If you look at the past 100 years or so of economic history you will notice a pattern: a company, led by a visionary and driven leader, comes up with a new product (or a new way of making an old product). This company soon dominates its industry (or creates an entire new industry). After a few years, its dominance begins to recede as the visionary leader does one or all of the following: dies, gets bored, becomes senile or gets interested in something else. As this is happening, competitors begin to nip at its heels. The company ignores these competitors. After a few more years the company gets a new leader, becomes more bureaucratic and begins to ignore its customers. (It may also attract the attention of trust-busting government agencies.) To make a long story short, the company eventually gets humbled and goes from being the king of the hill to another one of several competitors in the marketplace.

If you look at the history of various industries (e.g. oil, automobiles, railroads, steel, etc.) you will see this pattern repeated again and again. Sooner or later the Henry Ford's, Andrew Carnegie's and John D. Rockefeller's become human and their companies follow suit. Will this happen with Microsoft? Without a doubt.

Roy’s Microsoft World™ article painted a rather bleak picture of a company that seems all-powerful. We should keep in mind that the time period the article discussed is rather short in terms of history. Yes, Microsoft is on a roll now—but history tells us that this won't continue. Eventually Bill Gates and his company will lose their position of dominance, and in the fast-moving computer software industry that "eventually" may not be far off.

                                                                                             — Vance Bennett, via eWorld

The same people who laughed at my icon-driven Mac in 1987 are now evangelists for Windows. What Microsoft managed to do amazes me in its genius of marketing. Having told DOS users for years that they had to be really clever to use DOS instead of this graphical Mac stuff, they introduced Windows and told people that they had to be really dumb NOT to be able to use it. In essence, Windows users were being told it is really smart to be stupid.

How much DOS users swallowed this amazes me even more. PC users accepted an enormous drop in performance of their machines when they switched to Windows—and this was smart? What sort of reality distortion is that?

I really don't want to see Apple in the position Microsoft is in today. I don't want everyone forced into using Macs because they are the industry standard (a nonsensical reason for computer choice, anyway). I want to see diversity. I would like the computer industry not to be dominated by a single player that can buy up competition out of the sort of money it loses down the back of the sofa. I want to see innovation and diversity—not monolithic, brainless domination. If that means Apple has a small market share forever, fine. I just don't want them destroyed by forces that none of us computer users—or the US. State Department—can control.

                                                                                               — John P., via the Internet.

 

 

I certainly would consider buying a clone. I almost think that it's my patriotic duty to do so—once reviewers assure me that it is 100% compatible. I'm still not sure that the clone manoeuvre will guarantee Apple the increased market share it needs for its long-term health and survival. Despite this mild pessimism, I think cloning was a necessary and inevitable move which should have been made ages ago.

                                                                                   — Dan Goldblatt, via America Online.

In answer to your question "Who will buy the clones?", I’d like to say this: I will. After buying my current machine at the high end of Apple's plunge into competitive pricing, I'm looking forward to the prospect of a reasonably priced PowerPC clone. I'm hoping that by Christmas the initial demand for the first PowerPC 604 clones will have abated and prices stabilized at a reasonable (meaning cheap) level. And if the Yen stays high that could very reasonable indeed! 

                                                    — Dale Craddock, via eWorld. (Writing to us from Japan.)

I don't believe that the MacOS has an operating system's chance in hell of surviving against Windows UNLESS the MacOS can be ported to the PC. This is already happening, of course; what is Windows but a Frankenstein-like version of a real operating system?  Inertia will keep the average DOS head using his PC unless he is given the opportunity of using his clunky old Windows applications through a small hole in his wonderful new Macintosh operating system. Can this happen? Will someone please sue Microsoft for monopolistic practices? Must the good guy always come in last? Who knows.  But I do know this—if ten years from now I am using Microsoft's MacOS on an Intel machine, the rose will not smell as sweet.

                                                                               — Richard Taylor, via America Online.

 

 

Wow! What an informative piece of art! I’m only half through the April issue and skipped to the end to see how to get back issues of the e-zine. Then came upon the subscription option! I’m excited as heck about this new ‘find’ of mine. I just know that my MacUser and Macworld subscriptions will have to sit in the stack a bit longer when your issue arrives.

                                                                                 — John A. Larson, via America Online.

I’ve just downloaded the last three issues of MacSense after reading about it in David Pogue’s column in Macworld. The MacSense staff are to be commended for putting together an extremely informative, attractive and fun e-zine. As an electronic prepress consultant, I often find myself disheartened by the quality of the print media I encounter, and many of the electronic documents that come across my Mac often completely ignore even the most basic design principles. Even Apple’s Information Alley, which does contain a wealth of useful information, looks pedestrian when I hold it up next to your publication (figuratively speaking, of course). MacSense is clearly setting a standard for electronic publications in both user interface and content. Please keep up the good work! 

                                                                                      — Gil Poulsen, via America Online.

I just finished reading my first issue and I am sold.  You have put together a great publication—one to be very proud of.  I thought I was on the cutting edge just reading an electronic magazine. The effort that must go into producing each issue is incredible.  Keep up the great work, and I wish you the best of luck. You have a faithful reader here.

                                                                                           — Brett A. Bearce, via eWorld.

 

 

Having trouble finding Mac software? I have, and I feel that one of the main reasons that people don't buy Macs is that they can't find the good software (Microsoft Office, Word- Perfect 3.1, etc.) that is so often used on PCs. Potential Mac buyers thus assume that it doesn't exist, and this sways their decision in favour of a PC compatible.  When I went to a certain store while shopping for my Performa 6110CD, the salesman actually asked "Why do you want to buy a Macintosh when you could get the same amount of PC hardware for almost 1/4 of the price.?" After giving him a quick lecture of the advantages of the Mac, I left the store!!! If this is the way Macs are spoke of by salespersons, it is hardly any wonder there aren't a lot more Mac owners out there!!! 

                                                                                   — Eric J. Mandela, via the Internet

 

 

Just a quick clarification to the answer you printed in the April 95 issue regarding QuickCam and sound: the bug [which caused the Macintosh to become ‘mute’] is Apple's and is resident in QuickTime, not in the QuickCam software. You'll notice that the bug does not appear if you always use QuickCam's microphone as your audio source, only when you use the built-in microphone on your Apple (controlled by Sound Manager). A simpler work-around is to always choose QuickCam microphone after recording a movie with a built-in microphone.

                                               — Thom Hogan, Connectix Product Manager, via the Internet.

 

We'd like to hear from you. If you'd like to comment on anything you've read in MacSense, please send us e-mail at MacSenseEd.@eWorld.com. (See "Get Info" for additional addresses.) We reserve the right to edit letters for length and clarity.