No hearsay here

21 Comments

    • ON: Wed Aug 27th 15:30 PM
      Commented on:
      No Leadership from Apple Right Now
      @crappletv: I don't know who the hell you're talking to, but it sure isn't the Apple that I work for. I have a LOT of tenure and visibility around here, and there has been NO significant exodus of senior people, and no back-off in the level of quality or commitments to it.

      I work for Apple because I love the products and I love how we make 'em. You would have others wrongly believe that we're not a proud group. You think we don't care about what we make?

      Your mindless, sweeping generalizations are breath taking.

      P.S.: it's "hearsay," not "heresay". Your command of the language is as good as your Apple knowledge.
      [comment edited for abusive language; commenter put on watch]
      View article »
    • ON: Tue Aug 26th 01:23 AM
      Commented on:
      Apple's Problems - Bad to the Core?
      Thank you, foo. You beat me to the punch. The "campus fire" was in the VG6 building, across the street and a good half mile away from the IL1-6 complex, ignited by a welder at about 10PM. Once I saw this major error in this clown's "report" (and I use "report" VERY loosely), I knew his idiot meter was pegged at 10. He's so ill-informed that he thinks it used to be Apple ComputerS rather than Apple Computer (singular). Out of the chute with one utterly foolish observation about Q-to-Q comparisons (anyone who has ever followed Apple knows that Christmas quarter is ALWAYS Apple's best yearly quarter, the following its worst), then one bone-head error barely before he's past the first paragraph, and you know you're in for an ill-informed ride.

      This weekend I saw a Toyota Camry on the side of the road and it was on fire. Hey, one Toyota on fire and ALL Toyota owners are at mortal risk, right? Does this mean that Toyota has lost its way? Apparently it does in Shelly's World. Tin hat, anyone?

      Yes, one class action lawsuit proves that Apple has a major problem. Gee, an ambulance-chasing profession (lawyers) that might be a tad tempted by a $20 billion cash pool. I would never have thought it. Particularly when the idiot customer filing the suit had 30 days to return the product, no questions asked. (This isn't a relative, is it? The IQ-resemblance is remarkable.)

      I am willing to concede that Apple may be releasing products before they are ready for prime time. However, Apple has proven time and again that while there may be initial-release issues, they DO get it fixed in short order. Example: OSX 10.5.0 was buggy when released on 10/26/07 --- some could not even install it. 10.5.1 was released 3 weeks later, but it was still buggy. Those disenchanted with Leopard, at this stage, simply stuck with Tiger (10.4.x). With 10.5.2 on February 11, Apple got it right, fixing most of the major annoyances with the original release. Since then we've gotten 10.5.3 on 5/28, 10.5.4 on 6/30, and 10.5.5 on 8/19. Five major updates (and one more rumored on the way in a bit) to the major release, all in the course of 10 months. Result: Leopard is now a magnificent OS and is finally all that it was touted to be. It was quite good and acceptable with 10.5.2 and has only gotten better since. I find Apple's update pace to be exceptionally good. How many updates has Vista had in its 21 month existence? I count one. (But gee, Vista works so well that it doesn't need any sort of update. And to prove it, why not launch a $300 million ad campaign to convince you of it?)

      We see a similar level of support with Apple's iPhone firmware. Released on June 9, we are have the second update in the intervening 11 weeks. Yeah, Apple should not have released it when they did, but their record of updates already tells me that they're in the shop working on it. In Steve we trust.

      Is there any wonder about the millions of hits for "iPhone brick" with the first iPhone when all but this foolish .... author? .... knows that a very small but very vocal group of hackers made a very public attempt to jail break their phones? And broke them in the process (aka "bricked them")? Two million iPhones were bricked? Because of this gang of software vandals, Apple was "unprepared" to release the original iPhone? Are you really that dumb, Shelly?

      (Incidentally, if you do a quick Google search for "Shelly Palmer idiot" you get 13,000 hits. If it's of any consequence, "Shelly Palmer moron" only returns 4,350 hits. I guess you're more of an idiot than a moron.)

      And of course, my favorite: "security flaws." That always gets a headline, doesn't it? Care to name just one Mac user whose machine was corrupted by such a flaw, Shelly? Just ONE. I don't want some purported hole where if one group of security experts did this and then got me to go to this page on that browser using that guy's 3rd party driver, all at a conference specifically convened to attempt to do this task (they couldn't do it, I should add). Just one "John Smith from Scranton, PA" who has had his Mac violated .... oh, I dunno .... in the last five years. Come on, Shelly, the list must be HUGE .... you can name just one guy, can't you? (Crickets chirping.)

      Yes, millions of happy, loyal Mac customers (fanatics, actually) and exponentially growing daily. How can markets speak so loudly but not hear your learned pleas, Shelly? Frankly, I'm surprised that your iTunes playlist got Donnie Osmond mixed in with your Milli Vanilli standards.

