I'm long overdue for a good old fashioned rant, so the pointer to this article couldn't have come through my inbox at a better time.Answer me this... what the hell is wrong with John C. Dvorak?
In a recent column, Dvorak asserts that the mainstream press plays favorites with all things Apple and that Microsoft gets treated unfairly as a result. According to him, a whopping 90% of the mainstream press uses a Mac, which makes them unable to cover Apple or Microsoft without bias. I am not sure where he pulled that number from, but I hope it was painful. Dvorak has uncovered a huge conspiracy that goes beyond the writers themselves. It extends to newsroom editors, who, according to him, are also all Mac users, which makes them unqualified and "out of touch" with what their writers should really be writing about. The irony is that this column appears on the Fox News website. And we all know how "fair and balanced" Fox is. But I digress... [more after the jump]
"Microsoft can roll out a dozen cool products, and the media goes ga-ga over the video iPod — a rather late-to-market Apple product. They all swoon over the prospect of paying $2 to download an otherwise free TV show so they can have the privilege of watching it on a 2-inch screen."
When was the last time Microsoft rolled out a dozen cool products, anyway? Let's see... There's the Xbox 360, which I seem to recall a few people mentioning. And Windows Vista, which has been hyped plenty - despite the fact that it still isn't shipping and there's nothing terribly innovative about it that Apple (those bastards) hasn't already done. What was that about late-to-market? And we're supposed to believe that "the reason for this is that today's newspaper and magazine tech writers know little about computers..." Hey Walter - Dvorak just called you stupid. Are you going to stand for that?
You know what, though? Maybe John is right. Maybe the press needs to spend more time writing about Microsoft. I'd like to see more coverage about viruses and spyware and gaping security holes. The more exposure that stuff gets, the more people will be inclined to switch to a Mac and the press couldn't just ignore that so they'd have to start writing about the Mac again. It's a vicious circle, indeed.
Microsoft is no underdog and I'm not going to feel sorry for a company that has the bulk of the world's marketshare. If Gates & Co. wanted to dominate the media, I'm sure they'd find a way to do it, just like they dominated the PC market. They could start by innovating as rapidly as Apple has been instead of duplicating what Apple has already done. Which, interestingly, is what Dvorak encourages them to continue doing! ["Probably the smartest thing Microsoft could ever have done was copy as much of the Mac OS as it could"]
While it may be true that Apple has been getting a ton of press coverage in recent times, I don't really see where it's been at the expense of Microsoft. Then again, what the hell do I know. I'm just an ignorant tech writer who doesn't know anything about computers and I use a Mac.
[Thanks, Jeff K!]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
10-20-2005 @ 12:11PM
jake said...
Dvorak is only really good at one thing: cause a stir and get free publicity out of it. See: obscure senators and congressmen looking for a spotlight by accussing GTA and the like of corrupting youth and causing an increase in crime.
Dvorak is being acute as usual, nothing to write home about; carry on.
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10-20-2005 @ 12:19PM
Florent said...
Thanks a lot for this paper. The first time I've seen Dvorak's column, I believed it was a joke, an laughted a lot. When I understood he was really meaning what he wrote, as we say in France : "my arms have fallen on the floor". "How is it possible to be so stupid ?" I thought. Poor M$, poor Bill, attacked by stupid illiterate journalists, only abble to use made-for-cretins Macs ! I just can't write good enough English to explain all I think about Dvorak's plot theory, but you just did, so, thanks again ! A very happy French Mac user
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10-20-2005 @ 12:20PM
HowdyDoody said...
I ran into Dvorak a few days ago. He's getting old and may very well be off his meds. One moment he's proclaiming the last days of Microsoft, the next he's complaining that they don't get good press. Microsoft has no cool products that warrant good press. They have the Xbox and I love them, but they really need to separate that unit from the Microsoft family. As for Fox News, at least it's light years better than the Communist News Network that's crusading to strip me of my 2A rights and my ability to carry my sidearm.
