Steve Jobs' reality distortion takes its toll on truth • Hacker News Board

Re: Steve Jobs' reality distortion takes its toll on truth

#101

Post by rbarooah » Thu, Mar 03, 2011, 6:58 PM UTC

recoiledsnake wrote: post #77

rbarooah wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree that it seems negative and I'd rather he didn't do it, but I can see why he does. There are plenty of even less accurate commentators who are prepared to make analyses of the situation that are unfavorable to Apple. Most people don't take the time to critically analyze the 'news' they hear and are actually influenced by this stuff. Apple needs to at least state their viewpoint so that it is out there alongsid…

>Most people don't take the time to critically analyze the 'news' they hear and are actually influenced by this stuff. Err, I thought most of his presentation was targeted at exactly those people who will walk away with wrong impressions of the competition. Jobs knows that this presentation will be much more widely publicized than this criticism and that's why they wanted to do it. Seriously, how much percentage of t…

I agree that the misquote was wrong. That's not what I'm referring to.

That misquote doesn't change the rest of what he said, which wasn't wrong.

More to the point, I'm not advocating him lying - I'm explaining why he needs to make statements about the competion at all.

Re: Steve Jobs' reality distortion takes its toll on truth

#102

Post by joebadmo » Thu, Mar 03, 2011, 6:58 PM UTC

pmjordan wrote: post #33

NickPollard wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So you're saying the iPad has sold more than 90% of all devices that are like iPads? Seems verging on tautological to me.

Do any of the Kindles, etc. have touch sensitive main screens? 'Tablet' isn't exactly a new term and has implied a large touchscreen for a long time now. Seems a reasonable distinction considering the difference in how you interact with the devices.

The Nook does have a touch screen. And I think historically 'Tablet' has referred to pen-input devices, which aren't exactly the same as 'touch sensitive.'

Re: Steve Jobs' reality distortion takes its toll on truth

#103

Post by jrwoodruff » Thu, Mar 03, 2011, 6:59 PM UTC

scott_s wrote: post #14

jokermatt999 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And thankfully, good journalists will call them out on it. I'd argue that's an important function of journalism, even.

That's fine, but the tone of this piece was surprise that Apple would use its own marketing event to make Apple look good. Calling them out on facts is good, but there's no need to tell me that Apple will selectively present features based on how good it sells.

Yea, just the whole tone of this article really made me queasy. It just smacks of bias. Had it been even-handed observation...

Re: Steve Jobs' reality distortion takes its toll on truth

#104

Post by runjake » Thu, Mar 03, 2011, 7:01 PM UTC

Link bait.

I'm tempted to label the author a "socialist", keeping with recent trends. Apple markets well. Other people market and make similar claims. Your soap, your window cleaner, your vitamins, your TV set. It's the nature of our culture, our marketing, and our capitalism.

Why is this a me vs. you thing? Corporations selling Android devices do it, too.

Check out any Android-based "4G" device on AT&T: 1) virtually no one actually has "4G" coverage, and upload speeds are HORRIBLE on 3G (allegedly because AT&T or the OEMs decided to disable HSUPA on these devices for god knows what reason).

Why must Apple always be called out like this? Because they do it so much better than their competitors. If you don't like this, I urge you not to buy their products.

Re: Steve Jobs' reality distortion takes its toll on truth

#105

Post by tedunangst » Thu, Mar 03, 2011, 7:02 PM UTC

Kylekramer wrote: post #94

tedunangst wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

2 million Tabs is the number shipped to stores, not sold to consumers. http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2011/01/31/samsung-galaxy-tab-sa... No real number given, but anything under 1.6 million makes 90% feasible.

Apple reports the same shipped to stores numbers. Why not compare them?

Do they? I imagine they do, but there aren't any WSJ blog posts pointing that out. The issue then is one of how long it takes Apple to sell out that inventory.

