
I am not a fanboy. - anotherone
I own an iPhone, an iPad, and a Macbook. I read Daring Fireball, TUAW and Macrumors. I believe that Apple's hardware is superior to all others in the market. People like to call out how I'm always "tuned in" to Apple news.<p>But I am not a fanboy.<p>I don't think the Operating system is the best. It is fraught with inconsistencies underneath its friendly veneer. There is a reason why Windows is popular and it may have something to do with usability. I use OS X because it is simply the best Unix desktop out there.<p>The iTunes application is a beacon of monolithic programming. It reeks of legacy-oriented design, completely contradictory to Apple's touted design mantra. Yet it exists unaltered, version after version solely because of the revenue it generates. Design and Engineering be damned, we're making money here. I use it because they threatened and killed every other music player for the Mac. I have never bought an iTunes song.<p>I unlocked my iPhone within the first 2 hours of owning it. I paid for my hardware, not the AT&#38;T tithing. I am completely happy with my 50$ a month, fully functional smartphone.<p>I run a jailbroken phone despite the security risks. The app store is a breeding ground of corporate adware and get-rich-quick wannabes. The only thing it doesn't contain is what Mac developers were renowned for -- small, independent and creative paid software. Some innovations found in Cydia deserve more attention that they get today.<p>I bought an iPad because it was the cheapest and best way to acquire a manifestation of things Xerox invented 20+ years ago, and what Microsoft has been researching for 10+ years. And I am impressed with what I see.<p>Overall, you're still the best products money can buy for what I want to do.<p>I respect Apple because it has the best engineering in the world. It takes a spectrum of well understood technology, and creates the best possible device in that category. Every other part of Apple: its lawyers, its strategists, its leaders and its marketing do not matter.<p>I am aware that the new Apple, Inc. caters to exactly two kinds of people. The busy soccer mom with a 6 figure family income, and the rabid nerd who chants Objective-C while worshipping at his local Steve Jobs altar.<p>This is not a rant. It is simply a statement that Apple has more these 2 kinds of customers. The third kind is me -- the tinkerer, the hacker, the fan of good technology. The kind that rejects rules, limitations and playgrounds of corporate malfeasance.<p>I am the one who Thinks Different.
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ZeroGravitas
I don't think you'll be their customer much longer.

You could have been describing me. I got on the Mac bandwagon 10 years ago,
when Mac OS X didn't work properly yet, and just recently got off.

Ubuntu is a better Unix desktop now. I laugh at the Ubuntu community arguing
about their sleek new icons in the top bar. They're not quite consistent, use
slightly different shades, some legacy ones are a different height from the
rest. I remember reading the exact same arguments about the Mac OS X ones yet
even the Linux guys assume the Mac is infallible in this regard. Any reader of
Gruber should know otherwise.

There's pros and cons and everyone has their own use case but Ubuntu is
gaining them, and the Mac is losing them as far as I can see (e.g. it seems
like Ubunutu works better with iPods these days, crazy as that sounds, just by
not implementing anti-features that stop you doing things like copying your
music off). You know Ubuntu is going ship three upgrades in the next 18
months, whereas news has just come out that Apple has reduced the 10.7 team to
a skeleton crew (which has happened repeatedly to other interesting projects
within Apple) which means even its optimistic release date of 18 months is in
doubt, as is how much they'll charge you for the upgrade.

I bought iPods because they were perfect for me and Apple were years ahead of
the curve. They're not any more. I nearly bought an Apple TV, but if your life
doesn't revolve around iTunes it doesn't make sense. I bought the iPhone, a
bit more reluctantly, if I was going to carry a phone anyway, I might as well
have one with a great browser, and they were a couple of years ahead of the
competition. They're not anymore. I'm not going to bother with the iPad (or
anything else Apple again) because they're not that far ahead of the
competition and they won't be for long.

I don't need a pad, I want the same low-power ARM hardware plus a keyboard in
a standard netbook form factor running Linux. If it's not got access to the
"Apt" store, then I'm not interested.

~~~
retro212
Ubuntu will never get traction on desktop until video drivers at least show
image on monitors. I've spent 3 days trying to install correct drivers for my
graphic card, until I've finally gave up.

~~~
ZeroGravitas
I was talking about myself, the poster, and geeks in general rather than "the
desktop" market. You'll notice I was using Mac OS X when it wasn't ready for
the desktop either (and you could argue it never was if you look at global
marketshare numbers). Drivers for hardware was their big issue too, something
Linux still beats them for today if you compare the difficulty of building a
hackintosh to building a Linux box.

However, if you can't even get an image to show with Ubuntu then you're doing
something very wrong. Not taking advantage of all the features of the card
without installing proprietary drivers (offered, but not forced on you, with a
single click in Ubuntu), yes that's common. Not being able to view anything
with a recent Ubuntu on a desktop machine is a _very_ unusual situation.

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rmc
Fair play. Though you are financially supporting the anti-tinkering apple,
you're telling apple (with your dollars) that closed is the way to go. Be
careful how that turns out.

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miratom
Well, you are doing nothing to dissuade the apple haters that stereotype mac
people as smug, conceited hipsters.

~~~
anotherone
You're entitled to your opinion, but how is this smug or conceited? I'd like
to disagree. My viewpoint is very humble; I am not judging anybody or making
snide comments.

The first half of what I wrote explains how I am a customer despite
acknowledging its flaws, because in the end, it is superior engineering. How
is this smug?

I am only critical of Apple's rare but poor engineering decisions. Everything
else, as I say in my text, does not matter. And I think I am fairly objective
about this. How is this conceited?

If the last few lines of what I wrote seemed out of place, here is the
context:
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USn5t5nQWU8&NR=1](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USn5t5nQWU8&NR=1)
. This ad, along with other Apple ads, clearly paints the picture of Apple
Computer's target demographic. This is the Apple I identify with -- a motley
crew of "hipsters", in your words. Yet, this is the Apple that doesn't exist
anymore. Which is what I am sad about. It is frustrating sometimes to feel
abandoned like this, yet I know there are others like me. Hence I wrote this.

If this piece came across as smug, conceited or hipster-like , I apologize for
the clarity in my writing.

