Apple Culture vs. Microsoft Culture
The OS wars of the late 90s are over, companies once out to kill each other are now friends, and nothing is ever beige; we’ve gone through quite a transition, Windows 95 to Vista, System 7 to Mac OS X Leopard. But we still carried a uniqueness that is present today, even in new users for each platform. Every Mac user and every Window user has a little bit of something in them that makes them identifiable as a whole.
Being an Apple user myself, this part is easy. Whichever Apple user you ask, the casual, the fanboy, or the aged, you’ll get different responses depending on how they use a Mac; Apple means something different to everyone. I really became a Mac user in 2005, and it took a while for the initial shock to wear off. Compared to using Macs in 2000, when I didn’t even know that I was using one! Anyway, Steve’s Reality Distortion Field took a hold of me for a few months. I bragged to my dad and friends that the Mac way was the only way. For about 6 months I was the biggest Apple fanboy you’d ever meet. I eagerly awaited every keynote, following various live blogging events, and was quick to submit each new story to Digg only to be shadowed by the previous 20 or so before me. If Apple introduced something new I would’ve thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread and Apple was the first to do it.
Boy was I dead wrong. I even thought Apple was the first to put a Dual Core processor in a laptop. There is no definite answer why we all think Apple is the greatest company ever and Microsoft is Satan reincarnated (if we do), but my guess is it’s due to the hardware and software each company utilizes. Because of our small (but rising) market share we tend not to get some of the cooler things Windows users enjoy, such as games. But one thing we are accustomed to is a lot of things just working. Since we have very few products and options to accomplish something, whether it be designing a billboard or sending an e-mail, we’re used to having things work the way we need them to; the amount (or lack) of software/hardware to aid us in this doesn’t matter, everything just works, no need to have too many options.
With this we get a very limited view of things. Only certain technologies are introduced to us and we all rely on Apple to give us the really mind blowing stuff, which is something we’ve never seen before yet has been available for quite some time. It’s through what’s available that our basis of technology is formed, the Apple way of technology, that whatever Apple introduces must be the best. But as time goes on we eventually expand our views to embrace other realms of technology. The giddyness we get during a keynote eventually subsides, the joy we get in waiting for the Apple store to come back online and the happiness we get when we convert new users eventually wear off. Essentially we come off as snobby, selfish, and arrogant, only because some of our views are limited to what hardware and software is available in the Apple world, which gives us a closed perspective.
The Microsoft culture is different, but also similar, to the culture of Apple users. Most aren’t too savvy on how computers work running Windows, because it’s the only option they ever grew up with, even though simpler and more full-featured options exist. In a way it’s more simple than a Mac, and any other operating system for that matter. It all comes down to a user standpoint; if someone only ever grew up with a Windows-based platform, how hard do you think it’d be for someone who is technologically illiterate to switch. Yeah, it’d be easier to stick with Windows. These people, who know what Microsoft is and what it offers, are quite content with their computer configuration and are less likely to upgrade unless it’s done for them, such as their business doing it.
I’ve also noticed of Microsoft users that the more tech savvy ones tend to be more laid back and use their computer for what they need it to do, while enjoying simplicity and flexibility. They aren’t like some Mac users who herald CEOs as demigods and insist their operating system is superior. They don’t need to, because Windows is used by a vast majority of people, most of whom have no intention of switching. As mentioned earlier, the limited view of some Mac users comes from what hardware/software options are available. I believe the exact opposite is true with Windows users.
Microsoft has created a simpler and more friendly environment than Apple, while both attempt to create some sort of monopoly in the markets they try to enter. It’s easier for us if either of these companies make a monopoly but aggressively defend it. Electronics manufacturers will support the larger corporation or one who has more control over a market. This is evident in Apple’s stronghold on the mobile music/video player market and with Microsoft’s massive command of the operating system market. Since Microsoft is the more influential company in many areas, manufacturers will want to go with Microsoft. Because of this, tons of devices and software will just work and many options will be available.
