“Don’t mock the beleaguered Nook owner,” Farhad Manjoo writes for The New York Times. “That could have been you.”
MacDailyNews Take: No, it couldn’t have. Zero percent chance.
“The trouble arises when you are sold on a tech ecosystem that doesn’t prosper. It’s likely that at least one, if not several, of today’s tech behemoths won’t be around a decade from now. Thus the pervasive worry of choosing tech in these uncertain days: How do you avoid betting on the wrong horse?” Manjoo writes. “When you decide what to use, you’ve got to play every tech giant against the other, to make every tech decision as if you were a cad — sample every firm’s best features and never overcommit to any one.”
“Here’s the game plan: Buy Apple’s hardware. Apple’s phones, tablets and PCs are the best-designed and best-made computers on the market. They are also the easiest to learn to use and the most durable. And if you’re kind to them, they’ll carry a far higher resale value than rival devices,” Manjoo writes. “I say this after having tried just about every competitor to Apple’s machines. Some non-Apple phones and tablets are nearly as nice as the iPhone and iPad (Google’s Nexus line is quite good), but I haven’t found any that beat it, and none that are as pleasurable to use. But the best thing about Apple’s hardware is that it maximizes your ability to be promiscuous with software. Apple’s App Store is home to more programs than any other app marketplace. What’s more, the most innovative start-up firms often create apps for Apple’s platform before they bother with Android. Since software is the soul of a machine, the source of all our devices’ advancing powers, you’re best off getting the gadgets that can run the widest range of software.”
MacDailyNews Take: Excellent advice there!
Manjoo then advises, “Use Google’s services. My phone and tablet carry Apple’s logo, but almost everything I do with them is routed through the search company’s servers… I also love the handy tricks Google adds as it learns more and more about me (yes, I’m aware I sound like a P.O.W. praising my jailers — but count my blinks, it’s true). For instance, its Google Now feature, available as part of the Google Search app on the iPhone, can automatically predict what you are doing next and show you relevant information like traffic directions and boarding passes just when you need them.”
MacDailyNews Take: Um… no. Zero percent chance on that, too.
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Rob O’Hara” for the heads up.]
Bye bye Dell.
He’ll come to rue that last suggestion.
According to your history bowl movements might we suggest the toilet at 1 minute walk from your current destination?
Buy Apple only, uh. Karl Ichan couldn’t have said it better.
Buy Apple hardware… have it die in less than 3 years, and be told to buy another one.
http://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/timothy-d-cook-replace-or-fix-all-early-2011-macbook-pro-with-graphics-failure
Or buy a Dell and replace it in a year; HP 18 months to 2 years, spend a week on both re-installing systems trying to get it to work BEFORE replacing.
I have an HP EliteBook 8570W, i7, 16GB ram and 750GB 7200rpm disk. I sometimes need it for work (I do!) I installed an SSD (yes, Samsung 840 500GB) and installed Windows 7 Pro SP1, that came with the HP. It took a FULL day to install Windows and all the updates! It sat next to me on the desk, I made sure the proces was a fast as possible. Mind you, it took another day to install Office, Visio, Adobe Acrobat Pro and their updates….
I bought a new mac pro a couple weeks ago. It took me exactly 30 minutes to hook it up, install AE, PSD, AI and C4D and get it rendering for the next 30 hours straight. I didn’t even need to do the usual copy user from my last machine – all my email, calendar, bookmarks etc were right there waiting for me via iCloud. I pity anyone having to deal with windows…
Thirty minutes? It took me longer than that to reconfigure my home office trying for the most aesthetic arrangement. Placement of the new Mac Pro involves sorting a different set of environmental constraints than with the aluminium cheese graters.
My anecdotal evidence is the opposite.
Been buying Apple since the 80’s and other than me breaking a Mac, or dumping an iPhone in the drink, none have ever failed inside of 3 years and I’m trying to think of those that might have failed after 3 years and can’t remember one.
Old Macs tend to be given away by me and the people who get them were happy.
My 90s mother-in-law is enjoying my 3GS just fine.
I agree 100% since I have power pc macs that still run great. One is a iMac G3 and the other is a G5 tower Dual 1.8 GHZ
My father in law just passed away about a month ago. His kids finally went to his home to sort through everything. I got a text that day with a picture of two 10+ year old iMacs that were originally mine, but had made their way to him through various paths. They still worked great and the kids wanted to know if I wanted them back. It’s nice to know that even long forgotten Macs are still being good to someone. I can’t help but thinking, though, if only I had given him a Mac Pro would he still be alive?
My experience also. Sorry about Saldin’s experience. the only time I had a Mac fail, it failed 1 year after warranty and they still fixed it for free,
People actually read change.org?