      I've seen a lot of remarkably bad blogs in the last year, but this one takes the cake as the worst of the worst. After reading your bio fluff piece, if I could name my response it would be "National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences: President's Upstairs Office Vacant."
      View article »
    • ON: Mon Aug 25th 02:07 AM
      Commented on:
      Apple Will Iron out the Wrinkles -- or the Irony
      You are correct in that Apple is quite nimble on its feet and DOES fix its software woes rapidly. Let's look at OSX 10.5 (Leopard). It was introduced 10 months ago in October, and had many problems in the beginning. Many customers couldn't even install it. But already we have had 5 updates to it (versions 0 through 4), and it's turned into one fine, stable OS. It takes a while to shake out most of the bugs, but Apple does it. Rapidly, IMO. Vista has been out 19 months (?) and we've had but one Service Pack.

      The phone is another example of fast response. Jobs is absolutely driven and will not accept anything less than full quality and functionality. I'll wager that inside Cupertino headquarters, there are war rooms set up all around his office to address all of the iPhone issues. Not because he HAS to fix problems, but because he WANTS to fix the problems. "In Steve I trust."

      Compare and contrast this to Microsoft. They (MSFT) have now launched a new $300 million campaign to promote Vista. Rather than correct their many problems, their response is to try to convince you that the problems their customers have encountered are all in their heads, that the software is just fine as is. Ballmer calls this "fighting back." Ha! Steve Jobs recognizes when his products are less than ideal, admits it, and corrects it (MobileMe, for instance, is a work in progress). My prediction is that in 6 months time, all of this 3G phone and MobileMe trouble will be ancient history and long forgotten.

      If Apple is guilty of any sin, it's probably that they are under too much pressure to release a product too soon. Part of that is Jobs' responsibility (schedules are schedules) while the rest of it is public pressure. Let's not forget who was clamoring the loudest for 3G iPhones only 3 months ago despite Jobs' admonition at the 2G introduction that 3G phones are power hogs.

      I'll trust Apple any day over Microsoft.
      View article »
    • ON: Fri Aug 22nd 15:11 PM
      Commented on:
      Is iPhone Heading to Russia?
      Maybe the Ruskies under Putin can use their new iPhones to modernize their democracy-smashing techniques.
      View article »
    • ON: Fri Aug 8th 13:37 PM
      Commented on:
      Microsoft Gets the Blogging Community
      There's a good reason why "no known bloggers work at Apple." Jobs insists on lsecrecy for everything he does. That is indisputable. All of his employees are cloaked under a similar veil of secrecy. If they openly blogged, I think, they'd be gone pretty quickly. You or I may not like it, but that's just the way it is. SJ's attitude is to let his products and service do the talking, not some loose-lipped employee who might let some internal secrets go out the door.
      View article »
    • ON: Wed Aug 6th 15:11 PM
      Commented on:
      Research In Motion's 3G Counteroffensive: The Smartphone Arms Race Escalates
      That's a dramatic turnaround story, Taher. I was expecting the typical Apple bash from your entrance. I give you credit for opening your mind long enough to at least try the product. "One can a week, that's all we ask."
      View article »
    • ON: Tue Aug 5th 19:07 PM
      Commented on:
      With MobileMe, Apple Bites Off More Than It Can Chew
      User 58276, how could you EVER compare Apple's stumble with anything Microsoft? What's APPL's response? Admit culpability and pledge to fix it. I believe SJ when he says he'll fix it. Now how has Microsoft handled its Vista debacle? By launching a $300 million advertising campaign to tell you that you are wrong, everything is just ducky, and you need to re-think your own impressions. You call that "adopting some of MSFT's hubris"?
      View article »
    • ON: Mon Jul 28th 18:40 PM
      Commented on:
      Apple's 3G iPhone Has Some Kinks to Resolve
      Robcal1: what kind of dope are you? You're so annoyed with the first iPhone that you bought the next one? Just because you live in a reception area null doesn't mean that we all do. You and a few others have a problem with battery life (your phone must be glued to your ear), so we ALL must have the same issues. Wrong! The thing's only been out for a lousy two weeks --- take it back, get your money returned, then go buy the superior BB or Nokia phones. Leave the fold! You'll be happier, and so will we.
      View article »
    • ON: Tue Jun 17th 13:13 PM
      Commented on:
      3G iPhone Impact on AT&T and Verizon
      "...but trust me the Samsung Instinct, RIM and LG's new products are going to give (Apple) a run for their money."

      Sorry, but I don't trust you, User 191984. Your analytic skills are blinded by price tags, as BS Detector has pointed out. Those who see Apple products as just hardware don't understand the Apple phenomenon, much less its customers. It's the overall experience that people purchase, which includes not just the hardware but also the software and the ease of use. The REAL ease of use, not some silly advertising bullet point that all hardware manufacturers claim. Apple's claims are the real deal.

