10 Things to Love/Hate About Apple

Formerly known as Apple Computer, Apple has become arguably the biggest name in consumer electronics. Whether you're a fanboy, a hater, or somewhere in between, you're likely to applaud and despise the company for reasons listed here.

Things to Hate

1. Upgrade Frequency

We all know the feeling of buying a nice, shiny, new Apple toy. It's no small decision as you'll usually pay a pretty penny for it. You take it home, spend a few weeks getting to know it's features when suddenly Apple announces a nicer, shinier, newer version, and yours is obsolete. You could try and sell it to buy the new one, but the resale value took a huge hit and you'd be out a lot of money.

I understand the need to make better, faster products, but it's hard to keep up with Apple's rate. Unless you buy something the day it comes out, you really only get a good 5 to 7 month window (if that) before they announce an upcoming improvement and you have to live with an old model. Who wants to do that?

2. Price

If you're anything like the rest of the world, cheaper products are starting to look more and more appealing. Apple doesn't seem to be the least bit concerned about this. While I'm a firm believer in "You get what you pay for," there's always exceptions (remember Monster's $100 HDMI cables?), and Apple seems to be working its way there. Go ahead and compare the specs on a $1000 MacBook Air to a similarly priced PC from another company. Currently, the cheapest desktop they offer is $1200. That's a hefty price to pay if you're only trying to buy a college laptop or family computer.

3. Selfish

If you haven't already heard, Apple, Inc was recently awarded the "slide to unlock" patent. While there are lots of ways for other companies to avoid infringing this, it's infuriating that Apple could be so finicky. Is it really necessary to patent such a minuscule and universal function? While you're at it, Apple, go ahead and patent the double click and breathing.

Also, don't forget the lawsuit they launched against Samsung earlier this year. Apple claimed that Samsung was intentionally make phones similar to the iPhone in order to confuse customers into thinking they were the same. How many different ways can you make a big, all-touchscreen phone? Almost every smartphone has one similar look -- a look that Apple certainly did not come up with. Not only was this a poor reason for a lawsuit, but it ruined the relationship between Apple and Samsung.

4. Stupid Ideas

Now I know that every great company has its faults, but Apple has proven on multiple occasions that their stupid ideas are just terrible. This isn't exactly their fault; the most innovative company is bound to get a little too "unique" once in a while. If you're having trouble remembering, the "Hockey Puck" mouse should ring some bells. That's not all, though. There was also the toilet seat iBook, the iMac G4 (or "the lamp one") and some (including myself) would even consider the iPod Shuffle a rather stupid product. Why would you want to throw all your music in a pile and have it always played at random? Yes, I realize that it's a popular product, but so are cigarettes. And seriously, how long do they plan to make mice without a right click?

5. iStop

It stated with just four letters: eMac. Not long after that, Apple was shipping out iPods, iPads, iPhones, iMacs, iMovie...iEverything. While it was neat at first, iThink (see what iDid there?) customers are getting tired of the constant naming of products with an "i" prefix. Don't believe me? Why else would they release "Apple TV" and not "iTV." There's also something irritating about Apple users feeling that they are required to call everything by its "i" name. "Let me check my iPhone, it's plugged in to my iMac next to my iPad."

Not everything that gets Apple-itized gets a name, though it's just as annoying. The dongle you need to connect an Apple computer to a VGA cable is a stupid way to make some extra money. Even the charging cables for laptops had to be changed -- they wouldn't want anyone using a third party power adapter! You also have to use iTunes for your iPod, and even those have their own, huge, non-universal USB port. I guess once you go apple, you never go back!

Things to Love

1. The Look

Even if you're not a geek, you can probably agree; Apple products are sexy. This is perhaps the only justifiable reason for the prices. From the iPod Touch to the new MacBook Airs, these products just begging to be held. Smooth curves, shiny metal, and lightweight designs are just a few reasons Apple goes above and beyond with their products' appearances, and the ergonomics are generally outstanding as well. Even if you have no use for an Apple gadget, they make you want one simply because it is visually appealing, which is something other companies often forget about.

2. Simplicity

You have to appreciate the simplicity of Apple's products. Instead of getting a brick full of buttons and switches, Apple continues to sell innovative, yet simple products that are easy to use for anyone of any age. The iPod's click wheel is a great example of such technology, giving the music player a simple appearance, simple operation, and a grand total of 5 buttons! In addition, almost all of their computers have just one button: power. It really aids to the great appearance of the products to look so simple. And it's not just the simple looks; all of Apples gadgets are easy to use right out of the box, making them appealing to those that aren't tech savvy as well as us geeks.

3. The OS

This is the reason fanboys are fanboys. Apple's OS X is so easy to work in yet very powerful, not to mention being virtually virus-free. The Apple OS is a perfect fit for those learning how to use a computer or those very experienced. Plus, with the iLife Suite, you get all the tools you need to make your Mac an extremely versatile machine. Wanna make a movie? No problem! There's iMovie for you! Need some custom music for that movie? Piece of cake! Just open up Garage Band. OS X is really packed with everything you'd ever need and more.

4. Reliability

Perhaps the most important perk to Apple is how long their products last. It continues to amaze me that my second generation iPod Nano continues to run after the heavy beating it has taken over the years. The computers' lives are phenomenal, too; just ask an IT tech how many PCs he's called to fix versus Macs. I've seen ancient Macs run like the day they were made, much longer than the average home PC life.

5. Compatibility

While I do consider it a pain to have to switch to iEverything, I will admit that the rewards are great. The more Apple products you buy, the better they work with each other. It's amazing how well a home network with a few Macs, and Airport, and other Apple products can work together. For example, setting up a shared printer takes only minutes, when on a PC it can get messy if you don't know what you're doing. For a company that has to make everything their own, Apple sure makes it worthwhile.

Love 'em or hate 'em, Apple has proven that it is here to stay, and probably for the better. They continue to push out extraordinary, innovative products, but at the same time act fussy and even immature. All in all, I appreciate the company and it's overall impact on our society.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know with a comment!