Nik Cubrilovic has switched back to Windows from OSX. He’s now running Vista exclusively on his MacBook. His “reverse switch” is worth some discussion.
Of course, some people are going nuts about this, as if some sacred boundary has been crossed. Someone switches away from the Mac and goes back to Windows? This is unheard of. This doesn’t happen.
Yes, it (occasionally) does.
My father recently bought a MacBook Pro, and after some fussing with it and deciding it wasn’t a fit for him, bought another clunky Dell with Windows XP for his real estate business. The Mac is nice, and he likes it for some things, but for whatever reasons (probably unfamiliar usage metaphors), he decided it wasn’t right for his business. He went back to Windows and away from OSX because it fit him better.
It is what it is. Nothing can please everyone, not even Apple. That’s a good thing: if something in the market didn’t have some element of dynamic tension to it, some reasonable competitive opposition, it would flourish unabated, and the need for true engineering and design aplomb would be mitigated into the dirt.
To each his own. I know that when I returned to OSX from a Windows world, there were rough patches in the road. Once or twice, I considered moving back to Windows, simply because I knew it well and the Mac didn’t always offer 1:1 software alternatives. I also knew there was a learning curve, especially when moving my entire computing life to a new platform. So I persevered.
Today, of course, I run nothing but Macs and wouldn’t have it any other way. But to say that I don’t understand (or believe) how some people just don’t find the Mac a fit for what they do would be a lie.
Not everyone thinks the way you do.
My problem with Cubrilovic’s story isn’t his story itself, but rather some of the uppity, told-you-so responses that are out there, most flowing from biased sources who pretend to be objective. At the slightest sign of blood in the water these guys pounce, and it’s disingenuous. When one man on the internet decides to move back to Windows and away from the Mac motherland, it’s quite a stretch to extrapolate that into the notion that switchbacks are happening in great numbers. Or even significant numbers.
As most everyone knows at this point, when it comes to switching computing platforms outright, the trend is most definitely away from Windows and to the Mac (or, in fringe cases, Linux). Vista is indeed a good OS, but it’s nothing that will get a Mac user to move away from OSX — unless, somewhere on a lower level, he misses Windows applications, at which point Vista might become a compelling motivator.
In the end, it’s often about what you’re used to and what you expect divided by how much you’re willing to invest in discovering something anew. From these roots platform decisions grow.
Whatever Cubrilovic’s reasons, he made the switch. Perhaps he’s a shill, as some in his comment thread have suggested. He might not have given OSX a fair shake. He might really enjoy Vista for what it is. Who knows? His story is an anecdote, and if we want to play on that field, there are far more anecdotal stories about switching away from Windows than there are to Windows.
To wit: literally, five guys here in my office have left Windows behind for OSX, mostly opting for MacBooks and no longer owning a desktop Windows machine. One went whole hog and spend his cheddar on an 8-core Mac Pro.
Another woman just ditched her old, clogged-up XP machine and went with a brand new 20″ iMac, which she says is “awesome” so far. Even her kids love it.
Another guy is in the process of selling his relatively new Dell XPS desktop. Once he does, he’s off to low end (read: 4-core) Mac Pro-land.
So what do we have there? Seven brief anecdotes describing people I know who have moved to the Mac from Windows (or are in the process of doing so). Seven people, and that’s just my local experience.
What does that mean? Nothing. Yes, they’re all true. Yes, they say things like “I’m sick of Windows” and “I’m done fighting with my computer all the time.” They say these things. They’re switching for reasons all their own, but to ignore the overlap in their motivations is an exercise in selective attention.
Cubrilovic’s decision was just that: a lone man’s decision. I find it sad and slightly pathetic that the Apple community can’t seem to accept his move without trying to characterize him as a person. In fact, I find that more disturbing than the pro-Windows people trying to leverage Cubrilovic’s switchback into something more than it is and that supports their platform alignment.
The man went back to Windows. I think we can all deal with it.
16 responses so far ↓
Richard Taylor // May 8, 2007 at 6:03 pm
I was one of the people who posted on Nik’s site. My issue was, he tried Vista last night, and switched. As I suggested, shouldn’t he give it, oh, maybe another day to think about it? And because he didn’t, doesn’t that suggest that he was predisposed to return to Windows of any shape or form anyway? Meaning he didn’t switch, he never switched, the whole thing is mute. He’s a Windows guy, always was a Windows guy, and his decision-making is unworthy of the hoopla that surrounds it.
Don Williams // May 8, 2007 at 6:10 pm
Good take on Cubrilovic’s switch back to Windows. However, I didn’t like his reasons, they seemed faulty to me, but its those Window’s ‘know-it-alls ‘that really got me going.
