Why We Love Apple

2009-10-24T08:26:00.001-07:00

The rivalry between Apple and Microsoft is probably the greatest show in the world of IT. The two companies produce more than 95% of the computer operating systems (Windows and Mac OS X, respectively) on the planet. Indeed, most people probably can’t even name the third most popular operating system (Linux).

• Introduction
• Innovation
• Quality
• Clean Act
• Steve Jobs
• Not Microsoft
• Cool Factor
• Effective Ads
• Summary
• References

After being squashed by Microsoft, Apple rebounded and currently enjoys an impressive market share of about 10% in the U.S. Of course, that’s still a lot smaller than Microsoft, which boasts a much bigger piece of the pie worldwide.

Thus, a visitor from another planet might conclude that Earthlings love Microsoft and hate Apple. Oddly, it’s just the other way around. The world’s biggest software manufacturer is widely hated, while Apple’s brand name is widely revered.

It was feared that the Second Great Depression (aka “global recession”) would torpedo sales of Apple’s relatively high-priced computers. Yet it was revealed in October that Apple just recorded its best quarter ever, generating a whopping $1.67 billion dollar profit in the midst of the biggest economic crash since the Great Depression.

On October 20, Apple released a new line of products, including a new Mac Book, an updated iMac, a new Mac Mini server and a Magic Mouse. Earlier releases included an upgraded MacBook Pro - arguably the world’s most respected laptop - including a 13-inch model that might even compete in the frenzied netbook market. (It will certainly be my next purchase.) Of course, the iPhone continues to evolve as well.

The timing of all this was unfortunate for Microsoft, which is frantically trying to promote Windows 7 (aka Vista 2.0). Indeed, some pundits spoke of Apple raining on Microsoft’s parade (yet again). Even the right-wing Wall Street Journal - which boasts Bill Gates’ wife and fave business partner (Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett) on its board of directors - seemed a little pessimistic regarding Microsoft (Ballmer Tries Bringing Back Microsoft’s Mojo).

All this begs the question: Why do people love Apple? Members of the Microsoft fan club are quick to dismiss Apple fans as juvenile “fanboys” obsessed with looking cool. But is that “argument” really sufficient to explain how Apple can take on the world’s biggest and most corrupt software company in the middle of both an economic quagmire and a netbook revolution and win, seemingly hamstrung by expensive merchandise to boot? One can almost hear an army of Microsoft whores gnashing their teeth in frustrated rage.

In fact, Apple’s famous cool factor derives from several features Apple has in its corner.

Innovation

Microsoft likes to “compete” by destroying competitors, while Apple likes to make a better mousetrap. Though simplistic, that’s a pretty accurate analogy.

Though both companies have been accused of stealing others’ ideas, Microsoft is by far the bigger offender. Indeed, Microsoft often seems to be an Apple wannabe. (Check out the article Microsoft’s New Stores Look Exactly Like Apple Stores.)

Quality

Microsoft has a reputation for software bugs and viruses and a general lack of security. In contrast, many people believe Mac’s are immune to computer viruses.

Of course, this isn’t true; Mac’s can indeed be infected with computer viruses. (However, I’ve been running my MacBook Pro without anti-virus software for three years now and haven’t had any problems.) But the mere fact that many people believe Mac’s are 100% virus free is a quantum leap from the world of Microsoft, which has gained fame as a witch’s brew of bugs, viruses, “back doors” and Microsoft hacks symbolized by the infamous “blue screen of death.”

Since Apple also makes its own hardware, the integration between software and hardware is generally superior to PC’s. The Mac is known as the computer that works right out of the box.

Clean Act

Let me start with the bad news: Steve Jobs is corrupt - in my opinion, at least. He has followed Bill Gates’ lead in sticking his big nose in public education. That would be cool if Jobs spoke out against the corporations that are exploiting education (notably Microsoft and the Gates Foundation). But Jobs has apparently joined with those corporations in declaring war against teachers.

