The blue screen of death and why it doesn't matter for Apple

Those who follow my Applepeels blog know that I have been working at becoming a Mac toting Realtor®.  I have written about it in the post, Surviving, maybe even thriving with my Mac.

There are only three things that require me descending into the Windows world, printing the forms that we use for real estate transactions, visiting the tax/mapping website for Carteret County, and occasionally accessing the Onslow County MLS system.

The Carteret tax site and the Onslow MLS both require IE.  The forms are done by two companies, RealFast and Formulator.

Neither company supports Macs, and neither software package would win user friendly awards, though both are usable without any real challenges other than typing stuff over that the computer should remember for me.

This is the statement on the Formulator support page.

Apple and MAC users

TrueForms and Formulator have been designed for the Windows Operating System. TrueForms and Formulator will not run on a MAC computer unless it is run under virtual PC. Support will not be provided for users who are running the Apple or MAC OS.

Obviously I could solve the problem with Parallel's software, but by the time I pay for another real copy of Windows, it is almost cheaper to buy an inexpensive Windows laptop.  I have done a lot of work in dual boot situations with Linux so boot camp isn't what I would choose.

In spite of those challenges, I have been able to do the vast majority of my work on my Macs.  I have a Dell at home which I use to print my forms.  When I am in the office I bring my MacBook and set it up next to our duty desk Dell.   I figure I get twice the work done that way, or at least the work I get done is done with relative ease.

Yesterday I had duty and needed to do some research in Onslow County.  I was planning on using our duty desk PC.  The PC had a couple of strange episodes the last time I used it on Friday, but it was fine after I rebooted it.  Unfortunately it is a PC that lots of people get to use, and I have found out that is a really bad thing in the PC world.

When I tried to log onto the PC yesterday, I ended up with the blue screen of death.  I tried several other things including rebooting multiple times, but the end result was always the blue screen of death.

I called our PC support person and of course got his voicemail.  I asked about the other multi-user PC in the office and was told that it was also behaving erratically.  I decided to see how far that I could get with my Mac.

I was surprised to see this message on the Onslow County tax and mapping site.

WELCOME To the Onslow County
GIS Mapping System!

Hey there, it looks like you are using Firefox. As software developers, we are big supporters of Mozilla. However, this application makes use of a Microsoft-only technology called VML. As a Firefox user, you have 2 options:
1. You may continue to use your browser to view this application, and the VML tools will be disabled (Measure and Calculate Area).
2. Download IE TAB, which allows you to render IE pages within Firefox (highly recommended). Download it here. After you have installed it, simply right click the link below and choose 'View in IE TAB"
We are hard at work making this a 100% cross browser application and it will be updated soon.

I didn't need the advanced features so I just forged ahead with Firefox.  I had no problems accessing the information that I needed and getting it into Excel.

In the meantime another agent who had just bought a new Gateway laptop the previous week wandered into the duty room.  We talked about the problems with the PC, and I asked him how he was doing with his new PC.  He said so far Vista was fine with few real surprises.  He was pleased with the $600 price tag on the laptop but a little peeved that he had to pay over $400 to get a version of MS Office that included Publisher which he uses for his flyers.  I didn't ask him how much Norton cost.

We also talked about another agent whom I had provided some specs for a new laptop this past weekend.  Her previous laptop, a Dell, had been limping along for months, sometime taking 20 minutes or more to boot.  I had tried unsuccessfully to convince her that a Mac was worth investigating.

The agent with the new Gateway also mentioned he was trying to convince a husband and wife team whose PC had been destroyed by lightning that they should buy a PC laptop. 

I didn't say anything but I had worked hard at showing them what a Mac could do since they had very little computer experience and were having a great deal of trouble just with photos and email. I showed them movie and podcasts that I had done for one of my listings.  They were impressed even with my movie that had a problem with noise in the background.

Unfortunately my efforts to get them on a Mac were not successful though they did offer to pay me to train them in using a computer.  I declined unless they bought a Mac.

The agent who bought the Gateway, has an iPod and loves it.  Many of the agents including the one with the poorly performing Dell laptop use Blackberries.

Given this environment and the fact that I have had no problems using my Mac for the vast majority of my real estate work, I cannot believe people are not looking for alternatives to their Windows PCs.

The reality is that the PCs don't seem to be working very well, and about 60% of the agents are limited in what they can with the PC because it is too hard to use or isn't reliable. 

Still they move inevitably forward towards buying another snake just like the one that bit them the first time.

I have come to the conclusion that Apple's market share is unlikely to explode anytime in the near future.

My second conclusion is the "PC" in "PC user" stands for perennially conservative. 

Given an environment where PCs are dropping right and left, and one where I am sometimes the only system that can hook to the wireless network without any challenges, I cannot fathom why someone would not want to try a Mac other than the fear of having to learn something new.

The only other reason is that no one is selling Macs within two hours of our location on NC's Southern Outer Banks.

I also think it comes down the need for some serious hand to hand sales which is not something Apple has demonstrated an interest in doing outside of their retail Apple Stores.