There will be those who do not match up with this description as it’s incredibly hard to describe every aspect of an audience accurately. Nonetheless, this is only my observation of how users interact.
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Every commenter on this site presents intelligent enough arguments that they don’t need to get personal.
Cough.
[Chris Howard says: WAWA, it’s bad form to use folks’ honesty against them.
However, I stand by that comment, “...I don’t have to be right!”]
Wrong! Put the fan on and read.
The right or wrong issue we were talking about was a mathematical proposition. In mathematics and logic you either accept the rules or not. When using elements from Math or Logic (Maths&Logic;= M&L;) to make a point, you are fragile because the rules of M&L;apply to everyone. If you misused them, it is in the open. There is no room to debate, certainly in our case where the subject was elementary. As a writer you must obey the rules or declare yourself a non-believer. In that case readers can skip it if they wish not to share your believes. If, for the sake of your believes, you want to use M&L;, beware you can not change the rules, and by using M&L;you accepted its terms. If you are proved wrong in these fields you shouldn’t be hanged, nor should you defend the right to be wrong. Being wrong in M&L;is called a mistake. You should say “Shit” I made a MISTAKE, and that’s it. No soft approach, not a disaster neither, it does however not fall under the protection of an opinion. Everybody is entitled to his opinion and blah blah… Fine. If opinion is used in that sense, anybody can say whatever.
Now we come to the second point. The Opinions.
Why would people come to a site, to read an opinion, if it were not for the expertise of the writers? If I go see a doctor it is because I assume his opinion is based on more knowledge than the –everyone is entitled to his- opinion.
Now if the good doctor tells me I’m well, because his turtle told him so, suddenly that opinion loses its value. Even if I get a second opinion on my health, and the first doctor was right, I still won’t go see the turtle doctor again. That is what happens for me on this site.
Every writer here is an IT expert, consultant this and that, and I like hearing the opinions from the pros, i.e. people who know more about it than I. But when I then read nonsense about clear and verifiable facts, their opinion becomes worthless, even if they are right.
There has been plenty of examples of that. And once a doctor starts to read the palm of my hand, that’s it, there is no return.
The Bookspan incident was not a reason to doubt him, I don’t dismiss a doctor because he occasionally gets ill too, just as I can accept Howard blaming the heat. But this Matthew guy, with those credentials, makes a huge mistake and then wants to talk his way out of it. Admit the error, and we all would have had a good empathical laugh. But the way he handled it, the way he talks likes Mr. Big IT expert, the fact he never responded to my question, he is not regaining my trust. So I read another article. And mister delete-invisible-usr-folder-stupid-apple-computer, now talks to us, the little people, like he’s Sri Ma Bookspan about how to balance work and life. I’m a psychologist! It is my job to hunt these guys.
And it’s the same with the other issues. Now, some guys say, hey ho, we put a lot of time in it, be merciful. Put some in facts in it, instead. Is it or is it not a drawback for that iPhone you have 5 hours talking time. You even have a site devoted to the iPhone. Still the position of Applematters isn’t clear. Is 5 hours too little, or it is more than most of the other phones. Both positions are pretty clear and far apart. How come, after all these articles about the iPhone being stupid or whatever, that simple issue, that simple fact remains time and time again unresolved.
And then there is this pretentious (Howard used the word first) attitude about telling CEO’s how to run their business, coming from a site that blows its own credibility to pieces.
This is what I call arrogance. Not Steve Jobs, who says he will do something extraordinary, and then does.
No, no, arrogance is when people accumulating errors are going to tell Steve Jobs what to do.
The fact that there is a nut on this forum calling everyone else an arse now and then is not the question. He is part of the furniture. Taking abuse from him is about as painful as getting the finger from a 5-year old who then rides his bike against a tree.
The thing the always-compassionate gentleman Ben Hall was referring to is the falsification concept of Karl Popper. I doubt however if this could cure our nutty friend. He is perfectly happy and always right in his bubble. That’s where one should leave him, except if he’s your brother-in-law.
