Archive - Jul 28, 2009

God, that's nasty. 

So, Apple, reportedly, has come up with a Tablet PC, which will be unveiled in September along with a way to purchase albums from iTunes. 

I don't really care.  And I fail to see why I should care.  Tablet PC's have been out for ages---and they're getting better and better with each iteration.  This is nothing earth-shattering, although I'm sure there are a bunch of Mac worshippers out there, foaming at the mouth this morning, searching the web for more leaks on the subject, and will be first in-line to buy one, once it hits the market.  There won't be any more leaks---this one was timed to get the in-crowd primed.  I don't know why people like to be easily maneuvered by Apple.  Because that's what they do.  They maneuver you into the position where they want you: drooling over gear that doesn't have nearly as much functionality as they want you to think it does. 

Why do you people fall for it, again and again?  I don't understand it.  You're not idiots.  If you can work a computer, surf the internet, manage your music collection and use a smart phone, you have a decent level of intelligence.  Why do you want people telling you where to go on the web, what programs to use, what gear to have?  Why do you have to have your world nicely slotted, with Apple pegs to fill said slots?  I just don't get it.  Why do you keep going back to a company whose default position is that you're an idiot?

Look, I know there are a bunch of Mac junkies out there who would swear to their dying breath that Macs are better for any number of reasons---the ease of use, the compatibility with the iPhone and your iPod, that nothing seemingly ever goes wrong (which, the husband will tell you is a lie, because he gets Macs into his store all the freakin' time.  Which, of course, doesn't mention the rise of the "Genius Bar" in every Apple store across the world.  Why do you need geniuses if everything magically works?) that they're so much cooler, etc.---but, really, I don't give a flying fuck about your excuses as they're easily rebutted.  You cannot freakin' right click on a mouse with a Mac unless you buy a mouse that was originally intended to be used with a PC.  Do not tell me that Steve Jobs is a genius because he came up with GUI---because he didn't; he stole the idea from Xerox Parc, and everyone knows it.  Do not tell me in a smug tone, either, that you'll never get hit with a virus on your Mac.  That's not a selling point in my book because it means that, ahem, there aren't enough Mac users to justify hackers spending time on violating your precious graphic design files, not because you have some superior security systems in place.  Apple is an iPod company; it just needs you to have a computer because that's how you sync all your toys. Once they no longer need the computer to accomplish that task, Macs will go the way of the dod.  Why?  Because iPods are where it makes its money, and some day in the future, you're going to find yourself SOL.  They will get there.  Mark my words. 

The first computer I ever used was an Apple II.  Then I worked my way up to the IIe.  I learned to code on these computers, and I am forever grateful for that experience because, while I was in reality just coding a program in Basic to make a pixelated dog walk across the screen, it unraveled the mystery of computers for me. I have worked on Macs over the years, and I will admit I was grateful that they were easy to use, because, at the time, I didn't have the time to figure out how to use a PC to accomplish the relatively easy task of writing and printing out a paper.  But nowadays PCs can accomplish anything a Mac can do---and will do it better, faster, for less money, and with less interference from the maker.  This intereference is something I find overwhelmingly intrusive, and I don't understand why more people don't find it to be so. I do not want someone dictating to me what I can and cannot do with my computer. Yes, a PC will come preloaded with a large amount of Microsquash software; yes, it will try to tell me that this is the preferred way of doing something, but, at least with a PC, I have options, which is not something you have with a Mac. I will choose my internet browser.  I will choose my operating system (and, yes, that means I have the ability to stick with XP, because it's incredibly stable, even though Vista has been on the market for years and will shortly be overtaken by Windows 7.).  I will choose how to organize my music, and if I want to put a CD on my computer and my mp.3 player, I don't have to upload it to iTunes, and put it in a format that does not work with the gear I currently own---or want to own, because it limits my choices.  I have the freedom to choose; it would appear as if Apple users don't. 

Of course there are some dog PCs out there.  Believe me, I hear about it every day of the week from the husband.  He claims that eMachines keep him in business, and is currently rethinking his position as a Dell re-seller because he's had so much trouble ordering from them lately. And, yes, they are vulernable to malevolent intrusions.  I'm not denying any of this.  But these concerns aside, the cost of entry is much less with a PC than it is with a Mac; your options, again, are greater as far as what you can do with it, and if there's a better software option available, you'll be able to get it more readily with a PC than a Mac; but most of all, you don't have to buy a boatload of proprietary gear to get the full benefits of modern computing. 

Again, I don't really care about Apple. It's the greater phenomenon associated with the purchase of such a machine that interests me.  I just don't get why people seemingly enjoy having their choices ripped away from them simply because they got hacked one too many times when they owned a PC.  The husband will tell you that, most of the time, if your machine got hacked, or is incredibly slow because it's loaded with spyware, it was, most likely, your own damn fault. You went somewhere on the internet that you knew damn well you shouldn't have gone; you downloaded something that you shouldn't have; you opened an email attachment you shouldn't have; you allowed some nefarious program to make changes to your registry, etc.  Some spyware asks for your permission to work, and you, not really paying attention to whether this would be good or bad, are caught up in the instant gratification and, in a silly fashion, allow the changes.  He's more tactful, of course, when he explains this to his customers, but thems the facts. 

The husband's top two tips for safe surfing are:

1. Do NOT download ANYTHING from sites for kids.  And, yes, this includes sites you see advertised on Nick and Disney programs, because they are loaded with spyware.  He recently had a very satisfying moment when the mom of a pair of twins asked him to lecture these twelve-year-old girls after she'd paid hundreds of dollars for him to clean off their slow-running laptops.  Which had been purchased at the end of the school year. They'd gone nuts at these sorts of sites, downloading this freebie or that game, and had bogged up the works entirely in less than a month. He patiently explained that these games and freebies were put there specifically to put software on their computer to follow them around the internet, to spy on them.  They payed attention when their mother threatened them that if they did it again, and their machines had to go into the shop, the next bill was on them.   

2. This should go without saying, but avoid pr0n, because, again, those sites are loaded with spyware and that's where some of the malicious stuff on the internet resides.  

Safe surfing aside, why is it that people would rather not admit that they were foolish, once upon a time, and learn from the experience, hence making them a wiser user, but would rather switch to a system that doses the pabum in a shiny, easy to use, spoon---having their choices for something that's potentially tastier ripped away from them in the process?  Why would they choose to be used?

It doesn't make much sense to me.