Are Media Writers Biased Towards Apple? 747
Art Vanderlay writes "Readers should not be surprised by overcoverage of Apple Computers since the tech writers and columnists for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, and Fortune are all Mac users. According to John Dvorak of PC Mag, no one seems to point out the connection between the skewed coverage and the existence of this peculiar conflict of interest based on the national writers' use of Macs. He feels the newsroom editors are generally so out of touch that they can't see this bias and are also Mac users." From the article: "This reality is not going to change. In fact it will only get worse as technology coverage is handed to newer, less-qualified observers who simply cannot use a Microsoft Windows computer. With no Microsoft-centric frame of reference, Microsoft cannot look good. The company essentially brought this on itself with various PR and marketing policies that discouraged knowledgeable coverage. I'll save those complaints for a future gripe session."
Ya think? (Score:2, Insightful)
Don't worry, I will post this anon.
Human Nature (Score:4, Insightful)
HA! (Score:5, Insightful)
And HA!
I am astounded that such an astute observer as Dvorak didn't seem to pick up on the fact that the virulent "Apple is Dying" meme in the 90s was perpetuated primarily by PC-using columnists...
So bloke writing for a Windows Mag... (Score:5, Insightful)
Decides that writers are all using Macs, are biased and of course must be wrong.... because they have no frame of reference unlike himself who works for a magazine that talks of Windows Vista as being the second coming.
Hello Pot... have you met kettle?
Dvorak whines again. (Score:4, Insightful)
This reality is not going to change. In fact it will only get worse as technology coverage is handed to newer, less-qualified observers who simply cannot use a Microsoft Windows computer.
Perhaps these happy Mac users are former Windows users? Dvorak is going on a limb by assuming they're techo-illiterates who haven't used Windows.
what hasn't been covered? (Score:5, Insightful)
Dvorak, I consider you my archdioc^H^H^H^Hnemesis. (Score:2, Insightful)
Also behold E3, one of MS' few opportunities to introduce cool new hardware like Apple does every five minutes.
Oh, please. (Score:5, Insightful)
> connection between the skewed coverage and the existence of this peculiar
>conflict of interest based on the national writers' use of Macs.
So Mac users are biased and have a conflict of interest, while Microsoft users don't? That's ridiculous to suggest that someone can't be objective if they use a particular platform.
I knew that person who used to accuse me of being platform-biased since I use a Mac. I ignored it until once I responded to him, "Look, I purchased Microsoft Office, I purchased Microsoft Windows to work with Virtual PC. I have no problems using Windows, Linux, or whatever. I even own Microsoft stock. How much Microsoft stuff do I have to own for you to considered me unbiased?"
> From the article: "This reality is not going to change. In fact it will only get
> worse as technology coverage is handed to newer, less-qualified observers
> who simply cannot use a Microsoft Windows computer.
Dvorak's just trying to troll. Dvorak admitted years ago that he trolled for responses: calling the iBook a makeup case (1999), writing articles about fake dreams ("In my dream, Jobs was in line at a movie theater with Bill Gates..." from 1998), and my favorite,
He's just doing it again. Moreover, he's claiming "bias" without suitable proof -- and the burden of proof on Dvorak is a lot greater than "I could list 50". Hey, John, if you really think your fellow columns and analysts are biased, then name names. But waving around your secret list in order to troll is silly.
Crying bias! is just Dvorak's way of crying for help.
Perhaps... (Score:5, Insightful)
The "press" is human as well, and I would find it hard to fault them for acting that way. To sum it up - a company that generally has interesting media events has another coming up. Wouldn't you be inclined to pay attention?
Of course... (Score:5, Insightful)
This says a lot.
People who write about technology are going to know a lot about it, and so they are going to be in a better informed position to choose what is best because they have both seen a lot of technology and thought about it a lot. They choose Macs.
Dvorak writes for a Windows magazine...
Well, you said it first buddy. (Score:1, Insightful)
Well, you said it first buddy.
That said, I don't see a bias, its simply the fact that Apple are releasing a lot of new, interesting and highly popular products lately, while Microsoft simply aren't. Just wait until Longhorn or the XBox 360 are released, and you'll see that the big media will cover Microsoft's products just as eagerly.
Unsurprising (Score:3, Insightful)
Just from the write up (RTFA later) (Score:5, Insightful)
Hmmm.... so people who like Macintoshes enough to use them should be disqualified from voicing their opinions because they've demonstrated a preference for Macs? Any possibility that, you know, they use Macs for good reason?
