Why Is This Man Switching To Mac? Can I Have His Job?

Whatever job you have it’s not as good as being a media tech pundit. These guys can say anything and get away with it.

The loudest of all PC pundits these days is in the process of switching to a Mac. After years of spewing vitriolic hatred toward Mac users, he’s become one.

Seriously. I want his job. I don’t even care what it pays. All you have to do is bait readers with techno-babble nonsense, lose all personal credibility as a journalist, and go with the flow of your readers.

Going with the flow is what is happening to famed technopundit John Dvorak in PC Mag. He’s the guy who used to write for MacUser back in the day. Now he’s a self styled opinionator on all things tech.

Not only has John said he hates Mac users, he’s also peed on the Mac more times than I’ve been asked out to dinner. Let your imagination run wild.

Remember, this is the John who said no one would want to use a mouse on a computer and that Apple would switch the Mac to Windows. In a headline titled Me and My Mac John Dvorak sings the Mac’s praises-- in an insulting way somewhat unique to Mrs. Dvorak’s most lonely and forgotten of children.

The praise for the Mac is faint and begrudging-- but not bad for an avowed Mac and Mac user hater. Why? Apparently he got a job.

Granted, trying anything new means diminishing expectations and unlearning a few bad habits. So what does John Dvorak think about using a new iMac as a work computer?

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The Mac is not half bad? He got a sense that the computer won’t start acting weird? What a revelation. Mac users have known that for a long, long time-- especially so since the advent of Mac OS X to the mainstream of the Mac community.

What else is going on with John’s analysis of Mac usage? Along with faint praise, John gets down to basics.

Yep, the Mac is a computer, and John just acknowledged that it does the job but does it better than Windows. He didn’t actually say that because he’d lose his job. But that’s what he meant, right?

Of course, damning praise comes next with the Mac’s convoluted CD burning process.

Someone help me out and tell me how many clicks and steps it takes to burn a CD on a Mac vs. a Windows PC.

I don’t have a problem with “feelings” and John shares some of his with PC Mag’s readers. He says he senses that Mac OS X is more solid than Windows but cannot say why.

John’s also recommending the Mac to his friends and neighbors, but there’s an ulterior motive lurking in his recommendations.

In essence, he doesn’t recommend Windows because Windows users have troubles and could tag him and his recommendation as the source. Recommend a Mac, say goodbye to troubles.

Summation? John uses a Mac for work but doesn’t plan to use it personally. Yet. But, usability-- getting things done on the computer with the least amount of hassle? John has seen the light.

Since John no longer has credibility with Mac or Windows users, can I have his job?

Mac360 has more Windows users switching to the Mac than ever before. It’s a trend that’s not likely to revert any time soon. Are you a long time Mac user or a recent switcher? What got you back to the Mac fold?

Check out the daily list of our 9 Word mini-Reviews at NoodleMac, and Kate's daily in-depth Mac software reviews at PixoBebo.

Off Topic #58 - Do politicians use personal computers? Of course. We’ve heard Barack Obama prefers a Mac, while Hillary Clinton uses a Dell, though, apparently neither of the candidates can bowl. Does Obama’s potential vice president use a Mac? Even Clinton acknowledges Apple’s brand power but says she can’t afford a Mac. Maybe she’d win if she used a Mac.

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