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10-20-2005 @ 12:20PM
Victor Agreda, Jr. said...
That is John's schtick. "I get no spam," "get over it," etc. Sometimes I think he's got a Flame War Mad-Libs calendar.
The reason Apple is getting all the press is the same reason David fares a little better in the bible-- it's a good story. Underdog wows the crowd after coming back from the brink of destruction. Meanwhile, MS just digs deeper holes...
John needs to quit watching those ripped X-Files reruns on his PSP, and drink the same kool-aid we're drinking.
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10-20-2005 @ 12:24PM
Steven said...
"As for Fox News, at least it's light years better than the Communist News Network that's crusading to strip me of my 2A rights and my ability to carry my sidearm."
No, no, no... it's the Clinton News Network. sheesh!
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10-20-2005 @ 12:26PM
HowdyDoody said...
"No, no, no... it's the Clinton News Network. sheesh!"
lol... Clinton, Communist... same thing. ;-)
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10-20-2005 @ 12:29PM
Damien said...
Dvorak is an ass. Always has been, even when he wrote for Mac User over a decade ago. Although, the Apple smear campaign came on heavily after his departure to that mag (that was a great mag, aside from him though) He bashes Apple / Mac constantly - anyone remember his response to the first iMac? How it was going to fail? Everything Apple does, he condemns. BUt then it flourishes. He has an apparent animosity toward Apple for something, that is for sure. But now, I truly believe he bashes Apple to reaffirm his relevance. I bet that he gets the most responses when he bashes Apple, more than any other time. Do you think anyone sends him e mails when he goes on & on about .net passport or whatever?
Why does anyone even pay attention to this hack anymore? He is never correct in his views. Just a crotchety old tech-curmudgeon. I so see this guy as the type to back the Bush administration.
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10-20-2005 @ 12:40PM
Sean said...
This is the same logic that led Michael Ovitz to insist the "Gay Mafia" was after him. Just because no one likes you doesn't mean there is a conspiracy.
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10-20-2005 @ 12:43PM
CALI said...
DVORAK IS A WELL KNOWN TROLL...
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10-20-2005 @ 12:50PM
Jacob Varghese said...
Yes, Howdy,
Thank God for our right to bear arms!!!
It's protecting us from every day from the boogey man.
LOL. Frickin conservatives and their guns.
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10-20-2005 @ 12:53PM
Jacob Varghese said...
I love how conservative Fox News lovers always crack on Clinton, but never have a bad thing to say about the Bush white-house. Well, I guess with all those staged press conferences, the world looks perfect.
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10-20-2005 @ 12:58PM
Philip Ewing said...
It's funny, because I'm a professional journalist and I've worked at newspapers that use Windoze systems and newspapers that use Macs — and the standard seems to be that whatever the front-end system is, it's a piece of crap. So not only is there an industry-wide conspiracy in favor of Macs, as this guy seems to be claiming, there might be an industry-wide conspiracy against them. Business owners will always wait as long as possible before replacing antiquated equipment, and even moreso in the beleaguered news game, when bosses are firing people and moaning about how much newsprint costs these days. In the newsrooms where I've used Macs they were original, first-generation iMacs or G3 Powermacs that had been somehow upgraded to run Jaguar and habitually crashed or gave us no end to other problems... I've worked in other places that were still running Classic, which made for antiquated, but at least stable, working conditions. These days I'm freelancing and happly using my own new system running Tiger, but I write stories on Microsoft Word. Does this mean I couldn't objectively cover Apple or Microsoft? The proposition that the gear you use colors how you do your job is just amateurish, bush-league whining.
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10-20-2005 @ 12:59PM
Allan said...
I guess Dvorak has forgotten all the 'Beleagured Apple' stories from the Amelio and early Jobs eras. Heck, he wrote a lot of them himself.
Unlike poor Microsoft, co-owner of a cable news channel, Apple does not have a media subsidiary.
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10-20-2005 @ 1:11PM
Jason said...
Ha ha, Dvorak is a total goof.
