A Windows maven infiltrates Macworld
It's been an interesting study in contrasts this week. I've been to more Windows and Microsoft conferences than I can count, but until this week, I had never attended one of the infamous Mac tent revivals. My mission this week: Go incognito and infiltrate Macworld in New York for a taste of life on the other side.
Right off the bat, I knew I was in trouble. I was forced to wrestle with the old Mac hockey-puck mouse in order to register myself -- a trying ordeal for a non-Apple user at 8 a.m., I can tell you.
Quickly, I realized shouldn't acknowledge I was a Microsoft reporter. Microsoft may have a new, more Mac-like Office 2001 waiting in the wings, but there were very few fans of BillG & Co. walking this show floor.
When I admitted to one of the Mac faithful that my primary job was writing about Windows and, to that end, I had attended lots of TechEds and Microsoft PDCs, he asked with genuine horror, "Why would you ever want do that?"
But the opportunity to brush backpacks with Macworld attendees alone was worth the price of a trek to the Javits convention center. Immediately, I was struck by the heterogeneity of the audience. There were no 20:1 men-to-women ratios, like at many Microsoft shows. There were lots of kids (teenagers and younger) in the Steve Jobs keynote audience. There were older folks, too. Lots of pink hair, pierced lips. These users really take Apple's "Think Different" slogan to heart. It was a refreshing change from the polo-shirted male-geek crowds into which I usually blend so well (yah, right).
I was relieved that Jobs' keynote didn't stray too far into the Steve-worship category. Jobs got plenty of applause, even when debuting something as simple as an optical mouse or curved keyboard. Lately, I've noticed that the once BillG-reverent audiences are a lot more jaded. It's only the Microsoft annual stockholders' meeting these days where kids and parents storm the stage after Gates' remarks.
The drama around Jobs' introduction of new iMac colors (Indigo, Ruby, Sage, Snow and a new and improved Graphite) seemed more apropos to a J. Crew fashion show than a computer trade show, but the audience seemed to eat it up. I couldn't help but wonder how a similar attempt by Microsoft might fly. Gates: "Here's our Chamomile SQL Server 2000 offering, for those of you who like your database box to cast a golden hue on your workspace. But here's our Eggplant release, for those who prefer a more somber, serious environment."
The most enlightening comparison, for me, was on the entertainment front at Apple's private developers' party Wednesday night at New York's landmark Webster Hall. No sweat for me to score one of the coveted "X" (as in the still nonexistent, yet eagerly awaited Mac OSX) buttons and walk right in. (Alas, it's getting tougher and tougher for me to crash Microsoft events.) Lots of Brie, lots of dancing to Smash Mouth: a good time seemed to be had by all.
My take-away for this week: For Microsoft developers and users, Windows seems to have become a job. For Apple's: MacOS still seems to be an adventure. What do you think? What differentiates the Mac faithful from the Windows backers? TalkBack below and let me know.