Do you hate Apple news?
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted January 30th 2010 5:02PM
posted January 30th 2010 5:02PM
Due to the overwhelming demand of 16 commenters, we present to you the Apple-free Engadget! Yes -- read all the hot news happening in the tech world without the upsetting presence of Apple-related stories. Your dream is a reality... so now you'll have to find something else to complain about!
Read - Engadget, sans Apple news
Subscribe - Engadget, minus the Apple
P.S. - You can change "apple" in the URL to whatever else you hate, too!
What if you just hate gadgets in general? Is there a gadget free version of Engadget yet?
@ryan yes it's call seventeen magazine
@ryan Yes, it's called going outside. Or World of Warcraft.
@ryan
If you hate gadgets, then leave (read: GTFO) this site.
@ryan
What if you're so terrified of what people might say about you that you disable people's ability to rank your comments?
@(Unverified)
There's a difference?
@paul34 What if commenters were so irresponsible in their ranking habits that they couldn't stop themselves from mobbing up and downranking editors of the site they read for no reason at all?
@New Reformation Yes, one has rain that you can feel, but is a bit more boring.
@ryan Maybe you should leave it to TUAW.
You got it wrong Joshua, there's nothing wrong with reporting about Apple or any other company, as long as its in reason. We don't need 5 stories a day about the iPad, etc. It's annoying.
@ryan Joshua, just tone down the amount of Apple posts, or lately, iPad posts. Look at the top of the site, the "Top Stories" banner, only ONE of them isn't iPad related! damn..
@Joshua Topolsky
...i always thought the rankers also included people who dont bother commenting but just feel like seeing what others had to say... idk.
@Joshua Topolsky
@ paul34...game on!
And let's say, finally! The apple-haters can stop complaining. Though I think they'll still find things to bitch about. I don't think macs are the be all or end all, but it's their effin website. Go create your own site that has voodoo dolls of Jobs et al gettin stuck full of pins, if that's what floats your boat.
@ryan No but I think there is a vowel version over at gdgt :P
@ryan
I'd like to update you on the state of Engadget commenting since you left: nothing's changed.
Oh, and bravo on gdgt. Love it.
@Joshua Topolsky Jealousy me thinks they are.
@Joshua Topolsky
We all know this post is just an excuse for more Apple posts to come. Now you can say: If you don't like it, there's an Apple-free version.
@ryan
this is actually a potent little creation. i can just change the tag to whatever i want to exclude. just change it to engadget.com/exclude/ipad yourself. a dream come true!
@Joshua Topolsky
Bookmarked!!
@skyblaze
seriously, though... its not apple in general that we hate. its just the sheer volume of articles that pop up every time apple's "next big thing" comes up. you argue that you keep the same coverage when other company's put out their latest and greatest... but lets face it: the amount pales in comparison when it comes to apple. ive said it before and ill say it again: where are the term paper sized rumor roundups for microsoft, nokia, hp, dell, sony, nintendo, htc etc etc? sure apple's popular and all, but that doesnt warrant the daily articles on the same gadget that clearly doesnt live up to all the hype its gathered for so long. it just... overdoes things in my opinion. apple is just another tech company like any of the ones i listed above... in my eye and the eyes of my fellow daily commenters it all seems like alot. alot alot. and from the loyal fans who you KNOW visit everyday and participate through commenting... dont you think our opinion matters too? why down play us and act like we're moaning and bitching for no good reason? we love you guys! why do you think we come here everyday?? i for one come here multiple times a day at work and at home cuz i have fun here. and i love gadgets! just saying... we arent ganging up you guys... we just kinda think you're overdoing things a lil, ya digg?
from your pal, the self proclaimed sexy anime mascot for engadget,
skyblaze
@Joshua Topolsky
i think this might happen, but i do have to say that sometimes editors say dumb things too. especially when they are trying to justify the excess ipad coverage that engadget gives compared to other tech devices, especially when the overwhelming consensus is that it is by no means "equal"
@Joshua Topolsky
Man you don't have to entertain this bull shit. The vast majority of us deeply appreciate what you and the engadget staff provides us. At least i do.
Don't waste your time with these losers. I particularly can be a little perturbed when i feel that apple products get more shine than other comparable devices. Non the less i still have mad respect for what engadget does.
I too am baffled by how these people insult the editors. They wouldn't say that shit if they were in your presence. So why fake the funk.
@ryan Hey Ryan's back!!
@egress63 You're an idiot.
