Following the Antennagate news conference, certain critics quickly concluded that Apple was acting like its usual arrogant self.
I couldn’t agree more.
How dare Apple think they can make this problem go away with a free case that makes the problem go away. They need to suffer more than that.
This company was practically founded on arrogance. Imagine, two guys in a garage thinking they could out-compute companies like IBM and HP. In later years, they’d tell us to abandon the standard PC interface and use some silly mouse to control our computers. With smug superiority, they’d cut out the floppy disk we’d come to love. Errgh.
If only we thought to stop them then.
Because it wasn’t long after that Apple — a company without any real consumer electronics experience — had the gall to build the music player that Sony or some better-qualified company should have built. This self-appointed savior of the music business somehow seduced the record companies with an online music store that forces us all to go along with “their vision” of how music should be sold.
With iPhone, Apple took its arrogance to an extreme. They marched right into a market owned by big, successful global companies like Motorola and Nokia, believing they could “school them” by reimagining the smartphone. How self-important can a company get?
Then came iPad, where Apple’s arrogantly arrogant take on arrogance was laid bare for all to see. This is pure Apple, telling us they can do what Microsoft and others had failed to do for a decade before. Overnight, they create a new category and expect us to follow their vision for the future of computing? And suck us into making even more purchases at the iTunes Store?
It’s gotten to the point where Apple doesn’t even try to disguise their arrogance. They’re a company that creates devices other companies should have created, follows standards only when it pleases them, shuns research to create only the products they’d like to use themselves — and then won’t even let outsiders tamper with the platforms they’ve created!
Look what they’ve done to poor Adobe, yanking away their right to spend more than three years figuring out how to run Flash on mobile devices. Look what they’ve done to the world’s developers, telling them to write specifically for iPhone rather than just port over apps designed for less capable phones. Compounding their sin, they have the unrelenting gall to insist that apps meet some basic standards for quality and reliability. With their “our way or the highway” attitude, Apple takes choice away from customers, forcing them to settle for a library of only 225,000 apps.
In my mind, Apple is just another in a long list of companies who make the mistake of following their own vision — like Porsche or Nike. Whatever happened to just fitting in?
Obviously, Apple’s excessive arrogance will be their downfall. Never mind that their market share has been so rapidly increasing for so long in so many categories. Or that Apple’s business model produces vastly more profit than those of other technology companies. Chalk that up to good fortune.
One day all the sheep under Steve Jobs’ spell will wake up and demand that Apple act more like other technology companies. Then at last iPhones can be more like Droids, Macs can be more like PCs and Apple can enjoy the PC makers’ perennial sense of economic doom. Apple shareholders will finally be able to rejoice in an investment that avoids such dizzying heights.
That’s the way it oughta be.
Tags: apple, apple arrogance, ken segall
Hahaha! You are arrogant enough to dictate what Apple SHOULD do and decide how things OUGHT to be. You lost it right there. Just could’nt finish it right eh? ;-)
This is Sarcasm-done-right!
Brilliant!
I’m posting this to my friends on Facebook!
Yeah it’s great having all those fart apps to choose from.
Haha, enjoyed that mate thanks
To my knowledge Porsche is yet to release a three wheeled ports car that flips over if you end up in a regular roundabout while the ads scream of its perfect engineering.
And then release a set of kids auxiliary wheels the owner can bolt on the sides and call it a fix.
If you use analogies, they should either be accurate or simply too absurd to comprehend.
Loved your essay!
The public at large just can’t stand to watch iconoclastics at such a large scale — it’s like all the other BIGCO’s are standing around, embarrassed at the spunky one in the funny clothes with the funny ideas, refusing to fall in line. But at the same time, they don’t realize what hypocrits they are. Such is life, eh?
YOU’RE HOLDING IT WRONG
Apple aren’t any different from any other company, they allow you to spend your money on their product, and then continually enforce their right to tell you what you can and can’t do with it using activations and DRM. Not even allowing the use of the ipod through explorer naturally without having to do 3 backflips, even if it is your own music. Itunes activations, authorizations ? Fuck sake.