This reality is not going to change. In fact it will only get worse as technology coverage is handed to newer, less-qualified observers who simply cannot use a Microsoft Windows computer. With no Microsoft-centric frame of reference, Microsoft cannot look good.
Ok, so, I think I'm beginning to understand. You need some genius-level technical prowess to get a Windows computer to work, so as coverage is turned over to normal people, they're bound to prefer Macintoshes. Without being Microsoft-biased, Microsoft cannot look good.
The company essentially brought this on itself with various PR and marketing policies that discouraged knowledgeable coverage.
Huh? Which company? Apple? So Apple "brought this on themselves", the 'this' being good press, by various marketing/PR policies? In other words, their marketing/PR is effective? Is that a criticism?
Or does he mean Microsoft brought it on themselves by marketing with FUD? And finally...
He feels the newsroom editors are generally so out of touch that they can't see this bias and are also Mac users.
From the news I see, I'd say editors are generally so out of touch that they can't see any of their biases. Or else they're paid off by their advertisers, as PC Magazine seems to be.
Well, David Pouge used to edit MacWorld (Score:5, Insightful)
Ease of use? (Score:3, Insightful)
But I thought Windows was supposed to be easy to use... Perhaps Dvorak is right, and everyone who isn't a CS major should give up Windows and switch to Macs.
Good idea, John!
Re:what hasn't been covered? (Score:2, Insightful)
The fact that you think that there is nothing to report on clearly demonstrates that there IS a bias. Microsoft is putting out a lot of new, cool technologies. Unfortunately you haven't heard of them because everyone's talking about the "video iPod".
Whisky Tango Foxtrot (Score:5, Insightful)
Dvorak didn't just jump the shark with this one, he did a backflip, danced on its snout, and drank a tall glass of Microsoft Kool-Aid while doing it...
First of all, "it will only get worse as technology coverage is handed to newer, less-qualified observers who simply cannot use a Microsoft Windows computer"? Is Dvorak really insinuating that only the elite use Windows these days? I mean, c'mon, by virtual of nothing less than market share Windows is used by the vast majority of people who still wonder what that cup holder thingy is supposed to do. Mac users by and large tend to be infinitely more technically astute than Windows users. His argument as as asinine as it comes here.
The fact is that Macintosh has undoubtedly attracted a large following with members of the media. Dvorak's essential thesis is right on the money. Time might as well be a division of Apple's PR department. Walter Mossberg gives glowing reviews to anything Apple. David Pogue at The New York Times tends to be a big Apple booster as well. Apple users are known for their fanatical devotion to the brand, and Apple has a lot more mindshare in the media industry than Microsoft.
The problem with Dvorak's article is that it takes a good argument and turns it into a piece with all the coherency and logic of a USENET troll. Let's face it, at least Apple boosters are part of the in crowd. People who continually make such ad hominem excuses for the fact that Microsoft is losing mindshare at a massive rate end up looking like a bunch of crochety Kool-Aid guzzlers. Yes, Apple has a disproportionate influence in the media, but its hard to argue with the fact that much of it is due to the fact that they make a better set of products and they work harder to ensure customer loyalty than Microsoft.
windows == difficult to use? (Score:5, Insightful)
doesn't that, sort of, imply that windows is too difficult to, you know, use?
It's hard to root for the so-called "underdog" ... (Score:1, Insightful)
The upperdog ain't getting no love. (Score:3, Insightful)
Maybe (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm not sure if this is as true for Macs, but it probably enters the equation somehow. If the writer says "I would never give up my Mac for anything, and I hate Microsoft and Linux even if they were better, yada yada", there's certainly some emotional bias involved, and they should probably think twice about their journalistic integrity before submitting the review for publication. Certainly the _editors_ should be concerned about the reputation of their publication.
Ideally, a computer review shouldn't be just one person's thoughts on it - they would have a team of three or four people (the gamer, the journalist, the businessman, the IT guy) that each post their own thoughts on how the computer performs for them, and how well it meets their expectations given cost. They should be reasonably open-minded about different operating systems, and also be skilled with all of them (not as hard as it sounds, really).
-Erwos
Re:What about slashdot? (Score:2, Insightful)
No, Apple takes a close second to Google on slashdot. I swear not a day goes by without some story about one of these 2 companies. Even this one is a sort of meta-story about apple stories. Really quite useless, but here it is just because it has "Apple" in the title.
