Apple bashing

[mgraham333]

I haven't done much apple bashing in a while...

But I found an excuse (or two).

First, those new commericals with the two guys:

"Hi, I'm and Apple." (jeans & t-shirt wearin' guy)

"And I'm a PC" (nerdy, Gates look-a-like in a suit)

Okay, they're funny, but I kinda feel sorry for the techno-illiterate masses that fall for this crap. It reminds me of those commercials back in the 90's with the dad and the little kid who's whining about wanting to see the dinosaurs and poor old PC-usin' dad is fumbling around with MSCDEX at a DOS prompt.... jeez... c'mon....really?

There's no ONE company that would benefit from a counter ad, but I thought it would be funny for some WIN/PC consortium to get together and run one with a dad and son going into a electronics superstore and asking a sales clerk for the new Dinosaurs CD-ROM....dramatic pause....for the MAC. The sales clerk, befuddled asks a co-slackerworker for help finding the MAC software section. Employees, dad, and son walk past row after row after row of PC software until finally stumbling across a small section of a single shelf with MAC version of software... PhotoShop, QuarkXpress....but no Dinosaurs.... poor little Billy your dad should have bought a PC.

Okay, now for my other excuse:

I just bought an iPod Nano for my wife (what can I say, she likes pretty shiny things and I love her). What's one thing you would expect to be in the box with a product that has a rechargeable battery. Ummm.....maybe....er....A CHARGER?!?

You plug it into your computer to charge it stupid! No sh*t I get that. But what about when you are on the road. Everyone takes their computer with them right.....

Oh well. You get the point. No need to go into the fact about a product that costs $150/$200/$250 should include a charger whose actual costs to manufacture are about $2.

I resigned myself to buying an "accessory." Then I see the $30 price tag. Can anyone who explain that to me and still sing the praises of O-Mighty Apple, the company that really cares about it's consumers - unlike greedy Bill Gates and the Evil Microsoft.

At least some of the Apple faithful are starting to realize that Jobs' Kool-Aid doesn't taste as good as they once thought. See reviews at bottom of page (sort them by lowest rated)

All that said, guess who's headed back to the store to buy an "accessory" charger for his beautiful wife. What can I say... I her.

P.S. I'm still using my Rio Chiba MP3 player and loving it. I feed it a new AAA battery every other week or so (depending on my gym and travel schedule). So there.

Edited to fix link to charger reviews

Edited May 17, 2006 by mgraham333

[mgraham333]

Oh I almost forgot...

Congratulations to Apple computer in their court victory over the Beatles.

Take that Paul and Ringo!

[Guy Berger]

I haven't done much apple bashing in a while...

But I found an excuse (or two).

First, those new commericals with the two guys:

"Hi, I'm and Apple." (jeans & t-shirt wearin' guy)

"And I'm a PC" (nerdy, Gates look-a-like in a suit)

Okay, they're funny, but I kinda feel sorry for the techno-illiterate masses that fall for this crap. It reminds me of those commercials back in the 90's with the dad and the little kid who's whining about wanting to see the dinosaurs and poor old PC-usin' dad is fumbling around with MSCDEX at a DOS prompt.... jeez... c'mon....really?

Apple's got the image/trendy thing going and they're milking it for all it's worth. Not that I blame them!

Guy

Edited May 17, 2006 by Guy

[neveronfriday]

Yeah, and doin' the Microsoft thing, they're trying to corner the online market over here as well.

Buggers.

Re Apple vs. France

The law, passed by the National Assembly by a vote of 296 to 193, requires companies that sell digital-music files in France to open up their digital rights management systems so that the files can be played on any device. The law, if ultimately enacted, may set the stage for Apple to shut down its digital-music sales operations in the country, though Apple hasn't said one way or the other if that is the case.

Source: Business Week

Apple Computer Inc. said on Tuesday a proposed French law that would force Apple to make sure that songs bought on its iTunes music store can work on any portable player would result in “state-sponsored piracy.”

[...]

“The French implementation of the EU Copyright Directive will result in state-sponsored piracy,” said Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris. “If this happens, legal music sales will plummet just when legitimate alternatives to piracy are winning over customers.”

[...]

“iPod sales will likely increase as users freely upload their iPods with ‘interoperable’ music which cannot be adequately protected,” Kerris said. “Free movies for iPods should not be far behind.”

Source: Reuters

[Noj]

I'm about to drop an obscene amount of money on a new Apple computer and software. Upgrade time.

