Commentary
And the classic battle continues . . .
- by Dustin , July 9, 2007
I think that my intentions may have been misinterpreted in my past blogs regarding Apple. My first blog about Macs was more of a pointed conversation about the zealotry behind Mac users and to dispel the myth that Macs are better pieces of hardware/software. I am biased towards PCs, but if you read my very next blog had a free for all bashing of the new Windows Vista.
Essentially, I want people to be critical of the equipment they are buying and investing in.
Macs, to me, speak well aesthetically (few will argue this point), but offer little terms of compatible software. Since this is the part that people use, it seems that we (everyone who is buying computers) should be critical of the investment.
My post on the iPhone was intended to encourage the same critical thought process. People should be aware when making $500 investments, if you’re paying that much, what are you getting? A mobile phone you need to be stationary to use is ludicrous to me.
To the point that 3G technology is not offered, this technology has been in development and available for while now. Apple decided not to integrate 3G technology because standard EDGE technology is used more widely on the global market. Oh and by the way…
[ EDGE advertises in-the-field download speeds of between 70 kbps and 135 kbps, though its
technical ceiling is 384 kbps. Many users who noted the impressive increases said that their maximum transfer rate on AT&T before Thursday night was 70 kbps. Even the 200-kbps download speeds
being reported, however, are a far cry from the numbers achieved by much faster 3G data networks operated by the likes of Verizon. ]
PC World
Lastly . . . since Sean started the personal bit: I don’t play World of War Craft. I use Rhinoceros 3D Modeling, AutoCAD, Adobe, Macromedia, 3D Studio MAX and other softwares to do digital design and fabrication. I am also competent in RhinoScript and Flash Actionscript.
I'm not even saying Mac doesn’t support some of this software, indeed it does. But I don’t need a Mac to do some really cool sh*t.
PC World - http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,133626-c,techindustrytrends/article.html
Where should I begin....
Why do you feel the need for people to be critical? Judging from your picture, you're significantly younger than me. Perhaps it's your generation's desire to express its youthful angst?
Try being POSITIVE - you might actually enjoy something. And given the response to the iPhone, i.e., the survey published in USA TODAY where 90% of the people who bought an iPhone liked it, your opinions are clearly in the minority. Mac sales are up, the Apple stock is up, the iPhone launch set all sorts of records, etc. So is it your position that those of us who bought a Mac or an iPhone are just stupid? Or perhaps we're just not as cool as you?
Whether it's a computer or a cell phone, people don't buy these devices because of what they won't do. They buy them because of what they WILL do.
And just so you know, it takes more than a negative, cynical approach to something to be able to understand it.
Having actually read your post, I say: fair enough. You are using the tool as you see fit. I work in a mixed environment, using both a Mac and a PC. I am a marketing professional and have found that more and more with company systems going through web portals, there are fewer and fewer barriers to entry for Mac users now than there have been in the past. As enterprise applications become hosted, the need for dedicated Windows machines declines.
I personally prefer the Mac platform because of the superior type rendering of the Mac environment. I find that the exact same typeface (and I am talking opentype here so it's completely an apples to apples, no pun intended, comparison) rendered on screen on a windows machine looks markedly worse than the Mac version which ends up looking closer to the final printed piece.
That being said, I agree that there is nothing that would preclude you from producing cool stuff on a PC, it's a matter of personal preference at this point given that the file formats are fiarly standardized in 99% of the things we all use (email, MS Office, PDF, etc.).
I would point out that as zealous as Mac users tend to be, an argument can be made that this is a reaction to having to fight obstinate old school IT staff who at best seem to discourage mac use and at worst outright refuse to support Mac users. After years of fighting this battle, I heard uttered for the first time words that warmed the cockles of my heart: "I don't care what you are using." Naturally, this was the day after I had given my notice that I would be moving on to another company. Hopefully, it's a sign that we are moving beyond the "platform wars" into an era when people can just use their computers to be productive.