“Lemme just say that if you really had a problem with the redundancy of similar comments, you wouldn’t come to this site (or any other Apple fan site) at all. So let’s not pretend like that’s the problem when it isn’t.”
I’m sorry Beeb, you’re right as always. How could I have been foolish enough to think I knew my own mind.
Sorry… don’t know what came over me there. I wish I could be as pig-headed as you. I wish I had this unnatural ability to read one argument - but see another.
I couldn’t care less whether someone argues that Apple is good or bad in an article. I will agree with good points, well made, whatever their content.
What does annoy me is narrow-minded, pig-headedness - in all its forms.
I’ve said it before but it bears repeating: why precisely do you post on this site Beeb when all you do is bitch, whinge and moan? Is it some kind of therapy?
WAWA: “The fact that there is a nut on this forum calling everyone else an arse now and then is not the question.”
Er, I called Beeb an arse… cause he is. Never mentioned anybody else.
Though it has to be said, you’re making a strong claim to join him…
WAWA, I do appreciate your input and your pointing out our failings in our writing. It makes us better writers. It is easy to drop throwaway lines without backing them up (even for experts, as Steve did bagging Zune’s 1%). I appreciate Beeb’s feedback for the same reason - though yes, he could achieve the same ends with other words, and yes, he has toned down over the last year. He made me a better writer (I culled the fanboy hyperbole).
Despite over 20 years in the IT industry, I aren’t ever going claim to be an expert. Poor ol’ Bill still can’t live down his early opinions on the internet! And Steve gave us the Cube and then had to can it. Experts get it wrong all the time. I don’t know anyone who is 100% right all the time.
As I said, I’m happy to admit that I won’t always be right - sometimes even on facts (eg I used to write gb instead of GB - you’d think I should have known that one!). I’m also happy to admit I was wrong about my early predictions that the iPhone will struggle without full PDA capabilities.
I now reckon it’s gunna kick butt!
PS I can’t comment on the talktime as I hardly ever use my mobile for calls, preferring SMS. But it does sound a problem when you consider the impact on battery life of the other functions. But we’ll have to wait and see how it performs in the real world. I do suspect tho we’ll hear a lot more about that issue.
Chris you may feel that you have been improved by it, but surely you can see that no positive argument about Apple can ever be made, at least in opposition to a negative argument about Apple, on this site. Any attempt to present the positive side of an argument results in being flatly dubbed a stereotype.
Perhaps you don’t think so, but from my perspective the quality of conversation on this site is extremely suboptimal. It’s the same problems that afflict the wider world of internet discussions, ego and rhetorical shouting matches take the place of reasoned interchange of ideas.
It is very clear to me that the stereotyping and animosity of Beeblebrox is the most important factor in preventing high quality discussions from occurring on AM. We have a fair number of intelligent commentators, Beeblebrox included, that in an interpersonal situation, where blatantly antisocial behaviour can’t so easily arise, would be able to have really quite interesting discussions that were expanding and educational for all involved.
You can I am sure point to conversations where Beeblebrox has positively contributed to the discussion. He is perfectly capable of so doing and I am not denying his intelligence or that he has something to contribute. But I can point to many, many other discussions where his attitude and unwillingness to engage with people’s arguments, merely attacking their character with a meaninglessly contrived stereotype, has completely obliterated any possibility for forward progress in the discussion.
In my view, the quality of the articles on a site like this matters far less than the quality of the discussion reached in the comments. Unfortunately, the latter only reaches the level of “marginally productive” very occasionally.
I am glad AM is undergoing a re-launch. The administration need to think very seriously about how to foster productive, non-stereotyping, unagressive discussion on Apple Matters, or it will continue to be seen as it now is by most in the Community as a distinctly third-rate website.
Quoting from that website I linked to:
Every one should stop criticizing people and just answer the girls question instead of being so dang ignorant to her dang question mind yo dang business instead of getting all up in that girl business! If you ain’t got nothing nice to say don’t say nothing at all on this dang on web site! let me tell you about ignorant people!
