“Apple cultists have rounded on the heretical INQUIRER magazine. Earlier this week we ran two opinion pieces, one by myself and the other by the magazine’s curmudgeon and spinster of this parish Andrew Thomas, which implied that Apple’s claims that its ugly boom box offering was up to Hi-Fi standards were bogus,” Nick Farrell writes for The Register. “Doing a quick search on the World Wide Wibble, it appears that comments on a MacDailyNews forum might have stirred up the most fuss. It said: ‘They invent the fantasy of an entire class of Apple fanatic Steve Jobs worshippers who will buy anything with an Apple logo simply because it looks nice, or because they’re gullible, stupid, brainwashed or whatever – anything they can think up except that Apple’s products are actually genuinely better.'”
“Of course we should not expect too much from a magazine which once suggested that anyone who didn’t like Macs was suffering from a mental disorder called Stockholm Syndrome,” Farrell writes. “But if the iconic Apple cult did not exist, then why is Andrew’s inbox full of about 300 snottograms from the angry faithful? Might it be something to do with the fact that MacDailyNews readers have been told to write to complain to Andrew, Mad Mike (and even the Rogister) about INQUIRER coverage?”
Farrell posts an edited sample of an email he received; there’s no way to tell if a MacDailyNews reader sent it, although it sounds more like a Howard Stern listener wrote that one. He also provides a link where clickers without much else to do can peruse other missives supposedly received by The Inquirer.
Farrell continues, “Declaring email fatwas on people because they disagree with a belief that it is possible to produce a Hi-Fi speaker for less than $300, seems a little odd… a psychological look at the letters shows a streak of racism, ageism and a belief that reporters should be botoxed and just write nice things about Apple. There is also a belief that we must be in Microsoft’s pocket to write such things, when actually we are perfectly capable of being rude and unpleasant to any vendor. At the heart of this cult there is a deep held belief that however implausible it might be, whatever St Steven of Cupertino says is right…. If that is the case do they really believe that Steve Jobs is really giving up his expensive speakers at home?”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: How quaint. For the record, in our coverage of Thomas’ article yesterday, we wrote a “MacDailyNews Take” that we stand by 100%. Nowhere within our coverage did we declare an “email fatwa” or even post an email address; just the usual link to the original Inquirer article. We didn’t even bother with Farrell’s original screed. What has the Inquirer’s panties in such a bunch seems to be Steve Jobs’ statement that he threw out his stereo system and replaced it with an iPod Hi-Fi. They also seem to take umbrage at the use of “Hi-Fi” in the iPod Hi-Fi’s name and the marketing slogan used for the unit: “Home Stereo. Reinvented.” “Marketing” would be the operative word here.
Good Apple Cultists know that besides the candles, incense, flowers, flowing robes, and chanting, a basic understanding of marketing-speak and the ability to read product specs is important. We all know the iPod Hi-Fi is neither “Hi” nor “Fi.” We know that Leader Steve is just selling a nice shelf speaker system and that he probably still has his real stereo somewhere (probably squirreled away over at his Jackling House until the wrecking ball gets approved). We know all of this because we’re not morons; just good little cultists who don’t process everything that’s said or written literally.
We ordered an iPod Hi-Fi yesterday. We need a nice speaker setup for iPod use that fits on an office shelf that we can also grab and take outdoors with us. We didn’t buy it because of what “Saint Stephen of Cupertino” included in his usual hyperbolical product pitch. We bought it because the specs are very good for what we want it to accomplish, it’s nicely-designed, seems to be constructed with typical Apple quality, we’re sure it’ll work well with our iPods, and because we got free shipping from the Apple Store.
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Related MacDailyNews articles:
Inquirer writer: Apple Mac, iPod users are gullible saps – March 02, 2006
Defending Windows over Mac a sign of mental illness – December 20, 2003
…anyone who didn’t like Macs was suffering from a mental disorder called Stockholm Syndrome…
That’s not what the article said. It said that anyone who would continuously put up with the abuse of Windows and not consider any alternative was suffering from Stockhom Syndrome. They didn’t even understand the article–if they even read it.
MDN Magi Word: french – This journalist must be French.
I emailed the guy. When “journalists” do not research an article and get the facts wrong, they should be called on it. Period. This guy had a lot of facts wrong. So, I called him on it.
That’s funny.
Their original article is shit btw. What a bunch of fudge nudgers. Let’s declare an email fatwa on them! =)
Bitch scrap in cyberspace. Perfect way to end the week.
