Paul Thurrott, yes that Paul Thurrot, writes about Apple for Connected Home Media in his article this week entitled, “Apple Makes Its Case for the Connected Home in 2004.” What Thurrott writes in this article may surprise you, even with some of his usual qualifications.
Thurrott writes, “In my opinion, there’s never been a better time to support Apple. If you’re interested in digital media, home networking, and personal computing, you should know that Apple’s product line-up has never been stronger.”
Of Apple’s new iPod lineup, Thurrott writes, “I’m a huge fan of the less expensive and arguably more capable Dell DJ but the iPod is clearly the device to which all other digital-audio players aspire. The iPod has always had good looks and a clean design, and now it has a less lofty price and better battery life to boot. Recommending the iPod without reservations is getting easier and easier.”
[MacDailyNews note: Paul documents opening his new 20GB 4G iPod in pictures here with tongue firmly in cheek, or maybe, deep down inside, he really wanted to snap and post those pix?]
Thurrott calls Apple’s AirPort Express “an incredible home-networking solution that can only get better.”
Then Thurrott really outdoes himself by writing, “If you’re tired of constantly updating your computer with security patches, afraid of launching email attachments, or fearful that simply opening Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) will expose your system to untold spyware maladies (which isn’t far from the truth), I have a solution for you–the Mac. And, yes, Macs are a little bit expensive compared to that PC you’re using. But as your parents might have told you, you often get what you pay for… Macs are more elegant than PCs, generally more reliable, and far less likely to succumb to an electronic attack largely because attackers don’t target Macs but also because the Mac’s underlying UNIX technology is so mature and well written… Sure, your software choices will be less plentiful than they are on the Windows side, and yes, you might suddenly find yourself advocating the Mac to friends and family as if you were the technological equivalent of a crusader. But that’s the effect the Mac has on many of its users–the same combination of satisfaction and excitement that grips TiVo owners. There’s just something right about a Mac… You won’t be disappointed.”
Read Thurrott’s full article on the Connected Home Media website here.
MacDailyNews Take: Now we know where our missing monthly shipment of Cupertino Kool-Aid ended up. Paul, you’re not supposed to drink the whole case all at once! To our wavering Window-only readers, for information on smoothly adding a Mac OS X machine to your computing arsenal, please click here.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Thurrott asks for portable Apple Macintosh buying advice – May 24, 2004
Tech writer: ‘Mac OS X is even with, or behind, Windows XP’ – May 20, 2004
Tech reporter: Apple needs to adopt subscription model or face ‘the Macification of the iTunes Music Store’ – May 13, 2004
Thurrott: Steve Jobs ‘unable to see the big picture, Windows-based music services will plow aside’ Apple’s iTunes – April 15, 2004
Thurrott: Apple’s ‘iPod Mini isn’t a sales phenomenon at all’ – March 25, 2004
Thurrott: ‘The Mac market is ending’ – March 08, 2004
Windows & .NET Magazine’s Thurrott ‘fears HP and Apple have just set back convergence an untold number of years’ – January 13, 2004
ok Paul, what which mac? The all in ones are slow, the g5’s beautiful but don’t run vpc, which I need.
Maybe “Apple’s product line-up has never been stronger”, but the mac hardware lineup still has a huge hole. Wake me when it’s filled. And fill it with something priced reasonably (not cheaply) so I won’t feel like a fool and have to regain my self esteem by posting in line with the gang here.
I’ve always wondered why a guy that writes a Windows-centric column that routinely bashes Apple owns more Apple gear than PC gear. And what is up with him having FOUR, yes 4 PDAs anyway???
yes hell hath indeed frozen over!!
Damn, that John C. Dvorak article a couple of weeks ago about Microsoft shutting down is looking prophetic after yesterday’s $70 billion stock buyback announcement. The rats are jumping from the sinking MS ship.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1622629,00.asp
Note the picture on Thurrott’s site that displays the latest iPod and a Dell DJ next to each other. Talk about “Beauty and the Beast”.
Heya Joe,
I hope Apple will fill the gap for you one day. I hate to know you being still harassed by Windows.
Paul Thurrott can write sensibly if chooses to. Article below was written in 1999:
http://aroundcny.com/technofile/texts/thur111499.html
As for Mac-bashing, this guy is no more that a first class s**t disturber…
I like the fact that MDN is keeping an ongoing list of articles written by Paul so that editors and the journalism community as a whole, can see how Paul flip-flops on his perspective of computing.
Hopefully this recent article is a bellwether of things to come from Paul, more objective, investigative reporting that state the facts and a realistic future’s forecast.
To go from an article that is titled “The Mac Market is Ending” to “Apple Makes Its Case for the Connected Home in 2004” in just over 4 months time between them is simply amazing. It almost make all of his previous “FUD” articles relating to the Macintosh platform null and void.
Well, I see my brain transplant has taken effect.
May he live long, and perspire, er prosper.
Duuuu…. Waaaa….. Hmmmmm……
I’m speechless!