Re: Steve Jobs' reality distortion takes its toll on truth

#106

Post by j79 » Thu, Mar 03, 2011, 7:02 PM UTC

kgermino wrote: post #55

jonhohle wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Quite a few years ago, Apple was one of the design leaders in the laptop space, then others caught up, more or less. The same thing happened in the smartphone space. Who are these companies? Seriously. Have you used an Apple product side by side with a non Apple equivalent? Does any company come close to the build quality or original design of Apple? If other companies are almost catching up, it still means they ar…

I can't speak for design, I know most people think that Thinkpads look ugly, however regarding build quality I own a Thinkpad T500 I bought 2 years ago and I have: +Dropped it way more times than I can count, usually while closed and turned off but also while it was running, and while it was open (both running and not). +Totally stood on it, putting my full weight on the closed lid many times. +Left it running in my…

Everything you mentioned, I've also done (with the exception of using it out in drizzle and snow - that just seems crazy!)

Once, during my commute home, I decided to play music via iTunes (my iPod had died). I arrived home, walking to the door, when I decided to unzip the bag I was carrying (a sling type) to turn off iTunes, when my Mac Book Pro came sliding out. It landed smack on the front right corner, a good 5-5.5 ft drop. I feared the worst! It took me a good 10 seconds to finally get the nerve to check and was shocked to find, not only was the screen not cracked, but the machine was still running like a champ! (I did end up with a serious dent and some major scratches on the bottom, but I considered them battle scars and showed them off with pride!)

I've looked at ThinkPads for work (web development) and I'm glad to hear the quality is on par with the MBPs I'm use to.

Re: Steve Jobs' reality distortion takes its toll on truth

#107

Post by recoiledsnake » Thu, Mar 03, 2011, 7:04 PM UTC

jshen wrote: post #93

daten wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What data are basing the opinions of "most people" and "average consumers" on?

consumer sales?

You mean around 17% to 20% ? That's 'most people' and the 'average consumer'?

Re: Steve Jobs' reality distortion takes its toll on truth

#108

Post by rbarooah » Thu, Mar 03, 2011, 7:07 PM UTC

rosser wrote: post #83

Bud wrote: post #69

Let's just take the bull by the horns here. Seth Weintraub's first sentence in this article, and ostensibly his main point, is: "Apple twisted facts (or worse) to try to convince crowds that all other tablets had no shot at de-throning the iPad in 2011." I'll put up $100 right now that says no competitor will sell more units than the iPad this year. I'd be surprised if anyone cracked 50%. Does anyone seriously doubt…

The guy who outright lied?

You mean Weintraub? He knows for certain that Samsung didn't sell 2 million tabs, because Samsung made a statement saying that, yet he pretends that they did.

This kind of journalism is part of the problem - not the solution.

Re: Steve Jobs' reality distortion takes its toll on truth

#109

Post by recoiledsnake » Thu, Mar 03, 2011, 7:08 PM UTC

runjake wrote: post #104

Link bait. I'm tempted to label the author a "socialist", keeping with recent trends. Apple markets well. Other people market and make similar claims. Your soap, your window cleaner, your vitamins, your TV set. It's the nature of our culture, our marketing, and our capitalism. Why is this a me vs. you thing? Corporations selling Android devices do it, too. Check out any Android-based "4G" device on AT&T: 1) virtually…

>Why must Apple always be called out like this? Because they do it so much better than their competitors.

Because this announcement gets more press than almost anything else you stated.

Re: Steve Jobs' reality distortion takes its toll on truth

#110

Post by egor83 » Thu, Mar 03, 2011, 7:10 PM UTC

rbarooah wrote: post #89

egor83 wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1) I don't see how the 90% market share statement is wrong From the article: Apple sold 14.8 mln iPads. Samsung sold 2 mln Tabs. Do you imply that these figures are not correct? If so, please provide better data. But if we use these figures, Apple has 14.8 / (14.8 + 2) ~ 88% market share, and a claim about "> 90%" is outright wrong. Please note that no other competitors were included in this count. 2) What's wrong wi…

What device would have been a better comparison for someone who cares about price?

It was up to whoever makes a comparison to find such a device.

Comparing your device's price to something with a better specs is stretching the truth; if comparable device doesn't exist - just don't do this comparison.