There was also a scandal over Apple’s stock-options practices. Jobs and other Apple execs were cleared by a committee chaired by none other than Al Gore. What you probably don’t know is that Gore (as corrupt a politician as they come) sits on Apple’s board of directors. That’s kind of like Bill Clinton being investigated by Hillary, or Dick Cheney putting George W. Bush under a microscope.

I’m sure a thorough investigation of Jobs would reveal more dirt. BUT...

Steve Jobs/Apple can’t begin to compare to Bill Gates/Bill Gates Sr./Melinda Gates/Microsoft/The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation/Bill Gates Sr’s law firm (whatever its official name is this week)/Wall Street Journal.

Steve Jobs’ father isn’t one of the most powerful (and corrupt) lawyers on the planet. He doesn’t screw millions of children around the world. He hasn’t launched a second career as a phony philanthropist. He doesn’t manipulate Palo Alto the way Bill Gates manipulates Seattle. Steve Jobs doesn’t hitch his wagon to genetically modified food, then shoot his big mouth off about “creative capitalism” while pretending to be a philanthropist.

Microsoft is widely regarded as a monopoly, not Apple (even though its software and hardware are tied tightly together). Microsoft seems to be eternally up to its eyeballs in lawsuits, not Apple.

In this era of rampant corporate corruption, Apple’s sins seem like little more than a speck of dust, whereas Microsoft is perhaps more widely feared and reviled than Enron and Haliburton. To many people, the names Bill Gates and Microsoft are synonymous with arrogance and greed. The term FUD is most closely associated with Microsoft. Even Bill Gates’ philanthropy and an endless advertising campaign haven’t succeeded in whitewashing Billysoft’s reputation.

Like Google, Apple is a name that serves as a beacon, rather than an anchor.

Steve Jobs

Hmmm...I guess I already discussed Steve Jobs in the preceding section, a section that probably should have focused more strictly on Apple. But all corporations are made up of people, and Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are very closely associated with Apple and Microsoft, respectively. (Actually, it might be argued that Gates is also closely associated with Apple, a company he loves to borrow ideas from.)

The famous Get a Mac ads feature two actors who represent Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. The ads are devastatingly effective, largely because Bill Gates is so widely loathed. He’s the most famous computer nerd on the planet and is also up to his eyeballs in corruption.

Gates is known for his shrill voice, his habit of flailing his puny arms when he gets excited and his four-year-old temper tantrums. He’s also pretty bizarre. For example, he once had an X-box computer game wrapped in mother-of-pearl and given to a foreign leader as a “symbol of peace.”

In contrast, Steve Jobs is seldom portrayed as a nerd. He talks and acts pretty much like a normal person. Jobs is widely regarded as cool, an image shared by Apple.

Not Microsoft

Of course, many people love Apple simply because it’s not Microsoft. Though they include people who are sick of Microsoft’s entrenched corruption, most are probably just sick of crappy software and dirty business practices.

Cool Factor

Innovation, quality and Apple’s relatively wholesome reputation all contribute to its major cool factor - not to mention the fact that it ain’t Microsoft. Apple is especially popular among teens. In fact, a poll conducted by Junior Achievement named Steve Jobs as U.S. teens’ favorite entrepreneur, with 35% of the vote, followed by Oprah Winfrey (25%).

Microsoft isn’t just not cool; it’s virtually considered the anti-Christ in many circles. Even if Microsoft somehow managed to become cool, it would have a hard time selling its coolness with its garish logo.

Effective Ads

A comparison between Apple and Microsoft would be incomplete without a look at their widely disparate advertising campaigns.

Some Microsoft ads were seemingly created by the Chief Weirdo himself, Bill Gates. Take the Shoe Circus ad, the first of two or more ads featuring comedian Jerry Seinfeld - please. (Notice that this ad is sponsored by the Wall Street Journal, which bravely states “Microsoft Ad Strives for Comedy.”)

The entire ad is simply bizarre; it spawned a blizzard of criticism and jokes on the Internet. The most bizarre portion of the ad is the ending, where Bill Gates wiggles his butt (apparently as an omen of something or other).

