Commentary By Ron Beasley
I think I must be one of the three or four people on the face of the earth that has never owned an Apple product. No Ipod or Iphone - no Apple Computer. I don't want to listen to music when I'm out in nature, I gave up my cell phone a few years ago when I realized there was no one I wanted to talk too when away from home. My home computer for much of my life was also a work computer and most of the software I used was Windows based only. And then there was the cost - an Apple Computer always cost significantly more than a the PC equivalent. And I objected to the control Apple insisted on. I have built most of my own computers something I couldn't do with Apple. And then there was the Apple tablet - I don't even own a laptop - why would I want a tablet?
So Steve Jobs created products no one knew they wanted until he created them. Sorry - didn't work for me.
I'm another one. I have QuickTime installed on my PC, because sometimes it's needed, & that's it. Had iTunes for a while, but why bother if one isn't going to buy any crummy music?
ReplyDeleteAs far as Apple hardware, please! Do I look like a millionaire?
Another non-Apple person here.
ReplyDeleteTo each his own I guess. Me, I've 4 iPods 3 of which I now used as simply external hard drives; 2 iBooks & 1 Macbook stuffed away in a bedroom closet used now for backups. I'm on line with an iMac linked through to my ISP using a Time Capsule (external hard drive/router) & for travel I've a MacBook Pro. Oh I've 2 Airport Expresses for backup if trouble with the Time Capsule and for travel. Major change I've noticed for me likely caused by the iPod which I rarely use as a medium to access music but do use extensively while I'm walking to access podcasts from around the world i.e. Australia (ABC, SlowTV, University of Sydney etc.), UK(LSE, Frontline Club, BBC, RSA, British Library, etc. ), USA(Doug Henwood, Lapham's Quarterly, The Moth, Radio Open Source, the Free Library in Philly, etc. ).
ReplyDeleteI like the simple uncluttered design of most things Apple and the fact that the damn things work and I have to spent much less time trying to figure out how to configure some simple new connection/hook-up in a strange city, country, hotel etc..
But to each his own.
Actually, you were affected by Apple products. When Windows 95 came out, there was a slogan, "Windows 95 = Mac 87," along with other variations that implied that Windows finally had what the Mac introduced in 1987. The competition from Apple caused Microsoft to produce better and easier to use products that to some degree copied the features of the Mac, so indirectly, you did use Apple products.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that PCs are cheaper than Macs, and for many people PCs will work just fine. However, the Mac environment provides the easiest environment to work with. My wife is classic example of the average user. She does not care about the operating system. When we switched to a Mac a few years ago, she found it much easier to use. For some people, the ease of use makes the Macs worth the extra price.
I�ll have more to say later, for now, I�m just happy that our telecommunications systems are back up and running. What does surprise me about all this is the passion this particular debate seems to rile up.� The whole �Mac vs PC� thing has taken on the aspect of some kind of tribal identification with a surprisingly large number of people.�
ReplyDeleteEven had I never used a Mac computer, I would be aware that the user-interface of Windows was copied from one. While others focused on features lists and hardware specs, Apple looked to the user experience, and competes on that basis. While that results in some trade-offs regarding those features and specs, unless you are in the habit of building your own equipment, it usually means they�re a lot easier for non-technophiles to get into to.
While I don�t know what the computer environment would be like without a Steve Jobs-headed Apple, I can�t imagine they�d be as easy to use without his nearly monomaniacal push for better user interfaces, and for that at least, even those who seem to take pride in never using an Apple product should be thankful.
Following on BJ's note I should have provide this link to John Naughton - think he's just retire from Cambridge OpenUni - re Jobs and link to an old Playboy interview. Interesting:
ReplyDeletehttp://memex.naughtons.org/archives/2011/10/06/14528
Our first computer was an Apple II-c, a tough little piece of hardware with a little green monitor and a printer that used fabric ink cartridges faster than I could afford to replace them. But the kids and I loved it and in 1982 it was the cat's pajamas. Since then we have only had PCs but mainly because the Apple products seemed too expensive.
ReplyDeleteThat said, this comment thread would not be complete without a harsh retrospective of the dark side of Steve Jobs.
Before he was deposed from Apple the first time around, Jobs already had a reputation internally for acting like a tyrant. Jobs regularly belittled people, swore at them, and pressured them until they reached their breaking point. In the pursuit of greatness he cast aside politeness and empathy. His verbal abuse never stopped. Just last month Fortune reported about a half-hour "public humiliation" Jobs doled out to one Apple team:
"Can anyone tell me what MobileMe is supposed to do?" Having received a satisfactory answer, he continued, "So why the fuck doesn't it do that?"
"You've tarnished Apple's reputation," he told them. "You should hate each other for having let each other down."
Jobs ended by replacing the head of the group, on the spot.
http://gawker.com/5847344/what-everyone-is-too-polite-to-say-about-steve-jobs
That's only a snip. Lots more dirt at the link...