“The journalism community in general—and tech journalists in particular—discourage free enterprise and real competition. They are the worst kind of bandwagon-hoppers and hero-worshippers. No wonder the public does not think highly of the profession,” John C. Dvorak writes for PC Magazine.
“This thought is triggered by the ridiculous over-coverage of the Apple iPhone in a market full of new phones that get zero coverage from these same people,” Dvorak writes.
MacDailyNews Take: Because the iPhone is a new kind of mobile computer masquerading as a phone and not cellphone, John. Because Steve Jobs changes the tech world with startling regularity, shifting paradigms like no one else ever has: Apple I, Apple II, Macintosh, NeXT Computer, Pixar, iMac, Mac OS X, iPod, iTunes, iTunes Store, iPhone, App Store… That’s why real tech journalists cover Steve Jobs so thoroughly, John.
Dvorak continues, “While a lot of this can be blamed on the fact that Neonode and Helio don’t have the same buzz machine Apple has working for it, that should be beside the point. I say this because all of the hotshot big-market journalists—especially the ones working for large-circulation daily newspapers—brag about how they are not influenced by PR people and they like to do everything themselves. Meanwhile, they all flock to PR-driven Apple. Which of these jokers has written anything in detail about the Samsung iPhone lookalike?”
MacDailyNews Take: Careful, John, that was a bit too transparent. It might actually qualify as satire.
Dvorak continues, “I often wonder whether there would be any line at all if the media wasn’t glorifying these dummies in the first place. You already know the answer.”
MacDailyNews Take: The real answer would surprise you, John. There would be a line. Because Apple innovates and creates quality products that people desire to own and use. You have far too high an opinion of the media, John. Probably because you’re part of the mainstream media and your overinflated ego is dwarfed by nothing, not even that which is not at all concealed by your garish Hawaiian shirts. You’re not a genius, John. You’re a clown.
Nobody with at least half a brain cares a whit about what you write or think, John. You have no power. You couldn’t create a line for something if you tried. God knows, you can dispel one, though; all you have to do is show up. Fewer beans, John. Fewer beans.
Steve Jobs’ tombstone won’t physically be able to adequately convey all of his accomplishments. What will your tombstone read, John? “Here lies a bloated hit whore who baited Web surfers with petty, snide, jealous remarks about vastly superior people and products. In a sad irony, his words rang completely hollow because he did not even believe what he wrote himself, using his words instead to entice clicks from an ubiquitous device that he could not even foresee as useful. His most famous quote: The Macintosh uses an experimental pointing device called a mouse. There is no evidence that people want to use these things. – 1984″
John Dvorak admits to baiting Mac users for hits:
Direct link via YouTube here.
Full article, containing absolutely nothing of value as usual, Think Before You Click™, here.
That’s OK John, we think you’ve been getting more coverage than you deserve for years.
(Guess he needs page hits)
Pointless to comment. We all know Dvorak is an idiot
More Dvorak swill masquerading as thought?
Not Want!!
Why even give him the time of day, the putz
He writes solely for the response, “Yawn”, next……
Dvorak and Krakow should start a LooserMe club.
I was at the local Apple Store here in Louisville, Kentucky, yesterday and there was a line from the back of the store all the way out to the entrance, and there was NO media coverage whatsoever. And it was 5 days after the intro day, when I figured I could just walk in and buy an iPhone. I was wrong!
You know, what’s needed is some kind of redirect system or mirroring system for this kind of trash (and Thurrott and Enderle), so that I can look at what was written without added to their trolling for hits behavior.
Might be a good service for MDN to set up.
Here lies a bloated hit whore who baited Web surfers with petty, snide, jealous remarks about vastly superior people and products. In a sad irony, his words rang completely hollow because he did not even believe what he wrote himself, using his words instead to entice clicks from an ubiquitous device that he could not even foresee as useful.
Fsck me with a rusty knife. It’d be less painful than having to read MDN’s Take again.
Right on Macromancer.
The iPhone may have more than its fair share of coverage, but JD has had several years of people paying too much attention to him.
I for one am not paying attention to anything he says. I can get far for informed tech commentary from much better sources thank you.
Isn’t he Mr. Ironic.