Amazingly, Team Microsoft didn’t learn from the Seinfeld Follies. It didn’t take long for the buffoons to release an ad that featured a woman vomiting. This ad was designed to promote Microsoft’s widely maligned browser, Internet Explorer.

Yet another ad that didn’t make a lot of sense featured a ship falling off the edge of the world, or something like that. (Can someone give me some key words that will let me Google some information about that shipwrecked ad?)

But the most disgusting Microsoft ad of all may be the ad that members of Seattle’s Sounders soccer team wear on their team uniforms. Hint: Their uniforms are little more than an advertisement for Microsoft’s computer game X-box.

A little background: Microsoft co-founder and multi-billionaire Paul Allen use his political clout to force taxpayers to help subsidize a new sports stadium. That’s right, we bought a sports stadium for Bill Gates’ sidekick. Then the SOB turns around and buys a soccer team and uses it to promote a Microsoft product. (Shouldn’t there be a law against that?!)

Of course, Apple is famous for its “Get a Mac” ad series. Microsoft whores never stop moaning about their vicious, uncivil attacks on Microsoft. A little hypocrisy, anyone?

In fact, the ads are widely regarded as witty, funny and accurate. Unlike Microsoft’s ads - which often resemble psychological experiments - Apple’s ads are also amazingly simple and easy to understand.

Summary

One could argue that Microsoft and Apple both screw people. The difference is that Apple is up front about it, sticking you with high prices. Once the pain has subsided, you find yourself with a really classy computer, iPod or iPhone. By classy, I mean it works, and it’s really cool. You may even decide that the price wasn’t that high after all (especially now that Apple has lowered the prices on many of its products).

In contrast, Microsoft never stops shitting on you, as an army of Microslaves can testify.

While Bill Gates is associated with the corporate scum that are responsible for the global economic train wreck, many people apparently perceive Apple’s Mac as the computer best suited to surviving these trying times.

Apple, Microsoft and Google are diversifying, competing with each other on ever more fronts. Even with the Corruption Ace up its sleeve, Microsoft is losing, and we love Apple for bringing innovation and honesty back to high-tech and putting computers that actually work in our homes.

Viva Apple!

References

Introduction
• Poor Win 7 Left in the Publicity Dust (Ron Miller, DaniWeb, Oct. 21, 2009)
• Ballmer Tries Bringing Back Microsoft’s Mojo (Nick Wingfield, Wall Street Journal, Oct. 22, 2009)
Innovation
• Microsoft’s New Stores Look Exactly Like Apple Stores (Jay Yarow, The Business Insider, Oct. 22, 2009)
Clean Act
• Al Gore Clears Steve Jobs and Other Apple Execs of Wrong-Doing (Chris Weber, SlipperyBrick, Jan. 2007)
Cool Factor
• Teenager poll highlights the iconic status of Apple and Jobs (Karlin Illington, IrishTimes.com, Oct. 23, 2009)
Effective Ads
• Microsoft Ad Strives for Comedy (YouTube video)
• O M G I G P Internet Explorer 8 Puke Vomit Girl (YouTube video)
• Picture of Seattle Sounders team jersey/X-box ad (GioSoccer.com)
• Get a Mac ads

Welcome!

2008-06-02T22:28:00.000-07:00

This is one of two blogs I've launched in association with the website Freedomware.us. It will take me a while to get everyting squared away. Until then, comments are disabled. Freedomware is a term I coined for quality software - including commercial as well as open source software - that offers an alternative to software produced by Microsoft or other corrupt corporations. Examples include software manufactured by Apple and Adobe, as well as the Opera web browser and, of course, open source softare. Am I suggesting that Adobe and Apple are free of corruption? No, but they can't begin to compete with Microsoft - and they do produce quality software. Please note that I'm running for public office, and I'm using my campaign to promote freedomware. Please follow the links on the right to learn more about freedomware or my campaign. And check back soon for updates. Thanks for visiting. David Blomstrom

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