Although I do like the sarcasm in this post, I do have to disagree on the AppStore. They pretend to fend off apps based on quality of the app, but if you just look at the sheer number of useless apps like those well known fart apps (Farting Grandmas anyone?) to understand what I mean.
Still, Apple is doing a great marketing job, although I don’t think I’d voluntarily buy Mac products anytime soon (something about price/usefulness).
awesome article! hehe.
apple is indeed arrogant? can’t agree more.
steve jobs: “They (Micro$0ft) just don’t have the taste. And I don’t mean it in a small way. I mean it in a big way.”
Where can I get the sweatshirt? Do you have it in black, as a turtleneck?
Great post! Although, I must admit, I also think Jobs is arrogant and courts trouble when there is no reason to. I just don’t see how going nuclear at every juncture helps Apple.
I explain my thinking in more detail here: http://www.digitaltonto.com/2010/firing-steve-jobs/
Anyway, congratulations on a fantastic post.
- Greg
@Fuck Apple
Sick of this DRM bullshit talk.
Let me state this right:
no. one. forces. you. to. buy.
if you want to “use it with Explorer” instead of using it with iTunes so you have a cleaner more organized interface, GO BUY A SHITTY CREATIVE MP3 PLAYER or build one yourself by assembling it with an Arduino and then publishing your schematics and code on the web or some stupid hack like that.
And you fully deserve the result of that, because
a) you use Explorer
b) you use Windows
c) you think the best way to organize your music is by using Explorer
For the others that want stuff that works, we keep on using Apple products before something better comes along.
the lens in your observatory are made color glasses, rather than pure glass lens. they show you everything painted in some color, say red, and u see everything as reddish. you cannot see the truth. and worse, sometimes your observatory becomes blind!
As for poor adobe, “its not apples job to keep adobe in business”, “if not iphone, why not adobe focus on other platforms like android, instead of fighting with apple”.
you people have no other job than to fight with apple
@Pedro
Dude, grow the fuck up. What you think is not what is correct. I’m not saying you’re wrong I’m saying that it is actually conceivable that someone else might have a different opinion to you as regards how they want to do stuff. Maybe you should take this into account.
As for the article http://www.drawdistance.com/?p=60 explains how I feel.
SIGH
@deathcakes & @Fuck Apple
Wow – Apple has fought with the music companies to REMOVE DRM from the iTunes store and has been partially successful.
Please take a moment to do some research – the music companies – which used to be huge and very powerful in the days before the internet and perhaps the CD – the music companies INSISTED on IMPOSING DRM on us. Apple begrudgingly did so in order to be able to offer as much content as possible on their devices. Apple is really interested in selling devices. They do not make much money from music, books, videos, apps etc – this is public record info.
Why did the music companies do this? Well, do you remember the big scandal around Napster and other MP3 sharing sites? Perhaps you were too young. Folks were distributing music outside of the “approved channels of distribution” established by the music companies years and years ago. They were losing money and still are because their business model has not adapted to the 21st century and all the technology.
No one forces you to purchase an iPod, iMac, iPhone or iPad if you don’t want one. No one forces you to use one either. Purchasing one means you understand some of the constraints and some of the liberties inherent in the device. An iPhone is constrained to the AT&T network for good or bad, unless you choose to crack it and make it work on T-Mobile here in the US. With an iPhone, you gain access to 225,000 apps, as well as the objectively best UI, stunning design, and hardware that works incredibly well.
When you stop for a second and let your focus expand a little, you will notice that there are many trees in the forrest. They all contribute to the collective shade of the forrest. They all have their roots intertwined, and if you don’t see past the one in front of you, you will likely get knocked over by the one beside it. Take a deep breath, expand your focus, open up your perceptions – there is a lot going on in the world that is not merely visible on the surface. Refrain from forming opinions and hatred until you learn to breathe deeply.
@Steve5167849
First up, nice tangent, I hadn’t even mentioned the DRM.
Secondly no one is forcing you to buy an iPod/iPhone, no. I never said they were. Have a go at someone who makes these points, or at least have the balls to question some of the ones I actually made.
