Re: Apple Computer sides with Satan

On Mon, 06 Jun 2005 09:43:07 -0400, John Steinberg <seesig@xxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

John-

I'm honored that you have gone to such trouble to archive my posts! <g>
But a few comments:

>1). He repeatedly stated Photoshop development was done on Win and
> ported to Macs...

Not quite true. During _one_ discussion, I passed on the word of a
friend of mine at Adobe that they were discussing not porting future
versions of Photoshop to the Mac.

>2). Chris has stated there are OS X exploits and even offered to write
> one for Davoud...

Not quite true. I referenced an exploit that had been identified but not
found in the wild. I also said that it was possible to write malicious
software for any machine if you could convince someone to actually run
the code. You disagree with that?

>3). Chris has derided the OS X interface. Come on now! He also stated
> he found his Mac so ugly he left it hidden. Leading me to
> conclude he must own a B/W Mac, which *is* ugly, and
> old.

True, I dislike the OS X interface. I also dislike much of Apple's
industrial design (the iPod looks nice, although I don't have one for
other reasons than appearances). I don't see what my personal sense of
aesthetics has to do with anything here, though. Do you want to discuss
art and music, while we're at it?

>4). Chris mentions, as regularly as this topic rears its ugly head,
> that he converted a large central Colorado prepress(?) house from
> Macs to PCs. The anecdote is so tired and silly I become
> narcoleptic when seeing it repeated ad nauseam.

Anecdote? I've acted as a consultant to two companies who made that
switch, and am now working with a third that is looking at its options.
I've got to do something to help pay for all that telescope equipment.

>5). Chris repeats Apple's "tiny shrinking marketshare" mantra often,
> forgetting or unaware that Apple is still an enormous company
> (800x the size of Meade, for example) with healthy profits and
> and a huge cash reserve.

I never said that Apple wasn't large. But I don't really see them going
anywhere with their computers. I don't see them as a well run company
(in spite of their current profitability). But that's just my take on
how a company should operate. Again, there is nothing right or wrong
here, just personal viewpoints.

>6). Chris states he is an ADC member (as am I), but also repeatedly
> states the Mac market isn't large enough to justify development
> for it.

Not true. I've said that the small size of the Mac market is a fair
reason for a company to choose not to develop its products for it. That
isn't quite the same thing. I do some development for Macs because I
have a customer willing to pay for it.

>The gentlemanly tack in an argument of this nature is to shake hands
>and say both sides are correct. However, it would also serve Chris
>well to acknowledge his misstatements of factual matters...

Note my comments above.

> and further,
>not to pretend he's platform agnostic when the record shows he's
>anything but.

That depends on what you mean by "platform agnostic". Certainly, my
personal tastes run to Intel hardware and Windows software. I also have
what I consider to be good, rational reasons for believing that this
platform is generally superior to others. However, I don't have a
problem with other people seeing things differently. I know that in
terms of actual capability, there is very little difference between a
modern Windows PC, Linux PC, Unix workstation, or Mac. The main reasons
to choose between them have to do with other things: design, UI,
available software, support, etc. Consequently, it doesn't bother me if
someone uses something other than Windows. To me, that doesn't make them
stupid or foolish. I assume they have their own good reason for using
the hardware and software they do, and that it works for them.

>Davoud might tone down his rhetoric for a bit more
>domestic tranquility but this is Usenet after all, and fur will fly.

Which was the point of my post: to ask Davoud to listen to what he is
actually saying, and realize that it damages his credibility. To me, his
extreme defensiveness about Macs comes across as a lack of confidence (I
see the same thing in those who are highly defensive of other
platforms).

This isn't a Mac vs PC discussion (at least on my part).


>Having said all this, I sincerely respect and like Chris. The depth
>and breadth of his knowledge on a very wide range of technical topics
>makes him a must read. But like all of us, he is not immune to bias and
>error. I like and respect Davoud, too. His range of knowledge is
>quite extraordinary and I suspect he and Chris would get along quite
>famously in person.

I don't doubt it. I like Davoud (as an Internet friend) and would enjoy
meeting him in person. And I would say the same for you. We share a huge
range of interests (and opinions on matters social and political).

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: How do I get Hogwasher to DOWNLOAD new articles not JUST HEADERS
    ... Chris is often the counterbalance to some of the 'other' type ... and because by the nature of the Mac (/ iPod / iPhone ... righteous can people be that they have to use a kill-file? ... At least with your "Ooh ooh, me sir" reply you tried to justify your ...
    (uk.comp.sys.mac)
  • Re: So why did Google close down Chris Hollands posting account?
    ... I'm Chris Netherlands, I have nothing to do with Chris Holland ... PS - mac related comment - Intel Rock! ... I'm a use Windows at work. ...
    (uk.comp.sys.mac)
  • Re: Problem booting Debian, Ubuntu CDs on iBook
    ... Chris wrote: ... but the CD will not boot. ... You say that Mac ... I got the netinstall ISO from debian.org, and the Ubuntu-ppc ISO from a ...
    (comp.os.linux.hardware)
  • Re: Website display problems on differant systems
    ... "Chris H." ... > On all the systems I check it, I cannot get it to fail BUT some users ... > I have tested the site on a Mac and PC (I even bought one to sort it out - ... I'm fairly new to web design but I think the problem is with> IE6 - I might be wrong though. ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.inetexplorer.ie6.browser)
  • Re: ASC-P History 5.2 [Part I - Intro]
    ... >He repeats his lies about bigotry over and over...which can be easily ... I'm thinking there's a reason... ... >Christian, then it tells us more about him than it does Chris! ...
    (alt.support.chronic-pain)