fanboys

No one likes a fanboy. How about more perspective about tech?

Some people--often called "fanboys"--support their favorite tech companies and products in the way that rabid sports fans root for their favorite teams. This column is for the fanboys out there. It's time to realize that criticism can be helpful.

When non-fanboys criticize one of your favorites, it doesn't necessarily mean that we hate it. We might actually like it. We just might have more perspective that you could use. Understand that, and you might come across as less annoying. You might also help the products you love get better.

Last week was my first week … Read more

The 404 989: Where a rose can bloom in the desert (podcast)

Simpsons fans in Los Angeles are meeting up today to kick off the Ultimate Fan Marathon Challenge in an effort to beat the world record for consecutive TV watching currently set at 86 hours, 6 minutes, and 41 seconds. On today's show, we'll discuss the challenge and propose one of our own that may be a little more difficult to achieve.… Read more

Apple's new Grand Central store: It's the experience, not the product

One thing was made abundantly clear when Apple opened up its Grand Central store for the first time today: those early enthusiasts care more about the Apple experience than the products.

The Grand Central store opening garnered the kind of buzz typically reserved for a new product launch. Hundreds of Apple fanboys waited in line, which stretched into the tunnels of the station, all for a glimpse at a retail outlet. As with any product launch, the first wave of customers entered the store to thunderous applause and cheering from Apple employees.

"Your heart beats like crazy, seeing all … Read more

The 404 868: Where time is not important (podcast)

Wireless Internet access and cellular service are coming to New York subway stations, but like the Second Avenue subway line, it might be awhile before you can check it out. In the meantime, we're suggesting that the MTA install air conditioners to keep riders from passing out on the platform.

The rest of today's rundown includes an Apple fanboy in London already standing in line for the iPhone 5, Domino's Pizza's latest marketing campaign in Times Square, and Blockbuster luring angry Netflix customers with its own unique movie rental service.

The 404 Digest for Episode 868

A blogger is already camping out for the iPhone 5. Domino's Pizza runs unfiltered customer comments on a Times Square billboard. Blockbuster takes advantage of the rise in pissed Netflix customers. Next Media animation: The Dark Knight Rises Trailer.

Episode 868 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

The 404 862: Where we blow it in the 9th (podcast)

Everyone knows Wilson G. Tang is an Apple fanboy, but today we discover that there's an actual science behind blind dedication to certain brands. And it's not just tech, either--on today's podcast, we're exploring a brain synapse that causes a breach in rationality.

Other stories today include an app for jailbroken iPads that lets you create multiple user profiles, laptop stickers that show you where to drill in case of emergency, and a family of dudes named Casey Anthony getting harassed on Facebook.

The 404 Digest for Episode 862

Jeff finally gets iPad profiles. The science behind fanboyism. Laptop stickers show you where to drill in case of emergency. A Philadelphia man with an unfortunate name gets harassed on Facebook. Alex's video voice mail from the top of Grays Peak!

Episode 862 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

The only T-shirt an Apple fanboy should be seen in

Some people believe that credibility is priceless. However, the truth is that it costs a mere $17.

I am grateful to iLounge for revealing that a singularly meaningful purchase can now be made at the Apple company store in Cupertino, Calif.

This isn't the kind of store that will sell you a new MacBook Air, should one emerge this week. No, this exists merely to sell you items with which you can festoon your home and body. Like this T-shirt--one that revels in the company's reluctance to reveal anything.

"I visited the Apple campus. But that's all I'm allowed to say," offers a message of both humor and mystery. It is garb meeting Greta Garbo.

If you don't rush to Cupertino within the next week specifically to buy one of these precious items, how can you possibly call yourself a fanboy? And don't even think of naming your first born "Steve."… Read more

Survey: Most Android users 'hate Apple'

Oh, look, I know how that headline sounds. But, please, walk with me a little and I'll buy you an ice cream.

In this peculiarly materialistic world, brands can become the object of quite passionate detestation. I confess that there are certain brands, usually for entirely irrational reasons, that make much of my bodily hair rebel against gravity. Birkenstock, for example.

