Apple doesn't love you, they just want your money

[Apocalypto]

It should come as no surprise by now that I am not a huge fan of Apple, the company. I do think they make excellent hardware, and my laptop is a MacBook Air running Windows 7. Their business practices, however, are pretty shady, and it’s my opinion that they hold nothing but contempt for their customers.

A perfect example is the new malware attack against OSX, MACDefender. For years, OSX users have crowed about how they didn’t have to worry about viruses or malware, because mommy Apple kept them safe with an operating system that was immune to such things.

No, it was never immune. It was simply never on the radar of malware authors because it wasn’t financially attactive enough to attack. With the hundreds of millions of unprotected Windows installations, it didn’t make sense to bother. Well, there’s enough OSX users out there now to make it worthwhile, and the attacks are starting.

Apple’s response? Sticking its fingers in its ears and shouting “LALALALA! I can’t hear you!”

ZDnet’s Ed Bott interviewed an AppleCare representative, and was told that Apple’s official stance is that they not assist their customers in removing the malware. In fact, in a follow-up article, Ed shows an internal memo that tells Apple support reps to not even acknowledge the existence of the malware on their computer, nor provide them with further help or escalate to a higher support level.

This is atrocious. Even Microsoft, which has a long history of operating system exploits and malware issues, has acknowledged the problems and even provides anti-malware protection for free, as well as providing online and phone support for security issues.

Don’t expect Apple to change their stance until they are shamed into doing it. Because they already have your money. And they know that their diehard fans will swallow anything they tell them, even if it’s against their own best interests.

Burying your head in the sand is NOT a viable form of customer support.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/perlow/apple-doesnt-love-you-they-just-want-your-money/17323

[cpthnsolo]

Just drink the kool-aid and everything will be fine ;)

http://www.userbytes.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/steve_koolaid21.jpg

[joe_momma]

IMHO Apple has always been about establishing and maintaining an abusive relationship with their clients.

My sister (die hard apple computer user) would routinely get burned buying a new computer when a month later they would routinely introduce faster, cheaper machines with no (or even contradictory) information.

I've an iPod, but still find the controls any layout to be obtuse and counter intuitive.

They (really Steve Jobs) are innovative - but cannot compete in the mainstream markets.

[Not Sure]

Bill Gates and Microsoft have never tried to seriously pretend they are our friend.

crApple has, since the beginning, pretended to be our "progressive" and "insightful" friend - "think different."

crApple's obsession with DRM is far more insidious than Microsoft's. "Think different"? By becoming the front-line prostitute of the diaRIAA? They lost me completely with iTunes.

I'll stick with Microsoft, as I know what I can expect, and appreciate the implied honesty in making money at my expense.

[birddog]

I won an ipad2 at a conference a month ago and I have been using it at home and work. I'm been a certified Microsoft admin for over 12 years so you can imagine I don't really like apple. The iPad works for the stupid typical user because it is very easy. But I have never done easy. I like to be able to play with configs and I really don't like having to use iTunes or email just to get apps and files on it. No USB? Crazy......

Has everyone seen the motorola zoom commercial? I'd post the link, but can't figure out how to see the URL to copy from the YouTube plugin......

I'm thinking about getting a chrome book.......

[Scorpio]

PC Mag,

ipad vs zoom


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmLWJMtTT5w


fwiw birddog, I too was having problems with videos. But the you tube http didn't look right.

So what I have been doing is copying the info in the address bar,

then click the video icon, paste in that info, and it works here.

[birddog]

fwiw birddog, I too was having problems with videos. But the you tube http didn't look right.

So what I have been doing is copying the info in the address bar,

then click the video icon, paste in that info, and it works here.

Thanks I'll try that. It's not as intuitive as they say. I'm having trouble doing what I need to do on the touch screen. I had to ask a couple of my employees how to delete an app. Make it wiggle? Really?

[Scorpio]

hey up bird,

what's an app?

