Nobody Truly Needs Apple Products

by on Jul 21, 2010 | 33 comments

I know right up front there are going to be more than a few folks that will consider this an “Apple bashing” article. That is not my intent.

As everyone knows, there is a distinct difference between want and need. The bitter truth about Apple products is that people want them because they’re “cool”, but don’t actually need them.

This is why:

There are no more killer apps for the Mac

There was a time years ago when you actually did need Apple products to do certain things, particularly for audio, video and graphics editing. If you wanted a true non-linear video editing workstation for example, Mac was the only choice. If you wanted the best audio editing workstation, (such as ProTools) that was at one point exclusively for the Mac. For graphics editing, same deal.

All three workstation types are now available for Windows platform and have been for some time. In addition there are also professional-grade options for Linux and UNIX platforms. The exclusivity that made for killer apps on the is now nothing but a distant memory.

Mac Pro is not the best workstation

Have you seen the Dell Precision Workstation line of products, in particular the T7500 model?

The T7500 can load in 192GB when you opt for dual processors and the Red Hat Enterprise Linux option.

The T7500 also supports the nVidia Tesla C1060 GPU card. That’s 240 cores and 4GB video memory, by the way.

Expandability is what differentiates what’s “best” concerning a true workstation, and put simply, Mac isn’t it.

MacBook Pro is not the best laptop

This is another arena where Apple was really on top of their game for a good long while, then completely fell behind the competition. In the Motorola processor days, i.e. the “G” series (ex: G3, G4, G5), MacBooks were fantastic. Truly. The only way to get something built as well or run as fast as a MacBook during that time was to buy a premium-grade ThinkPad – and even ThinkPad couldn’t keep up during the “G” days.

Today, however, the MacBook Pro simply doesn’t live up to expectation. It cannot outrun or outgun a comparable competitor (ex: Dell Precision M4500 with the Core i7 Extreme offering).

With a MacBook Pro you used to get what you paid for. Not anymore.

OS X is not the most innovative operating system

Innovation when it comes to an OS can be defined by answering one simple question:

What can I do with it?

Even though I’m an unapologetic Windows 7 user, I do know that the OS that offers the user the most possible options is Linux – and it’s always been that way. If you want the most possible options, the most apps, the most everything, Linux is the OS of choice for the true power user.

There is absolutely no part of Linux where the OS says to you, “Sorry! You can’t do that.” If you want to change/modify anything, you can do it. To somewhat borrow from a Microsoft advertising slogan, with Linux there truly are no walls.

Innovation in an OS as far as I’m concerned lies in user empowerment, and OS X is a far cry from the top position in that respect.

iPhone is not the best smartphone

Once again this is another arena where Apple was on top, but is now faltering.

I don’t take away the fact that Apple is selling a bazillion iPhones right now. Yes, they’re selling well. But as everyone is aware, sales numbers don’t necessarily translate to “best” other than “best-selling”.

Generally speaking, smartphone users only care about three things: Network availability, network speed and apps – in that order.

Per the first two, that’s wholly dependent on the carrier and not Apple themselves unless the phone itself fundamentally has a problem connecting to the network due to one or more design flaws.

Per the apps, iPhone does have them where it counts, however the tyrannical nature of which apps are approved or not is becoming increasingly more of an issue.

Summed up in a single phrase, this is what iPhone users want:

“It’s my phone; I paid for it; I should be able to run any damn thing I want on it.”

You can’t install anything you want unless you do what’s called a “jailbreaking” of the phone, which risks “bricking” it (i.e. making it unusable).

This walled mobile environment concerning apps is what will ultimately cause smartphone users to dump iPhone and go with something else, because like it or not, most power users of smartphone users are of the nerdy/geeky type. As such they demand a mobile environment that is not overly restrictive. They can deal with some restrictions, yes, but when it actually gets in the way of what they want to do with the phone, that’s when it becomes a legitimate problem.

At the end of it all, it’s about the lack of approved apps when it comes to iPhone and that is ultimately what makes it not the best smartphone.

Is there anything that Apple is best at anymore?

