An ode to Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, Apple, and Linux zealots
As I'm sure many of you are aware, there are a number of factions in the technology world that seem to share extreme love for one company and severe distaste for another. Some side with Bill Gates and his buddies in Redmond. Of course, that group is met by a fierce resistance that genuflects at the altar of Steve Jobs. On the other hand, there is a cadre of individuals that believe Sony is the greatest company in the world, and still others that put Shigeru Miyamoto and his gang of creations on a pedestal. And yet, no matter what you say, every group will believe you're a member of the competing zealot faction. After a while, it actually becomes quite comical.
Take for example, this article I wrote just yesterday about Sony's desperation. You'll notice that in the comments, I was called all kinds of names. And while you get used to this as a writer, some really blow your socks off. For example, one commenter went so far as to say that I and the rest of the CNET writers are "typical." Why you ask? Because the commenter needed to ask us if "Gate's butt smells fresh today." In essence, I was a Microsoft fanboy for a day -- at least in the words of the cadre of Sony fanboys.
Unfortunately, my love for Microsoft must have been fleeting. For if you read the comments from readers on this day, I am nothing more than an Apple zealot that hates Microsoft. Even better, we even got some extra "typical CNET" comments which, for some reason, didn't reference the same smelling analogy. Can I be both? Can I be all five? Can everyone be all five?
No. And this is the issue we're left with today -- why can't everyone stop being zealots and realize that we all want the same thing -- the very best performance out of every tech company. We shouldn't be apologists -- we should be asking for a company's level best.… Read more