Objectively best is not necessarily true either – subjectively best given the competition yes. I’m not arguing that iOS is rubbish and people shouldn’t use it. Of course it isn’t.
My point lies with your comment about committing to a product – accepting its constraints. In my opinion the constraints placed on Apple devices are not worth the potential gains of their admittedly good design. You are allowed to use the fantastic app store yes, but you aren’t allowed to use things that Apple denies with its retarded, often contradictory vetting of said store.
To reiterate my point to Pedro – dude grow the fuck up. Not everyone has to agree with you and buy into loving Apple. You have – thats fine. That does not make you right, objectively, and that does not make Steve Jobs right, objectively. It makes it your strongly held opinion, which in my opinion, is a childish one based on surface qualities, such as looks and shininess.
Your point about cracking an iPhone serves to highlight your hypocrisy still further – you aren’t allowed to do that. Steve wouldn’t like it. The other one I mean, I’m sure I don’t know what you’d enjoy. You aren’t allowed to embrace the full potential of your device and use it the way you want to, because Steve Jobs thinks you’re too stupid and feeble to do anything other than break it.
I must concede he has a point in this case.
Also, don’t make out like you’re some sort of net veteran from the good old days, and I’m automatically a scabby teenager. From the way you’re response is phrased, you just sound stupid man.
As for your forest metaphor, which is rubbish I might add, not to mention fucking patronising, Apple is only a part of the forest under duress. In their version of your crappy analogy there is no forest, there is a tree, and there is one man at the top of it and everyone does what he says. AND THEY ENJOY IT.
Feel free to respond with an actual argument based on what I said this time.
Dear Apple Haters,
I feel so sorry for you. Intellectual Dishonesty for the sake of protecting a False Premise is the real problem here. Remember, those of us who use Apple products have a choice. The only people who still support the PC platform, either do not know any better, or have no choice.
Now how is that for arrogance!
great article,
cheers,
Toco
I thouht Apple and Mr. Jobs could have taken a more appropriate route in response to the criticism. It would have been my personal preference had he been a little less defensive. In the end, the free bumper came forth…it could have come sooner and without all the media clutter. While some of the press may have been helpful, some was not. As a shareholder, I like to see companies go for the high road without being pressured. That being said, I think this is one of the best and most hilarious pieces you’ve produced to date, Ken. NICE JOB!
This is the first time in recent history, apple fan boys are in defense about iPhone 4 Design flaw. That’s why every one is talking about the old products of apple.
Steve job is great, every one knows. He knows what user want, at the same time he knows how to make you think like him.
1. In 2008, Steve said iPhone don’t need multi tasking and video chat. In 2010, these are main features. All fan boys just followed him 2008, just said hey why do you need multi tasking in iPhone.
2. Common public don’t understand about the design and technology behind it. Just only think about how much product is usable though it is little costly. In iPhone 4 , every one easily generate the “death grip” issue for design flaw. Still, Steve is not admitting that there is flaw in it, bad testing from Apple side, instead blaming on entire Mobile tech industry. This is bad.
3. In Next phone release, definitely he will say iPhone 5 is great, fixed the design flaw in iPhone 4. All these people are behind him on iPhone 4 design will become stupids.
Apple is a great company, steve is a great guy. Doesn’t mean that they do every thing right. Don’t obsessed with one company or product. If you like the product use it, if don’t like it criticize it. Doesn’t matter it is Mac or PC or iPhone or iPod or iPad.
Use what you like….thrash what you don’t like or defect products. Don’t be loyal to any company to product. You are not getting anything for free. You have 100% right to say what you think.
Steve said, we are humans we do mistakes.
Today computer or IT industry at this position is because of IBM, ATT, Microsfot and Apple…..and small players.
Hilarious.
I just put a link to this post on our Facebook fan page and tweeted about it too. Nice to see some people still have a sense of humor.
@Vijay, et. al. –
With all those straw men, aren’t you afraid they might gang up on you?
@Pedro “MacTroll” Teixeira
Foda-se. :D
-
Nice article, Ken. Good points.