Wow! 3 Pro-Microsoft rants on front page in a row! (Score:2, Insightful)
I guess Zonk thinks the media should be reporting on all of Microsoft's great product releases over the last couple of weeks. Like ... umm ... err ...
I'm sure it'll be different when Longhorn or XBox 360 are released, and we'll see that these "horribly biased" media companies report on Microsoft. And when the Playstation 3 comes out, the media will report on Sony. It's only to be expected. Reporting on new products that are likely to make a HUGE market impact is a sensible thing for a tech writer to do, and right now Apple's innovation machine is in overdrive.
Second funniest Slashdot topic of all time. (Score:4, Insightful)
Umm, all the PC Magazines are published and printed with Macs, and always have been. Doesn't stop them from writing about Microsoft, the x86PC, or any of that stuff. A lot of ads for PCs, PC gear, PC software, etc are laid up on Macs. Doesn't stop them from selling PC gear.
What's changed is the company and it's products (Apple); in particular the iPod. In fact, the player is really the one responsible; everyone, including PC users, seems to have bought one and that's what's creating the buzz. Before the iPod, people kind-of-sort-of knew there was probably a difference but didn't really pay attention. Now, they are curious and the media simply reflects that by talking about it more (a lot more).
Is it only me who noticed that Dvorak is writing about Macs in an article about too much Mac coverage?
Re:Mac bashing? (Score:5, Insightful)
Microsoft's got a horizontal monopoly, but it looks like Apple's going for the vertical monopoly.
There's nothing wrong with operating a monopoly per se - and in the Microsoft case the problem was never with Microsoft being a monopoly - the DoJ case was brought because it was alleged that Microsoft had abused its monolpoly position.
In other words, wake me up not when Apple have a monolpoly, but when they start abusing their monolpoly position.
Re:People write about what they are enthusiastic (Score:4, Insightful)
I think I know the answer as to why there are not more "enthusiastic" windows users. It's not strictly because of a lack of material to be excited about. The prevailing geek culture absolutely prevents it. The prevailing culture is so biased, yes biased, against Microsoft that anybody claiming to be a MS enthusiast in not-so-proverbially booed off the proverbial stage. I am not being a troll, and I am not claiming at all that at least part of that bias is justified, I am just saying that's the way the wind blows. And most geeks are no less susceptible to cultural pressure than anybody else... maybe even more susceptible.
Re:what hasn't been covered? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:what hasn't been covered? (Score:5, Insightful)
Vista is so slow coming out the gates, I expect it to ship with Nukem. No one cares about MSN search because we have google. As most admins, I associate hotmail with spam. A new windows media player is nothing to celebrate: Why would we? It's like they achieved all the functionality you might need at about 6, and from there on out it's been all about adding bloat. IE: It's starting to play feature catchup with firefox, hardly news.
So none of this is really news, and most of it is old garbage.
Re:Human Nature (Score:2, Insightful)
Apple gets credit for doing interesting things, but a minor change in Dell's lineup will see many more customers and far more sales. So which one is really newsworthy?
Re:Human Nature (Score:2, Insightful)
Support Linux and F/OSS if you wanna root for an underdog.
C'mon Slashdot, give us a Dvorak checkbox... (Score:5, Insightful)
It has been patently obvious for years now that Dvorak [google.com] is intentionally caustic to generate banner ad impressions on his web column. DON'T FEED THE TROLLS.
Dvorak has a Reality Distortion Field, too. (Score:5, Insightful)
Dvorak is a fucking hack - details below (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:what hasn't been covered? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:HA! (Score:5, Insightful)
Writers are biased towards writers. (Score:3, Insightful)
It's a natural bias, that authors of given media are creating works about their media. And since media writers use macs, they write about macs. Nothing strange here.
Re:What about slashdot? (Score:5, Insightful)
but here it is just because it has "Apple" in the title
Unlike every Linux story.
EricAre clicks from China and India automatically invalid? [memwg.com]
Give me a break (Score:5, Insightful)
Apple gets a lot of coverage right now because a) they have new products to cover right now, b) they have a history of important innovation, c) they are one of the largest computer makers in the world, and d) they are succeeding at a strategy that all computer makers are trying--transitioning to a large consumer electronics company.
