Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, Software
Dvorak off his meds: claims Apple switching to Windows
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]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
mungler said 11:50AM on 2-16-2006
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1925239,00.asp
for anyone too lazy to search
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Dan Heron said 11:51AM on 2-16-2006
Yeah... he's off his rocker on this one.
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Bryan Philips said 11:55AM on 2-16-2006
this guy gets paid to write this stuff?
wow :)
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dombi said 11:56AM on 2-16-2006
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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jl said 11:57AM on 2-16-2006
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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mrtotes said 11:57AM on 2-16-2006
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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Robert Thompson said 11:57AM on 2-16-2006
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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JSapienza said 11:59AM on 2-16-2006
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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Chris said 12:00PM on 2-16-2006
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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edward said 12:10PM on 2-16-2006
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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Christopher said 12:11PM on 2-16-2006
I can only assume he did this for attention, so we would talk about him?
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superjeff said 12:18PM on 2-16-2006
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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Tony M. said 12:20PM on 2-16-2006
Dvorak = Giant Douche
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iFelix said 12:21PM on 2-16-2006
I heard him say this on TWiT last week and thought it was rubbish then, I still do now.
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Charles Follymacher said 12:25PM on 2-16-2006
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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Muzz said 12:29PM on 2-16-2006
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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stevievep said 12:34PM on 2-16-2006
Mr. "I Get No Spam" must be having withdrawl, so he's now Mr. "I Write My Own Spam"
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Montecore The Tiger said 12:35PM on 2-16-2006
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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Jeremiah said 12:38PM on 2-16-2006
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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J said 12:47PM on 2-16-2006
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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