The computer curmudgeon

215 Pages·1992·25.299 MB·English

by  Kawasaki, Guy

Guy
Kawasaki
THE
Co mputer
Curmudgeon
This book is a classic repository of the
Macintosh attitude. Guy Kawasaki is, in
large part, responsible for this tempera
ment, and each page of this book is his
testimony. Included are the real rules of
high technology survival and more
razor-sharp wit than a box of disposable
shavers. You'll find out:
Why using a Macintosh is like sex
Why Guy Kawasaki isn't on the board
of directors at Apple
What *:o) means, and even more
importandy, ;->
The sly strategies and clues to getting
good tech support
Five ways to tell whether your kid will
be a Mac or PC user
How to get a job in the hot world of
computers
Who the real enemy is & lots more,
:r
*I wonted to coil this book The Macintosh Currpudgeon but the marketing . of course.
weenies thoughfihis might sell more books. I hope that we won't dupe too mony IBM PC
~ .owners with this Iitie. On the other hand, they probably bought Windows and thought it
zr0n was o Macintosh, so they're used '?·gelling duped. . . ' Read on!
;·.

HAYDi;N
The Computer Curmudgeon
Copyright © 1992 by Guy Kawasaki.
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part
of this book may be used or reproduced in any form or by any
means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior
written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Making
copies of any part of this book for any purpose other than your own
personal use is a violation of United States copyright laws. For
information, address Hayden, 11711 N. College Ave., Carmel, IN
46032.
Library of Congress Catalog No.: 92-074870
ISBN: 1-56830-013-1
This book is sold as is, without warranty of any kind, either express
or implied. While every precaution has been taken in the prepara
tion of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibil
ity for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for
damages resulting from the use of the information or instructions
contained herein. It is further stated that the publisher and author
are not responsible for any damage or loss to your data or your
equipment that results directly or indirectly from your use of this
book.
94 93 92 4 3 2 1
Interpretation of the printing code: the rightmost double-digit
number is the year of the book's printing; the rightmost single-digit
number is the number of the book's printing. For example, a
printing code of 92-1 shows that the first printing of the book
occurred in 1992.
Computer Curmudgeon
The Computer Curmudgeon is the first in a four-book series
by Guy Kawasaki. Look for the next three titles:
The MS-DOS Curmudgeon
The Windows Curmudgeon
The UNIX Curmudgeon
And ify ou
believe that,
you're not the
target market
oft he book,
so put it back
and save your
shekels.
I
Computer Curmudgeon iii
Credits
Publisher Mike Britton
Project Manager Karen Whitehouse
Development Editor Dave Ciskowski
Designer Scott Cook
lliustrator John Ceballos
Production Team Katy Bodenmiller,
Christine Cook, Tim Cox,
Mark Enochs, Tim Groeling,
Phil Kitchel, Jay Lesandrini,
Tom Loveman, Carrie Roth,
Michelle Self, Susan Shepherd,
Kel.li Widdifield
Composed in ITC
Garamond, Helvetica,
and MCPdigital by
Hayden.
Computer Curmudgeon
Dedication
To my wife Beth, without whom there would be no humor in
my life.
To jon Winokur, who inspired this book with The Portable
Curmudgeon.
To Apple employees-past, present, and future--who cre
ated, are creating, and will create insanely great computers.
About the Author
Guy Kawasaki
Guy Kawasaki is the former director of software product
management for Apple Computer, Inc. In this position, he
cajoled, coerced, and convinced software and hardware
companies to create products fora computer that didn'thave
enough RAM, a hard disk, color, slots, an installed base,
technical support, or marketing.
He has a BA from Stanford in Psychology ("the easiest major
I could find") and an MBA from UClA ("because Stanford
rejected me"). Whlle he waits for the Golden State Warriors
to call him, he writes, speaks, and promotes products ("I
endorse, therefore I am").
I
Computer Cur~udgeon v
Trademark
Acknowledgments
There are too many trademark acknowledgments to list on
this page. Because we are environmentalists, and because
paper is a valuable (and therefore costly) commodity, we will
limit our trademark acknowledgments to the following state
ment:
All terms in this book that are known to be trademarks or
service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Hayden
cannot attest to the accuracyofthis information. Use of a term
in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity
of any trademark or service mark
We Want to Hear from You
What our readers think of Hayden is crucial to our sense of
well-being. If you have any comments, no matter how great
or how small, we'd appreciate your taking the time to send
us a note, using any of the several methods provided for your
convenience.
Mike Britton
Hayden Books
11711 North College Avenue
Carmel, IN 46032
[phone] fax
E-mail addresses:
AppleLink: haydenbks.mb
CompuServe: 76350,3014
America Online: MikeHayden
I
vi Computer Curmudgeon
Acknowledgments
Creating a book is a team effort. It takes a publisher, editors,
artists, designers, proofreaders, production people, and
beta testers. And a writer. Here's The Computer Curmudg
eon Team:
The Inside Team
Mike Britton. Mike was my evangelist at Hayden. He caught
the vision and fought the doubters to take Hayden-where it
has never gone before.
Dave Ciskowski. Dave developed this book, content- and
copy-edited it, coordinated the actions of the Hayden team,
and bore the brunt of my incessant badgering.
Karen Whitehouse. Karen was the "iron fist inside the velvet
glove" that kept the book going. She even helped with my next
book.
Scott Cook. Scott designed the book and was instrumental in
taking care of the hundreds of questions that aro~e. Without
his efforts, the book would not have been finished in the
astoundingly short period it was.
Kathy Hanley, Marj Hopper, Mat Wahlstrom, Laura Wirthlin,
Michael Nolan, and jay Corpus. They designed, suggested,
illustrated, and massaged the book into reality.
Mark my words: Hayden will be a force in computer books.
The Outside Team
Henry Berger, Andrew Carol, Matt Evens, Patrick Fox, john
Holland, julius Sarkozy, Alan Spurgeon, Robin Williams, and
Richard Wolpert. They made suggestions and contributions
that vastly improved the book.
I
Computer Curmudgeon vii
Donald Daybell. Donald contributed The Unofficial Smilie
Dictionary. By compiling and supplementing this dictio
nary, he helped E-mail addicts all over the world.
John Ceballos. John illustrated this book With nothing more
than a few phrases, he was able to understand the essence of
the book and create the cover and illustrations.
john Michel. John works for Hannony Books. He couldn't
get Hannony to publish the book, but he kept me psyched as
I was writing it Someday I wish he would publish a book of
mine ...
I
viii Computer Curmudgeon