@Joshua Topolsky
I still want to read news about Apple but not 5 articles about the iPad that essentially say the same thing. I also want unbiased reporting and reviews and let's face it, your articles are biased in Apple's favor. Other editors on here aren't as biased as you though (well some are too).
How hard is it for people, especially geeks, to understand that they don't have to read a story if they don't like the title, or that they can apply a filter to their RSS feed?
Anyway, whatever happened to Art Lebedev? More Lebedev stories, please, we miss him!
Josh, this could revoluionize this site!
can you guys also have a standard button with drop down list of topics/ brands we could exclude?
honestly this post would be history in a few days and then haters like me wouldnt remember the link and troll away!
Thanks!
@ryan
NOW you guys are truly worthy of Blog Of The Decade:
http://www.bestofthe2000s.com/media5.html
:) Thank You! I'm a proud iMac owner, LOVE OSX, don't mind reading Apple news but all that iPad shit has GOT TO GO. So I'm excluding it.
@skyblaze Why not have as many updates for Nokia and Dell products? Maybe because no one gives a shit about Nokia and Dell. When was the last time the entire internet got really excited about a freaking Nokia device?
Seriously, as a general Apple non-fan, perhaps on some days I notice a lot of Apple news that I don't care about. But so what? Like it or not, Apple is a massively influential company, and they have a lot of die hard fans. Fans who want to read anything and everything about them. And you didn't enjoy reading anything about the iPad? For all of its shortcomings, it is still a pretty cool device. I definitely wouldn't buy one now, but maybe I will if they give it basic capabilities like Flash and multitasking.
I love how everyone flips out about Apple products being talked about, or how any time an editor mentions a Macbook or an iPhone everyone freaks out about how Engadget is collectively a huge Apple fanboi. Or even better, they ask how much money Apple is paying them. Awesome.
I used to have those 'I hate Apple' feelings. Then I fucking grew up and realized it's just a fucking computer. So what if someone likes a Macbook over a freaking HP. And besides, it seems to me that most of the Engadget editors, in both their editorial post and the podcast, weren't specifically blown away by the iPad. So it could hardly be seen as being in Apple's pocket.
Evidently posting articles about things that people want to see is a big no-no because a few Windows (Blackberry/Dell/Sony/Android/whatever) fanbois get pissed. WinMo all the way!
@ryan http://www.engadget.com/exclude/gadget :P
@Wes Steele
http://www.engadget.com/exclude/60applestoriesanhour/ doesn't seem to work very well
@Joshua Topolsky
Regular, non-editors are subject to that same type of commenting behavior as well. No offense, but... welcome to the real world.
With any decision, you have to weigh two sides and the disadvantages associated with both. By censoring ranking, you make yourselves look like children who cannot tolerate any form of feedback. Again, no offense - just telling you the facts here.
@egress63 That's Ryan Block, former Editor of Engadget and founder of GDGT. He's one of the more well respected people in the tech blog community. In case you were wondering why you were getting downranked.
It is only fair if you make a version of Engadget without Android. I hate the Linux loving android users. They are worse than Mac users! I may hate Macs but I will pay any money for an iPad. I want one, I dont know why, but I want one so bad it hurts.
So here is me waiting for an Android free Engadget link.
in all seriousness, what if you aren't interested in mobile coverage? there is no generic "mobile" tag, just for specific topics like "mobile gaming," "mobile internet," etc., and then for individual phones and manufacturers. i've never complained before, but it's not like there isn't a dedicated engadget mobile site. it's a lot to slog through every day, and i'd been waiting for something like this for a long time.
@Joshua Topolsky
Please Topolsky, you protest too much, and with too wide a brush. We're sick of the plethora articles about the iPad and paucity of real substance in them; apple itself is fine. To paint us as pathological apple haters is insulting and unprofessional.
@statelypenguin
Well said dude, I mean engadget shouldn't post what their general readers want to read because of a few idiots.
@Wes Steele
but how will the engadget writers meet their Apple "news" quota and get paid by El Jobso in the shady back alleys of Cupertino?
@skyblaze
Huh?? S.T.F.U with this sanctimonious BS. A good business/site/organization caters to the demands of the majorities needs. Not the lunatic fringe who are always more vocal than the people whom know how easy it is to just bypass a story they have no interest in. Your logic assumes that Engadget should listen to persons like you that complain incessantly, because what you're actually trying to do is help them lol. If the top stories--both by commenters and page views, are invariably Apple stories, then it seems the people have spoken.