The most irritating thing about Beeblebrox’s “MacTard” stereotype defense is that whether or not the person making an argument is a fanboy is irrelevant to the argument they’re making. The only mature and more importantly correct thing one can ever do is to engage with someone’s ARGUMENT:
stop criticizing people and just answer the girls question instead of being so dang ignorant to her dang question mind yo dang business instead of getting all up in that girl business!
The number of times I have unsuccessfully tried to get Beeblebrox actually to respond to a point I’ve made and failed beggars belief and makes me wonder why I bother. Almost invariably - but not always - in exchange I simply either have my intelligence insulted or am called a stereotype.
I don’t particularly care about the fact he’s trying to be offensive. My point here is that these things are always entirely beside the point. Although they’d be valid if they were the conclusion to a reasoned argument in response to the points I’d made, this virtually never happens.
Swap me out with anyone else on this site and you can see that the stereotyping and so on is totally indiscriminate across all those who ever make points in opposition Beeblebrox.
AAARGH
Dear Mr. Howard,
the tone and type of your answer does not coincide with a genuine desire to become a better writer. It is the tone of a detached call-centre worker. Never a person who gets booed at, appreciates it and sees is as an opportunity to get better. That’s the pedagogue’s dream.
I can make out from your comment that you guys don’t even read each other’s opinions.
Your remark that we all are fallible seems to suggest that you are content with being sloppy.
So there is no reason for me to come to this site.
I’m logging out.
Dear Mr Wa
As you’re logging out, you won’t see this message, which is a shame.
In my opnion, Chris’s reponse whilst a little stilted perhaps did sound sincere. Which is, frankly, all that really counts.
I particularly liked your use of the word pedagogue in your reply: a word that, again in my opinion, frankly isn’t used enough in intelligent discourse.
That said, as it made no sense in the context of the sentence in which it was used, I’m going to stick my neck out and assume your use of the English language isn’t as good as you think it is.
As for your accusation that “you guys don’t even read each other’s opinions”, I can only assume this is because you don’t detect some over-arching “corporate voice” at play. Long may it continue I say.
At no point did Chris suggest he was content with being sloppy - you merely inferred for reasons best known to yourself I’m sure.
Yes, the quality of writing’s gone down recently. As a professional writer, the sloppy use of language is grating. And as someone who likes a good argument, too many of the opinions are unsubstantiated for my liking.
I hope this ‘incident’ and the announced relaunched will see good things again for AM. But, as long as the level of intellectual debate in the ‘forums’ is tarnished by the likes of BB insulting the intelligence, rationale and agenda of anybody who dares to disagree with him, then the whole thing’s going to hell in a hand cart.
Ok, HH, I owe you an answer.
The only mature answer on criticism was that of Tanner, who sounded like, Ok guys I had a ruff night yesterday and wasn’t aware it would show in the article.
I love that!
# Other reactions have this slimy envelope around them. If you ever worked in a school you’d know that these are standardized answers to avoid the issue.
• Thank you for pointing out our failings in our writing. It makes us better writers.
• If Steve & Bill can make mistakes so do I.
I’m not going in to destroy those answers. There is no point.
#Reading each other’s opinions.
Just a few days ago an article on the iPhone points out it has a mediocre talk-time of up to five hours.
Readers corrected this point for the 100th time. Criticism makes better writers? This error got corrected every time it popped up but that didn’t change anything.
#Is my English not as good as I think it is? I have no idea. Therefore it is an enigma to me that you know what I think about my English.
But psychic abilities are not my forte.
#On BB. Just read http://www.applematters.com/index.php/forums/viewthread/1196/
read the whole thread.
I want to say goodbye to this site especially to the readers who helped me.
Let’s soften this up. I did not find on this site what I was looking for. Therefore it is my mistake.
> Ok, HH, I owe you an answer.
You owe me nothing but the thought is appreciated…
> Other reactions have this slimy envelope around them. If you ever worked in a school you’d know that these are standardized answers to avoid the issue.
