The Surly Admin

Random Thought Friday

I’ve decided to slow down the posting a bit as I was going a bit crazy there! The plan, assuming I can stick to it, is to post every Monday and Thursday. Assuming, of course, that I have things I want to talk about. It’s been fun writing about the little projects I’ve been working on, and really helped me understand better what I’m doing. I’ve even spotted problems with my scripts as I break them down and run through it.

As with most plans, of course, I’m breaking the Monday/Thursday rule on week #1 with this post. But I think I’ll make Friday’s more about random things I’m thinking about that aren’t necessarily Powershell or IT Admin based–but almost certainly tech based! I am who I am!

Android vs iPhone

Wouldn’t be much of a tech blog if I didn’t weigh in on this, would it? Well, I never promised it would be a great blog so I still won’t but i have been struck by this commercial for the Samsung Galaxy S3.

It’s a great commercial, right? Now, let me start out saying I’m and iDevice guy. I’ve been in IT over 20 years and never been much of a fan of Apple and as I’ve been working IT in the business sector never ran into Mac’s too often. But that changed when about 3-4 months after the iPad 1 was released I decided to get one (writing this post on one right now using Blogsy). Completely changed how I do computing. So when it came time to turn in my hated Blackberry the iPhone was an obvious choice and I haven’t regretted it for a second.

So when I say the Samsung commercial is really good, it probably surprises you? Right? Well, first off it’s just a good commercial and you have to give them credit for it. It feeds right into the Android community and all the things they hate about the iPhone and love about their device. The funny thing is, though, it’s actually not a bad commercial for the iPhone too. How can that be? About 3/4 of the way through the young man gets up and gives his spot to his parents, and the commercial even manages to mock the parents for there lack of understanding the device they’re standing in line for.

And that’s the real point I’m trying to make. One of the reason’s the iPhone is so wildly successful is not because Steve Jobs waved some magic wand and turned people into unreasoning zombies (or iSheep as we’re affectionately called) but because he made a device that those two clueless parents could not only use, but cherish. To date, Android has not been able to do that–though honestly the S3 seems to easily be the closest so far.

Irony

One of the funny ironies here, is that Android has become the “counter-culture” which has been a place that Apple has commanded for 20+ years. Additionally, Android holds this spot while actually owning the biggest market-share for smartphones. Android fanatics sound just like Mac users had for years! “Oh, I’ve been able to do that for years” is a common refrain.

I try not to care too much. What I have works for me, and if what you have is working for you then stick with it! Anyway, watch it again, it’s a good commercial.

October 12, 2012 - Posted by Martin9700 | Random Thoughts | Android, iPhone