Red Hat Diaries/0070

The Digital Hub

iPhoto, iTunes, iDVD, iThis, iThat - the Digital Hub. And, as we all know: 'It just works.'

Graphics companies use Macs. My home town's biggest morning newspaper has used Macs for layout since they first came out.

But you won't find digital hubs in business offices. Business offices need database applications, powerful servers, scaleable networks - and they look elsewhere for their hardware and software support.

Steve Jobs sees the future in the form of a white desk lamp, and it may be the future for people who have just made the switch and who only want to take digital photos and movies, to record CDs and burn MPEG discs, and to exchange all this media with their friends.

But try to put that into any corporate environment and it just sits there, useless. For all the blazing graphics, alpha channels, drop shadows, jelly baby scroll bars, and amazing integration of system and machine, the Mac comes up empty-handed when it's time to get down to business.

But don't ask me; ask the businesses themselves. Businesses do not go with Apple. And why don't they? Again, don't ask me - ask them. There are many good and obvious reasons, but don't ask me - ask them.

If all you want is to take family photos and publish them online, then get a desk lamp. If you're a small business and you want to run your own bookkeeping and take care of all your business on your local network - well, why tell you? You probably already know.

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