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The Case Against Apple

post #1 of 117
8/11/09 at 3:53pm
Thread Starter 
The Case Against Apple–in Five Parts « The Jason Calacanis Weblog

Great read on why Apple is already the Microsoft of yester-year and why so many people, including me, hate them.
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post #2 of 117
8/11/09 at 4:19pm
i guess he's sick of Steve Jobs holding a gun to his head and forcing him to spend over $30,000 on his products. Oh wait...
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post #3 of 117
8/11/09 at 4:28pm
Strongly agree with 4 and 5, don't really care about the first three. Although the first three are valid points against Apple, I feel network externalities have formed a strong enough unsupported third-party development community to ameliorate these issues.
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post #4 of 117
8/11/09 at 4:30pm
Indeed.

When the iPhone came out I had 0 interest in purchasing one same with 2.0 and now 3.0. Why would I want a phone that can't run apps not approved by Apple? It can't multi-task? No background apps? I can't put another music player on it that supports oggs and flac? I can't put music on it from a Linux box? I HAVE to use iTunes? I can't plug it into a second machine and get the files off of it? I can't download podcasts to it without hooking it up (3.0)? The home screen can only have icons on it? There's only one notification type and it's an obnoxious popup? No push GMail support? No Copy and Paste (3.0)? No ringtones that I didn't buy on iTunes? No second battery?

The limitations are limitless.
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post #5 of 117
8/11/09 at 4:37pm
I personally found most of the article laughable... I guess I just don't take my gizmo or computing purchases seriously enough to factor the individual politics of the CEO?

With that said, there is definitely a good argument in the hypocritical DRM/proprietary shenanigans the company has been pulling since the iPod - and it's the very reason I don't use an Apple DAP anymore.

But this is all very specific to the iPhone and iPod/iTunes; I fail to see any specific argument attempting to open Mac users' eyes to the "wonderful" world of PC computing... unless he expects Mac users to drop their powerbooks on the grounds that Steve Jobs is a creepy weirdo without any scruples.

Just two cents from a Mac user. I like to think I'm not so much a fanboy as a PC platform hater and that is STILL enough reason to keep me holding onto my OSX.

Steve Jobs is nothing more than a face and a PR shill with a big title (as he has been since the 80s). The author of the article would be better suited raising awareness on other issues of corporate negligence. Better yet, perhaps he'll learn himself that trusting the so-called "corporate philosophy" of a company that has made their name pandering to the lefty arts crowd, was maybe a bad idea.
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post #6 of 117
8/11/09 at 4:42pm
The only correct reply to articles like this (be they anti-Apple or anti-Microsoft): no-one forces you to use either brand and/or OS.
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post #7 of 117
8/11/09 at 4:47pm
i dont like apple either, never gonna get one of thier comps

after this iphone 1st gen [almost caput] i highly doubt im gonna wanna be locked into the 3gs for 24months on some contract where you get a few hundred texts for 40 a month!
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post #8 of 117
8/11/09 at 4:52pm
Wow it took that guy years to figure it out?

1) Stop worshipping CEO of a company
2) Don't just buy it because you love the CEO
3) Buy it if it offers you the features you want, and allows you to use it how you like, with sync software, copy and paste, and multiple audio codecs.
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post #9 of 117
8/11/09 at 5:00pm
Exactly my point. What kind of pretentious goober needs to align themselves politically and socially with the head honcho of a corporation to justify a purchase? You don't like the business model? I get that, just stop buying!
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post #10 of 117
8/11/09 at 5:04pm
Very true. Apple has always been a closed loop. The only reason they are successful is because they make products people want to pay for. Calacanis' underlying point seems to be that Apple's exclusivity will be their downfall, but he's way off base. Their exclusivity is what gives them a custom experience, and while CEOs of tech blogs might want more freedom, most people are very willing to pay more for less.
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post #11 of 117
8/11/09 at 5:09pm
It's the same principle as some exensive music servers, they're so closed in once you buy them, you have to stick with them.
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post #12 of 117
8/11/09 at 5:12pm
I'll add that Steve Jobs is one of the ultimate tightwads. When is the last time you saw an Apple product on sale? In the military store system (BX, PX, etc) everything is discounted to some extent except iPods. I worked at Best Buy for a short period of time. Guess what product has no employee discount? Add that to the reasons already posted and the fact that many Mac users are rather elitest and that tells you why I won't be buying anything from that company. My Creative Zen mp3 player works just fine and I can hook it up to the car stereo or home stereo too without being an iClone.
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post #13 of 117
8/11/09 at 5:15pm
I don't really care about company practices. I really like my iMac, although it was overpriced. I'd probably rather have a PC of the same price to play games (I can play COD4 on my Mac but not on very high settings) but I have nothing against Apple.
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post #14 of 117
8/11/09 at 5:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by leokennis View Post
The only correct reply to articles like this (be they anti-Apple or anti-Microsoft): no-one forces you to use either brand and/or OS.
If only that were true in the workplace. I still bring in my MacBook if a critical deadline looms. It hasn't let me down yet.

In response to the articles, keep in mind that the majority of users really don't care. We just want products that actually work.

Sure, there are limitations on my MacBook and iPhone. But they work as advertised.

I don't have to have a degree and a few certs to keep them working. I don't need consultants and hour of maintenance to keep them working. They just work.

Similarly, Linux just works. Which is why I run it on my desktop. It gives me some flexibility that you don't get with commercial software. And I don't have to worry about it. Wake it up, do what I want, put it to sleep. I don't have to spend any time rebooting or diagnosing it. It simply works.

As long as Apple makes reliable products with competent software, they'll be fine.
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post #15 of 117
8/11/09 at 5:26pm

"Apple is perfect in every way"- mac's robotronic default voice

My cousin works at apple. He always says everything about apple is perfect in every way. But sometimes, he makes mildly negative statements about them, and then starts to jerk around like he's having a seizure. Then he repudiates those observations as being the work of the devil. Weird, huh?
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