Clash of the Titans

You may or may not be aware, but Apple and Google are locked into a war for worldwide dominance.  They used to be the best of friends.  Eric Schmidt, in fact (Google CEO), used to be on Apple's board.   A few years ago, it was easy to name the bad guys.  It was Apple and Google vs. Microsoft.  Everyone hated Microsoft, so... easy target.  Apple started noticing, though, that Google was trying to develop products that directly competed against their own devices, so they kicked little Eric off the board; it's been an ugly (and public) pissing match ever since.

Nothing is black and white, though.   I love Apple, but I also love Google and I have to admit that Microsoft is doing some amazing things with technology... like Surface.  I think Apple blocking Google Voice from the App Store was a stupid move.  Google trying to develop a Google phone... a cheap shot, definitely.  "Hmmm... I'll sit on the Apple board, gather as many cool insider secrets as I can and then use that knowledge to crush them."  Weak.

Look... Apple makes the best toys.  They're expensive, absolutely... but they're the BMW of the gadget world. They're all about quality.  Just as a BMW handles turns better than most cars, Macs and iPhones do things other gadgets only wish they could.  To borrow a popular Apple phrase, "they just... work."   When it comes to the hardware, Apple is King.  Safari (Apple's browser), however... sucks.  Google Chrome is soooo much better (even better than Firefox).  I've tried playing with Bing, but... Google's search engine still reigns supreme.  

Why do some hate Apple, then?  It's a controlled ecosystem.  Apple uses their power to play judge/jury.  They dictate which apps are allowed into the App Store and which ones are banished forever.  Fans of open source can't STAND that kind of control.  The flock to Google and its Android operating system in droves.  The problem is that Android isn't polished and, well... that's kind of what you get when you don't control the ecosystem.  I have an iMac, an iPhone, iPod and ... soon and iPad.  I like Apple's world.  I like the apps.  I'm fine with control.

Competition is good.  I like that they're pushing each other.  The technology gets better and better each year. What I can't stand are the little bitches who refuse to upgrade to the newer models, yet complain when newer OS features won't work on their old devices.  You want to take advantage of all the cool new shit in the iPhone OS 4.0?  BUY A NEW PHONE!  That's like me complaining that my old tube TV can't play widescreen movies in high definition.  Duh.

So what do I use?  I have a 24" iMac (Apple) that is a thing of beauty; it's given me zero problems.  I can and do run Windows on it (via Fusion), but I rarely need to use it (only when having to access my company payroll site... which only works with Internet Explorer).  I had been using Firefox as my browser, but after a month of testing (Firefox, Safari, IE, Opera and Google's Chrome)... Chrome is the clear winner. Again... Google is King of the Web experience.

I'm a gadget freak.  I love both companies.  I just wish they would kiss and make up.

Update on Sunday, May 23 by Buddha

Here's a great article that does a better job of explaining things...