A huge reason why people bought Apple products to begin with is because they were the best. But now there are no killer apps, workstations that fall behind, a restrictive OS, laptops that aren’t ahead of the curve, phones with overly restrictive app requirements, and so on and so forth?

But at least iPod Touch is cool for playing games on.

Then again, Apple deems the iPod Touch a throw-away device considering they give them away for free to college students who buy a Mac. I bet that makes iPod Touch owners who bought them outright feel really special..

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  • http://davidrisley.com David Risley

    Spoken like a person who has very little experience using Apple products.

    As for the Mac lineup, if you only wanna compare it on specs, then that's fine. But, you're not going to find anybody actually using a Mac who really pines for a Windows machine. And this is coming from a guy who used Windows for YEARS before switching, as you know.

    As for the Iphone, you're just wrong. It is the best smartphone. I've spent a lot of time researching these, and what's more, I actually OWN one. You need to actually use these things before making statements like that.

    As for killer apps, that's all in the eye of the beholder. There is certainly parity between the stuff you can do with OS X and with Windows. Over time, there is bound to me. Its just natural. Where the apps ARE better on Mac platforms are in the iOS environment. Once again, you wouldn't know that unless you've spent a lot of time messing with these systems, but the apps in the iOS environment currently CREAM what is out there for Android.

    A game-changer of an app just came out today on the Ipad. So, you picked some odd timing for this post, IMO.

    • http://menga.net Rich Menga

      There is no such thing as a “Windows machine”. Windows is an OS and not the maker of the box (unless you count Xbox). The desktop used for comparison lists the OS is Red Hat Linux Enterprise and not Windows.

      If the iPhone is the best phone, then why are you so hot on your upcoming Droid phone?

      If iOS environment is so great, then again, why are you buying a Droid phone?

      What “game-changer” app are you referring to? Flipboard? Already covered with my.yahoo.com, my.msn.com and google.com/ig – and they all do it better. Doesn't sound like much of a game-changer to me.

      • http://davidrisley.com David Risley

        Iphone is the best phone. I'm switching to Droid for one reason – Google Voice. But, after spending a lot of time comparing the Droid phones to Iphone, Iphone is, IMO, the best designed phone out there. Doesn't mean it doesn't have a few hiccups, but so do the other phones. People just like to hammer the Iphone because it is top dog.

        And, yes, I meant FlipBoard. And comparing it to those search powered things is completely missing the point.

        • Cyber-k

          I am with you on the iPhone. i have used every PDA since they first came out. I am a lover of HTC phones. But the absolute best I have had to this day, is my 3GS

        • Cyber-k

          I am with you on the iPhone. i have used every PDA since they first came out. I am a lover of HTC phones. But the absolute best I have had to this day, is my 3GS

  • richtea

    Just the Al Gore connection makes me sick of apples. Have opted for pears long ago.

    • http://menga.net Rich Menga

      I live in Florida, therefore I am biased towards oranges.

  • Pete H

    This article is dead-on for about 5% of the people who use computers and other electronic communications devices. For the other 95% who know just enough about the subject to get themselves in trouble it misses the mark.

    And I would submit Final Cut Pro as a “killer app” that only runs on Mac.

    • Joe B.

      You are right Pete. Only the geeks care about tinkering deep in the OS. Business people, as well as other ordinary users, just want something that works. My wife, a DOS and Windows user her entire life, is getting a Mac for her next computer. It may be because every time she curses her computer, I say “should have bought a Mac”. And she's no dummy. She has worked technical support for several Microsoft-based software companies and was offered a job with Microsoft.

      As for the iPhone and its restricted apps. As one of my friends, a fellow iPhone user, said, “the only ones bitching about Apple restricting apps on the iPhone are people who don't own one.”

      • http://davidrisley.com David Risley

        That is correct, Joe. :-) Anybody who has actually used an Iphone doesn't feel all that restricted at all. There are very few exceptions to this, and it just so happens that one of them affects me – Google Voice integration. Arggh.

        But, on the larger scale, the app store is where innovation is happening. The Droid marketplace is growing, but it really is the wild west in there at the moment.

