I have never really used PCs. Except in an internet café in Thailand or India or some other place. So what I am going to say about them comes from a place of ignorance. They suck. They don’t work. They are ugly. They make computing feel like something that only accountants do. No disrespect to the fine men of the ledger, but that sucks, because computers are rad.
The Mac is different. I learnt how to use a computer on a Mac. And it was awesome. A G3 iMac in blue. Badass. The ad said: Sorry, no beige. And it was true, there was no beige. Not on the outside and not on the inside. It felt special to use.
So it bums me out to hear that Steve Jobs is leaving Apple. Him, and his bros, like Mr Wozniak make things people like. They made computers cool. They advanced the cause of mankind tenfold, by taking a fuddy-duddy industry and bringing it to the kids.
Yup, they have become a symbol of mindless consumerism, and I don’t like the way they keep bringing out new models and shit, but each one is a piece of human craft we can be proud of. The stuff we can show aliens and say: that’s our homeys who done that.
Apple is the closest we have come to a Kubrick movie in our pocket.
In a hundred years the iPhone will be in a design museum. You know the HTC Desire or Hard-on, or whatever it is called, won’t be. Sorry, BlackBerry Pearl people, but that goes for you too.
Mr Jobs, you have led the boat on that. Steered us to a good place. You made me like computers. You kinda got me a job. (I did construction before that — night shift running cables under floors. Shit job that.)
I don’t know if you are sick still, but I hope you get to rest easy, and enjoy the Californian sun. It’s a job well done.
Hahahahahahah. Oh man this is ripe. Speaking for the disenfranchised PC users, Apples are a load of bollocks. They are designed for people who think shiny white covers and slick logos make things work better.
You can spend half the money and get something with twice the processing power (if you don’t know what that means you are probably an Apple user.)
While a complete product is nice, you cannot beat being able to upgrade and customize the performance of your tool of choice. Plus you don’t need to click your life away in an endless list of user agreements.
I have always viewed Macs and IPods through the proverbial glass to which my nose was firmly pressed, being economically forced to use PCs and BBs but even I felt sadness on reading of Mr Job’s retirement. People like him only happen every once in a very long while. So, agreed, good rest Mr Jobs.
Could a reason for you thinking PC’s suck be that you grew up using Mac’s? Just asking
Well done on the marketing as well, Mr Jobs. You even convinced a Thought Leader.
Anyway, from all the eulogies one would think he died!
Apple has set the trend for others to follow, but recently it does remind me of the Toyota Landcruiser following the Landrover Defender.
I totally agree with Stephen Browne here. Apple Macs may be pretty to look at, but for the same price you can get a PC with twice the processing speed. And this is very important given that hardware gets out of date in a few months. In a university environment it always amuses me to see students with more money than sense typing their sociology or anthro I lecture on an apple mac that probably costs about 10 X what my work PC costs, while I will be running complicated mathematical models on my PC thank you very much!
Stephen Browne, most of us are simply grateful when the damn thing works and does what it’s supposed to do. Speed, upgrades and customizations are for geeks. What I really don’t understand, though, is why that annoys you so much.
Well played Stephen Browne!
Who said one has to install Windows on a PC? Lets call it Mac vs. Windows Rather than Mac vs. PC. I’m a very happy Ubuntu user (Mark Shuttleworth’s Linux project) and find that I have all the control I need where Apple just seems to take that control from you, just like Windows. That said, I really respect the man for his dedication to, and focus on, design and user interface design. He’s really raised the bar and others merely follow.
Hi guys
It’s like comparing a Mercedes to a BMW. You’re always going to have personal preferences. Having said that, i must say i’ve switched from a Windows based laptop to a Mac, & am loving it. However, I am still very much a Blackberry person.
Hats off to Steve Jobs & his ilk, for pushing the boundaries.
There have been some great guys in the industry, especially those who have founded it and taken it forward. So PC is all I can afford? Well, had Apple not wanted to keep itself out of the main arena, Bill Gates and Co wouldn’t have taken the course they did by taking the technology to the people. And if cost were not so high that they excluded some, Mark Shuttleworth would not have developed free software. But since it’s Steve Jobs who is off to vegetate, may he vegetate in peace and pleasure.
