Is Apple's new OS "Leopard" really that big of a deal?

I only use Macs in my home. I won't allow my family to use PC's because I don't really want to spend all of my time working on that computer every couple months. I'd much rather set up a Mac and let my kids and family use that so I don't have to always be doing something with it so it will work.

I'm not really sure why die-hard PC users don't get that. Perhaps it's because they haven't had to support them enough in their own lives??? I'm not talking about support them as part of their work. Obviously the more the computers don't work, the more likely they have a job.

I'm talking more about setting up a computer for someone else to use. Once you do it (normally you end up doing it for free) you don't really want to have to take it back every few months because something isn't working properly. I especially like the ones that say something like, "Program 'X' isn't working any more because every time I do 'Y', 'Z' happens". In reality, most of the time the cause has nothing to do with program 'X' or either the behavior that is 'Y' and 'Z'.

Regardless of the problem, this is the absolutely infallible reality that will inevitably befall a Windows PC destined for use inside a home. And to Microsoft's credit, when this happens, many home users just go out and buy a new computer since the cost of 'fixing' the problem would cost more than just simply buying a new one at Costco.

So my Question really isn't about Microsoft or their operating system. I just wanted to pose the question as to whether or not Leopard is really that big of a deal? I like Tiger and all of the iterations that came before. I think the functionality of Leopard is pretty nice, too, but is Leopard a great big deal or just a small upgrade?

The funny thing about the question, however, is that even with the changes that Leopard provides the consumers, it's still better than the jump from XP to Vista. I'm not sure how long the development process for Leopard took, but I'm sure it's a lot less than the 5 plus years of Vista. And Vista isn't something I've really seen any where (except on display at Costco). I know some Vendors are having a bang up job just removing Vista installs on OEM PC's and installing XP SP2 instead.

I don't really blame Microsoft. For as much as I don't like their operating systems, XP is a decent product. At least before my family starts using it.

On the plane home, I had a thought...

I was riding on the plane back from New York and as I was trying to relax a bit, a thought popped into my head:

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"Vista is a disaster."

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I don't know why the thought came at that moment, nor had I been thinking very much at all about the operating system on my trip. However, when I got back to the office, I did a search on the phrase and found a couple articles. The best one was this:
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9785337-7.html?



Microsoft is big enough that their failure with Vista won't make much of a difference to them, at least not in the short term. The question is whether or not it erodes a reputation that they've built over the last 15 years, which would affect things more as time goes by. The other hidden erosion would be the minds and hearts of the Microsoft employee base that put so much of their life into a worthless product.

Back in 2001 when I first saw OS X and started playing around with Linux, I predicted a very slow decline of the Microsoft franchise and unfortunately, I've been watching it happen ever since. One can't look at the opportunities presented by both the Open Source and Apple communities and ignore the superiority that each offering brings to the table.

The question is whether or not the behemoth that is Microsoft can react in time. Reaction at this point means looking at their business model and deciding that perhaps their old way of doing things no longer works. I think once they recognize this as a new and crucial perspective, they can then start to look at the next big opportunities available to them. If they don't realize this, they are in for a very slow and painful death. Unfortunately, in technology, it's usually the little guys that come up with the new directions for technology, not the behemoths. Microsoft is more like the buzzards of the world that try to take advantage of old opportunities. As technology moves faster and faster, there is little value in trying to capitalize on the remains of yesterday's excitement.

I have little faith that Microsoft will ever be able to regain the footing that it once had. For me, the thought that pops into my head is reminiscent of the old quarter arcade games: Game Over! And as it happened back then, the quarter you spent for a bit of entertainment didn't last very long.