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A Reek of Quality

The fanboys might not like it but the suits do.


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There's an increasing resentment amongst what's called the 'Mac community' with the new Leopard. What's amusing is these people still think they're the determinant demographic. When it's bleating obvious they've finally been passed by.

The icons aren't up to snuff; this feature is wrong with Finder, or the dock, or this or that; simple options that could have defaulted either way but ended up going against their best and innermost wishes.

APIs that never should have been in the system are finally being pushed out the door - leaving a cleaner design and a more robust overall architecture.

It's not exactly an accident.

Leopard reeks quality. Not without its kinks so far to be sure but it still reeks of it. Leopard wasn't built for the batik shirt Birkenstock fanboy crowd queueing outside an Apple store to buy one measly licence at a time. It was built for huge corporate and government clients who are going to buy hundreds and thousands of licences at a time.

Leopard is the 'next step' NeXTSTEP's been waiting on for ten years now. Nothing significant has happened with NeXTSTEP technology in all these years. Leopard has finally happened and it's significant. Not only for Apple but for the world of IT all around. It heralds the biggest sea change and transformation in fifteen years.

Leopard is the leap into 64-bit country. What's amazing is Apple have graded the curve all along, moving bits and pieces at a time. And Leopard's kernel is still 32-bit to accommodate drivers. But everything inside the box looking upwards is 64-bit and that's really something. Alpha might have been first but they're not around anymore. Leopard is around and it looks like it's here to stay.

It's a clean slate in 64-bit country. Microsoft's 95% demographic doesn't mean anything here. It all starts over again. It's a new game. First to establish a hegemony here wins. Apple can win.

Apple would create a landslide of a rout if their system was officially available on all possible hardware platforms but they can still make headway as is. Because they're first. And the system has the right look and the right feel to fit right in.

Missing pieces for the pros? Yes. Calm down and wait. Either third party (such as Rixstep) or Apple themselves will fill the gaps. Once running in a network this is going to be great. You have a foundation. And it's solid. So start building on it.

Security issues? We all have security issues. Security routines? They could be better. But how have improved security routines helped Microsoft? They haven't - because their system itself sucks. Leopard doesn't suck. It's brilliant.

Naysayers? Mostly fanboys most likely. Don't listen to them: they don't count. And they're yesterday's headache. Keep your ear to the ground and listen to what the suits are saying.

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