“This is my last “Byte of the Apple” for BusinessWeek Online. I started writing this column roughly three years ago. At the time, I didn’t understand what I was getting into. Yes, I had been a Mac user for two decades. My first was an Apple II that my father purchased for my two sisters and me. We used it to write book reports. When Dad wasn’t paying attention, we played nifty games like Sneakers and Castle Wolfenstein,” Alex Salkever writes for BusinessWeek.
“But I had been a casual Mac user. I never paid attention to the vigorous debate over Apple, the personalities, and the fascinating technologies that invariably emerge from the skunk works in Cupertino, Calif.,” Salkever writes. “I’ve learned a lot — not least that writing about Apple is a more consuming activity than covering any other technology company. After every column, e-mails jammed my inbox. Many flamed me for alleged ignorance. Others brought thoughtful opinions. A significant handful led me to even more interesting tidbits about the Mac. My greatest problem became too many things to write about. Of course, Apple CEO Jobs helped me along by doing amazing things. The flat-panel iMac, the iTunes Music Store, iPhoto, the iPod, and the G5 chip all were unveiled on my watch. “
Salkever writes, “Jobs also sent me an e-mail or two telling me how wrong I was. That made the whole exercise even more interesting. Journalists often wonder if what they write is being read, not just by the masses, but by people in power. An e-mail from Jobs, even a scathing one, is an important psychic reward. As OS X emerged and blossomed, I came to realize more and more that what Apple lacked in market share it more than made up for in mind share.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Good riddance. A sort of low-grade Dvorak, Salkever was often wrong, out of touch, way off base, misinformed, and just plain ignorant about Apple and their products. So, no fond farewell for old Alex will be found here. The only downside is we won’t have him around to kick anymore, unless he pops up somewhere else attempting to write about Apple. Note to BusinessWeek: bring back Charles Haddad.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
BusinessWeek writer can’t figure out that comparing iPod to Mac licensing is fruitless – October 14, 2004
BusinessWeek Tech Editor issues public apology to Apple CEO Steve Jobs – August 19, 2004
BusinessWeek writer outlines six (really three) point plan to increase Mac market share – July 08, 2004
BusinessWeek: So far, Apple retail stores fail to produce market share gains for Mac – April 06, 2004
BusinessWeek: Virgin Digital ‘a digital-music challenger to be feared’ by Apple – March 09, 2004
Chagrined, disappointed and bewildered said, “intelligent responses don’t merely involve setting out a few points in your favour. They also involve trying to understand the other’s point and resisting name-calling.”
As it happens precisely the errors Alex made in my email exchanges with him.
The guy is a Mac user and actually had some interesting editorials. I mean, of course we’re not all going to agree on everything Apple should or shouldn’t do. Opinions are like assholes – everyones got one.
MDN – after reading your ‘take’, I’m guessing you’d organise a public stoning if anyone even looked at Apple sideways .
Jack A:
“If the new one craps out I guess I am screwed.”
As has already been mentioned on this forum and elsewhere, the one of the chipmakers necessary in the production of those cards stopped producing said chips. Apple doesn’t make them so they had no choice but to stop supplying those cards. It would be like trying to produce a car when the engine maker stopped making engines.
Hopefully if or when your new card craps out, you’ll be ready to upgrade your system and be able to do without said card. Good luck.
Salkever – “Mr. Jobs, I apologize, I was wrong & you were right.”
Businessweek Editor – “Salkever, come into my office. Son, I’m really proud of you, falling on your sword… admitting you were wrong and stuff. That’s a tough thing to do in this day & age.”
Salkever – “Well, thank you Ms. Editor, Ma’am. I’m tryin’ hard to fit in here at Businessweek.”
BW Editor – “And that’s my point, Alex. You just admitted in a national forum… Nay, an International forum that you were WRONG. When you say you were wrong, you are really saying Businessweek is wrong and quite frankly, we can’t and won’t have any part of this. I expect your final column and resignation on my desk by tomorow morning. Goodness, man, we hired you to be a professional journalist, an expert on all things Apple and Macintosh. Now we find here that you don’t even have a good grasp of the thing you proclaim to be an expert in! Get out of my office before I shoot you!”
“MDN is flame site, pure and simple. Always has been, always will”
“MDN – after reading your ‘take’, I’m guessing you’d organise a public stoning if anyone even looked at Apple sideways.”
“MDN defence: We got the truth, brother.”
I would be curious to see some people create a Windows news site with all the piss and vinegar of MDN and their readers declaring to know “the truth”. I would enjoy reading such a site, not because I am anti-Mac, but because it would make a total mockery of MDN’s self-righteous bully attitude.
Someone should create a pro Windows, anti Mac web site written in MDN style just for the sheer comedy of it. The site should be complete with insulting headlines and red “takes” on anything remotely criticizing Microsoft. And of course, each “take” concludes with the signature closing comment “For information on how to smoothly add Microsoft Windows to your computing arsenal…”
yes, fully agree: bring back charles haddad! he rocked!
A previous poster was right, MDN is just a sophisticated toilet (with ads) wall that anyone can offload on. It is not a place one would visit for reasoned and truthfull debate.
Definition of journalist: …often wrong, out of touch, way off base, misinformed, and just plain ignorant about….
There is no such thing as absolute truth; it’s relative. The same cannot be said about falsehood.
Hell’s teeth. It really looks as though some people take this “wall” to heart. My advice is don’t. Just join in the fun. You also sometimes find touches of sheer brilliance; be it funny or insightful.
Long live the MDN Wall.