      • Cyber-k

        Good job guy. I also work as a Project Manager for a medical firm whos computers are based on support of a Windows system. We have nothing but problems. Now if they had gone with Linux or a custom Linux OS, I am positive the current problems would not exist.

    • http://menga.net Rich Menga

      Final Cut Pro and Express are fantastic products and I don't take that away from them. Not for a second. However you don't absolutely need them. Avid has Windows options.

      • Cyber-k

        Noone absolutely needs a Windblows computer either. They buy them because they exist is a lower ende price range. The average user does not even know why they are buying it, just that they should.

        If your arguement is soley based on “Need” then it swings both ways

        • http://menga.net Rich Menga

          Why are you talking about Peter Noone?

  • http://aaronfournier.50webs.com/ Aaron Fournier

    I agree with you Rich!

    The school system in my area are forcing high school students to buy $900 Mac laptops because they said the software they want to use is cheaper on Macs than on Windows. I couldn't help but feel that was a line of bull because I can't fathom what software they would “need” to use that couldn't be used on Windows for a comparable price. Forcing parents to buy Macs for their kids when they could more easily afford a Windows based laptop for less than half the price seems a bit ridiculous to me, especially when you take into consideration that this school in question just bought new Windows based desktops for the whole school. Makes me glad I graduated when I did, haha.

    • http://menga.net Rich Menga

      Your school gets a nice big fat discount from Apple because they're an educational institution (Apple has always favored education and gives steep discounts to them always).

      Unfortunately you, the student, have to suffer the brunt of being forced to buy an Apple computer box just so they can save a buck. You will get a discount because you're a student – but you still have to pony up $900.

      Your education does not improve at all because of the use of a Mac. It's solely a tactic so your school can trim the fat on the budget. They save money, you lose money.

  • http://joshlucy.info Joshp1

    I've been saying this for a while now.Apple use to be way above every one else in computers simple you got what you paid for a good fast computer now when you get one their taken the programing keep it simple to far know you get a really simple computer that can't do much that windows and Linux, already does.The Iphone I've always thought sucked but now it does even more cause their just know coming out with things that other have been doing for a while like change the wallpaper for example.I myself like Linux better than all the OS but I have to use Windows on my netbook.

    • http://davidrisley.com David Risley

      Watching a Linux user bash Apple is about as predictable as watching a fish bash air. Just sayin. ;-)

      Does Linux have a spell checker? j/k ;-)

    • http://menga.net Rich Menga

      If you haven't tried Ubuntu 10, it has *way* better support for netbook hardware. Version 9 was awful, but 10 should get everything working right if you want to give it a go.

  • Guest User_389

    I think this article is totally bias. Let's not forget that Mac's are much safer than Windows Computers. And no extra software to install (meaning Security Software, constant “Patch Tuesday” updates, and a lousy operating system, although Internet Explorer is a great browser) Notice when you take a mac out of the box, there's nothing else you have to do. A simple but innovative browser and OS, and still gives the user easy-to-use programs. Windows is for the loaded user. Windows is known for a mind bending list of cool apps that some I don't think are essential. Constant updates is probably the biggest issue. If they call Windows so great, why do you have to install updates constantly? That just proves their not great to begin with, so they need “assistance”. When you get a mac, it does what you want to do. And because of little room for extra apps, all programs are easy to use and that's that. And notice how this article refers to apps, hence the windows user who loves apps than the actual computer itself. Because to me, apps are extras, like a car. A car is supposed to get you where you want to go, and extras for a car include a satellite radio, and custom leather seats. Regardless, it's going to get you from point a to point b. Apple has great technology built in, something I haven't seen from Microsoft yet.

    • http://menga.net Rich Menga

      If Macs were so safe, why did Snow Leopard come with a built-in malware detector? A MAC CAN GET MALWARE? Yes, it can. Don't fool yourself. Otherwise Apple wouldn't have bothered including it in the OS.

      Mac needs no update? I don't think so. What about the several-hundred MB update out of the box once you connect it to the Internet? Did you conveniently forget that part? Yes, I think you did.

