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Apple's brewing shitstorm

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Re: Apple's brewing shitstorm

#41

Post by dasil003 »

Speaking of Microsoft, this article reminds me decades past when geeks would whine about Microsoft day after day, year and year. But did that actually accomplish anything? No, the tides did not turn until changing times started to turn Microsoft's cash cows irrelevant by default.

Similarly, Dave Winer releases a very well-written piece decrying Apple's hubris and bad faith, then signs off saying, "Oh btw, I wrote this on an imac while checking my Apple stock on my iphone."

I mean WTF? Apple does not give a fuck about Winer's whining. If Dave and 1,000,000 other people decide not to buy an iPhone then guess what, Steve will care. But he didn't make Apple the success it is by listening to geek ideals.

Guys, isn't it obvious? The antenna problem is inherent to the very design of the iPhone 4. Whatever they did with their signal strength update (which may well have been a lie to cover up a lie as noted by others) was basically all they could do short of going back to the drawing board and completely retooling the entire thing from scratch. Can you imagine the cost of that? Apple is going to take a wait and see approach here. They're not going to bite the bullet unless sales start to take a hit. Most likely this will blow over because they the device is so amazing in other regards, and we'll see that the 2011 revision fixes the problem. If it turns into a real problem they'll take their lumps and fix it mid-cycle, but not because of bloggers whining about it, it'll be because their bottom line is hurting.

Re: Apple's brewing shitstorm

#42

Post by vosper »

dasil003 wrote: post #21
gamble wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple is like Toyota in the sense that the media and public hold them to higher standards than other companies. Dell was hit with a class-action for selling millions known-defective computers - how long did that stay in the news? Ditto for Greenpeace's criticisms of Apple's environmental policies. Are other manufacturers worse? Obviously, but no one cares.

The public just likes to see the top dogs fall. I'm not sure if this is an American phenomenon or if it extends to the rest of the world. In the case of Apple especially (though it probably applies to Toyota to some extent), there is definitely a strong contingent of Apple haters who are perpetually annoyed by Apple-product-owner smugness. Even though the actual smugness is probably greatly exaggerated, and the perce…

It's certainly not unique to America, here in New Zealand it's known as Tall Poppy Syndrome

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tall_poppy_syndrome

Re: Apple's brewing shitstorm

#43

Post by vosper »

dasil003 wrote: post #21
gamble wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple is like Toyota in the sense that the media and public hold them to higher standards than other companies. Dell was hit with a class-action for selling millions known-defective computers - how long did that stay in the news? Ditto for Greenpeace's criticisms of Apple's environmental policies. Are other manufacturers worse? Obviously, but no one cares.

The public just likes to see the top dogs fall. I'm not sure if this is an American phenomenon or if it extends to the rest of the world. In the case of Apple especially (though it probably applies to Toyota to some extent), there is definitely a strong contingent of Apple haters who are perpetually annoyed by Apple-product-owner smugness. Even though the actual smugness is probably greatly exaggerated, and the perce…

It's certainly not unique to America, here in New Zealand it's known as Tall Poppy Syndrome

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tall_poppy_syndrome

Re: Apple's brewing shitstorm

#44

Post by lsc »

cookiecaper wrote: post #40
mikecane wrote: post #6

The pile-on begins. I see Computerworld is now saying the iPhone 4 is Apple's version of Vista.

But there wasn't really anything wrong with Vista. The rebellion against Vista was largely a psychological thing, users revolting because they _hate_ it any time anything changes. I don't think there was any "real" problem with Vista if you were running it on adequate hardware. I guess a big part of the problem was that Vista was getting installed on bottom-rung $300-$500 laptops and dragging everything down.

yeah, but if the bottom wrung has 512-1GiB ram, if your OS doesn't run on the bottom wrung, I think it's legitimate to criticize you. If you want the OS alone to eat more than that, you had better bring some compelling features to compensate, and the perception, at least, was that vista did not bring those compelling features.

Re: Apple's brewing shitstorm

#45

Post by Niten »

megablast wrote: post #13
billturner wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the article, it's actually Microsoft's COO saying that, and not Computerworld: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9179164/Microsoft_exe...

Does that mean a Microsoft COO is admitting that Vista is bad then? That is bigger news to me, than anything anyone at Microsoft can say about Apple or Google, they are competitors of course. And since Windows 7 is just a polished Vista, I am not sure what point he is trying to make?

Oh please. How good or bad Vista was is beside the point; the comparison is between how Vista and the iPhone 4 are perceived.

