Re: Pirates of Silicon Valley

[supertimer@aol.com (Supertimer)]

sheercon@earthlink.net wrote:

>Supertimer wrote:
>
>> Hello to all, will everyone PLEASE get this Mac vs. Win
>> stuff OUT of comp.sys.APPLE2.
>>
>> This newsgroup is for APPLE II computers.
>>
>> PLEASE.  I'm just asking here, folks, but it is a very
>> reasonable request.  Take this to the mac or win
>> advocacy newsgroups, ok?  Better yet, cross post to
>> both mac and win advocacy groups.  That way, you'll
>> all generate lots of fighting, etc., certainly more than in
>> csa2.
>
>Although I agree with you in theory, half the posts in this newsgroup
>are "off topic".

comp.sys.apple2 had improved drastically over the past
year since the departure of one of the two principle flamers.
As a result, the S/N ratio had improved a lot.  Many new
users were helped.

We must all do our part to keep it moving in the right
direction.

>The pirates of silicon valley thread has morphed into something
>rediculous - an endless, non-winable PC vs. Mac debate. I agree that
>this pointless debate should be moved to another newsgroup.

The Mac vs. PC folks seem to want to fight.  I don't see
why they do not just crosspost to both mac and win
advocacy groups.  That way, the fight will increase and it
will also be out of csa2.

>And also, to all the people who hate mac's and Apple's - why are you
>even posting here? This is a newsgroup for people who love Apple
>computer's. If you hate them and have nothing but bad things to say
>about them why don't you go somewhere else - There are plenty of windows
>and PC newsgroups out there.

For the record, I'm a PC person.  I have a WinChip 2 PC with
Windows 95 (no Intel processor, take note).  However, when
I post in csa2, it is not about my PC.  It is about my IIGS.  You
are a Mac person, yet you post about your Apple II, not about
your Mac.

In csa2, we live in peace.  Why can't the people who fight do
the same?  ;-)

>And to keep this post somewhat on topic I wanted to say I finally saw
>Pirates of Silicon Valley. It was somewhat interesting; but it was kind
>of annoying how they kept stopping the movie to have it narrated - like
>by the ball headed guy at Microsoft to stop and say what a genius Bill
>Gates was for having scammed IBM. The coolest person in the movie was
>the Woz; although they didn't give him the recognition he deserved.

I thought it did justice to Woz character.  Note the part when
Woz stood up to Jobs just before he left.  He berrated Jobs:
"Steve, you are tearing this company apart, pitting Macintosh
against the Apple II."  Also note the part when Jobs pushed
Woz aside and said "Hey, *I'm* employee number one."

This film's stong point is that it revealed just a little of the
politics that went on in Apple and a bit of why us Apple II
users got abandoned when Apple moved to the Mac.  No
bridge was provided for the II users when the first Mac was
released.  Jobs: "Macintosh team is family, everyone else
[gesturing to the entire Apple building filled with Apple II
employees] is an outsider."  Jobs took his "religion against
the evil IBM" and added the Apple II to that list.

It is clear that neither Jobs nor Gates were the gods the mac
and win people make them out to be.  No, they were basically
bad people.  Woz was the only one portayed as a good person
and he was.

I like the way they showed where all three were at the end.
Jobs and Gates, they are still at it, after the power and the
glory.  But Woz is doing what is REALLY important.  He
is educating the next generation.

If I didn't have a IIGS and be under the Woz flag, I might be
a raving Microsoft/Intel supporter.  But I see my PC as a
tool, not a religion.  I like it.   But the only computer I love
is still the Apple IIGS (and the Apple II in general).