During CES, I was inundated with live blog keynotes, product overviews, and every other crap gadget you can imagine. Engadget made it possible that if I was interested in said gadgets, I could be well informed. Guess what? Not too many people probably gave a F! Why go overboard on coverage when the ends don't justify the means? I cant't imagine what it would be like to despise a company, or its seemingly undeserved coverage, but then take the effort to go into every story and make a comment about how this coverage is ridiculous. Not directing this at you but in general. I'm being totally serious. It seems borderline insane to me....
Engadget has data metrics I'm assuming that show that 'the people' would like more coverage of what particular products. Are they to alienate or not give the majority of people whom frequent this blog what they want? Even if say 20% of them are just doing it to complain. Doesn't make good business sense, and as a fellow business owner whom deals with the 'lunatic fringe' every day I can relate.
Hey this thing doesn't work. I tried http://www.engadget.com/exclude/joshua-topolsky/ and http://www.engadget.com/exclude/nilay-patel/ Could you fix that? Thanks.
@ryan
It's not the Apple news, that's fine. It's the 'Apple speculation, rumours and other bollocks'.
@ryan
Engadget's solution is like Fox News saying..."okay, we'll give you the news, but we'll omit any news that has anything to do with Obama."
Oh no Engadget - you are using this questionnaire as an excuse to give us more Apple news! OK, I am joking.
I own the Palm Pre smartphone and it is the best, in my opinion; but I welcome the added coverage on the iPad. This is a big week for Apple, and the expectations have been running very high. This thing was expected to be the next iPhone. Sure it disappoints. But we are all trying to makeup our minds what it is. So long as people keep showing interest in news on the iPad, then it is news that is worth covering. Isn't that the essence of the news business? And Engadget is a business!
@Joshua Topolsky
I would have to agree with the sentiment of the crowd, I know many people are going to cling to everything that develops about the iPad as it comes like it is the bible, but this isn't the majority of your viewing base and commentors I would believe. Now I like Apple, and would love to see news on their device maybe once or twice a day. The way you guys do the daily roundup could be done in a way for all these iPad stories for the time being. This way maybe once or twice, hell I'd even go for three times a day, we get a round up of all the iPad news. Morning, Afternoon, and Evening iPad News.
This would cut back on some of the major anti-Apple feedback lately. In my opinion.
Also, did you guys get my application for West Coast Part-Time Editor? I know I am in Portland, Oregon, but I could do good work.
@Joshua Topolsky
I think there's generally some logic involved in what posts get up-or-downranked. It's not just random, "Hey, there's an editor, let's get him!" If you can't see that, you're not looking. And it's your system, by the way!
Also, the problem isn't that everyone hates Apple (although they can be very annoying at times). It's that Apple coverage trumps everything else here. There are specialty sites for Mac people. You don't need to have 50 articles within 48 hours about something that's only marginally different than an existing, already exhaustively-covered device (iPhone, in case you don't know which device I'm referring to). What's left? "BREAKING: Back of iPad feels like back of iPhone, but a little different. Also: Edges have a 2.91% smaller radius!"
Nilay tried to defend your coverage in another post, saying that the same level of granular coverage had been applied to the Droid and the Pre. Someone put up the numbers, and, lo and behold, the number of stories was nowhere near the same. The iPad came out waaaay ahead. Still, Nilay stuck to his assertion, ignoring the numbers.
So if you don't like it, I suppose all of the readers who are tired of the iPad posts could just switch to a different site. Just let us know, OK? Then you'll live in Apple nirvana and never, ever again will your little name and icon get downranked again!
@ryan Any of you guys notice how sometimes you get a feeling and you just know which direction things are heading cause of it?
Well, Apple overdid the hype on the iPad and they overdid the arrogance. The "magic" of it (christ, i even think he believes it himself).
I think ill just feed that troll and keep seing all Apple, but thanks for the offer!
@Joshua Topolsky looks like the ranking system is working just fine here. dont know what there is to be afraid of
@Joshua Topolsky
You can't win J-Man (Jammin?). Give the masses what they want and they still chew up your comment...area.
Is there an uneducated or mainstream portion of viewership to a gadget-specific website? Give me a column and I'll write you an editorial.
I agree 100% plus at times the shit apple trys to pull off by overkill marketing then trying to convince us thier product is revolutionairy is frankly insulting our intelligence. U guys should be more neutral and when it comes to apple product launches u should serve as there free marketing agents! ( do u get paid for posting thier 'leaked' rumors?)
Ya um I hate Microsoft and am tired of hearing about Microsoft news could I get a page for that too? Theres nothing wrong with apple stuff you cry babies..