I've been saying this to my Apple friends for years but it's like trying to explain to an army of christian fundamentalists why you're an Atheist/Agnostic. I'm glad you wrote this post, now I can forward it to those friends. Apologies if you have to again delete 200+ comments afterwards. ;)
Otto
· 2 years ago
Robert,
Thanks for posting this. For a while it felt like you lost your spark, but several of your posts lately have renewed my Scoble faith.
While I love Apple products, I too dislike the smugness attitudes. Honor people and let them make their own choices.
Otto
Paul Roundy
· 2 years ago
It is still hard to tell if you are angry about your Apple not restarting after the updates or if you are angry about not getting free stuff since you keep bring it up.
Stuff crashes and breaks, get over it. Anyone with one iota of experience in the tech field knows this.
Robert Scoble
· 2 years ago
Paul: I'm not angry about the free stuff. That's just business and if other journalists get free stuff and I don't, well, then that's my problem (although it's good for you to know because it's how Apple manufactures this mythical belief that they are all good). I'm angry of the brand promise of Apple being a pack of freaking lies. The ADS piss me off. If Apple never ran those ads I'd just be a good Apple <strike>slave</strike> FanBoi and take my machine into the genius bar and blame myself like my friends do. But the ads made me believe that my Apple machine would never go bad and would be easy to use. Zap my PRAM. Right.
Dileepa
· 2 years ago
But you are wrong! Apple is the best!!!
(Using a Vista SP1 RC Preview build on a HP dv6500t - never crashes and hence completely unable to even think of writing a post like this one.)
Dileepa
· 2 years ago
Nice Ad... except that you can do the exact same Ad by replacing Vista with Leopard and XP with Tiger.
Paul Roundy
· 2 years ago
Dude it is advertising. You don't or didn't have to buy into it. I think you are smarter than that.
What I think is more interesting is that your friends didn't want to be attributed on video. Was it really about not seeming cool because they think they broke their Macs or because they didn't want to offend the real Steve and might impact their careers somehow?
HR
· 2 years ago
I haven't enjoyed your posts in a while but this was quite on point.
People love Apple like it's the Peace Corps when they are really a corporation like every other profit grubbing corporation out there.
They have
1. Had stock options scandals 2. Leveraged their monopoly with iTunes like MS does on the PC. Wont license FairPlay for iTunes. And they are going to lose that suit bigtime. 3. Charges you for a loaner phone so they can fix your phone battery.
Apple fans are would rather whip themselves than admit that anything could ever be wrong with an Apple product.
To commenter number 3
Of course shit breaks. Scoble knows that. Everyone knows that. It's the Apple fans that will lynch you if you say otherwise.
Robert Scoble
· 2 years ago
Paul: there's a difference between pointing out your Ford truck can pull a 747 and pointing out your product is better than a competitor's -- especially when it's not. And, anyway, it's my point to point out when advertising is untruthful in the tech industry. This advertising is among the worst.
Robert Scoble
· 2 years ago
Dileepa: exactly. You should listen to Leo Laporte's show on KGO Radio. I've heard several callers say they were uninstalling Leopard and going back to Tiger.
Robert Scoble
· 2 years ago
>Was it really about not seeming cool because they think they broke their Macs or because they didn’t want to offend the real Steve and might impact their careers somehow?
These aren't journalists who were at dinner last night. So, doubtful that it'd impact their careers.
I think it's more that they just didn't want to look "uncool." The brand promise of Apple is very strong.
Kevin
· 2 years ago
I sympathize with your technical issue. Lord knows I've had my share of them on Macs and PCs alike over the years. And I share your feelings about the smugness present in the loudest members of the Apple Zealot Army.
But I find it hard to believe that you - a smart guy with a long history in the industry - actually believed the advertisements. Apple's or any company's for that matter. I can't say I've seen a single ad in the last decade that qualifies as "non-ridiculous." And maybe I'm totally wrong, but I like to believe that most people understand this about advertisements, and know better than to expect the life-changing experience promised by them.
Richard
· 2 years ago
"We believe Apple’s marketing so deeply that we aren’t willing to question it."
Apple's Brand is rooted in the actual products they offer not in the marketing of those products. Apple's products are generally very well made. The craftsmanship is often extraordinary. Sure there are problems. Nothing is perfect. It helps to have a knowledgeable friend or friends who can help you through the rough spots. Also there is Apple Care and if you live by an Apple Store there is the Genius Bar.
Robert Scoble
· 2 years ago
Kevin: >actually believed the advertisements.
My son certainly buys into the belief that only people with Apple products are cool.
Why does Apple do this kind of advertising? Because it works. They know it does.
Paul Roundy
· 2 years ago
Number 8 anyone will lynch anyone these days; except for maybe MS supporters. Haven't seen any since Robert left them ;)
But I am really trying to make the point number 12 is making. Why would you believe those ads in the first place?
Robert Scoble
· 2 years ago
Richard: Apple's products are aesthetically well made, but I've found they usually fail more often than other brands. See, even YOU have bought into the "brand promise." Things that FEEL better MUST be better. Not true.
Robert Scoble
· 2 years ago
Paul: it's not that I believe the ads. It's that it ads to a culture of smugness. "My computer is better than yours."
It's not. Sorry to burst your Apple FanBoi bubble.
Caustic Dave
· 2 years ago
Robert,
In any case I hope your Mac gets fixed soon.
PXLated
· 2 years ago
This is not a fanboy rant. First, I think the problem Robert is you're in tech and I would guess a lot of folks would think you could explore and figure out more on your own, I know I do. You and Dave Winer both seem to have more Mac problems than anyone I know and I know a lot of Mac users. A little exploring on the net would bring you to hundreds of Mac support, news, help sites. And if that fails, at least Apple "does have" a GeniusBar and you can schedule an appointment from the comfort of your easychair at the retail store of your choice. Try that with your Vio. Yes, Apple has that brand image of it "just works". From my experience it does but as we know, in tech, that's not going to be a 100% deal with anything. Secondly, instead of a post with a bunch of Screw Apple rants, you could just explain what happened and ask for advice. Dave did that this morning. The Screw Apple rants just inflame the situation and I'll bet you know that and you shouldn't at all be surprised or ranting about it in this post. There's a cause/effect and you're the cause. Tone it down and I'll bet your responses/comments will be more worthwhile. Lastly, I think you're just trying to create a Dell Hell.
Edwin Khodabakchian
· 2 years ago
Hi Robert,
I do not believe that the brand promise of Apple is "by a mac and you will be perceived as someone cool". My vote would go to something more like: "by a mac and you will get a more polished and integrated user experience".
People are not born Apple Fan Boy. They become Apple Fan Boy because Apple does a good job at delivering on that promise.
Your point about the increasing software and hardware issues is obviously something Apple needs to look very seriously into. Most users will absorb one or two issue based on the trust of the brand and then they will start getting pissed.
What has been your experience working with Apple Support?
Robert Scoble
· 2 years ago
Heh, Chuqui, who used to work at Apple, just wrote that my problem was probably caused by disk corruption and that he prevents that by occassionally rebooting his Mac from a complete power-down.
The thing is, remember when I admitted that I did JUST THAT on my Tablet PC? And how all the Apple FanBoi's beat up on me? I do. Here's the start of that thread: http://radio.weblogs.com/0001011/2005/01/30.htm...
See, again, this answer messes with the brand promise of Apple. "It'll only work perfectly if you reboot once in a while."
Robert Scoble
· 2 years ago
Edwin: Apple Support is OK. My computer was in the shop for a week to get its memory board fixed. My son's computer has been in twice. Once for 10 days and once for about a week.
My son often tries to go to the genius bar and has to wait in line, or has to make reservations days in advance (which is hard to do because he never knows when his parents will be kind enough to take him to an Apple store).
Dell, on the other hand, when I had a problem, just sent me a new machine via next-day air.
Robert Scoble
· 2 years ago
>Secondly, instead of a post with a bunch of Screw Apple rants, you could just explain what happened and ask for advice.
I'm beyond that. We've had so many problems with Apple stuff that the ads just piss me off when I see them. Advice? Wouldn't have helped in our prior hardware problems. Won't help fix my son's USB port.
Livid
· 2 years ago
Myabe it just because you spent too many hours on your Mac, and anything can be wrong will go wrong in the worst coincidence.
I just remembered my old faulty G5. Oh, dark days.
Kevin
· 2 years ago
It's the difference between advertising based on Brand and advertising based on Product Features.
"Pepsi Generation" vs. "Exhilarating, Invigorating, Aids Digestion"
A brand that is able to position itself as "cool" certainly gains a measure of immediate success. But as we all know, trends are trends, and what's cool today is lame tomorrow.
I suspect some of Apple's current popularity is due to this cool-factor, but it's hard to deny that they do make quality products that offer a clear alternative to other competitors, and that this very real and organic word-of-mouth as done wonders for their success. If iPods and Macs and iPhones didn't largely work as-advertised, they wouldn't continue to sell or be cool. That is, if the features didn't largely match the brand promise, people would start talking about it.
Not a lot of people outside of Silicon Valley and the tech blogs know about the Reality Distortion Field (or even who Steve Jobs is). All they know is their personal experience with a product that they bought because they hoped it would solve some (real or perceived) problem they were having.
Richard
· 2 years ago
Robert: Number 16. Yes Apple's products are aesthetically well made. But they are generally well made underneath also. The craftsmanship extends below the surface. Go to http://dotnetaddict.dotnetdevelopersjournal.com/ and read about what an expert on the Microsoft .NET framework has to say about Apple's Cocoa development framework. If you are technically inclined it might surprise you. I am an engineer by training and know how difficult it can be to make a good product. It is not easy. I use Windows XP and Mac OS X on a daily basis in my work and I do appreciate the craftsmanship that has gone into Apple's products.
Robert Scoble
· 2 years ago
Richard: I do appreciate that work too. I even appreciate the aesthetics of my Mac.
It's just that the brand promise of Apple is even more: that I'll be able to run my Mac, even if I'm an idiot, and that it'll behave a lot better than my Windows boxes. I haven't found that to be the case, at all.
Robert Scoble
· 2 years ago
Kevin: "Not a lot of people outside of Silicon Valley and the tech blogs know about the Reality Distortion Field (or even who Steve Jobs is)."
I know that. When I went to Europe earlier this year I hardly saw a Macintosh at all. Maybe those people outside of Silicon Valley know something I don't?
:-)
Sam Sethi
· 2 years ago
Robert as an ex-microsoftee converted to Apple I must admit I do love my MAC Pro and find the ads funny but I think the honeymoon maybe coming to an end.
First the iphone upgrade/bricking did not go down well with developers. Reluctantly Apple Czar Jobs agreed to an SDK in Feb.
The recent Leopard upgrade has caused many friends problems with their Mac's even the recent upgrade fix. The latest seems to be the battery being rapidly drained.
The recent success of Apple is bringing it the same problems as Microsoft. As more people use it for varied things and as more applications are developed for it, the less stable the OS platform becomes or in other words the harder it is to upgrade/support.
Apple PR hard better get ready to earn their money. As you say the PR lady in the ad may soon be on the otherside soon.
From a personal experience the PR exec's representing Apple UK are amazingly arrogant. They remind me of the days when everyone loved Microsoft.
They think everyone loves Apple and thus they never return calls or emails. Pride comes before a fall!
Deepak
· 2 years ago
Lets get all disclaimers aside. I've used all possible OS' and systems (even VAX), and personally consider myself a Linux fanboy. I have every major OS represented in my house.
IMHO OSX is the best desktop OS, and Macbook Pro is a beautifully designed machine. However, Apple, for whatever reason seems to get a free ride on all kinds of issues, partly due to its marketing machine. Whether it be not including Java, or funky hardware issues, or the lockdown of their products, they get a free pass on issues for which they would be skewered if they were any other company.
Andy Beal
· 2 years ago
Your problem Robert is that you shouldn't be buying Apple to start with, apparently they don't want you as a customer. ;-) Here's what one guy said on my post...
"and yes, apple doesnt need or want customers like that - but that is a separate brand issue"
I asked him to call Apple for confirmation that they don't want you as a customer - he never got back to me. ;-)
Robert Scoble
· 2 years ago
Andy: sometimes I feel like I'm not cool enough, or smart enough, to be an Apple customer, yeah.
E Dewhirst
· 2 years ago
Robert,
Thank you for this post - I thought I was losing it. I use a Dell laptop running XP and have a blackberry and I am ridiculed by Mac fans - and I ask why? I really don't care if they have a Mac or a Vic20 or whatever. I just want to get some work done and yet it is as if I am crazy for not having a Mac? For what I use MsWord and Thunderbird and Firefox why do I need a new iTop - thingie? iPhone for what e-mail and talking? My Blackberry seems to do that O.K. I listen to tunes on my iPod, (well I used to but the battery croaked and now only works when it is plugged into the wall - so I have to borrow my daughters new i-pod Nano).
Sorry but what is wrong with being out of the loop in the buying frenzy for new tech equipment. I love technology - but nowhere near as much as I love snowboarding or spending time with friends - friends that don't care about computers - because at the end of the day they are tools and not becoming a tool is my main objective.
Cheers - Eric P.S. that PR fumble on Valleywag is classic - that is so seriously bad PR that I thought it was a skit. That first dude being interviewed looked so scared I thought he was going to crap his pants - like Martin Short in the 80's that nervous guys all shakey muldoon - (http://youtube.com/watch?v=FOLBQxk72NY).
Chuck
· 2 years ago
Robert,
I've used nothing but Macs since 1984 (except for a few VAXen early on) but I'm no fanboy.
I note that some of the first comments on your blog post when you had update problems were from Mac users who wanted to help. For every dweeb fan boy you'll also find supportive fellow users.
If the problems recur, post details and you'll get a lot of help.
I'd say, use what you like, and if you prefer Windows (shudder), I wish you all the best.
Cody
· 2 years ago
Robert, you are employing the hasty generalization fallacy argument. Even with your dinner with "smart guys" and the supportive comments you get here, you don't have enough observed evidence to warrant a logical conclusion. Hey, it's your world and your perception, I get that. Many people are of the perception, based on "their" evidence, that we didn't land on the moon. It's YOUR Mac reality, and that's cool. But, this argument is similar to what car fans engage in. A few years ago I bought a brand new BMW 3 series, based on their "branding", always in C&D's Top 10 cars, etc. Biggest piece of crap I ever owned. Was in the shop more often than it was on the road it seemed. And guess what? I was able to find enough people with the same experience I had to think BMW's weren't what people said they were. Does that mean I can logically conclude BMW's ads are lies? No. You are employing the same argument here.
Louis Gray
· 2 years ago
Robert, the Mac is not perfect. But it is dramatically better than the alternative. The MacBook Pro I'm typing this on now had to be sent back in the first two days thanks to a rare hardware bug. But it's been lights-out perfect since. I've been vocle when I've seen issues with my Mac products, and will continue to be. I just hope we don't end up dissuading any would-be converts to the platform.
It's not that we Mac users think the problems are our fault. It's just that they are so much less common than on alternative platforms, and often, easier to fix ourselves. Of course, hardware issues are hardware issues, and Apple tends to step up quickly to fix them as they come up.
Chuck
· 2 years ago
Scoble, You paid for a product (Leopard) and it had issues. So take it to the Apple Store and have them look at it. Or try a reinstall. That's why they have Apple Geniuses there. To help users. I could see your complaining if they didn't offer support. But they do.
Sorry, but the ad IS funny. I also think it's funny how the Mac has, what, 8% market share? And you'd think they had 90%. Windows users must really be on the defensive if they are going to worry about little old Apple.
They're not worried, are they?
Robert Scoble
· 2 years ago
Louis: I really don't agree. Yeah, my Mac has been fun to use and it has been better at some things, but my Windows machines have never been in the shop so I can't claim that my Mac machines run better.
anon
· 2 years ago
We believe Apple’s marketing so deeply that we aren’t willing to question it.
Scoble, Microsoft has always had a more rabid following (ok, Microsoft's following consists of paid shills but still) - 90% of the computers sold are Windows PCs by default. How often do workers in corporations get asked what computer they'd like to buy? DELL even "recommends" Windows Vista Business or whatever. That's not a problem in itself, but consider that every other OEM does the same thing and it makes no sense: how do they differentiate?
If you want Linux on a computer, you're forced to buy a very particular hardware configuration on an OEM's site so that making a price comparison with a machine that is sold by default with Windows becomes very difficult.
Finally, Mac fanbois may be bad, but xbox fanbois are the worst ever. Go ahead, post some flamebait about how PS3 is a better media player because it supports DIVX now and xbox 360 doesn't. I bet the comment count will go over 200.
Ed Oswald
· 2 years ago
I have to say, I agree with Chuck. Windows people are awfully defensive about a company with so little market share. Actually, its more like 5%, Chuck.
You have to admit Robert that one thing Apple does well is support. There's no genius bar for Windows. Why aren't you giving Apple a chance to fix it rather than getting so upset over it?
anon
· 2 years ago
The common thing about most of these comments is that it’s MY FAULT that my Apple machine is having trouble.
Scoble, that's because it is your fault. If you were running a 1 year old PC laptop, are you telling me you'd have no problems when you tried to install Vista over it? All your third-party apps would work?
I have quite a bit of experience with PCs. Sometime, maybe we can go to Fry's or something and buy 5 identical laptops with Windows Vista on them and we can set them up side by side on the same network on my dinner table. Even if we follow the exact same procedure - hooking up, starting up, installing updates, basic office software - we will not have the same experience with these identical machines twice.
Chris Lynn
· 2 years ago
Ok, so that ad does piss me off. Ever since I "upgraded" to leopard, my MacBook starts up slower, the fan is in use all the time, things are crashing, and applications run really slowly. WTF?!
Craig
· 2 years ago
"She’s a LOT closer to the PR lady in that video above, which is TOTALLY ironic"
You seem to have misused that word in TWO separate posts. Are you sure you know what it means?
Max
· 2 years ago
I think it's useful to identify the "expectations trap" here.
Let's say you buy a Mac and expect that your experience will be dreamy. Your computer is attractive, well-made, and Mac OS X works smoothly. You will become an Apple fan - perhaps grudging, perhaps lukewarm, perhaps rabid - because it's hard to take something that works and criticize it.
Let's say you expect that your experience will be dreamy, but there's a hardware fault, and the OS doesn't work smoothly. You could develop a skeptical view of the hardware, the OS, or even the company. Or, you could interpret it as a normal thing with computers, which are no less computers regardless of who makes them or what they do.
My experience with Macs has been generally positive. My experience with Windows computers has been generally negative. My experience with Linux computers has been mixed... But guess what? They're all friggin' computers, and they don't know or care that I'm trying to use them to get work done. I don't get a hate on for Toshiba because I had a 30% failure rate out of the Toshiba laptops I deployed at one company - I just take that into consideration in my planning if someone says they gotta have a Toshiba. On the other hand, I've had about an 8% failure rate on Mac hardware.
It's frustrating to be the guy who lands in the 8% "hardware failed" group. But does that mean it's exhilarating to be the guy in the 92-93% "works perfectly" group? I don't open Mail every day and say "oh my oh my OHMYOHMY"... I open it up and read my new messages. It's more reliable at doing that than Outlook was on my Windows boxes, or anything on my Linux boxes, so I'll keep my Mac. :-)
I think what you're saying is that your expectations weren't met. It's fair for people to ask where your expectations came from. It's equally fair for people to point out that going to *any* other computer just means you're exposing yourself to that computer manufacturer's failure rate, repair policies, stupid corporate practices, or what have you. Maybe you're a huge Sony fanboi, so the Vaio might be a better platform for you - it seems to meet your expectations more clearly, and fortunately you haven't fallen into Sony's "failure rate" group. I don't wish trouble on you, and I'm sorry your Mac flipped out - I know how disruptive computer problems can be, and I hope things settle down quickly.
And I hate being called a fanboi just because I don't join in the cynical criticism of Apple, Mac hardware, or Mac OS X. It's a company, and hardware, and an operating system. It meets my expectations. Hopefully whatever computer you use, it will meet yours.