      No, the Mac does not do what you want to do. You conform to its environment. Can you move the menu bar at the top anywhere else? No? Yep, you're a Mac user. Can you resize application windows anywhere but the bottom right corner? No? Yep, you're a Mac user. Did you know OS X cannot uninstall anything correctly and that's why AppZapper exists – and that you have to PAY for it just to uninstall things correctly? Yep, you're a Mac user.

      You call THAT “great technology”? I call it garbage.

      • Cyber-k

        Funny, your poor rating of a Mac exists in your ability to move across your screen and resize an app window. I think someone needs to go to the gym. I run a computer repair / Software develope business. Funny is that I make thousands a year soley supported by WindBlows computers. I have had one Mac and it was only a failed hard drive. Explain that one…. Never had a computer that ran Linux either.

        Of course Mac and Linux can get a virus, however there is not an antivirus market for these machines so the makers of the software, do not write the viruses for them. Explain that one…

        Yes I can move my menu bar anywhere I want. Last I checked, didnt microsoft just sneak an update on your machine enabling them to remove ANY unregistered software that they disagree with? Hmmmm sounds like freedom to me. Get a mans computer then come back and blog again. Your $1200 Dell is just another Windblows computer. Part of the quality of a Mac exists in its Customer Care and in the quality of its Hardware. They cater to higher end crowds because of that fact. Windblows computers are sold in Walmart for a reason. :)

        • http://menga.net Rich Menga

          “Windblows” = Worthless comment. Didn't bother reading the rest.

          Try a comment without the childish crap next time. I could just as easily say Steve Jobs' middle name is “Blow” (which is way funnier by the way).

  • Guest User_389

    And has anyone complained about Apple? Anyone? Anyone? No…then stop complaining! What I think is so funny about this article is the reference toward the Dell Precision Workstation. Notice how the Dell workstation is $1200 base price. So, is this how much you have to pay for a Windows Computer to out-perform Apple? Well, windows users doesn't that stink. Paying $1200 for a computer that you also have to pay security software for, and let's not forget the trial offers that you get and set-up, and security settings, control panel, system restore, “Updates are ready for your computer” message, Offers from Roxio & Norton, which then you have to uninstall if you don't want them, crashes, freezes, “blue-screen of death”, constant updates for programs that you have, extra software to install, slow start-up after 1 year (sometimes less), spending time trying to fix computer after being struck with a virus, browser that is so loaded with apps, wow….anything else I should mention? Mac issues? Nope nothing comes to mind.

    • http://menga.net Rich Menga

      Complaints? You'll find tons of them.

      Here's one where the Finder screws up.

      Here's another with someone so ill-advised about his Mac that he didn't even know what a kernel panic was.

      What about when menu extras freeze?

      Those are all really recent by the way.

      Want more? I can find them all day long.

      • Random

        That the best you can do? You know, I am wondering if your frustration comes because, you are not informed enough to actually use a Mac. I bet you turn it on and are instantly lost. Kinda like a WindBlows user that goes straight to a Linux Server Terminal huh. I think you are reaching. Microsoft had their chance. They messed up the xBox. They have messed up their OS and then they have outsourced and messed up their Customer Service. There isnt a “Microsoft” company (Dell, HP, Gateway…etc) that has quality Customer service anywhere. I threw out every xBox in my family and replaced them with PS3. I got rid of every computer in my house and my firm and replaced them with a Mac, (even an i7). From this point on, any laptop I get doesnt even boot unless it has an Ubuntu disc in it first.

        You can have your Windblows computers. I love that you want it, because it is users llike you that keep us in business. Ever try to fix a Windows computer using windows? Funny….

        If the above errors are the best that you can do…. you should stay with Windows. Hey do you really own your computer or are you paying $50-100 a year for Antivirus and maintenance still. I bet you are. And you know, that is your cost just to keep the machine alive and functional. I am sure it is conservative. Enjoy the freedom of owning your computer. I know I do.

        • http://menga.net Rich Menga

          There's your “Windblows” again. Tsk tsk tsk. Very childish.

