[Just a thought, everyone is entitled to their point of view.]

It was 2001 and I bought my first ever Mac – G4 Desktop – 400mhz. I had just finished studying and I took a $10,000 loan out to start my own web design business. The first thing I bought was my G4. It cost $4,000 and I was so happy for about 8 days when…

Apple released the new 800mhz option with better everything (Faster DVD, More RAM, ect) and all for THE SAME PRICE!

It stung me so much I have brought this story up with EVERY person I have ever spoken to since who talks to me about buying a Mac.

I still love a lot of things about Macs but guess what? Today I’m a PC user

I actually made the switch about 3 years ago because I wanted to work with a number of 3D apps such as 3DS MAX and SoftImage and neither run on Mac. I also wanted something with a lot of grunt and enjoyed assembling my 2xDual Opteron (Quad CPU) on a Tyan motherboard supporting up to 16GB RAM (God that sounds geeky) It was pretty damn hot at the time.

I’m still pretty happy with my PC.

The problem with Apple’s control over the App Store is not the 30% at all (I just mentioned that because at 30% it had better work well as YaWie said it did). The issue is that Apple is being very unfair to developers, and in some extent to customers. Banning apps that do similar things to Apple apps is simply unfair, but not being clear about it is even worse.

PC manufacturers will generally introduce new models alongside older ones, and new models are generally available for pre-order while the older ones are marked down. I see the elegance in Apple’s very limited product catalogue, and how it will make choosing the right product easier. With big, fundamental changes however, like the Intel move, the introduction of OSX and the move to PowerPC before that, Apple could have given advanced warning to customers who were about to buy new stuff.

I guess that why I felt compelled to write my post is because the reality with Apple isn’t all it’s made out to be by their fans. I knew it would spark some fierce debate because Apple users tend to be (overly?) sensitive to criticism. Even when the critic is right, such as with Ryan’s post. They take the time to write long blog comments to defend ‘their’ brand against posts that weren’t actually meant to be an attack. Just to be a little reality check .

I eat apples with spots, jut not when there’s a fresh one in the basket.

But for the rest of the world, the casual users, the people who do other things in life and look at a computer as a toaster, this is and always has been Apple’s core audience.

The iPhone is riding on the coat-tails of success brought on by the match up of iTunes+iPod. How successful was the open model of ‘you make the hardware and someone else makes the software’? Not very. What does that tell you? People want toasters. The same goes for the iPhone. People want a phone that works. 99% don’t care about maximizing configurations or swapping out the mail app with another. They need a simple solution that has a low learning curve and gets the job done better then anyone else. And THAT is the key to success of the iPhone and why all others are languishing behind.

All this whining about Apple having to much control over the app store is just way funny. Why shouldn’t Apple get a cut of the profits? They created the platform. They created and are maintaing revisions of the hardware. They invented the OS. If you are lucky enough to sell 250,000 copies of some app and strike it rich, what did you do besides make that app? Nothing. 70% is pretty good in my book.

Oh, and as for the statement about Apple selling a product and coming out with a brand new version the very next day, ri-i-i-i-i-i-i-ight, no one else in the world does that. Evil Apple, you should close all your stores before you release a new product. Come on, really? Toyota just slashes those car prices on the 08s when the 09s are right around the corner. Dell would never sell an older version of a laptop when they know that will be releasing a new one that same day.

At least with Apple, they do stop sending hardware to their stores when a new one is on the horizon.

The world is a huge place and there are a lot of different kinds of people out there. If you don’t want a mac, don’t get one. Simple. What makes me laugh is that the PC users in the world are the majority, but they are so bothered by us few Mac users. If you are so proud of being an individual and a PC user, why even have an area of your site dedicated to this topic? I am a HUGE mac supporter, but on my site there is no place where I PC bash. I don’t feel the need to. You are who you are and I am who I am. Simple. Get over yourself. Really.

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And let’s not forget the main reason for the App Store, Apple’s 30% cut.

Things like DRM on iTunes and shady terms and elitist selective publishing policies on the App Store make me even more wary of Apple. I’m not a Google or Microsoft evangelist but I love Windows and will probably use Android for the same reason – they’re the platforms with the best and most numerous free software.

And what’s wrong with the design of a Mac Pro? I love it! Very sensible too: the easy way it opens up and lets you put in new hardware

The thing is: I do understand your complaints about Apple Iphone Apps store from a developers point of view. On the other hand Apple makes it very easy for Iphone users to download new and nifty apps with one touch of a finger. Now you can develop some nice app for your symbian or windows phone, but a lot of not so nerdy people will never get to download it, let alone install it on their phones.

But as beautifully designed as a MBP may be, it’s still an Apple product. The problem with the book case analogy is that I don’t dislike Ikea. Unlike with Apple, it makes sense to buy Ikea stuff. They don’t screw you over, and they don’t restrict the way you use their products.

If I was a customer, I would probably have more confidence in a designer who reflects his/her love for design by the way they dress (so no horrible Peek&Cloppenburg-suit), the way they decorate their house and also the sleek designer equipment they work with.