Are Apple ‘Fanboys’ Now Apple ‘Crybabies’?

[tcolvinMI]

While I think it sucks that the guy is sick, Im not gonna cry over it or anything like that if something bad happens to him.  I think its ridiculous to think that Apple is going to go under if something happens to Steve Jobs.  Sure, Apple had a hard time before when Steve Jobs wasnt with Apple, but they didnt go under.  They will figure out a way to stay in business if something happens.  Besides, it takes more than one man to operate a business like Apple.  Anyone who thinks that he is Apple is just plain dumb.

Now, onto fanboys.  The whole concept of someone being that devoted to anything is just stupid.  Its short sighted at best to believe that something is the best thing ever since sliced bread.  Sure, there's every reason to like what they have to offer, but to me, its just not an objective view.  Basically, you focus on everything good and nothing bad.  Microsoft seems to have the exact opposite reaction.  What has Apple done that is really all that revolutionary?  You have the iPod, which you need specific software in order to get music to and from it (iTunes), which is slow and unintuitive at best.  You have the iPhone, which is probably more phone than most people need.  You have iLife and iWork.  For some reason, Apple (and their 'fanbois') seem to always trip my iDontGiveARatsAss complex.  I think fanboys of anything need a reality check.  What you have isnt the best.  It may be good, but all good products have their flaws.  I wouldnt consider Windows, Unix/Linux or any other piece of software to be perfect in any way.  They all have their positives and negatives.  I use Windows for a lot of reasons, but quite frankly, Windows has pretty much all of the things I need.  And its just an OS people.  Apple is just a company.  They dont make the best EVERYTHING.  In fact, I would argue that some of their products are inferior.  I can get a superior MP3 player thats way more intuitive to use.  I can get a PC that has just as good of hardware or better for half the price.  There's nothing, in my opinion, that makes them stand out.  And from what I read, their support services SUCK.  Im not about to pay top dollar for something that quite frankly isnt worth my money.

To all you fanboys of any computing resource, hardware resource, or whatever, GET OVER YOURSELVES.

[Gweg]

Tim, I agree with pretty much everything you said.

You brought up something else about Apple products that I didn't mention, and drives me nuts – their prices.  Like you said, the iPod is an over priced MP3 player, and I have seen at least 4 others out there that not only cost less, but support more features and file types.  I see the iPhone as a device that tells people that you have so little to do in life, that you have to have something with you at all times that keeps you busy (I wish I knew what it was like to have that little to do).  I know for a fact, that my Mvix Media Center drive is 1000x's better than an iTV (the interchangeable internal HDD is a big plus on the Mvix unit).

All that Apple stuff costs at least twice that of a similar product, and other companies realize it, and are capitalizing on that fact.  Example, in this economy, what would you rather get, an iPod Touch (ohh, it has a touch screen, wow…) for $XXX amount, or a SanDisk that might have less space, but has a built in FM tuner, supports more file formats, doesn't need extra software (like iTunes), and doesn't have a touch screen to break, for probably half the cost of the iPod?  Hmm, I think I'll get the SanDisk — I just need something that functions as it's designed, and not something to make myself feel like I'm part of the 'hip' crowd.  Plus I'll have some extra cash to spare.

And Apple computers.  I can't justify ever buying one, not because they're Apple (the MacBooks aren't too bad for laptops), but they cost unbelievably too much.  I can build a desktop that can keep pace with a Mac for a fraction of the price.  Of course, if you have a PC and Mac running Intel chips and comparable hardware, the biggest speed difference would be the OS (if you're running Windows, not so much on Linux).

Since I'm not a huge social person, I don't feel the need of having to buy an Apple product to fit in, because everybody else is doing it.  If people think they're fighting conformity (going against the 'man') by getting Apple products, they're developing their own Apple conformity.  You're just becoming what you're think you're fighting against.  Why do you think I'm comfortable driving a Buick instead of a Honda?  Because I don't feel I have to fit myself into that 'Honda' (import, etc) crowd, plus my Buick's a tank.  I won't die if I get into an accident, and the engine (still original) has almost 300,000 miles on it, and has never been rebuilt.