They acted like any one using any system other then their own was proof that they were brilliant and the rest of us are idiots! They made so many bias, unfounded statements that it made my blood pressure go sky high..
Cubrilovic’s switch was rather strange though, especially when you consider how expensive Windows Vista is.
For example, Vista Ultimate, here in Canada is $499 Cdn dollars and even more expensive in Australia.
So now let’s think about it and imagine if you heard every one constantly telling you how a new $500 digital camera sucked. Would you, after hearing all of this, then say to yourself, ‘Hmmm, everybody says that this camera is total crap, therefore, I’m going to buy it!”
Well, that is exactly what Cubrilovic did. He heard, he told me, that he kept hearing about how bad Vista was, so he decided to buy and try it, just to see, despite his telling that he didn’t expect or want it to be better than OS X!
Come on, something is wrong here? Sounds like it is what Microsoft does best, distort the facts. Remember the Wikipedia thing where they tried to buy an editor to write nice things about them, or when Microsoft did their own take on Apple’s ‘Switch to a Mac’ campaign. Remember how it was discovered that all of the switchers from the Mac to the Pc where ‘made up!
I don’t know, he might be telling the truth, but when some one tells me they paid a lot of money to buy something they heard was crap and then turns around and tells us how surprised he was to find out how great it really was is something I find hard to swallow!
Khurt Williams // May 8, 2007 at 6:33 pm
Anecdotally my uncle got fed up with XP crashing and bought an iMac. My good friend and Linux pro bought a Mac mini for his wife. My brother-in-law bought a Vista PC and now is begging me to help him install XP. I switched from Linux and Windows XP to a Mac mini and MacBook.
fifthdecade // May 8, 2007 at 7:04 pm
I switched to a Mac 2 years ago because I was fed up with Windows security and reliability issues. I still have to use a PC in the office for some stuff because Macs don’t do all types of business software, and in Switzerland some kinds of financial software is rarely available for Mac.
I persuaded my partner to buy an iMac based on my good experiences. She doesn’t like it because she says she can’t manage switching between two entirely different ways of doing things every day. I know what she means.
Unfortunately there are just some things Macs don’t do, and they are a bigger Achilles heal than Apple realises… If this was not the case I’d equip the whole office with Macs - but it’s staying PC for now.
Tom // May 8, 2007 at 11:01 pm
Mr. Cubrilovic seeing a fast, slick OS does not negate or even minimize the raft of bad press that Vista has received. A consensus opinion has formed around Vista, and it’s not a very good one.
Further, this guy has used 11 operating systems in 15 years: “In the past 15 years I have gone from DOS, Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Linux, OpenBSD, Windows 98, Windows 2000 (a nice OS for the time), XP, FreeBSD, Mac OS X and now Vista”.
There is nothing at all wrong with this, but it seems like “switching” is a bit of a hobby for him. Shiny object, anyone?
If this is the kind of example MS advocates plan to use to imply some sort of trend, or even a good sign, they are in trouble. Given his track record, he’ll be switching to Leopard or NetBSD in another year.
Tom Ward // May 9, 2007 at 12:11 am
I’m actually surprised how far the bad opinions of Vista have spread. I work with people who aren’t what I would call “informed” computer users, yet when they were discussing purchasing new computers a couple of weeks ago, they were speaking about Vista in terms of “No, that’s not meant to be any good … I’ve heard it’s rubbish etc.” … If word is out this far about Vista, then Microsoft has a lot of work to do …
I expect to see a ton of switcher-style articles in the future from Redmond as they try to recoup mindshare.
John Davis // May 9, 2007 at 4:18 am
There are very few people who use Windows who really enjoy the experience.
Really?
Well, look at it.
There are a few noisy guys who shout down the Mac and support Windows, but not that many considering the “market support” Windows is supposed to have.
If there were so many Windophiles, there would be tons of posts lauding Windows and putting down the Mac OS. There are very few considering the “90% market share.”
In my experience, a large majority of this “90%” is Windows users who haven’t a clue what system they are running. They couldn’t care less. They just use the computer on the desk in front of them. They are receptionists on front desks or office workers inputting spreadsheet data and so on.
I’d like to know what the “market share” of Mac/Windows is of people who actually CHOOSE what system to use.
As for Windows users - amongst my friends, people are staying away from Vista in droves. I know several people who tried it and switched back. Microsoft is in real trouble and can only make Vista popular by FORCE. They discontinue XP and tell the world how popular Vista is.
Most Windows users I come across - including people working with me in my school - are confirmed mouse clickers who only feel happy with a desktop crammed full of icons. On a Mac, these guys just can’t seem to cope with the complexity of Command + Q and no amount of telling them that clicking the little red dot on the top right of the window closes the window and leaves the application running does any good.