School? I used to work in PR my friend… I know weasel words when I read them. And I don’t think these were.
> Is my English not as good as I think it is? I have no idea. Therefore it is an enigma to me that you know what I think about my English.
Well, when someone uses words such as pedagogue and enigma in pretty much the wrong context, it’s a safe assumption to make that their believe their skills are greater than they are. In short, don’t use the big words unless they’re the right big words.
> On BB. Just read http://www.applematters.com/index.php/forums/viewthread/1196/ read the whole thread.
Don’t think I need “BB 101” to know what he’s like..
> Let’s soften this up. I did not find on this site what I was looking for. Therefore it is my mistake.
What were you looking for? Recipes?
@HH
Thank you for highlighting the problem with this site.
Look, I’m Belgian, last thing I need are recipes from an Englishman.
If pedagogue is such a frightening word for you, maybe that’s because when dealing with you they had to resort to physical violence. By the way both Big words are Greek.
Other than extremely tasty waffles, Belgium’s hardly-known for its contribution to world cuisine is it!?
Pedagoue isn’t a frightening word. Neither, frankly, is enigma. That said, if I were to use either in a sentence, I’d use them in the correct context. Something which you failed to do. And that, my Belgian chum, was the point I was making.
You are committing a crime that many people - for whom English is a first or second language - are guilty of. That is, using ‘big’ words that they think make them look smart when the effect is the opposite.
This is either because it’s the wrong big word, the big word is used in an incorrect context or the big word is so out of character with the rest of the sentence that it appears incongruous (a bit like incongruous does there!).
Thank you for correcting me.
I live near the Heysel stadium.
It improve me communication with the Liverpool lads, innit?
Putting cuisine and waffles in the same sentence can only be done by an Englishman, I can not imagine us making any progress on that topic.
English is neither my first, nor my second language as you would know if you finished grammar school.
You certainly didn’t finish spelling school, dear [pedagoue], but that is only my [opnion] and could be due to the [announced relaunched].
You are committing a crime many English, monolingual and insular, are inclined to. You think that irony is your second nature and it’s enough to say chum, cheerio or waffle to be a jolly fellow, innit?
Continue your career in PR, you certainly have the knack.
> I live near the Heysel stadium.
> It improve me communication with the Liverpool lads, innit?
Making jokes about a tragedy in which 39 people died hardly endears you. It also demonstrates your complete lack of cohesive argument when you have to resort to such comments.
> English is neither my first, nor my second language as you would know if you finished grammar school.
Certainly did finish it - and with distinction, thanks for asking. As you’re Belgian, I imagine you probably speak French or Dutch (surely not Walloon?). But you also missed my point in your lame attempt to score points; which was that it matters not whether English is your first, second or twenty-third language… lots of people make the same mistake of using ‘big’ words in the wrong context.
> You certainly didn’t finish spelling school, dear [pedagoue], but that is only my [opnion] and could be due to the [announced relaunched].
Ooh, touche. I made a typo (or three). Strike me down and discard all my opinions. It is rather sad that you trawled through three different posts to find those… nothing much happening in Belgium today?
> You are committing a crime many English, monolingual and insular, are inclined to. You think that irony is your second nature and it’s enough to say chum, cheerio or waffle to be a jolly fellow, innit?
Ah, stereotypes and accusation jumping - good innit. If I had even the slightest clue at what you were talking about in that sentence, I might defend myself and the rest of the population (who said I was English by the way? The flag below my posts is the Union Flag, which covers a lot more than one country. But - hey - you’re the stickler for accuracy, not me (if my typos are anything to go by), so I’ll let it pass).
> Continue your career in PR, you certainly have the knack.
Why thank you very much. Though as I said, it’s a former career. And one that I only occasionally submit to when clients come a calling, waving a suitably large bundle of cash.
Anyway - weren’t you going? Or would you like to drag up some more 20 year old football-related disasters? Possibly scan through every post I’ve ever made and search for erroneous semi-colons? Here, I’ll save you some time ;;
It would appear that Douglas Adams was right.