“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.
about the Guns & Zealots…
“Guns & Zealots”
That was one of the first stabs at naming Guns & Roses. They tried Guns & Gumdrops, Guns & Decaf, Guns & Cowbells, Guns & Mrs. Halford Wittingham from Devonshire, Guns & Thongs, Sons & Roses and finally, well, you know.
Charlie — are you participating in the “who has the thinnest skin” contest? Color me bored. If you think people from the US have “fewer and fewer” talents, you are employing the same generalization that you just bagged on. So, you are a hypocrite. And the French aren’t xenophobic? Whose Prime Minister accused the world of “Anglo conspiracies,” again? You are ignorant, too. At least the posters who dogged on the French were funny. Did you miss the Monty Python reference above? Last time I checked, those guys are guys are from the UK. Get a clue.
HAHAHAHA!!!!
Have a fab w/e.
If they had perused MDN after the latest Jobs presentation they would have seen a wide range of responses including indifference and disappointment to this product announcement from many of the posters. In fact no one is more critical of Apple than its own fan base! What is resented is this knee jerk cliche crap about “Apple cultist”, regurgitating this crap is such an easy out of so-called journos, it enables them to get their word count up without really having to think.
The Inquirer is the Sodom and Gomorrah of the IT press. Check out their forums sometime. An hour wasted reading the posts will leave you with no doubt that the world will soon end exactly as George A. Romero predicted in the movie Dawn of the Dead.
“. . . blames MacDailyNews for inciting ’email fatwa'”
That’s the because the skinnywa was totally ineffective.
Wait, I didn’t get to hear the drum/crash cymbal after that one…
Charlie, If you believe anyone having a less than perfect image of some common French attitudes is from the U.S., then you’ve never been to or met anyone from the U.K.
Xenophobia is a fear or dislike of something foreign because it is foreign. It is possible to dislike something for entirely different reasons than its foreignness. But, just go with whatever you need to believe to make your world easier to live in . . .
Hehehe! The Inquirer got pwned!
I can’t believe people wrote this guy.
The article was funny. Its called humor, people.
Yeah, he attacked your sacred cow. Now the Apple Fundamentalists act like this guy is Denmark.
In humor, nothing is sacred.
Lighten up.
That’s just great. Now my box is open yet again. Don’t those idiots know when to shut the #@!% up? Oy!
Who reads the Enquirer anyway? WHY?
Over the years I have clicked on links to their articles a few times, and have always been left with the impression they’re writing about nothing. They never have any breaking news about anything.
So the only way they can drum up some hits is to write stupid, imflammatory crud. That seems to be the purpose of the site. So it is not a news site and hold no interest for me.
You know, if they actually made some “enquiries” before they published … nah, who am I kiddin’.
Sorry, Turd: Here you go – <rimshot>
“That’s just great. Now my box is open yet again.”
I’m not touching that line. Waaaaaay too easy. Speaking of easy. Oops.
Pandora- Can I get into your box?
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahah.
Without a doubt, the funniest thing I read today.
MDN declairs email fatwa. Everyone who participated, now congradulate yourselves.
Go look for PD’s killer Farrell, that’ll get you the recognition you crave.
Who cares, screw them
What got me and still does, is they reviewed a speaker and amplifier system and didn’t even listen to it.
How can anyone with any integrity do that?
They weren’t the only ones who did that. Reviewing speakers on their description only.
If everyone did that Bose would never have sold any speakers. Speaker design is just as important as technical specifications.
Double standards all around. Most zealots here enjoyed ripping into anything Microsoft related, but respond with biased rage when it became obvious Apple pulled a Microsoft with this speaker set.
Ipod Hi-Fi is a piece of shit. MANY sane people, especially those in the audio field, agree 100%. Get over it.
I heard it. Good for rock and loud music. I could not listen to classical to it but I believe it is not addressed to classic music listener: we have our hi-fi stereo with sound surround for it.
As a carry-over to a party with friends, an iPod and few six-packs it is just perfect.
“Would you take advice on what is and isn’t cool from a guy who still thinks black turtleneck sweaters are the height of sophistication?”
Anyone with such a narrow-minded and bigoted attitude is, according to the Inquirer, a fair-minded and objective journalist deserving praise and admiration.
“Apple’s products are increasingly becoming a triumph of style over content, appealing to people with discerning tastes.”
Statements made without facts to support them only prove that Andrew Thomas is only less stupid than his advocates.
“Make no mistake, the same gullible saps who think an iPod is cool will rush out and snap up these useless things and push up the level of credit card debt around the world to new heights. Because the battery-powered cereal packet with a couple of tiny speakers in it carries an Apple logo, they’ll fondly imagine it sounds great, but as they’ll only be listening to James Blunt and Coldplay anyway, who cares?”
The height of journalistic professionalism, according to the Inquirer, is to resort to insults and generalizations.
“Sure, they looked quite nice, but why pay 50% more than an equivalent PC system and then hide the thing under a desk?”
Again, another unsupportable statement made by a lazy buffoon and justified as professional journalism by the Inquirer.
Double Standard:
Unlike Andrew Thomas, I doubt many MDN bloggers would claim to be “professional journalists” much less confess to earn a paycheck writing for the Inquirer. Therefore, no double standard exists.
Inquirer: Why, the nerve of some people to have an opinion contrary to ours. This is simply outrageous, intolerable, disgraceful!
Funny isn’t it, how some folks get so upset ONLY about other peoples’ opinions.
Better to be a cultist than a fascist I must say
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It’s better to be a Mac Nerd than a fat sack of lard, I must say.
I know how Andrew Thomas could lose about twenty pounds of ugly fat.
He could cut off his head.
Have you seen how huge this slag’s head is? Holy Crap!
Honey, forget the jiggling body parts. He’s gonna get arrested by the Fashion Police.
Golly, who’d get seen in public wearing red fleece, and that ancient blue sweater?
He’s got some stones to be dissing Mock Turtle Necks.
Sweety, black is ALWAYS in.
Oh and – like busted, yellow teeth are so de rigueur – in the outback of any third world country. Maybe!
The trouble here seems to be that people are confusing general observations with personal attacks, on both sides.
The fact that one or other side likes to take cheap shots at the other doesn’t help. For example, it doesn’t hurt anyone to say that the Hi-Fi’s price is excessive (which, by the way, isn’t unexpected for Apple) but spreading feelings of general dislike about everyone in a large, vocal group is bound to get some kind of response.
Perhaps the fact that he angered so many people to incite responses shows he may have crossed a line.
PS He received 300 emails. Granted, this might be comparatively high, but it is nowhere near the entire Mac community. Y’know what they say- the emptiest vessels make the most noise.
Sarah Aaron–Noraa Haras. How quaint.
The bottom line is:
“What idiot would read The Inquirer anyway?”
No, the bottom line is… it’s just f**king speakers!! I don’t care where/who they came from. Let’s stop the gay-baiting, racist, ageist, etc. comments. It just makes everyone look like morons. If you want to disagree with someone, write intelligently and list your points. Calling Nick Farrell a “gay bia*ch” (and other homophobic trash) makes you look like a complete idiot with 1 brain cell.