He's being rather disingenuous here. Sure, Pogue is on the side of the consumer and so it makes sense to point out thing like the fact that there are many more apps available for the iPhone...but it's also tautological, like saying 'new feature X in latest operating system Y is neat, but there aren't many apps that take advantage of it'.
It's true as far as it goes, but it's also a kind of FUD. I remember back int he early 90s when I was visiting businesses trying to sell them on the idea of using email and there was always a barrier of the form 'but who else is there to send mail to if this is so new'. Pogue has been a tech journalist for a long time, this kind of naivete fits him poorly.
(The irony is, of course, that once upon a time, Apple was perceived as the counterculture underdog. But 200 million iPods later, some people obviously see the former “think different” company as the “you’re all a bunch of consumer sheep” company.)
True enough, but Pogue might want to look back his own 2001 review of the iPod (http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/25/technology/state-of-the-ar...) where he grumbles about price, its tendency to attract fingermarks, and its lack of a belt clip, as well as referring to an 'invasion of the ipod people'.
Well, what are you going to do...as with many other columnists, Pogue's writings are partly about what a cool guy he is for daring to speak truth to fanboys. Teh drama, it burns!
Comments
He's being rather disingenuous here. Sure, Pogue is on the side of the consumer and so it makes sense to point out thing like the fact that there are many more apps available for the iPhone...but it's also tautological, like saying 'new feature X in latest operating system Y is neat, but there aren't many apps that take advantage of it'.
It's true as far as it goes, but it's also a kind of FUD. I remember back int he early 90s when I was visiting businesses trying to sell them on the idea of using email and there was always a barrier of the form 'but who else is there to send mail to if this is so new'. Pogue has been a tech journalist for a long time, this kind of naivete fits him poorly.
(The irony is, of course, that once upon a time, Apple was perceived as the counterculture underdog. But 200 million iPods later, some people obviously see the former “think different” company as the “you’re all a bunch of consumer sheep” company.)
True enough, but Pogue might want to look back his own 2001 review of the iPod (http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/25/technology/state-of-the-ar...) where he grumbles about price, its tendency to attract fingermarks, and its lack of a belt clip, as well as referring to an 'invasion of the ipod people'.
Well, what are you going to do...as with many other columnists, Pogue's writings are partly about what a cool guy he is for daring to speak truth to fanboys. Teh drama, it burns!