with every search.
2) Shut Down had its OWN titled menu along with Restart and Empty Trash and some others, instead of being under the Apple menu.
3) The Apple menu had a whole bunch of other mini-applications (I call them 'mini' cos they're a bit like widgets, but aren't). Those mini-apps go under Widgets now, I think. Widgets are kinda fun, though.
4) You have to open every single folder to look for that elusive game/file. I'll admit, clicking the Applications folder-slot thingy on the right is a lot faster than double-clicking the Applications folder-icon itself. But that's only it. I don't really use the rest. Luckily, they have this option where you can choose to have a whole bunch of windows open. Last I checked on Intel Macs, they did away with that. Or maybe I couldn't find it.
5) They had funny names for the folder colours. Like Red was Hot, Blue was Cool, Orange or Pink was Work-in-Progress or something. And during then, the whole folders changed colours, instead of just the names.

I can't remember what my old LCII ran on, but it sure wasn't OS 9. I don't think it was System 8 either. Maybe 7 or 6. I'm really, really sad that it broke down some years ago, and, knowing the locals, they don't have the parts, and they don't know/want to get the parts. The only way I can probably get it fixed, is to lug my massive computers (yeah, cos the other one's also gone boom boom) all the way to the States, and see whether they still have parts or not (and even that isn't really guaranteed). Yeah. Like my mom's gonna let me do that.

The only good thing I found with OS X so far is only the individual application hangs, and not Finder. I don't have to restart the entire computer just because my game got frozen. And the fact that I can play my old LucasArts games (thank you, ScummVM!!). They didn't really work on the other two (actually they worked on the LCII, but I was too young then. By the time I was old enough, the LCII was already on the bye-bye). I miss playing Sierra's The Adventures Of Willy Beamish. It was too fast on the OS9 (the stupid Cook always catches me before I could throw the freaking cup at her), and it's still too fast on the OSX (I can now play Willy Beamish! Yay! I can finally throw the cup at Cook and she doesn't catch me prematurely! Whee!!). I miss PageMaker. I miss when Trash was an icon by itself on the desktop, and how you can install this little plug-in so that when you Empty Trash, Oscar the Grouch comes out and sings, "I love it, because it's TRASH!" or, "I. Love. TRASH!!!" He had so many songs... :( And back then, they actually TELL you the total memory of the items about to be thrown out.

(As for the selling-out, I saw somewhere that even though Apple is a computer manufacturer, most of its income right now is coming from the Pods and the Phones. No wonder over there. Pretty soon, they'll probably phase out the comps. Hope not. I mean, where'm I gonna get my parts from?)

I guess I'm a REALLY old-school Mac user. But old-school's always tried and tested. The new ones are the ones that are funky.