This is a guest commentary by Bryan J. Ball, a stand up comedian and long-time Apple fanboy.
My relationship with Steve used to be such a happy one. He would create beautiful bits of electronic amazement and I would buy them, show them off and feel generally superior to my non-Apple friends and family. That’s still mostly true but I’m starting to have my doubts.
My life is pretty Apple-centric. I have an iMac, an iPad, all manner of iPods and I was literally first in line to get an iPhone 4. I’ve been pretty happy with everything I’ve had so far. My area has excellent AT&T coverage so I’m not even plagued by the death grip reception issue on my iPhone.
Yes… I’ve been called a fanboy on more than one occasion. I used to categorically deny this but after watching Steve Jobs’ behavior and listening to myself defend it over the last couple of weeks, I’m starting to wonder.
My first response to the iPhone 4’s problems was to ignore it. I tried to replicate the problem myself and I couldn’t do it. I assumed it was something that would pass in a couple of days. When it didn’t I made the mistake of visiting some of my favorite Mac message boards to see what others had to say. By then the infamous emails from Steve were being posted.
I still stuck up for Steve and Apple. I tried to explain one of the particularly terse ones and actually even said, “Maybe he’s just having a very bad day.” That’s a statement almost as pathetic as, “I probably deserved it.” Then came the promise of a software fix that doesn’t seem like it will fix a thing. My confidence was shaken. I’d been blaming all of this hoopla on Android fanboys run amok and telling everyone to calm down because Apple would surely fix it somehow. Then they promised an explanation that insulted our intelligence? What?
The final blow came this morning when I saw that Apple had deleted threads on their support forums that referred to the damning Consumer Reports review and its “do not buy” recommendation. I took particular offense to this because I own and operate a very large message board of my own. I have never once deleted a thread that was disparaging to me or my business. In fact, I let people on my forum say things about me that would get them quickly banned if it were about someone else. It’s tempting to just make problems go away, but I think that Apple is becoming painfully aware that trying to control the conversation just makes it more hostile.
The death grip issue is only an issue because Apple made it one. I used to think that Steve Jobs could do no wrong. Even when he did, I would deny it or justify it and defend my favorite company to the ends of the Earth. I’m not sure I’ll do that any more. They’ve definitely dropped the ball on this one. I’ll continue to use all of my Apple devices and enjoy them. However, I’m not so sure I’ll blindly give Cupertino the benefit of the doubt anymore.
Or maybe I’ll just go to my bedroom, curl up, put my pillow over my head and cry it out. I can always tell everyone that my iPhone has reception issues because it walked into a door.
Bryan J. Ball is a tech writer and stand up comic living in Rochester, NY. He is the Managing Editor of ‘BentRider Online and has written for Wired.com, Adventure Cyclist, and Momentum Magazine amongst others. You can find him at https://www.twitter.com/bryanjball and https://www.facebook.com/bryanjball.
