Best of Reader Comments: A Mac special

Feathers have been ruffled...

AOL's latest decision to abandon support for Apple's latest operating system upgrade has sparked some lively feedback from silicon.com users (see http://www.silicon.com/a49291 ). The editorial inbox has been peppered with emails from the Mac faithful about the decision, but most users aren't exactly disappointed. What upsets people more? Lack of access to the internet, bad web software or unsolicited CDs through the post? Find out below... Facts of life
Rikki Noble As a web developer I see usage of IE climbing and Netscape falling - trends which are reflected in the Mac/PC statistics. Following this comparison through, in a fairly tight market how can I convince my customers that they `should` pay extra to allow me to develop the site for two browsers when one the use of one is falling and falling. The support of the Mac saga will continue to be fought by conscientious types but market forces are driving the conclusion. Whether this is right or wrong is not an issue when a business decision has to be made. Lucky escape for Mac users
Michael Smeeth AOL's decision to abandon the Mac platform is good news, as no longer will naive new Mac users be lured into using such a poor service. Everyone I know who has tried to use AOL on the Mac has experienced very slow connection speeds and many browser incompatibilities. Any company who chooses to abandon the Mac platform is very short-sighted, even though there is a relatively small user base compared to the PC, the users are very loyal but also very discerning and will not accept poor quality products easily. This is probably why not many Mac users use AOL. I'm buying an iMac
Anon I am a PC user but if using an iMac will stop those CD coming through the post, I will start using iMac. AOL Dumps Mac Users
Robert McDermott So, AOL will not develop a browser for Mac OS X. So what? It's AOL's loss, not Apple's. Mac users will dump AOL and realise that they have been wasting their time and money on a money-grubbing system which makes sure they squeeze every last second of connect time, and give you endless offers of goods or services which the user doesn't need or want. Mac AOL Users will now be able to realise the full joys of real internet access using a normal browser and a normal ISP. Thanks, AOL for liberating your captive Mac users.
Ha ha ha!
Benedict Poole AOL say they will have to 'completely rewrite' their OS X software to work in OS X 10.1... well, the original coding must have been pretty cack then. However, the real irony is that I believe way back in the mists of time, AOL started off dependent on the Mac community. Anyway, as others have said, AOL is hardly the be-all and end-all. What do they actually add (other than badly written garish software and annoying adverts) to the online experience? So what?
Sam Loud Wow, so a coupla artists will struggle with browsing. I'm devastated. I advise Intel/XP/ie6. You know I'm right, really, you do, don't you? What's a Mac?
Darren White This is exactly what arrogant Mac users deserve and the sooner this little company dies the better it'll be for the whole industry. After all, these users are the self-congratulating, middle-class snobs who didn't realise that they needed a computer until it came in a range of colours! My computer is a workhorse and its capabilities and functionality far overrides how well it fits in with my home decor... What do you think? You can read the original story here http://www.silicon.com/a49291 Add a reader comment and join the debate...