OK, here’s the background on yours truly. I’ve never owned an Apple product, until the iPod 3rd Generation (first non-Mini with the click-wheel). Now we (my wife and I) have a total of three Apple products. I have my iPod (and use it every day for my podcast and audiobook absorbtion on my commute), an iPhone 3G as my phone, and my wife has an iPod Nano. I’ve always owned, and built, PC’s based on Windows. In my years working in IT (over 20 now), I’ve never come across an Apple computer that I had to support.
So as can be assessed by this little bit of information, I’m in no way an Apple fanboy. My iPod changed the way I ingest media, as I no longer carry CDs in my car, I listen to a bunch of podcasts and also listen to audiobooks on my 45+ minute commute each way. All of our CDs are boxed up in the basement. My daughter sleeps to music every night, and until recently listened to “kids music” on CD… then she became a Beatles fan. We have The Beatles: One, and she asked for the CD to listen to… it took 20 minutes to find the damn thing! I almost considered buying her an iPod, but her radio doesn’t have an input jack… but I digress.
My iPod changed the way I listen to music, and more importantly to me, how I get entertainment in my car. My iPhone changed the way I use my phone. Admittedly it’s the first true “smart phone” I’ve ever had. I played with a few PDA’s in the past, but they lost their luster for me quickly. They were either clunky, feature-poor, or just not a good user experience. My iPhone is the first device where I have my phone, email, gaming and the full Internet on one device, right in my pocket. Never have bathroom breaks been more enjoyable! This is the second generation iPhone, not the original one. I wish I were an early adopter, but to be honest, I can’t afford to be one. Instead, I rely heavily on unbiased consumer opinions moreso than the mainstream tech “pundits”. I consider myself a smart consumer as a result, mostly out of necessity… I personally can’t drop hundreds of dollars on an unproven piece of tech, no matter how awesome it may seem, and more to the point, how much I may wanty. For me, it was just good timing all around. My three-plus year old Motorola Razr was literally falling apart (one of the two hinges had a piece missing, so I had to be careful with the flip of my flip phone), I was “eligible for an upgrade” (one of the biggest pieces of bullshit anti-consumerism out there, but I won’t talk about it right now), and the iPhone 3G was just released. I was interested in the original iPhone, but it wasn’t until the advent of the iTunes “App Store” that really had me excited. The fact that any developer could create applications for the iPhone was huge, and iPhone (and iPod Touch) owners were no longer just tethered to the limited number of applications that come pre-installed… well that was the selling point.
In the eleven months that I’ve had it, I’m amazed at how many practical things I’ve been able to do with it, look up on it and help me make decisions with it. It’s a computer with Internet connectivity, and it happens to have a phone built in.
So what prompted all of this is last week was the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, where historically, Apple will announce new and updated products. As expected, they announced an updated iPhone, the ’3G S’ model. It’s faster, has a better camera, a new magnetometer, larger drive, but most of all, the updated operating system, version 3.0. The phone itself comes out today, June 19th, but they made the OS available to us existing iPhone and iPod Touch users on Wednesday. It’s an incremental update, and includes a bunch of features that should have been in the device from the very beginning (cut, copy & paste, a universal search ability, a voice recorder), but the Apple fanboys rejoice and jump around like it’s the coolest tech in the world (despite other devices already having those things). I know that fanboys exist in anything related to tech and where “sides” can be chosen. I’ve always been of the side of where it works best, regardless of who made it. I mean, who really wants to get in a debate over whether a PC or a Mac computer is best? Who really needs to throw barbs as to how the iPod is superior to the Microsoft Zune? (maybe a bad example here) What person needs to belittle another over the “fact” that an XBox 360 pwns the PlayStation 3?
I don’t get it. I’m thrilled that there is competition, and it drives the others to release better, more innovative products. I’m a PC, but I love the fact that Mac is gaining market share… Windows 7 is looking great so far as a result. I wonder how hard Microsoft would have pushed their R&D if the Nintendo Wii didn’t come from left field and take market share, mostly because of their innovative new controllers. Microsoft announced Project Natal at E3, a full body controller (I wrote about it in a previous post).
Taking sides? I choose innovation, over ANY side. I want things to be better, stronger, faster. I want my gaming, online and media experiences to wow me. If it edges in that direction, I win, hell we all win. I’ll choose the direction of my purchases based on the honest opinions of the reviewers out there. If your review has high praise, and there’s a single “but”, I’ll take you seriously. If you do nothing but praise and love and buy a product simply because it has “Apple”, “EA”, “RIM” as the manufacturer, then take your review and shove it. You’re a putz not worthy of my read, simply open your eyes already, will you? You’re an elitist, congratulations… now bite me.
I’ll sit down and tell you WHY I bought a product, and if I realize that I made a mistake after the fact, I’ll admit it. I won’t, though, sit down and tell you why I’m right and why you’re wrong… and don’t try that with me.
Yesterday was Microsoft’s big day at E3 in Los Angeles. E3, or the Electronic Entertainment Expo, is a yearly convention and trade show primarily for the gaming industry. I say “primarily” because the lines continue to blur in the gaming, entertainment and media world. The conference itself has had it’s ups and downs the last several years in terms of popularity and attendance, as the organizers made drastic changes to the “rules” of the convention. Despite the changes, and rampant rumors that E3 was doomed, many gaming publishers and developers hold off on releasing news of upcoming products for the fanfare of this expo.
Most gamers would dismiss this as crap and rebel against it if they can, but I see it a bit differently. I’ve tried, a number of times, to organize just a few of us to play on the 360 on a Friday night. All of us have full-time jobs, are either married or living with our better half, and some of us have kids… it’s not easy. I’ve used email, phone calls and text messages all to organize a couple of hours of game time. Normally, my console gaming is completely separate from my PC. The way I have my home setup is pretty sweet, as my computer is right behind the TV that I play my 360 on, so I just have to swing my chair 
around. For most, the console is in the living room, and the computer is not. Even if you have a laptop, it still doesn’t matter, they are on two separate devices. I’m either on the PC, or I’m on my 360. I’m usually not going to take the time to stop playing, log into whatever on my PC to see who’s online and who might be interested in playing, I just want to play.