of Apple, it’s control freakery and all round weirdness; this. We don’t know the full back story of course, but it would seem that this woman reached her limit and let fly. I think I would be pissed off at having to make an appointment for something as mundane as getting my kit fixed. And an organisation that calls its technical support folk “geniuses” is even more creepy than Sainsburys and its “colleagues”. These guys make the Scientologists look mainstream. The cult-like mentality of the fanbois surrounding what is, after all, just a range of ordinary gadgets is seriously, seriously creepy. Oh, and Apple products aren’t that special, really they ain’t. And contrary to their propaganda, they didn’t invent the smartphone. I had a Windows powered smartphone back in 2003.
Comments are closed.
Obsessives have *always* lowed and bleated about their current favourite obsession. This is nothing new. These people also tend to be quite vocal about their pet topics, so they’re the ones you tend to hear from most of the time.
Contrary to popular belief, most Apple customers wouldn’t know an operating system if one got up and metaphorically kicked them in the face. Ditto for *any* other platform, including Android. Most users of these devices simply do not care about how the magic box works and what lives inside it.
In the technology field, the obsessives change their targets quite frequently. Ten years ago, it was Nokia who ruled the roost and Samsung was barely a blip in the mobile phone market. Apple vs. Android, Commodore vs. Atari, Microsoft Office vs. OpenOffice, and so on.
You see the same tiresome “X vs. Y” bollocks in every walk of life however. There is some evidence that Homo Sapiens is effectively “hard-wired” for religion. It could be Star Wars vs. Star Trek; The Simpsons vs. Family Guy; Oasis vs. Blur, or that old classic: Jesus vs. Mohammed.
For some inexplicable reason, you’re never allowed to like *both*. There can be only one.
Each platform has its pros and cons. You balance your needs with the available options and make your choice. That’s what I do. I quite like Apple kit. Others don’t. I don’t care what others like because I don’t have to live with their decisions, so I don’t get particularly worked-up about it.
*
Incidentally: most mobile devices will connect to a network frequently to fetch updates for various applications. They’ll check for fresh emails, new social media posts, updated RSS feeds, and so on. There’s no point assuming foul play unless you can see what the device is connecting *to*. Without that information, you have insufficient data to make a reliable diagnosis.
I don’t buy Apple for a number of reasons. Firstly, they are not particularly good value for money. I can buy other products either for less money or are better suited for my needs.
I really don’t like the lock down principle. I like the fact that other manufacturers do not also make the OS for their hardware. To me, this is a feature, not a bug. And I don’t have some creepy CEO standing up in front of an audience telling me what I cannot use it for.
Compatibility – most of my clients are running PCs with Windows XP. I need to be as compatible as possible. If I was a graphic designer, I might take a different view, as it is, a proprietary and incompatible system is not an option for me – no matter how good it might be.
Company ethos. Sure, Micosoft may be irritating, but at no time have they adopted the creepy cult-like ethos that surrounds Apple – and they don’t call their tech support “geniuses”. My word, not only is that as creepy as the Moonies, it is a supreme piece of arrogance. They actively encourage the fanboi mentality with release of new kit, winding them up to the point where they are daft enough to queue overnight for a box of tricks that is obsolete within months and can be bought over the counter the following day. Add to that the blathering arse dribble from fabois such as Stephen Fry, wibbling on about what is, after all, just another gadget, and my distaste is complete. I really, really, do not want to be associated even remotely with such a cult. Even if the products are half as good as they claim.