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Paul Thurrott, I Couldn't Make this Stuff up if I Tried |
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 Have you ever met someone who just doesn't get reality? Now, I am not talking about people with real mental problems like manic depressants, schizophrenics or people with multiple personalities, I am referring to those who truly don't understand life. They just don't get it. And they have no idea that they don't get it.
People who when you ask them if they want something to drink respond, "2 o'clock". [ed. Hey, leave Cosmic Stan alone!] People who think we faked the moon landing or that there really is a flying saucer in Area 51. You know these people. They annoy you to no end. And what is even worse than their complete seperation from reality is when they become a fan of something.
What do I mean "a fan of something?" (* ominous music plays in the background *)
I mean when they find something they can root for, other than religion. Companies covet these types of people because once they get them hooked, they don't have to do anything else. That person will continue to support that company for the rest of their life. Doesn't matter what that business does, their fan will support them. You see "The Fan" warps reality until it fits in with his view of the world.
Oddly enough, really good companies don't develop as many "fans" as bad companies. There are plenty of people who will love a company's products (i.e. Apple, BMW, L.L. Bean) but for good reason - for instance, they make superior products. That type of fan at least makes sense. It's the rest of them that tend to make you wonder. Take Windows fans for instance...
This type of "The Fan" loves Company X, as Company X can do no wrong in their eyes. And anything they do which is wrong is automatically transformed into something else. It's actually kind of crazy to watch. If you are an up-and-coming psychologist you can really make a name for yourself studying these people.
Here is an example. Company X makes a product. Several months later it is found that 20% of that product explodes randomly. Consumers call for a refund and lawsuits follow. "The Fan" is mystified by all of the uproar. Why? He can't understand why people would be upset about getting a free feature with their product! "It automactically disposes of itself!" the fan claims. "That's a great feature, who wouldn't like that!" And it only gets better.
Problem: Company X is found to employ 8 year olds in third-world countries to make its products.
The Fan's Take: Creating jobs and teaching children valuable skills.
Problem: Product recalled 9 times in one month.
The Fan's Take: Shows that the company cares.
And so on, and so on.
So where am I going with all this? Well, I want you to meet a particularly nutty fan named Paul Thurrott. He is a fan of Windows. A big fan of Windows. Unfortunately, his obsession has so warped his mind that rational thought is beyond him. If you would like to visit his crazyness, you can always head on down to Internet Nexus and read up on his opinions.
Just reading through some of his "thoughts" I am struck by the following:
1. He really thinks that Napster will succeed and trounce iTunes in the process.
2. He thinks that the Mac Mini will have no lasting impact on the Mac market share.
3. I think this one is my favorite by far. In fact, it's so good its worth quoting in full. By the way, he is refering to a press release by Apple in which they stated that, "The build (of Tiger) reportedly still had a few outstanding issues, but those were not expected to delay Tiger's release.
Mr. Thurrott's take on that:
Heh. Yeah, why would a few outstanding issues ever delay an Apple software release? They'll just continually patch Tiger for the next 18 months anyway. Does this bother anyone else? Nah.
I'm sorry, WHAT? This is where Paul takes a flying leap into crazy-ville. If you go to Microsoft's download page and search for all updates/patches with the word 'security' in them, you get 1,361 different results. Hopefully that will help patch the 97,467 viruses currently out there for Windows. And he has a problem with the number of updates Apple releases? Duh. And let's not forget that Tiger will be launched very soon. Its not like Apple has been promising its latest OS for 4 years and then constantly push back it release date while cutting features. . .
4. Seen HP's new Media Center Desktop with the built in iPod dock? Mr. Turrott (who thinks the iPod is a passing fad mind you) thinks that this is one fricking cool looking computer. We are accepting donations to buy Mr. Thurrott some good taste.
5. Lets see, what other jems can we cull from here? Oh, Steve Jobs has tunnel vision for not selling movies through iTunes (the service that will be beaten by Napster) and the list goes on.
Anyway, Thurrott is always good for a laugh but should never be taken seriously. Like I said he is a fan and there is no reasoning with him. |
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April 8 2005, 12:58 PM EDT, by |
Comments:
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| Dan Julio |
4/8/05, 3:13 PM EDT |
The jury is out on the Mac Mini and the success of Napster's service. However you nailed it on the head regarding the number of "updates" for Windows XP. I know that every time I boot my linux box into XP I have to download and install a whole raft of udpates.
I suspect Paul just likes to stir the pot for ratings as it were. For a Windows fanboy he sure does report on Apple a lot. Significantly more than Apple's marketshare would dictate. One would have to conclude that Apple is very, very good for Mr. Thurrott.
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| Artbert |
4/8/05, 3:20 PM EDT |
I think the only plausible explanation is that Mr. Thurblow is an a$$-hole.
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| cesman |
4/8/05, 3:39 PM EDT |
It's not true that Paul never criticizes MS. He does. Sure not enough. On the other hand, he's always claiming Apple fans don't criticize Apple. This of course is not true either.
Paul is crazy though. But the reality he can't see is that closed hardware has advantages (apple's approach). That's where all the wintel fans go off the deep end into delusion land. They can't stand that apple can do things faster and better using closed hardware. It's just too hard to accept or even acknowledge, for many of them
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| NoPCZone |
4/8/05, 4:02 PM EDT |
PT hosts a BUNCH of Windows-related sites and posting flame-bait is one sure way to get buzz and a lot of hits. Down on the lower left of his Internet Nexus site shows links to other sites he has including:
Windows XP Digital Media
WinInfo Daily News
SuperSite for Windows
Connected Home Media (read Connected Home Windows)
Windows Secrets
Thurrott Dot Com (read Windoze Dot Com)
If you made your money off of MS you might 'pimp' it as well.
