Opinion I have to admit I was one of those who were really bothered by Apple's commercial announcing they were switching to Intel technology (watch it here). I must also admit I used to call myself an Apple hater a few years ago. After all, what good a computer is if it can't run over 80% of the software available out there, it's slow, not to mention way overpriced? (the last which still remains true today).
Things have changed a bit for the past couple of years though. It's a commonly known fact that iPods saved the company from yet another failure, and OS X has proven to be a great piece of work. However, does that really make Apple the best computer company in the world? For some reason journalists seem to be obsessed with Apple, and they also seem to ignore the fact that their market share in the computer world consists of less than 5%.
I will not pretend to have all answers to these journalists' claims, but articles such as these can drive any truthful PC enthusiast nuts any given day.
Read the complete editorial here.
I'm certainly no Microsoft lover either, after all who likes getting a security bug fix two months late. Nevertheless it is hard for me to stand comments on how Windows is not getting an overhaul after several years, while OS X has. Well, at $130 for each cosmetic update and add-on you give to your OS, Apple's updates are far from being perfect. Not to mention we PC users are used to see thousands of application releases every month from developers worldwide, so we don't have to depend on the OS provider for new added functionality (e.g. Desktop search is one of the latest big features in OS X, which can also be done in the PC through the use of free tools from Google, MSN or Copernic).
There is also the spyware argument. In such case I would say Windows' success is its own worst enemy. Give OS X at least a decent share of the pie (which it lacks), and we wouldn't have to wait long until malware and viruses for the platform start popping everywhere and in quantities. Not to justify Microsoft's petty efforts on combating malware in XP, but that doesn't make Apple a better company. Linux in the other hand does have the edge of being free, which OS X is not.
Then you have another guy calling Apple's Intel-based $1299 computer superior to PCs in terms of performance? Can you believe these people writing in a technology column? After Apple's continued failure to prove themselves better and faster than PCs, they feel obliged to move to x86 technology. So now that we can finally compare oranges to oranges, same processors, similar platforms... you still have to pretend there are faster components inside the stylish yet proprietary overpriced box with the Apple emblem?
Finally, you can call the Boot Camp project a gimmick or anything you want, but the truth is Apple's hardware is not faster or better than any well-built DIY system. Apple users have wanted the compatibility of Windows for years, and that is understandable. Windows users have at many points in time desired to run Macintosh/OS X on their x86 machines, and I can bet that is not too far from happening, even if it is not with Apple's permission to do so.
Back to the TV commercial, can you possibly understand how Apple dares to call PC duties "dull little tasks"? After claiming for years they have got the better technology they switch to x86 hardware, eating their own words and slapping a following of loyal customers on their face? Certainly the people making the commercial are either very good liars or simply have not used a PC since the 386 days, whichever is the case I happen to like this version of the advertisement much better. Enjoy.
Julio Franco is the Editor in Chief at TechSpot.com.
He also happens to own an iPod, a Mac, along with a few PCs. No flaming necessary on Apple's user's side as I am one, too. Just trying to put some fairness on the entire BS you can come across out there.