Y
esterday, we reported that Steve Wozniak was to speak at a Rochester, NY college. The Democrat and Chronicle, the same paper that tipped us off in the first place, covered the event in an article titled “Macs called virtually virus-proof.” That title comes from comments from Mr. Wozniak, who was talking about the relative bullet-proofness of Mac OS 9. Mr. Wozniak also spoke on the issue of passion that Mac users tend to have about their Macs. From the article:
“People have PCs that do everything they want them to do, but they just donit love them,” Wozniak said Wednesday before addressing the Rochester group known as Apple CIDER Inc. at Monroe Community College. “But we (Mac users) are passionate.”
“Itis very similar to Harley-Davidson. So many people will only buy a Harley-Davidson. Itis already pre-decided and it has nothing to do with what the specs of a Harley are. And to keep that brand loyalty, Apple is doing a good job of differentiating their products with style and early features.”
Among other reasons Macintosh has a loyal following: the absence of viruses — such as SoBig — that have plagued the PC world.
“If you wanted to have servers and not be subjected to viruses, I have one suggestion: Macintosh MacOS9,” said Wozniak, who is no longer associated with Apple Computer. “I run all my servers and keep them on MacOS9. I have never had a firewall and I have never been hit in all these years, even though I appear on TV shows with other hackers and the like. Iid be a prime target, and they have not hit any of my machines.”
The Woz goes on to explain that the Macis virus immunity comes from Security Through Obscurity, an issue we have covered in the past.
Thereis more in the full article on the event, and more comments from The Woz. We recommend it as a good read.