This is surprising.... why? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Human Nature (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Human Nature (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Human Nature (Score:5, Insightful)
Alta-vista was big in the early search engines, but Google is the one still thriving. I don't even remember the name of the first company to come out with a MIDI card for PCs, but Creative is still going strong. There's lots of examples like that.
Apple is doing some things right these days and reaping the rewards. I don't have a problem with that.
Dell, however, has a different business focus. They're a commodity company and they're doing very well at what they do. There's room for both kinds of companies.
Re:Human Nature (Score:3, Insightful)
The wording is off, there. Plenty of people are interested in Dell's product lines... I even keep an eye on their offerings. It's not that they don't care, it's that it's not exciting.
When Dell comes out with a new product, it's just like everyone else's new product, only in Midnight Gray. When Apple comes out with a new product, it's exciting.
What will it do? How much will it cost? Ooh, quad! Ooh, video.
I don't deny the bias, certainly. Apple gets more press than it often warrants. But Apple's carefully crafted image of a designer, an innovator, not just a producer, gets them the spotlight. They have their fingers in so many pies that they're always doing something.
Re:If it bleeds it leads (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Human Nature (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm sorry, but this is a peeve of mine... If you offer superior design and usability, that's innovation. Innovation is not defined at the hardware level. Just because there was a HD-based mp3 player before iPod doesn't mean Apple wasn't innovative.
Dvorak: Never tired of being wrong (and a troll) (Score:3, Insightful)
Journalists prefer Macs now because Apple has gotten their shit together since the advent of OS X and the iPod, and has been putting out good stuff. The journalists have found modern Macs usable enough to try them out for longer periods of time, and have found that they like what they're seeing. Historically, people who have a decent amount of experience* with both platforms overwhelmingly prefer Macs.
~Philly
* "Decent amount of experience" = Having done actual work on a Mac, not spent 5 minutes playing around with a one in an Apple Store before prnouncing it 'lame' or 'stupid' and going home to their 'leet gaming rig.
Re:If it bleeds it leads (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm hoping you're aware of the circularity of that argument, given that the subject is media bias towards Apple?
Scratch that, reverse it. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Human Nature (Score:3, Insightful)
I believe it was Roland, and they're still going strong as well. (I actually have a Roland USB MIDI box connected to this machine). You may have been thinking of AdLib, which was the first cheap consumer sound card. The only way they could actually sell the original Sound Blaster was by saying it was "AdLib Compatible".
Some corollaries (Score:3, Insightful)
If one's choice of hardware and operating system play such a key role in determining their journalistic bias, then it might usefully be argued that journalists and newsrooms that use Microsoft software running on Intel hardware would find it impossible to view Apple software & hardware in a positive light.
If this is so, then it might also explain the second-banannadom that Apple has suffered over the years. Mod me down if you like, O Macolytes, but part of the fervency of your devotion is that, for many years, you have gotten short shrift in the press, in the form of constant ruminations of Apple's imminent collapse. At best, Apple was damned with faint praise.
Personally, I think the present fuss has more to do with Apple's absolutely killer marketing and branding, which far surpass anything that the competition has yet been able to muster up. Their Stalinist level of control over everything--software, hardware, accessories, look, feel, heft, etc--has given their products a very consistent look across all lines. Even the name "Apple," is technical, nonthreatening, and cuddly.
Re:What about slashdot? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Of course... (Score:4, Insightful)
Owning a screwdriver does not make you an engineer or a "technology expert".
It's interesting how this bias works... (Score:5, Insightful)
So what he's saying is that mac writers are biased towards the benefit of Apple... They have Apple computers, they use Apple computers, they like Apple computers, and so they write about Apple in a positive way.
Now, think about the bias of windows users. They have Windows, they use Windows, they hate Windows, they write about Microsoft in a negative way (or not at all).
This is not just about bias because Apple computers are what people happen to use at the time. This is bias because Apple has created a product that its users appreciate. This is why Apple is in a position right now where its products are almost universally lauded, while Microsoft's are often reviled. The media reflects this.
It's Microsoft not living up to peoples' expectations, while Apple gives them a superior experience (and the people are glad for it). So yes, I guess you could say that people are biased towards getting what they want.
As far as I'm concerned it's not bias, it's karma.
~D
Re:Dvorak whines again. (Score:5, Insightful)
Dvorak has always been a fairly clueless commentator, but lately he seems to have been exceeding his previous best efforts. This is in line with his recent 'misses the point entirely' would-be hatchet-job on Creative Commons.
