My Corner of the Web
Updated: 01 January 2004
Update: 4/2/2005. Removed link.
Update: 3/11/2004.
Apple has acknowledged the logic board problem and is offering a support program. Kudos to Apple management! I would certainly recommend their products to people. On my personal computer purchase (see "Ramification" below), I will be going with PCs for now as that is my primary market for some new products I will be bringing out (more on that soon...)
I have an Apple iBook and I do like Apple products; however, that does not mean I am an Apple evangelist. On the other hand, though I have written some negative articles about Microsoft's handling of Java, I also like some of their technologies (like WinFS and SOAP) and policies (like excellent developer support).
In the last week, there have been an increasing number of reports about logic board failures on dual-USB iBooks. While my iBook is still running fine, I sincerely hope that Apple does the right thing and supports these customers. The moral of this story is that we must not be evangelical in our support of any company or particular technology; instead, we must remember that technology is only in a supporting role to other human endeavors. And technology's impact on society is too important to gloss over imperfections due to blind loyalty. Society deserves better. I admit that I have made such mistakes in the past (in some over-zealous boosterism of Java over C++). Fortunately, age has matured the scope and clarity of my vision.
Ramification: here is the personal effect this will have on my actions. I was planning to purchase a new Power Mac G5 in January 2004 (I am waiting to see if Macworld SF brought any price reductions); however, now I will both wait to see if Apple does the right thing and examine the PC alternatives (probably Dell and HP). As consumers, our only defense is to vote with our wallet! Stay tuned...