Tom
· 2 years ago
Robert,
You're in full-bore Apple-bashing mode now and it doesn't become you. Nobody seriously believes that Apple is perfect and that there are no hardware or software issues. All one has to do is go to numerous Mac-related problem sites or even Apple's own discussion boards to see that.
Apple's "it just works" springs from a relative position compared to PCs with Windows, and in that comparison is absolutely true.
Also, I'm tired of all the crying of Apple-bashers over the "ARMY" of Apple fans and what they post. Have you ever SEEN what the anti-Apple crowd posts? Guess what? It's the same stuff. And there are a lot more of them than Apple fans.
Despite all your posting of cults and blind beliefs by Apple's "army", these facts remain:
- Mac OS X Tiger (and now Leopard) is more favorably looked upon in review after review when compared to Vista. - Vista was not the success Microsoft hoped for, no matter the PR spin of Microsoft's finest. - Mac hardware is extremely well-designed and price competitive. Reviews from even non-Apple-friendly sites confirm this. In fact, the MacBook Pro is the fastest Vista laptop there is at the moment. - Apple's iLife surpasses away anything like it on the PC, and is a huge advantage in getting a Mac. - Apple Pro software such as Final Cut Studio and Logic Studio are highly respected and among the leaders in their field. - The iPod has ruled the roost through many generations. People keep going back to it. Is it because they have maybe 30 songs purchased from iTunes? No, It's because the whole package has worked better than anything else available. - There are more, but I'll close with the one always overlooked: Apple's outstanding customer service. Yes, you can find war stories here and there, but at the end of the day I see and hear more good stories about Apple's customer service than from any other tech company (maybe even all of them combined). Countless polls and reviews confirm this as well. And not just by a small margin, Apple overwhelmingly leads in customer service.
Bottom line is try to look past the Apple fans that lean to unreasonable (as I've looked past unreasonable Microsoft apologists for 25 years) and just look at Apple for what it is. Take off the tin-foil conspiracy hat and you’ll see all the "smug", "controlling", fanatical crap is just BS.
Apple is a company firing on all cylinders right now. Great hardware, software, products, customer support, etc., and it's easy to take pot shots at them. But when you put on the tin-foil and rail against the "cult" only two things are true: 1) You’ll get lots of page hits; and 2) You're no better than the fanatics on the Apple side you rail against.
Eliakim
· 2 years ago
A loser who can only write articles... Ummm., make that just a loser...
ubuntu geek
· 2 years ago
Robert,
GET OVER IT. Take a long vacation. Go fly fish. Go rock climbing. Go volunteer at a local hospital. Anything. Just stop writing about stupid operating systems and pieces of plastic and metal.
Brit
· 2 years ago
Good post, Robert.
I read your original "Screw you Apple" post yesterday, and there were about 70 posts. Overnight the number of posts to that blog entry has doubled, most of the new posts filled with invective from members of the Apple Jihad Army. I guess the Bat-Signal went out and they came here ready for blood, ready to shout down all criticism.
I referred to this yesterday, but have to make the point again: Apple's smug ads are one thing, but what takes the cake is using BSOD icons in their shipping OS to represent Windows computers on a network. That is taking smugness to a level unheard of. Yet Apple fanbois ate it up. Anil Dash blogged about the smugness of Apple's use of BSOD icons, and the Apple Jihad Army ripped him to ribbons too. http://www.dashes.com/anil/2007/10/smug-ugly.html It's like Apple and their fanbois are so full of themselves that they are blinded as to how inapporpriate and childish that is. They think it's "cool", but it's only cool to those within the same cult.
Now, I like my iPod and PowerBook (which I'm using to write this), but the arrogance of Apple and their disciples has gotten so out of hand, it's almost comical.
Jacob Levy
· 2 years ago
Scoble is a younger Dvorak. He writes a certain way to get the controversy going. Apple hardware sucks, OK, we know that, been like that for years. Stuff breaks, we know that also, been like that for years. The only thing Apple does better is PR. They've got the whole world hypnotized with their shiny brushed metal and glow in the dark logo. Wait till someone wakes up and starts asking whether the stock really is worth $165 or whatever ridiculous amount of Bernanke Dollars it is now.
Contrary to #43, Apple is riding on only one cylinder, they've got everyone mesmerised with the Steve Jobs turtle neck sweater cult.
Sorry, guys, you still wont have a 9 inch dick or DD breasts if you use a Mac. Heck, I work at a company where they let you choose between a PC and a Mac laptop, and I chose the HP laptop. I will not use an Apple even if its free! So there.
Gene Warech
· 2 years ago
First a quick bio. I first used computers in 1959 (a militarized IBM 704, vacuum tube registers big enough to walk through). I have since used Unix, Windows-compatible, and Mac more or less continuously at work. I piut a man onthe moon in the 60's. I remember the last time a Mac OS had a bug that caused it to fail. It was around 1990 (system 7.6). After some rocky times with the OS X beta, I cannot remember a system crash. Once in a while Safari will choke on an unresponsive web site, so I start Safari up again. The only hardware failures I have had was one in my late 605- the disk crashed within weeks, an Apple tech came to my house and replaced it under warranty. About two years ago my neighborhood had two power failures in a week, and the second one fried part of my power supply. While trolling an OS X support and discussion site, I have never had a problem to bring to it (I joined to get grass roots experience with the OS X beta) but have tried to help others. I would say that the vast majority in this site have had one problem, and a few people have several problems. There are real Mac hardware and software bugs, there are problems that stem from Haxies and other 3rd party software that tamper with and try to game the OS, and there are switchers from Windows-only who try to make the Mac like work like a Dell or try to use workarounds they had developed in the old PC days. I favor Macs because they work well, have been super reliable, and look good (a real point in a domestic setting). It is clear that OS X is more complex, especially in its Unix structure, then previous Mac OS's. It is more difficult to diagnose when a problem pops up than pre-X. Computers are complex technology. But the Macs I have used over the years have been easier to use, more thus more useful, and more reliable (since OS 8) than the Windows-compatible stuff I saw around me (and used at times). And that's why I continue to use them. It would help you if you were willing to unbend your pride and ask for help sometimes, when you have a computer misbehave. Sorry to hear about your not being given a free Mac. Neither have I, but then I don't go on the air and yell screw Apple a dozen times.
Joining Dots
· 2 years ago
Just wanted to share a different viewpoint.
I wrote a similar article after purchasing my first Mac earlier this year - http://www.joiningdots.net/blog/2007/04/how-acc... - and received my one and only troll comment. But. I also received a pile of helpful tips from Apple experts that far far outweighed the grumpy zealot. And they even stuck up for me against that (unsurprisingly anonymous) troll comment. As an Apple newbie, I was grateful for their support.
Typing this on my MacBook Pro... running Vista. I know, I know. That makes me a heretic to both sides :-)
Reinhard
· 2 years ago
I find this whole debate slightly tiring (to use an understatement) and find these Apple ads extremely boring. For the last 25 years in the software industry I have used both, Macs and PCs - at the moment I am very happy with Vista Ultimate, no reason and no plans to change. The only really annoying experience are the people at very street corner trying to tell me what a bad thing I am using ...
maxplanar
· 2 years ago
What's worse? A smug claim of superiority, or a cheesy and hollow claim that The Wow Starts Now? Both platforms can disappoint, and perfection is as yet impossible, but I'll vote with my dollars for a company that at the very least STRIVES for innovation.
Posted from my iPhone. Which in itself amazes me and is kind of my point.
Jonah
· 2 years ago
Smug like the Apple boy in the commercials. I much prefer quirky, self-effacing PC, even if he is imperfect.
maxplanar
· 2 years ago
One more thing... I'll also be going with the computer company that was first to drop floppy disks.. It's that attitude I'm buying into, and if that comes with smugness, well I'll just be ignoring that then.
Ben Toth
· 2 years ago
I have a Vaio; my daughter has a Mac. We're both happy. The Apple ads are quite funny; there are always a couple of Macs around a table these days - they look nicer than Dells (yeuuch) but way less cool than my Vaio.
Apple's always Apple and its brand thingy is pretty transparent and IMHO harmless. What's more interesting (to me anyway) is the extent to which Microsoft captured and keeps in thrall the average IT department in the UK - M-S marketing is arguably more subtle than Apple's but doesn't get discussed much.
jdb
· 2 years ago
Although I'm skeptical of the whole "brand promise" premise, what is the brand promise of Microsoft? Vista promised "the wow." Apparently, it didn't deliver. Zune promised "the social." Again, no delivery. Maybe some people buy into Apple's brand promise because for them, what's in the ads is corroborated by reality. In my experience, your experience is atypical. Surveys about repair history and quality of support in the industry seem to confirm this.
Tom
· 2 years ago
#45,
"Contrary to #43, Apple is riding on only one cylinder, they’ve got everyone mesmerised with the Steve Jobs turtle neck sweater cult."
Thanks for proving my point. This is the kind of nonsense I was talking about; pulling out the old argument of a "cult" is BS and not a real argument at all. I posted a number of points, and am "countered" with a one-liner modeled after the same tired garbage Apple-bashers have been spewing for 20 years. Whatever.
Jeremy Wright
· 2 years ago
Robert, you may be getting caught in trying to eloquently express the "Brand Promise". The Brand Promise of Apple, as expressed in the commercials above, is simple: it'll be better than Windows.
End of story.
And your frustration, it sounds like, is that you're getting largely the same experience (or even worse).
Which sucks. I mean no it shouldn't be perfect. But it should be, according to the ads, better. Better with peripherals, requiring less restarts, better with viruses, requiring less user intervention, etc, etc, etc.
Tom
· 2 years ago
Excellent article. Best one I read so far on Mac fanboyism.
I own a macbook and had several problems with it, but for some reason, I am just addicted to its koolness and find it really really hard to open my blog and rant about it.
But my windows machine shows one glitch, I am all up and shouting on a platform.
Tom B
· 2 years ago
Don't trash Mossberg, even if he gets free hardware; if anything, he's very hard on Apple when they screw up. There's three kinds of tech journalists: People like Dvorak and Thurott and anyone in The Register who trash Apple ALL the TIME, for page hits. This is, by far the biggest category. People like Ikhnato and Le Vitus who like Apple products generally, but give solid reviews and point out problems when they arise. And "lawful neutrals"-- like Mossberg.
As a stockholder, when Iknatho said he'd held an IPhone in February and it actually worked (not a given), I knew it actually worked and bought more stock. Most others were theorizing about why Apple shouldn't even get into the handset biz. When Mossberg said he liked Leopard, I knew it worked for him on his set up. To be sure, if you get a bad DVD or have some conflict on your machine, your mileage may vary. I always wait for the first patch, at least, and don't do OS upgrades without an explicit need/want.
Brian
· 2 years ago
Scoble....sorry to hear about your Mac issues...as they say, sh*t happens, even with the best tech hardware. That said, whether other Mac users are smug, arrogant or cult-like is no more relevant to your situation than the fact that there are thousands of Mac users (like me) who have never had our Macs in for repair. So, our anecdotal evidence affirming the PR mantra, 'it just works,' tends to balance out your blog rant. I couldn't care less what Steve Jobs is smoking, as long as I can enjoy getting my computing done reliably..ymmv.
Erick
· 2 years ago
Nobody is perfect. No machine is perfects, certainly no software is perfect. What you seem to not understand is that overall the Mac hardware and software are a better build. You claim all your Windows machines and I'm guessing every single one you have ever used have never had to go to the shop. If thats the case, why use Apple stuff at all? Go back to Windows and forget about all this Mac stuff. I always tell people use what your comfortable with or happy with. If I claimed that none of my Windows hardware ever failed to the point of a return to the shop, I would stick with Windows and not bother with Apple gear.
John Seals
· 2 years ago
Scoble:
I get pissed at Apple a lot of the time too. But I always come back their machines are better overall and the OS just pounds Windows into the ground.
--Sparky
hyphenatedfeminist
· 2 years ago
I think you're overgeneralizing the Apple/Mac issues with the problems you're having with your specific machine. I bouthg an iBook 7 years ago, used it to death while finishing up my Masters, and gave it to my mother-in-law (who still uses it). The only problems I've had with it involved replacing the hard drive--after five solid years of use.
When I bought my new Powerbook three years ago, it was just as the MacBooks were coming out and I have yet to have a problem with it. I'm not a tech person by a long shot and I haven't "bought" into the ads. I was given a Mac almost 10 years ago after whining about the PC I had. I fell in love. It honestly didn't take any time to learn it (so, yes, it can be operated by idiots)and when I had the cash, I bought my iBook. Like I said, I'm on my third Mac and still, I've only had to replace one hard drive on one system.
But, I'm not a tech. Maybe that makes a difference.
Bill Riski
· 2 years ago
Otto said, "While I love Apple products, I too dislike the smugness attitudes. Honor people and let them make their own choices." Very well stated.
I'm a huge Apple fan. Love my iPod and iMac. Have bought and used Apple computers since 1979. In fact I owned serial number 3000! But I hate the arrogance and actions of the Apple Fan-bois.
Good for you Robert. Thoughtful piece. Though I may not agree with all of it, well put.
I held off upgrading recently cause my wife had a major paper due in her master's program. I like Apple, but sometimes it just makes sense to be cautious.
Now I'm off to upgrade to Leopard....
Ben
· 2 years ago
Robert
Have you ever stopped to consider that those Fanboys are fanboys because they have had a favourable experience with Apples? Or that your sample of one (you) actually represents the overall picture with regards to Mac vs PC? Surely not. Have there been as many reports about Leopard problems as about Vista problems? Surely not.
I object to being labled a fanboy because I made a switch to a better, more useable, more reliable and better designed OS on which I make a living - using an Apple product (Final Cut Pro) which totally transformed the industry in which I work. I can only assume that this is so called 'trolling' for hits on your blog - you can't really mean all this can you? Wouldn't a bit of real journalism on the actual situation of Mac vs PC be in order, rather than a personal rant?
david
· 2 years ago
Overall, people who criticize Apple get bombed when they are being dishonest, stupid, unfair, and most especially when they are being clueless. Lots of people can criticize about and get away with it. Truth is, I think you could do so. You are knowledgeable, you have spent time with both the PC and Mac, and you are generally honest. But your childish rant yesterday totally ruined your credibility. Until you own up to the fact that you misused your bully pulpit your credibility will be toast with Mac users. Be a man and admit that you overstepped the line yesterday.
Brett
· 2 years ago
Your unfortunate personal experience not withstanding, if in general, Leopard requires less troubleshooting than Vista, then Apple's TV commercial is not misleading.
I've no doubt that, in terms of percent adoption and overall satisfaction, Leopard's first year will prove to be more successful than Vista's.
Robert Scoble
· 2 years ago
Ben: you must have missed that I hang around geeks all day long. Most of the bloggers in my community have been using Macs for a long time. When I speak at conferences all you usually see are Macs.
But lately I've been hearing more and more about problems. Even Leo Laporte, when I listened to him on KGO radio last weekend, isn't as excited about Apple's products as he usually is. His listeners are turning on Apple's products lately and are dissatisfied.
Real journalism? Well, let me do real journalism then. I'd love to be able to interview an Apple employee about these issues but their PR team won't let me near a real employee who'll tell me anything about failure rates and such.
Robert Scoble
· 2 years ago
david: ruined my credibility? Let's see. How? By reporting that my machine was rebooting and crashing and rebooting and crashing? That's what it was doing. Even after zapping my PRAM it needed several more "safe" reboots before it'd start back up.
By reporting that my machine has been in the shop twice? Or that my son's machine has been in twice and needs to go back again?
Oh, by saying "screw you Apple?"
Well, the brand promise of Apple is that it's going to be better than Windows. It's not in my experience. And it's more expensive.
If that ruins my credibility in your eyes I think you need to go read Valleywag or the Register for your news cause you'll want someone more "credibile."
Robert Scoble
· 2 years ago
Brett: Vista runs great on my Mac in Parallels. It also ran great on my other machine before I gave it away (I gave it away because I bought into the idea that the Mac is better).
heavyboots
· 2 years ago
Mac user since the Lisa (I was in high school at the time, but a friend of my father had one and I got to play with it). I've owned almost exclusively Mac computers since the 512k, so I could be classified as a fanboy, I suppose. But that doesn't mean I'm a fan of the way they're being run right now!
Apple does a lot more stuff right than MS still, but you're definitely right about the smug ads. I hate those ads. I HATE when they attack security people pointing out flaws because they would rather protect the image that Macs don't get viruses than just fix the problem and thank the security researcher.
And I hate the fact that I filed numerous and repeated bug reports during Leopard beta testing, almost all of which were labeled as duplicates and yet not a single GUI issue I brought up changed at all (except that the menu bars got slightly more blurred rather than getting a freaking OFF switch).
scott hodson
· 2 years ago
Push on Robert! I use Mac and Windows Vista PCs and they each have their quirks and things that tick me off but I use the right tool for the right job, depending on what I'm developing and I try to work around the problems. We need more honesty in the PC industry and less Silicon Valley bubble PC (political correctness). There is definitely a certain "McCarthy-ism" about speaking bad of Macs if you want to be in the cool, Web 2.0 crowd. I've been a Windows developer forever and I didn't get my first Mac until I started learning Ruby on Rails because that's what everybody else seemed to be using. As some Rails developers joke, their Macbook is a $2,500 TextMate machine! If you're a Rails developer and you don't have a Mac you're looked upon like a retard by some. Just go to the next RailsConf, you'll see almost 100% Macs everywhere.
Ooh! David (from post 80), you are becoming all judgemental
Look at what you are saying
A guy who spent twice more than what he would have spent on a better PC, has no right to rant about his frustration. You are a customer yourself, would you stay quiet if your car broke down and does not start, if your tv hangs up in the middle of your favorite soap.
A mac is no different. If i spend thousands of dollars on a mac and it does not work, i have every right to rant the hell about it. There is nothing childish about it. It is genuine expression of a customer's dissatisfaction
ex2bot
· 2 years ago
I'm really surprised that you would write such a rant, Scoble. Did you really think Macs would "always work"? I don't believe it.
PC World's and Consumer Reports' computer reliability surveys have consistently shown that Apple's desktops and laptops are among the MOST reliable*, year after year after year. (That seemed to put PC World in a awkward position.)
Nevertheless, the reliability surveys didn't show Apple hardware and software to be flawless. There were no 100% satisfied, 100% reliable numbers in the surveys.
So how goofy is it for you to assume, as another commenter wrote, everything would always be dreamy?
And as for Mac fanboys versus Windows fanboys, there are a LOT MORE Windows fanboys writing nasty shit. Look around. Up until a few years ago, the online tech press was regularly writing articles skewering Apple, often unfairly. "Beleagured Apple", "Rotten Apple", etc.
Apple ain't perfect, and let's look at Microsoft. What kind of interesting things has that company done? Mercilessly destroying its competition, stealing code from Stacker and Apple, etc. Look at HP, Gateway, E Machines, Dell. They've all had hardware issues. Do we need a "Screw You!" to them too?
I don't think Microsoft is the biggest villain ever. But in the Windows world, it seems Apple is the biggest villain. One PC Mag editorial a few years ago even criticized Apple for being so successful with the iPod. At that point the conventional wisdom was that Apple should be shriveling up and bowing to inevitable defeat. Inevitable iPod Killer coming soon!
Now, Scoble says "screw you" to Apple because he's having computer problems. And Apple's supposed to be perfect. And those mean old Apple fanboys are leaving mean messages. Like what, I wonder? Writing mean things like, "Screw you!" to Robert? They're evil!!;)
Bot an electronic Apple fanboy (who doesn't leave nasty messages)
* Consumer Reports' latest reliability survey indicated, I think, that Apple laptops had slipped in reliability. I haven't read it, only a quick summary.
Tycho
· 2 years ago
I does seem to me that Mr. Scoble is arguing from a position of ignorance. I learned long ago not to extrapolate my personal experience to that of the rest of the world.
My own personal experience has been that my Macs have broken more often than my PCs, but that while they were working, they were vastly more pleasant to use.
