Most of them who know me conclude I'm a Microsoft hater. Though this is not completely wrong, it is not 100% true either. I'm not a big fan of Microsoft (actually I don't like MS) but I don't really hate the company. Another conclusion people arrive at is that I'm one of those blind, band wagon followers of Apple. I'm sorry but that ain't true either. I know I express my dislike towards MS and appreciation of Apple's innovation and creativity pretty loud and clear but do not mistake that for a bias towards or against a particular company. I think neither of them is self sustainable. They both have their pros and cons. While I admire Apple's marvelous "original" products, I do respect MS's marketing. No, I do not agree with their business strategies.
Well, I started my computers 101 with Windows when I got my first PC a decade ago. I eventually was curious about Linux starting with their command based version and moved to Mac. Even today while my laptop is a Mac, my desktop is a dual boot with Linux and Windows on it. Bottom line is that none of them is self-sufficient. While I want Windows for video chatting using Yahoo! Messenger (because YM is pretty lousy on a Mac), I would not play with Adobe Photoshop on anything other than my iBook. Linux provides me with the greatest avenue of exploring almost anything I want. Mind you, only from a development point of view though. I do not claim myself to be an expert on any of these but all I'm saying is that both as a developer and a user, I need all the three.
I'm sure most of you might have already seen this video a million times by now bust one more view doesn't hurt.
Unfortunately I could not find the entire (1 1/2 hour) video on YouTube but you can get it from Apple as Podcast.
So, what do I have for or against any of them? Here is what I have to say. First of all, if Apple is Obama and Microsoft, Hillary. My vote is for Obama.
I'm, without doubt, a hardcore fan of Apple's innovation. Jobs is my favorite CEO any day. Obviously I cannot generalize this statement for everyone because I think Apple's business models and marketing strategies suck but I don't care. My decision is purely based on innovation. Microsoft, as I see is a genius in marketing and making money. But I don't consider anything from them creative enough. Going into more details and some specifics...
Apple's iPod is such a blockbuster. But I never wanted to buy one. I saw quite a few other mp3 players in the market. There is no doubt some of them are better than the iPod in terms of the functionality (simple example is a built-in FM radio) and cheaper at the same time. You want to rate based on aesthetics? Of course, it is the iPod. But now I own a Touch. That is because there is nothing out there like this one. What is pretty shitty about Apple? I have an iBook with Mac 10.3.9 and I cannot use my Touch with this. This pissed me off real bad. I think it is insane.
Bottom line... I'm not a blind follower of Apple and not a MS hater. I just have a soft corner for one and not the other.
Well written article.