[Christiern]

Hate to tell you this, graham, but your dinosaur story is rendered invalid by the new Macs, which will run Windows XL (Aghhh!) naturally (i.e. without Microsoft's Virtual PC).

The iPod charger complaint is petty, IMO.

Face it, there ain't much to bash, especially if one has to make a comparison with the Gates ripoffs in order to do it.

[mgraham333]

Forgive me. Apple can do no wrong.

[Kari S]

I'm about to drop an obscene amount of money on a new Apple computer and software. Upgrade time.

Ditto... Well actually I was considering buying my first laptop, and going for the G4 Powerbook - which technically isn't even "new" anymore, the new ones are called Macbooks. I also need an MP3 player (I'm tired of my current 1GB solution) with good capacity, and the gazillion gigabyte iPods are just unbeatable at that. But they're all soooo expensive.

Sure, they're (Apple) riding the "hip & trendy" wave, and sometimes - as with iBooks - they're selling old technology with an Apple logo, a white case and a huuge pricetage. But am I wrong in saying that this is all still pretty "recent"? I mean I don't think Apple was "hip" in such a big way before the whole iPod craze. And that seems like it wasn't that long ago.

[Stefan Wood]

oh, mighty Apple!

[rostasi]

Your first excuse:

I'm assuming that this "Dinosaurs" disc is something very specific,

because there are discs on Dinosaurs for both platforms.

Having "row after row after row of PC software" of course means that

it's good quality pickings eh? Nope, sorry, if I'm interested in buying

something well tested and has a better than average guarantee that it won't

fail, then I'll go somewhere other than the suburban flea (flee?) markets thank you.

Yes, poor little Billy's dad should've bought him a PC...in order to teach him

patience - in order to show him that quantity doesn't always translate into quality.

When you hear many people complain about technology

making our lives more difficult, what they really are referring to is it's unwanted visibility.

Just as you are not supposed to be aware of

your various organs - ringing in your ears, spots in your eyes, a full stomach, etc -

software that works invisibly is what most people want -

not something that proudly displays it's innards like some ancient car on blocks in Jethro's yard.

People generally are wowed by visible simplicity on the imput side coupled

with invisible complexity on the output side. I think that this is why Apple is "hip and trendy"

(which is another way of saying that it's getting more favorable attention than someone cares to see).

Your second excuse:

I agree. They should've had a (re)charger included.

Some things are quite mystifying when it comes to

how companies decide what to include or not with their products -

not just Apple - especially with items that involve

audio and/or video - often having no USB or FireWire cables or manuals, etc.

Yes, Microsoft is noted for rushing unfinished software out -

when it actually does come out: think Vista which was due in '04

and is now postponed to '07 - but Apple has the occasional cosmetic issue when it comes to

some of their new ideas - the probs with the easily scratched screens on the nanos and

they sometimes deal with these fixes in a less than professional way. I'd like to see that change some.

All in all, I think the majority of us want to stay as the "techno-illiterate masses"

as long as our software stays invisible.

[Christiern]

Forgive me. Apple can do no wrong.

Sure it can, and it has. That said, it is still the leader when it comes to design and innovation.

Kari S, there is no iBook anymore, so I don't know what you mean when you say they are "selling old technology with an Apple logo."

Here's what you get for $1,099: New MacBook, and it has the Intel chip, so it will also run that other OS.

With a built-in i-Sight camera, remote control, built-in wireless (Airport), etc., it is a far cry from the iBook G4.

[Mr. Gone]

Why is it so hard to be pragmatic about the techno stuff?

[Kari S]

Kari S, there is no iBook anymore, so I don't know what you mean when you say they are "selling old technology with an Apple logo."

Ok, but there was not that long ago. They were selling the exact same model released back in the day - with the same pricetag.

[Guy Berger]

Coming out soon: the iPig

charger may not be included

Edited May 17, 2006 by Guy

[kh1958]

I'm about to drop an obscene amount of money on a new Apple computer and software. Upgrade time.

A new Mac would be great, but my imac has worked so flawlessly and is such a joy to use, I feel no urgency.

As for the Nano, that is an overpriced product and it is folly to buy one. Get the 30gb Ipod or the 60gb and ignore overpriced small capacity products.

[Man with the Golden Arm]

What the man from Longerhans sez!!!