A little Googling will show that larger surveys of users consistently reveal that Apple builds reliable hardware and software.
Here's a link that claims PCMag consistently ranks Apple very high. I didn't take the time to go directly to PCMag to verify the claim, I'm sure someone will refute the claim if it's false.
I believe JD Power usually ranks Apple highly as well. I suppose it's possible that Apple pays off all these sources to say nice things about them. If that's true, surely Microsoft and HP could send a few bucks to PCMag to tip the scales.
Mr. Scoble is just one person, I'm just one other. I wouldn't extrapolate either of our experiences to the broader population. Unfortunatly he would, and I think that discounts the value of his "journalism".
Cameron Reilly
· 2 years ago
Hey Robert, like you I'm another ex-MSFT employee who recently moved to the Mac. I bought my first Macbook Pro about a month ago. And while I love the hardware design, and certainly don't hate OSX, I did a podcast recently saying how, after a few weeks of using it, I didn't see what the big fuss was about. I don't think OSX is that much different to Vista. Both have features the other doesn't. Both have their own problems. The funny thing I've found is that since buying my Mac, all of the Mac fanboys who have been ragging on me for years are now saying "oh yeah, lots of problems. This sucks (eg Finder), that sucks (dragging apps to Trash doesn't really delete the app), but give it SIX MONTHS, and you'll love it."
Again - I *LOVE* the hardware. Sweet as. But my feeling is that Microsoft have pretty much caught up on the OS front. Of course, on the MBP I can run both Vista and OSX, which perhaps gives it a slight advantage over my Lenovo desktop. Now I have the best of both worlds. Sweet hardware and two operating systems.
Robert Scoble
· 2 years ago
ex2bot: listen, I'm in the computer industry. I know that they'll have problems from time to time.
But watch Apple's ads. They don't talk about potentially having problems. They make it sound like everything will always be peachy keen if you just join the iKult and buy a Mac.
I'm tired of the marketing. Well, that and now my email hasn't been working since Thursday because of one of the crashes. Sigh.
Tom
· 2 years ago
I really cannot believe some of the comments by Apple Fanboys here.
Reading Scoble's posts raised doubts about the Apple Fanboys' credibility, but the comments duly confirmed them.
They really are highly self defensive ra__ists
ex2bot
· 2 years ago
Okay, one more observation:
Robert, you're a computer expert, right? You are an expert troubleshooter after years and years of using computers. A good deal of that troubleshooting knowledge will help you with your Mac. A good deal won't. I don't know how long you've been using Macs, but is it possible that you need to learn more about Mac troubleshooting?
I'm not saying your software problems are your fault. But the sad reality is that computer users must be effective troubleshooters. On any platform.
Bot an electronic Apple fanboy who has manners
Robert Scoble
· 2 years ago
Cameron: if I could run OSX on other hardware I would. My Sony has been through a lot more hell than my Mac has. Its battery lasts longer and it's never had to go into the shop. Well, I take that back, the left mouse button is failing so it'll have to go in too, but that's after two years of giving it hard-core use.
Robert Scoble
· 2 years ago
ex2bot: >I don’t know how long you’ve been using Macs, but is it possible that you need to learn more about Mac troubleshooting?
THAT IS A BULLS**T ANSWER. Especially in defense of a company that has ads that Apple does. Apple doesn't talk about "you'll need to know what PRAM is, or how to boot your computer in safe mode." No, Apple's marketers have pushed their computers as "easy to use and safe from bugs."
Grrrr. It's this ATTITUDE that really pisses me off.
ex2bot
· 2 years ago
Re: the ads
Do Microsoft's ads warn Windows users about potential troubles.
When I authenticated Windows (like a couple dozen times, it seeemed), Microsoft was promising that Windows Genuine Advantage was going to benefit me somehow. All it's doing for me is slowing down my machine and hassling me.
Why am I talking about WGI? I play Windows games in Boot Camp on my Macbook Pro. Yes, I'm an expert Windows user too. I just like my Macs' Genuine Advantage hellofa lot better.
But those Windows games baby!!!
Bot Windows and XBox 360 games, MacBook Pro for the serious stuff
ex2bot
· 2 years ago
In what magical world do advertisements reflect reality?
Remember that guy selling the spray stuff that supposedly could hide your bald spot?
How about the "herbal medicine" ads, such as weight loss of increasing sexual prowess?
Want a company that's more respected? How about the Celebrex commercials that promised older couples with serious arthritis could dance, dance, dance the night away?
How about Microsoft who promised Windows 98 would be "more reliable". I remember that. It said so during install. Someone even had it crash at that point (or made it crash) and posted the picture on the Internet.
I'd love to live in a country where ads had to be truthful. It stinks that we don't.
Now, as far as me suggesting you might need new troubleshooting experiences, I realized just before I hit submit that you might take that as an insult. A "your fault" thing.
It was NOT intended that way. It's an observation after using Macs exclusively since 2001 that there are some entirely different troubleshooting practices with OS X compared to Windows. Again, it wasn't intended as an insult or as condescension.
Bot
Robert Scoble
· 2 years ago
>Do Microsoft’s ads warn Windows users about potential troubles.
I don't know. They said it's the new "Wow" if I remember them right.
That's far from "it'll be better than your XP experience." Or "it'll be better for you than MacOSX."
Robert Scoble
· 2 years ago
Ed: >"There’s no genius bar for Windows."
That's true. But Best Buy has "Geek Squad" instead. I like that marketing better. I can grok computers that only need a geek to run them instead of a genius. :-)
Joe Duck
· 2 years ago
How true. It's an Apple Religion. Adam, Eve, and an Apple. Hmmm - ominous?
vanni
· 2 years ago
Mr Scoble. I believe you have lost your temper. There is no computer made that is 100% reliable. But there are computers that are MORE reliable than others. I have worked with Macs, Wintels and unix boxes for over 25 years. I know from experience which is the easiest to maintain. I know from experience which is the most reliable. I know from experience which is the easiest to upgrade software on. I have NEVER had one iota of a problem with all the macs i have run. I did get a dud of a PowerBook two years back but it was replaced within a few months as it became obvious it was a "lemon". But overall the Macs have rock solid. I have never had any downtime with any of my desktops, I cant say the same for the wintel boxes. And i bet if you think back you'll see that your experiences were less than stellar in the windows world. The Vaio is a nice laptop... but it doesn't run Leopard. And there my friend is the catch-22. cheers and have a god one....
Robert Scoble
· 2 years ago
Vanni: why do all the Apple FanBois only have one name? I swear, almost all of the pro-Apple posts have been made by anonymous people with one name and no blogs.
Sounds like Apple employees to me.
And I know some CTO's who disagree with you on the maintainability of Apple's vs. Windows machines. But they can be easily discounted cause they are those evil "enterprise" users who have hundreds of thousands of machines.
ex2bot
· 2 years ago
I can imagine trying to "defend" Dell for something like this:
FRIEND: Your computer won't boot? Have you tried Safe Mode, do you have SpinRite? Norton?
COMPUTER OWNER: Why should I need to buy SpinRite? Why should I even have to know about this stuff? It should JUST WORK! After all, Dell says my machine is "All Powerful. All Beautiful"* If it's all powerful, it should FIX ITSELF!
Um, well, maybe you need to learn some Windows troubleshooting, you know, in case this ever ha-
Grrrr. It’s this ATTITUDE that really pisses me off. Dell says, "I'll make it happen.*" They should make it happen and MAKE MY MACHINE WORK. Just work! Always. MAKE IT HAPPEN.
Ooh, calm down there tiger. Why don't you just call Dell support?
No, no, NO! They PROMISED that their machines are ALL POWERFUL. Why should I need to call support if their ads are correct? Screw you, Dell!!!
Oh..kay.. How about Dell fan sites that offer support forums? You could look for a solution there. . .
Oh, yeah! Sure. Dell fanboys! They swamped my blog. What a horrible bunch of miscreants. I REFUSE to go to their support site. They'll probably blame it on me.
Um, yeah. I'm out of ideas here man. Good luck.
Yeah, I'll need it. I bought Dell. --------------------------------------- :) Next time, disgruntled Dell user goes to support site with huge chip on his shoulder and pisses off volunteers so they don't want to help him.
All hypothetical, of course.
Bot electronic hypothetical scenario generator
* These are quotes from ** actual Dell ads. ** No joke!
anonymous Tom
· 2 years ago
"But they can be easily discounted cause they are those evil “enterprise” users who have hundreds of thousands of machines."
Come on, Robert. You know the Enterprise IT guys are all on the MSFT payroll. My current IT guy keeps us on XP-- though he KNOWS we all use Macs at home (we're scientists). What does HE use at home? A Mac. What critical piece of Windows software do we use? I don't know-- Outlook, maybe? A pretty weak app, if you ask me, in this age of GMail.
"Evil" is a value judgement; they certainly know who butters their bread, though.
Robert Scoble
· 2 years ago
ex2bot: when I had a problem with a Dell machine they just FedExed me a new one.
anonymous Tom: your CTO gets paid by Microsoft? I'd love it if he'd come on my video and tell me that.
Maybe he keeps all the machines at work on Windows Windows because he knows he could push software to all 14,000 machines with the touch of a mouse (I've seen this done, it's really awesome). Maybe he does it because he knows that he'd get fired for buying machines that cost more but that don't provide more utility to the company. Maybe he does it because they are easier to program and because apps built 25 years ago still work on them? But, the idea that your CTO is on MSFT's payroll is a fascinating one.
Joe
· 2 years ago
Robert what do you think you're doing? don't you realize that you've crossed over into something completely different than just criticizing Apple or some of it's rabid fans.
To most Mac users their mac is like their favorite car, it's what they like and identify with, it appeals to them and they feel it fits their sense of style and that's ok.
But....then there's the other Mac fans, the ones who have crossed over from fandom to fanaticism, being an Apple fan and user isn't just a choice to them but the only way of life, their Macs have become a religion and their devoted..it's a belief.
Their not Catholics or Jews or Muslims, their Mac fanatics and Apple is their church and Steven Jobs their Messiah.They have made the choice to carry a cross on behalf of Apple at any cost, logic be damned.
You can always tell the Mac fanatic by their defensive posture, the blank stare that you get when you even suggest that you have a problem with your Mac,the accusations that you must be an agent of Bill Gates and his minions.
You realize that there's a problem when they refer to Steven Jobs as Steve when they talk about Apple or one of the corporations products, even though they have never met much less been in the same room with him.
I don't believe that you bought into the hype Robert or that you where suckered by the Reality distortion field.no the problem here is that you have me too syndrome, especially living and working where you do,
You felt that you had to do what everybody else in the valley is doing, and in the end you were let down by your decision.
I'd respect you more if you used a think pad with Ubuntu Linux, not because I like Linux..I Don't, but a least it would show that you really did your own thing.
But a least you're willing to admit it and call Apple out on it, it's what Apple needs, in the end it would make it a much better company, strange concept for Apple..accountability to it's fans and users.
BilMe
· 2 years ago
I assume there are people dumb enough to buy into this pathetic rant. But anyone familiar with Apple products and those designed exclusively for Windows is well aware that Macs are far more reliable. And it isn't that Consumer Reports and JD Powers studies say so, it's just because the hardware and software are designed to operate together, and don't require zillions of combinations to be accounted for. Of course there's the matter of viruses and worms which are enormously more prevalent for Windows machines.
But let's forget about the facts and pretend this rant has actual merit. Then maybe we can pretend the moon is made of cheese.
ex2bot
· 2 years ago
I guess people just ignore the warts of the platform they identify themselves with.
This Apple church thing. It seems like the implication is that Apple users are foolishly associated with the not-Microsoft. Therefore, they must be like a cult, mindlessly following The Steve.
It is really strange that people call Steven P. Jobs "Steve". That's screwy. Weird. Twisted. Of course, that's what he calls himself. Very seldom does anyone call him Steven. Not even Mr. Robert Scoble.
By the way, to the author of the message above (7:40 P.M.) I don't know you very well, but you signed your message with a simple first name. What, if I may ask, is your full name? I wouldn't dream of calling you "Joe". How twisted would that be? ;)
I'm also disappointed that all the cool kids are doing the Apple thing. That's not very imaginative and different. Scoble _should_ be more independently minded. I say he should start using Windows.
Ex2 the Bot electronic formal addresser and sarcasticator
ex2bot
· 2 years ago
Mr. Robert Scoble,
I think the idea in the dell scenario was that you shouldn't have to call them at all because they're ALL POWERFUL. After all, that's what their ad says. I just visited their beautiful site.
The fact that you had to call for support suggests that they broke their promise. The Dell Promise. "All Powerful" Screw you, Dell!
Bot electronic back-to-the-pointer and inadvertent Dell insulter
Sheraz
· 2 years ago
I just bought a vista machine yesterday, it is now 24 hours later and I cant be happier, the system is running without any issues it runs smoothly, i have loaded all the software that I had on my xp machine plus more. I have no idea what people are complaining about.
Robert Scoble
· 2 years ago
Joe: heh, if I were really different I'd start using Android!
Linux? I use it all the time. It's what runs my favorite blog software. It's what runs my favorite photo sharing site. It's what runs underneath my docs and spreadsheets. Under my favorite search engine. And on and on.
:-)
ex2bot
· 2 years ago
I actually installed OS X 10.5 Leopard on two of my machines. Both are working flawlessly. Because I haven't had any problems at all on my two machines, I have no idea what people are complaining about.
After all, if my machines work, that's all that matters.
I KID! (if you haven't noticed.) Who says robots have no sense of humour?
Bot electronic trickster and English muffin
Joe
· 2 years ago
Actually I don't know Steve Jobs, so I would Just call Him..well Steve Jobs. I don't know Bill Gates either, so I just call him Bill Gates, I could care less what other people think are cool, If they feel like a Mac is their thing then by all means,But I don't see some guy with a Mac and think wow you're the man.
You noticed that too, huh? Funny, I noticed the same thing. Unfortunately, they're not that good at covering their tracks. I confirmed at least one "first name only, no blog" commenter that was an Apple employee. They forget that WP shows you their email and IP address. ;-)
Cali Lewsi
· 2 years ago
Robert, you know I'm an Apple fangirl. I've had trouble with Leopard running FCP apps. The recent upgrade fixed my issues like I expected it to.
All in all, I think you've taken "just works" to mean "never has problems." Even a diamond has flaws.
I get hundreds of tech questions a week. At least three-fourths of the questions wouldn't be questions if the askers were on a Mac.
I've had Mac issues in my life that have wrecked a few hours. I've had Windows issues that have wrecked weeks. No system is flawless. Mac is just better.
Pop
· 2 years ago
Maybe it's the new Intel machines that have problems (not trying to move the blame from Apple to Intel, mind you). Tom Yager was saying something about that when his machine turned into a brick during the upgrade.
I've been using a Power Mac for 2 years now. Upgraded it to Leopard nicely. I kinda believe the promise because it's what I'm used to: it just works. Mine does, anyway, but maybe I'm just lucky.
Anyway, here's hoping someone at Apple reads your blog. They can't really afford to look lame like this. They got to get their act together ASAP (including the crippled iPhone).
Robert Scoble
· 2 years ago
Cali: well, since 2000 I've owned quite a few machines and I've never been without a machine for a week (twice) like I have been with my Apple machines and my son had the same experience and his needs to go back for a third time too. One time his was in the shop for 10 days.
By the way, it'd be awesome if you answered those tech questions on your blog instead of via email. Within a few weeks that'd be an awesome resource.
Robert Scoble
· 2 years ago
Pop: someone from Apple called me yesterday (not PR, just an everyday employee who wanted to help). That was indeed nice. But the real problem is my machine makes me feel worried. Since it's been in the shop twice and now had the problems again I'm backing everything up just in case and probably will do a wipe and install.
elijahblue
· 2 years ago
I'm an ex-Apple employee. Worked in the Valley for 10 years.
And I agree with you.
Apple is arrogant. I left the company to escape the reality distortion field it creates around all it's people. We used to call it 'buying into the fairy dust'.
Oh.. and Vista sucks a good portion of the time (one of my machines has it.. most crash prone of all my boxes).
And Ubuntu isn't all the spiffy. Still not something my Mom can use.
These things are just tools. Like saws, or hammers. Computers manipulate little chunks of light around a screen (vs. a nail or, a piece of wood). It's just tool.
You people in Silicon Valley really need to get out (and way from your computers) more.
EB
Scott Barnes
· 2 years ago
Robert,
One thing that stood out for me in the apple experience is the fact that piracy is waiting to be had. In that when I got my iMac + MacBook Pro (at Microsofts expense - see we do play well with others) I was scratching my head trying to find alternatives to software I loved on Windows.
I found Mac folks helpful, but noticed a lot of shareware etc. Anyway before I go to whip out the corporate amex i get offers "here i'll send you a copy.." - being Microsoft and Piracy is pretty much a guranteed dismissal, politely declined. This then made me think about how do Software vendors get around the fact that Apple has no "registry".
I began to look under the covers and for legal reasons i can't express an open opinion on the matter, suffice to say I can see why Gaming companies shy away from Apple (when you think about it, Apple should be the ultimate gaming platform dream, in that it's prescribed hardware and sure it may not have the latest video cards but it can be a market that they can control surely).
At anyrate, I've not gotten as much "productivity" as the folks whom abuse you preeched and still find myself inside Windows Vista? (so essentially i spent around $10k for Mac iLife and the ability to run Windows Vista via Bootcamp/VMWARE?)
:P I like the Apple Experience but *shrug* i've not found a compelling reason to recommend it to others yet (other than iLife?)
- Scott Barnes RIA Evangelist Microsoft.
Bob Caswell
· 2 years ago
It will be interesting to see what happens if/when Macs hit that critical mass. While it's not the best comparison (for other reasons), a few years back Dell was the talk of the town, that is, until it got too popular. Now it's on its way back up but only after learning from some serious mistakes.
But Apple inevitably knows its weaknesses and will likely address them eventually (hopefully sooner rather than later). Scoble is only the beginning of Apple hell stories, provided the company continues into the more mainstream with its computers (that's what we all want, right? Or maybe not...).
ex2bot
· 2 years ago
Re: More Mac users are filthy pirates
I heard that same argument when I was using Atari computers and Amigas. The minority computing environment is a haven for pirates.
Do we have data on this? Or are the humans committing hasty generalizations? Logic. It's not just for breakfast anymore!
Bot pure logic
ex2bot
· 2 years ago
Here's Microsoft being slammed in the UK for a misleading ad:
(Of course, Apple was also slammed in the UK for claiming the G5 Power Mac was the fastest PC in the world.)
Cali Lewis
· 2 years ago
Robert, I do answer tech questions on my blog (dearcali.com).
I can understand your frustration. I've never had to sacrifice my Mac to the geniuses for more than a half a day, but your experience with this update isn't the norm. I know it seams that way because it happened to you and your son.
Ultimately, I think it's good that you're sharing your frustration with the rest of us because Apple want's to be perfect. It's impossible, but every time someone points out how they're not perfect, it seems to inspire a new level of excellence. Sorry if I'm dipping into fangirl territory again. I can't exactly help it. :)
Tom
· 2 years ago
Looks like this ex2bot guy (131) has a full-time job of defending Apple. He posted so many comments here defending Apple, all to prove that Scoble is wrong about posting that he has a bad experience with an Apple update.
I am sorry that he has to work on Weekends too.
Anando Chatterjee
· 2 years ago
Scoble,
I would like to congratulate you on such a well written blog post. This is so new and refreshing. Good job !!
Paul Short
· 2 years ago
Brilliant Robert!
@commenters - If you have to use a particular brand of computer hardware to define who you are...
Steve Jobs IS God!
Leslie Wong
· 2 years ago
Instead of going back to your Vaio, why don't you run Windows on your Mac? I like Vista more on my Macbook than I do Leopard.
The brand promise of Apple is just an extension of Job's reality distortion field. It looked like you bought into it when you were exuding joy when you and Patrick got your iPhones.
I still have my Apple II+ and I supported Macs and PCs at at ABC's Media Lab. Before the Mac OS got protected memory, I was calling them Macintrashes.
