Apple bashing -why?

[pallentx]

opinions - we all have them. We all find different products that suit us. Personally, I dont think there is any such thing as "the best" when it comes to Apple/Microsoft/Palm/Android or whatever type arguments. What is "bloatware" to one user is the only option with the robust features to do the job for another. I found Windows 7 to be a significant leap forward for Windows, but my mom still prefers Windows 98 (I know, I dont get it either). Some people like the simple, safe approach of Apple, some people feel confined and frustrated by it. I dont hate any brands out there. I try not to really have any personal, emotional feelings about them at all. They each try to do things their own way to appeal to their niche of customers.

 

[Tinman]

If you ever had to endure Vista, you wouldn't mind Windows 7.



Michael

 

[wrecklass]

...while Apple bashers have never owned a machine running OS X or iOS.

Lol, excellent example of the kind of absolutist talk you hear from so called fanboys. Primarily because it is provably false. Although I don't know if you meant it as such.

I have a good friend who I have worked with for over 20 years now. We have developed and used nearly every platform, but we both used Macintosh almost exclusively for most of that time.

My friends current laptop is a MacBook Pro, which he has had no end of troubles with. There have been numerous article about these issues, but he cannot get Apple to replace the machine. If you were to talk to him you would correctly lable him an "Apple hater." He will not purchase any Apple products, and has pretty much banned them on his development team. He is a VP of development at the company I work for.

This is not the result of a single laptop that has failed. He has been displeased with Apples straight jacket approach for a number of years now and finally got fed up.

I suspect that this is a pattern with many "haters" on both sides of the fence. It takes a lot to get a fan unhappy, but once it happens they tend to be the most vocal of the opposition.

 

[iPadCharlie]

People on the Internet feel a compulsion to give authoritative opinions on things they know nothing about.

Amen!

I belong (or have belonged) to about 20 forums (at last count!) and I discovered a long time ago that if I want accurate, technical information, I will go to a "trusted" source which is usually the manufacturer. OTOH, if I want opinions, I will go to an Internet forum!

I have also learned that when someone asks a question on a forum, they don't want:

1) A lecture on how easy it would have been to find the answer if they had done a search on the forum.

2) A lecture on how easy it would have been to find the answer by doing a Google search.

3) To be told to look in the owner's manual.

4) To be told how to find the answer.

If you do one of those 4 things, you end up sounding like a jerk! People just want their question answered. It amazes me that people have enough computer "smarts" to find a forum to post a question, but yet are unable to use that same process to find the answers to their questions.

[/rant] off

 

[devis]

People on the Internet feel a compulsion to give authoritative opinions on things they know nothing about.

Amen!

I belong (or have belonged) to about 20 forums (at last count!) and I discovered a long time ago that if I want accurate, technical information, I will go to a "trusted" source which is usually the manufacturer. OTOH, if I want opinions, I will go to an Internet forum!

I have also learned that when someone asks a question on a forum, they don't want:

1) A lecture on how easy it would have been to find the answer if they had done a search on the forum.

2) A lecture on how easy it would have been to find the answer by doing a Google search.

3) To be told to look in the owner's manual.

4) To be told how to find the answer.

If you do one of those 4 things, you end up sounding like a jerk! People just want their question answered. It amazes me that people have enough computer "smarts" to find a forum to post a question, but yet are unable to use that same process to find the answers to their questions.

[/rant] off

Good point. But there are those times when the question either hasn't been asked before or it has been asked by such few number of people that googling it would result in an infinite amount of word matches. In brief, it is easier to look for "ipad forum" and ask "what's the best way to cut out my tmobile SIM to fit in the iPad slot." Or it could be that people are just lazy. I tend to favor this last one

As for Apple bashing, I've never done much of it with the exception that half of the techno ignorant world inhabitants out there are now supertechies cause they bought an iSomething. And I'm sick and tired of people telling me what fantastic thing the iSomething is.
Had touched the iPhone maybe 2-3 times at a couple of minutes each time. It was October of 2007. I'm at the coffee shop, flipping through the internet while at the same time listening to some music with my BT stereo headset, both activities being done in my old HTC Wizard. Someone aproaches and asks for a cig. I offer him one, then he starts asking me about the stereo BT. we engaged in a conversation, then he pulls out his iPhone and I'm quite sure he could pair the headset too. So we try... and of course the end result was a nill. Not only was he shocked, I was quite surprised. I mean for heaven's sake Apple has had BT in their laptops way before any Windows computer ever did. Granted, they didn't do A2DP, that had to be enabled via terminal commands. But I'm looking at this guy who's got the "latest and greatest" and it doesn't even do half the things my 200 MHz Wizard could do, and I paid about half what he paid!
So no, I don't bash Apple. Just the people who think Apple is at the bleeding edge of technology.

