An Essay On Tech Coverage Status Quo

The following rant is about many things; operating systems, the EU Commission, Apple, Intel and more. It’s an action packed thriller.

CC by jill d via Flickr.

After writing for such a long time by the guidelines, the lid blew off when I opened the internal MakeUseOf email. Saikat Basu, one of our long-time writers, was in doubt about when we should stop writing articles that catered to Windows XP. He was right in asking that question. Windows 7 is out, no one wants to hear about Windows Vista anymore (not even Ballmer), and XP is so old I’d say it’s time to start saving for college.

Chapter I: Revenge of the Blogger

“As for Windows Vista, it’s pretty much out of the picture, as even the last people to come to the game have used it as ranting target practice. Windows Vista is so 2007. Windows 7 will too become target practice as soon as the launch date is reached.

CC by -Marlith- via Flickr.

Even if the OS will run like a ’68 Shelby Mustang, there will always be something wrong that will lead to the ‘demise of Microsoft’ and inherently, thousands of page views. The sad thing is that those pageviews aren’t worth a penny, as most techies are already using AdBlock, NoScript and RSS. But as House would put it, “let’s not deflect”.

First there would be the Dvorak column and rebuttal from Microsoft shills friends like Mary Jo Foley and that other guy, Ed Bott. I mean, who has a blog subtitle “Yes, I’m a PC. You got a problem with that?” and still has a shred of credibility? They are obviously more accomplished writers than I am, all the more reasons to try to stick to those pesky journalism rules. I can understand why Dvorak would try to stir up the pot using his remarkable style, but I can’t understand Ed blatantly saying Dvorak’s columns are shadow written.

After that, other ‘dudes with blogs’ will follow up on both sides of the argument with articles that appear more balanced, and a few of them will get to Digg. As the dust settles and the Dreamhost servers crash, Windows 12(or 8 or 2112) will be announced; because Windows 7 is actually kernel version 6.1. And if you haven’t noticed from the wallpapers included in Windows 7, LSD is a favorite over at marketing & design. So much for Apple being the hippy tech company.

This is when the real journalists pick up the pace and write very long, exhaustive articles which cover the OS from the shape of the start button to the color of the windows flag and the length of the freaking minimize animation. You know whom I’m talking about…. They have solid writing and technical skills and are capable of spinning the story either way. Balanced? Possibly, but think about: “Wouldn’t it be bad if Microsoft wouldn’t let me in those pre-release workshops and hardware so I can write my books?”

The whole scene is, sad to say, a circus which changes its name and has the same shows all over again. I’ve been watching this space for some time.

Chapter II: To Apple or Not To Apple?

“Are we sad in the Apple world? No, not really.”

In the meantime, Apple might gain a few percentage points. But people generally, get tired of hearing the same thing all over again. So they tune in to ‘Criticize The Competitor’, a show where rich people try to get attention. As long as the piece is moderately coherent, it’s exactly what the listeners want to hear. Of course, the piece is flawed on many, many levels if you actually take the time to absorb the content. Most, if not all of the flaws, are beautifully pointed out by some rational readers as opposed to Arring…trolls.

This, unfortunately, is the fate of Calacanis’ piece: he has some good points, but they’re buried in so much off-base ranting and misplaced frustration that it’s difficult to take any of it seriously. –Marco Arment

Rumors on a new tablet device will linger on every year around January, August and September. As long as Apple won’t publish roadmaps, bloggers will suffer from ‘let’s get the scoop’ and ‘let’s get thousands of hits’.

Steve will make a couple of billions dollars and put in the bank and Bill is going to help some more children in some god forsaken country every six months or so. Print journalists will report on that because it’s fuzzy and makes them feel better.

As for Windows (machines) in general, I say people still running it for anything else but gaming are losing their time, hair and mental sanity. Talk about not having to install an anti-virus, sleep mode that works and a 5 hour real battery life. Not to mention the unbelievable of the startup and shutdown times. And multi-touch gestures, and a light sensor. And key back lighting. And a UNIX console. And a nice UI. Who would want to buy a computer that actually works?

Chapter III: The World is Going to Hell

“Ahh.. Come on guys! I told you not to smoke this stuff inside.”

Did I forget that the EU commission will fund their private massage parlors from preposterous anti-competitive suits? “Hey Philippe, we’re running out of bubble soap, can we please sue those guys that make lé Windows again?”.

You can basically turn on the TV and watch the Simpson’s for the next four years and you won’t miss anything (besides drunk marketing names for processors; who the hell came up with Pentium? Or Core i7? Where’s core i6 and doesn’t that sound too much like bad TV names for Skynet A.I. locations? I can basically hear Schwarzenegger saying “Come with me if you want to live!”.”

Yes, that was an actual email response from the MUO mailing list. To my defense, I was over-caffeinated, tired and struggling to write an article about a very boring piece of software. Hope you liked this one, and hope you’ll come back soon for a tear-down of Calacanis’s article. As always, you can share your thoughts and tear-down this article in the comments. Dvorak Uncesored style.