You seem to be indignant that you bought into it, but I know you wouldn't be who you are, if you weren't a lot smarter than that.
exi2499
· 2 years ago
I use an Apple for video editing. I use a PC for video editing. They both have bugs... they both have issues... they both have locked up on me. Grrr.
Bottom line, these are machines and software made by... you guessed it - people. And people make mistakes. Thus, the software they write makes mistakes. If they were threatened with a lawsuit (not condoning entitlement) every time a machine crashed, they might spend a little more time in testing, but that's another story.
Scoble's point is that Apple is doing a great job at marketing. They run clever, funny national campaigns that are very believable. Once you have your Apple and it crashes, you justify the failure and defend Apple because their product just works. That is their campaign goal, and in that respect, props to Apple for great marketing. Problem with the campaigns is that they're just not accurate, but you don't have to believe them. But they are funny.
The good news is that Apple is increasing their market share and that's making ALL software companies think about their products in new ways. The next wave of innovation is around the corner, and we have this type of competition to thank.
Mat Pancha
· 2 years ago
Wow, finally an apple site/blog I can look forward to reading. I'm always on the hunt for a new apple site, b/c every one that I find ends up being to fan boyish.
Love the article, I look forward to more unbiased apple posts!
trademark registration
· 2 years ago
Well Apple certainly has the best marketing firm, since their brand has become synonymous with "cool" and "best." I bought into that when I was in college. Bought an iMac, and it died on me not two years later. I never bought an Apple computer again.
Uncle Unctuous
· 2 years ago
If you've followed this idiotic argument to this point, do this: scroll back to the top, and replay the 30-second commercial that Robert's so upset about.
Hardly worth having an aneurysm over, what?
adir1
· 2 years ago
I just had a conversation Yesterday with an old friend of mine about whether to get a Mac laptop or a Vista laptop (like Dell).
I am pretty open minded and we held a long pro/con discussion, keeping it as non-techie as possible, and still ended up with Dell Vista laptop.
Bottom line, with today's complexity of software and hardware platforms, bugs are bound to sneak in. And I should know, I manage big dev team for a living!
Murdock Scott
· 2 years ago
"Apple’s products are aesthetically well made, but I’ve found they usually fail more often than other brands."
Robert: I am sorry that you have had this experience, but I strongly disagree. I can honestly say that my experience has been the exact opposite. I have used macs and PCs since a 512k "Fat Mac" was the hot thing. I have watched PC's sputter and die over and over soaking up huge amounts of man-hours to trouble shoot, meanwhile macs in the same studios doing similar tasks would chug along gleefully. Not to say the macs would never have problems (all computers do) but to a much lesser extent.
I respect that you may have had the same luck with Apple, but for me, I can say without hesitation that the company has rarely let down on both hardware or software fronts. I really can't say the same for many other brands. People who trust Apple are not always motivated by a "cool factor"... many of us just have a long history of Apple products working better for us personally.
I hope your bad luck with macs Improves or my bad luck with PCs does. Gonna go fire up my Lisa now. (I would be glad to send you a pic of her loading up macpaint if you like).
Dawn
· 2 years ago
Oh, shoot. And I liked these commercials. I was even going to buy Macs when I get my venture money.
Hmmmmmm...now I'll have to keep thinking.
Philip Machanick
· 2 years ago
"But watch Apple’s ads. They don’t talk about potentially having problems. They make it sound like everything will always be peachy keen if you just join the iKult and buy a Mac."
That's moronic.
Every product has downsides, flaws or you had the bad luck to buy one that broke. Microsoft's ads tell you now to consider trying a Mac in case it's better? Or even better still: you're an idiot to shell out for a Windows-based server solution which Linux can do for free and better? Tell me where to look. Microsoft.com is a big site and I haven't found their honest ads section yet.
Point me to ONE ad for ANY product that warns you loud and clear that "product may fail". That's not Marketing's job. That's Legal's job (read the disclaimer aka warrantee, not the ad).
What some people will do to troll for page hits.
Some Guy
· 2 years ago
So Robert's hard disk was jacked up and his upgrade didn't work out so well -- and this was caused by Apple commercials how? Robert comes off like a whiney assed titty baby. Stuff breaks, deal and move on. I'd hate to see how Robert would act if something really bad happened to him.
Joseph
· 2 years ago
"I watch that video over and over again and I get really pissed."
It's a Mac vs. PC TV ad. It's marketing. It's business. You sound like a whiney self-indulgent high school student and your comments suggest that half your anger is because Apple doesn't give you free stuff. Return what you bought to Apple and ask for a refund.
Mike
· 2 years ago
I so love this entry. As a programmer (and I actually wrote a small OS myself a long time ago) I have always known the stupidity of the Mac vs. Windows claims, but choose to remain silent. After all, they were hardly ever based on facts. But I'm glad you're speaking up Robert, and enjoying it :)
Mike
· 2 years ago
PS: I immensily admire Apple's marketing, and find Microsoft's embarrassing at times. In fact, if I knew anything of marketing, I would offer my services for free to Microsoft just to end this mess. But in the end, the user should look past marketing.
mal
· 2 years ago
commercials are marketing and marketing is the furthest thing from engineering i can think of.
i demand new hardware - it is my fault. where's my new model mac pro? there may be an engineer sitting at his desk staring at this comment and he can't say "we'll ship after i feel warm and fuzzy." He probably has a deadline set by marketing. and i'm demanding it. yet it doesn't work - chips have flaws, video drivers haven't been written - still ill take it now and let them fix it later. the focus they get from having to fix a flaw must be greater once they've shipped.
if microsoft didn't ship until all bugs were fixed where would we be? If the shuttle didn't launch until there were no chance of catastrophic atmospheric reentry they wouldn't even gas up.
by shipping - with bugs - it illuminates the bigger problems which may be what you are concerned with. why is apple so closed? why 'can't' you load os/x on your sony? why dont they blog? why has quality manufacturing left america? why does apple have lawyers who threaten to sue a little girl for a suggestion? why are corporations so dumb? why cant i turn my iphone into a wonder-twin activated global positioning capable geosynchronously positioned satelite for telling everybody in the lower 2/3'rds of the milky way that right now i am blogging!
i've used computers so long i have laundry lists of pros and cons w/rt a cornucopia of hardware/software combinations. but in the end - i want the system that was designed with at least part of a vision i can share. where someone could wake up in the middle of the night for want of a feature - and some how get that feature to market, despite marketing.
Jarod
· 2 years ago
Once you go Mac, you don't go back. Simple as that.
Mac = the elite
The rest = well..frustrated fools that write columns like this. LOL.
Theodore Denovan
· 2 years ago
You certainly raise an entirely accurate point, however I'm not altogether certain that it's relevant. Surely the cult-like reverence which enshrouds apple is, if anything, a testament to the ingenuity of their marketing and brand.
whilst I concur that the faults are of course due to the machine, and that to some degree the representations, (such as functionality), on which they've built a brand contradict this, I maintain there is a far more fundamental reason why people purchase apple products. And the brand is precisely that, the mere connotations of an association with apple, regardless of the merit of their intimations concerning functionality, is the crux of the enticement responsible for Apple's sales.
Nevertheless, it's decidedly refreshing to read a post not quite as callously Apple-esque as the rest, my thanks.
Iñaki Silanes
· 2 years ago
Dear Robert,
As an ardent defender of free software, I'd advise you to dump that piece of crap, together with Windows, and go for Linux.
In the beginning the steep learning curve might seem daunting, but actually 99% of the things can be done with fancy GUIs like Mac or Windows. Oh, and Linux actually just works. Once you get things running, you will never see them crash, or behave "in a strange way". You will never say "Hey, this program didn't do that before!", or "What's going on here? The computer wasn't so slow some days before".
Comment #142 says "Once you go Mac, you don’t go back.". Bullshit. I hear tons of long time Mac and Windows users go mad at it and decide to go for Linux (or from Mac to Win and vice versa), but not with Linux. Yes, some recent ex-Windows or ex-Mac slav... users go to Linux, decide it's not for them, and get back. But not a single LONG TIME Linux user gets fed up with it and gets back to Win or Mac. Do you?
Dave
· 2 years ago
My question: Why the f**k is an operating system a "religion" to some people? Seriously folks - you need to get the hell outside and get a hobby. Your preaching about an O/S, ANY O/S is really, really freaking sad. We really don't care if your buttons are smooth and glossy and you experience less crashes. You will still be worm food like the rest of us.
Not to mention the pure shallowness of it all. There are people DYING because they don't have adequate food and water. How's Apple and your precioussss Mac helping there? At least Bill Gates is spending my Vista money on curing major diseases and improving people's lives...
Bleh. Get a life. All of you.
camel jockey
· 2 years ago
My experience has been the complete opposite. ALL of my windows products have burnt and crashed-toshiba, hp, gateway, and the new dell laptop-vista is terrible.
Apple just works, always has. Software updates work smoothly and seemlessly-unlike anything from microsoft.
my favorite microsoft story: bought streets and trips with gps for my pos dell laptop. Streets installed ok, but the machine would not recognize the gps unit-and it was by microsoft! i finally had to go into hardware and make it find the ports or something, but this would NEVER happen on my mac.
PS: I love my iphone,greatest product ever invented. unlike zune.
look
· 2 years ago
a windows user will allways stay a windows user...that's who you are scoble!
*not that there is nothing wrong with it.
ron
· 2 years ago
No mac for you...Next:)
Mark
· 2 years ago
You are not really a journalists. Steven Levy and Walt Mossberg are.
Ed
· 2 years ago
This fall I decided to replace my three+ year-old Windows XP laptop with a new one. I had helped my daughter-in-law buy one of the new Apple Macbooks and she raves about it. My good friend in NJ has used Macs since the 1984 roll out of the Mac line. So I went on line to check out reviews, etc. Very tempted. However, I knew that although I could dual-boot a Mac, I probably would have some issues changing over completely to Apple. Also noticed that there were just as many posts online about people having issues with Apple OS upgrades as with people going from XP to Vista.
My biggest concern was that the new laptop would likely come with Vista. Now that gave me pause. Heard and read about all kinds of compatibility issues going from XP to Vista.
I decided that I also wanted a smaller "lap-print" -- 13" or less screen. After much research online and at local retail stores I chose a Toshiba model that came in at about 1/2 the cost of a comparably equipped Macbook or other brand Windows machine by Dell or Sony, 2 meg of RAM and a reasonably fast Core Duo processor. Etc. Very good deal, to put it mildly.
So far I have found the laptop to be suberb. Very happy. So is my wallet.
More to the point: Vista turns out to be very flexible with running XP software. I've loaded lots of old software just fine. AND I am finding the interface more enjoyable and useful than XP. I think that Vista is getting a bad rap. I am glad that I didn't let Vista get in the way of upgrading.
Finally: it's all up to how well the user interacts with whatever hardware/software is out there. If it works for you, that's what counts.
Ben Ames
· 2 years ago
I don't think that Apple's marketing and brand promises are any worse than Microsoft's. It's all about the spin and the limits of "Truth in advertising". Ironically both companies promised a lot and delivered practically nothing. Vista is no where near what MS said it was going to be, same with Leopard.
Not everybody wants to use the same tool to get the job done, that is why you have choices. I prefer to use a Mac, I have a PC, but don't really use it much. Now I don't think that everyone should use a Mac, because then that would create a monopoly and stifle innovation. I also believe that no computer company is perfect and once in a while Apple can create OS updates like MS's ME. Like any other application or OS, it's always good to wait until whatever bugs are worked out, if not, treat it like beta, like XP before SP2, or Vista.
Harold
· 2 years ago
For most people like myself using apple products like a mac or an iphone is not some philosophical journey but rather just using products that look really good and work really well! Your article does not apply to the vast majority of consumers.
For example, I love my iphone. I have been doing almost all of my email on my phone instead on on the computer. It stopped charging properly after several months. I made an appointment at the "genius" bar in an apple store and brought the phone in. They took a look at it and exchanged it for a new one on the spot!!!!
Before my iphone I had a treo. When that phone stopped working correctly I was stuck. The store where I bought it did nothing for me and I was unable to exchange it. I just had to keep using it even though I had to charge it twice a day.
That is one of the big differences between apple and other companies. Apple took care of my problem and actually seemed to care!
maxplanar
· 2 years ago
There's a background story here on the advertising story you may not be aware of. Lee Clow, the Creative Director of Chiat/Day, Apple's advertising agency, has always done 'rebellious' advertising. From a regular-joe working class background, and very much an advertising outsider by being from the West Coast rather than the bluebloods who ran the NYC agencies, he has consistently defined the brands he has worked on as the underdog, the choice of the new generation, etc. His advertising agency used to fly a pirate flag over the building. It is his entire MO, and it was the technique he used to burst onto the natioanl adland scene in the 1980's with brands like West Coast Cooler and more. Prior to the work of him and Hal Riney in SF, all advertising was done out of NYC. His '1984' Apple ad was the 'ne plus ultra' of this 'rebeltising'.
In the mid-90's, after Jobs left Apple, Chiat/Day was released from its contract, and the advertising became duller, more 'beige-box and price' in the Amelio years. When Jobs came back, he reinstated Chiat/Day and put Clow back on the job, resulting immediately in the 'Think Different' campaign. another campaign that placed the brand in the 'challenger/underdog/smarter choice' category.
Perhaps your problem lies more with Lee Clow's vision of the Apple brand than anything.
Folletto Malefico
· 2 years ago
Scoble, here the issue is not about technology, it's about sociology.
Strip apart everything, and you'll have an Apple machine and a PC machine, in other words, two PCs. And that's all. One could be better for some tasks and in some fields, and the other in other tasks and other fields. And that's all.
Both have bugs, since everything in this world is bugged. Both need repair and little fixed here and there.
The most important thing here is that YOU HAVE CHOICE. I could choose OS X, Windows or Linux three top-tier OSes and enjoy them all. Since this is the ONLY difference between an Apple PC and any other PC.
So, in my very humble opinion, I'll suggest just one thing to you Scoble: please don't fall on the opposite extremism. Fanboys are fanboys and that attitude is bad wherever you say "Love Apple", "Love MS", "Love Linux" or "Hate" variant.
We have emotions and it's GOOD, so we hate and love. But we could keep emotions AND balance. ;)
John Whiteside
· 2 years ago
OK, this is really silly. The brand promise of Apple is that things will work more smoothly than with a Windows machine, and having extensively used both varieties of PC, they do deliver on it. "More smoothly" isn't perfect.
You did get pounced on because you dared to question Apple, you got pounced on because your criticism was silly. Your complaint with Apple was that your computer wasn't working right. The end. It wasn't "and when I called tech support, they gave me the runaround" or anything like that; you had a problem and you started screeching "screw you, screw you." Why should anybody take that seriously?
It's pretty funny that you characterize your post in such neutral terms as "writing about it on your blog." Go back and read what you wrote. If you had written, "My Mac is doing X, I'm really frustrated," you probably would have gotten a lot of comments suggesting fixes. You threw a tantrum instead, and people reacted to the tantrum. Big surprise.
I don't know you, and I would never assume that someone's writing gives you a clear picture of their personality, but in that particular post you came across as a brat with poor impulse control. Sorry. And the "plus I don't get free stuff" just played right into that.
We all have those moments when we rant, and blogs make it all too easy to make them part of our permanent record; the mature thing to do is take responsibility for what we write, even at our worst moments. You might consider it.
Brenda Hodson
· 2 years ago
I haven't enjoyed your posts in quite a long time, but I must say, you've absolutely nailed it on this one. BRILLIANT!
Robert Scoble
· 2 years ago
>a windows user will allways stay a windows user…that’s who you are scoble!
Hah, in 1977 I was an Apple II user (all the way until the mid 1980s). That was my first computer. I grew up a mile or so from Apple computer in Cupertino. I was a member of the first computer club at Hyde Jr. High, where I helped unbox the first computers used there. Got a tour of Apple when it was one building, too.
Then I got into Macs from 1988 through 1993.
Then Windows NT converted me to the Microsoft side of the house where I stayed until last year. Now I use both Macs and Windows machines (and Linux once in a while).
Steve Wozniak gave me $40,000 in college to buy Macs for our journalism department back in 1989.
So, if anything, I'm an Apple fanboi more than a Windows one.
g
· 2 years ago
the funny thing is that The Mac is actually moving toward Windows. Wasn't Apple ironic about the thousands of dialog boxes in Vista? With Leopard, now they have too. Same thing with bugs. Few days after Leopard was out some clever people discovered that all Macs had suffered a major bug for years. And don't try to say that Apple is smart because rushed a major update in 20 days, because that makes things even worse. The story is, when you grow on user base, like Apple does, you have to face problems that you didn't have before and you need to pay more attention on what you're doing BEFORE you do it.
ex2bot
· 2 years ago
It amazes and saddens me that people base impressions of hardware reliability on affiliation or website forum posts. Doesn't anyone take logic 101 anymore?
What do you need to be able to tell if Apple hardware is more or less reliable than, say, Dell? You need nothing less than a properly run research.
The PC World / PC Mag / Consumer Reports reliability surveys have consistently shown Apple's desktop and laptop* reliability to be #1 (or #2 to IBM). All others' reliability (in the surveys) were worse.
No emotion, no "my sister had a crappy machine so that brand sucks", no "the company has sassy / unbelievable / "lifestyle" commercials, no "Ooh, that company rubs me the WRONG WAY!" No. Research. And those reliability surveys are the best we have.
Is human intelligence an oxymoron? Now, I'm human too, so I'm not excepting myself here. But come on! Oh, wait! I'm not human. I'm robot.
Bot human-like electronic transactor with solid logic
* I read a summary of the latest CU survey and apparently Apple's laptop reliability has slipped. I don't know the full details. Check it out if you're interested.
Alex
· 2 years ago
With response to "g" and others, Apple is by no means "moving towards Windows." Apple invented the multitude of ideas incorporated into Vista and other Operating Systems, and CAN NOT and SHOULD NOT be labeled as "moving towards Windows." It is ironic that so many Windows fanboys are deemed suitable on a blog, while any Mac fanboys or enthusiasts are quickly hushed or removed.
I own a MacBook, and switched from a buggy PC that I used for years only two months ago, and I could not be happier. The stability incorporated into the new Mac OS X release "Leopard" is astonishing, and was well worth the $129. I purchased Vista Ultimate in excess of $250 for my PC, and was instantly throttled by restrictions due to older hardware, making the PC incapable of even installing the new OS. A computer two years old should have no problem performing in newer operating systems, as Apple has so readily understood. My PC had 512 MB of RAM, an 80GB hard drive, and other statistics which should have easily allowed it to run Vista. But alas, such was not true. Apple computers from five or more years ago are capable of running Leopard, many without ANY problems.
I posted the history about my computer usage to illustrate the horrific point of Ryan Block, who writes for Engadget. His main source for his utter hatred of Apple and their products comes from his own experiences. Well from my experiences, as well as those from many, many satisfied Mac owners, Apple is almost god-like in comparison to Microsoft in terms of customer satisfaction, customer service, and reliability.
Everything I say is not due to my "love" for Apple, but rather my own experiences, and Apple's commitment to excellence. I am not a "fanboy", but this post will probably still be erased.
fred graver
· 2 years ago
Let's give the unthinking / unquestioning loyalists a name -- Apple Scruffs, a term George Harrison coined for the groupies who hung outside his studio. (Song's on All Things Must Pass... you can download it off of iTunes ;-)
Alex
· 2 years ago
In retort, I am not an "unthinking / unquestioning loyalist". I have actively used Windows 95, 98, ME, XP, and Vista, Ubuntu, Kubuntu, and Mac OS X. I am not unquestioning or unthinking, but rather informed and knowledgeable. There are many fanboys out there, but I take offense to being called one. I use Apple's products with confidence, because that is all that they have ever given me to expect. Windows, on the other hand, is almost a polar opposite. Not one of my experiences with the company, their products, or their support has ever led me to take confidence in them.
