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Steve Jobs' reality distortion takes its toll on truth

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111–120 of 342 posts

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

#111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it so hard for you fanboys to say something like "Lying is wrong and he shouldn't have done it" and just leave it at that? No bullshit, no qualifications, no Gruber-style excuses, just a simple condemnation of someone doing something wrong.

If you respond to something I actually wrote, I'll be happy to discuss it with you.

That was definitely a response to what you wrote. However, I don't think it's a fair to demand: "JUST condemn it, and offer no excuses." You're free to excuse if you like.

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

#112

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?

The Tabs weren't sold - Samsung said so.

The iPads were sold and are no longer available.

That's why.

(source: http://www.electronista.com/articles/11/02/28/backs.quick.se... )

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

#113
post #8

Completely agree. I'm not exactly an apple fanboy, but I do love my iPad, and there isn't yet a competitor's device I'd want to replace it with (although I'm hoping BlackBerry's will change that). If he had come out and given all the ways that the iPad 2 is better than the iPad, I'd have been impressed. But spending half the time criticising competitors just came across as the kind of tacky tactic that really shouldn…

This has been happening for quite some time. One of the earnings call last year was more of Android-bashing than a talk about Apple's successes. EDIT: I believe it was Steve doing the talk back then too.

While Google wasn't bashing Apple at all at Google I/O...

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

#115

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…

Is it so hard for you fanboys to say something like "Lying is wrong and he shouldn't have done it" and just leave it at that? No bullshit, no qualifications, no Gruber-style excuses, just a simple condemnation of someone doing something wrong.

Apple is a religion. It's like when, 2000 years ago, some flood destroyed some town. They knew God caused floods, and they thought God liked everyone, so they came up with some bullshit like, "those people had impure thoughts". You have to "qualify it" or else everything you believe in is gone.

Now, the stakes are lower for tablet PCs versus The Meaning Of Life, and we all know... the lower the stakes, the more people care. Now you understand why so much hot air is devoted to Apple vs. The World.

The best reaction is to just laugh at the whole thing. They won't even tell you how much RAM the thing they want you to buy has. And you don't care, because you can't use it like a real computer.

Wait, now I'm depressed.

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

#116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ESL was the real culprit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN_w0mcDayI

How did anyone get "small" from that? Sounded pretty clear to me. I'm a native English speaker, and do not speak or understand any other languages.

If you already expect "smooth", it is in fact impossible to hear "small" in that recording. But that doesn't mean it's impossible in general.

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

#117
post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

So they both lied.

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

#118
post #8

Completely agree. I'm not exactly an apple fanboy, but I do love my iPad, and there isn't yet a competitor's device I'd want to replace it with (although I'm hoping BlackBerry's will change that). If he had come out and given all the ways that the iPad 2 is better than the iPad, I'd have been impressed. But spending half the time criticising competitors just came across as the kind of tacky tactic that really shouldn…

I actually see his assertiveness as a sign of how much Jobs respects the potential of his competitors and the ruthlessness with which the market will walk away from his company's products if he doesn't sell, and just how much obligation he has to employees who sacrifice so much to make it look like magic.

You have a strange definition of "respect".

Maybe behind closed doors and in board meetings, Jobs will admit that Android is a very fierce competitor that is taking market share away from Apple.

But on the public front, he shows nothing but disdain for competitors and he spends much more time on stage disparaging them than he used to.

Bashing competitors is not just poor form, it's usually the sign of a business losing steam.

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

#119

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…

I once slipped on ice and dropped my running T60p 4 feet onto a steel manhole cover.

3 years later, it's still running like a dream.

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

#120
post #114

How does a link like this make it to the top of HN? It's nothing more than petty, spiteful Apple bashing by a Google guy.

Isn't the whole keynote "petty, spiteful Google bashing" by an "Apple guy"? Jobs intentionally misquoted someone to make himself look better at a talk with his customers and investors. An article pointing that out is not "bashing".
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