    • Skapaid

      I always find it funny when a person puts up a simple article on a comparison between two products, fan boys ALWAYS seem to crop up and deny every single thing that the person says without really giving it a justified view. I've been an apple user AND a windows user (first computer was an Apple 2c by the way. God I loved that thing!) I strarted using windows since the 3X days. I'm not any specialist or anything. But I've worked on BOTH systems to know just a little about the two systems.

      I agree with Rich. The title of this WHOLE thing was “Nobody Truly Needs Apple Products” and you don't. From all that you've said so far about Mac being superior to windows. You've yet to deny that you NEED apple products. Sure when the iPhone came out, there was nothing to compare it too. But now. Tell me something that your iPhone can do that a droid can't? Forget whatever issues and such EITHER phone may have. Do the same for a Mac book. Compare a regular laptop running windows. What is there that's exclusive to the Mac Book? Nothing. That was the whole point he was trying to make. Apple used to have products that were better than the rest without even looking. Now, you REALLY have to look hard to justify buying an apple product over another one available.

  • Guest

    I was not impressed with my iPhone. (Give me app freedom, or give me death!!) ;) I gave it to my sister, and got myself a Droid. :D

  • David M.

    “Need” is one of those terms where there is a huge gray area. At what level of comfort does a need become a desire. Do we need shelter? Do we at least need a tent? Do we need a one room tiny studio? Do we need a condo? Do we need a house? Do we need a mansion? Pick whichever suits you best because there is no one true need for everyone.

  • Tim Shannon

    While I can understand your point to some degree I would beg to differ regarding the IPhone. I had been a blackberry user for quite some time (and I still am with regards to my primary work phone) but there are places where Blackberry is seriously lacking in terms of the functionality of some of their apps. The IPhone counterparts work flawlessly. One of my biggest pet peeves was the inability to do two-way syncing between my blackberry and my computer with GMail (it would only sync in one direction). IPhone's version of the GMail app works flawlessly.

    This is but one example of why I would have to say that the IPhone is right up there at the top with respect to Smartphones. It is, at the very least, the best that I have used.

  • Wolfram

    I will start with a question: Nobody Truly Needs Apple – Hardware, or Software – Products? A distinction should have been made.

    From my point of view, most of the Apple's Hardware Products are brilliantly designed. For example, this one:

    http://www.apple.com/macpro/design.html

    What would you choose: a Mac Pro, or a workstation produced by any other (renowned) vendor?

    Many (professional) programmers prefer to use Notebooks produced by Apple. And many hackers. And many Linux users. And even Windows users!

    Apple also is on the first place in what concerns the reliability of its Hardware products. Click on these two links (Service and Reliability – Annual [PC Magazine's] Reader Satisfaction Survey):

    1. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2352798,00…
    2. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2352796,00…

    “When it comes to the overall satisfaction users have with their computers, Apple once again reigns supreme.”

    My decision, of NOT using Apple Software is motivated by:

    1. Mac OS X 10.4 has more than 86 millions Source Lines Of Code. (Windows XP has more than 40 millions – less than half.) A higher number of SLOC, leeds to a higher probability of errors/problems. (Debian 4.0 has more than 283 Source Lines Of Code!!)

    2. Mac OS X seems to be more insecure than Windows XP. Despite all the contrary claims made in media. According to security reports, Apple ranks first and Microsoft ranks third (!) for most security vulnerabilities in software. For more informations, please read this recent article:

    http://www.techtree.com/India/News/Apple_Softwa…

    3. “Think Different. Think Apple.” Why not think… Amiga OS? I do not want to think Apple.

    4. I also do not like their software – optimized for OS X – ported on other platforms.

    In conclusion, I would run Linux + OpenBSD and Windows Server, on a dual-boot Apple server/workstation…

    And yes, the author of this courageous article is right.

    P.S. Is The iPhone 4's LCD the Best? Find out here:

    http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2365915,00…

  • themusicvoid1

    This past year has witnessed some quite serious backward steps for Apple hardware products. The most recent iPhone 4 is a serious case in point. Interestingly, there have been no slip-ups in terms of Apple software products. TMV questions whether this could be associated with the FACT that reliability of Apple hardware products is increasingly becoming an issue for consumers.

    More on this here: http://www.themusicvoid.com/2010/08/is-music-in…

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