You said, “And I really want a better way to run Windows apps on a Mac.”

Wouldn’t that put you right back into the security risk that is windows? I think so — depending on the route taken. There are three ways to do what you want: run Boot Camp where the Mac is a pretty Windoze box but nearly zero Apple code so it’s not really a Mac; Run Parallels or other VM: better as you get both OSes concurrently and any malware is limited to that VM theoretically though it’s not fast enough for intense games; And, darwine: a limited number of winapps run on top of this compatibility layer which leaves the Mac environment open to any windows holes (and darwine holes which are likely).

And yes, I’m forced to use Wincrap at work. I would adore a Mac Pro to replace it.

I really like the idea “Hackers don’t write for Windows because it’s larger, but because it’s easier.” That’s a good way to put it.

I can’t wait to see more people switch to Mac. And I really want a better way to run Windows apps on a Mac. You didn’t touch on this really at all as a potential transition helper or anything, but I know a lot of businesses (game development in my case) are stuck in Windows because of Windows-only apps. What can they do? You make it sound like switching platforms doesn’t depend on much of anything. There are unfortunately plenty of companies that rely on Windows-only apps to turn a profit.

Are we better off because Microsoft was successful with this strategy, and so we have 1,200 notepad applications for the Windows platform? What would have happened if Microsoft had been less successful? As I indicated, this would be a very interesting study, but one that would take months if not years to complete. My view is that the PC market would have exploded with or without Microsoft. In the early 1980’s, you had oodles of OS vendors with goodies to hand out. Writing software for any one of them would have been fun and profitable, if their market were large enough. The PC explosion was going to happen, and it was going to happen first in business offices. That’s why Microsoft’s flagship product after Windows is Office. But there were a whole lot of excellent office productivity apps before and during Excel, Word, etc. If Microsoft hadn’t dominated as it did, we still would have enjoyed a huge boost to national productivity and economic growth.
The second major wave of the PC is the consumer market, and it’s here that Apple is able to shine. Not only that, but the goodies Apple has been making available for building software for Mac OS X is paying off in the same way that MS did for Windows early on. Cocoa is a fun and exciting way to build software, and the Mac market is benefiting from some amazing new ideas in software that just aren’t happening in the Windows world. That’s the subject for another article one day… Besides Cocoa, you’ve got all the amazing new API’s Apple’s providing–Core Data, Core Video, Core Image, Dashboard, Core Audio, Spotlight, and so on… a new and better one each year. It’s just a really exciting time to be a Mac developer (or to be an observer of the market). And at the same time, Mac OS X is a stable, secure, fun, powerful operating system that just shows up how old and decrepit the Windows APIs have become.
Apple’s technology is bringing lots of new developers into the market, and from what I’ve seen so far, the more, the merrier. A great deal of what’s being built is freeware or donationware, or it’s open source. These guys are building first for fun and second for profit. They’re feeding off of each other’s ideas in a very positive way. As long as Apple keeps coming up with cool new ideas and tools, that will undoubtedly continue.
The web itself–and by this I mean Netscape–opened the doors to scads of folks who would never have been software developers otherwise. My personal view is that the web has been 90% a positive influence on society and only 10% negative thus far. And I credit Netscape for making that happen, not Microsoft. In any earlier article, I make the argument that Microsoft’s splintering of the market and single-minded pursuit of a monopoly for IE actually slowed down the natural pace of change in the web, resulting in years of stagnant growth as developers struggled to deal with the incompatible APIs for JavaScript, DOM, and CSS that resulted.
And that’s about all I have time for right now… but thanks again for your comments.

Pecos Bill, as I stated in the article, I absolutely agree with you. I do not advocate a Mac monoculture or a Linux monoculture to replace the Windows monoculture. My main hope at this point is that IT shops open the doors a crack and begin letting Macs back into the workplace, as well as Linux boxes. With Web 2.0 upon us, and with so much newfound compatibility around email, networking, printing, and the other different approaches between Apple and Microsoft that bedeviled IT in the 1980’s-90’s, allowing heterocultures to thrive again will make good business sense, will improve end-user satisfaction, and will improve security.

Cheers,
Leland

As an IT guy since 1994 and a home grown developer from much before then, I can appreciate many aspects of your article. Much of the anti MS rhetoric bantered in forums is originated by members of the IT industry, which ironically is so much larger today because of MS. The main reason that Windows and MS have been so allowing [Trusting] for security is that they make allowances in their products for developers. In an effort to evangelize, convert and leverage market to gain or grow developers MS has long seeked to be an attractive start. MS IE became king as a developers subset tool.

(MS: Psst, Hey You! Just got a computer and got over AOL? Now learn to program a bit).

‘MS Bob’ failed but the concepts and ideas remained in the company. MS Office when competing previously again Lotus 1-2-3 and WordPerfect introduced macro programming into the apps. Ever since then they [MS] have maintained this champion status to give any user the ability to be a developer or application extender. ActiveX with all of its flaws was just that a further attempt to put powerful tools into the masses. Wisdom in hindsight is funny, not quite wise for most things in review.

The one thing I find you never truly mentioned in the article, is what motivates the ’semi developers’ and malware writers. Why write crap that cripples and destroys? Because its easy is a rediculous response. Smile or Frown? [cliche: muscle counts] Your hands can both caress or punch but why select punching first? These programmers for windows must be in touch with their ‘inner child’ and ‘pubescent adolescent’, because their actions indicate it. That is something I really feel is the core issue, culture and responsibility.

MS clearly wasn’t the company to introduce the internet or connectivity to the world. The anonymity of the internet has generally been used to cover mischief and their [MS] ‘trusting’ products were merely a catalyst for the ‘children’ to run amok.

We IT people have prospered because of the attention and spotlight that MS has brought. Once again will history see us in a wise manner? Doubtful. The effort to turn everyone into a ‘maker’ or ‘contributor’ is truly beautiful. The execution hasn’t quite succeeded. How do you as an obvious analyst, suggest it be reworked with or without MS to allow this? Do you even agree that everyone should have a chance to be a ‘maker’?

Fortunately, I have a Managing Director that listens, and I have been able to get rid of the PCs within the (small) organisation, and replace them with Macs. The downtime saved paid for the transition within seven months.