iHate

For some reason, the topic of my feelings toward Apple has come up a lot lately. I know this is unpopular in my "circle", but when have I been known to pull the fuel away from a fire?

For the past few years, I've really sought to put my feelings about Apple (specifically Macs) into words. I think I cam close this week with the following quote:

"I grew up a computer geek, and I liked it. Then, Apple came along (technically, came BACK) and made computer technology into something that normal people talked about and even obsessed over!"

You see, when I talked about computers, I talked processor speeds, RAM, bus, baud rates, and so on. Now, I hear people talking about which color of computer to buy or how slim and sleek the new iMac looks (I use this iMac at work).

This is the part of the story where I give "props" to Apple. I truly do applaud them for turning something as geeky as personal computing (notice the lowercase "p" and "c") into a cultural phenomenon. It's the USERS that I think got completely snowed. Steve Jobs told you that you would be an enlightened elite member of the computing public if you used his pretty box AND YOU BOUGHT IT!

Here's the technical part of the topic. In my opinion, all of the "advantages" of Macs are only present because of current market conditions that, if Apple and it's users have their way (thus, the world is converted), those conditions will disappear. What, you say? Let's itemize.

1. No (or fewer) viruses - if macs had the market share that PC's have, all viruses would be for Macs. Therefore, Macs are only "virus-safe(r)" because of their market share.

2. Multimedia - yes, macs ROCK for graphics/web/video and so on. However, as more non-multimedia users adopt the platform, what incentive for staying multimedia-friendly will Apple have? The answer: the same incentive that Microsoft has now. Remember, Apple likes money just as much as the evil Microsoft does.

3. Usability/Interface Design - this is an arguable topic. I appreciate the work that Apple does in this area. I still, however, don't see Macs being that much more "intuitive" than PCs. I certainly don't believe that the drive/folder interface is fully appropriate for the 21st century, and both operating systems are still based on that model. Apple has made what they call improvements, but unless they are the first to truly move beyond the current metaphor, they're in the same bucket as MSFT in my book.

4. Not a Big, Bad Monopoly - yet. Let's look at the iPod. Don't think for a moment that the good folks at Apple won't slit a few throats to stay on top. Microsoft got punished because they were smarter than everyone esle, first.

I never EVER thought I'd have to say this, but if your computer makes you feel cooler or in any way feel better about yourself as a person, you have been snowed by the manufacturer. The same goes for your political affiliation, personal philosophy, intellect, and a variety of other things.

So, let the flaming begin!