I'll admit, I may like AMD chips well over Intel chips, but not all my computers are AMD's — I have a few Intel's in my collection.  Because I like AMD over Intel doesn't make me a fanboy, it's just my preference.  If I have to own/build/use an Intel based computer, I'm not going to gripe.  Wouldn't really bother me.  Now, if I could only accept AMD as the 'end all' processor, and made fun or flamed someone for using an Intel processor, that would make a fanboy.  Remember, it may seem like Apple is being bashed here (maybe a little), but I've used my share of Apple computers, and I have had good experiences and bad experiences.  It's just that my preference is for a PC — that's what I grew up on, and I like the customization of a PC.  The core of these rants lies in the fanboys, not the company.  I have no problem if you like a Mac over a PC, but when you say “the Mac is the god of all computing”, you just made me sick and made me hate you.

And before I leave, the biggest bashing I'm going to give Apple is this — THAT RETARDED ONE BUTTON MOUSE NEEDS TO BE PUT OUT OF ITS MISERY AND PUT INTO THE HISTORY BOOKS AS THE WORST PIECE OF HARDWARE EVER DESIGNED/MANUFACTURED!!!!!

[Gweg]

Ok, for some reason, this has just agitated the hell outta me.  Maybe it's the topic of discussion, or that I'm just less tolerant than I used to be.

Get this, yesterday, in class, right before it started, the professor was talking to a couple of people about the project.  Then, these 2 guys in the back of the class started griping about something, I wasn't sure, as I was trying to find my flash drive.  Well, the professor asks them how they are doing, and they respond with 'not too well.'  The professor asks why, and they say 'Cuz Steve Jobs is sick.'  She asks if they are depressed over that, and they say yes.  I'm like, woo big deal, he's been sick for awhile, and yeah, I know it's fairly serious.  That's not what started bothering me, it's them being depressed about it.  (Note: You tend not too care too much about people you've never had contact with when they become sick, especially when you've had family members become severely ill and later pass away.  You realize that worrying over people you don't even know on a personal level really has no impact on how you feel).

Now, it's what they said next that really just drove it into the ground.  They said, and I quote, “The Mac is the god of all computing.”  HUH?!?!  What?  I'm confused.  It's the god of what, Photoshop and Flash?  Certainly not of gaming, networking, databases, and supercomputers.  Of course, I could be out of touch, and maybe missed something.  The professor said that there are probably some other people in class that might not agree with them, and they said because those other people are 'probably Microsoft fanboys.'

What the hell?  Do they know what they're even saying?  First off, Microsoft isn't a 'computer'.  It's a company that develops software and operating systems that run on computers.  Yes, I may use Windows, a lot, but that does not make me a 'fanboy'.  I don't use a Mac because I have never had good experiences using them.  It's those kind of people that actually make me like Apple/Macs even less.  Every thing that I could do on a Mac, I can do the same on a Windows/PC, including the latest games (I've seen games for Mac that are over 5 years old, and just now hit the shelves and still cost $50).  I also acknowledge the awesome power of Unix.

Let me think, both Windows and Unix/Linux run on what is known as a PC, but wait, doesn't Mac run on a PC now?  So, how is the PC the god of computing over a PC?  That makes even less sense.  Maybe they were referring to the operating system (if they're in school for IT, and that's how they think, the overall computer over the OS, they have long way to go)?  I don't know.  That just got under my skin.

Then, today, those 2 and a bunch of their buddies were sitting about talking about if something were to happen to Steve Jobs, that Apple would be sold to Microsoft, and if that happened, one claimed 'I would quit my job'.  I wonder what kind of job he has?  Certainly doesn't work at the Apple Store, nearest one from here is at least 60 miles.  Certainly doesn't work in the IT field, as that's the program he's currently in, and corporate networks don't build their backbones on Apples.  So, I really don't know what he's gripping about.

Really, I don't know what really bothered me about all that, just something about it.  Would I cry and be super depressed if Bill Gates (who actually retired) suddenly got sick, and there was talk about it being sold to somebody else, maybe like Apple?  Hell no, that would just be more of a reason for me to use Linux.  I think what bothered me is that they whined about it most of class yesterday, and that they're still going on about it today.  Talk about crybabies.

Anyway, just a little rant.  Tim, you can probably elaborate on some systems that blow their logic out of the water.  I definitely know Scott can recall the horrid memories of the 'Curtain of Death' on those G4's in that sound lab at SCAD.

All right, I'm finished now.

[Author]

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