Showing posts with label Companies not named Apple. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Companies not named Apple. Show all posts

Monday, July 2, 2012

Why Not Apple

Ever since I made the momentous decision to purge products from Apple, Inc. from my life, I've been asked the simple question, "why"?

The answer is equally simple. David Pogue.

Now I realize that for the uninitiated, that may not make much sense. But let me connect the dots for you.

As you all know, I am the only objective technology writer on the planet. The only one that even comes close to me is Rob Enderle from "The Enderle Group" (where by "group" I mean, "Rob and his wife"). I have spent my life immersed in technology, from the very first gaming system ever invented to the awesome DELL (the finest computer builder in the known universe) that sits on my desk today. I am an expert without peer. Literally. Obviously.

And yet, while I toil away daily shilling for writing about Microsoft and all the amazing, tear-inducing products that come from The Software Giant™, I get no respect from the mainstream press. They routinely ignore me, or worse, vilify me as nothing more than a glorified cheerleader for Microsoft. Believe me, I am anything but a cheerleader for Microsoft. I once criticized them back in 1996 in an article I wrote, saying, "Microsoft may have stumbled here, but they're sure to come roaring back as they always do, vanquishing their opponents and regaining their rightful place on the top of the tech world heap." That's some pretty biting criticism right there. I don't know how anyone can call me a shill.

As The World's Only Objective Technology Writer, my obvious place is in writing for the top newspapers and magazines out there. To showcase my work, I created PAUL THURROTT'S SUPERSITE! FOR! WINDOWS! which demonstrates—daily—my propensity for verbal diarrhea and superlatives directed towards Microsoft and their partners. This stunning work has, unfortunately, gone largely unnoticed by the so-called mainstream press.  Bloggers ignore or deride me. My television appearances are limited to one-minute fluff pieces on the local 6:00 news. Legions of drooling Microsofties criticize me for owning Apple products. And that fucking David Pogue is writing for the New York Times.

For those of you who don't know who David Pogue is, here's a quick bio from his Wikipedia page:

David Welch Pogue (born March 9, 1963) is an American technology writer and TV science host. He is a personal technology columnist for the New York Times, an Emmy-winning tech correspondent for CBS News Sunday Morning, and a columnist for Scientific American. He is also the host of NOVA ScienceNow on PBS and was the host of the NOVA specials Making Stuff in 2011[1] and Hunting the Elements in 2012.[2] Pogue has written or co-written seven books in the For Dummies series (including Macintosh computers, magicopera, and classical music). In 1999, he launched his own series of computer how-to books called the Missing Manual series, which now includes over 100 titles covering a variety of Macintosh and Windowsoperating systems and applications. Among the dozens of books Pogue has authored is The World According to Twitter (2009), written in collaboration with around 500,000 of his Twitter followers.

What this article doesn't mention is that David Pogue is an Apple lackey, pure and simple. He made a name for himself by writing "For Dummies" books about Apple, penning Apple columns, writing other Apple books, speaking at Apple conferences...you get the idea. The guy had his nose so far up Steve Jobs' ass, he couldn't see daylight. It wasn't until he wrote a couple cheesy Microsoft books that he was able to claim he was an "objective journalist" and got the NY Times gig. Now this singing, dancing, magician—basically a one-man walking minstrel show—gets all the attention while I write for "Connected Home" magazine.

My gorilla-sized hands are shaking in anger just thinking about it.

I hate this little sleazeball so much that I've decided to double-down on Microsoft. Yes, this means I give up a lot of ease-of-use and that I'll be even more out of touch than ever with the tech mainstream, but I can't stand to use the same products that this obsequious twit sings about (yes, sings about!) on his web page. The thought of touching a product that David Pogue wrote about makes me want to vomit all over my beautiful Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000*.

So thus begins the purge (see what I did there? Nice literary transition, right? You don't get that with Pogue) of Apple from my life. No more AppleTV. No more iPad, iMac, iPod, or anything else beginning with "i". In fact, I don't even allow my wife to buy apples when she's shopping for fruit. I'm serious here, folks. Not even applesauce.

One day I will be noticed for my brilliance. And when I am, I promise you I will not sing. I will not perform magic tricks. I will not conduct the Boston Philharmonic. I will simply do what I do best: lie about write about Microsoft and how its magical tear-inducing products are changing our world for the better. It's what I do best.

It may make me less "interesting" in the eyes of the tech press, but everyone's got a schtick. This is mine. I am Paul Thurrott, Microsoft lackey. Obviously.


* See, that's something else Microsoft does right. They really know how to name a product!

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Not A Tech Enthusiast

I have repeatedly told you people that Paul Thurrott is not a Microsoft shill. Or a Microsoft Zealot. Or a Microsoft lackey. I am a Tech Enthusiast.

BWAHAHAHAHA. Good one, right?

I'm such a Tech Enthiusiast, in fact, that I have purged products from Apple Inc. from my life. Yeah, there's no sense in burdening myself with the most popular and well-designed products on the market. They're just not EXCITING! ENOUGH! FOR! PAUL! THURROTT!

God, I can't wait for Surface to surface. In the meantime, I'll be enjoying my Yugo Kindle Fire instead of that pesky iPad, and anything with the name "Windows" or "XBox" for virtually everything else. I just can't be bothered with quality any more. I'm "all in" on second-rate technology. My readers expect nothing less.