@David Smith – I guess the greatest legacy that Steve Jobs left was to show the world just how easy it is to sell absolutely anything at any price you deem fit as long as you have a powerful marketing machine that can turn even the least original and useful widgets into an aspirational product…guess you got well and truly sucked in…
You’re back, David! Thank you, Steve Jobs.
Oh, the predictable Mac-haters. I have both a Macbook and a Sony Vaio, and love them both. Both have worked beautifully. But I do prefer my Macbook.
And @Andrew, you don’t know what those kids do on their Macs besides type their lecture notes. They may be creating music, making films, or–gasp–running complex mathematical models. I’ve done all three on my Mac.
Yes, they cost more. Although if you’re not buying it in SA, not as much more as some think.
The Kubrick reference made me laugh–apparently Samsung is attempting to countersue Apple, alleging that the basic idea for the iPad was in 2001: A Space Odyssey and therefore Apple can’t claim intellectual theft. Hilarious. I wonder how many more “This isn’t new technology, I totally saw this in a sci fi movie” defenses we’ll hear in the future.
Nice article. I use pc’s cause I like tinkering or buggering about as the beautiful and charming wife put’s it, and she’s right (as usual, up to a point). It’s different strokes for different folks. Is all.
But that Steve Jobs was one persistent character.
Stephen Browne et al – have you ever USED a Mac? Don’t look at the bollocks on PC spec sheet – feel the difference. My most blissful moment of the day is to get home – after having used a PC intensively all day, and I know them better than probably 90% of users (and 50% of “experts:) – and get onto my Mac. It just works. No waiting time with little hourglasses. No waiting for startup or shutdown. No software crashes. Any problem? Fix it yourself without nullifying your guarantee – get the instructions off the Apple website.
It is a different world, my friends…
Quote: ‘The Kubrick reference made me laugh–apparently Samsung is attempting to countersue Apple, alleging that the basic idea for the iPad was in 2001: A Space Odyssey and therefore Apple can’t claim intellectual theft. Hilarious. I wonder how many more “This isn’t new technology, I totally saw this in a sci fi movie” defenses we’ll hear in the future.’
LOL! But many a true word is spoken in jest. So much of today’s world we saw in yesterday’s sci-fi movies (or read in books), and Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek and all of AC Clarke’s are great examples. Who could forget that wonderful scene in 2001 where Heywood Floyd talks to his baby daughter on a vid phone from space? And all the times Captain James T Kirk phoned Spock wirelessly. Not to mention Dick Tracy’s watch phone.
And in essence Arthur C Clarke – the best future prophet of all – foresaw the Internet and satellite comms.
Whose IP is all this anyway? ACC invented the geostationary orbit and waived all royalties. Just about every SF film had wireless phones. And when someone invents anti-gravity will the writers of Back to the Future sue???
Most Mac users (unless they belong to one of the ‘creative’ professions) are forced to spend their working day using PCs and only get to use their Macs at home. So they know the differences, which have lessened over the years. Apple was practically unknown in SA during the ’80s mainly because of the boycott, but also because the first Macs were initially seriously expensive. It’s never become mainstream here because most people learned to use computers that used Windows or the PC-DOS systems. Being ‘computer literate’ means you’ve learned to use Microsoft software. If businesses all used Macs the IT profession as such would not exist, a couple of ‘internet connectivity experts’ are all we’d need. But enough on Apple: Go well Steve, don’t forget your iPad when you cross the Styx.
Max respect. He can be proud of his contribution to the world.
I agree with Stephen Browne.
I will never waste money on a mac when I can get something so much more powerful for half the price, with the added bonus that I can assemble, configure and upgrade as I wish.
The colour white is not reason enough for me.
Intel 64 bit architecture, with a funny OS derived from unix.
Dude, apple is more PC than actual PC’s are.
One of the many things that PC users can do and which mac users can’t: Shut the **** up.
There
It doesn’t take much skill to use and upgrade a PC – you just need to be younger then say, hmm, 30
In case someone did not notice the smiley (read: emotional indicator), I am joking.