Thinking Different...

When I worked at the Boise State University computer lab in 1999, long before the word "blog" had been coined, I wrote a short essay about my computing experience up to that point. I want to share what I wrote, then later I'll add some additional thoughts. So from Fall of 1999...

Different

In the United States, we have a strong belief in individuality. There is a prime example of this sense of individuality in our schools. Each adolescent student tries to be his or her own person and stand out by dressing in a certain way or hanging with a specific group. The desire to be different is a strong almost intrinsic one. Why then are we content on following like herds of sheep toward the cliff when it comes to computer operating systems?
A major part of our society has conceded to the idea that Windows is the only operating system to use. It would be like everyone driving General Motor’s automobiles, which would be great for GM, but very boring for the rest of us, not to mention the lack of business that Ford and Dodge would receive. It is as if people do not understand that there are alternatives out in the computing world and those products are of equal and sometimes better caliber to those that Microsoft has produced.
One example is the Macintosh Operating System. It was developed before Windows and was a key influence in the development of Windows. It was not solely based on the development at Apple© Computer, but they were the first to offer a GUI as an alternative to the command driver computers of that day. The Mac OS was created as a user-friendly interface for the personal computer. The Mac OS was a GUI, (Graphical User Interface) long before Windows (as we know it) was in the earliest stages of development. But, I am not here to promote the Mac, only the thought of diversity. There are other operating systems that people use also, for example the BeOS operating system, Linux and Unix. I am sure there are others out there too, but my call is not to introduce these operating systems to the masses but to encourage learning about the diverse possibilities that we have in life.
If at the advent of the automatic transmission people had abandoned the standard transmission what a boring world we would live in today. No one would have had the chance to learn to drive a standard while stopped on a hill, letting other cars pass because you couldn’t find the tension point to disengage the clutch. Diversity is encouraged in all fields with the exception of the personal computer. Do all athletes wear Nikes? Are all television programs sit-coms? What a bland and un-interesting place we would live in if was really this way. Yet, some people desire that the computer world be a single interface place.
Where I worked, we use two types of personal computers, Micron Millennia© and Apple Power Macintosh©. Both are middle of the road computers that have passed their prime and both run operating systems that are a few years out of date, but they are both suitable for college students to use to do basic word processing and internet research. The software they run is almost identical and they both run the Microsoft Office suite. But time and again I watch students enter the lab turn to the right where the Macintoshes are and turn away in fright. “Those are Macintoshes”, they say, “don’t use those”. What they are saying in essence is “come and follow along like a drone-worker bee, don’t be an individual”. Now I am not contending that there are not computer users out there who have used both products and just prefer the PC to the MAC. But, I would venture to say that the greater majority has just followed along not even taking an informed look at the Macintosh.
In our capitalist society this would usually drive the lesser-used product out of the market. It would be like the Edsel or "new Coke" in a way, a novelty that never caught on.
But alas, the Macintosh still exists, why? Because some people have tried something new, they decided to “Think Different®”, as Apple has said so many times. This minority that is Mac users and enthusiasts have been the faithful to the product that dared to change the nature of computing forever. It is for this reason that Apple’s two Steves (Wozniak and Jobs) have been named by the LA Times as businesspersons of the century. The recent resurgence or rebirth of the Macintosh is due largely to the innovative translucent computer, the iMac©.
What I guess I am trying to communicate to anyone still reading is that life is full of choices. You have to decide if you want sauerkraut or just mustard on your hot dog, if you want to watch Tom Browkaw or Dan Rather either way you have to make a choice. The point is you cannot make a good choice until you have at least examined the possibilities. So, I guess I hope that we could all take a second to hit "ctrl+alt+delete" and try something different.