Dvorak is too old an industry hand not to know how things work. Quite aside from whatever Apple's doing behind the scenes to encourage people to write about them (or encourage editors to demand stories on Apple), there's the fact that Apple is currently The Story. They've turned their business and their stock price around, they have a charismatic leader (Jobs) and a charismatic product (iPod), and they're aggressively rolling out new products which can be expected to sell well. Whether you want to write an "It can't last" or a "Apple is unstoppable" story, there's lots of material for even the laziest journo to work with. Whereas most journalists realize that writing a "Vista still isn't close to being ready, but it'll be really wonderful when it is." story looks a little ridiculous. ("Still not king. [livejournal.com]")
It's worth remembering that not so long ago, Apple was getting a lot of coverage and none of it was good. I've always wondered how much of the Apple crisis of the '90s that nearly sunk the company before His Steveness came riding to the rescue was actually caused by the negative coverage they got, and how much of that negative coverage was 'encouraged' by certain interested parties (no names, no pack drill). If I'm right that a certain amount of that coverage was the product of someone whispering in the shell-like ears of the industry editors that they might like to run a few more "Apple is doomed" stories, then presumably those same someones will be back when Vista is good and ready, and we'll see nothing but "Microsoft triumphant" and "Vista changes the future of humanity" stories for six solid months.
Coverage has everything to do with what the editors decide is The Story this week. It has nothing to do with today's journalists being Apple-centric because (unlike John "Manly Man" Dvorak) they're too wimpish to go mano-a-mano with a balky Windows box and don't know what real computing is. Nice try, John, but you're still talking rubbish.
Re:Human Nature (Score:5, Insightful)
"It's not dull, it's Dell!"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Michael Dell, (555) 555-1212
DELL COMPUTER INTRODUCES NEW 3.2GHZ COMPUTER
Replacing their already fast and innovative 3.0 ghz computer, Dell announced today their new 3.2ghz computer, their fastest ever. Identical in every way with the previous model, other than the innovative new processor, the Dell 3.2ghz computer includes USB 2, FireWire and serial interfaces. The video card is specially designed to connect with the new color coordinated line of 17" and 19" monitors.
##
Okay, my friend.
Are you still awake?
Apple's announcements have certainly kept me awake lately.
The press really doesn't care about Apple. They care about good copy. They care about a news story people will read without falling asleep, since that's their job: To tell us about interesting stuff going on in the world. If they don't, well, we'll go somewhere else for our news.
Fair enough?
D
Re:Well, David Pouge used to edit MacWorld (Score:2, Insightful)
Pogue uses Windows regularly -- he does all his writing using Dragon Naturally Speaking on a Windows machine. And I suspect that Pogue know a heck of a lot more about computers than Dvorak does.
If somebody like Pogue says that Macs are better in general, but that there are all kinds of areas where Windows PCs are better (Voice recognition, games, OCR, etc.) his word carries far more weight, than the word of a PC only clown like Dvorak.
Re:Of course... (Score:5, Insightful)
> Spoken like a true Mac cultist. Those who know a lot about technology build their own machines and, nowadays, are putting GNU/Linux and other free software OSes on them.
Here's my history. 20 years in IT systems and network management for government labs up through fortune 100 companies. I cut my teeth on VAX VMS and fortran coding. Since then I have managed SunOS, Solaris, HP/UX, AIX, Irix, Ultrix, Linux, all flavors of Windows, old MacOS, and new BSD based MacOS. Right now I am a consultant who is part of a team managing 500 Solaris, HP/UX, AIX, and Redhat Linux servers. In networking, I am proficient in Cisco, F5, and Checkpoint management.
I consider myself tech savy. For most of my professional life I have had some flavor of unix system at home (SunOS or Solaris mostly) and a Mac. I have never built my own PC. I have no intention of wasting that kind of time. I also find the amount of time needed for the care of feeding of Linux too much.
You do NOT speak for the tech savy.
> In fact, I've met tech journalists that hate Apple and all that they stand for. Apple computers have never been geared toward the tech savvy; they have always been marketed to the artistic technophobe.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The Apple gui was a godsend to the physicists and engineers back at the national lab I worked at. We wrote a lot of C code on those old Macs. It is often the system of choice for professional unix system admins.
