Ideas for an OS X demo
Apple is moving in the right direction with the Apple Stores and the aggressive Switch commercials. I think these are the first steps in a campaign that will surprise us more and more as times goes on. One obvious idea is for Apple to give away OS X demo CDs so interested Windows users could get a taste of OS X right on their own PCs. This demo would not allow third parties to add onto it of course. It would not be the start of OS X for x86. It would only run the handful of programs Apple included with it.
Like any demo, it has to offer enough for people to really want the product, but not too much that they just keep using the demo. The demo should include several programs including iTunes, iMovie, and iPhoto, and a web browser. However, the demo should only run full screen so you can't conveniently use the Mac apps with Windows programs. So, for example, you could use iTunes while you browse the web in the included Mac web brower. But you wouldn't be able to conveniently use iTunes while you were working with Quicken for Windows because you have to hit a control key to flip back and forth between the Windows environment and the Aqua environment. We wouldn't want Windows users to simply be able to use the iApps freely.
The OS X demo should be a full Aqua environment just like on the Mac. Here are the apps that should be in the Dock:
iTunes - full featured
iPhoto and iMovie - These should include the basics from the initial releases but the features that were added later should be withheld to create an immediate reason to buy a Mac. The unavailable features could be greyed in the menus.
OmniWeb - A web browser should be included because a good percentage of computer use consists of browsing the Web while listening to music. A splash screen should tell the user that Internet Explorer is available for the Mac. I doubt Microsoft would be too interested in allowing IE to be used in a demo trying to steal people away from Windows. Netscape should not be used because most people think of Netscape as a loser.
OmniOutliner - simple, beautiful app
AppleWorks - Apple would need an application for users to do real work in and to get experience using the miller column browser and to see the sheets that sometimes slide down in the window. A splash screen would tell users that Office was available for the Mac. The demo should should save the created files in .doc format so that users learn that a .doc file is the same everywhere. However, to print the file you would need to go into your own copy of Word. I don't think Apple is equipped to bother with support for all the printers available in the Windows world just for a demo program.
AOL, iChat, TextEdit, Preview, Quicktime Player, Sherlock and System Peferences
So this demo would give PC users a good taste for the Aqua environment but they'ed still have immediate motivation to go out and buy a Mac if they liked what they saw.
[ 06-23-2002: Message edited by: spindler ]</p>
Like any demo, it has to offer enough for people to really want the product, but not too much that they just keep using the demo. The demo should include several programs including iTunes, iMovie, and iPhoto, and a web browser. However, the demo should only run full screen so you can't conveniently use the Mac apps with Windows programs. So, for example, you could use iTunes while you browse the web in the included Mac web brower. But you wouldn't be able to conveniently use iTunes while you were working with Quicken for Windows because you have to hit a control key to flip back and forth between the Windows environment and the Aqua environment. We wouldn't want Windows users to simply be able to use the iApps freely.
The OS X demo should be a full Aqua environment just like on the Mac. Here are the apps that should be in the Dock:
iTunes - full featured
iPhoto and iMovie - These should include the basics from the initial releases but the features that were added later should be withheld to create an immediate reason to buy a Mac. The unavailable features could be greyed in the menus.
OmniWeb - A web browser should be included because a good percentage of computer use consists of browsing the Web while listening to music. A splash screen should tell the user that Internet Explorer is available for the Mac. I doubt Microsoft would be too interested in allowing IE to be used in a demo trying to steal people away from Windows. Netscape should not be used because most people think of Netscape as a loser.
OmniOutliner - simple, beautiful app
AppleWorks - Apple would need an application for users to do real work in and to get experience using the miller column browser and to see the sheets that sometimes slide down in the window. A splash screen would tell users that Office was available for the Mac. The demo should should save the created files in .doc format so that users learn that a .doc file is the same everywhere. However, to print the file you would need to go into your own copy of Word. I don't think Apple is equipped to bother with support for all the printers available in the Windows world just for a demo program.
AOL, iChat, TextEdit, Preview, Quicktime Player, Sherlock and System Peferences
So this demo would give PC users a good taste for the Aqua environment but they'ed still have immediate motivation to go out and buy a Mac if they liked what they saw.
[ 06-23-2002: Message edited by: spindler ]</p>
Comments
I think making an interactive demo using FLASH would be the best idea. YET! the bets demo would be going to the Apple Store
Also, the whole idea would not work. Many of the features of the iApps and the reason they are so good is because Apple owns the whole widget, not just the software!
PSMUG president Dan has so many of them he doesn't know what to do with them. He also has OS X temporary tattoos and informational booklets.
PSMUG = Princeton Student Mac Users Group. Dan is a friend of mine who run the organization and gets freebies from Apple.
I don't mean the stuff that you see on Macs when you go into CompUSA. I mean a running OS X on a PC almost exactly like it works on the Mac. Of course it would just be OS X and a few applications to give you a feel for Macs. You would not be able to add any more applications. A PC user for all intents and porpoises would have a Mac in front of them to use, but limited to a handful of programs.
However, both implementations have their major issues - one being, Apple's demo is running on a machine they didn't design. Not only did they not do the hardware, they didn't do the software. Anything goes wrong with the demo and that looks bad for Apple.
Maybe they should just shove innocent PC users en masse into Macworld Stevenotes and make them watch Jobs demo it in action. That would also give them great exposure to raw RDF
<strong>Luckly, at the moment, Darwin will NOT work on a PC.</strong><hr></blockquote>You don't have any idea what Darwin is, do you? <img src="graemlins/bugeye.gif" border="0" alt="[Skeptical]" /> Darwin is open source and is cross-platform compatible. Yes, Darwin does run of x86. You can download the source and compile it yourself or simply get a binary ISO if you wish:
<a href="http://developer.apple.com/darwin/projects/darwin/" target="_blank">http://developer.apple.com/darwin/projects/darwin/</a>
<strong> A PC user for all intents and porpoises would have a Mac in front of them to use, but limited to a handful of programs.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Sort of like the real thing, hey? <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
<strong>"Erm. . . . Apple does make OS X demo CDs"
I don't mean the stuff that you see on Macs when you go into CompUSA. I mean a running OS X on a PC almost exactly like it works on the Mac. Of course it would just be OS X and a few applications to give you a feel for Macs. You would not be able to add any more applications. A PC user for all intents and porpoises would have a Mac in front of them to use, but limited to a handful of programs.</strong><hr></blockquote>
As I said before, Apple does make OS X demo CDs. They make use of some of the finer abilities of Quicktime.
I don't think you need to get apps working for real, but just a visual tour, some Quicktime and sprite-littered demos of stuff in re-enactment mode, not actual apps. You could pack a lot into a CD-ROM besides a working demo such as testimonials, an entire section on "the Switch" and so forth.
OT: Speaking of [sic], were you being cute when you said "porpoises?"