I'm not one to get all hot and bothered about the whole fight between platforms here. The guys at my shop bad mouth my mac like it's some chic thing to do? wtf and who cares. I go up and do a bit of work on their PCs and the things are like working on a "computer". Desktop littered with nothing but crap that does get in your way and too many obsessive compulsive touch yer nose, spin around and lick the screen fourteen times before anything can be done.

And if we're talking some "Dinosaurs" disc like the Henson or the Disney chances are the friggin' stuff that the son is drooling all over was made on a freekin' mac in the first place. sheesh.

I'm about to drop an obscene amount of money on a new Apple computer and software. Upgrade time.

Now i'm not one to shout about new OSs either but I am on a relatively new purchase and the "Spotlight" feature on Tiger is just so nice.

Noj... you probably have lots of images as I do and being able to type "jpg" or "psd" into a box and having everything in the machine right in front of you within seconds is really something else!! Any chimp can come in and know what is what on this machine. As rostasi said, I think those PC users are all just afraid of the simplicity.

[neveronfriday]

With a bit of patience, you can set up a Windoze-based PC to run smoothly, with an uncluttered desktop and a very personal setup (hell, you can actually throw a MAC desktop mod on there). I've been completely crash-, virus- and trouble-free for a very long time - unless the hardware fails (damn those Maxtor harddrives).

I'd like to have one of each, PC and a Mac (with cinema display).

One day ...

BTW: Besides a few players (iRiver), the Apple iPods (interestingly enough, especially that marketing successs story, the iPod Shuffle) have a leg up soundwise on the other mp3 players flooding the market with a million useless features and (usually) crummy sound.

[couw]

Noj... you probably have lots of images as I do and being able to type "jpg" or "psd" into a box and having everything in the machine right in front of you within seconds is really something else!! Any chimp can come in and know what is what on this machine. As rostasi said, I think those PC users are all just afraid of the simplicity.

others just know where they put their shite and don't need evil chimps to come and type .jpg/.psd and find all of it.

yikes et heheh.

[couw]

I've been completely crash-, virus- and trouble-free for a very long time - unless the hardware fails (damn those Maxtor harddrives).

I have managed to makes things crash. Windows, Mac even Linux and even Unix (oh the horror!). It can be done. All you need is to divide by zero in some heavy duty calculations, make the programme running the calculation go wahwah and then the entire machine go berserk... NaN! NaN! NaN! beep beep beep....

[neveronfriday]

I've been completely crash-, virus- and trouble-free for a very long time - unless the hardware fails (damn those Maxtor harddrives).

I have managed to makes things crash. Windows, Mac even Linux and even Unix (oh the horror!). It can be done. All you need is to divide by zero in some heavy duty calculations, make the programme running the calculation go wahwah and then the entire machine go berserk... NaN! NaN! NaN! beep beep beep....

Yeah, fun.

I have to admit that I used to save partition images and then import the latest virus of the day and let that loose on my PC. A rather odd pasttime activity (and learning experience) but certainly better than a good computer game. Watching your setup disintegrate before your eyes is really something else. Try it.

NaN! NaN! NaN! beep beep beep.... indeed.

[Noj]

Macs work best for artistic activities and can take care of all the business needs one has. If one only has business needs, then the artistic capabilities aren't necessary. My Mac at home works great, and my PC at work does too.

I once crashed my Mac with gigantic Photoshop files when I had the hard drive partitioned for both OSX and OS9. Ran out of space!

[Big Al]

Why is it so hard to be pragmatic about the techno stuff?

It's like asking a Mets fan to root for the Yankees, or vice versa.

[.:.impossible]

I'll weigh in. I've got positive and negative experience with both. They are still computers when it comes right down to it. I'm typing this on a Gateway Tablet right now. Yes, my company has done a fantastic job of guarding it with software that is constantly using up my RAM, but I haven't gotten a virus yet.

InDesign crashes here and there, but its my own fault for letting a file get too big before "save as". This is a little hoodoo that I have learned since working with graphics files on the PC.

I have wiped an iMac Graphite and an ibook 800mhz down to 0. What a liberating experience. Both of the them run amazingly now, and have for over two years. No issues whatsoever. Partitions have been good to me. I am about to max out the RAM on the ibook and load Ableton Live on the ibook, which will really test the processor. The ibook has been banged around quite a bit too. Good little computer. I like it a lot.

I also like the Gateway fine. Sounds funny, but it has been great so far. InDesign and Photoshop, Excel, and (gulp) Lotus Notes are pretty much all that I ever run on this thing. Seems to be fine.

Did anyone notice the optical audio output on the new Macbook?