Why Geeks Hate Apple

... and why Apple doesn’t care.

By Dominic Hare on 28 November, 2008

Having spent years trawling the internet, it’s a stretch to say Apple-hating is the new black. Apple-hating is, in fact, somewhat old hat in that the torrent of vitriol spewed at Cupertino on a daily basis is something of an internet norm.

I consider myself an old-school Apple user in that my first exposure to a Mac occurred in the late ’80s and I’ve been using them on and off ever since. I’m also a big critic of a lot of things Apple does, from its anti-competitive behaviour to its style-over-substance policy that has become ever apparent since the explosion of the iPod.

But every argument I read about Apple comes from the same type of person preaching to the converted. All well-informed geeks know Apple computers are often years behind in tech specs, grossly overpriced, and generally under-perform when it comes to the crunch. Regardless, it must be doing something right, because every year Apple’s net profit exceeds expectations and its market share remains respectable.

The reason is simple – most Apple customers don’t care what geeks think. This is why the infuriating “I’m a PC” ad campaign has been so successful. The policy of Apple in producing (occasionally) functional products that look good ensures that the majority of consumers worldwide continue to buy the products without complaint. We can all complain that, for instance, shipping $2000+ laptops that still use integrated graphics is a joke, whereas 95% of people you ask will probably not even know what a video card is. These ads work because the majority of people have the view that true geekdom is uptight and stuffy, and is why so many of the people making the Apple-hate are undoubtedly reacting out of spite. This is why I can’t help but find blatant online Apple-hating pathetic, because it is so often a cry of envy whilst missing the bigger picture. Don’t get me wrong, those ads give me the shits too, though mostly because I hold Justin Long responsible for Die Hard 4 being a steaming pile of turd.

If you wanted a gourmet hamburger, you probably wouldn’t be in line at McDonalds. But, for about a gazillion people, it seems to feed their needs. Apple-hate online will continue to be pointless as long as the consumer is happy to settle for less. Perhaps informed discussion of why Apple computers are often inferior, rather than just spouting ‘Macs are teh gheyz’, might help a little.

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