Someone. Please. Help Dvorak find his meds. He's lost them again, resulting in yet another shock-value crackpot
theory article that I chose not to link to on general principle. This time around, Dvorak has once again put inaccurate
facts on the table and drudged up baseless speculation that Apple could - and already is - dropping Mac OS X to simply
run Windows on their Macs.No, that wasn't a typo. Dvorak thinks Apple is going to trash Mac OS X for Windows in what could be "the most phenomenal turnabout in the history of desktop computing," whatever that's supposed to mean (search for the article at PC Magazine, if you really want to read it). Most of his 'evidence' is based on claims that no one's switching over to the Mac, despite all of Apple's buzz over the last couple years and the (disputed) "iPod halo effect." Apparently, John didn't notice that Apple doubled its U.S. market share last year to 6.6%. While that isn't a monumental number, the fact that it doubled in barely a year is a significant factor I think John simply missed in what I'm sure was highly methodical research. Let's also not forget that Dell more or less asked Apple if they could sell OS X on their computers - what better way to cut down on customer service expenses?
The rest of his argument cites Apple dropping FireWire in the iPod, Apple's switch to Intel and the fact that large vendors like Adobe weren't ready when the new Intel machines landed. It seems that through his impeccable research, Dvorak also missed previous discussion about FireWire and its high-bandwidth, largely pro purpose, as well as the iPod's mass-market target. Let's also not forget that Adobe can't simply flip a switch and make CS hop over to the Intel side of the Mac CPU fence.
Poking holes in Dvorak's ideas aside, I'm starting to wonder if his articles are becoming not much more than thickly-veiled calls for help. Clearly, he's beginning to lose it, and I wonder if he's just having a hard time asking for the help he so clearly needs. Who's up for a "save John C. Dvorak" fund-raiser?
[thanks David Anasco. Image courtesy of John C. Dvorak's Wikipedia entry]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
2-16-2006 @ 11:50AM
mungler said...
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1925239,00.asp
for anyone too lazy to search
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2-16-2006 @ 11:51AM
Dan Heron said...
Yeah... he's off his rocker on this one.
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2-16-2006 @ 11:55AM
Bryan Philips said...
this guy gets paid to write this stuff?
wow :)
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2-16-2006 @ 11:56AM
dombi said...
I say we vote Dvorak in, to run Apple. Sound like he is an expert in this issue and knows what Apple needs. Mac users obviously crave Windows on their Macs, and cannot wait for Apple to make this move...
NOT! What an idiot. Maybe it is time to retire Mr. Dvorak, or at least stop smoking whatever you are smoking for breakfast. And definitely don't do it while writing your "conspiracy theory" articles about Apple.
What planet is this guy from!?
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2-16-2006 @ 11:57AM
jl said...
Well, there is a reason why Jobs the CEO and this Dork is the writer who writes for food. Can anyone imagine if this Dork was the CEO of Apple making “the decision" to use Windoze on the Macs?? The standard of " journalism" keeps sinking every single day all because "journalists" like this.
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2-16-2006 @ 11:57AM
mrtotes said...
Who wants switchers? They'll soon bring interest from Viruses, Malware etc etc
I don't need to be part of the crowd I like this elite club.
The whole point is that Apple provide the software and hardware to complement each other. As soon as one provider ships the hardware without fully liaising with the software supplier (probably never fully possible in business) - there are bound to be snags.
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2-16-2006 @ 11:57AM
Robert Thompson said...
Well… I certainly hope he's nuts, and it really seems that way to me, but… last May I would have said exactly the same thing about Apple switching to Intel; to wit, that anyone saying such was clearly and obviously a madman. Thanks to that worldview shattering event, I can never dismiss claims like Dvorak's with as confident a feeling. There will now always be that little voice in the back of my mind saying, "You know… he could be right." In this particular case, if he does turn out to be right, I'll be glad I alrady know how to use Linux…
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2-16-2006 @ 11:59AM
JSapienza said...
Date Check: nope its not April 1st.
That has to be the funniest thing I have heard in a long time. Mr. Dvorak needs more than meds if he really thinks people will actually believe that crap.
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2-16-2006 @ 12:00PM
Chris said...
Dvorak's intentional (and painfully obvious) click pimping is getting really old. The guy isn't looney, he's just desperate for attention (whether for business or ego reasons, who's to say), and his diatribes should just be ignored as the blatant self-promotion that they are. Dvorak's writing = spam, plain and simple.
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2-16-2006 @ 12:10PM
edward said...
I hate tech columnists who easily change their mind, depends on situation. they actually don't work for those kind of companies. what they do is just blame, speculate. someone like him I thought he is different. but nobody can stop aging process. his brain is going to die. no more exciting stuff anymore.
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2-16-2006 @ 12:11PM
Christopher said...
I can only assume he did this for attention, so we would talk about him?
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2-16-2006 @ 12:18PM
superjeff said...
OK... that's enough from this guy (Dvorak). I say we stop talking about him after this post. He didn't write this because he thought it was true or even possible. He wrote it to get everybody talking about him. And look at what we are doing. ENOUGH! He's an idiot. Let's move on.
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2-16-2006 @ 12:20PM
Tony M. said...
Dvorak = Giant Douche
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2-16-2006 @ 12:21PM
iFelix said...
I heard him say this on TWiT last week and thought it was rubbish then, I still do now.
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2-16-2006 @ 12:25PM
Charles Follymacher said...
All based on the idea that Jobs *cares* about huge market share. Jobs has repeatedly used the Benzo to Ford comparison.
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2-16-2006 @ 12:29PM
Muzz said...
Idiotic. People buy a Macintosh for the OS, not the hardware. If anything, Apple would be far more likely to drop the hardware business and move to a software-only model.
Don't get me wrong though, I LOVE their hardware.
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2-16-2006 @ 12:34PM
stevievep said...
Mr. "I Get No Spam" must be having withdrawl, so he's now Mr. "I Write My Own Spam"
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2-16-2006 @ 12:35PM
Montecore The Tiger said...
He's just looking for attention--which you gave him. Freakonomics has a good section on experts usually being wrong--and never being held accountable. Suggesting things will remain the same doesn't get publicity.
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2-16-2006 @ 12:38PM
Jeremiah said...
You guys are hilarious. Please note that he predicted that Apple would move to Intel and everyone leaughed. Do I think Apple will support Windows? No. Dvorak's an interesting guy I think he's hilarious on TWIT.
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2-16-2006 @ 12:47PM
J said...
Oh Dvorak,
You also said O.J. was innocent and Kobe was guilty.
You said that Germany just wanted a little more space... so why not give it to them?
You said that taping music off of the radio would be the death of the record industry, and that boomboxes with dual cassette recorders would spawn a nation of bootleggers.
You said that whole "Napster" idea of downloading music would never take off.
And that time I smashed that mailbox to get the metal golfer statuette off the top, you said you'd never tell-- but you did.
Looks like you've been wrong before.
And you'll be wrong again.
If you think you'll be able to fire off sensational rants like you've been doing, and remain employed, you'd be wrong about that one too.
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