I'm an expert PC user & troubleshooter, and until recently, I was using mostly Microsoft products. If someone looked at my career, they would guess that I am very PC/MSFT biased.
The truth is that I am biased toward whatever WORKS. Microsoft products work. (I know, BSOD, but I never ever get BSOD because I know what the hell I'm doing with my OS and I don't install virusware.)
Microsoft products don't really hold much "wow" factor (a lot of their stuff is just plain boring and ugly), and Microsoft is really stuck in first gear when it comes to releasing new products. They just can't move quickly. The company is not agile at all. Enter a sloth into a horse race and it'll lose. 4 or 5 years between major OS releases is just morbid.
Apple ALSO makes prodcuts that work. They work well. The major difference I see between Apple and MSFT is that Apple is swift, innovative and the entire corporate philosophy is built around releasing new and improved products.
So long as Apple maintains their pace and doesn't put out faulty hardware or software, I say they should get all the attention they can possibly get. If MSFT and Dvorak feel slighted or hurt, they should. They're right. They've fallen behind in an industry that is very unforgiving.
MSFT will eventually lose its hegemony. All empires wax and wane.
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10-20-2005 @ 1:21PM
vr two said...
that reminds me of an old joke: nobody likes her because she has nipples. she has nipples because nobody likes her.
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10-20-2005 @ 1:31PM
doug said...
TUAW: I understand the rant, but why the crack on FOX News?
No 12; So far, Bush has not been caught with his d--k in the mouth of an intern in the oval office. as soon as you libs look in the mirror and own that one then your comments about Bush may have merit.
Maybe if libs, including Jobs, and apparently, TUAW, would not crack on conservatives or conservative news organizations on sites such as this you might get more mac sales. Hell, the most famous conservatives, Rush Limbaugh is a complete machead. Put him in mac ads and you would sell a ton of macs to people that wwould never consider them.
As for Dvorak I don't know where his figures come from, but I am dubious. Maybe he says this because many publishers use macs, but from my experience most of the reporters I have worked with do not use a mac, they may publish with a mac, but the reporters did not necessarily have them.
in any event, i think the post that said the press loves an underdog is correct, also, let's face it, apple is better at generating buzz than Microsoft. Can you imagine a Steve Jobs keynote promoting xbox...he would double their sales on the same product...
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10-20-2005 @ 1:44PM
Nate MC said...
Normally I think Dvorak is hitting the pipe too often but I have to agree with him on this one.
The small apple userbase is a very vocal minority but it's members are lots of people in the media, thus more praise.
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10-20-2005 @ 1:47PM
Damien said...
"So far, Bush has not been caught with his d--k in the mouth of an intern in the oval office"
This is all they can ever say about Clinton, and the only defense they have for Bush. So, so sad what we have become.
Excuse me, blind sir; what about Bush's d--k in ALL of our collective asses with what he has done with our rights, our country in the last five years?
SO, I guess it is OK to lie to America, as long as you do not get caught?
and keeping on topic, Dvorak still sucks.
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10-20-2005 @ 1:53PM
Scott M said...
That's the worst you can think of, doug? Clinton fucked an intern? You think that really compares to bankrupting your country and sending your troops into an unwinnable, illegal "war"? Give your head a shake, man. Liberalism has nothing to do with it. Conservatives should be equally mortified by Bush, because last I checked, they are going to have to pay for it just like the Democrats. Most Americans, whatever their political stripe, do not fall into Bush's target demographic: the rich. He must love that you partisans keep it about right versus left when it is actually about class.
As for Dvorak, fuck him and his irrelevant muckraking.
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10-20-2005 @ 2:08PM
Dan Mitchell said...
I think you just fell for the classic Dvorak technique. When things are getting slow for him (and who regards him as the major technology writer any more?) he shoots out something like this that is, frankly, a troll. This will generate tons of hits and publicity for him at a time when his writing alone no longer does that.
It is a pattern we've seen before. In general, it is probably best to not support him by responding much at all.
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