:0)

I know the feeling

[skyvike]

Well, I know how everyone here is committed to a balanced discussion so I'll throw in my two cents about my experience with Apple.

First some background:

I bought my first computer (a 386) in 1988. I'm more or less a self taught, occasionally mentored, enthusiastic computer user. The computer rapidly became part of my life as I used it for personal correspondence and research, for work, and as a business tool.

My favorite response from Microsoft at one point was:

"That's not a 'software bug' - It's an undocumented feature!"

A large part of my computing time was spent with figuring out how to get the computer to do what I wanted it to do, and oftentimes just getting it to do what the software manufacturer said it would do! I've spent thousands of hours working out software compatibility issues, dealing with "driver" problems, and probably fifteen times over the years where I've had to just "start over" and reformat the hard drive and reload windows, all the drivers, etc..

I easily spent as much time figuring out how to get the silly thing to work as I did actually doing work with it.

I was committed, with the advent of the "PDA Phone" and "smart phones" to integrate my phone with my computer to help me keep track of my contacts and my calendar. I became a serial smartphone buyer, trying to find one that would just "work" and had nothing but problems getting software to work with them. They would freeze, crash, and otherwise fail at the most inconvenient times possible. And don't think I was scrimping on the the phones: I bought the best of O2, HTC, etc. and the result was the same:

Frustration.

After hearing and reading all the hype about the iPhone, I asked an Apple Evangelist I knew if it would synch to the contacts and calendar I had in Microsoft Outlook.

He gave me "that look" (looking at me over his glasses) and said, in a condescending tone, "It's an Apple. Do you think it talks to Microsoft?" So I gave up that brief flirtation with "going to the dark side."

Then last year I was overseas for a meeting and one of my colleagues was using an iPhone. He used it for everything - reading documents, researching, e-mail, calendar, everything. He seemed really comfortable with it and had integrated it into his personal routine.

At one point, I said to him, "You obviously like that thing."

His reply was, "I use it for everything. I don't even bring the notebook on trips anymore." (which I thought and still think was a bit extreme as my aging eyes get pretty tired trying to read e-mail on that little screen but it IS what he said).

I offered that if it could synch with Outlook, I'd have one and he replied that he didn't understand because the notebook he left at the office was a PC and it synchs with his Outlook just fine! (Through iTunes).

That did it. I ordered an iPhone 3GS and it was waiting for me when I got home. I charged it up, plugged it into my computer and in about five minutes, it had all my contacts, my calendar, and my e-mail accounts set up and working. It even had a function to "test" the e-mail account setups by pinging the server before closing the setup screen. It was a pretty impressive first go with Apple.

Granted, my little Nokia phone does a little better with the actual "radio" part of the phone (i.e. drops fewer calls, etc.) but I haven't had too much trouble and it's a great tool.

Then a month or so later I was visiting my sister and brother-in-law. He put an iPad in my lap one evening and I was hooked. The operating system is virtually identical to the iPhone but it had a small notebook sized screen. The next day I drove to the nearest Apple Store and bought the 64GB 3G version.

I can now do virtually everything on the iPad I do on the notebook except for typing long documents (like this one). The iPad is now part of my life so much I carry it like a purse. I can read and answer e-mail (briefly), surf the Internet, read on my Kindle (gave the Kindle machine away. I really love the Kindle App on the iPad).

I now think of my iPad as the "large print iPhone."

Through all this, I was using my beloved Fujitsu convertible tablet PC to synch it all and there was no problems in doing so.

It was easy.

Earlier this year, I was given a new MacBook Pro (yeah, I was surprised!) and it has now become as much a part of my life as the other Apples. I use iTunes to synch all three and that process is simple and reliable.

In fact the whole machine is simple and reliable.

