Despite what some of my colleagues believe, Apple fanboyism is alive and well. In fact, it may be stronger than ever, with more people under Apple’s spell now than at any time in its history. The only difference is Apple fanboys (and fangirls) are so numerous, and their mentality so commonplace, that we just don’t notice it any more.
With all of that in mind, we want to find out which Apple products our readers actually own. If any. Welcome to this week’s MakeUseOf Poll.
Love is Complicated
To answer this week’s question please scroll down the page until you see the poll staring back at you. But first, we need to look at the results from two weeks ago, when we asked, “Which Technology Company Do You Love The Most?”Out of a total of 412 votes, 26.9% chose Google, 25.2% chose Microsoft, 13.8% chose Apple, 6.3% chose Mozilla, 4.1% chose Amazon, 1.2% chose Samsung, 1% chose Sony, 0% chose Facebook, 3.4% chose Other, and 18% chose I Don’t ‘Love’ Any Tech Companies.
It was no surprise to see Google top this Poll, as this is a company with a range of products and services, many of which are offered entirely for free. However, I must admit to being a little surprised to see Microsoft beating Apple, and by such a significant margin.
It’s also interesting, and admittedly quite satisfying, to see Facebook come last with a total of zero votes. And yet we all still carry on using Facebook regardless. Why? Because we’re all addicted. Probably.
Comment of the Week
We received a lot of great comments, including those from EgoAnt, Hildy J, and Callum. Comment Of The Week goes to likefunbutnot, who earns our admiration and affection for this comment:voted for Mozilla. Mozilla is a testament to the open Internet, something that no one else is really supporting these days. Supporting the things that Mozilla wants to do really means being able to build an internet that will function without Microsoft, Google, Facebook and/or Apple, which is as it should be.We chose this comment because it offers an extremely valid argument as to why Mozilla should be loved by more people. The commenter also aired his opinions on all of the other technology companies mentioned, which offers us valuable insights into the mindset of MakeUseOf readers.
I didn’t like its choice of CEO in 2014, but I suspect there aren’t many CEOs whom I would like.
Microsoft’s business seems to be trying to hammer everything into the shape of a desktop computing platform that it can sell Windows and Office on that platform. Microsoft really doesn’t understand the interest of consumer-level computing, mobile devices or entertainment platforms. It just knows business really, really well. It’s where IBM was thirty years ago.
Google, Apple and Facebook all create walled gardens of exclusionary content to no benefit but their own. Samsung wants to be be a lifestyle brand in the mode of Apple and Sony and does indeed make decent, inexpensive hardware. But it has a tin ear building anything (or at least, anything anyone outside of Korea) actually wants and its successes all too often have been due to its willingness to ship dozens or hundreds of products so that a few can find some success.
I do like Amazon. I like what Amazon offers, my Amazon tablet, my prime membership and its ability to be my one stop shop for almost everything that involves shopping. I like that it plays well with others and works with everything. It’s the way a digital services company should be. But I don’t love it because to my mind, it’s just doing the thing that everyone who wants to sell products should be doing.
Sony is so far off the tech radar at this point that I can’t believe it’s being discussed in this context (“Guys! We still make a game box! And TVs? You guys like TVs, right?”). Its decline suggests the course I suspect Apple and Facebook will ultimately follow.
The Apple of my iDevice
Apple recently announced it had sold 1 billion iDevices. Atypically for the company, this rather impressive factoid was hidden away in its latest earnings call. But then that was the same earnings call during which Apple announced it had just enjoyed the most profitable quarter of all time. By any company. Ever.Selling 1 billion of anything is impressive, but it’s even more impressive when the things you are shifting are premium products which sell for hundreds of dollars apiece. Which got us wondering which specific Apple products our readers currently own…
Which Apple Products Do You Currently Own?
Please vote in the Poll above, and then explain in the comments section below why you voted that way.
You can make multiple selections in this Poll, up to a maximum of four. If you own more than four of the Apple products named then please choose the most recent and/or relevant ones.
We want to know details: what specific models of iPhone or iPad you own, what year you bought them, and why you still own them to this day. Voting in the Poll tells us something, but adding detail in the comments section below tells us a whole lot more.
The best Comment Of The Week will win our everlasting admiration and affection. Well, at least until we meet back here again this time next week.
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