Apple Fanboys Rejoice: Lots of New Goodies

The new iPhone operating system,
from CultOfMac

Apple released a whole bunch of news about their product lines this week, sending the Cult of Mac (which is overdue for a name change) into a quivering puddle of mess. I'm primarily a PC and Android user, so I can mostly just roll my eyes, but I also have a MacBook Pro as my laptop, so I can also wonder what the new OS X 10.9 "Mavericks" has in store for me. Provided it will run on my not brand-new system. And what's up with Mavericks? All of the previous releases have been named after cats. They couldn't think of a better cat than a Mountain Lion?

Anyway, the iWorld will be abuzz for a few weeks, taking the thunder away from the new Android phones, and the new upgrade to Windows 8.  It's just hard to read about it all, if you're brave and enter the comments sections of any of the Apple news sites. Apple fans are insufferably "superior," much of the time, and they've inspired a bunch of backlash from "fandroids" and PC fans. It can be entertaining, but it's kind of stupid. By now, you can buy an awesome phone and a very cool computer for any platform. Personal preference shouldn't have an attitude.

That said, I think the new iPhone interface, iOS 7, looks kind of cartoony. The aim is "flat," which seems to be the new thing for everybody. Dropping excessive gradients, shadows, lens flares and the like makes for a cleaner look. And Apple didn't go completely stark. But I'm not sure this sets itself too far away from Samsung, itself saddled with some cartoonish icons. And as an Android user, I still don't like the iOS default app tray start screen. I much prefer having a start screen, with the clock, weather, frequently used apps. I wonder if iOS 7 allows that kind of modification?

Anyway, for the most part I don't really care, so here's where you go if you do care:

Cult of Mac

Or here, if you want a little less slobber: MSN

Nokia Lumia Commercial Mocks iPhone and Android Fans

It's hard out there for a Windows phone. How do you make a splash when you're on a platform that is way, way behind iPhone and Android in the mobile phone race? By making a  brilliant and funny video that skewers Phandroids and iPhans, that's how! It's true, there is a war brewing between fans of Android and Apple's iOS platforms. It's ultimately pretty silly, no different than the PC vs. Mac wars of recent years. [Story continues below]


The whole thing stems from a perceived snobbishness by Apple product users (ie., "The Cult of Mac), who look down their noses at Microsoft and now Google users. I've experienced it first hand, it really is a "thing." I myself am bi-platform on computers (whee, look at me!), And only picked Android due to the timing of my previous phone's unceremonious drowning in the washing machine. The iPhone 4 wasn't out yet, and I needed a phone right away, so I opted for the Samsung Epic 4G, after toying with a lesser phone. That was replaced by the HTC Evo 4G when the Epic got crushed by a car. Now, the Evo is on its last dying breath, and I'm eagerly awaiting a Samsung Galaxy S4 (the enormous phone in the commercial), though I flirted with getting the HTC One. . .still could change my mind, who knows.

But I never pondered a Windows phone (or BlackBerry, or iPhone) as a replacement. It's not brand loyalty or fandom. I want--finally--a top-of-the-line phone at the very beginning of my 2-year contract. I don't want an immediately obsolete one. I'd have to wait several months for an iPhone, and my old one isn't going to last that long, and by now I'm not sure I'd want to switch anyway.

But good on Nokia for giving it their best shot.