Apple could be very successful in the real estate market if they would fix the forms software problem and go after the people doing the GIS and tax sites.  It would not take any technological breakthroughs to accomplish this. It would take time, since a lot of sites are involved, but I bet the investment would pay off.

Hard work, some partnerships, and patience on Apple's part along with a sales team committed to making the venture successful could make this a reality in a couple of years.

I do believe there are a number of opportunities like this that would have a significant impact on Apple's computer sales, but they are not rabbit out of the hat ventures that Apple prefers.

Apple has stayed pretty close to the idea that they make computers and if someone wants to do something with them that Apple doesn't ship in the box, they are somewhat on their own.

No one is going after the real estate market for Apple, it is too big an undertaking for anyone but a corporation like Apple which has a serious bankroll.

Executive support in Cupertino is key to getting a tiny slice of mind share in developer relations which is a group that needs to be engaged before anything outside of Apple's core competencies is tackled.

I think it would be fun to see Apple become aggressive and go after some of Microsoft's business turf.  A victory on that battlefield would be a huge win for Mac users, and a message that the Mac is a true business machine that can be a viable alternative.

Having said all of that, it is pretty clear to me that Apple cannot depend on the failures  of either Windows  XP or Vista to  drive new users to the platform.

Windows users apparently like the pain that regularly visits them, or they would be exploring alternatives in droves.

Comments

[John Muir]

You said it yourself that even when the Mac has obvious advantages (and to a pair of computer-shy buyers who have every reason to avoid Windows) it's still anything but the automatic sale. I've been in just the same situation myself where my tech support is made provisional on their choice being a Mac only to be disappointed, and I'm sure others have been there too. There's something very powerful about the fact that "the world runs Windows" and every computer store many people are likely to see have a dozen choices of boxes running Vista for every one Mac if you're lucky.

Apple have an ingrained habit of thinking like the little guy or the startup, instead of the clunking giant. With the Mac they seem to be concentrating as hard as they can not on appeals to the enterprise (of course, no matter what some folks in the OS X Server and Xserve teams must bravely think) or to business but on their core of rich media management. The Mac is being pushed with iLife at the fore, and Leopard will be promoted in that theme too. The idea seems to be to push for a hold on what is thought to be a potent weak-spot in Windows and its wares, which could win a large prospective market. Of course, there are other things people really buy their computers for too but Apple are focussed on that front, hoping the rest will manage itself.

You're right that Apple could fight on a broader front, or even hone specific messages for differing fields beyond those they are comfortable with now. But looking at it from Apple's point of view, I can understand why they aren't buying up the publishing houses behind tax apps and the multitude like. Now is as good a time as any to play the web apps card and hope that Google and Co. solve many problems.

Apple thinks like it has far less resources than it really has … and their instinct is to tread in new fields with great caution. 2007 has already been the year of the iPhone, Apple TV and delayed Leopard. Somehow I doubt they'll be expending much on the sort of thing you are right to identify. Indeed, often times the picture seems to be that the Mac now follows where iPods and iPhones alone can tread. And even if there isn't a Mac sale to be had there, Apple will be happy with the profits in their other businesses mentioned, and safe in the knowledge that this is not a Windows Media or Windows Mobile world.

[John Muir]

Here's an interesting article worth a little look:

http://arstechnica.com/staff/fatbits.ars/2007/08/09/stuck-on-the-enterprise

[Marc]

The part about TrueForms and Formulator reminds me of my experience with a web site that says it works with MS Internet Exploiter only. It won't even let you try with another browser.

The funny thing is if I set the User Agent on Mac Safari to "Windows MS IE 6.0" in the hidden Debug menu, that web site works perfectly fine.

[ocracokewaves]

I wish getting some of the GIS sites to work was that easy. The worst one we deal with is usually discussed in terms of a "moody person."

It barely works with IE.

People will say something like, "the xxxx GIS is having a bad day."

It almost seems random whether it works or not except it will definitely burp at a Mac since it needs Active X controls.

[Steve]

"Windows users apparently like the pain that regularly visits them, or they would be exploring alternatives in droves."
That's close but maybe a little unempathetic. I sit in my home office with my wife on her PC and me on Mac. I hear her banging on her keyboard and muttering epithets constantly. She is complaining about how slow her computer has gotten and how difficult this or that is. I've tried to show her the Mac and even booted her into a GNU/Linux on her machine. But the response I get is "it's different, not the same programs, I'd have to go through all that relearning new operating system and app's." I can understand that- one wants to stick with something known. It's just no fun sitting in the same room with that frustration.

[Brendan Delaney]

So true.... I'm the senior academic looking after the IT at a large medical school. We have to fight tooth and nail to keep our mixed cluster with 125 iMacs and 125 PCs. The corporate clones of the information services world just 'can't see the point' of having the macs. I've managed to get 3 colleagues to switch, but not by proselytizing, just letting them see me using my mac.

[Neil Anderson]

"Her previous laptop, a Dell, had been limping along for months, sometime taking 20 minutes or more to boot."

Love it. I get in to work, boot my PC, wander down the hall and get a coffee, chat a bit, and by the time I'm back in my room the PC is almost ready. Twenty minutes! I'd have time for a full-fledged breakfast! :)