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| Jack |
4/8/05, 5:36 PM EDT |
As much as I think Paul Thurrot is crazy, I think Bill Palmer is crazier... either that, or just extremely stubborn...
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4/8/05, 6:31 PM EDT |
What you are describing here is remarkably like the "Stockholm Syndrome." This refers to the behavior of kidnap victims who, over time, become sympathetic to their captors. The name derives from a 1973 hostage incident in Stockholm, Sweden. At the end of six days of captivity in a bank, several kidnap victims actually resisted rescue attempts, and afterwards refused to testify against their captors.
Paul Thurrot is evidently suffering from this. The traditional way to "cure" this is to send him to a psych who will pump him full of Prozac and other "anti-depressants," with the result that he will go COMPLETELY off the rails, burst into a school and start shooting any kid carrying an iBook!
John Davis
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| Rich |
4/8/05, 6:38 PM EDT |
Thurrott lavished praise on the Creative Zen Portable Media Center when it came out. Amazon sales rank: 2,039 in electronics.
Back in September he predicted that other MP3 players were soon going to catch up with the iPod. How we livin' now, Paul?
As we learned from the Simpsons, when the shills get out of control, take a suggestion from Paul Anka: "Just don't look! Just don't look!"
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| Art Nelson |
4/8/05, 7:12 PM EDT |
People who love driving a beautiful and finely engineered Lexus will never be understood by anyone who, in the presence of said automobile, says "my civic gets me from point A to point B."
Mr. Thurrott is such a person. He hates Apple almost as much as he loves Microsoft.
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| Simon Croppier |
4/9/05, 1:53 AM EDT |
Sad thing is, before I switched, I used to read Mr Thurrott's SuperSite.
"My name is Simon and... sob... I was a Windows fan..."
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| mike davis |
4/9/05, 4:29 AM EDT |
I see a big similarity between Paul and the average NASCAR fan. I.E. the brand loality thing. NASCAR has cultivated that phrase onto an almost religion. But I think Pauls' whole anti apple kick is for a different reason. If he never bashed apple or was dilusional like he was... NOBODY WOULD CARE! Nobody would go to his site, nor would he have impressive site numbers to show potential advertisers. He stops ranting about apple then nobody would go to the site and the advertising would dry up. Paul like NASCAR is a slave to the almighty advertising dollar. Well that's my own little thought on the subject.
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| tom |
4/9/05, 6:27 AM EDT |
What you say about Paul can be said about you, too. I'm on Paul's side.
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| okcalla |
4/9/05, 8:44 AM EDT |
sniff sniff... any one else smell a troll?
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| Sweitzer |
4/9/05, 10:56 AM EDT |
There are a few tech writers out there who have learned one very useful lesson for keeping thier names alive with hit counts.
Attack Apple and the traffic on your site will go nuts.
The arguement doesn't need to make sense. Mainly because there are more than enough Mac-fanatics out there who will make even less sense in their replies.
Paul's stuff, while nasty, is usually nothing compared to the grand-master of Apple bashing though, Dvorak.
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| jake |
4/9/05, 3:46 PM EDT |
Paul lives in Opposite Land everything he says the exact opposite is true. :-)
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| tom sux |
4/10/05, 10:50 AM EDT |
> What you say about Paul can be said
> about you, too.
Typical Windows luser - not reading
the fifth paragraph of the article.
> I'm on Paul's side.
Then I feel sorry for you. I really do.
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| Jonathan |
4/10/05, 6:13 PM EDT |
Hehe .. This is my favorite quote from that site ... "Podcasting, like blogging, is totally over-rated. No one cares what you think, and they surely don't want to listen to your opinions on their iPods. This is a niche of a niche, and hardly worth mentioning. I only posted this one because it squarely refuted all the BS that was published this week about the supposed reach of podcasting." Favorite not because of the podcasting (which I like) but he realizes no one really cares what he says.
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| Tero |
4/15/05, 7:42 AM EDT |
If you want to see extreme fan behavior that fullfills all discussed in this article and more, look no further than the Mac fan sites/web itself.
The best example being Bill Palmer, an individual who can't be topped in crazyness. But because this is site is a "friend" of MacMischief or what ever, you don't see such a commentary about him. Or any other extreme Apple fan behavior that is a lot out there, way too much, considering that the platform has so few users in general.
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| Jonahan |
4/15/05, 10:23 AM EDT |
Paul is a whore, Bill speaks his mind. Big difference. I can't say I agree with everything Bill says, but I do respect him.
And he (Bill) doesn't have tech sites paying him out the ass for hits. Like MANY Wintel pundits, Thurrot is good at striking nerves, and provoking a response from people. That's all it is.
I've since stopped worrying about his lame comments or even visiting his sites. I read the recaps on other Mac news sites.
I've even written articles like this about him and his kind (I think I dwelt more on Lance Ulanoff though) but now I guess I'm a bit more cynical and jaded to it. I know they're out there, being idiots and being paid to say good things about Windows and keep down any competitors.
It's sort of like how the U.S. Government stifles innovation and helps out their lobbyist buddies. But hey, whatcha gonna do?
I suppose you could start out a Mac website and/or start writing for one to get the truth out. ;-)
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| Jonathan |
4/15/05, 12:46 PM EDT |
Who would do that? That's just nonsense!
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