Mac Envy

I used to see Mac users as a kind of religious cult. They seemed to be committed to their alternative technology despite the fact that they had lost the computer wars. I argued that anything that was available on the Mac was now also available on a Windows PC. Simple economics dictate that developers are going to write software for the largest installed hardware base, right? I even predicted that innovation would dry up on the Mac as developers abandoned this doomed platform. Well, maybe not.

The first thing that made me start doubting my position was the Apple iPod. I bought my first one two years ago when it first came out. I loved it. Simple, elegant, and very cool. I thought, Maybe this is why the Macophiles are so zealous about their machines. Since that time, I have bought a few more iPods for my daughters. I even upgraded mine after the first one was lost. (My wife still thinks I lost it on purpose. I’m sticking to my original story.) I am still impressed by this device. It’s a joy to use.

When my daughter, Mary, was preparing to leave for college this past fall, to my own surprise, I recommended that she consider getting a Mac laptop. Startled, she looked at me and exclaimed, “Dad, are you kidding me? I thought you hated Macs!”

I was a little embarrassed, like a religious inquirer who was suddenly accused of being an actual convert. Yikes. Not so fast. I’m not one of them! Regardless, I bought a Mac PowerBook G4 for Mary and spent a few delicious hours getting her e-mail and printer set-up. Just like the iPod, it was a delight to use.

I thought, This is fine for Mary, but there’s no way I can even consider switching. For starters, I have too big of an investment in PC software. But I could tell my defenses were breaking down. Nevertheless, I honestly didn’t think about it again. Until today.

This morning after church, I went to a Board Meeting for a new startup company called The Orthodox Project. Joel Smith, my good friend and the entrepreneur who started the company, made a presentation on a Mac, using a package from Apple called Keynote. Oh my gosh! Have you seen this?

I am not easily impressed, especially by anything that resembles PowerPoint. Even though I use the software extensively, I sometimes wonder if we would be better off if PowerPoint was banned from corporate meetings. The bullets and transitions are so predictable. They often end up as a substitute for genuine thinking. Like someone said to me in a meeting last week, “Start-up a PowerPoint presentation and the average IQ of the room drops by 10 points.” I’m afraid he might be right.

But Keynote is different. First starters, the slides are beautiful. The rendering of the type is extraordinary, like a high-quality printed piece. (I since learned that this is a function of Mac OS X.) The transitions were especially cool, graceful, and seamless. The closest thing I have seen to this is PowerPlug Transitions, but it has always seemed a little too self-conscious, like too much cologne or a drum track that is too loud. Keynote’s transitions on the other hand are elegant and understated. This is what the main screen looks like:

I asked Joel if Apple made a version for Windows, like they did with iTunes. He said he didn’t think so. Still, I left the meeting hoping he was wrong. Unfortunately, he wasn’t. I went to Apple’s Web site as soon as I got home. If you want to get a quick feel for how this software leapfrogs PowerPoint, take a look at the winners of Keynote’s recent design contest.

This is the first software that has made me seriously consider buying a Mac for myself. No, I’m not ready to switch computers. I do have too big an investment—both in software and know-how—to consider switching. But I just might be able to justify buying a Mac for presentations. In my job, I make lots of them, so it might just be worth it. As you can tell, the process of rationalizing the purchase has already begun.

Postscript. If you know of a serious alternative to PowerPoint that will allow me to upgrade my presentations on a PC platform, please let me know.