      For instance, I gladly pay twice as much for an Apple CPU because my time is worth money to me. LOTS of money. You look at a CPU purchase as a one-time investment; I see it as a long-term investment. You spend hours monthly, maintaining your cheapo Asian PC clone in an effort to thwart viruses, as if your time is worth nothing. I, on the other hand, have NEVER had to concern myself over such nonsense. Instead, I can spend my time doing my work rather than trying to keep this electronic "tool" oiled, greased, dustfree, and out of the sun.

      So go ahead and buy your cheap junk hardware. I'm sure you'll be delighted with it. But Apple customers think on a different plane than you do.
      View article »
    • ON: Thu Jun 12th 13:52 PM
      Commented on:
      $1.2 Billion in iPhone Apps? Not Likely.
      I wasn't paying attention at the time, but I wonder what analysts in 1977 thought of the old Apple ][, and how many this new company called Apple could possibly sell. And then along came a program called Visi-Calc.

      I'm not saying that there is a Visi-Calc for iPhone in the wings, or that one will ever be there. Only that one never knows what sort of clever and useful applications will be offered by the thousands of developers who have signed up to write for the iPhone.

      I'm especially skeptical of any journalist's ability to see into the future.
      View article »
    • ON: Mon Jun 2nd 15:01 PM
      Commented on:
      Which Is the Better Investment, Apple or Research In Motion?
      "The crappy commodity boxes already have an operating system of commensurate quality." I love your wordsmithing, instig8r!
      View article »
    • ON: Wed May 7th 13:48 PM
      Commented on:
      Apple Links Higher Sales with Higher Prices
      Thank you, jmmx, for your illiterate thoughts. Now go back to your XBox game play and leave us adults alone.
      View article »
    • ON: Thu Feb 28th 14:01 PM
      Commented on:
      Google's Page, Brin and Brilliant on Clean Energy from Davos '08
      This is the same Brin/Page team who park their 767 jet at NASA? Did Bono and Algore rode bicycles to attend this parade?

      I love conferences like these. Ultra-rich, ultra-liberal guys sitting around, passing ideas as easy as passing gas, as if they know HOW to make any of this happen. They remind me of Stan Laurel's description of Laurel and Hardy: "two minds without a single thought." Ten cents per kilowatt hour using some pie-in-the-sky generator? Sure! What's the big deal? "I'll just take this Picasso painting off of my wall, auction it, and we'll start building that windmill farm over yonder, in the middle of your little useless subsistence farm. Outta my way, plebe!"

      This nonsense would be laughable except for the fact that if/when these clowns get put in charge of policy, which could easily happen, millions of impoverished people on this planet are going to get killed. But it's okay to kill people if your intentions are good.

      There is only one certainty about this: these idiots will never be affected by their policies like we mere mortals will be.
      View article »
    • ON: Wed Feb 20th 18:21 PM
      Commented on:
      Apple: Rumors Keep On Coming, But Numbers Will Surprise
      dithers' post makes me wonder if Fidel Castro hasn't found a new hobby for his retirement years: reading blogs.
      View article »
    • ON: Wed Jan 30th 16:22 PM
      Commented on:
      Apple's Extraordinary Edge
      You missed my (admittedly) sarcastic point, Marcel. What Apple sells is SIZZLE. Some people desire it, others don't.

      The market speaks for itself: there are lots of people, like the appropriately-named Blah, who are quite content with beige rectangular boxes (and horrid clothing, to use my example). But to compare that ugly piece of crud (my description) to an iMac and say "they are equal" demonstrates the difference between the two customer types. I gag when I see a PC; not one has any sense of style. I'd never allow one in my house. I feel the same about OSX vs. Vista. You may disagree. Fine. But that's my way of explaining the differences that this article alludes to.

      If you're content to drag files around to play music, then by all means, a cheap, hard-to-use music player will suit you just fine. That's where the mp3 business was in 2001. But if you want to manage your music with a sense of elegance and style, Apple offers it to you via iTunes. I didn't say Blah was wrong in this regard, only that he isn't an Apple customer and as such had nothing constructive to offer about this piece. I believe he used the term "idiot" to describe me and my ilk. He opened the floodgates, not me.

      However, Blah clearly doesn't know what he's talking about in regards to Macs either, when he drags out this old hit piece from ZD-Net, written by a former ballet dancer. Even the "report" cited in the ZD-Net article said “PLEASE NOTE: The statistics provided should NOT be used to compare the overall security of products against one another." Just more fluff from the Microsoft camp trying desperately to defend its rapidly crumbling empire.
      View article »
Loading...
Symbols:
Authors:
Quick Links:
Contribute an Article Become a Seeking Alpha Contributor

Transcripts

More Transcripts»