E Gigante
· 2 years ago
This summer I finally convinced my employer to switch all of our office computers over to Macs, after a summer of hell with the gravely corrupted PCs we were running. I have been a devoted Mac user for over fifteen years without issue. They're worth every penny, and you PC users can keep trying to imitate the Mac OS (ie Vista) but why not just go with the real thing?
RJ
· 2 years ago
The rant at the top of the page is such an incoherent bash that it had to be there just to bump up page hits. The Dvorak approach.
DRew
· 2 years ago
Good heavens - such a fuss.
Mr. Scoble - I understand your frustration with having a computer that does not behave properly. That said, it seems that you would be savvy enough to realize that anecdotal evidence based on one user's experience (or even two, if you include your son) is not enough to either prove or disprove Apple's marketing claims.
For example - I once owned a Chevy Vega, and it gave me no problems at all during the years I owned it. I know a guy with a Toyota pickup that gave him no end of problems, and he ended up having to return it using CA's lemon law. Based on that, would I claim that Chevy's are more reliable than Toyotas? Would he be right to complain about how Toyota's claims of reliability are a farce and how dare they be so smug about reliability when he had issues X, Y, and Z?
It is pure silliness to use anecdotal evidence like that to try and support a position, at least if you want it to be defensible. It is the old "but I have an uncle who smoked every day and lived to be 100, so smoking isn't bad!" argument.
THAT is how I would say your article saps just a bit of your credibility - I find it tough to believe that you don't understand the issues with anecdotal evidence, which leads me to believe that you do, but in your anger you chose to ignore it. My suspicion is that you were simply angry, and lashed out - fine, I have been angry with Apple (and Commodore and Dell, when I had problems with their respective machines), but it does seem a little silly to build such a broad argument based on such little evidence.
Drew
Drew
· 2 years ago
Sorry for the followup - I see someone else made a similar point above (ex2bot). The one hting I would say is that I just looked at CU's laptop reliability index, and saw that the best company rated a 20, and Apple a 23, but that they specifically say that 3 points is within the margin of error, so means not significantly different.
Tough for me to figure out what that really means, without better understanding what sorts of issues they were judging. If it is hardware failure rate, I would expect Apple hard drives, for example, to fail at the same rate as Dell's, since they are essentially the same. If it includes things like system freezes, driver issues, etc., then it may well suggest that, in this survey, they were statistically indistinguishable.
d
PaulRP
· 2 years ago
Apple says, "Macs just work" If I had a Mac and it did not "just work", I would be pissed too.
The primary reason I do not have a Mac, is that I like the ability upgrade my systems hardware.
pico
· 2 years ago
I wish you'd just drop the article and the comments. that would stop feed the fire.
pico
· 2 years ago
of course, I'm a mac user... found out that americans in average spend 12 hours per month fixing their computer. then i thought, "no wonder, 95% of computers run windows". I spend about 20 min on computer "problems" which, in 9 out of 10 cases, just means that I need help figuring out how something works. but it all depends on how you use your computer. I spent a good 9-10 hours on it every day and use at least a dozen applications regularly. but I don't need to EVER fiddle with a graphics card (they have hundreds of those??) or add'l RAM or what have you. my computer just WORKS ;-)
Bizarro Ballmer
· 2 years ago
let it go..................................let ......it .........go.
move on
Pete West
· 2 years ago
Anyone who likes Apple is a "FanBoi"? - really this juvenile crap needs to stop. There are shills on both sides of the OS divide - cracks about "FanBois" do nothing to further understanding. A computer is a machine that doesn't always behave as expected. Since computers were invented, they have exhibited some degree of fragility ... Nothing is guaranteed - your computer will not change your life - if you buy a computer because of "Brand Promise" and the expectation that it will somehow transform you then you have REAL problems. Buy the best tool for the job - if that tool doesn't work properly, buy a different tool - it's that simple.
Paul
· 2 years ago
Hi Robert,
I have been following these conversations around your Mac problems and the sum advertising campaign. As a binlingual user (trilingual if you count my pure unix stuff, though that's not mainstream), I find these problems prevanlent throughtout, and maybe it's OK to say "we expect his as Windows users" or maybe it's par fo the course with complicated unix commands, but what really got me were a couple things, and I think the first has been covered:
1. You are very experienced with technology and know that things can go wrong--what happened to reading the manual, using the web (for god sakes of all people, you should) to find these answers (because they're there). You now that nothing works perfectly, and certainly not to the level an ad claims. I think you took a lot of heat for this, and personally I think you deserved it because it was a bit too annoying. But, enough has been said about that... let me focus on the second, which I find a little unreasonable.
2. As you know, it's not ethical to accept or expect gifts from vendors. Harping on that point as you did in your earlier post (no free stuff from Apple) shows a bit of disregard for journalistic ethical standards. Most of your readers don't get any freebies, and true journilistic impartial reviews pretty much rule this out. Why the complaints? Why even go down that path? Your arguments outside of this made much more rationale sense, but that whole thing harping on Apple about not sending YOU free stuff, when everyone else did, was just downright disrepsectful of what you should stand for (if you place yourself above a standard blogger and consider yourself part of the media, which you should).
Your concern about the ad campaigns and the slamming agains MS, well they are legit. But you can't expect sympathy as someone who does get a lot of free stuff anyway, and in most people (probably not you) this could cloud your views, or in a worse case scenario, cloud your real journilistic analysis of Apple's marketing position ("it just works"). Plus, this should even be an issue with you if you have any journalistic integrity. And, you have all the know how, contacts and reason to figure this stuff out, whether it be a trouble shooting thing, or just knowing when you've been dealt a bad hand on the hardware.
I could have gone on the same rant about my Vista experience, but I just plowed through and finally figured out my problems and eventually the fixes. Didn't blame it on MS (though I am like many, and my Mac problems are far less than my Windows issues).
For me, it wasn't an issue of unsubscribe or to tell with Apple, it was where does Robert Scoble see his role, and does he stick to the principles that he should probably adhere to as a well respected commentator on everything tech. Those posts seriously had me doubting this, it was almost like you had been pounding a bunch of beers and decided you were just going on an unprofessional tyrade.
Please keep up the commentary on tech markeitng, your experiences, and maybe a little more about how this stuff is fixed. And then stick to your principles and let that shine rather than the "Apple hasn't sent me a fricking thing" which came off like you expected them to in order to retain your support (and yes, I know, you've spent thousands of dollars at Apple, which should speak for itself, but we really don't have access to your online banking statements, nor care about that). We want to hear the analysis, what the problems are, and if you get them, what are the fixes, because we may be facing the same problems.
Aleks
· 2 years ago
I heartily endorse your statements about Apple - As a former Unix user who reluctantly had to give up his SGI for something cheaper and with wider application choices, I assessed Apple and Windows - neither really came up to anything near the standard that pure Unix did - Linux comes closest, but the commercial applications are limited. Apple is a crippled version of Unix, which gives it advantages in certain areas ( virus defense, etc) but overall, neither Apple nor Windows are any great shakes. Yes, it's cool, but I think my Sony Vaio is also pretty cool, but nothing is cooler than an SGI, so anything else is a step down from ultimate ice-chill, but consider this: application wise, one can still do more with a Windows based system and be reasonably sure it will work - there are fewer applications for Apple, and fewer third party applications or add-ons that truly show compatibility. Secondly - if something goes wrong with an Apple, you'd damned well better be Unix guru to figure it out (and why they hide access to a command-line terminal is beyond me - I want to talk to my machine directly!) - with Windoze, mostly , you crash and reboot.... Thirdly - hype is hype, and that is why Apple survives - the question is hype and religion, not which is a better OS. So, hype aside, is Apple a better system and OS than Windoze and Intel/AMD? No, it isn't. Each has strengths and weaknesses, and it behooves one to be honest about them - true - Vista sucks, and is a resource hog of unbelievable proportions, but if you want something that doesn't suck and doesn't use up masses of resources, try Linux before you spend the dosh for a Mac. I have a brother who is an Apple support engineer, and even though he swears by Apple, he also swears at Apple an awful lot, and recently had me configure a PC for him to use on the side. So even from the happy home of Apple - well, even they know that they have a long way to go. And by the way, try logging into both Apple's and Microsoft's web and mail servers ( it's fun!) - both still use SUN (Unix) servers for all web presences instead of their own products - and that says A LOT!
HG
· 2 years ago
Microsoft has 95% market share and Apple around 2-3% worldwide.
What is Apple's growth curve looking like these days? Most places I read claim it's trending upward. Continued growth would indicate general satisfaction with the product. Those who are not satisfied and leave the Apple platform are fewer than the majority who ARE satisfied.
I see the personaes represented in the Apple ads as the average PC and the average Mac. In that context, the ads are not misrepresenting the realities of the majority of these two camps.
It seems some elites have the privilege of having their personal soap boxes on which to rant. But let's see how the market reacts to Apple's lies.
Wouldn't you expect a deceitful campaign by Apple would be corrected by market forces? All those burned customers would eventually return to the Microsoft fold? If that's the case then you can take comfort in knowing there will be an uptick in Windows adoption coming soon.
If you subscribe to mass hypnotism then you're better off categorizing this blog with Illuminatiism. Fundamentally you're going to have to trust that people are in control of their own choices.
zato
· 2 years ago
Microsoft has all it's dogs barking on this one.
kimsu_bh
· 2 years ago
Here's a reallly in-depth review by a Microsoft MVP on Apple's new OS Leopard:
Dude you are taking this computer thing way too seriously. Macs and PCs, and every other consumer product in the world, advertise and try to make their products look cool. They are JUST COMPUTERS!!!
Kirst
· 2 years ago
I would be what you call a "Mac FanBoi"(or girl). My family has had apple computers since 1984, before they were "cool" or had ANY software to use with them, and I have never owned anything else. But I use PC's as a necessity of our society. My immediate family of five (parents and siblings) have purchased every latest product they have come out with in the last 10 years. I would say my overall opinion is great, and not because nothing breaks (which I must admit, is hard to ADMIT) but because when it does, there is excellent customer care and the warranties are effective. My genius bar experiences are glowing ( I make appointments). Unfortunately, my family in the last year has had to change our cult-ish ways a bit because of the frequency of problems with our purchases in the last year alone. 3 of our new computers (all different) have all had crashes and motherboard meltdowns. And my same laptop, had two hard drives fry (one in June, one this month in November). Neither time did I pay for the cost because they were thankfully under warranty, which guarantees a replacement of a NEW one. I came to find out that my second was due to the fault of a replacement of a refurbished (and not wiped-clean) hard drive installment after the first. (I claim that as the fault of that particular Genius Bar.) And when I brought my laptop in the latest time and asked "why the high occurence of hard drive crashes in this years products alone (and that battery mal-production, remember) ?" They wanted to know what I had done to cause it, and that laptops are unsuited to be carried around. Why the hell did I buy a laptop then?! Why the trend of failure so recently? Have they sacrificed quality of their base products for the production of the new (iPhone,iPod touch) ? They even pushed Leopard back a year, and it still sucked the second it was released. Where have their standards gone? My rant is that I love Mac. But I have come to distrust their usual commitment to a quality product in leu of a cash cow innovation.
Greg
· 2 years ago
I have owned many computers over the years and by far any Apple OS has been the best and WinME the worst with Linux being just OK. I have been using Apple hardware for over 10 years with only one serious hardware problem in all that time. Don't get me wrong I was ticked but mostly at myself for being so lazy as not to make good backups. So while Apple is not perfect I would not give OS X up for Vista...
Greg: .....And I wouldn't give my Tiger up for Leopard. Not 'til they make it a better product.
Dreadnought
· 2 years ago
Robert - You are like Paul Thurrott - you like to pretend that you're one of the cool kids because you've got a Mac. And now you're pissed off because you are having problems - because according to the "brand promise" Macs are supposed to run flawlessly. And, oh yes - you've had to wait while for a "genius" to help you. And what about the brand promise from HP - isn't that the new cool? Jerry Seinfeld, Gwen Stefani, the snowboarding guys - aren't they presenting a brand promise? It's fun, it's cool, it's hip to use an HP?
You've also pointed out that if you have a problem with your Dell PC - they just send you a new one. Hmmm, Mr. Scoble - how much extra have you paid for that level of support? $500 on top of your purchase price is the going rate for Gold level, which means you don't have to wait on hold for more than 2 minutes, and you may be lucky enough to get a North American based. And if you didn't pay extra for GTS, what do you get? Three and four HOUR hold times before speaking with a with badly trained call-center drone in Bangalore, who insists that the only way to fix your optical drive problem is to wipe out your hard drive and re-install Windows. You can't take that Dell over to that local Dell kiosk or even to Wal-Mart and get warranty support. While phone-based support is minimal for OOW products, the folks at the Genius Bar will work on your Bondi iMac until the DogCow comes home.
I'm not a fanboy - I don't irrationally hate Windows PCs. I use one every day, Monday - Friday. It works fine, rarely crashes. But there is nothing compelling about it. It's a dull hunk of grey and silver plastic - about as aestetically pleasing as a patch of crabgrass. XP feels about the same - a hunk of gray plastic. It gets my job done, but there's no joy in using it.
I take your criticism with a hefty grain of salt - scratch the surface and you're nothing more than a MS apologist.
Rob
· 2 years ago
I've read most of the comments and I think I have to align myself with #202. He has the best summary and criticism of your post. I think a lot more is expected from you, especially regarding professionalism and integrity, but it doesn't come through in your writing on this matter.
davevontexas
· 2 years ago
Y'know, I did tech support at Apple for about a year, and on the first day of training, during the creepy touchy-feely getting-to-know-you stuff we were herded into talking about the OS we use at home; we were divided early on into those of us that owned macs and those that didn't. "So, what do you use?" "Well, I'm using Debian right now, but I'm kind of interested in Gentoo. Oh, and OSX is kind of cool, too." This caused problems: macinistas (or at least macinistas who work in call centers in Texas) don't like having anyone think more 'different' than they do.
The regular call center evil was in full effect: call metrics designed to be unmet by a percentage of the group in order to keep the turnover moving, and Apple's unique documentation style. For example, "the scope of support for the first-level tech is the first-level scope of support for the product"; however, "the first-level scope of support for the product is the scope of support for a first level tech." I saw many of my training group comrades fall victim to this well-placed loophole, and my manager always defended the fairness of it with great fury when we dared to say anything. Strangely, the first people to get the axe were always the non mac users and those who didn't particularly live the iLife or wave the iFlag, and if the important metric of the month didn't justify selling us downriver, another metric would become important for the group.
More than anything else, the powers that be in Cupertino are selling an image. When you call tech support, they want you talking to a loyalist, when you go to the Apple store they want you dealing with a partisan. If you get your machine fixed or your needs met, it's a happy bonus, but not particularly important.
antaron
· 2 years ago
Yes - the Mac has problems and some religious Mac-Fanboys ignore that even if there is evidence. But - in 7 years with my Macs and OSX, there was only one device that I couldn't plug'n play. That was an USB-Scanner from Canon, so I had to download drivers from the website. All the other devices Digicams, printers, webcams and - yes - even videocams worked right out of the box and required no driver installment.
So I still think that a Mac is for most of the people the right device. Installing something on Windows - regardless of the version - is alchemy. Mostly drivers and software have to be updated before installing. And most of the things on Vista do just not work. That's why my company couldn't switch to Vista.
Patrick James O'Connell
· 2 years ago
I am a composer/performing musician. I "switched" in 1994 (from Atari - after the company's demise). I look back to OS 7 - I skipped OS8 and OS 9 and then OS X in the first release. The last time my Mac crashed was a long time ago, on holiday in Denmark (version 10.2). I spend a lot of time helping friends and colleagues (whom I converted) with their Macs. OK an old Epson scanner doesn't work with Leopard, but everything else does... The problem lies with the companies who don't update their firmware for Macs. As a part of my work, I have to sit in front of a PC with Windows XP using Excel and Co. This usually produces an extremely bad mood..... In my experience, working with Mac lets me be creative, Windows gets in the way of my creativity. Microsoft Works – but only sometimes.
rchernish
· 1 year ago
nice. now I have more material for my research paper on the mac way. :)
Thibault H.
· 1 year ago
I was curious. Why are you getting "pissed" when you watch that ad? Is it because you too have unconsciously bought into Apple's branding scheme and also unconsciously expect to be "treated" better?
I'm actually a fan of Macs and have been since 1989 but I'm not one of those fanatics though I have only owned and used Macs. In fact I criticise certain aspects of the Mac too. For instance, recently on Apple forums, I made a note that it seems Microsoft has a better response time in sending out security patches than Apple does. That immediately got me flamed. Without paying attention, a user said how could I compare Windows to OS X when Windows is a much better operating system. And then, another said Windows has more flaws in it than OS X and so Apple does not have to put out as many security updates.
But all of them missed my point. a) I was not talking about Windows or OSX. I was talking about the COMPANIES called Microsoft and Apple
b) I was not comparing Windows to OS X. I was merely comparing the response time to security flaws between Microsoft and Apple.
c) Whether Windows is more flawed than OS X is totally beside the point of my conjecture.
Now, I would not find it ridiculous if someone said, "Well, actually if you look at such and such, you would see that Apple response is quicker...etc. etc." That would be sticking to the topic and my contention of the speediness of response to security flaws.
Sometimes I also find it very curious that certain segments of consumers are so attached to a brand that they have to defend it. Wow, capitalism has really brainwashed a lot of us here.
P.S. And again, all of this is coming from someone who only uses Macs and has been since 1989. And I do prefer Macs over PCs, but it is not to say that there isn't something from the PC world that Apple can learn.
Pride comes before a fall.
Vibhu
· 1 year ago
Now Apple is well recognised brand for its iPOD & smart phones than its Laptop ... in OS section LINUX will outcome all other OS including MS.
Norhafidz
· 6 months ago
My friend has an iPod and it is popular among communities here compared to Apple laptop :)
All Comments
Thanks for posting this. For a while it felt like you lost your spark, but several of your posts lately have renewed my Scoble faith.
While I love Apple products, I too dislike the smugness attitudes. Honor people and let them make their own choices.
Otto
Stuff crashes and breaks, get over it. Anyone with one iota of experience in the tech field knows this.
(Using a Vista SP1 RC Preview build on a HP dv6500t - never crashes and hence completely unable to even think of writing a post like this one.)
What I think is more interesting is that your friends didn't want to be attributed on video. Was it really about not seeming cool because they think they broke their Macs or because they didn't want to offend the real Steve and might impact their careers somehow?
People love Apple like it's the Peace Corps when they are really a corporation like every other profit grubbing corporation out there.
They have
1. Had stock options scandals
2. Leveraged their monopoly with iTunes like MS does on the PC. Wont license FairPlay for iTunes. And they are going to lose that suit bigtime.
3. Charges you for a loaner phone so they can fix your phone battery.
Apple fans are would rather whip themselves than admit that anything could ever be wrong with an Apple product.
To commenter number 3
Of course shit breaks. Scoble knows that. Everyone knows that. It's the Apple fans that will lynch you if you say otherwise.
These aren't journalists who were at dinner last night. So, doubtful that it'd impact their careers.
I think it's more that they just didn't want to look "uncool." The brand promise of Apple is very strong.
But I find it hard to believe that you - a smart guy with a long history in the industry - actually believed the advertisements. Apple's or any company's for that matter. I can't say I've seen a single ad in the last decade that qualifies as "non-ridiculous." And maybe I'm totally wrong, but I like to believe that most people understand this about advertisements, and know better than to expect the life-changing experience promised by them.
Apple's Brand is rooted in the actual products they offer not in the marketing of those products. Apple's products are generally very well made. The craftsmanship is often extraordinary. Sure there are problems. Nothing is perfect. It helps to have a knowledgeable friend or friends who can help you through the rough spots. Also there is Apple Care and if you live by an Apple Store there is the Genius Bar.
My son certainly buys into the belief that only people with Apple products are cool.
Why does Apple do this kind of advertising? Because it works. They know it does.
But I am really trying to make the point number 12 is making. Why would you believe those ads in the first place?
It's not. Sorry to burst your Apple FanBoi bubble.
In any case I hope your Mac gets fixed soon.
