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It's an opinion piece. I don't think there's any reason to get too upset. We may not agree with it, but I wouldn't say it's bad writing just because I don't agr

It's an opinion piece. I don't think there's any reason to get too upset. We may not agree with it, but I wouldn't say it's bad writing just because I don't agree. People are allowed to gripe. Some people don't think this iPhone is a significant improvement over the last. That's fine. You probably can't convince those people otherwise.

mikeash 14y ago
The author is allowed to have his own opinions, but not his own facts. The post you're replying to seems to be complaining about incorrect facts, not just different opinions.
- stanleydrew 14y ago
  It's a stretch to say that the author made up facts. I'll respond to OP's complaints one by one. > ...a blatant lie, saying "Apple tried to convince us that it had stolen a 16:9 display from the gods". This is clearly an opinion. It's weird to call an opinion a lie. > He then lies about the hardware, saying that "you would be hard stretched to find any new features except for the single-chip GSM/CDMA/LTE radio". Again I wouldn't call this a lie. It's the author's opinion that the most significant new feature is the radio. You could (and OP does) make the argument that the author is willfully ignoring the other feature updates. I still wouldn't call it a lie. > Later in the article, he gets the software wrong too, talking about how iOS will use the additional screen space: "Rather than do something interesting with this space, though, Apple will simply letterbox all 3:2 apps". That's already untrue; I think OP is stretching here. It is true that iOS will letterbox 3:2 apps right? Just because Apple and some developers will update their apps before launch doesn't make it untrue. To my reading those are the only places where OP complains about incorrect facts. As outlined above I don't find the complaints very compelling.
  - mikeash 14y ago
    It's an opinion that Apple tried to convince us that it had stolen a 16:9 display from the gods? I grant that there's some subjectivity there, but it's not an opinion. Either Apple tried to convince us of that, or they didn't. As for the new features, the author didn't say the single-chip radio was the most significant new feature. The author said it would be hard to find any other new features. Now, I think he's trying to say that you'd have a hard time finding iPhone 5 features that don't already exist on other smartphones, in which case I believe that's accurate. But it's very easy to read it as saying you'd have a hard time finding new features on the 5 that weren't in the 4S, which is obviously wrong. The letterboxing is misleading and I think I can make the case that it's outright false. First, it says that all 700,000 apps in the App Store will be letterboxed. This is simply false, as at least some third-party apps will be available in 16:9 on launch day. It goes on to say that Apple has been "very quiet" on the question of what happens if you try to use a 16:9 app on a 3:2 device, and whether developers will have to maintain multiple versions. that's simply wrong: the natural way of developing apps will be to use a flexible layout that supports both aspect ratios, developers won't need multiple versions, and it's not difficult to discover this information.
- Ihavenoname 14y ago
  "Facts" aside there is a certan degree of hyperbole that disqualifies something from being an opinion piece. There was a real excess of rhetoric or trolling. I did not see anything of value in this piece. It did not look a reasond critisim or an Honistly emotional appeal. It was a shameless promotion of troll behavior and pointless partisan arguments.

mikeash 14y ago

The author is allowed to have his own opinions, but not his own facts. The post you're replying to seems to be complaining about incorrect facts, not just different opinions.

stanleydrew 14y ago
It's a stretch to say that the author made up facts. I'll respond to OP's complaints one by one. > ...a blatant lie, saying "Apple tried to convince us that it had stolen a 16:9 display from the gods". This is clearly an opinion. It's weird to call an opinion a lie. > He then lies about the hardware, saying that "you would be hard stretched to find any new features except for the single-chip GSM/CDMA/LTE radio". Again I wouldn't call this a lie. It's the author's opinion that the most significant new feature is the radio. You could (and OP does) make the argument that the author is willfully ignoring the other feature updates. I still wouldn't call it a lie. > Later in the article, he gets the software wrong too, talking about how iOS will use the additional screen space: "Rather than do something interesting with this space, though, Apple will simply letterbox all 3:2 apps". That's already untrue; I think OP is stretching here. It is true that iOS will letterbox 3:2 apps right? Just because Apple and some developers will update their apps before launch doesn't make it untrue. To my reading those are the only places where OP complains about incorrect facts. As outlined above I don't find the complaints very compelling.
- mikeash 14y ago
  It's an opinion that Apple tried to convince us that it had stolen a 16:9 display from the gods? I grant that there's some subjectivity there, but it's not an opinion. Either Apple tried to convince us of that, or they didn't. As for the new features, the author didn't say the single-chip radio was the most significant new feature. The author said it would be hard to find any other new features. Now, I think he's trying to say that you'd have a hard time finding iPhone 5 features that don't already exist on other smartphones, in which case I believe that's accurate. But it's very easy to read it as saying you'd have a hard time finding new features on the 5 that weren't in the 4S, which is obviously wrong. The letterboxing is misleading and I think I can make the case that it's outright false. First, it says that all 700,000 apps in the App Store will be letterboxed. This is simply false, as at least some third-party apps will be available in 16:9 on launch day. It goes on to say that Apple has been "very quiet" on the question of what happens if you try to use a 16:9 app on a 3:2 device, and whether developers will have to maintain multiple versions. that's simply wrong: the natural way of developing apps will be to use a flexible layout that supports both aspect ratios, developers won't need multiple versions, and it's not difficult to discover this information.
Ihavenoname 14y ago
"Facts" aside there is a certan degree of hyperbole that disqualifies something from being an opinion piece. There was a real excess of rhetoric or trolling. I did not see anything of value in this piece. It did not look a reasond critisim or an Honistly emotional appeal. It was a shameless promotion of troll behavior and pointless partisan arguments.