An incident that happened a couple of weeks after I got the MacBook really illustrates what the whole experience has been like for me. I hadn't taken the time to setup my printer (on the Wifi Network at home) on the Mac but had started to use the MacBook has my primary computer. Whenever I needed to print something, I had either e-mailed the doc to the Fujitsu or used a USB drive to transfer, the painful experiences I had with setting up printers (and even keeping them set up) on the PC had me gun shy.

Then one day, I was sitting on the bed, talking on the phone, and had typed something I wanted to print. The Apple had been working so well and so seemlessly, I got inspired to try an experiment while still on the phone.

I just hit "print."

A dialogue box came up in about a tenth of a second which simply asked, "Is this the printer you want to use?" Of course it was mine and the only one on the network so I clicked, "Yes" and about three seconds later I heard that tell-tale "buzz" and my document was printing!

No loading drivers from the CD or searching for them on the Internet or even within the operating system. The system knew I wanted to print and made it happen with a minimum fuss and minimum keystrokes.

It just worked!

In all the things I have wanted to do, with all the software "apps" I've loaded, I've never had the machine freeze (OK Skype will make the iPad go slow sometimes), never had to reboot or restart, never had to go four menus deep to change some obscure setting in order to make something simple work.

The thing just does what it's supposed to do.

No, I can't use any of the myriad softwares written for the PC (until I install the Parallels I bought) but I haven't had any need to. I have Microsoft Office (only because I'd rather not mess with the document compatibility issues) and it works fine. The other apps I've bought have been cheaper (for the most part) than something similar for a PC would have been, and the few apps that have been disappointing were so cheap it didn't bother me to just delete them.

I don't think I'm a "Techtard" but I won't be writing any software programs anytime soon either. I'm not a computer "geek." I just think the computer is a tool and this particular set of tools is working for me.

The ratio of "making the tool work time" to actual "work time" has changed considerably to favor the "work time" side of the equation. I'm not messing with the machine (hardly at all, actually) and the machine is doing the job for me.

In short, it just works.

I haven't missed the PC, not even for a second.

[obilly]

I too Skyvike. ?.. i only go to the pc's now when my wife has issues on them. ipad seems to be about all i need,,,,works allot better after i turned off the "we know what your going to type next feature"

edit: wish there was digsby app for it?

[jogslvr]

I've been using a mac running OSX for years and have had not one problem until last week when something invaded my address book and started sending malicious emails to everyone on the list, even to myself. I deleted the address book and downloaded apple's last software update and problem seems to have gone away.

[Defenestrator]

PC Mag,

ipad vs zoom


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmLWJMtTT5w


fwiw birddog, I too was having problems with videos. But the you tube http didn't look right.

So what I have been doing is copying the info in the address bar,

then click the video icon, paste in that info, and it works here.

Nice, but I think Samsung has the corner on the iPad 2 for the moment: (having trouble embedding this one, so follow the link)


http://www.youtube.com/embed/qqnPWYXtPwY

Personally, aside from being able to do serious web-browsing while you sit and watch TV, I'm really not sure what the use-case for a tablet is. Don't get me wrong, they really appeal to me as a gadget and just in engineering appreciation, but they are "consumption" devices, not productivity devices.

[skyvike]

Nice, but I think Samsung has the corner on the iPad 2 for the moment: (having trouble embedding this one, so follow the link)


http://www.youtube.com/embed/qqnPWYXtPwY

Personally, aside from being able to do serious web-browsing while you sit and watch TV, I'm really not sure what the use-case for a tablet is. Don't get me wrong, they really appeal to me as a gadget and just in engineering appreciation, but they are "consumption" devices, not productivity devices.

Consider this:

If I can answer most e-mails, pay my bills, do other (sometimes work-related) research, etc. When I'm away from the "main" computer, it leaves me more time when I do get quality time at my desk, thus contributing to productivity.

I find I can do almost anything on the iPad except type long documents.

And with the Kindle App, I have a HUGE library I could never hope to carry....

[gringott]

MS is not much better than Apple with virus support in that good luck asking them to help you. Try going to the Microsoft store and ask them to remove malware [joke].


