Unsung Switchers
by Derrick StoryNetwork Newsletter for 07/29/2003
Dear Reader,
I was just reading that we've probably seen the last of the "Switchers" ads from Apple Computer. I know for many of you this will be a welcome relief, and for others, a total nonevent altogether.
The reason why I'm writing about it in this newsletter is because I know you'll understand my POV here, where many in the "traditional Mac audience" might not.
The Switchers campaign failed, IMHO, because Apple targeted Windows users instead of Unix gear heads. Mac OS X isn't a replacement for Windows; it's a new member of the proud and rich Unix community. It allows you to apply your Unix knowledge to a new variant of the platform and gain access to things like native QuickTime, Photoshop, Microsoft Office, pro audio, and a host of other applications and hardware components such as the iPod and iSight.
If you want to attack Microsoft's dominance on the desktop, don't go it alone, work with and acknowledge the community that has fostered the growth of Apache, Linux, BSD, MySQL, PHP, Perl, Python, and the rest of the clan. Now that's traction.
Even though the Switcher TV ads were directed at Windows users, the real success stories were the thousands of Unix users who added Mac hardware to their toolsets and not only embraced the fledgling operating system, but actually moved it forward in leaps and bounds.
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This is for whom O'Reilly has dedicated its second Mac OS X Conference this coming October. Maybe our slogan should be, "We put the 'X' in Mac OS X... X as in UNIX." This isn't a show for potential Windows switchers who complain that the delete key doesn't work right. This event is for those who appreciate the time-tested guts in Mac OS X, and who are keenly interested in system administration, scripting, and programming.
We probably never will find ourselves in front of a television camera touting the virtues of the Apache web server. But we know who we are, even if Apple's PR doesn't.
Until next week,
-Derrick
Derrick Story
O'Reilly Network Managing Editor
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