Since Apple has announced that they are going to release their next version of Mac OS X in the summer, version 10.8 a.k.a. Mountain Lion, the technophile part of our world speaks of nothing else. Of course this announcement has encouraged the anti-Apple community to start bashing on Macs, iPhones, iPads, iOS and everything else containing a small letter with a dot, followed by a capital consonant.
Now before your read on any further, you should know that I am an Apple fanboy. I like their products, enjoy using them and as a student of the economic field, I admire the success of the company, especially their special way of handling marketing and public relations. So if you are an Apple-basher, I suggest you stop reading, before your entire spectrum of the world, stretching from MS-DOS to the piece of software they call Windows 8, collapses.
So what they are bashing on right now, especially in Germany, is the fact that Apple will release Mac OS X 10.8. just a few weeks prior to the planned release date of Windows 8. They keep posting: “Is this a silly coincidence?” Of course it isn’t, it is a strategically planned move. I really do not expect the majority to know anything about running a successful business at all, but I expect people who write about topics they think they are experts on, to know a thing or two about competition.
Since the IT industry is one of the most competitive fields worldwide, where a few patents can rule an entire segment of a market, I am hugely surprised that people even question the fact, that Apple plans to bring out a product about the same time as Microsoft releases Windows 8. Companies do this all the time, so stop acting like Apple Inc. is supposed to be a welfare organization.
I am also sick and tired of people claiming Apple products are overpriced machines that look good and include inferior hardware in comparison to a brand new PC or the latest smartphones. Yes, they are more expensive than an average PC or an Android smartphone. Yes, they might not have the strongest processor that is currently out on the market. But what they always forget is the fact that this does not matter that much to customers who trust in Apple products.
It is the simplicity of Mac OS and iOS, the optics and design of the products, as well as the reliability. We do not need the latest NVIDIA or ATI graphics chip to play the latest games, we like to use our Macs for work, to design things, or for recreational purposes. Still, I am not going to be another user, trying to list all the advantages of using a Mac and the disadvantages of using a PC, since it always depends on the individual user and what he or she needs a computer for.
Of course there are people who like to brag with their iPhones and their Macs, but these people did not buy a Mac or an iPhone for the same reason that Apple fans bought them for. And please do not tell me that a teenage boy, whose parents bought their son a Dell Alienware gaming laptop, is not going to brag about it.
I am also really fed up of people who have a grudge on Apple users, just because they feel sorry for themselves due to not being able to afford an Apple device. It is not the fault of Apple customers that they don’t have the cash. Some people have the money to buy a sports car every week, others have to fight for a grain of rice every single day! Life is not fair and we all know it. I also had to work next to studying to be able to afford a Mac, to be able to afford to travel a bit and to buy things I consider to be of high quality and worth the money.
I do not want everyone to buy Mac, I honestly don’t. I can only tell people about the advantages of Apple devices that suit my individual needs. An accounting company in southern Africa would be stupid to buy Macs for every single work desk in their office, since the job they need a computer for will also be down with a cheap PC. A graphics design studio in Paris, France, on the other hand might buy Macs for the fact that they look stylish and want customers to have the impression: “Ok, this seems to be a professional studio; they care about the interior fitting – c’est bon.” But most importantly, they want to use a computer that was designed for creative people, who don’t want a huge assortment of software, but a simple-to-use computer which suits their needs.
So instead of bashing on a company and it’s products, try to encourage people to compare different brands and find the one(s) that suit their needs the most. Start thinking outside of your small town box and try different stuff once for a while. And even if Apple names each version of Mac OS X after a ferocious cat of prey, I promise they won’t bite 😉
The Germafrican 