I’m not a stereotyped hypemonger-designer or status-hungry home user so for me Mac is only a nice Unix flavour running outside the community.
you know what’s REALLY cute?
Apple admits, in their own warped fashion, that they are wrong and made a mistake.
NO ONE gives stuff away when they’re right. full stop.
and yet, all the fan boys just can’t wrap their heads around it and just “oh, alright, let’s move on shall we …” as if this defense of a flaw in Apple’s design earns a place in Cupertino Valhalla …
silly, no?
Well… as long as Apple keeps dictating HOW you can use their products and WHAT you can do with them… I will stay far away. They’re good products. But the Nazi party was a well run organization as well, filled with legions of the most loyal and efficient workers. I wouldn’t be one of them either.
Do you think Windows fanatics post on forums like this? Probably not. They’re – you know – getting things done.
It’s a computer, people. And a phone. And a… whatever “solution-looking-for-a-problem” the iPad is.
Oh, and a marketing campaign.
And clearly it’s working.
Poor poor Adobe and Microsoft – they would never lock you into their products would they?
Did you chose your OS when you bought your PC? No.
Can you watch Flash without installing their player? No.
Those two companies suck for failing to innovate with all their talent and resource. Apple have a least got things to be arrogant about; they are creating the future, no-one else is. Get over it.
I admit to coming off like a bit of an Apple fanboy, but still, this piece really nailed something for me: if Apple are sometimes arrogant (and I don’t think there’s a dispute about whether or not they are) then it’s because they’ve earned the right to be by leading the way in personal computing on a technology level for decades now. They may not have been the most successful financially, but they’ve been the game changing-innovators since before the iPod, never mind the iPhone and iPad. And if someone comes along that can humble them, then I will sincerely welcome them but it hasn’t happened yet. The reason I buy Apple products is that they’re the best on sale at the moment, and as soon as someone comes along that offers me a better experience, I’ll switch.
What is undeniable is that Apple evokes strong emotion. In my experience there are very few people who have a neutral standing on Apple’s methods and products. And that is part of their success. If you try to please everyone you produce policies and products which evoke no strong emotion, no attachment. They are simply things you use because they work. There is no loyalty because there is no attachment.
You either love Apple products or you hate them. And that is good for the Apple brand. So flame on; you’re only stoking the fire of Apple’s engine.
Hack your phones until they scream. Nobody cares. Just leave mine alone. It works fine.
You can draw a moustache on the Mona Lisa, but that wouldn’t improve it.
@Danielsan – its OK, Windows fans simply have to worker harder, longer with gritted teeth to get the job done. Pity that iPad “solution” is selling to the unwashed at rates that are truly embarrassing to the Windows tablets that have been offered for the last 10 years or so…
@dave cruickshank – never fails, a comments section on Apple can’t go by without some poor benighted soul making a “Nazi” reference. But that’s OK – you stay where you are doing what you do. No one is sending you to a camp. But you bloody well lose for diminishing the impact the Nazis had on the life of so many jews, gypsies, homosexuals in their brief time in power. Way to be totally insensitive to everyone else. Oh wait – sorry. This IS all about you isn’t it.
@marino a gallo – yeah no one looks at a PR situation and sez, “Geez if a $1.80 case offered for free shuts down the lion’s share of the idiot echo chamber, we can’t do that – because it’s better to be right and let the idiocy continue unabated”. Right. Please tell me you are NOT in PR. And if you are – which job – so I know to avoid it.
@deathcakes – did Apple piss in your wheaties or something? Did they reject your fart app for not being juicy enough – or are you simply an ideologue who has a strongly held opinion? Fine – but its not about “right” objectively or otherwise. It’s about the those horse-brained unwashed consumers who don’t have your keen insight or intellect and can’t seen the blind alley Apple is luring them down which is immediately apparent to you. Unfortunately, the seeming environment you want for them is where you are at home and they are terribly uncomfortable. In which case for the increasing millions of people buying Apple products – you are wrong, objectively and subjectively.
People don’t hate Apple, they hate the arrogant idiots who think Apple has been inventing something new and revolutionary, instead of putting same old crap into fancy packaging and doing selling. Apple is a sales company first, and tech gadget second.
