6 ms·

I assume you're taking a shot at Apple the company. Not sure what the basis for making the comparison to a cult is and having escaped from an actual cult myself

by jakeva 10y ago

I assume you're taking a shot at Apple the company. Not sure what the basis for making the comparison to a cult is and having escaped from an actual cult myself I find the comparison disingenuous and insulting. Apple sells products many people are happy to pay for. Cults sell a lifestyle usually built on lies and manipulation, generally taking much more from their buyers than just the sticker price.

justinclift 10y ago
Errr... just to point out, some people perceive similarities in Apple's approach to what you just described re: "Cults sell ...".
- freyr 10y ago
  > some people perceive similarities in Apple's approach to what you just described re: "Cults sell [a lifestyle usually based on lies and manipulation]" Marketing involves manipulation. Despite being good at marketing, I don't see evidence that Apple resorts to lying more than other companies. More often, the "cult of Apple" label is directed at avid customers who are particularly enthusiastic about Apple's products, and its used pejoratively by people who don't share or understand their enthusiasm. But it's metaphor, and it doesn't mean Apple or its fans are an actual cult.
awhitty 10y ago
I'd also like to point out that the comparison between Apple and a cult has existed since at least 2004. [1] [1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cult_of_Mac_(book) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cult_of_Mac_(book)
lisper 10y ago
Nowadays Apple does take more than the sticker price: they take control of your machine. It has become nearly impossible to refuse a software upgrade, and actually impossible to downgrade. They sell this as a "feature", but actual cults also sell taking control of your life as a feature. And people actually find this attractive because it relieves them of the burden of having to think or take responsibility for their actions. There's a reason that both Apple and "real" cults thrive in the marketplace. True, Apple is not as bad as a "real" cult but the analogy is apt, and becoming more so over time.
- GuiA 10y ago
  This is true of Windows, any web app that you use, and more and more of any hardware that you buy (Nest, Tesla, etc.). You're just describing the general state of the industry (which I also lament).
  - wtbob 10y ago
    > This is true of Windows, any web app that you use, and more and more of any hardware that you buy (Nest, Tesla, etc.). But not, notably, of Linux.
    - kalleboo 10y ago
      True, on Android/Linux you're likely to not get any updates at all
      - oselhn 10y ago
        That's not true for linux distros and community supported android (i.e. cyanogenmod).
      - wtbob 10y ago
        That's weird, I thought apt-get update && apt-get upgrade && apt-get dist-upgrade was upgrading my system. I must have been imagining it.
      - proyb2 10y ago
        Ever heard of XDA?
    - taneq 10y ago
      Ironically, as a non-default choice for most of the computing world, Linux developers have far more motivation to actually care about their users' preferences. It's a stark contrast these days to the big players where they essentially hold their own product to ransom until you accept their control of it.

by jakeva 10y ago

justinclift 10y ago

Errr... just to point out, some people perceive similarities in Apple's approach to what you just described re: "Cults sell ...".

freyr 10y ago
> some people perceive similarities in Apple's approach to what you just described re: "Cults sell [a lifestyle usually based on lies and manipulation]" Marketing involves manipulation. Despite being good at marketing, I don't see evidence that Apple resorts to lying more than other companies. More often, the "cult of Apple" label is directed at avid customers who are particularly enthusiastic about Apple's products, and its used pejoratively by people who don't share or understand their enthusiasm. But it's metaphor, and it doesn't mean Apple or its fans are an actual cult.

awhitty 10y ago

I'd also like to point out that the comparison between Apple and a cult has existed since at least 2004. [1] [1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cult_of_Mac_(book) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cult_of_Mac_(book)

lisper 10y ago

Nowadays Apple does take more than the sticker price: they take control of your machine. It has become nearly impossible to refuse a software upgrade, and actually impossible to downgrade. They sell this as a "feature", but actual cults also sell taking control of your life as a feature. And people actually find this attractive because it relieves them of the burden of having to think or take responsibility for their actions. There's a reason that both Apple and "real" cults thrive in the marketplace. True, Apple is not as bad as a "real" cult but the analogy is apt, and becoming more so over time.

GuiA 10y ago
This is true of Windows, any web app that you use, and more and more of any hardware that you buy (Nest, Tesla, etc.). You're just describing the general state of the industry (which I also lament).
- wtbob 10y ago
  > This is true of Windows, any web app that you use, and more and more of any hardware that you buy (Nest, Tesla, etc.). But not, notably, of Linux.
  - kalleboo 10y ago
    True, on Android/Linux you're likely to not get any updates at all
    - oselhn 10y ago
      That's not true for linux distros and community supported android (i.e. cyanogenmod).
    - wtbob 10y ago
      That's weird, I thought apt-get update && apt-get upgrade && apt-get dist-upgrade was upgrading my system. I must have been imagining it.
    - proyb2 10y ago
      Ever heard of XDA?
  - taneq 10y ago
    Ironically, as a non-default choice for most of the computing world, Linux developers have far more motivation to actually care about their users' preferences. It's a stark contrast these days to the big players where they essentially hold their own product to ransom until you accept their control of it.