First, I think the problem Robert is you're in tech and I would guess a lot of folks would think you could explore and figure out more on your own, I know I do. You and Dave Winer both seem to have more Mac problems than anyone I know and I know a lot of Mac users. A little exploring on the net would bring you to hundreds of Mac support, news, help sites. And if that fails, at least Apple "does have" a GeniusBar and you can schedule an appointment from the comfort of your easychair at the retail store of your choice. Try that with your Vio. Yes, Apple has that brand image of it "just works". From my experience it does but as we know, in tech, that's not going to be a 100% deal with anything.
Secondly, instead of a post with a bunch of Screw Apple rants, you could just explain what happened and ask for advice. Dave did that this morning. The Screw Apple rants just inflame the situation and I'll bet you know that and you shouldn't at all be surprised or ranting about it in this post. There's a cause/effect and you're the cause. Tone it down and I'll bet your responses/comments will be more worthwhile.
Lastly, I think you're just trying to create a Dell Hell.
I do not believe that the brand promise of Apple is "by a mac and you will be perceived as someone cool". My vote would go to something more like: "by a mac and you will get a more polished and integrated user experience".
People are not born Apple Fan Boy. They become Apple Fan Boy because Apple does a good job at delivering on that promise.
Your point about the increasing software and hardware issues is obviously something Apple needs to look very seriously into. Most users will absorb one or two issue based on the trust of the brand and then they will start getting pissed.
What has been your experience working with Apple Support?
The thing is, remember when I admitted that I did JUST THAT on my Tablet PC? And how all the Apple FanBoi's beat up on me? I do. Here's the start of that thread: http://radio.weblogs.com/0001011/2005/01/30.htm...
See, again, this answer messes with the brand promise of Apple. "It'll only work perfectly if you reboot once in a while."
My son often tries to go to the genius bar and has to wait in line, or has to make reservations days in advance (which is hard to do because he never knows when his parents will be kind enough to take him to an Apple store).
Dell, on the other hand, when I had a problem, just sent me a new machine via next-day air.
I'm beyond that. We've had so many problems with Apple stuff that the ads just piss me off when I see them. Advice? Wouldn't have helped in our prior hardware problems. Won't help fix my son's USB port.
I just remembered my old faulty G5. Oh, dark days.
"Pepsi Generation" vs. "Exhilarating, Invigorating, Aids Digestion"
A brand that is able to position itself as "cool" certainly gains a measure of immediate success. But as we all know, trends are trends, and what's cool today is lame tomorrow.
I suspect some of Apple's current popularity is due to this cool-factor, but it's hard to deny that they do make quality products that offer a clear alternative to other competitors, and that this very real and organic word-of-mouth as done wonders for their success. If iPods and Macs and iPhones didn't largely work as-advertised, they wouldn't continue to sell or be cool. That is, if the features didn't largely match the brand promise, people would start talking about it.
Not a lot of people outside of Silicon Valley and the tech blogs know about the Reality Distortion Field (or even who Steve Jobs is). All they know is their personal experience with a product that they bought because they hoped it would solve some (real or perceived) problem they were having.
It's just that the brand promise of Apple is even more: that I'll be able to run my Mac, even if I'm an idiot, and that it'll behave a lot better than my Windows boxes. I haven't found that to be the case, at all.
I know that. When I went to Europe earlier this year I hardly saw a Macintosh at all. Maybe those people outside of Silicon Valley know something I don't?
:-)
First the iphone upgrade/bricking did not go down well with developers. Reluctantly Apple Czar Jobs agreed to an SDK in Feb.
The recent Leopard upgrade has caused many friends problems with their Mac's even the recent upgrade fix. The latest seems to be the battery being rapidly drained.
The recent success of Apple is bringing it the same problems as Microsoft. As more people use it for varied things and as more applications are developed for it, the less stable the OS platform becomes or in other words the harder it is to upgrade/support.
Apple PR hard better get ready to earn their money. As you say the PR lady in the ad may soon be on the otherside soon.
From a personal experience the PR exec's representing Apple UK are amazingly arrogant. They remind me of the days when everyone loved Microsoft.
They think everyone loves Apple and thus they never return calls or emails. Pride comes before a fall!
IMHO OSX is the best desktop OS, and Macbook Pro is a beautifully designed machine. However, Apple, for whatever reason seems to get a free ride on all kinds of issues, partly due to its marketing machine. Whether it be not including Java, or funky hardware issues, or the lockdown of their products, they get a free pass on issues for which they would be skewered if they were any other company.
"and yes, apple doesnt need or want customers like that - but that is a separate brand issue"
I asked him to call Apple for confirmation that they don't want you as a customer - he never got back to me. ;-)
Thank you for this post - I thought I was losing it. I use a Dell laptop running XP and have a blackberry and I am ridiculed by Mac fans - and I ask why? I really don't care if they have a Mac or a Vic20 or whatever. I just want to get some work done and yet it is as if I am crazy for not having a Mac? For what I use MsWord and Thunderbird and Firefox why do I need a new iTop - thingie? iPhone for what e-mail and talking? My Blackberry seems to do that O.K. I listen to tunes on my iPod, (well I used to but the battery croaked and now only works when it is plugged into the wall - so I have to borrow my daughters new i-pod Nano).
Sorry but what is wrong with being out of the loop in the buying frenzy for new tech equipment. I love technology - but nowhere near as much as I love snowboarding or spending time with friends - friends that don't care about computers - because at the end of the day they are tools and not becoming a tool is my main objective.
Cheers - Eric
P.S. that PR fumble on Valleywag is classic - that is so seriously bad PR that I thought it was a skit. That first dude being interviewed looked so scared I thought he was going to crap his pants - like Martin Short in the 80's that nervous guys all shakey muldoon - (http://youtube.com/watch?v=FOLBQxk72NY).
I've used nothing but Macs since 1984 (except for a few VAXen early on) but I'm no fanboy.
I note that some of the first comments on your blog post when you had update problems were from Mac users who wanted to help. For every dweeb fan boy you'll also find supportive fellow users.
If the problems recur, post details and you'll get a lot of help.
I'd say, use what you like, and if you prefer Windows (shudder), I wish you all the best.
It's not that we Mac users think the problems are our fault. It's just that they are so much less common than on alternative platforms, and often, easier to fix ourselves. Of course, hardware issues are hardware issues, and Apple tends to step up quickly to fix them as they come up.
You paid for a product (Leopard) and it had issues. So take it to the Apple Store and have them look at it. Or try a reinstall. That's why they have Apple Geniuses there. To help users. I could see your complaining if they didn't offer support. But they do.
Sorry, but the ad IS funny. I also think it's funny how the Mac has, what, 8% market share? And you'd think they had 90%. Windows users must really be on the defensive if they are going to worry about little old Apple.
They're not worried, are they?
Scoble, Microsoft has always had a more rabid following (ok, Microsoft's following consists of paid shills but still) - 90% of the computers sold are Windows PCs by default. How often do workers in corporations get asked what computer they'd like to buy? DELL even "recommends" Windows Vista Business or whatever. That's not a problem in itself, but consider that every other OEM does the same thing and it makes no sense: how do they differentiate?
If you want Linux on a computer, you're forced to buy a very particular hardware configuration on an OEM's site so that making a price comparison with a machine that is sold by default with Windows becomes very difficult.
Finally, Mac fanbois may be bad, but xbox fanbois are the worst ever. Go ahead, post some flamebait about how PS3 is a better media player because it supports DIVX now and xbox 360 doesn't. I bet the comment count will go over 200.
You have to admit Robert that one thing Apple does well is support. There's no genius bar for Windows. Why aren't you giving Apple a chance to fix it rather than getting so upset over it?
Scoble, that's because it is your fault. If you were running a 1 year old PC laptop, are you telling me you'd have no problems when you tried to install Vista over it? All your third-party apps would work?
I have quite a bit of experience with PCs. Sometime, maybe we can go to Fry's or something and buy 5 identical laptops with Windows Vista on them and we can set them up side by side on the same network on my dinner table. Even if we follow the exact same procedure - hooking up, starting up, installing updates, basic office software - we will not have the same experience with these identical machines twice.
You seem to have misused that word in TWO separate posts. Are you sure you know what it means?
Let's say you buy a Mac and expect that your experience will be dreamy. Your computer is attractive, well-made, and Mac OS X works smoothly. You will become an Apple fan - perhaps grudging, perhaps lukewarm, perhaps rabid - because it's hard to take something that works and criticize it.
Let's say you expect that your experience will be dreamy, but there's a hardware fault, and the OS doesn't work smoothly. You could develop a skeptical view of the hardware, the OS, or even the company. Or, you could interpret it as a normal thing with computers, which are no less computers regardless of who makes them or what they do.
My experience with Macs has been generally positive. My experience with Windows computers has been generally negative. My experience with Linux computers has been mixed... But guess what? They're all friggin' computers, and they don't know or care that I'm trying to use them to get work done. I don't get a hate on for Toshiba because I had a 30% failure rate out of the Toshiba laptops I deployed at one company - I just take that into consideration in my planning if someone says they gotta have a Toshiba. On the other hand, I've had about an 8% failure rate on Mac hardware.
It's frustrating to be the guy who lands in the 8% "hardware failed" group. But does that mean it's exhilarating to be the guy in the 92-93% "works perfectly" group? I don't open Mail every day and say "oh my oh my OHMYOHMY"... I open it up and read my new messages. It's more reliable at doing that than Outlook was on my Windows boxes, or anything on my Linux boxes, so I'll keep my Mac. :-)
I think what you're saying is that your expectations weren't met. It's fair for people to ask where your expectations came from. It's equally fair for people to point out that going to *any* other computer just means you're exposing yourself to that computer manufacturer's failure rate, repair policies, stupid corporate practices, or what have you. Maybe you're a huge Sony fanboi, so the Vaio might be a better platform for you - it seems to meet your expectations more clearly, and fortunately you haven't fallen into Sony's "failure rate" group. I don't wish trouble on you, and I'm sorry your Mac flipped out - I know how disruptive computer problems can be, and I hope things settle down quickly.
And I hate being called a fanboi just because I don't join in the cynical criticism of Apple, Mac hardware, or Mac OS X. It's a company, and hardware, and an operating system. It meets my expectations. Hopefully whatever computer you use, it will meet yours.
You're in full-bore Apple-bashing mode now and it doesn't become you. Nobody seriously believes that Apple is perfect and that there are no hardware or software issues. All one has to do is go to numerous Mac-related problem sites or even Apple's own discussion boards to see that.
Apple's "it just works" springs from a relative position compared to PCs with Windows, and in that comparison is absolutely true.
Also, I'm tired of all the crying of Apple-bashers over the "ARMY" of Apple fans and what they post. Have you ever SEEN what the anti-Apple crowd posts? Guess what? It's the same stuff. And there are a lot more of them than Apple fans.
Despite all your posting of cults and blind beliefs by Apple's "army", these facts remain:
- Mac OS X Tiger (and now Leopard) is more favorably looked upon in review after review when compared to Vista.
- Vista was not the success Microsoft hoped for, no matter the PR spin of Microsoft's finest.
- Mac hardware is extremely well-designed and price competitive. Reviews from even non-Apple-friendly sites confirm this. In fact, the MacBook Pro is the fastest Vista laptop there is at the moment.
- Apple's iLife surpasses away anything like it on the PC, and is a huge advantage in getting a Mac.
- Apple Pro software such as Final Cut Studio and Logic Studio are highly respected and among the leaders in their field.
- The iPod has ruled the roost through many generations. People keep going back to it. Is it because they have maybe 30 songs purchased from iTunes? No, It's because the whole package has worked better than anything else available.
- There are more, but I'll close with the one always overlooked: Apple's outstanding customer service. Yes, you can find war stories here and there, but at the end of the day I see and hear more good stories about Apple's customer service than from any other tech company (maybe even all of them combined). Countless polls and reviews confirm this as well. And not just by a small margin, Apple overwhelmingly leads in customer service.
Bottom line is try to look past the Apple fans that lean to unreasonable (as I've looked past unreasonable Microsoft apologists for 25 years) and just look at Apple for what it is. Take off the tin-foil conspiracy hat and you’ll see all the "smug", "controlling", fanatical crap is just BS.
Apple is a company firing on all cylinders right now. Great hardware, software, products, customer support, etc., and it's easy to take pot shots at them. But when you put on the tin-foil and rail against the "cult" only two things are true: 1) You’ll get lots of page hits; and 2) You're no better than the fanatics on the Apple side you rail against.
GET OVER IT. Take a long vacation. Go fly fish. Go rock climbing. Go volunteer at a local hospital. Anything. Just stop writing about stupid operating systems and pieces of plastic and metal.
I read your original "Screw you Apple" post yesterday, and there were about 70 posts. Overnight the number of posts to that blog entry has doubled, most of the new posts filled with invective from members of the Apple Jihad Army. I guess the Bat-Signal went out and they came here ready for blood, ready to shout down all criticism.
Same thing happened to Andy Beal (which you referred to), and also happened to Rob Hyndman, all within the last three days.
http://www.robhyndman.com/2007/11/14/ive-been-a...
http://www.robhyndman.com/2007/11/15/your-leopa...
I referred to this yesterday, but have to make the point again: Apple's smug ads are one thing, but what takes the cake is using BSOD icons in their shipping OS to represent Windows computers on a network. That is taking smugness to a level unheard of. Yet Apple fanbois ate it up. Anil Dash blogged about the smugness of Apple's use of BSOD icons, and the Apple Jihad Army ripped him to ribbons too.
http://www.dashes.com/anil/2007/10/smug-ugly.html
It's like Apple and their fanbois are so full of themselves that they are blinded as to how inapporpriate and childish that is. They think it's "cool", but it's only cool to those within the same cult.
Now, I like my iPod and PowerBook (which I'm using to write this), but the arrogance of Apple and their disciples has gotten so out of hand, it's almost comical.
Contrary to #43, Apple is riding on only one cylinder, they've got everyone mesmerised with the Steve Jobs turtle neck sweater cult.
Sorry, guys, you still wont have a 9 inch dick or DD breasts if you use a Mac. Heck, I work at a company where they let you choose between a PC and a Mac laptop, and I chose the HP laptop. I will not use an Apple even if its free! So there.
I remember the last time a Mac OS had a bug that caused it to fail. It was around 1990 (system 7.6). After some rocky times with the OS X beta, I cannot remember a system crash. Once in a while Safari will choke on an unresponsive web site, so I start Safari up again.
The only hardware failures I have had was one in my late 605- the disk crashed within weeks, an Apple tech came to my house and replaced it under warranty. About two years ago my neighborhood had two power failures in a week, and the second one fried part of my power supply.
While trolling an OS X support and discussion site, I have never had a problem to bring to it (I joined to get grass roots experience with the OS X beta) but have tried to help others. I would say that the vast majority in this site have had one problem, and a few people have several problems. There are real Mac hardware and software bugs, there are problems that stem from Haxies and other 3rd party software that tamper with and try to game the OS, and there are switchers from Windows-only who try to make the Mac like work like a Dell or try to use workarounds they had developed in the old PC days.
I favor Macs because they work well, have been super reliable, and look good (a real point in a domestic setting). It is clear that OS X is more complex, especially in its Unix structure, then previous Mac OS's. It is more difficult to diagnose when a problem pops up than pre-X. Computers are complex technology. But the Macs I have used over the years have been easier to use, more thus more useful, and more reliable (since OS 8) than the Windows-compatible stuff I saw around me (and used at times).
And that's why I continue to use them. It would help you if you were willing to unbend your pride and ask for help sometimes, when you have a computer misbehave.
Sorry to hear about your not being given a free Mac. Neither have I, but then I don't go on the air and yell screw Apple a dozen times.
I wrote a similar article after purchasing my first Mac earlier this year - http://www.joiningdots.net/blog/2007/04/how-acc... - and received my one and only troll comment. But. I also received a pile of helpful tips from Apple experts that far far outweighed the grumpy zealot. And they even stuck up for me against that (unsurprisingly anonymous) troll comment. As an Apple newbie, I was grateful for their support.
Typing this on my MacBook Pro... running Vista. I know, I know. That makes me a heretic to both sides :-)
Posted from my iPhone. Which in itself amazes me and is kind of my point.
Apple's always Apple and its brand thingy is pretty transparent and IMHO harmless. What's more interesting (to me anyway) is the extent to which Microsoft captured and keeps in thrall the average IT department in the UK - M-S marketing is arguably more subtle than Apple's but doesn't get discussed much.
"Contrary to #43, Apple is riding on only one cylinder, they’ve got everyone mesmerised with the Steve Jobs turtle neck sweater cult."
Thanks for proving my point. This is the kind of nonsense I was talking about; pulling out the old argument of a "cult" is BS and not a real argument at all. I posted a number of points, and am "countered" with a one-liner modeled after the same tired garbage Apple-bashers have been spewing for 20 years. Whatever.
End of story.
And your frustration, it sounds like, is that you're getting largely the same experience (or even worse).
Which sucks. I mean no it shouldn't be perfect. But it should be, according to the ads, better. Better with peripherals, requiring less restarts, better with viruses, requiring less user intervention, etc, etc, etc.
I own a macbook and had several problems with it, but for some reason, I am just addicted to its koolness and find it really really hard to open my blog and rant about it.
But my windows machine shows one glitch, I am all up and shouting on a platform.
As a stockholder, when Iknatho said he'd held an IPhone in February and it actually worked (not a given), I knew it actually worked and bought more stock. Most others were theorizing about why Apple shouldn't even get into the handset biz. When Mossberg said he liked Leopard, I knew it worked for him on his set up. To be sure, if you get a bad DVD or have some conflict on your machine, your mileage may vary. I always wait for the first patch, at least, and don't do OS upgrades without an explicit need/want.
I get pissed at Apple a lot of the time too. But I always come back their machines are better overall and the OS just pounds Windows into the ground.
--Sparky
When I bought my new Powerbook three years ago, it was just as the MacBooks were coming out and I have yet to have a problem with it. I'm not a tech person by a long shot and I haven't "bought" into the ads. I was given a Mac almost 10 years ago after whining about the PC I had. I fell in love. It honestly didn't take any time to learn it (so, yes, it can be operated by idiots)and when I had the cash, I bought my iBook. Like I said, I'm on my third Mac and still, I've only had to replace one hard drive on one system.
But, I'm not a tech. Maybe that makes a difference.
I'm a huge Apple fan. Love my iPod and iMac. Have bought and used Apple computers since 1979. In fact I owned serial number 3000! But I hate the arrogance and actions of the Apple Fan-bois.
Good for you Robert. Thoughtful piece. Though I may not agree with all of it, well put.
I held off upgrading recently cause my wife had a major paper due in her master's program. I like Apple, but sometimes it just makes sense to be cautious.
Now I'm off to upgrade to Leopard....
Have you ever stopped to consider that those Fanboys are fanboys because they have had a favourable experience with Apples? Or that your sample of one (you) actually represents the overall picture with regards to Mac vs PC? Surely not. Have there been as many reports about Leopard problems as about Vista problems? Surely not.
I object to being labled a fanboy because I made a switch to a better, more useable, more reliable and better designed OS on which I make a living - using an Apple product (Final Cut Pro) which totally transformed the industry in which I work. I can only assume that this is so called 'trolling' for hits on your blog - you can't really mean all this can you? Wouldn't a bit of real journalism on the actual situation of Mac vs PC be in order, rather than a personal rant?
I've no doubt that, in terms of percent adoption and overall satisfaction, Leopard's first year will prove to be more successful than Vista's.
But lately I've been hearing more and more about problems. Even Leo Laporte, when I listened to him on KGO radio last weekend, isn't as excited about Apple's products as he usually is. His listeners are turning on Apple's products lately and are dissatisfied.
Real journalism? Well, let me do real journalism then. I'd love to be able to interview an Apple employee about these issues but their PR team won't let me near a real employee who'll tell me anything about failure rates and such.
By reporting that my machine has been in the shop twice? Or that my son's machine has been in twice and needs to go back again?
Oh, by saying "screw you Apple?"