Apple makes some extremely good products (and a few embarrassing losers too). I purchase and use many Apple products.
But I resent the company, their attitude toward the marketplace, their attitude toward industry standards, their arrogance, their usual denial of any fault when something goes wrong, their absence of humility, their monopolistic tendencies, their intentional shut-out of major amounts of content (preventing their customers from accessing) because they are anti-competitive rather than open to real competition. This is by no means a complete list of grievances.
Apple is closed. The future is open.
Alienating one’s customers and causing them to resent you as a company is an unwise longterm business practice.
There’s also a moral, ethical, and “do-evil” vs. “do-no-evil” side to this. Just because a business practice makes stock prices go up does not mean it is the best practice. There is far more involved in the thriving of the human race than profit-making.
Maybe you`re right, but hey.. you can`t blame a commercial company for behaving.. well.. commercial, right?
When someone brings in the Nazi’s, they have conceded that they have nothing reasonable to contribute to the discussion. The Nazi’s didn’t compete with, they exterminated the opposition. The only technological company that I know whose aim was to destroy their opposition was, well we won’t name name names, but even to compare them to the Nazi’s is like comparing a junk yard dog to Godzilla. Man, you people are are either ignorant or nuts or both.
What do you haters want?
Yeah, it was a flaw, yeah, they corrected it.
What else? You want us to say “Apple Sucks”?
Now there’s arguments like “iPod is full of DRM”… I NEVER in my live bought music with DRM and have an iPod…
Or maybe stuff like “It’s okay to hate something, but not to defend it”, by Vijay… so it’s okay to be f*cking chauvinist, troll everywhere, but not to say “Apple is good, they make mistakes but they’re ok”.
So tell us haters! What do you want? You want Apple to admit they screwed up? They did, they’re giving free covers to fix it.
You want us to admit Apple isn’t perfect? I admit, they screw up sometimes.
You want us to admit Windows or Android might be better in some occasions? Well, I dunno about Android, but yeah, sometimes programming on Windows is okay (except for some bluescreens caused by .NET 4.0).
What else do you want? If you just wanna distill your hate, go ahead, but no, you’re not gonna convince us that Apple products “suck” or “are inferior crap” or “apple is slavery” or stuff like that.
We CHOSE those products. I can choose another laptop tomorrow if my Macbook breaks.
You wanna talk about choice?
I can’t choose WHICH Operating System I will work at because I’m on a small town and Microsoft has an agreement with universities and stuff and everyone is taught only MS stuff. NO UNIX is allowed here god knows why.
But yeah, I’ll move out of here as soon as I can and get a job working with Linux or Macs. Because I’m a fucking slave to Apple and to the Linux Company (TM) and they’ve brainwashed me.
@Danielsan
“Do you think Windows fanatics post on forums like this? Probably not. They’re – you know – getting things done.”
You’re here. Most people here are haters with nothing better to do.
Oh, and the “solution-looking-for-a-problem” the iPad is, as you say, is what microsoft tried to make ten years ago. And what they tried to copy with the Courrier and failed just this year…
Just saying…
I really don’t get this Antennagate and “death grip” hissy fit and Apple being accused of not straightening things out in a couple of weeks.
If the iHating blogger jackasses would just think back to the time when the Xbox 360 became infamous due to the Red Ring of Death (RRoD). The Xbox was well known for overheating and causing the console to completely fail. There were consumers who had to get their Xboxes fixed at a cost of $140 and some had to have them replaced several times. I don’t recall any damn “RRoDgate” by hissy-fitting bloggers. I don’t recall any bloggers ranting and asking Bill Gates to get on his hands and knees and apologize either. And he sure didn’t volunteer to do it himself. I don’t recall him calling a press conference to explain why the console was overheating. It’s like it was nothing happening at all with the Xbox 360 The Xbox had rumored failure rates of close to 30% to 40% and this went on for a couple of years so the problem was not resolved exactly overnight. The iPhone 4 weak signal issue is minuscule compared to the Xbox console failure issue.