Re: Apple's brewing shitstorm

#46

Post by 51Cards »

dieterrams wrote: post #10
nreece wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple's done a crappy job dealing with the antenna fallout. At the same time, the press and other attention seekers are blowing this way out of proportion. Look at it this way, the press and other attention seekers are blowing this way out of proportion because Apple's done a crappy job dealing with the antenna fallout.

That's part of it, sure. But it's not a justification. By definition, blowing something out of proportion is to exceed to the justifiably proportionate response. Like I said, there are a variety of easy fixes. They range from being as cheap as a strip of electrical tape, to $30 for a bumper. If that's such a huge deal for you that it outweighs the merits of the phone, then return it, wait for a fix, or use another ph…

I agree this isn't going to change anyone's life but I also suspect Apple would have continued to ignore the issues if this hadn't been 'blown way out of proportion'. They have already demonstrated twice the direct desire to play this down and make it go away. While the response has been disproportionate to the severity of the issue, I feel it also is the only reason Apple is being forced to address it fully now. They really really really don't ever like to admit they made a mistake. Perhaps this is what was required to make them 'man up' and perhaps eat a little corporate humble pie.

Re: Apple's brewing shitstorm

#47

Post by megablast »

WalterGR wrote: post #32
megablast wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does that mean a Microsoft COO is admitting that Vista is bad then? That is bigger news to me, than anything anyone at Microsoft can say about Apple or Google, they are competitors of course. And since Windows 7 is just a polished Vista, I am not sure what point he is trying to make?

Does that mean a Microsoft COO is admitting that Vista is bad then? That is bigger news to me Really? They did that years ago.[1] And since Windows 7 is just a polished Vista... That old chestnut, huh? Something like, "Windows 7 is a 64-bit tweak of a 32-bit extension of a 16-bit user interface for an 8-bit operating system for a 4-bit architecture from a 2-bit company that can't stand 1 bit of competition." Wikipedi…

Read your list, did not see anything that could not be added by a SP into Vista. I see Windows 7 and Vista as no different to XP and 2000, and Windows ME and 98.

Yes, there are new things in each OS, but they are not different enough to warrant being called a new OS.

Re: Apple's brewing shitstorm

#48

Post by philiphodgen »

binaryfinery wrote: post #26

a) Buy a case. b) Don't hold it like that. c) Take it back. How is it my totally technically illiterate wife can use this device to make calls, but internet bloggers cannot?

My totally technically illiterate wife will return her iPhone tomorrow. I canceled my order. We will wait for the next iteration.

Interestingly we have owned Toyotas forever but for the next car purchase we will look at other manufacturers as well rather than default to a Toyota. For phones, the same is true. The replacement for my 3GS may or may not come from Apple. Before, it was a given that I would stay with Apple.

Re: Apple's brewing shitstorm

#49

Post by mistermann »

aresant wrote: post #2

On the topic of Apple he is spot-on, but the fact is Apple's PR team is untrained because Steve Jobs IS the apple PR team - every semi-crisis / etc he addresses personally. I expect that with critical mass unfolding Steve will come to the rescue, but it illustrates how entirely and completely dependent on Steve Apple is - it's not just product design or inspiration . . .

It wouldn't surprise me in the least to see Steve Jobs somehow turn this genuine blunder to his advantage, for little cost to Apple, but even greater devotion from his fans. His handling of it so far has been pretty lame, but considering it's not really that big of a problem (there are simple solutions), he should be able to fairly easily knock another one out of the park and come out on top yet again.

Re: Apple's brewing shitstorm

#50

Post by harshpotatoes »

megablast wrote: post #47
WalterGR wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does that mean a Microsoft COO is admitting that Vista is bad then? That is bigger news to me Really? They did that years ago.[1] And since Windows 7 is just a polished Vista... That old chestnut, huh? Something like, "Windows 7 is a 64-bit tweak of a 32-bit extension of a 16-bit user interface for an 8-bit operating system for a 4-bit architecture from a 2-bit company that can't stand 1 bit of competition." Wikipedi…

Read your list, did not see anything that could not be added by a SP into Vista. I see Windows 7 and Vista as no different to XP and 2000, and Windows ME and 98. Yes, there are new things in each OS, but they are not different enough to warrant being called a new OS.

And linux kernel 2.4 is just a patch away from being 2.6, and os9 is just a patch away from being osX. Just because we like discussions here doesn't mean we have to argue for the sake of arguing.
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