They are both about making the sale, real support is usually from friends or at work your IT department, unless in Apple's case you can drive to a mall where they are at when you need help. Apple does have an advantage in that they only have to support a few models of hardware that they have tight control over, rather than the Microsoft model supporting hundreds of thousands of possible combinations if not millions.

I still miss my Amiga, though, it was tight hardware and software but didn't have the 'femininity' of the Apple lineup. It was the hot rod of computers.

[Defenestrator]

Consider this:

If I can answer most e-mails, pay my bills, do other (sometimes work-related) research, etc. When I'm away from the "main" computer, it leaves me more time when I do get quality time at my desk, thus contributing to productivity.

I find I can do almost anything on the iPad except type long documents.

Here's a good example of what I mean about tablets:

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Technology/Pix/pictures/2011/4/8/1302257960410/Tablet-survey-002.jpg

This pretty clearly shows that tablets, at least as they're used by the majority, are strictly consumption devices.

Taken from this article. (Link) (http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/appsblog/2011/apr/08/tablets-mainly-for-games-survey)

But yes, I can understand how being able to do your consumption tasks at times you otherwise wouldn't would free up production time. I just keep thinking that for anyone who needs production and consumption capability, they better be buying a laptop or netbook. Or at the very least, the EEE Pad Transformer:
http://www-bgr-com.vimg.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/ASUS_EeePadTransformer110325112133.jpeg
which at least has an available keyboard dock to allow for text input!


And with the Kindle App, I have a HUGE library I could never hope to carry....

The iPad (or any tablet) is not an ereader. Okay, it is pretty exciting to have 500 books on-demand at your finger-tips, but for may part, I'm not going to read more than a few pages on a back-lit tablet. If I want to consume a book it's got to have a display that reflects light, not one that produces it. e-ink or actual book for me.

I get it in a pinch when you're bored waiting somewhere you read a few pages on the iPad (or whatever tablet), but can you honestly tell me that you'd sit and read a 500 page novel on the thing over the weekend?

[skyvike]

Here's a good example of what I mean about tablets:

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Technology/Pix/pictures/2011/4/8/1302257960410/Tablet-survey-002.jpg

This pretty clearly shows that tablets, at least as they're used by the majority, are strictly consumption devices.

Taken from this article. (Link) (http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/appsblog/2011/apr/08/tablets-mainly-for-games-survey)

But yes, I can understand how being able to do your consumption tasks at times you otherwise wouldn't would free up production time. I just keep thinking that for anyone who needs production and consumption capability, they better be buying a laptop or netbook. Or at the very least, the EEE Pad Transformer:
http://www-bgr-com.vimg.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/ASUS_EeePadTransformer110325112133.jpeg
which at least has an available keyboard dock to allow for text input!



The iPad (or any tablet) is not an ereader. Okay, it is pretty exciting to have 500 books on-demand at your finger-tips, but for may part, I'm not going to read more than a few pages on a back-lit tablet. If I want to consume a book it's got to have a display that reflects light, not one that produces it. e-ink or actual book for me.

I get it in a pinch when you're bored waiting somewhere you read a few pages on the iPad (or whatever tablet), but can you honestly tell me that you'd sit and read a 500 page novel on the thing over the weekend?

Point taken, but I do have a bluetooth keyboard for the iPad but have only actually used it once.

For me, I very seldom play games on the iPad, I do "Search for information" (productive task for me), answer e-mails (productive for me), reading eBooks (productive for me either professionally or from a "personal improvement standpoint), and I occasionally do shopping (like for the Neat Receipts Scanner I just bought) which is productive at least half the time.

And I agree, the iPad is not a Kindle (had two - gave one to the X-woman and the other to Bushpilot). E-ink is cool doesn't hardly use any batteries but it cannot compare the to the monitor on the iPad and the Kindle app. I do the vast majority of my reading in dark places (like airplanes) and I simply LOVE being able to "reverse polarity" making the letter white and the background black. It's very easy on the eyes and the batteries. There is a lot of flexibility in the iPad display that's not present on the Kindle. E-ink requires another light source where the iPad doesn't.

