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Not all Apple users are idiots, you idiot!

They're Christians - Nietzsche

Letters re: FoTW: Apple is the most successful company ever, you idiot!

Is it worth it?

Is it worth posting letters from level-headed Apple afficionados to redress the damage caused by the partisans? Is it worth giving the Apple kingdom yet another opportunity to explain why they may or may not be crazy? Is it worth mentioning yet again that El Reg is chock full of happy Mac users?

The answer to all these questions is 'no,' we fear.

Everyone knows that Apple is a cult. And like any cult it comes with maniacs and more even-keeled followers. In either case, however, there seems to be a need, best described by Nietzsche, for the weak to defend themselves against the strong.

"I call an animal, a species, or an individual corrupt when it loses its instincts, when it chooses, when it prefers, what is disadvantageous for it," Nietzsche wrote.

And with that we have an answer for the Apple user's predilection for raising prices - along with so many other things - on him/herself - seen here and here.

Now, it's a stretch, but in Nietzsche's world Apple fans would almost certainly equate to Christians. The Christians discovered a way to feel "active pity for all the failures and all the weak." If you can't beat the strong, make resenting strength a virtue and then refine this line of thought until the weak become beautiful.

And so it is that all Apple users be they insane or of sound mind celebrate suffering and then ask us all to suffer with them, banging door-to-door if that's what it takes. Shed a tear for the Wickeds using their strong but certainly not virtuous software. Praise our clan that suffers amid regal trappings.

At least Mr. Mindolovich was right about one thing:

"You're quite stupid"

And he wasn't far off in noting that column he protested was crap. It really was.

If you want to fashion a column that isn't supported by the facts, at least write the damn thing well.

Bill Keart




Quite a cheap shot you took at Apple users today (http://www.theregister.com/content/35/35039.html). Yes, it's quite easy to take one person's overzealous ramblings and present it as the view of all Mac users and advocates.

"And with this e-mail, we have proof of the paranoia that runs so deep through Apple users' minds."

Come on. Not that anyone would mistake The Register for a bastion of journalistic integrity, but I generally enjoy the articles. No, Apple isn't perfect, but we Mac users aren't all ranting, drooling, mind-controlled twelve-year-olds either.

Ben Stahl




Jeez Ashlee,

The old Apple fanatic things is getting really old. Sure there are a ton of Apple psycho's out there, but I'm sure you know a lot more Wintel psycho's! [We've never met a single one - but we'll let you know when we do - Letters Ed.]

The ones I've met are fucking RABID. One nearly hit me when I said I had a Mac.

Just when Wired finally started winding down their Cult Of Mac thing you publish this rant.

Paul Clark
Editor - electronicmusic.com

Apple Rocks - Windows Sucks :-) and yes I did see you have an iBook




Hi There,

I hope you will publish this, just to show that not all mac users are totally insane. Most of us realise that macs aren't for everyone, and like me we realise that a computer is a tool, and that it is best to choose the tool most suited to your work. For me as a UNIX administrator who also needs to use Word from time to time, OS X provides a very workable solution, with what is currently a less tweakable but much more consistent and reliable desktop than Linux (yet) provides.

I think what my fellow mac zealot was trying to say is that the media does appear to have some pre-conceived notions about Apple and specifically what Apple is trying to do. Which is a little silly, cos I don't believe anybody knows what Steve Jobs is going to do from one minute to the next.

James Jeffrey




I'm an Apple Zealot - although I'm trying to tone down my rantings. That said, I'm obviously small beer compared with Paul Mindolovich - his e-mail to you was hilarious. I've never thought of the Register -or it's reporters - as 'Apple Bashing'. To me it's balanced, fair - and funny with it. Keep up the good work, I like the balance of reporting just as it is.

Pascal Harris




Hi,

Don't know if you're aware of the reclassification of Cannabis as a class-C instead of class-B drug in the UK that's about to occur, but there has been a lot of talk about the psychosis that some cannabis-users experience, commonly known as "The Fear"...

Do you think that Apple's hippy, creative culture could encourage teens to try weed and end up as blathering paranoid scizos?

I think there should be an investigation.

Jamie




Dear Ashlee:

Please don't lump all Apple users together as being paranoid. I personally think that Apple gets pretty good press for a company with a small market share, but so do other companies which strive to bring new ideas and different implementations to the market. Of course, there are instances of reporters who do not do their homework before submitting a story, even simple things like looking up specs on Apple's website, but perhaps that is more noticeable with Apple press because so many tech reporters are used to reporting or using Wintel machines.

Just a note to let you know that we're not all paranoid; some of us just like computers that work well. :)

Larry J. Busch, Jr.




Be assured not every Apple user is like this. Many of us are pretty smart and polite.

Thank you,

Hunter Chisholm




Ashlee,

I do agree that the writer of the Jan. 21 FoTW did go a little over the top in accusing The Register's staff of having an anti-Apple stance. That being said, comments such as "And with this e-mail, we have proof of the paranoia that runs so deep through Apple users' minds." doesn't exactly help your case. While that statement doesn't communicate a negative Apple bias, it does make quite clear your negative Apple-USER bias.

I, as an Apple user, am somewhat offended by being stereotyped in such a manner. Are you trying to claim that Apple computers somehow pose some sort of mental health risk or that only people with paranoid delusions of an anti-Apple conspiracy use Apple computers? [No, it's just a coincidence - Letters Ed.] I think in the future, you should make an effort to not engage in ignorant stereotyping of people based on the computers they use.

Not all Apple users are graphic artists, musicians, teachers or movie/TV producers. Some are Lawyers, IT managers, police officers, doctors, taxi drivers and gas station attendants. We are all individuals with our own personalities and opinions. We are not all close-minded to other computing choices and we certainly aren't all paranoid, frothing Apple zealots any more than all Windows users are mindless uncreative lemmings or all Linux users are cheap computer nerds and thieves.

If you want to come across as unbiased and open-minded, I suggest you try a little harder to express it with your choice of words. If you are going to post a FoTW to make fun of the person who wrote it, then go ahead, just be careful not to prove their point for them.

Sincerely,

Andy Calado
Mississauga, ON Canada


But the best e-mail comes from Mike Slater.

I hope you forwarded this to the apple cultist who called you stupid.

It's got a better display than the iPod, Ogg support, 24 bit D/A, FM + FM recording, and more cool features.

Though I hear Apple is upset... because they have a pending patent on the "wheel". Pretty soon all car makers, hard drive makers, etc. will be paying homage to Apple and their "innovation"... perhaps it is even behind Apple's attempt to sue the RIAA because CD's are round and take advantage of Apple’s "wheel" patent.

Now if HP weren’t just an operating shell, they could have actually invented something like the D-Cube… and make tons of money selling a no-DRM multi-format music player. Instead they had to partner with the market leader in portable DRM systems… limiting themselves to one music player… what a shame… I pity their shareholders.

Cheers,
Mike
®

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