Microsoft handicapping Apple

[bwana_bob]

Kind of a funny thread here... most posts on this board lobby for local, independent and urban options... but in this conversation about PC's using Mac OS and Windows OS, there is a concession to running with the herd... it's more cost effective, it's easier to implement and maintain, etc. Now you know why there is a McDonald's coming to Bricktown and why Chesapeake will do whatever they want with property they acquire and, yada, yada, yada. The reality is that Utopia is only a book and if you are waiting for a development like The Plaza, you will save time by moving to Kansas City where they already have The Plaza. The next time I hear anyone who has contributed veritas to the "reality" of "serious" computer dominance bemoaning corporate, cookie cutter, EFIS-skinned, anesthetic, reactionary developments, I will simply need to link this thread as a testament to your true natures. (LOL)

[Midtowner]

bwana, I think you're doing an apples to oranges comparison. Is your post supposed to be facetious?

[CuatrodeMayo]

I don't know of any "local, independent, and urban" computers. Pretty much you have a choice between a Mac and PC.

[bwana_bob]

When you get some free time, read Geoffrey Moore's book, Inside the Tornado. Moore breaks down competition into three classes; Gorillas, Chimps, and Monkeys. Moore believes - and supports his theory - that all markets shake out this way: a Gorilla always emerges (Google, Microsoft, iPod, etc.) and they make the rules. A Chimp like Apple and Yahoo! runs in 2nd place and can do really well too but must play by different rules. The monkey holds down 3rd place in the market and can find a niche but like the chimp, has to work harder and differently. Geico is a good example of a monkey - turning insurance solicitation into a three-prong creative blitz just to get you to do what 48% (State Farm) of the market does without prompting (call for a quote).

Bottom-line: no matter if you are selling a product or service - or planning a city, you are a Gorilla, a chimp, a monkey - or worse yet, out of the running. OKC is becoming a monkey after starving from the dearth of crumbs left by all of the chimps and monkeys. We want to be more like Apple - a city that has a unique identity, passionate supporters and a strong profit margin. We don't need to be NYC - and Apple doesn't need to be Microsoft. You can see apples and oranges here - and there is some intentional humor in my prior posts - but there is an incongruity of thought between the positions advocated for subjects such as development versus the positions advocated here that should make us realize how tough it will be to transform OKC into a city with a unique identity, passionate supporters and high salaries. Ultimately, the things people muse about when it doesn't involve their money (i.e., development) are in sharp contrast to their thinking on things they do control (i.e., the network admin who wants a homogeneous, Windows-based installed base so that he/she can more easily provide support and push updates). How can we blame developers for bulldozing landmarks and clear-cutting mature trees so that they can make a quick buck putting another big box retailer at an intersection where we envision an urban park with lots of benches, a beautiful fountain and other "signature" touches.

[Midtowner]

I think you're really trying to force the analogy when it comes to computer Operating Systems.

Windows is chosen for many different reasons. In my case, I play games on my PC which will only work with Windows. I also have to collaborate with others, so Linux, etc. will simply not do. Your analogy works great in a vacuum, but the world doesn't exist in a vacuum. Sooner or later, you have to consider that the totality of reality has some effect on choices people make.

[bwana_bob]

To make it clear - and I'm sure you will be thankful that is my last post on the subject - my analogy is not about operating systems or computers. My post is an observation about the logic being applied to the argument about computers by many posters in this thread being in opposition to the logic they have argued in discussions on topics elsewhere on this board, particularly as it relates to their comments on OKC urban planning and development. Some people argue on a linear plane, others favor taking all of the exits on a roundabout. It was offered as a slight, abstract observation but given the particular scrutiny, perhaps, one day, it will be seen as the height of Socratic irony.

[Dark Jedi]

Patchlink.
We loved it at the US Forestry division. Pushes out patches to anything. Cisco, linux, HP Procurve, Microsoft, Apple, Novell... you name it. All from a central server (or cluster, in our case)

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

To make it clear - and I'm sure you will be thankful that is my last post on the subject - my analogy is not about operating systems or computers. My post is an observation about the logic being applied to the argument about computers by many posters in this thread being in opposition to the logic they have argued in discussions on topics elsewhere on this board, particularly as it relates to their comments on OKC urban planning and development. Some people argue on a linear plane, others favor taking all of the exits on a roundabout. It was offered as a slight, abstract observation but given the particular scrutiny, perhaps, one day, it will be seen as the height of Socratic irony.

I think people will discuss topics as they see them. Not on some grand scheme of primates with the goal of linear posting across topics.

I also think that you're trying too hard.

[MadMonk]

I've been following this thread with some amusement, but bwana_bob's post drew me out of the shadows.

So if you prefer Windows, that means you are a hypocrite if you advocate a more urban-centric OKC?

Bwuahahahaaa! In all the years I've observed various impassioned arguments concerning the MS vs. Apple "war", that's a new one.

Oh my! All those iPod-toting hypocrites out in suburbia!

Enlighten us, what does it say about you if you are an ardent Linux advocate? I'm thinking Zen-master minimalist types with no need for worldly possessions.