Mac360 Twitter TweetsSponsorship and Advertising on Mac360Forums Member LoginRegister for Mac360 ForumsFrequently Asked QuestionsYouTube Video WatchDashboard Widget WatchPolls & SurveysMac360 Power Search Options
RSS FeedThe Mac360 Article ArchiveThe Cheap MacWhat's New!Mac Tips & TricksMacintosh User ForumsMac360 Reviews

Is Apple Brewing Up More Than A Bad Taste?

BrewSomething is brewing in Cupertino, CA, home of our favorite Mac maker. Good or bad brew?

I’m not sure if they’re brewing up bad taste, or there’s a secret method behind Apple’s recent madness. Madness? Yes. Apple’s recent brews leave a bitter taste here and there.

They say that beer is an acquired taste. I agree. You learn about the beer buzz only after going through the bitterness. Then you learn to love the differences and settle on a favored brew or two.

For the most part, Apple has always been a sweet taste when it comes to the Mac and new products. More than a few alert Mac360 readers have pointed out that there’s a little more bitter in the taste of Apple’s products recently.

Let me discount the obvious—a switch from IBM’s RISC chip architecture to Intel’s CISC. That was a bitter change for many, but the rest of the buying public didn’t care. Well, actually, they did care. They loved it. Intel Inside meant compatibility with Windows, which acted as a safety net for Windows switchers to the Mac.

Bitter taste at first, sweet ending. Besides, all these arguments about chips, Intel or AMD or IBM or Keebler, isn’t something the average customer cares much about these days.

Regarding the bitter pills in the iPhone and iPod touch, Apple’s two newest, hottest, and coolest products ever, the taste still hasn’t gone away. The iPhone is somewhat crippled—junk camera, no movies, and, importantly, no 3rd party software development.

The iPhone is mostly closed to developers, rinky dinky little web applications notwithstanding. Apple was worried about cell phone network security. Hmmm. What about the iPod touch?

There’s no cell phone network security to worry about but the iPhone touch doesn’t allow 3rd party software either. And no Mail. And no camera. On the one hand, the iPod nano gets a nice screen and video playback. On the other hand we don’t get a Mac in our hand.

Apple is selling a cell phone as an iPod, and an iPod with a cool touch-screen. Nothing else. Crippled? Some would say so. Bitter? Uh, some would say so, more often. Apple’s glittery design and style overcome some of the bitter taste in feature shortcomings. For now.

Take AppleTV. We love it. We want it to do more. Much more. DVR. HD. Really large hard disk. 3rd party applications. Uh uh. Apple wants to control the experience for us. I see it more and more, and more and more I’m developing a bad taste about it.

Leo Laporte seems to agree that Apple is brewing more bad taste than good taste these days. Regarding the iPhone’s ability to overwrite 3rd party hacks with every update, Leo stretches an analogy all the way to Mars and back:

“Let’s say you’re selling me a cow. You tell me that that cow is being sold for the express purpose of making milk. I agree, and buy the cow. Later, I decide that I’d prefer to make cheese. You say that’s a violation o our agreement and kill my cow.”


Curiously worded, but the sentiment is still a bitter brew.

Some say that it’s hard to argue with success, and Apple has been utterly (sorry, bad pun) successful in recent years—so much so that it may be easier these days to forget what customers truly want, and give them what Apple wants them to have. Former customers are leaving Microsoft because they abused their customer base with ill-advised policies and shoddy products.

If it can happen to a company with more money than God, it can happen to a company that is revered like a god.

Apple, give me something sweet and tasty and stop it with the microbrews already.

Click Here to see reader comments on this article in the Mac360 Forums.

Post your own Comment.

Classy Mac360 PhotoBy Kate MacKenzie | I'm a 15 year Mac user from Brooklyn, New York. I used Windows Vista for a whole year and lived to tell about it. My personal site, PixoBebo, is all about Apple. Follow me on Twitter.

• Email This Article  •  Follow Mac360 on Twitter
• Posted in the Forum Topics Section

Off Topic Note: Even more Mac software reviews are available on Page 2.  Help support Mac360. Order your copy of Mac OS X Snow Leopard from Mac360 through Amazon. Snow Leopard is $29 for the Single User Upgrade, and only $49 for the 5 User Family Pack Upgrade. For mini reviews of Mac software, check Ron’s NoodleMac site. Kate MacKenzie is back after a year of using Windows, and Ron has daily Mac musings on McSolo.

Mac360 posts daily Mac updates on Twitter, too. If you Twitter, give Alexis, Bambi, or Ron a tweet and follow Mac360 on Twitter to get daily Mac tips and tricks.

Chrome
Do Mac users really need another browser that is 1990s ugly?
Tue Nov 10 - Full Article »
xScope
Are you really a graphic professional if you're not using this utility?
Mon Nov 9 - Full Article »
Utility
If you could have only one utility on your Mac, what would it be?
Fri Nov 6 - View Topic »
Flock
Flock is the perfect Mac or PC browser for the social networker.
Thu Nov 5 - Full Article »
Animate
Animation is the domain of experienced graphic professionals, right? Not.
Thu Nov 5 - Full Article »
Diary
Journal or Diary. Your life is worth remembering beyond photographs.
Wed Nov 4 - Full Article »
Snow Leopard
What's in the FORUMS?
Mac360 Link Farm