The Baby Boomer Generation is a source for trends, research, comment and discussion of and by people born from 1946 - 1964.
Covering issues on the Boomer Generation including original content for Boomers, bulletin boards, user comments, Sixties and Seventies music, Baby Boomer culture, health and coverage of issues for "Aging Hipsters."
Years ago - 1995 I believe- I happened to stumble on the feeding frenzy that was the launch of Windows 95. I was aware of the midnight launch and it raised anxiety because it represented something I already knew - Microsoft had ripped off my beloved Mac UI. In fact I wondered, how long would it take before I too was absorbed into the borg that is Microsoft.
But along the way, something funny happened. Apple didn't disappear. The Mac OS was radically redesigned and today OS X stands as the premier operating system - bar none. I can still hear my mother say "if everyone jumped off the bridge would you too?" I didn't and I'm glad.
Fortunately for those of you in lock step with Microsoft, you can get your first look at the Mac operating system in the form of Vista. How wonderful that you only had to wait six years to see what the the "rest of us" already knew back in 2000.
Actually, I'm thinking about taking a couple of steps backward into the future. I'm going to trash my Mac, and iPod in favor of Vista and a Zune. They're exactly the same, right?
I give it three weeks before I'm doing things like searching for drivers (whatever those are) and asking questions in Vista forums about the latest greatest DLL (Dirty Little Lies?). And boy, won't I look stylish with that big 'ol brown Zune strapped to my hip (it's a geek thing).
I've always felt Microsoft was really designed just to keep IT assholes employed. After-all, if we all had Mac reliability and ease of use, the cult of IT would no longer exist - no one would put up with the peevish personalities this whole windoze thing has foisted on us. We'd gleefully send them back the the dark hole they came from.
How much you wanna bet that within a couple of days some hacker finds a security hole the size of a Buick in Vista. Ahhh, job security!
Finally, I just need to remind you all what VISTA really stands for:
I totally agree with everything you say about Vista. I'm a Mac Gal myself, and the main prob I have with Vista is their use of that beautiful word - VISTA - and trademarking it. Darn it all!
Posted by: Ruth Deming on February 4, 2007 12:51 PM
Yes. I'm a mac. Have 3 and one on the way. I loved your post, and, if you don't mind, am sending it to my pc friends, who all used to think I was an oddity, but are slowly coming around. Thanks.
Sarah
Posted by: Sarah Dolk on February 10, 2007 2:22 PM
Vista or not...some people do not really have an idea what a computer is :-)
By the way and some people do not know how to use a telephone...like this woman
http://www.spymac.com/details/?1807883
Posted by: girlie on February 14, 2007 5:39 PM
I have been an IT pro since the early 80's. I have nothing against MS and in fact we have 3 XP Pro installs at the office and two at home and a MacBook and linux as well.
XP Pro is the best thing MS ever did in spite of all its faults. Win200 pro is the second best.
Vista may be ok in 6-12 months, but I'd avoid it for several reasons, the first of which is that it needs way more hardware assist than any previous version. It does bring significant security advantages but at a high price.
Sorry to be deluging the site with posts, but I may die any time now, so as a baby boomer and hipster, I want my opinions counted.
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