These guys have one way of doing things and are just not interested in anything else. They are not interested in efficiency and prefer to point and click their way through what they are doing on the computer.
My opinion is that the majority of Windows users are just not into it. They couldn’t care less.
Yours sincerely,
John Davis
Jarod // May 9, 2007 at 8:28 am
Most PC users are like that. They get used to one thing, and they stick to it. They’re either too lazy or too stupid to learn something new even if its to their best interest. Oh well, what can you do.
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Brent // May 9, 2007 at 10:34 am
Is it really about the OS or the software which runs on it? Think about it.
An OS is just a bridge between the hardware and software that I use. It is the least relevant of my concerns. I need fast and robust hardware. I need productive software.
I couldn’t really care less about what OS I am running. GUIs can be adjusted to. It’s all about the software that I must use to make my tasks run most efficiently and effectively.
I cannot understand why a decision on software is based upon any other ideology other than this.
Lefty // May 9, 2007 at 10:37 am
At the heart of most crankiness and intransigence about switching to the Mac platform is the CURRENT ‘Windows-centric-ness’ of production applications.
It’s a bit of a Catch-22: software developers, alot Windows-snobs themselves, will not code their apps for the Mac until software users, alot Windows-etched themselves, push for full-featured Mac versions of the Quickens and AutoCADs and real estate software apps and the Access databases and the custom apps of the Windows World.
But there are serious fissures in this tight bind to Windows. Front and center is the non-stop virus susceptibility of Windows. It was just never meant to be, and will never be, an operating system connected to an unsecured network (ie. the Internet). And what was the Internet built upon but UNIX and NextStep (pre-Mac OS X). And the Internet is not going away.
Next fissure up-to-bat, closely related to the first, is the incessant march of Internet-centric applications, which will render Windows more and more irrelevant. In short, and in a way, Google will deliver the death-knell to Windows before Macintosh.
Finally, the fissures opened by the iPod and the lovable, simple, elegant, easy-easy-easy GUI-atop-UNIX known as Mac OS X will continue to win over more and more and more and more people. But it’s by-and-large a grass-roots, non-corporate movement.
The growing Win-to-Mac migration is more started by the stressed mothers at home with a couple kids and the Windows-laptop-toting husband who is tired of disinfecting the wifey’s Windows box continuously. ‘I’ll just get her a Mac’ is the first step to the husband getting one too. And he does work/live in the corporate world. (Apologies to the corporate woman, here, for her absence from this quick/dirty example. She represents her own type of fissure to the WinMold).
Adding to the hemorrhage are the ‘death by a thousand cuts’ technologies such as Parallels on Mac and Quicktime/iTunes/iTunes Store on Windows. Every time an iPod is connected to a Windows machine, it brings closer the day when that Windows user will shuck the PC and go for the computer where the iPod sings. And we haven’t even seen yet the potential of the AppleTV or the iPhone or Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, all very decidedly non-Windows technologies.
All this will add up to the day when Macs will run production applications, all of them. .NET architectures will slow down this revolution some but, ultimately, resistance is futile. And the New Luddite will be the Old Windows User.
Top Posts « WordPress.com // May 9, 2007 at 7:59 pm
[...] Hello again, Windows. Nik Cubrilovic has switched back to Windows from OSX. He’s now running Vista exclusively on his MacBook. His […] [...]
Kevin // May 10, 2007 at 1:37 pm
I hate my MAC. I wish I never bought it. Its slow and crashes daily. Please feel free to contact me in order to buy it.
I hate any and all things to do with Apple. I don’t want an IPOD and Itunes sucks!
Bill // May 10, 2007 at 6:47 pm
Kevin, your link is bogus, which leads me to believe that you are lying and that you are just a troll. My PC’s crash and my Mac’s have always been stable. This is also the experience of most people in the world. All the data supports that Macs are the most reliable. The ‘i’ in iTunes and iPod are small like your brain and penis.
David Levine // May 11, 2007 at 7:46 pm
I’ve worked with Macs and Windows systems for about 15 years and have experienced the best and worst of each. This argument about which is better is just idiotic.
The Argument Sketch
Bill // May 11, 2007 at 8:29 pm
I agree. But it is a low jerk/jackass that posts a lie on a web site just to piss someone off. For example. If the fellow above does not own an iPod, how does he know that ‘iTunes sucks’? I did not claim that one was ‘better’, I just quoted the literature and my experience as a truthful rebuttal. I also use both and custom build my PC’s to get better quality and reliability. I use my PC for somethings that it does better and the Mac for it own strengths. I even use MS office on my Mac as I love Entourage, and use it to replace the Palm Desktop. But I help out a lot of my friends with both Macs and PC’s and the Mac have rare problems, while the PC’s are so problematic that I am often on the phone for hours giving tech support.
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