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I understand that my comment may look like the sort of thing that would appear on a lesser news aggregation / community website that shall remain unnamed, but I
by collypops 16y ago
I understand that my comment may look like the sort of thing that would appear on a lesser news aggregation / community website that shall remain unnamed, but I promise I never intended it as such. Nor did I attempt to attract the kind of fire-poking (flaming, trolling, or whatever the cool kids call it these days) responses that usually follow such comments, but I guess there's only so much we can convey in text when we don't take the time to elaborate.
The Daily is a collaboration between Apple and News Corp. I'm not going to post links to various sources here that state that fact. Google is an excellent resource for finding out such things - I regularly consult it before attempting to shoot down people's comments (just in case my argument is unfounded). I also respect HN's rules about posting links all over the place.
Although John Gruber has been critical of Apple in the past, he is thought of by many (especially of late) to be Apple's unpaid mascot; solidly supporting their opinions on the Flash situation and the WebM/H.264 debate. To be honest, my comment was more to do with my feelings on his recent behaviour, because I connected more with the John Gruber that brought us Markdown and other great things, rather then John Gruber the Apple fanboy. I just wish we got to see more of that side of him, but it seems to be fading.
I don't appreciate your congratulations. I never entered the ugh pageant, and nobody likes to win the 'doubly wrong' prize, especially when they're not.
I think that next time I'll provide a bit more information, lest someone think that I'm here to spout sensationalist drivel.
- ugh 16y agoApple did the subscription stuff (Gruber was not critical of that), the app and its content (which Gruber is criticizing) is wholly developed and created by News Corp. An endorsement by Apple and some collaboration on the subscription APIs does not make this an Apple offering in any way. And Gruber still is critical of Apple. That’s not a thing of the past. Just because he doesn’t agree with some of your personal opinions about something doesn’t make him an fanboy (which is a stupid word anyway and should never be used to describe anyone. It’s a lame dismissal of serious debate, a conversation stopper.)
- collypops 16y agoHis complaint about Apple in this instance wasn't about the app itself. It was with their APIs which limit background loading that he took issue with. Perhaps this post was in some way a reaction to people who share my opinion about his recent writings, but I suspect he doesn't really care. The reason Apple did the subscription stuff was because only they could. They simply do not allow anything on the app store to have in-app payments unless they pass through the app store itself and they get their tasty 30% cut. As an aside: I dislike the word fanboy too. I do however like extremist, zealot, fanatic and dogmatist. They just roll off the tongue - fanboy is just too modern in comparison.
- ugh 16y agoHe did not complain about Apple. Read closely. Gruber often criticizes Apple but not in this article. “extremist, zealot, fanatic and dogmatist” Justify yourself or shut up.
- collypops 16y agoI never once claimed that Gruber has never had a bad word to say about Apple. I follow his blog, and I agree with you that he's as impartial as I am about the things Apple either produce or endorse. What I do claim however is that in recent debates over open web standards, he has fought Apple's case without so much as an acknowledgment of the opposing arguments. As for the "extremist...." remark, I wasn't insinuating that Gruber was any of these things. I was trying to appeal to the sensibility of someone who thinks "Hey, you are doubly wrong, congratulations!" is somehow a more constructive response than my initial comment. I've clearly failed in this regard.