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you go Eric. still, it was simply flame bait and the Inquirer knows it. now they’re whining ’cause their Windows Server cant handle the traffic. heh. play with fire….
Aw, poor widdle Inquirer. Having to suffer all those page hits. I’m sure they’re terribly upset.
Let’s face it, if that article had been a forum post, in ANY forum, it would have been considered flamebait or a troll. To claim to be upset by the responses is dishonest. They knew damn well what was going to happen.
Free shipping was a nice addition.
I dont think I ever denied a cult existed… The writer seems to think we all deny that when in fact, we sort of are a “cult”… but im glad to be a member, i got the free mug and t-shirt
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Dave H
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Haha I’m with you!
But it’s beyond me that anyone took that bait even the first time, let’s see if the faithfull can resist it the second time around…
MDN, you took the bait the first time and you took it the second time too.
Leave it. The Inq made fun of us. We’re funny. We disagree, but we’re still silly, us cultists.
The Inq columnists are this way to everyone, just as they say. It’s funny how we attack them back, but it was over when they wrote how we attacked them.
It was fun for me, but it’s over. We all lose.
God I hate journalists. What this little bitch fest is really about is that journos are no longer beyond the reach of their readers. The days of being safely guarded by the postoffice and the receptionist are over and the consumers (readers) aren’t taking their sh*t anymore. So now, when they get chided for attempting to pass bogus information as fact, they piss and moan and whine about “email fatwas”, etc. I say, Print is dead fsckwads! Watching you drown in your own bile is more entertaining than you know.
MDN MW: self – “Check yourself before you wreck your self.”
But you can not “WIN” as they just proved they are just going to miss quote or use out of context quotes to make us all look stupid or at least very silly
as Noraa Haras so well put it!
Because their readers are not going to head over to MDN where the Inquirer
looks the ases they are…
Thier IT guys are the ones going to have a headache not the stupid journo!
So let’s not be silly twice…
“. . . blames MacDailyNews for inciting ’email fatwa'”
That’s the because the skinnywa was totally ineffective.
Is fatwa the right word? I thought a fatwa is an Islamic legal ruling. Is MDN Islamic?
I called Humour, Humor, Wit, everything, and still don’t get comment number one…
But I’m French. That may be an explanation…
If I was an Anti-Apple troller, I’d pick a fight with just about any other Apple news site than go against MDN – they’re too good.
Then again, if I was an Anti-Apple troller, I’d be a bonehead, so I probably would make the mistake of tangling with MDN.
Au usual, excellent take MDN!
I swear, you guys kill me. To call the Inquirer writers Journalists is a joke, They’re bloggers plain and simple, and the more you react to them the more hits they get and the longer they’ll be around. I like my Mac but I cant stand the Mac zealots.
They were lucky they got that many, only got 300 responses. That proves two things:
1. They just aren’t big enough fish to worry about,
2. Only the most gullible and lowest denominator responded, hence what they claim to be racism and ageism.
These guys live off of bad email and hits to thier sites. Don’t give them any attention. If you ignore a bully, he implodes and hurts himself. Same theory.
MDN – remenber- as in remember to take the high ground whenever possible.
I just farted in Nick Farrell’s general direction. I apologize in advance if there are any friendly fire casualties.
Wait a minute. Did he just call me a fat wad? Can we get a legal ruling on this?
And PLEASE, do not illustrate this boisterous quarrel in any sort of cartoon format. They have many more zealots than we do. And guns.
why don’t you just fire up your outlook rules and filter out everything containing “snottogram”
LOL, i think I submitted the story initially to MDN so I’ll take some credit for that.
Anyone who is dim as the guy who wrote that article deserves to be spammed.
How very true Ampar!
All the power to you MDN!
Leave those morons with their 300 messages and let’s move on because life’s too short to waste time with such bozos…
FWIW his article went WAY farther than dissing the specs of the Apple HiFi. Way farther. I’m not going to disagree with him on that. But his story demonstrated a blatant lack of knowledge about any Apple products or the real reasons why Mac users use them to begin with.
To say that’s all they are being criticised for is false.
Auctoris:
You are clearly a Deviant of FEW Talents if you resort to pointless, innane and xenophobic comments about the French. Of course you’re a resident of the United States… the land of Fewer and Fewer Talents it seems.
Keep your ‘comments’ to yourself next time.