Well, the brand promise of Apple is that it's going to be better than Windows. It's not in my experience. And it's more expensive.
If that ruins my credibility in your eyes I think you need to go read Valleywag or the Register for your news cause you'll want someone more "credibile."
Apple does a lot more stuff right than MS still, but you're definitely right about the smug ads. I hate those ads. I HATE when they attack security people pointing out flaws because they would rather protect the image that Macs don't get viruses than just fix the problem and thank the security researcher.
And I hate the fact that I filed numerous and repeated bug reports during Leopard beta testing, almost all of which were labeled as duplicates and yet not a single GUI issue I brought up changed at all (except that the menu bars got slightly more blurred rather than getting a freaking OFF switch).
Founder, Orange County Ruby User's Group
http://www.ocruby.org
Look at what you are saying
A guy who spent twice more than what he would have spent on a better PC, has no right to rant about his frustration. You are a customer yourself, would you stay quiet if your car broke down and does not start, if your tv hangs up in the middle of your favorite soap.
A mac is no different. If i spend thousands of dollars on a mac and it does not work, i have every right to rant the hell about it. There is nothing childish about it. It is genuine expression of a customer's dissatisfaction
PC World's and Consumer Reports' computer reliability surveys have consistently shown that Apple's desktops and laptops are among the MOST reliable*, year after year after year. (That seemed to put PC World in a awkward position.)
Nevertheless, the reliability surveys didn't show Apple hardware and software to be flawless. There were no 100% satisfied, 100% reliable numbers in the surveys.
So how goofy is it for you to assume, as another commenter wrote, everything would always be dreamy?
And as for Mac fanboys versus Windows fanboys, there are a LOT MORE Windows fanboys writing nasty shit. Look around. Up until a few years ago, the online tech press was regularly writing articles skewering Apple, often unfairly. "Beleagured Apple", "Rotten Apple", etc.
Apple ain't perfect, and let's look at Microsoft. What kind of interesting things has that company done? Mercilessly destroying its competition, stealing code from Stacker and Apple, etc. Look at HP, Gateway, E Machines, Dell. They've all had hardware issues. Do we need a "Screw You!" to them too?
I don't think Microsoft is the biggest villain ever. But in the Windows world, it seems Apple is the biggest villain. One PC Mag editorial a few years ago even criticized Apple for being so successful with the iPod. At that point the conventional wisdom was that Apple should be shriveling up and bowing to inevitable defeat. Inevitable iPod Killer coming soon!
Now, Scoble says "screw you" to Apple because he's having computer problems. And Apple's supposed to be perfect. And those mean old Apple fanboys are leaving mean messages. Like what, I wonder? Writing mean things like, "Screw you!" to Robert? They're evil!!;)
Bot
an electronic Apple fanboy (who doesn't leave nasty messages)
* Consumer Reports' latest reliability survey indicated, I think, that Apple laptops had slipped in reliability. I haven't read it, only a quick summary.
My own personal experience has been that my Macs have broken more often than my PCs, but that while they were working, they were vastly more pleasant to use.
A little Googling will show that larger surveys of users consistently reveal that Apple builds reliable hardware and software.
Here's a link that claims PCMag consistently ranks Apple very high. I didn't take the time to go directly to PCMag to verify the claim, I'm sure someone will refute the claim if it's false.
http://www.applelinks.com/index.php/more/apple_...
I believe JD Power usually ranks Apple highly as well. I suppose it's possible that Apple pays off all these sources to say nice things about them. If that's true, surely Microsoft and HP could send a few bucks to PCMag to tip the scales.
Mr. Scoble is just one person, I'm just one other. I wouldn't extrapolate either of our experiences to the broader population. Unfortunatly he would, and I think that discounts the value of his "journalism".
Again - I *LOVE* the hardware. Sweet as. But my feeling is that Microsoft have pretty much caught up on the OS front. Of course, on the MBP I can run both Vista and OSX, which perhaps gives it a slight advantage over my Lenovo desktop. Now I have the best of both worlds. Sweet hardware and two operating systems.
But watch Apple's ads. They don't talk about potentially having problems. They make it sound like everything will always be peachy keen if you just join the iKult and buy a Mac.
I'm tired of the marketing. Well, that and now my email hasn't been working since Thursday because of one of the crashes. Sigh.
Reading Scoble's posts raised doubts about the Apple Fanboys' credibility, but the comments duly confirmed them.
They really are highly self defensive ra__ists
Robert, you're a computer expert, right? You are an expert troubleshooter after years and years of using computers. A good deal of that troubleshooting knowledge will help you with your Mac. A good deal won't. I don't know how long you've been using Macs, but is it possible that you need to learn more about Mac troubleshooting?
I'm not saying your software problems are your fault. But the sad reality is that computer users must be effective troubleshooters. On any platform.
Bot
an electronic Apple fanboy who has manners
THAT IS A BULLS**T ANSWER. Especially in defense of a company that has ads that Apple does. Apple doesn't talk about "you'll need to know what PRAM is, or how to boot your computer in safe mode." No, Apple's marketers have pushed their computers as "easy to use and safe from bugs."
Grrrr. It's this ATTITUDE that really pisses me off.
Do Microsoft's ads warn Windows users about potential troubles.
When I authenticated Windows (like a couple dozen times, it seeemed), Microsoft was promising that Windows Genuine Advantage was going to benefit me somehow. All it's doing for me is slowing down my machine and hassling me.
Why am I talking about WGI? I play Windows games in Boot Camp on my Macbook Pro. Yes, I'm an expert Windows user too. I just like my Macs' Genuine Advantage hellofa lot better.
But those Windows games baby!!!
Bot
Windows and XBox 360 games, MacBook Pro for the serious stuff
Remember that guy selling the spray stuff that supposedly could hide your bald spot?
How about the "herbal medicine" ads, such as weight loss of increasing sexual prowess?
Want a company that's more respected? How about the Celebrex commercials that promised older couples with serious arthritis could dance, dance, dance the night away?
How about Microsoft who promised Windows 98 would be "more reliable". I remember that. It said so during install. Someone even had it crash at that point (or made it crash) and posted the picture on the Internet.
I'd love to live in a country where ads had to be truthful. It stinks that we don't.
Now, as far as me suggesting you might need new troubleshooting experiences, I realized just before I hit submit that you might take that as an insult. A "your fault" thing.
It was NOT intended that way. It's an observation after using Macs exclusively since 2001 that there are some entirely different troubleshooting practices with OS X compared to Windows. Again, it wasn't intended as an insult or as condescension.
Bot
I don't know. They said it's the new "Wow" if I remember them right.
That's far from "it'll be better than your XP experience." Or "it'll be better for you than MacOSX."
That's true. But Best Buy has "Geek Squad" instead. I like that marketing better. I can grok computers that only need a geek to run them instead of a genius. :-)
Sounds like Apple employees to me.
And I know some CTO's who disagree with you on the maintainability of Apple's vs. Windows machines. But they can be easily discounted cause they are those evil "enterprise" users who have hundreds of thousands of machines.
FRIEND: Your computer won't boot? Have you tried Safe Mode, do you have SpinRite? Norton?
COMPUTER OWNER: Why should I need to buy SpinRite? Why should I even have to know about this stuff? It should JUST WORK! After all, Dell says my machine is "All Powerful. All Beautiful"* If it's all powerful, it should FIX ITSELF!
Um, well, maybe you need to learn some Windows troubleshooting, you know, in case this ever ha-
Grrrr. It’s this ATTITUDE that really pisses me off. Dell says, "I'll make it happen.*" They should make it happen and MAKE MY MACHINE WORK. Just work! Always. MAKE IT HAPPEN.
Ooh, calm down there tiger. Why don't you just call Dell support?
No, no, NO! They PROMISED that their machines are ALL POWERFUL. Why should I need to call support if their ads are correct? Screw you, Dell!!!
Oh..kay.. How about Dell fan sites that offer support forums? You could look for a solution there. . .
Oh, yeah! Sure. Dell fanboys! They swamped my blog. What a horrible bunch of miscreants. I REFUSE to go to their support site. They'll probably blame it on me.
Um, yeah. I'm out of ideas here man. Good luck.
Yeah, I'll need it. I bought Dell.
---------------------------------------
:) Next time, disgruntled Dell user goes to support site with huge chip on his shoulder and pisses off volunteers so they don't want to help him.
All hypothetical, of course.
Bot
electronic hypothetical scenario generator
* These are quotes from ** actual Dell ads. ** No joke!
Come on, Robert. You know the Enterprise IT guys are all on the MSFT payroll. My current IT guy keeps us on XP-- though he KNOWS we all use Macs at home (we're scientists). What does HE use at home? A Mac. What critical piece of Windows software do we use? I don't know-- Outlook, maybe? A pretty weak app, if you ask me, in this age of GMail.
"Evil" is a value judgement; they certainly know who butters their bread, though.
anonymous Tom: your CTO gets paid by Microsoft? I'd love it if he'd come on my video and tell me that.
Maybe he keeps all the machines at work on Windows Windows because he knows he could push software to all 14,000 machines with the touch of a mouse (I've seen this done, it's really awesome). Maybe he does it because he knows that he'd get fired for buying machines that cost more but that don't provide more utility to the company. Maybe he does it because they are easier to program and because apps built 25 years ago still work on them? But, the idea that your CTO is on MSFT's payroll is a fascinating one.
To most Mac users their mac is like their favorite car, it's what they like and identify with, it appeals to them and they feel it fits their sense of style and that's ok.
But....then there's the other Mac fans, the ones who have crossed over from fandom to fanaticism, being an Apple fan and user isn't just a choice to them but the only way of life, their Macs have become a religion and their devoted..it's a belief.
Their not Catholics or Jews or Muslims, their Mac fanatics and Apple is their church and Steven Jobs their Messiah.They have made the choice to carry a cross on behalf of Apple at any cost, logic be damned.
You can always tell the Mac fanatic by their defensive posture, the blank stare that you get when you even suggest that you have a problem with your Mac,the accusations that you must be an agent of Bill Gates and his minions.
You realize that there's a problem when they refer to Steven Jobs as Steve when they talk about Apple or one of the corporations products, even though they have never met much less been in the same room with him.
I don't believe that you bought into the hype Robert or that you where suckered by the Reality distortion field.no the problem here is that you have me too syndrome, especially living and working where you do,
You felt that you had to do what everybody else in the valley is doing, and in the end you were let down by your decision.
I'd respect you more if you used a think pad with Ubuntu Linux, not because I like Linux..I Don't, but a least it would show that you really did your own thing.
But a least you're willing to admit it and call Apple out on it, it's what Apple needs, in the end it would make it a much better company, strange concept for Apple..accountability to it's fans and users.
But let's forget about the facts and pretend this rant has actual merit. Then maybe we can pretend the moon is made of cheese.
This Apple church thing. It seems like the implication is that Apple users are foolishly associated with the not-Microsoft. Therefore, they must be like a cult, mindlessly following The Steve.
It is really strange that people call Steven P. Jobs "Steve". That's screwy. Weird. Twisted. Of course, that's what he calls himself. Very seldom does anyone call him Steven. Not even Mr. Robert Scoble.
By the way, to the author of the message above (7:40 P.M.) I don't know you very well, but you signed your message with a simple first name. What, if I may ask, is your full name? I wouldn't dream of calling you "Joe". How twisted would that be? ;)
I'm also disappointed that all the cool kids are doing the Apple thing. That's not very imaginative and different. Scoble _should_ be more independently minded. I say he should start using Windows.
Ex2 the Bot
electronic formal addresser and sarcasticator
I think the idea in the dell scenario was that you shouldn't have to call them at all because they're ALL POWERFUL. After all, that's what their ad says. I just visited their beautiful site.
The fact that you had to call for support suggests that they broke their promise. The Dell Promise. "All Powerful" Screw you, Dell!
Bot
electronic back-to-the-pointer and inadvertent Dell insulter
Linux? I use it all the time. It's what runs my favorite blog software. It's what runs my favorite photo sharing site. It's what runs underneath my docs and spreadsheets. Under my favorite search engine. And on and on.
:-)
After all, if my machines work, that's all that matters.
I KID! (if you haven't noticed.) Who says robots have no sense of humour?
Bot
electronic trickster and English muffin
I don't know Bill Gates either, so I just call him Bill Gates, I could care less what other people think are cool, If they feel like a Mac is their thing then by all means,But I don't see some guy with a Mac and think wow you're the man.
You noticed that too, huh? Funny, I noticed the same thing. Unfortunately, they're not that good at covering their tracks. I confirmed at least one "first name only, no blog" commenter that was an Apple employee. They forget that WP shows you their email and IP address. ;-)
All in all, I think you've taken "just works" to mean "never has problems." Even a diamond has flaws.
I get hundreds of tech questions a week. At least three-fourths of the questions wouldn't be questions if the askers were on a Mac.
I've had Mac issues in my life that have wrecked a few hours. I've had Windows issues that have wrecked weeks. No system is flawless. Mac is just better.
I've been using a Power Mac for 2 years now. Upgraded it to Leopard nicely. I kinda believe the promise because it's what I'm used to: it just works. Mine does, anyway, but maybe I'm just lucky.
Anyway, here's hoping someone at Apple reads your blog. They can't really afford to look lame like this. They got to get their act together ASAP (including the crippled iPhone).
By the way, it'd be awesome if you answered those tech questions on your blog instead of via email. Within a few weeks that'd be an awesome resource.
And I agree with you.
Apple is arrogant. I left the company to escape the reality distortion field it creates around all it's people. We used to call it 'buying into the fairy dust'.
Oh.. and Vista sucks a good portion of the time (one of my machines has it.. most crash prone of all my boxes).
And Ubuntu isn't all the spiffy. Still not something my Mom can use.
These things are just tools. Like saws, or hammers. Computers manipulate little chunks of light around a screen (vs. a nail or, a piece of wood). It's just tool.
You people in Silicon Valley really need to get out (and way from your computers) more.
EB
One thing that stood out for me in the apple experience is the fact that piracy is waiting to be had. In that when I got my iMac + MacBook Pro (at Microsofts expense - see we do play well with others) I was scratching my head trying to find alternatives to software I loved on Windows.
I found Mac folks helpful, but noticed a lot of shareware etc. Anyway before I go to whip out the corporate amex i get offers "here i'll send you a copy.." - being Microsoft and Piracy is pretty much a guranteed dismissal, politely declined. This then made me think about how do Software vendors get around the fact that Apple has no "registry".
I began to look under the covers and for legal reasons i can't express an open opinion on the matter, suffice to say I can see why Gaming companies shy away from Apple (when you think about it, Apple should be the ultimate gaming platform dream, in that it's prescribed hardware and sure it may not have the latest video cards but it can be a market that they can control surely).
At anyrate, I've not gotten as much "productivity" as the folks whom abuse you preeched and still find myself inside Windows Vista? (so essentially i spent around $10k for Mac iLife and the ability to run Windows Vista via Bootcamp/VMWARE?)
:P I like the Apple Experience but *shrug* i've not found a compelling reason to recommend it to others yet (other than iLife?)
-
Scott Barnes
RIA Evangelist
Microsoft.
But Apple inevitably knows its weaknesses and will likely address them eventually (hopefully sooner rather than later). Scoble is only the beginning of Apple hell stories, provided the company continues into the more mainstream with its computers (that's what we all want, right? Or maybe not...).
I heard that same argument when I was using Atari computers and Amigas. The minority computing environment is a haven for pirates.
Do we have data on this? Or are the humans committing hasty generalizations? Logic. It's not just for breakfast anymore!
Bot
pure logic
http://www.theinquirer.net/en/inquirer/news/200...
(Of course, Apple was also slammed in the UK for claiming the G5 Power Mac was the fastest PC in the world.)
I can understand your frustration. I've never had to sacrifice my Mac to the geniuses for more than a half a day, but your experience with this update isn't the norm. I know it seams that way because it happened to you and your son.
Ultimately, I think it's good that you're sharing your frustration with the rest of us because Apple want's to be perfect. It's impossible, but every time someone points out how they're not perfect, it seems to inspire a new level of excellence. Sorry if I'm dipping into fangirl territory again. I can't exactly help it. :)
I am sorry that he has to work on Weekends too.
I would like to congratulate you on such a well written blog post. This is so new and refreshing. Good job !!
@commenters - If you have to use a particular brand of computer hardware to define who you are...
Steve Jobs IS God!
The brand promise of Apple is just an extension of Job's reality distortion field. It looked like you bought into it when you were exuding joy when you and Patrick got your iPhones.
I still have my Apple II+ and I supported Macs and PCs at at ABC's Media Lab. Before the Mac OS got protected memory, I was calling them Macintrashes.
You seem to be indignant that you bought into it, but I know you wouldn't be who you are, if you weren't a lot smarter than that.
Bottom line, these are machines and software made by... you guessed it - people. And people make mistakes. Thus, the software they write makes mistakes. If they were threatened with a lawsuit (not condoning entitlement) every time a machine crashed, they might spend a little more time in testing, but that's another story.
Scoble's point is that Apple is doing a great job at marketing. They run clever, funny national campaigns that are very believable. Once you have your Apple and it crashes, you justify the failure and defend Apple because their product just works. That is their campaign goal, and in that respect, props to Apple for great marketing. Problem with the campaigns is that they're just not accurate, but you don't have to believe them. But they are funny.
The good news is that Apple is increasing their market share and that's making ALL software companies think about their products in new ways. The next wave of innovation is around the corner, and we have this type of competition to thank.
Love the article, I look forward to more unbiased apple posts!
Hardly worth having an aneurysm over, what?
I am pretty open minded and we held a long pro/con discussion, keeping it as non-techie as possible, and still ended up with Dell Vista laptop.
Bottom line, with today's complexity of software and hardware platforms, bugs are bound to sneak in. And I should know, I manage big dev team for a living!
Robert: I am sorry that you have had this experience, but I strongly disagree. I can honestly say that my experience has been the exact opposite. I have used macs and PCs since a 512k "Fat Mac" was the hot thing. I have watched PC's sputter and die over and over soaking up huge amounts of man-hours to trouble shoot, meanwhile macs in the same studios doing similar tasks would chug along gleefully. Not to say the macs would never have problems (all computers do) but to a much lesser extent.
I respect that you may have had the same luck with Apple, but for me, I can say without hesitation that the company has rarely let down on both hardware or software fronts. I really can't say the same for many other brands. People who trust Apple are not always motivated by a "cool factor"... many of us just have a long history of Apple products working better for us personally.
I hope your bad luck with macs Improves or my bad luck with PCs does.
Gonna go fire up my Lisa now. (I would be glad to send you a pic of her loading up macpaint if you like).
Hmmmmmm...now I'll have to keep thinking.
That's moronic.
Every product has downsides, flaws or you had the bad luck to buy one that broke. Microsoft's ads tell you now to consider trying a Mac in case it's better? Or even better still: you're an idiot to shell out for a Windows-based server solution which Linux can do for free and better? Tell me where to look. Microsoft.com is a big site and I haven't found their honest ads section yet.
Point me to ONE ad for ANY product that warns you loud and clear that "product may fail". That's not Marketing's job. That's Legal's job (read the disclaimer aka warrantee, not the ad).
What some people will do to troll for page hits.
It's a Mac vs. PC TV ad. It's marketing. It's business. You sound like a whiney self-indulgent high school student and your comments suggest that half your anger is because Apple doesn't give you free stuff. Return what you bought to Apple and ask for a refund.
i demand new hardware - it is my fault. where's my new model mac pro? there may be an engineer sitting at his desk staring at this comment and he can't say "we'll ship after i feel warm and fuzzy." He probably has a deadline set by marketing. and i'm demanding it. yet it doesn't work - chips have flaws, video drivers haven't been written - still ill take it now and let them fix it later. the focus they get from having to fix a flaw must be greater once they've shipped.
if microsoft didn't ship until all bugs were fixed where would we be? If the shuttle didn't launch until there were no chance of catastrophic atmospheric reentry they wouldn't even gas up.
by shipping - with bugs - it illuminates the bigger problems which may be what you are concerned with. why is apple so closed? why 'can't' you load os/x on your sony? why dont they blog? why has quality manufacturing left america? why does apple have lawyers who threaten to sue a little girl for a suggestion? why are corporations so dumb? why cant i turn my iphone into a wonder-twin activated global positioning capable geosynchronously positioned satelite for telling everybody in the lower 2/3'rds of the milky way that right now i am blogging!
i've used computers so long i have laundry lists of pros and cons w/rt a cornucopia of hardware/software combinations. but in the end - i want the system that was designed with at least part of a vision i can share. where someone could wake up in the middle of the night for want of a feature - and some how get that feature to market, despite marketing.