Wow
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John
I was expecting another Apple-bashing, and almost had a heart attack when I realized he was really being positive about Apple. Maybe tomorrow he’ll claim that the devil made him do it after all.
I didn’t know Thurrott was related to John Kerry.
Wow!!! I just find out that praising Apple, instead of bashing it, can earn me food too!!!! Does that mean I’m not an a$$ho? NOT!!!!!-
Joe, what is more pathetic, a bunch of Apple Computer owners that love thier product enough to rant on these forums, or a PC guy who hangs around these forums to complain why he doesn’t have a Mac?
I don’t need P.T. to tell me what I already know. I think that P.T. has long lost his credibility because of the nonsense he wrote (still writes) in the past. So, good for him if he realizes that what he thought of apple was all wrong. He still is regarded by many as M$ free “whore”. For those who forgot what he wrote about Longhorn, please jog your memories here:
http://www.winsupersite.com/faq/longhorn.asp
Q: But Mac OS X already has a lot of these features. What’s the big deal?
A: Apple has implemented some basic desktop composition features in Mac OS X “Panther.” But the basic problem with Mac OS X isn’t going away: It’s a classic desktop operating system that doesn’t offer anything in the way of usability advancements over previous desktop operating systems. Today, Windows XP and its task-based interface are far superior to anything in Mac OS X. In the future, Longhorn will further distance Windows from OS X. From a graphical standpoint, there won’t be any comparison. As Microsoft revealed at the PDC 2003 conference, Longhorn is far more impressive technically than Panther.
I just read that Paul Thurrott has just finished Rehab from his crack addiction. This article shows that Paul must finally be off of crack for at least one day.
run…….the end is neigh
Thurrott has been something of, no he’s been, a hippocrite for many a year. Although he makes his living shilling for M$ I understand he uses a Mac at home and once even posted pics of a vacation he took with his wife on .Mac. In the end, he;s the worst kind of journalist. He plays to an audience and says what they want to hear even if he knows he’s lying. Hey wait, that’s what modern day writers/talking heads do! The only place he has is to go down…. and run for political office…
WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH PAUL????
I don’t think you people understand how the world of journalism works.
It’s not unlike wrestling on television. A lot of grunting and groaning, but it’s mostly fake.
Journalists need SOMETHING to write about, and it generally follows a formula. It’s sort of like how the media treats celebrities like movie stars.
It begins with endless articles praising and building up the celebrity. The public, who wants to learn more about the celebrity, eagerly reads it. After a certain period of time, though, this becomes boring. Expected. Predictable. The journalist realizes that to grab the attention of the public it’s time to reverse course. Now begins the tear down phase. The public is now offered many articles about the negative side of the celebrity, the problems the celebrity is having, etc.
This goes on for awhile until it’s time again to begin building up the celebrity. The public, now expecting to see only negative press about the celebrity, will have its curiosity stimulated by a positive story offered to them.
Folks, I have news for you. When you watch one of those pundit shows on television where the conservative guest and the liberal guest yell at each other.. it’s fake. It’s Big Time Wrestling. It’s ENTERTAINMENT.
Thurrott knows very well how we feel about his ‘opinions’ regarding the Macintosh. It was time to rile things up. Get some more clicks going.
ALL journalists and columnists aren’t like this. But a large percentage are. A good example of a smart, honest, journalist is Mossberg at the Wall Street Journal.
Years ago he had many problems with the Macintosh line, and was outspoken about it. He would receive thousands of hate emails from Mac enthusiasts. His opinions never varied. But when Jobs came back to Apple, and the rise in innovation lifted Apple out of the gutter, Mossberg recognized it, wrote about it, and today is a true Macintosh fan.
Thurrott doesn’t hate OR love Apple computers. What he is trying to do is earn a living and put meat on his table. He can’t offer excellent writing, so he offers controversy.
And he’s not a schizophrenic, as was posted above.
Don’t be surprised when, in a month or two, Thurrott writes another article condemning Apple, or one of its products, in a way that is in complete odds with what he has written now in this piece you are discussing.
(this is david vesey and I have approved this message)
What the hell? Did EVERYONE wake up in Bizarro World with me, today? Wow!
jag
David, good points, and it works the same way with Politics – or war for that matter. Nevertheless, I would dare say Apple has been in the barrel for a lot longer than most, and it’s about goddamn time journalists begin to swing the other direction. Hopefully the positive press on Apple lasts as long as the negative press has…and that the stock market is listening…
I think Mr. Thurrott overdosed on the RDF flavored kool-aid, D’OH!
QUICK: it’s time for Redmond to send him his normal stash of CDF (Commonsense Distortion Field) flavored kool-aid. Gates to Ballmer “We may be able to save him”.
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Regardless of how complimentary he is abou the mac – HE IS STILL A FSCKING WANKER!
SoP. Often times, Microsoft loving “journalists” proclaim that they love Apple and Apple’s product to make themselves appeared fair and balanced, so that the next time they say something about Apple, it’ll have more impact because they no longer Microsoft fanboys. I don’t believe anything Thurrot says.