We all have our own preferences but for me, I've found the only drawback to reading on the iPad is that reading is no longer a viable cure for insomnia! Eye fatigue is virtually zero, I can read and retain lots more.

And honestly, I have read a 500 page novel on it over the weekend or on a long flight. I am constantly reading on it but mostly it's non-fiction or "new age" so fairly heavy stuff at least for my small brain.

Yeah, even though I am a serious book lover (i.e. paper, etc.) I don't buy them anymore unless they are not available on Kindle and as I said, I don't even own the e-readers anymore.

My drawers are littered with expensive technology that didn't do the job for me and I use the iPad, carry it like a purse actually. I have no wasted moments. If I'm in a waiting room somewhere or on a bus, I am getting something done, even if it's just knocking off a few pages of a book or catching up on e-mail.

It's a productivity device for me.

[Goldhedge]

My first computer was an 8088. I didn't own it, but I learned how to get around on DOS with it. I built my second, an 80286.

I am typing this on a MacBookPro.

What I like about Macs is they just work. I'm a PC tech at the local schools. If they ever switched to Mac, I'd be out of a job!

In the spectrum of the Bell curve, Apple is going for the middle in technology - where the majority of users are. Most folks don't get even the most simplest of concepts regarding how a computer functions. They look upon it in awe as some magical machine that is smarter than they are. They are afraid to understand it. It's so easy, but they don't want to know. (psst it's a stupid box! It's no smarter than a pencil. It doesn't do anything until asked).

MSFT happens to have the market share in the middle, but their technology tends to be an 'outlier' in that you better be interested in getting under the hood at some point to 'do' something. As stated earlier, most folks don't want to know. They don't want to be a geek in any way.

I don't drive a Model T, but I suppose I could work on one? Just as most folks don't want to work on a Model T (and if you've ever driven one, you know what I mean) they don't want to work on a computer. Like a toaster, they want to "USE" it and be done with it. Even MSFT 'gets' this because they're moving toward ease of use. If you've ever worked with an older (pre 2K) machine you know what I mean. Drivers, interrupts, loading programs, all of it is so much easier to use today. I still have to search for a printer driver on occasion. I also have an 8gig flash drive loaded with 'stuff' to use on a PC. I have no such flash drive for the Mac.

It's the VHS vs BETA argument. Which one is best? Both systems are good systems.

Apple is a computer manufacturing and a software programming company.

Microsoft is a software company.

Apple innovates and the rest of the computer copies their idea and 'improves' upon it. Sure, it's how Apple got Mac going, copying Xerox, (which just shows you how blind Xerox was!) I suppose it's fittingly ironic that everyone emulates Apple?

MSFT has their story as well.

MSFT has all the professional applications - Macs are good with graphics, but that differential is getting very narrow anymore.


To my way of thinking - both companies want your money. It all depends on who's koolaide your drinking.

[Defenestrator]

Apple is a computer manufacturing and a software programming company.

Microsoft is a software company.


One small correction.....Apple is a marketing company that happens to sell electronics and software as well.

[Sport]

I'll throw in my two cents here as well. I was a die hard MS fan but that changed when I got an iPhone 3GS. As far as the OSX thing, I think that any Mac user who thinks their safe just because it is a Mac is an idiot. Mac OSX makes up about 8 percent of the PC market while MS products are at 75+. If I were a hacker, I would target the largest audience. It was just a matter of time before the cracks start to show. Macs work well because the hardware and OS are tightly integrated. It will always be an advantage for them. They also spend time working on ergonomics. They make a product that is easy to use. It's when you want to tinker with their products to use them outside of the Apple box that you run into problems. As long as they are making a killing in the iStore, DRM will continue to be one of their focus's.