Desperately seeking street cred

In the comments of a previous post, the Macalope was chastised for not "keeping it real" since his move to CNET (to paraphrase Merlin Mann, there goes my former biggest fan ever... again).

You'll have to appreciate the position the horned one is in. Some readers seem to think he should "balance out" their perceived anti-Apple bias at CNET (the exceptional Tom Krazit would probably take, well, exception to that, although on the other hand...) while others apparently want him to be less of a MacMac or an Apple apologist.

But let's face it. This ain't 1995. Apple's riding high right now and it's absurd to try to kick a company when it's up (although the Macalope has done that where he's felt the need, notably on the options scandal and security). That's also a good way to strain a groin muscle.

Anyway, as luck would have it, the brown and furry is able to use a Mulligan today with his followers who would like to see more anti-Apple post from a mythical creature with a Mac for a head. He's concerned you might be reading the wrong blog, but...

Anyway, not only is it a Mulligan, it's a Mark Mulligan to be exact. Jupiter Research's Mark Mulligan notes that Nokia is expected to launch both a new online music store and a brick-and-mortar store.

See, while the pointy one doesn't lose the slightest bit of sleep over the drunken stumblings of an aged MTV, he does sometimes lie awake staring at the ceiling and thinking about the next moves of firms like Nokia (no, he doesn't really, it's just a figure of speech).

Why?

Because they're the ones that own the cell phone market right now. Apple's just the upstart and, despite the success of the iPhone, still faces an uphill battle to take a leadership position. The Macalope likes Apple's chances, of course, but Nokia has market share and brand loyalty. They're the ones to beat.

So there.

Everyone happy now?

Sheesh.