Ok, I got sucked down the Apple worm-hole today. I had resisted the siren call of the Mac or years. It wasn’t that I didn’t see the appeal. I did. After all, I had one of the first Mac Classics. Until Windows 3.0 came out and Microsoft followed Apple’s lead in enforcing software standards, Macs were clearly the better platform for design and graphics. But I was lashed to the Microsoft Mast because it was the only way to stay in the mainstream.
Then the iPod came out and I wanted one. The problem was that it took a year for Apple to come out with a Windows version and let the rest of the world into its sandbox. I spent that year writing about every other portable music player that did support Windows. iTunes is my, and just about everyone else’s, choice for listening to podcasts. I was impressed that Apple never tried to pull the Kleenex® defense of trademark infringement and let radio on websites promote the branding of iPod.
Apple then switched to Intel chips so that an iMac could run Mac OS and Windows on the same machine. A lot of investigative reporting depends on manipulating relational databases. Like it or not, Microsoft Access rules the roost and it is not part of the Mac version of Microsoft Office. It was no longer an issue.
The iPhone was the next Apple touchdown. I don’t have one but I recognized that it was a transformative device. The App Store, like iTunes, was a game changer. My contract is up with my carrier and I am seriously considering moving to the iPhone.
I watched the live feed of today’s iPad announcement. I kept looking for the chinks in the armor. Every time I thought that I had spotted a missing element, the next demo had me going “hmm, that’ll work”. And the starting price of $499 was announced and I ran out of objections and accepted that I had come around to Apple’s way of thinking.
But as I reflected on the changes I just cataloged, I realized that I hadn’t changed, Apple had. It had stopped being a cult and was now a mainstream religion. Pass me the collection plate; I want to make a donation.
iPad demo (it’s long)
Stephen C. Miller is an editor, reporter and technology consultant. He writes the blog, The Future Was Yesterday: Technology in the Real World. He has spent nearly 30 years training African journalists throughout the continent in investigative techniques.
Formerly he was Assistant to the Technology Editor at The New York Times. He retired in 2008 after a 20 year career there. While at The Times he supervised the training of reporters and editors in the use of new technologies. Miller started his career in broadcasting, spending 12 years at CBS News in a variety of positions, including Night News Manager.
He is on the Board of Directors of Investigative Reporters and Editors and is past President of the New York Association of Black Journalists. He speaks frequently on how technology is affecting journalism.