But our subject today is whether the Android brand attracts, at its core, not those who love Android, but those who hate Apple.

I ask because the Business Insider published the results of a survey it conducted that … Read more

Who's more annoying: Android or iPhone fanboys?

Ah, there's nothing like a good platform war to stir up the emotions. We've seen plenty of battles over the years. Old stalwarts like Windows versus Mac and Xbox 360 versus PS3 always manage to light up the message boards. And I still miss all the personal attacks I got from HD DVD versus Blu-ray wars. But nothing seems to get people more worked up these days than Android versus iPhone.

Take a recent post I did on the 20 most-wanted features I'd like to see in the next-generation iPhone, which may be called the iPhone 5. The comments section immediately degenerated into a battle between iPhone versus Android backers. Here are some samples from the melee.

Android camp:

zizzybaloobah: "You can waste your time wishing for a phone w/these features, or get an Android phone that already has them."

javawebdeveloper: "@Bonesbautista, @slickuser No, you are giving the typical iPhone fanboy response: You are so convinced that the iPhone is the best thing since sliced bread that you cannot accept that a competing device has features that the iPhone does not have, so you denigrate them as being unimportant, hazardous, or only 'for geeks'. If they are implemented in iPhone 5, then they will magically transform into Apple innovations."

Ebraheem: "Anyone thinking that ports are a synonym for holes really shouldn't be talking about security. iOS has 65535 ports, Android has 65535 ports, Windows has 65535 ports, and pretty much anything that has a TCP/IP stack has 65535 ports! Typical non-geek mentality, thinking you understand technical details when you don't."

Sourdust: "So the author [David Carnoy] basically wishes the iPhone were more like an Android phone. As other have written, just buy an Android and be done with it. It seems the real wish here is for Android phones to run the iPhone OS. But that would have been a much shorter article (one sentence) and might not have been published."

Apple camp:

bonesbautista: "Typical response from Android fanboys. Too much kludge with stock Android, too many complaints of poor RF with most of the HTC smart phones. The new iOS is missing a Today screen and better notifications. Android? Meh."

slickuser: "Typical geek (Android) mentality! By the time iPhone 5 is out, Flash would be on a lifeline."

MaLvaDo39: "Why do you want an Android? Just another fake iPhone...follow the leader is all Google and Microsoft could ever do."

NeonRazor4: "Since you seem so eager to write about missing features, why not write an article about the features you want from the Motorola Droid 2 or the Blackberry Storm 3? Why do you feel such a need to nitpick the iPhone? Sure it's missing a few features, but there are many other phones that are missing some features we wish it had. Yet, they don't get the same amount of vicious scrutiny as the iPhone does..."

Chandyyyyyy: "Alrighty. So I'm not a geek or a nerd, but I understand the argument and what each person is saying if that helps you understand where I am coming from. I have an iPhone along with thousands of other consumers. I'm not a fanboy. But I couldn't care less about which phone is better. I'm very happy with my iPhone, and I see many more iPhones than droids htc or whatever. What the iPhone has that other phones do not is an iPod. That's no better than any other mp3 player, but it's the top brand of mp3 player. It's convenient and easy to use, even older folks have one."

As you can see from these comments, some lines are being drawn and some stereotypes are being formed. Here's how I envision the two sides see each other based on some of the vitriol going around. (Yes, these are sexist descriptions, but 85 percent of our readers are male. If you're part of our female audience, feel free to comment with your views on all of this). … Read more

First iPhone 4 camper ready and waiting (for fame)

It's like the first flower of spring. The first beer of the ball game. The first hair that grows beneath your shirt.

Yes, a man has already pitched a tent outside an Apple store in Dallas in the hope of being the first to get his tired, moist hands on the new iPhone 4, which launches June 24.

The Dallas Morning News appears to have been the first to espy the intrepid Justin Waggoner, who hitched his wagon to the sidewalk last Wednesday.

Is he a serial queuer? But of course. He told the Morning News he's camped … Read more