Ah-ha! I finally figured out what’s been irking me so much about all the Apple hype lately and it’s got nothing to do with technology.

<epiphany>

It’s not that Apple makes a good product or not. It’s not that it has such devote followers that they pound an iBook like a Bible and to preach at you whenever possible… it’s that Apple can’t ever seem to talk about itself – or its products – without taking a shot at Microsoft. And it’s been that way since Steve Jobs 1.0.

Think about it: when was the last time you saw a Jobs’ keynote that didn’t slam Microsoft for something? At one point I think Microsoft got blamed for global warming for causing CRT’s to stay on or something. Hell, the entire first round of Tiger ads revolved around what was going on in Redmond. Everything is always “we [insert a verb here] better than Microsoft”… they seem to have forgotten how to sell themselves on their own prowess and feel that they have to point fingers all the time. Original I think it started as an “underdog” movement but it’s really not effective anymore, particuarly given Apples latest rounds of success. It makes them look like a bunch of spoiled children that complain that they only got a dozen Twinkies, instead of two dozen and an extra hour of NapTime.

Simply put, they aren’t using the right tactics for their argument – that’s something that has always irked me in the past, so it’s no surprise that it’s been a stone in my shoe the last week or two.

</epiphany>