Hmmm… I think I’ll do ANOTHER story about the iPhone, but the twist to this story is – drum roll —– It’s about too many stories about the iPhone.
Done.
No wonder I don’t ever read his “articles”.
Remember those little robots in the Helio commercials of old? They frightened me.
@John C. Dvorak
Gross. I hope you’ve had your tetanus shots.
M$ is a PR machine. They’ve had legions of committed media people dedicated to following their every move for decades. Why not pick on them John?
Magic Word: “modern”, as in “I use the most modern OS available: OSX.”
Helio won Dancing with the Stars last year, right?
And, let’s lay off the “garish Hawaiian shirts”. Remember, John Lasseter and I’ve seen Phil Schiller wearing them too!
Dvorak has paid the price for his rabid, unobjective bias. He has made himself an irrelevant annoyance that even Microsoft fans disregard with an eye roll.
So now Dvorak is going to write stories about other people’s stories? Or is he going to completely change his journalistic training and only write about things which are NOT news, like a new Samsung phone?
One of the easiest ways to get attention is to scream out that somebody’s getting something they don’t deserve. I guess that would be Dvorak, because he doesn’t deserve the attention he’s getting on MDN or anywhere else.
I can’t believe I just wasted 2 min. talking about him.
I know JCD is a baiter, but in this world where truth is hidden amongst the fanboys and anti-fanboys his cynicism is refreshing.
I love the vidcast Craky Geeks since the presenters challenge John’s views and John either sticks to his guns, despite the opposition, or as often has to admit he was wrong. He doesn’t go with the crowd, so he is entertaining, just like Zune Tang…
I actually agree with him and I am love Apple and my iPhone. Some coverage has been good, but mostly its just journalists following like sheep. On launch day the iPhone became the top story for a period of time on CNN. With all the things going on around the world the release of a phone (yes an amazing one) should not have made number one news on CNN.
Slightly harsh on the take, MDN–if we’re talking legacies here, you yourself don’t even throw a name on your opinions, many of which feature unprofessional ad hominem attacks that surely entertain, but hold no logical substance, just like Mr. Dvorak’s columns.
On second thought, oh, silly me! I’m make the secondary mistake (on top of attacking the anonymous MDN powers that be) of taking performance to be reality! The Ann Coulter strategy–you and John both employ it! I’m just not in on nit…
Dvorak does have a point about bandwagons.
He may be wrong often, but this time he is absolutely right.
This guy has become the biggest non-factor in tech journalism. Why does MDN even bother reporting what this douche-bag has to say?
There’s nothing to see here, move along…
MDN is an irrelevance
“This thought is triggered by the ridiculous over-coverage of the Apple iPhone in a market full of new phones that get zero coverage from these same people …”
What a ridiculous statement (and a ridiculous article for that matter). Maybe the other phones being loosed on the public don’t have anything worth covering. Maybe they aren’t aesthetically pleasing. Maybe they don’t offer any new interface. Maybe they don’t bring the fastidiousness that are coupled with Apple products; the sheer perfection and dedication to detail. Maybe people only care about revolutionary products. Products that are a cut above the rest. Products that entrance and delight. Products that tickle a consumer in just that right way.
I am sick of pundits trying to pull the rug out from under Apple. Apple has reached where it is by designing word-class products that outperform their competitors. They certainly don’t innovate as much as perfect. But that is their niche. And they deserve accolades. Unlike competitors that either have a tenuous monopoly, or have risen to the top through anti-competitive behaviour, Apple made rose to their respected level through dedication and a meticulous nature.
Moreover, if we adopt Dvorak’s skewed way of thinking, then that would mean no product, not any, no matter if it cured cancer, vacuumed your house, gave you free beer, or turned your relationship around for the better, would get any more press than the dancing banana that sits on your desk. Sometimes products deserve their legions of fans…
“”The journalism community in general—and tech journalists in particular—discourage free enterprise and real competition. They are the worst kind of bandwagon-hoppers and hero-worshippers. No wonder the public does not think highly of the profession,” John C. Dvorak writes for PC Magazine.”
Except that Dvorak uses the Apple PR machine (even though he makes negative comments) to get hits for his sight which:
1) Makes him the WORST kind of bandwagon hopper
2) Makes the public not think highly of the profession
3) Makes him simply appear as a big, loudmouthed idiot