BY DAN
KENNEDY
Notes and observations on
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For information on Dan Kennedy's book, Little People: Learning to
See the World Through My Daughter's Eyes (Rodale, October 2003),
click
here.
Thursday, September 25, 2003
Microsoft leaves Apple out in
the cold. Apple Computer has been counted out time after time
over the years, and it's still here, if not exactly kicking ass.
Still, a
review of the new Microsoft
Office for Windows in today's New York Times raises some
serious questions about Apple's future.
According to David Pogue, Office
2003 incorporates some features that corporate managers will love.
These features -- known collectively as "information-rights
management" -- allow users to decide who will be able to open which
documents, what changes they can make, and the like.
But in a parenthetical near the
end, Pogue notes, "IRM breaks some of the convenient
Windows-Macintosh file compatibility that's existed for years -- and
it requires Internet Explorer as your browser."
Well, now. Apple's comeback,
starting with Steve Jobs's return in the late 1990s, rests on three
pillars: producing the coolest machines; unveiling a shimmering
operating system, OS X, that makes it easier to play with photos,
music, and video; and assuring users that they'll be able to survive
in a Microsoft world. Microsoft even invested money in
Apple.
But that's starting to come apart.
Earlier this year, Microsoft responded to Apple's decision to release
its own Web browser, Safari, by halting development of future
versions of Internet Explorer for the Mac. Apple also released
presentation software known as Keynote to compete with Microsoft's
PowerPoint. And now we're starting to see divergence in the rest of
Office, the most crucial product of all.
I own a few shares of Microsoft,
but I use a Mac. This is bad news. Apple's enjoyed some very good
years thanks to its strategic alliance with Microsoft. Can't Bill
Gates and Steve Jobs sit down and talk this over?
New in this week's
Phoenix. I take a look at the
future of online file-sharing,
part of a special Phoenix package on "Downloading
Now: Music in the Post-Napster Age."
WBZ Radio talk-show host
David
Brudnoy talks about his
battle with cancer.
And employees at the
Boston
Herald and its sister
Community Newspaper chain brace themselves against rumors of deep
budget cuts.
posted at 11:07 AM |
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MEDIA LOG ARCHIVES
Dan Kennedy is senior writer and media critic for the Boston Phoenix.