It appears that a technophobe to you is anyone who doesn't use Linux. Who's the cultist?
> And, as a computer hardware expert, I will attest to the fact that Macintosh computers are no better engineered or manufactured than Dell systems, and in fact I would actually put them a cut below Dell because of the problems their overstyled chassis designs cause. You have it completely backwards.
As a computer expert, I don't use PC hardware if I can avoid it. Windows or Linux. I get paid by the hour to get work done. My 12" Powerbook is perfect to carry around to the office or datacenter.
> I am a technology writer, and I know a lot of technology writers. Most use Linux or Windows because that's their beat and it's hard to write about a platform that you don't use. But unless they write for an Apple-centric pub, tech journalists do not usually use Macs, especially the most tech-savvy of the lot.
I fear that you are stuck in a world of PC hardware. Please do us all a favor and get some real tech experience before spouting off.
jfs
Define 'Media Bias' (Score:1, Insightful)
A well-known, convicted monopolist then seeks to sell a 'protection' service to keep said buggy, unreliable software working, and much of the media sees this as a boon.
A well-known, convicted monopolist releases 'leaks' of a 'Next-Generation' operating system, whose primary features are a new GUI, whose primary characteristics change substantially between each set of 'leaks'. Yet every tech journalist and their mother OOHs and AAHs these 'leaks'.
A well-known, convicted monopolist releases 'interviews' with the characteristics of a press release, discussing how growing markets represent a grand opportunity for the company. This same company, whose 'Next-Generation' operating system is extremely late and feature triaged to the point of unrecognition, is portrayed as setting itself up for a 'win' in that it will 'beat' current market leaders by providing features they've provided for years.
Yep; tech journalists are biased. Mr. Dvorak, please keep telling me about how Apple is doomed; it gives me a great way to discredit you with any PHBs who might actually be _reading_ your tripe.
Re:Human Nature (Score:2, Insightful)
Dvorak's taking a note from the neocons (Score:3, Insightful)
Just like the oh-so-threatened christians out there, the PC users are being oppressed by the nasty minority! Woe is them! Oh, the humanity! The unjustness of it all!
How dare this minority continue to exist and, worse, be noticed!
Re:So bloke writing for a Windows Mag... (Score:2, Insightful)
Bias is all about ignoring either the weaknesses or the strengths of something (a product, a company, etc). It has NOTHING to do with using a product (your post tells me you agree with this).
Basically Dvorak's concept that all Mac users are inherently biased is no different than claiming he is biased too. Especially since he provides no proof whatsoever that these reporters are purposedly ignoring information.
There is a Reason (Score:1, Insightful)
to get the personal computer into people's lives. What better way to INDOCTRINATE people, than
getting them to be exposed to the Apple product first? A ONE button mouse, for the easily confused,
nice easy GUI. Good graphics and sound capabilities.
The PC indusrty simple dropped the ball on this one. It is not magic. Most of those writers grew
up with Apple machines. Therefore the 'bias". QED.
Re:Dvorak whines again. (Score:2, Insightful)
Understand that this was pre-internet explosion, so users really had to chose on an operating system. And Linux was too new to be a player at the time......
Ira
Dvorak makes claims with NO support (Score:4, Insightful)
But in typical Dvorak fashion, provides no evidence to support his positions. Where are the hard numbers that he based his conclusions on? There aren't any, because he pulls his supposed "facts" out his ass and presents them to the world. Typical Dvorak BS.
"...90 percent of the mainstream writers being Mac users..." --- Support your facts John. Where'd you get your numbers?
"I could list 50." -- So, then there's only 55 newspaper and magazine tech writers in the media? What a load of crap.
Re: Human Nature (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Human Nature (Score:2, Insightful)
You own Bang & Olufsen speakers, and you're criticizing other people for appreciating good design? Come on now.
"You guys (mac users) are way too emotional to be nerds"
Well, gee, guess you'll have to revoke my Nerd's Alliance membership card. What ever shall I do?
Good design has little to do with emotion, although it can indeed be evocative. Good design is an engineering discipline.
Re:Human Nature (Score:3, Insightful)
You guys...are way too emotional to be nerds
Pot, meet Kettle. Kettle, Pot.
Re:Dvorak whines again. (Score:2, Insightful)
Yes and no. Apple introduced PowerPC machines in 1993; the real panic and the flood of "Apple is doomed" stories came in during Gil Amelio's period at Apple, from 1996 to 1997. Apple's use of emulation to allow 68K software to run under PowerPC blunted quite a lot of the pain of the transition.