Mac = the elite
The rest = well..frustrated fools that write columns like this. LOL.
whilst I concur that the faults are of course due to the machine, and that to some degree the representations, (such as functionality), on which they've built a brand contradict this, I maintain there is a far more fundamental reason why people purchase apple products. And the brand is precisely that, the mere connotations of an association with apple, regardless of the merit of their intimations concerning functionality, is the crux of the enticement responsible for Apple's sales.
Nevertheless, it's decidedly refreshing to read a post not quite as callously Apple-esque as the rest, my thanks.
As an ardent defender of free software, I'd advise you to dump that piece of crap, together with Windows, and go for Linux.
In the beginning the steep learning curve might seem daunting, but actually 99% of the things can be done with fancy GUIs like Mac or Windows. Oh, and Linux actually just works. Once you get things running, you will never see them crash, or behave "in a strange way". You will never say "Hey, this program didn't do that before!", or "What's going on here? The computer wasn't so slow some days before".
Comment #142 says "Once you go Mac, you don’t go back.". Bullshit. I hear tons of long time Mac and Windows users go mad at it and decide to go for Linux (or from Mac to Win and vice versa), but not with Linux. Yes, some recent ex-Windows or ex-Mac slav... users go to Linux, decide it's not for them, and get back. But not a single LONG TIME Linux user gets fed up with it and gets back to Win or Mac. Do you?
Not to mention the pure shallowness of it all. There are people DYING because they don't have adequate food and water. How's Apple and your precioussss Mac helping there? At least Bill Gates is spending my Vista money on curing major diseases and improving people's lives...
Bleh. Get a life. All of you.
Apple just works, always has. Software updates work smoothly and seemlessly-unlike anything from microsoft.
my favorite microsoft story: bought streets and trips with gps for my pos dell laptop. Streets installed ok, but the machine would not recognize the gps unit-and it was by microsoft! i finally had to go into hardware and make it find the ports or something, but this would NEVER happen on my mac.
PS: I love my iphone,greatest product ever invented. unlike zune.
*not that there is nothing wrong with it.
My biggest concern was that the new laptop would likely come with Vista. Now that gave me pause. Heard and read about all kinds of compatibility issues going from XP to Vista.
I decided that I also wanted a smaller "lap-print" -- 13" or less screen. After much research online and at local retail stores I chose a Toshiba model that came in at about 1/2 the cost of a comparably equipped Macbook or other brand Windows machine by Dell or Sony, 2 meg of RAM and a reasonably fast Core Duo processor. Etc. Very good deal, to put it mildly.
So far I have found the laptop to be suberb. Very happy. So is my wallet.
More to the point: Vista turns out to be very flexible with running XP software. I've loaded lots of old software just fine. AND I am finding the interface more enjoyable and useful than XP. I think that Vista is getting a bad rap. I am glad that I didn't let Vista get in the way of upgrading.
Finally: it's all up to how well the user interacts with whatever hardware/software is out there. If it works for you, that's what counts.
Not everybody wants to use the same tool to get the job done, that is why you have choices. I prefer to use a Mac, I have a PC, but don't really use it much. Now I don't think that everyone should use a Mac, because then that would create a monopoly and stifle innovation. I also believe that no computer company is perfect and once in a while Apple can create OS updates like MS's ME. Like any other application or OS, it's always good to wait until whatever bugs are worked out, if not, treat it like beta, like XP before SP2, or Vista.
For example, I love my iphone. I have been doing almost all of my email on my phone instead on on the computer. It stopped charging properly after several months. I made an appointment at the "genius" bar in an apple store and brought the phone in. They took a look at it and exchanged it for a new one on the spot!!!!
Before my iphone I had a treo. When that phone stopped working correctly I was stuck. The store where I bought it did nothing for me and I was unable to exchange it. I just had to keep using it even though I had to charge it twice a day.
That is one of the big differences between apple and other companies. Apple took care of my problem and actually seemed to care!
In the mid-90's, after Jobs left Apple, Chiat/Day was released from its contract, and the advertising became duller, more 'beige-box and price' in the Amelio years. When Jobs came back, he reinstated Chiat/Day and put Clow back on the job, resulting immediately in the 'Think Different' campaign. another campaign that placed the brand in the 'challenger/underdog/smarter choice' category.
Perhaps your problem lies more with Lee Clow's vision of the Apple brand than anything.
Strip apart everything, and you'll have an Apple machine and a PC machine, in other words, two PCs.
And that's all. One could be better for some tasks and in some fields, and the other in other tasks and other fields.
And that's all.
Both have bugs, since everything in this world is bugged. Both need repair and little fixed here and there.
The most important thing here is that YOU HAVE CHOICE. I could choose OS X, Windows or Linux three top-tier OSes and enjoy them all. Since this is the ONLY difference between an Apple PC and any other PC.
So, in my very humble opinion, I'll suggest just one thing to you Scoble: please don't fall on the opposite extremism. Fanboys are fanboys and that attitude is bad wherever you say "Love Apple", "Love MS", "Love Linux" or "Hate" variant.
We have emotions and it's GOOD, so we hate and love. But we could keep emotions AND balance. ;)
You did get pounced on because you dared to question Apple, you got pounced on because your criticism was silly. Your complaint with Apple was that your computer wasn't working right. The end. It wasn't "and when I called tech support, they gave me the runaround" or anything like that; you had a problem and you started screeching "screw you, screw you." Why should anybody take that seriously?
It's pretty funny that you characterize your post in such neutral terms as "writing about it on your blog." Go back and read what you wrote. If you had written, "My Mac is doing X, I'm really frustrated," you probably would have gotten a lot of comments suggesting fixes. You threw a tantrum instead, and people reacted to the tantrum. Big surprise.
I don't know you, and I would never assume that someone's writing gives you a clear picture of their personality, but in that particular post you came across as a brat with poor impulse control. Sorry. And the "plus I don't get free stuff" just played right into that.
We all have those moments when we rant, and blogs make it all too easy to make them part of our permanent record; the mature thing to do is take responsibility for what we write, even at our worst moments. You might consider it.
Hah, in 1977 I was an Apple II user (all the way until the mid 1980s). That was my first computer. I grew up a mile or so from Apple computer in Cupertino. I was a member of the first computer club at Hyde Jr. High, where I helped unbox the first computers used there. Got a tour of Apple when it was one building, too.
Then I got into Macs from 1988 through 1993.
Then Windows NT converted me to the Microsoft side of the house where I stayed until last year. Now I use both Macs and Windows machines (and Linux once in a while).
Steve Wozniak gave me $40,000 in college to buy Macs for our journalism department back in 1989.
So, if anything, I'm an Apple fanboi more than a Windows one.
Wasn't Apple ironic about the thousands of dialog boxes in Vista? With Leopard, now they have too.
Same thing with bugs. Few days after Leopard was out some clever people discovered that all Macs had suffered a major bug for years. And don't try to say that Apple is smart because rushed a major update in 20 days, because that makes things even worse.
The story is, when you grow on user base, like Apple does, you have to face problems that you didn't have before and you need to pay more attention on what you're doing BEFORE you do it.
What do you need to be able to tell if Apple hardware is more or less reliable than, say, Dell? You need nothing less than a properly run research.
The PC World / PC Mag / Consumer Reports reliability surveys have consistently shown Apple's desktop and laptop* reliability to be #1 (or #2 to IBM). All others' reliability (in the surveys) were worse.
No emotion, no "my sister had a crappy machine so that brand sucks", no "the company has sassy / unbelievable / "lifestyle" commercials, no "Ooh, that company rubs me the WRONG WAY!" No. Research. And those reliability surveys are the best we have.
Is human intelligence an oxymoron? Now, I'm human too, so I'm not excepting myself here. But come on! Oh, wait! I'm not human. I'm robot.
Bot
human-like electronic transactor with solid logic
* I read a summary of the latest CU survey and apparently Apple's laptop reliability has slipped. I don't know the full details. Check it out if you're interested.
I own a MacBook, and switched from a buggy PC that I used for years only two months ago, and I could not be happier. The stability incorporated into the new Mac OS X release "Leopard" is astonishing, and was well worth the $129. I purchased Vista Ultimate in excess of $250 for my PC, and was instantly throttled by restrictions due to older hardware, making the PC incapable of even installing the new OS. A computer two years old should have no problem performing in newer operating systems, as Apple has so readily understood. My PC had 512 MB of RAM, an 80GB hard drive, and other statistics which should have easily allowed it to run Vista. But alas, such was not true. Apple computers from five or more years ago are capable of running Leopard, many without ANY problems.
I posted the history about my computer usage to illustrate the horrific point of Ryan Block, who writes for Engadget. His main source for his utter hatred of Apple and their products comes from his own experiences. Well from my experiences, as well as those from many, many satisfied Mac owners, Apple is almost god-like in comparison to Microsoft in terms of customer satisfaction, customer service, and reliability.
Everything I say is not due to my "love" for Apple, but rather my own experiences, and Apple's commitment to excellence. I am not a "fanboy", but this post will probably still be erased.
Mr. Scoble - I understand your frustration with having a computer that does not behave properly. That said, it seems that you would be savvy enough to realize that anecdotal evidence based on one user's experience (or even two, if you include your son) is not enough to either prove or disprove Apple's marketing claims.
For example - I once owned a Chevy Vega, and it gave me no problems at all during the years I owned it. I know a guy with a Toyota pickup that gave him no end of problems, and he ended up having to return it using CA's lemon law. Based on that, would I claim that Chevy's are more reliable than Toyotas? Would he be right to complain about how Toyota's claims of reliability are a farce and how dare they be so smug about reliability when he had issues X, Y, and Z?
It is pure silliness to use anecdotal evidence like that to try and support a position, at least if you want it to be defensible. It is the old "but I have an uncle who smoked every day and lived to be 100, so smoking isn't bad!" argument.
THAT is how I would say your article saps just a bit of your credibility - I find it tough to believe that you don't understand the issues with anecdotal evidence, which leads me to believe that you do, but in your anger you chose to ignore it. My suspicion is that you were simply angry, and lashed out - fine, I have been angry with Apple (and Commodore and Dell, when I had problems with their respective machines), but it does seem a little silly to build such a broad argument based on such little evidence.
Drew
Tough for me to figure out what that really means, without better understanding what sorts of issues they were judging. If it is hardware failure rate, I would expect Apple hard drives, for example, to fail at the same rate as Dell's, since they are essentially the same. If it includes things like system freezes, driver issues, etc., then it may well suggest that, in this survey, they were statistically indistinguishable.
d
The primary reason I do not have a Mac, is that I like the ability upgrade my systems hardware.
I spend about 20 min on computer "problems" which, in 9 out of 10 cases, just means that I need help figuring out how something works.
but it all depends on how you use your computer. I spent a good 9-10 hours on it every day and use at least a dozen applications regularly. but I don't need to EVER fiddle with a graphics card (they have hundreds of those??) or add'l RAM or what have you. my computer just WORKS ;-)
move
on
I have been following these conversations around your Mac problems and the sum advertising campaign. As a binlingual user (trilingual if you count my pure unix stuff, though that's not mainstream), I find these problems prevanlent throughtout, and maybe it's OK to say "we expect his as Windows users" or maybe it's par fo the course with complicated unix commands, but what really got me were a couple things, and I think the first has been covered:
1. You are very experienced with technology and know that things can go wrong--what happened to reading the manual, using the web (for god sakes of all people, you should) to find these answers (because they're there). You now that nothing works perfectly, and certainly not to the level an ad claims. I think you took a lot of heat for this, and personally I think you deserved it because it was a bit too annoying. But, enough has been said about that... let me focus on the second, which I find a little unreasonable.
2. As you know, it's not ethical to accept or expect gifts from vendors. Harping on that point as you did in your earlier post (no free stuff from Apple) shows a bit of disregard for journalistic ethical standards. Most of your readers don't get any freebies, and true journilistic impartial reviews pretty much rule this out. Why the complaints? Why even go down that path? Your arguments outside of this made much more rationale sense, but that whole thing harping on Apple about not sending YOU free stuff, when everyone else did, was just downright disrepsectful of what you should stand for (if you place yourself above a standard blogger and consider yourself part of the media, which you should).
Your concern about the ad campaigns and the slamming agains MS, well they are legit. But you can't expect sympathy as someone who does get a lot of free stuff anyway, and in most people (probably not you) this could cloud your views, or in a worse case scenario, cloud your real journilistic analysis of Apple's marketing position ("it just works"). Plus, this should even be an issue with you if you have any journalistic integrity. And, you have all the know how, contacts and reason to figure this stuff out, whether it be a trouble shooting thing, or just knowing when you've been dealt a bad hand on the hardware.
I could have gone on the same rant about my Vista experience, but I just plowed through and finally figured out my problems and eventually the fixes. Didn't blame it on MS (though I am like many, and my Mac problems are far less than my Windows issues).
For me, it wasn't an issue of unsubscribe or to tell with Apple, it was where does Robert Scoble see his role, and does he stick to the principles that he should probably adhere to as a well respected commentator on everything tech. Those posts seriously had me doubting this, it was almost like you had been pounding a bunch of beers and decided you were just going on an unprofessional tyrade.
Please keep up the commentary on tech markeitng, your experiences, and maybe a little more about how this stuff is fixed. And then stick to your principles and let that shine rather than the "Apple hasn't sent me a fricking thing" which came off like you expected them to in order to retain your support (and yes, I know, you've spent thousands of dollars at Apple, which should speak for itself, but we really don't have access to your online banking statements, nor care about that). We want to hear the analysis, what the problems are, and if you get them, what are the fixes, because we may be facing the same problems.
Yes, it's cool, but I think my Sony Vaio is also pretty cool, but nothing is cooler than an SGI, so anything else is a step down from ultimate ice-chill, but consider this: application wise, one can still do more with a Windows based system and be reasonably sure it will work - there are fewer applications for Apple, and fewer third party applications or add-ons that truly show compatibility.
Secondly - if something goes wrong with an Apple, you'd damned well better be Unix guru to figure it out (and why they hide access to a command-line terminal is beyond me - I want to talk to my machine directly!) - with Windoze, mostly , you crash and reboot....
Thirdly - hype is hype, and that is why Apple survives - the question is hype and religion, not which is a better OS.
So, hype aside, is Apple a better system and OS than Windoze and Intel/AMD? No, it isn't. Each has strengths and weaknesses, and it behooves one to be honest about them - true - Vista sucks, and is a resource hog of unbelievable proportions, but if you want something that doesn't suck and doesn't use up masses of resources, try Linux before you spend the dosh for a Mac. I have a brother who is an Apple support engineer, and even though he swears by Apple, he also swears at Apple an awful lot, and recently had me configure a PC for him to use on the side. So even from the happy home of Apple - well, even they know that they have a long way to go. And by the way, try logging into both Apple's and Microsoft's web and mail servers ( it's fun!) - both still use SUN (Unix) servers for all web presences instead of their own products - and that says A LOT!
What is Apple's growth curve looking like these days? Most places I read claim it's trending upward. Continued growth would indicate general satisfaction with the product. Those who are not satisfied and leave the Apple platform are fewer than the majority who ARE satisfied.
I see the personaes represented in the Apple ads as the average PC and the average Mac. In that context, the ads are not misrepresenting the realities of the majority of these two camps.
It seems some elites have the privilege of having their personal soap boxes on which to rant. But let's see how the market reacts to Apple's lies.
Wouldn't you expect a deceitful campaign by Apple would be corrected by market forces? All those burned customers would eventually return to the Microsoft fold? If that's the case then you can take comfort in knowing there will be an uptick in Windows adoption coming soon.
If you subscribe to mass hypnotism then you're better off categorizing this blog with Illuminatiism. Fundamentally you're going to have to trust that people are in control of their own choices.
http://www.brighthub.com/review/Apple/Brian-Ric...
Not very favorable...
http://www.istartedsomething.com/20071117/taste...
You've also pointed out that if you have a problem with your Dell PC - they just send you a new one. Hmmm, Mr. Scoble - how much extra have you paid for that level of support? $500 on top of your purchase price is the going rate for Gold level, which means you don't have to wait on hold for more than 2 minutes, and you may be lucky enough to get a North American based. And if you didn't pay extra for GTS, what do you get? Three and four HOUR hold times before speaking with a with badly trained call-center drone in Bangalore, who insists that the only way to fix your optical drive problem is to wipe out your hard drive and re-install Windows. You can't take that Dell over to that local Dell kiosk or even to Wal-Mart and get warranty support. While phone-based support is minimal for OOW products, the folks at the Genius Bar will work on your Bondi iMac until the DogCow comes home.
I'm not a fanboy - I don't irrationally hate Windows PCs. I use one every day, Monday - Friday. It works fine, rarely crashes. But there is nothing compelling about it. It's a dull hunk of grey and silver plastic - about as aestetically pleasing as a patch of crabgrass. XP feels about the same - a hunk of gray plastic. It gets my job done, but there's no joy in using it.
I take your criticism with a hefty grain of salt - scratch the surface and you're nothing more than a MS apologist.
The regular call center evil was in full effect: call metrics designed to be unmet by a percentage of the group in order to keep the turnover moving, and Apple's unique documentation style. For example, "the scope of support for the first-level tech is the first-level scope of support for the product"; however, "the first-level scope of support for the product is the scope of support for a first level tech." I saw many of my training group comrades fall victim to this well-placed loophole, and my manager always defended the fairness of it with great fury when we dared to say anything. Strangely, the first people to get the axe were always the non mac users and those who didn't particularly live the iLife or wave the iFlag, and if the important metric of the month didn't justify selling us downriver, another metric would become important for the group.
More than anything else, the powers that be in Cupertino are selling an image. When you call tech support, they want you talking to a loyalist, when you go to the Apple store they want you dealing with a partisan. If you get your machine fixed or your needs met, it's a happy bonus, but not particularly important.
All the other devices Digicams, printers, webcams and - yes - even videocams worked right out of the box and required no driver installment.
So I still think that a Mac is for most of the people the right device. Installing something on Windows - regardless of the version - is alchemy. Mostly drivers and software have to be updated before installing. And most of the things on Vista do just not work. That's why my company couldn't switch to Vista.
I'm actually a fan of Macs and have been since 1989 but I'm not one of those fanatics though I have only owned and used Macs. In fact I criticise certain aspects of the Mac too. For instance, recently on Apple forums, I made a note that it seems Microsoft has a better response time in sending out security patches than Apple does. That immediately got me flamed. Without paying attention, a user said how could I compare Windows to OS X when Windows is a much better operating system. And then, another said Windows has more flaws in it than OS X and so Apple does not have to put out as many security updates.
But all of them missed my point.
a) I was not talking about Windows or OSX. I was talking about the COMPANIES called Microsoft and Apple
b) I was not comparing Windows to OS X. I was merely comparing the response time to security flaws between Microsoft and Apple.
c) Whether Windows is more flawed than OS X is totally beside the point of my conjecture.
Now, I would not find it ridiculous if someone said, "Well, actually if you look at such and such, you would see that Apple response is quicker...etc. etc." That would be sticking to the topic and my contention of the speediness of response to security flaws.
Sometimes I also find it very curious that certain segments of consumers are so attached to a brand that they have to defend it. Wow, capitalism has really brainwashed a lot of us here.
P.S. And again, all of this is coming from someone who only uses Macs and has been since 1989. And I do prefer Macs over PCs, but it is not to say that there isn't something from the PC world that Apple can learn.
Pride comes before a fall.
in OS section LINUX will outcome all other OS including MS.