So I really don’t quite understand why blogging biatches are going postal over some small issue with the iPhone 4 like it was the damn end of the world. Signal issues were reported less than 1% of the time from users. That’s not like some 30% complete failure rate. Was anyone asking Microsoft to get out of the game console business? Hell, no. Was Bill Gates being arrogant? I doubt it. The dude was too busy running his company and it wasn’t even on his mind.
Why don’t you iHaters get a frickin’ grip over your emotions. Grow up. Antennagate is old news. Move on. The only thing Steve Jobs owes consumers and investors is to continue making great products in the future and keeping the company financially solvent. So far, he’s doing just fine. If a tiny mistake is made along the way, well… Sh!t happens, it can’t be helped.
Hey, anyone know where I can get a Kin?
Very arrogant article … It will be interesting to see how many people will take you literally.
“PCFan: “Apple invented our modern computer interface – the GUI and the mouse. Xerox actually invented it…
Apple simply got their version out the door before Microsoft did. They didn’t invent it.”
Oh, do shut up. If you had ever actually seen what the Xerox PARC GUI amounted to, you would realise how stupid you sound.
“Barry: Apple is closed. The future is open.”
Then explain to us why closed is making all the money? Where are all those open MP3 players that buried the iPod?
“Rassah
July 24, 2010 at 12:28 am
People don’t hate Apple, they hate the arrogant idiots who think Apple has been inventing something new and revolutionary…”
Yeeeeeeeah, Bull Fvcking Shit. Apple leads the pack. Deal with it. There market leadership and industrial design are not “marketing”. If you believe that, you are deluded. If you don’t see the difference between and aluminum unibody Mac laptop and the plastic garbage Dell craps out, you have no soul, no taste and no sense of quality or value.
I’m no apple fan, but your article doesn’t point out a single thing wrong with what they are doing.
And yea – what people around me hate most is how over-hyped their products are. There is barely anything new – Just bringing everyday technology to the unaware masses. So yea, I kinda agree that they’re a sales company, not really a leading tech place.
If you’ve got something against their products, don’t buy them!
Great article , I rarely read the comments because, well , of all the predictable comments on both sides.
So PC trolls, go work on getting your virus software updated, get your KIN ready for windows 7, your Zune needs more social friends, the Mojave Experiment says it’s not the software it’s the users problem, you windows tablet should be ready for prime time after 10 years so you are leading in tablets….
See the point? I didn’t expect you to, bonus to bring the nazis in on the first page
Well done, Ken! You did, in fact, make me laugh out loud.
Cheers
PS: the word, folks, is parody.
If you don’t like Apple, don’t buy their hardware, software or phones. Go someplace else and whine. Great article.
hi ken
beautifully written , as ever
hope you are well
have a great holiday period and I hope I get to see you in 2011 for a catch up
best
Christian
I just got off the phone with apple customer service concerning itunes cards that were shipped to the wrong address. The arrogance of apple customer service and the sales department was certainly beyond anything I have ever experienced. I was going to order two macs for Christmas – one for me and one for my son, but after what I experienced today – I would never own an apple product.
well i for one dont own any smart phone of any brand, and unlike you mr reviewer, i have actually found some weaknesses with their iphones. Now obviously the phone will have weaknesses, but you cant moan all day telling them to sort it out because they worked their ass off already making that one model. However, one thing i dont like is the fact that apple dont seem half arsed with the problems. They seem to take so long to register their “clever” brains into the fact that they have to sort something out. Ohh and they cant stop charging us for minor repairs, which were partly due to what they created badly in some senses. why dont you look at other brand of phones and criticise them, then level the bad points up against each other. dont just target apple all day, we wont learn anything. Criticise htc and nokia, then i might not buy a htc (hehe).
apple expects mutual intelligience of technology, and that is not a fair deal. Their job is to assist us in using their complex products, so yes sara i feel very sorry for what happened to you. To not be able to have a polite phone conversation is a basic bog standard mistake on their part. They generate billions every year, and yet they cant spare a little politeness? Guess they need a degree in manners, never mind freaking information technology.