Obviously.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

"Enjoy Your Yugo"

I will be reviewing the fantastic iPad-killing Amazon Kindle Fire (the greatest thing to come out of the tablet universe since Microsoft unleashed the format a decade ago), but needless to say, you know I'm going to say it's awesome, perfect, and will obviously be the final nail in the coffin of Apple.

Even though it's not true.

Look, I'm one of those people that can't admit when I'm wrong. The Fire is a freaking joke, obviously, and everyone that reviews it says so. But not me. You don't come to me for truth, you come to me for anti-Apple rants and shilling for products I like or have some financial attachment to.

Now go buy the damn Fire, and make sure you do it through a link I will helpfully provide that gives me a financial kickback. I have kids to feed.

Obviously.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Oh, oh, oh, it's magic

I've been a way for a while, obviously.

The truth is, I was getting kind of depressed for a while there. Apple's unnecessary and expensive iPhone had been getting a lot of attention, and then there was the whole misleading "Apple overtakes Microsoft in capitalization" issue, which was totally misreported by the clueless bloggers in the tech industry, which get everything wrong anyway. Then Microsoft had a massive layoff, and they killed my beloved Kin.

But now? I'm back. What brought me back?

It was the crocodile tears I shed when I realized that the magical upcoming Windows Phone is going to change the world with its magical integration with the equally magical Windows Live.

Seriously, this is going to change the world. Even more than the Zune, if that's possible. Trust me, you've never seen anything like it. You have to go all the way back to Microsoft Bob to find something this magical and amazing from Microsoft.

In the meantime, the Steve Jobs VistaPhone is finally turning into the disaster I predicted years ago, Apple is under antitrust investigation, and Windows Vista 2.0 7 is setting sales records that would make Michael Jackson blush.

So I'm back. It's a good time to be a Microsoft toadie.

Obviously.

Friday, July 31, 2009

I'm a Busy Guy

So, now that Windows Vista 2.0 is complete, I've been traveling across the globe, visiting yet another hidden corner of my beloved Europe. Silly antitrust suits nothwithstanding, Europe has the most amazing food, people, culture and coffee on the planet. Seriously, you should go there some time. Obviously.

This time I was in Amsterdam, and after letting the kids explore the red-light district, I figured it was time to put down some thoughts that didn't quite fit into Paul Thurrott's Supersite for Windows, Paul Thurrott's WinInfo Daily News, Paul Thurrott's Twitter page or Paul Thurrott's Friend Feed. Let's call this "Short Takes for The Secret Diary of Paul Thurrott".

Apple iPod Sales Tank in Anticipation of New Zune
Beleaguered consumer products company Apple Inc. released their quarterly results, and showed a shocking dip in iPod sales, which confirms something I've been saying all along: Microsoft has a real chance here to make inroads with its superior Zune Media Player and its superior software. Once the new Zune phone makes its appearance and Windows Mobile is unleashed, you'll see the end of the iPod's dominance. Obviously.

Microsoft Experiences Brief Sales Dip in Anticipation of Windows 7
The iCabal tried to draw a comparison between Apple's quarterly results and the numbers from the Redmond, WA Software Giant, but these people are just blind to reality. Folks, for every three Apple computers sold, 97 copies of Windows go out the door. It's not even close. It's unclear why the Apple zealots can't see this, but it's obvious that this temporary dip reflects the market's anticipation of the release of Vista 2.0. Besides, as the Software Giant put it in a press release, "it was an excellent achievement to deliver over $750 million of operational savings compared to the prior year quarter." Let's see Apple match those numbers. They can't. Obviously.

The EU Still Sucks Ass
I can't believe I still have to write about this, but here we go again. It's unclear why, but for all the beauty and wonder of my beloved Europe, the EU is still forcing everyone's favorite monopolist to not only remove Internet Explorer from Vista 2.0, but to actually suggest that an inferior browser such as Opera might fit the needs of this extremely intelligent population. With all due respect to my favorite region of the world, what the fuck are you people thinking? You're acting like a bunch of stupid hicks from Alabama. Y'all must be smoking too much Amsterdam weed. Obviously.

That Reminds Me
I have other responsibilities besides this blog. I don't have much time left here in Amsterdam, and there's a lot left to do, if you know what I mean. Thanks to all of you for hanging in there with me while this blog went on hiatus for a while. I'll do my best to post more regularly, but it's unclear when I'll be able to write again. I'm a busy guy. Obviously.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Stirring Prose From The Master

I'm not prone to sudden outbursts of tears, but my good friend Rob Enderle made me cry with his beautiful prose about the stunning new Dell Adamo. Please allow me a moment to personally address this fine human being. Rob: I love you, man. You've always been my favorite Apple-baiter. With this piece, you have risen to the level of master baiter. I salute you with my unnaturally large hands.

Just look at this glorious wordsmith in action:

But the Dell Adamo is the first notebook in a long time that is as much a statement as it is a PC. It stands as a counterpoint to the doom and gloom that surrounds us.

While few will probably buy the Adamo, the times are the times; it is great that Dell came out with something some of us could aspire to.

Seriously, the Adamo reminds us the economy will come back giving us a little hope and something to look forward to.
Some will say that Rob sounds like an Apple fanatic. But he's not. Obviously. Rob is just a beautiful, beautiful man, and the tech world is a better place because he's in it. Rob, I salute you with every appendage in my body. You magnificent wordsmith!