Just A Thought - Dvorak Over The Edge

by , 11:00 AM EDT, June 25th, 2002

John Dvorak's latest attack on Apple reminds me of an old joke:

A guy goes into a doctor's office and says, "Doc, I can't get a date. Can you tell me what's wrong?" The doctor examines the man thoroughly then declares his diagnosis, "Sir, you are suffering from the worse case of bad breath I've have ever seen, er, smelled." Flustered and embarrassed, the man says, "Gee, I don't know, Doc, I'd like a second opinion." The doctor eyes the patient for another moment then says, "OK, you're butt-ugly too!"

You see, I don't know whether he's being mean or hateful or both. I don't know whether to laugh at him or shake my head in disgust. Check out this tidbit from his latest article titled "Mac Versus PC --Offensive Advertising":

OK, you're back, so let's look at a few of these folks, starting with Liza Richardson, a DJ who says she "traded her PC and 'its stupid little speakers' for an Apple computer that worked better and sounded better." Seems to me she could have just gotten bigger speakers. Is she that ignorant? I mean, come on, I don't know of any desktop machine that has welded on speakers. Her picture depicts her with a nasty smirk. Good riddance to her.

It gets worse. I don't care whether or not he likes Apple's new ads -- heck, I wasn't wild about them when I first saw them -- but to stoop to calling the people in the ads names and remarking on their physical appearances? That should be beneath him, but apparently it's not. I'd hate to hear what he'd have to say if there was a Black, Asian, or Hispanic person included in the ads.

That's not even talking about the irony of him saying all this after saying to Apple:

Did Apple ever get the message that "if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all?"

The point is that the Internet is a venue for free speech, but you don't make disparaging remarks about people's looks and expect to be taken seriously. Mr. Dvorak says that Steve Jobs must be tired of running Apple and is trying to sabotage the company. I think it is more likely that Mr. Dvorak is tired of writing for the PC press and wants to go out with a bang, or maybe, in an effort to boost readership, Mr. Dvorak has resorted to flame-baiting. If that's not desperation I don't know what is.

Bad form, Mr. Dvorak, bad form indeed.

Vern Seward is a frustrated writer who currently lives in Orlando, FL. He's been a Mac fan since Atari Computers folded, but has worked with computers of nearly every type for 20 years.

Mac Versus PC -- Offensive Advertising