Comments on: Scoble vs. Apple

By: Ist Apple out oder nicht?! - Sajonara.de - Internetmagazin

Ist Apple out oder nicht?! - Sajonara.de - Internetmagazin — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 18:06:14 +0000

[...] Wer zudem noch weitere Argumente gegen Scobles Thesen lesen möchte, der kann beispielsweise “Scoble vs Apple” (engl.) von Ryan Block [...]

By: On Scoble vs. Apple vs. The World at thomas fitzgerald.net

On Scoble vs. Apple vs. The World at thomas fitzgerald.net — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 03:44:42 +0000

[...] recent outburst over Apple and their support, thanks to Fake Steve drawing attention to his post. Engadget’s Ryan Block has a good counter point to Scoble’s arguments, but putting aside the more contentious points [...]

By: Tarek

Tarek — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 15:27:02 +0000

I’d also take issue with Scoble’s use of the term “astroturfing” (“If you dare complain about the brand promise you’ll get pounced on by hoardes of annonymous astroturfing Apple FanBois.”)

As I understand it, astroturfing is when a company makes a buzz by creating the impression of grass-roots support, usually by hiring a publicity firm. Say what you will about the Apple faithful, they are genuine, if a bit overzealous.

By: Peter

Peter — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 01:58:36 +0000

Seriously? Upset that an advert was misleading? Wow. Scoble must hate himself if he buys fast food and notices that the food doesn’t look at all the same in the picture as on the plate. I personally do not trust someone who is supposed to have so much expertise using technology but blows up in a childish rant when his computer has issues. Anyone that’s been around computers for a while expects problems to arise and his rant sort of doesn’t add up from that perspective.

By: Jeremy Toeman

Jeremy Toeman — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 21:51:03 +0000

Nobody’s defending Vista because it’s just so undefendably bad. As I’ve said and been quoted on: worst mistake since Windows ME.

By: JeffMc

JeffMc — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 19:00:05 +0000

I am sorry sorry Robert had a bad experience (or his son) at the Genious Bar. I agree with Ryan, buy ProCare. I use my machines for my lively-hood, and cannot afford to be down. It is worth the extra expense of ProCare to get that fast service. In addition Applecare is the extra insurance that I make sure I am not paying through the nose for repairs. But then, I am not the casual user, so my needs are probably are more than the normal person. But Robert claims to use his MacBook Pro as his work tool, if that is the case, he should make sure he has all the service tools in place to get fast service. In the 90s when I used Thinkpads and was on the road, I had the extended service agreement to make sure that I could be up within hours of a failure. It just makes sense. And no, i am no fanboy, it just happens to be the toolset I am currently using. And I am not saying Apple is perfect, far from it, but better than other manufacturers. But since they are not perfect, I make sure I have tools and agreements in place to keep going.

But then again, I am not Robert Scoble, so I am not a celebrity, so I guess I do not expect free stuff ;)

Hey Ryan, keep up the good writing, always a pleasure to read your blog.

Namaste ;)

By: Viswakarma

Viswakarma — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 18:45:17 +0000

Isn’t Scoble a Windows stooge masquerading as a Apple User!

By: Bill

Bill — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 18:36:30 +0000

If you want to read Vista apologists, go to Paul Thurrotts windows supersite, zdnet, as well as the enderlegroup.com group or whatever the spell it. there are many more sites. PCmag didn’t bother much with Apple in their top 100 electronic stuff of all time, but mention one product from years ago. there are plenty. the media is far from one sided. I read more anti-Apple articles than pro. Sorry but I disagree with you. By the way, Leopard and Tiger are just ‘fantastic’ and I cannot find anything bad for the average user. XP ain’t so bad either, but it is just the damn virus and malware writers that take a lot fun out of it. I can’t blame Microsoft for those buttheads. I spend way too much time updating our 4 PC’s/laptop with anti-malware apps. Using Windows comes with a cost of insecurity, which would not be so bad for a single computer, but gets tedious when you need to care for several, IMO.
As a side note, Ballmers’ recent interview,I think with ZDNet, showed a calm, smart, gentleman. He never said even close to a bad comment towards the competition. I think that the MAC vs PC ads from Apple have outlasted their usefulness. [big yawn here]

By: John Whiteside

John Whiteside — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 18:24:08 +0000

You know, if you’re having trouble with your machine and need immediate help, you can just call AppleCare. I’m not sure why you’d want to schlep over to an Apple Store when you have a telephone. A couple of years ago I was having problems with an iBook and we managed to rule out a lot of stuff on the phone, so when it became clear somebody had to look at the actual machine, it was worth the effort to go over to the store and do that.

I’ve also had Apple arrange warranty replacements of hardware over the phone and overnight me a box to send the old stuff back in.

It’s just hard to take someone complaining about the wait at the store seriously when they seem to be ignoring the obvious first step in getting support. I’ve found Apple’s support to be pretty good. Not perfect, but well above average.

Scoble thinks those who are criticizing him are buying into some masochistic Apple user mentality, when really the issue is that he seems to have used absolutely no common sense in dealing with his issue.

(And I have criticized the ads in the past, actually; I think they’re clever but bad, because they don’t really speak to potential customers, and they overpromise. The fact that Scoble’s right about that doesn’t make the ranting any less silly, though.)