Of course it also meant that Macintosh machines underperformed hideously, because parts of the OS still ran under emulation even in later OS releases. The obvious speed difference between Windows and MacOS was just one of the things that hurt them in the latter half of the decade. I think you're also right when you say that they were genuinely in deep trouble at that point. It's debatable whether Apple offered a better user experience than Windows 9x (I feel it did, but others disagree), but the core architecture of Mac OS represented an evolutionary dead end, and Apple's management didn't seem to have any clear idea how they could hold things together while they tried to develop a completely new (but backwards compatible) replacement from scratch.
So the Apple crisis was real, but I think it was exacerbated by negative coverage. A lot of the stuff that I read at the time seemed to have been written by people who had no idea what things like 'virtual memory' or 'preemptive multitasking' actually meant (as proven by the sometimes laughable explanations they tried to give of those concepts) but had just been told that you needed them and Apple didn't have them (well, System 7 and later had VM, but Lord knows, it wasn't up to much). Some of the negative coverage was informed and gave an accurate picture of Apple's perilous state, but much of it read as if someone who had previously covered sports and local supermarket openings had been given a list of talking points and told to write a technology story. And more than anything it was the sheer volume of bad press that threatened to sink Apple for good.
Ironically, it may actually have saved Apple, because it forced them to take the desperate step of handing the reins back to Steve Jobs, rather than muddling on downhill. And whatever Jobs' strengths and weaknesses, it does seem likely that his combination of showmanship and autocracy may have been a key factor in turning Apple around at a time when they didn't have too many other options.
It Just Works (Score:5, Insightful)
I have used both platforms and have thrown my mouse against the wall with a "Fuck You Bill Gates" more than once and have never been so provoked by frustration with Mac. Is this due to media spin or my user experience?...I think the later.
Apple's Back! (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:It Just Works (Score:3, Insightful)
It's because Apple hardware is to expensive to treat like that.
They report about Macs because.. (Score:2, Insightful)
They report about Macs, because Macs are computers that people can use.
Boo f-ing Hoo! (Score:2, Insightful)
I have two author friends. Both run Macs. The first one used a pc until he lost weeks trying to keep the damn thing running. No he doesn't have an"IT" guy to maintain a firewall, virus software, malware software, and daily windows fixes. He took my advice and bought a iBook. He never regrets it.
Its hard for me to believe that ... (Score:2, Insightful)
that they can't manage to use Windows.
On the contrary its more likely that these professionals, who use
computers to get their job done every day, are exceptionally
discriminating in the selection of the tools that they use.
Their careers depend on it. They can't afford to
constantly stub their professional toe and skin their knuckels using
cheap hobbyists tools that they picked up on special in the bin under the
big red cardboard sign near the exit of a discount store.
Computer software that is a constant security risk and whose security can
only be improved according to its manufacturer by installing
a dysfunctional service pack needs no one to give it a bad name.
Software that refuses to save a file for no apparent reason doesn't need
a bad rap it creates its own truthfully bad rap.
Pushing stupid spin statistics about how everything else out there
is just as defective and insecure will fool some people but not people
who truly value their time and just want to get their job done. For these
people the boolshite detector has a hair trigger. They don't worry about a few
hundred dollars price difference when a cheap piece of trash sucks down a half
a day of their professional time because they didn't happen to know something that
means nothing and relates to nothing but the fact that the people who manufactured
the software fracked up. For the rest of the population it seems
that a good cleverly spun explanation/argument using statistics about
why a PC is dysfunctional (but lets not forget inexpensive and fast)
is a 100% substitute for a computer that actually is functional.
Its quite and interesting social phenomenon.
Maybe the problem is that Dvorak doesn't distinguish between trash knowledge
and real knowledge. Trash knowledge is all the things that you have to know
to use a PC without stubbing your toe and skinning your knuckles while trying to get
your work done without the help of a professional IT staff whose main job
is to limit the use of the machines to the narrow range of things
that they can do well without trashing files and fracking up in general.
Its a sad fact that many noncomputer professionals are strutting proud of the
fact that they can master a PC. They act as though there should be something to
master in the first place. How did we get to a situation where its the user
who feels inept when its the software manufacturer who should be
subjected to class action law suits and prosecution for fraud.