Now, before you go organizing that lynch mob, bear with me while I explain my theory.
As any of the Mac faithful will (vehemently) inform you, Apple makes some great technology. The Mac is an excellent computer with a stable, impeccably user-friendly operating system (as a PC user, trust me, I recognize the value of that statement). It loves video, photographs and audio and Apple's brought a sense of style and design to personal computing which makes a Mac an attractive addition to your office, as opposed to the boring beige boxes that were the norm for so many years.
The iPod and iTunes have revolutionized the way people listen to music. (Yes, there were other MP3 players before the advent of the iPod, but Apple's the 800 lb. gorilla in this space.) I'm a convert and will no longer even consider listening to CDs in my car. The iPod is an elegant piece of tech, and the iPhone has, seemingly single-handedly, transformed touch-screen technology into something organic, intuitive and fun.
But that powerful but fashionable piece of tech sitting on your desk is tethered to one of the least useful interface tools out there — the infamous one-button Mac mouse. Yes, one button. What, right-clicking is too complicated for the Mac faithful? Sure, you can accomplish the same using the control key on your keyboard… congratulations, you now need two hands to accomplish what I can do with my middle finger. The mouse I'm using has NINE buttons… arguably a touch of overkill, but I can do things with that mouse that Mac users can't even imagine. So the first thing I have to do whenever I'm Mac-bound is go out and buy a useful mouse.
And that sexy little iPod you've got in your pocket? Comes with the worst headphones I've ever found. (And what's even funnier, is their expensive earbud upgrades may even be worse!) First thing I did after buying my first iPod was go out and get a decent set of headphone, and I've never looked back.
Yesterday, we were in the Apple store and I was checking out the new Shuffle. My previous-generation Shuffle goes everywhere with me, so I figured I'd check out the new ones to see what's changed. To my horror, I learned that the new control scheme for this next gen Shuffle is built into the headphone cord. I turned to the Apple guy standing nearby and expressed my dismay at the thought of being saddled with those god-awful headphones and he reassured me that third-party dealers were developing headsets with built-in controls, and that there was also an adapter coming that would allow you to plug any headset into the control cable. AH, what a relief… I could buy that new Shuffle and then turn around and immediately shell out even more money to get a set of headphones customized to that fancy new Shuffle.
So either Apple is surreptitiously in league with third party peripheral makers around the world (maybe they get a little licensing fee from every Mac-enabled mouse and headset out there, right?).
Or, more likely, they secretly hate you, and want you to suffer at the thought of all that glorious, wonderful tech that's almost within your reach… if it weren't for that damn mouse and those crappy headphones.
As any of the Mac faithful will (vehemently) inform you, Apple makes some great technology. The Mac is an excellent computer with a stable, impeccably user-friendly operating system (as a PC user, trust me, I recognize the value of that statement). It loves video, photographs and audio and Apple's brought a sense of style and design to personal computing which makes a Mac an attractive addition to your office, as opposed to the boring beige boxes that were the norm for so many years.
The iPod and iTunes have revolutionized the way people listen to music. (Yes, there were other MP3 players before the advent of the iPod, but Apple's the 800 lb. gorilla in this space.) I'm a convert and will no longer even consider listening to CDs in my car. The iPod is an elegant piece of tech, and the iPhone has, seemingly single-handedly, transformed touch-screen technology into something organic, intuitive and fun.
But that powerful but fashionable piece of tech sitting on your desk is tethered to one of the least useful interface tools out there — the infamous one-button Mac mouse. Yes, one button. What, right-clicking is too complicated for the Mac faithful? Sure, you can accomplish the same using the control key on your keyboard… congratulations, you now need two hands to accomplish what I can do with my middle finger. The mouse I'm using has NINE buttons… arguably a touch of overkill, but I can do things with that mouse that Mac users can't even imagine. So the first thing I have to do whenever I'm Mac-bound is go out and buy a useful mouse.
And that sexy little iPod you've got in your pocket? Comes with the worst headphones I've ever found. (And what's even funnier, is their expensive earbud upgrades may even be worse!) First thing I did after buying my first iPod was go out and get a decent set of headphone, and I've never looked back.
Yesterday, we were in the Apple store and I was checking out the new Shuffle. My previous-generation Shuffle goes everywhere with me, so I figured I'd check out the new ones to see what's changed. To my horror, I learned that the new control scheme for this next gen Shuffle is built into the headphone cord. I turned to the Apple guy standing nearby and expressed my dismay at the thought of being saddled with those god-awful headphones and he reassured me that third-party dealers were developing headsets with built-in controls, and that there was also an adapter coming that would allow you to plug any headset into the control cable. AH, what a relief… I could buy that new Shuffle and then turn around and immediately shell out even more money to get a set of headphones customized to that fancy new Shuffle.
So either Apple is surreptitiously in league with third party peripheral makers around the world (maybe they get a little licensing fee from every Mac-enabled mouse and headset out there, right?).
Or, more likely, they secretly hate you, and want you to suffer at the thought of all that glorious, wonderful tech that's almost within your reach… if it weren't for that damn mouse and those crappy headphones.
Comments
I FINALLY bought an IPhone. And, only because I read the software upgrades coming were incorporating useful things such as A2DP support.
I vehemently refuse to buy ADAPTERS to render tech I purchase useful. Particularly when that tech is far from cheap.
Plus, I got the IPhone refurbished for $149 (16GB). Not bad.
Damn fine phone. I find the user-friendly and overly simplistic Apple interface is PERFECT for a handheld device. Can't beat it.
Simplistic is not what I want in a home PC I plan to use for 10 years. I want customizability and expandability. And, I want a ton of power for the best price available. So, I built my own Intel PC and overclocked it myself and I'm loving it!!
Unfortunately, it is true - Windows Vista is shit.
I'm not sold on the new Shuffle anyway... the whole voiceover thing leaves me cold. So between that and being saddled with Apple's headphones, I'm out.