Sticking With the Mac Requires Patience and a Big Leap of Faith

PPLE COMPUTER has finally laid out its plans for the Macintosh operating system, the special, underlying software that controls the way the computer works. Wall Street analysts are busy pondering what Apple's new plan means for the company's financial prospects. But the most important question is what the new strategy means for Mac users -- especially families and small businesses, which have long formed the core of the Mac market.

After carefully reading the plan and interviewing top Apple executives, I believe the strategy makes buying a Mac a relatively risky investment for these consumers, compared with buying a computer running Microsoft's Windows 95 or Windows NT operating systems.