If Goodin wanted to be reasonable or accurate, he could have written a story titled “Some Guy Double-Clicked a Trojan Horse Virus for Mac OS X but It Didn’t Actually Spread to Anyone Else”, but what kind of story would that be? OK, it’d be a true story, but it wouldn’t be a good story.
Jeremy Zawodny and David Young call Google on its recent browser search field lameness.
It’s nice to see Apple advertising the Mac again, but I’m not thrilled with the TV ads. Sure, they’re fun for people who already have Macs, but I don’t see them doing much convincing. The humor is mean-spirited, and they reinforce the old stereotypes: PC guys are uncool suits who do real work, and Mac guys are unshaven youths who play with digital media. (And, once again, the Mac spokesman was previously on the big screen using his computer to fend off aliens, but that’s neither here nor there.)
Windows and PCs have all sorts of problems, but I don’t think that, for most users, frequent restarting and trouble talking to digital cameras are among them. How is this supposed to appeal to the millions of PC users who already work with digital photos? By insulting them? I’d rather the ads showed what people can do with Macs.
I like the Web site much better, except for this part:
Of course, should you happen to experience the occasional hiccup with your Mac, you won’t get the runaround. Because Apple makes the whole enchilada, one phone call—or better yet, one visit to the friendly Genius Bar at your local Apple Store—can solve both hardware and software problems in one fell swoop.
Based on my limited experience, this is a bad joke.
4 PM update: John Siracusa gets at something else that was bothering me:
It’s like an airline advertising that it has fewer fatal crashes than its competitors. This just isn’t done—and for good reasons. Putting aside the moral and ethical aspects, which arguably don’t apply to Apple, there are important practical considerations as well. The new “Viruses” TV ad pulls back a slingshot and holds it to Apple’s face. The backlash is inevitable.