I understand your pain Saldin, because this happened to me as well. But I bought AppleCare because they sell that service for problems just like this. It was a 249 value, that I have used 3 times with my Macbook Pro. Hard drive failure as well. At the end of the day, its a machine we take around with us everywhere…the chances of it screwing up because we keep moving it are just way to great. Im not trying to lessen your aggravation, I would just advice next time to buy Apple Care with your product.
Can Apple make an A8, 9, 10, that will at some point be BETTER than Intel? Will I be able to run FCP X on it?
Apple has one chip for mobile, and one for desktop. How long will this go on?
Maybe an AMD/ARM combo chip ?
An AMD/ARM chip could be made.
Remember, the AMD runs PC stuff, BUT it’s a RISC chip, NOT CISC.
So, one more time. To run FCPX, or some other heavy duty thing, you’re not going to run it on an A7.
I really do think Apple needs ONE chip to run ALL it’s software.
And one ring to rule them all. 🙂
The writer was doing so well. Until the idiotic endorsement of allowing Google to pilfer you as a user for data.
He was forced into Google – he voted for obammy.
Manjoo is a gurgle stooge.
He is preaching to the people who would never buy anything but Apple hardware in the first place……he just wants them to at least use google software.
Ain’t going to happen manjooooo. We see right through your f@cking ploy.
I use a seven year old MacBook Pro and a two year old Mac mini. Besides the laptop only being able to run Snow Leopard as it’s latest OS, it works perfectly and has very decent performance. I still expect to get another year or two out of it before committing to a new one. To be honest, my new iPad Air, pretty much does everything I primarily used my laptop for. I really only need its full features when I travel. I go to Florida for a month every March. So I’m in no big rush and may decide to just live with a desktop Mac and the iPad. All my main applications still run under Snow Leopard, so I’m good to go until that changes or the laptop gives up the ghost.
Not too many Windows users can say that. I’ve seen two year old Windows laptops that looked like they were ready to fall apart. Man, there’s a lot of incredibly crappy Windows based laptops out there. Like they say, you get what you pay for.
The only reason for getting a Nook, or that Amazon thing, is for the B&W e-ink screen, something Apple doesn’t offer. If the Nook hardware does go away, their IOS app won’t.
Anyone who buys an Amazon COLOR tablet thinking they will get an iPad for less money, (hey, Amazon’s add said their tablet has better features than the iPad) deserves . . . well . . . they get what they get.
Barnes & Noble has ceased operation of it’s Nook hardware division.
No, it is Sony that is getting out of the e-book business. B&N only layed off SOME of their engineers. They are still making and designing the Nook.
Glad to hear that. Amazon must be checked, even if only through delaying tactics by a small force of guerrillas.
While I try to avoid Google as much as possible — and therefore personally would not take his “embrace all things Google” advice or tactic — the point is well illustrated that Apple can be the best world, and offer the other side as well. Much like those who are stuck with needing Windows for certain things, which can easily be done with Bootcamp, or Parallels or VM Ware, you can easily use Google apps and services on Apple devices, whether it’s search, YouTube, Google Earth, Gmail, ITA software, etc.
So you can have the best hardware, the best software AND not forfeit many, if any, functionality or apps that any other device offers.
For Google haters: Apple. For Google lovers: Apple. Period.
You make a good point, since Apple’s will often last longer that would be another way to put off extinction. Assuming you can avoid looking at that greener grass over the update hill. 😉
The point about which manufacturers will still be around in ten years is a valid point.
Apple has been selling Macs for 30 years and was a hugely successful computer manufacturer before that. Dell wasn’t trading 30 years ago and nearly all computer manufacturers who were trading then have either stopped or greatly diminished. Dell looks to be in it’s death throes these days.
Microsoft seems to be spectacularly mis-firing at every turn, It’s too early to judge whether the new CEO will be able to get the company running smoothly once again.
Samsung has reached it’s current position by cheating on it’s former partners and it’s customers. There are already signs that the company is running out of steam and their next Galaxy launch is going to be critical for them. It has to be a huge success because the last one was a disappointment. If they can’t bring out a compelling Galaxy this time, they will lose their shine and it won’t be coming back.
Google is a hard one to call. They’re clearly a profitable company, but they drop products on a whim. In ten years time, they might be more interested in something else.
The same goes with Amazon, except it’s not a hugely profitable company, just immense turnover. While the Kindle appears to sell well, it’s not Amazon’s core business, so long term commitment can’t be assured.
Apple offers the perfect combination of being long-established, successful, fast moving, with a broad eco-system and always having had it’s core business revolving around computing devices.
Idiot writer. He basically wants to promote google. Knows that Apple cannot be beat on hardware by google. So he wants everyone to embrace google in the software. He actually also promotes google hardware by saying the nexus is the next best thing to apple. So, all in all he is a google guy trying to make the most of it for google……in a sly way.
Where it an computer apocalypse or a zombie, an Apple product is sure to be on the list of required items to have.