 

[The Alternative]

It amazes me that people have enough computer "smarts" to find a forum to post a question, but yet are unable to use that same process to find the answers to their questions.

I think some people ask questions in a forum like this one not only to get their question answered but to interact with others who may have had the same experience. It's more of a social interaction then simply researching their problem themselves. There is also the sympathy factor. "My (insert electronic gadget of choice) just turned into an expensive anchor and I want someone to empathize."

One other point, reading some of the posts here makes me glad I missed the flash thread. I don't think my heart could take it. So much animosity... and for what, really?

 

[DaveSt]

My big issue is bloatware from Microsoft, Adobe, and so many others.

That is an interesting point. That is exactly how I feel about Apple's flagship multi-platform application: Itunes. If there was ever an example of bloatware or a program growing well past its' intended boundaries Itunes has to be it. Slow, huge and blatantly intrusive. I can't disagree with MS and Adobe programs having similar issues however. I personally think Word might be the worst single program ever forced on the business environment while Excel might be the greatest. I guess no company is immune to over development in the quest to become the next "must have" application.

 

[Seadog]

I actually like both Word and Excel......If you can get rid of about half of the features you don't need, and it cost a lot less. I also agree that iTunes needs to be overhauled.

 

[harv2000]

I'm a long time Microsoft user and the iPad was my first Apple product. Here's my take on the discussion.

1) Apple makes the most technically slick, user-friendly products on the market.

2) I feel constrained and limited by Apple's control of what I run on the device.

3) I was turned off by the buying experience. Going to the Apple store was like entering the temple of some techno cult. I spoke to several sales people and they all had the same attitude: "You have come to the source of all things wonderful and we know what you need better than you do."

You describe my experience perfectly. As a user of an Android phone, an iPad and mostly Windows PCs (I started out owning one of the original Macs 26 yrs ago) I'm covering a wide range. Simply stated, my experience on the iPad is much smoother than the other two, but I chafe at the restrictions. My experience on Android is OK, and I like the freedom, but there are times I miss the simplicity of the iPad. My experience with Windows is okay, but I get aggravated when my computer suddenly decides that it needs to do something, especially something I've not explicitly asked for. At the same time, I've loade several versions of Linux on computers thinking that it would be nice to have an open OS versus MS. Usually, within 2 - 3 weeks, I'm returning that machine to Windows, because within the paradigm I can control it. Linux would force me to take control of things I don't want to put effort into.

Bottom line, we tend to like some things better than other things, and the level of that like or dislike tends to control the passion with which we work to convince each other of our own rightness.

And having said that, some people are just jerks and live to see what kind of trouble they can stir up. The internet gives them the illusion of a safe place to anonymously let out their frustrations.

 

[pallentx]

I actually like both Word and Excel......If you can get rid of about half of the features you don't need, and it cost a lot less. I also agree that iTunes needs to be overhauled.

That's a good point - they should make "office Lite". It really is impressive in many regards how sophisticated products like Excel and Access have become, but so many users dont need the bulk of what those apps are capable of - but they do need compatability with those using the full versions.

They are sort of doing this with the new office online stuff. You get lite versions of Word, Excel and Powerpoit - and its free. Unfortunately, the iPad is not supported, or that would be my Office Suite.

 

[tzimisce]

In general, Windows bashers (which I am not, I use all sorts of operating systems) have used Windows and dislike it for specific reasons, while Apple bashers have never owned a machine running OS X or iOS.

That is generally true in my observation as well. Personally I think life's already too short and hard without finding things to pick on or be unpleasant about, but I think that some people who bash another product are merely doing it as an identity statement to assert themselves, rather than any genuine animosity with the product itself.

(And picking on one particular name to bash seems to be true for almost any kind of niche product - e.g. Rolexes for watches, Montblancs for pens, James Horner and/or Hans Zimmer for soundtrack music fans... )