By: Cole

Cole — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 18:15:56 +0000

I just wanted to point out something after reading numerous other articles inspired by Scoble’s rant.

Why is nobody defending Vista? Sure, Vista is a service pack away from being a great OS but if you look around the internet then EVERYONE seems to be bashing it. And I think it would be safe to say that the most vocal attacks are by non-Vista users (ahem.. mac fanatics). Yet nobody takes any of them to task for their comments.

Isn’t that a bit irresponsible for the media to take only one side of this extremely outdated Mac vs PC debate? I’d like to see more journalists stop fearing the hordes of Mac “enthusiasts” and just write the truth about OS’s regardless of whether it’s bad or good news.

By: Cole

Cole — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 16:43:40 +0000

Hey Ryan,
Just curious but how many PC-bashing articles have you spent an hour of your valuable time disputing. I just find it odd that whenever Apple seems to be attacked then even the media finds themselves unconsciously wasting their time defending Apple.

As both a mac and windows user I just find it annoying that the media is so slanted towards defending Apple yet rarely come to the defense of anyone else.

By: Dave Murdock

Dave Murdock — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 16:21:42 +0000

The Genius Bars are run like car repair shops. I don’t know what Robert is driving, but most of the people I know have to make appointments to get their cars fixed, and they don’t get loaners for however long it is out of service. There are only so many hours in a workday, it’s just childish to suggest that any repair facility, CE or other, should always be able to fix YOUR problem the instant you let them know you have it.

And you can try to take your Mac to a 3rd party repair facility instead of the dealer (yeah I am using car repair terms on purpose). Best Buy sells Macs now, but I would you let them take a crack at your Mac?

By: Scoble needs to put his clothes back on « Sharing the truth one thread at a time

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 16:07:06 +0000

[...] November 18, 2007 Honestly, does Scoble know how to temper his emotions? I am all for being passionate et al, but this guy can’t moderate his highs or lows. In the past years, he’s [...]

By: East Coast Blogging

East Coast Blogging — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 15:45:02 +0000

Apple’s Brand Promise

I will start this post by stating I have been an Apple convert for about 5 years now. Not your typical Apple Cult Fanboy, but a fan nonetheless. I started with a 12in Powerbook and have not looked back since. I own everything from an iPhone to a new 20…

By: Roger Harris

Roger Harris — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 15:22:11 +0000

Mr. Scoble says; “Anyway, my main point was that the ads piss me off because they promise me something that they aren’t delivering.”

The point of advertising is not to exercise virtue. Does McDonald’s deliver what they imply? A consumer society is a lie at it’s foundation. Media as a whole is the creation of lies to manipulate us or compensate us. It is hard to call down MS or Apple on lying when we look at our government.

Like Mr. Scoble, I also let some lies bother me more than others, but I find computer and gadget ads fairly far down my list. These are only worth mentioning in the context of reporting or disgusting greater sins.

By: Bill

Bill — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 15:02:14 +0000

I am a cross platform guy who is more of a jock than a techno geek, although I love to build and upgrade, as well as fix any computers. But it still gets me angry that someone calls me a Mac fanboy when I post something positive, but no one does anything like that when I post something positive about Windows. The both sides should settle down, but at least the Mac fanboys don’t personally attack me for liking my custom built Windows rig. OK, I vented. Sorry. Good post Ryan.

By: Noah Mittman

Noah Mittman — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 13:33:08 +0000

Making appointments suck, but the few times I’ve had to do it at the Genius Bar I’ve gotten exceptional service (like replacing an obviously defective battery that the Apple telephone support wouldn’t touch at all). In fact, I *love* that they do that, because the alternative is waiting on line with a number at Tekserve for an unknown amount of time, because they won’t take appointments.

IMHO, the better user experience is calling ahead and knowing *exactly* when to show up and get helped, but I know some people really want that walk-in experience. Point is, I’ve never gotten good service from anyone like that in any industry — good doctors/consultants/etc. are in plenty of demand and they need to schedule their time. But walk-in experiences *are* a crap-shoot — even emergency rooms have waiting lines.

By: Geek And Poke

Geek And Poke — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 09:43:55 +0000

Apples “Scoble Department”

Robert Scobles broken Mac made some waves in the blogosphere (see ZDNet, Ryan Block, Fake Steve Jobs). And of course it’s in Techmeme and blogrunner). I want to be a part of this too.

By: Podesta

Podesta — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 08:52:57 +0000

If Scoble is so-o-o concerned about Patrick being told to come back to the Genius Bar later, the remedy is simple. Purchase ProCare. Then, no appointment is needed and the computer will be repaired the same day, if possible.

By: Jeremy Toeman

Jeremy Toeman — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 07:59:23 +0000

To clarify my Vaio experience… I had a SZ160, it was great. It got stolen. I replaced it (or, more appropriately, my insurance replaced it) with the SZ460, it is JUNK. Do NOT purchase the Vaio VGN-SZ460N, the hardware is ridiculously terrible.

After 10 weeks with the SZ460 and Sony’s pathetic implementation of Vista, I bought a MacBook. I’m still not the biggest OSX fan, but at under half the price of the Vaio, it is unquestionably the best option on the market…