“Researchers have discovered that Apple’s new operating system, codenamed Leopard, will create 0 new jobs when it is launched early next year,” Tim Gaden writes for APC Magazine.
“This research (which was not commissioned by Apple) stands in sharp contrast to the findings of an industry report (commissioned by Microsoft) that Vista’s release will create 100,000 new jobs in tech support and help desk positions,” Gaden writes.
Gaden writes, “While Vista seems set to impact on the economy by creating more IT support jobs to fix the broken or frozen computers of other employees, research shows that Apple will take a different path.”
Gaden writes, “Apple is well known for its award-winning innovation. With Leopard’s release Apple will continue an innovative strategy of impacting on the economy by increasing individual productivity. It will let people get more of their own work done, faster and smarter, without the need for endless calls to tech support, compatibility hassles, driver problems or time wasted defending their PCs from viruses and trojans.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Ooh, scathing. We love it!
The desktop market has entered the dark ages, and it’s going to be in the dark ages for the next 10 years… Eventually, Microsoft will crumble because of complacency, and maybe some new things will grow… – Steve Jobs, February 1996
Mac OS X. Welcome to the renaissance.
Related articles:
Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ ultimate goal: ‘to take back the computer business from Microsoft’ – June 16, 2005
Lovely article, lapped it all up!
>Vista’s release will create 100,000 new jobs in tech support and help desk positions>
All those jobs just to keep Vista running, when Leopard just needs one Jobs.
More like the Reformation, MDN…
The tech/IT guys should send M$ a portion of their paychecks as a “thank you” for creating crappy stuff that requires hours of billable time to maintain.
The irony is that Vista will generate some Mac-related work, as well, since some users will finally be compelled to switch. There is a market for services like helping people get set up, transfer their data, etc.
And at the risk of stating the obvious, I’d like to clarify that I mean switching FROM Windows TO OS X.
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Ron
Nice work. I was thinking there had to be a Jobs joke in there somewhere but my brain is in reverse today.
See: MS and Vista are good for the economy. Context, social merit, and long term consequences are meaningless in the face of job creation. God made man to serve the economy.
I deal with different businesses that have to make decisions as to whether or not to go Mac or stay with Windows.
Why is it that all the IT guys are always wanting to stay with Windows? I become increasingly frustrated when talking with these guys because their arguments are null and void.
Example- One company that I dealt with last spring had over 500 computers to work with. One department ( Marketing ) had 13 Macs that they used. This companies IT guys wanted this department to give up their Macs just so the company could be 100% Windows. ( I imagine they wanted better control of this departments machines?!?!?! ) When the head of the marketing department did a survey they found that these IT guys had not spent 1 single hour in 2005 on these machines. What better argument could you want? Thank you for this article to put some of these IT guys in their places.
Go Ron!
That was the funniest joke I have ever seen on MDN. I have never typed the acroym “LOL” before.
UndercoverMacBrother says “The tech/IT guys should send M$ a portion of their paychecks as a “thank you” for creating crappy stuff that requires hours of billable time to maintain.”
They do, I see them at Fry’s and MicroCenter every weekend “upgrading” their stuff.
If Apple really want to get the support of the IT industry they should include a hammer with each license and instruct people to randomly bash their machines up. IT support will still have plenty of work that way.
The researchers’ conclusion is completely wrong! Leopard will create 100,000, higher paying software developer jobs. Once Windows only application companies realize their market is in a downward spiral, they will need to hire software engineers to prepare Mac solutions. More risk taking programmers will start their own software companies to take advantage of switcher oppotunities.
I realize this is just my wishful thinking.
Microsoft is the little boy in the Broken Windows Fallacy.
Or should I say Broken Windows®TM Fallacy?
Damn, with all these new jobs, you know the techs are going to be buying Macs for home! I mean when you work in the sewer all day who wants to come home to more shit?
…Vista’s release will create 100,000 new jobs in tech support and help desk positions…
Oh, the irony! They’ve all but admitted that Virus In System, Terminating Activities clients will incur a total of…
100,000 troubleshooters x 6 hrs/troubleshooter day x 250-working days/year x say, $50 per consultation-hour x 3 for production losses = $22.5-thousand-million per year.
That’s just like saying, “Crime has increased 6 percent, but the good news is that this will result in 400 new jobs [cough] for enforcement and correctional officers in our state.”
*sigh* Yes….I often do suffer from “Maytag Repair Man Syndrome.”
[…..shrugs shoulders and starts another Solitaire game…..]
Unfortunately the study is correct for several reasons. There are very, very few small, medium, or large businesses that run on Macintosh.
Those that due typically have a support person, either in house, consulting, or the owner’s nephew or something.
Most Mac people tend to see themselves as being technically savvy so they never actually consult technical people. As a consultant I do a lot of what I call “diaper changes.” Diaper changes are support calls on people who think they know what they’re doing, and who finally shit on themselves and then look for someone to clean it up.
Macs are not likely to be used in large, complex, network environments.
Macs are still seen as home computers for non-technical people.
And so on.
Is it changing?
Not that I can see.
In the old days I used to be able to find work as an IT Director in a Mac shop very easily. These days, well, I’ve been unemployed with all but useless skills since 2000.
I opted to consult rather than go over to the dark side, but every year it gets harder. I see Windows guys raking in the 6 figure incomes and I can barely get Mac people to pay their invoices.
That’s one heck of a prescient quote from Steve Jobs..
It’s very hard to overestimate the guy.
While it’s impossible not to underestimate Ballmer and Gates.
“This research (which was not commissioned by Apple) stands in sharp contrast to the findings of an industry report (commissioned by Microsoft) that Vista’s release will create 100,000 new jobs in tech support and help desk positions,” Gaden writes.
This is patently wrong. There will be jobs created by Leopard. The lack of necessity to hire IT people to fix problems, will free up those smart minds to work on new creations that will create even more new jobs and new industries. For instance, when Henry Ford streamlined the process of building cars, it meant that less people were needed. This made more workers available for building new things like airplanes and eventually computers, etc.
I don’t hate Bill Gates, but I really hate Microsoft – It just won’t go away fast enough.
Yes, Microsoft is creating jobs much the same way as Hurricane Katrina–by breaking stuff and diverting otherwise productive resources to fix it. Net wealth to economy: Negative.
Cheers to the bright writer referencing the Broken Windows (TM) Fallacy–brilliant and gave me a chuckle!
Bastiat would be proud.
Guess who will be paying those odd-$70 billion?
Windows users, of course (not just Vista users:).
Even though the economy (read: job market) may benefit, let’s look what will be the effect on
– Windows-based businesses: Higher IT support costs, less productivity => higher priced products.
– MacOSX-based businesses: Increased productivity => lower priced products.
So, even if the assumptions of the article are correct (which I don’t think is the case), the MacOSX world will benefit.
Windows-centric IT graduates (and drop-outs) will flock to helpdesk jobs, while MacOSX/Unix/Open source minded IT graduates will be available for the more interesting creative development jobs.