My Stream

Why Microsoft Should Fear Apple – Slashdot

Posted by Alex on 1 Apr, 2007 in My Stream | 0 comments

http://apple.slashdot.org/apple/07/03/30/1531229.shtml

From the page: “Computerworld’s Scot Finnie says that Microsoft should be afraid because Apple has gotten smarter about how it competes. He says that it’s the Parallels Desktop software that has been truly transformational for the Mac. Finnie did a simple three-month trial of the Mac last in the fall and realized four months later that he wasn’t going back. Since then he’s received hundreds of messages from readers who’ve also made the switch. ‘In the end, this is about perception. It isn’t about Apple’s market share or even its quarterly sales numbers. (Apple’s notebook computer sales for the fourth quarter were 4.1% of all portable computer sales, according to DisplaySearch.) What this is about is that Apple is reaching the right people with its product, winning new converts, Windows user by Windows user — and creating buzz. How do you measure buzz? You don’t. It’s something that experienced people in this industry can just feel. And that’s the condition Microsoft should fear. Because buzz can turn into something much harder to combat than sheer numbers.'”

I couldn’t have summed it up better myself. I took the leap, from Windows to Mac – and I won’t be going back. Why would I? If I need access to a windows app, I can just use Parallels Desktop from within OS X. Or even use bootcamp to reboot my Mac into Windows.

Web 2.0 Explorer | ZDNet

Posted by Alex on 1 Apr, 2007 in My Stream | 0 comments

http://blogs.zdnet.com/web2explorer?p=343

If you know what Second Life is, and you know what Myst is, you’ll probably find this very interesting. If not, you probably won’t!

Seriously though, I think he has hit the nail on the head. I played in Second Life for a while – but I soon lost interest. There’s no REASON to play.

I have recently been playing World of Warcraft – now that is a totally immersive world – you really like you have a purpose when you log in, be it levelling up, developing your character, going on quests, or earning reputation. I guess the only downside is the lack of variety of the puzzles.

I have also been playing the Myst series of games through (you can get the Myst collection for only 14.99 from Game). They really are totally absorbing games, although not as immersive given the restricted UI (although I hear URU may go some way to improving on this)

If we had a virtual world as beautiful as World of Warcraft, as flexible as Second Life, and as absorbing as Myst, we really would be onto a winner.