Thankful For Turnabout (11/25/99)
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Here's another thing to give thanks for as you consider a second piece of pumpkin pie: rabid anti-Apple journalists who now grudgingly admit that the Mac has certain advantages. This past year, Mac-bashing Jesse Berst of ZDNet Anchordesk publicly declared he was sick of Windows crashes and was seriously considering switching to an iMac. (Apple then sent him an iMac DV Special Edition to try out, though we haven't heard what he thought of it.) We also saw longtime Apple critic Hiawatha Bray of the Boston Globe make lots of Mac-positive statements about the iMac, FireWire, and the G4 processor. That's a big change from yesteryear.

And now we can add another pundit to the list. The Boston Globe, an embarrassment of riches, boasts two anti-Mac bigots: Bray, and Simson L. Garfinkel. (Hmmm... Simson Garfinkel, Hiawatha Bray, Jesse Berst, John Dvorak... Why do all the Apple critics seem to have such odd names?) Garfinkel has, in the past, published plenty of anti-Mac sentiment in the guise of "facts." Problem is, many of his "facts" are flat-out incorrect. In his recent iBook review, for example, he claims that the iBook doesn't come with an ftp client. Now, granted, Netscape Communicator may not be the best ftp client available, but it does work-- you can upload and download and navigate directory structures. What more do you really need?

Anyway, now even Garfinkel's saying nice things about the Mac. His latest article, "Giving Thanks for the Mac," calls a "truce" with the Mac faithful who flamed him for his iBook review, and makes such bold statements as "without a doubt, the Macintosh is the friendliest, easiest-to-use, and the most colorful computer on the market today. The Mac is a pleasure to operate. It's a computer that respects its user." He then goes on to note that upgrading to Mac OS 9 was painless and took about ten minutes, whereas upgrading his PC to a new version of Windows 98 was "far more complicated." Holy yikes, this is Garfinkel? Simson Garfinkel? Only doubtful "facts" like his claim that his iBook came with Mac OS 8.5 installed make us slightly less positive that he's been eliminated and replaced with a Mac-friendly alien clone. Actually, wait-- it is him, because he still says the Mac ships without ftp. But we admit, we really like the new kinder, gentler Garfinkel. Let's see if the attitude adjustment sticks.

 
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The above scene was taken from the 11/25/99 episode:

November 25, 1999: We're still waiting for the PowerPC to kick into high gear when it comes to clock speed, but apparently 780 MHz isn't too far off. Meanwhile, yet another anti-Mac journalist has some nice things to say about our platform of choice, and do computers need religion? Well, one artist has taken the first step by teaching some iMacs to pray...

Other scenes from that episode:

  • 1933: Crank It Up A Notch (11/25/99)   Well, the plates are cleaned, the belts are loosened, and it's time to settle back in a digestive torpor and reflect on all those things for which we're thankful. And really, it's not tough to get into a thankful frame of mind when stuffed to the gills with stuffing and other stuff...

  • 1935: Twenty Hail Steves (11/25/99)   While we're giving thanks for the fact that at least one AtAT staff member has the magic touch when it comes to pie crust, we're also thankful for our faithful viewers, who tune in day after day to see what's shaking in the melodramatic world of Apple...

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