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In defense of Dan: Why Lyons has a strong point about the Mac
Chris Rawson and I like to tag-team, and this time I pulled the counterpoint to his "Mac ain't dead" point. I'm going to enter into this conversation delicately because, like Dan Lyons, I don't think the Mac is dead. Yes, you read that correctly, I agree with Lyons when he writes, "To be sure, Apple won't kill off the Mac."[1] And that's because both Lyons and I recognize that the Mac has an important role both internal and external to Apple. You need a Mac to compile (unless you're into serious jailbreak mojo -- which Apple is not) with Apple's internal IDE and tool creation suite. You need a Mac to create professional graphics and video suites. You need a Mac for high-end publishing and so forth. So all of us agree: The Mac lives and OS X for the desktop is not imperiled.
The Mac is far from dead
Over at Newsweek, Dan Lyons, formerly famous as Fake Steve Jobs, asks the question: Does Apple's iPhone 4 signal the death of the Macintosh? He goes on to answer this question in his article with lots of attention-grabbing phrases like, "RIP, Macintosh," and "You've been dropped. Dumped. It's over." Of course, later on in the article, sandwiched in between several paragraphs of hyperbole, Lyons also says, "To be sure, Apple won't kill off the Mac." Well, okay. What exactly are you trying to say then, Fake Steve? Reports of the Mac's death may be exaggerated, but it's not hard to see why some might think it's on its last legs. As Lyons points out, Jobs didn't discuss the Mac at all during the recent WWDC 2010 keynote, instead spending all of his time discussing iPhone 4 and iOS 4. Apple also dropped its Apple Design Awards for the Mac, which meant others had to step in and take up the slack. Apple's party line on the iPad is that it's the future of computing, and eventually the only people who'll need to use a traditional computer are users doing highly specialized tasks that the iPad doesn't and might never be able to handle. But even with all that, the Mac is far from dead. Read on to find out why the Mac isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
Epix TV network to deliver real pilot based on a fake Steve Jobs
It looks like our old friend, the Fake Steve Jobs, is doing pretty well for himself. A popular blog, a well-received book, and now -- with any luck, at least -- a new TV series. Currently the Epix network (still only available on FiOS TV) is teaming up with the money men at Media Rights Capital to deliver a pilot called iCON. Featuring a character named Tom Rhodes, "a composite of Jobs and other Silicon Valley titans," the story is described as "a savage satire, a study of ego, power and greed." The man behind it all is none other than Larry Charles (of Borat, Bruno, and Seinfeld fame) who will direct the thing and oversee the script being written by Dan Lyons (Fake Steve Jobs himself). As you might have guessed, the announcement is pretty nutty: "We are attempting to do nothing less than a modern Citizen Kane," Charles said. "A scabrous satire of Silicon Valley and its most famous citizen. We needed a bold environment to nurture such a vision. One that was free of pre-conceived ideas. And Epix made it clear they were that place. They asked us to make their home our home. And we have." Since no one we know has actually seen Citizen Kane, we can't tell you if that's a good thing or not. But if it turns out to be anything like Fast Times at Ridgemont High, we love it already! PR after the break.
Fake Steve Jobs to be a TV show
Dan Lyons, better known as blogger Fake Steve Jobs, has apparently signed a deal with Seinfeld writer Larry Charles to create a half-hour, single camera, satirical TV show about a Silicon Valley hotshot. As of now, Lyons is only writing the pilot script for the series, but since it's called "iCON," there will probably be plenty of FSJ's humor and voice in the series itself. It's set to air on Epix, which is a premium cable channel run by Viacom. The show centers around Tom Rhodes, a Silicon Vally big shot who's designed to be a composite of Steve Jobs and a few other big tech company names, and the "savage satire" is supposed to be "a study of ego, power and greed." That sounds like fun! Since "iCON" and the Facebook movie are both scheduled to begin production, it certainly looks like Hollywood is interested in digging into the recent Silicon Valley past for a little humor and drama. [via Apple Insider]
Operation Cuckoo to oppose Operation Chokehold
In what sounds like the title of the worst Bruce Willis movie ever, a group of pro-AT&T Facebook users are up in arms about Operation Chokehold. Let's start from the beginning. Earlier this week, AT&T's chief executive of Mobility, Ralph de la Vega stated that he wants iPhone users to limit their data usage. Customers became literally furious with rage and, encouraged by Fake Steve Jobs, vowed to do the polar opposite: simultaneously run the most data-hungry apps on Friday, December 18th. Thus, Operation Chokehold was born. There's even a Facebook event for it. Now, some other Facebook users with Stockholm Syndrome have formed a counter-group called Operation Cuckoo. From their manifesto: "... you don't urge AT&T to improve its network and terms by attempting to bring it down or violating your contract with the entity. Much the same as you don't put out a fire with a gasoline shower." Yes, Fake Steve's little stunt is childish and in all likelihood not to be taken seriously (though AT&T is not amused). But if my own iPhone is rendered AT&T-free on Friday because of this bit of nonsense, I'll be pissed. [Via iPhone Savior]
Is Fake Steve returning, real Steve ill?
First the good news. Dan Lyons, the man behind Fake Steve Jobs, has suggested that his fictional alter-ego may be ready for a return. Earlier in the summer, Dan left his job at Forbes for Newsweek, and stopped writing as Fake Steve in the process.However, this week he starts that Newsweek job, and told Mac Soda that Fake Steve is to be a part of that. Which is great, as Fake Steve is very insightful and funny.Now the bad news. In the same interview, Dan says that Steve Jobs is ill. Speculation over Steve's health has been a topic of discussion this summer, while Apple has been quiet and respectful of Steve's privacy. We expect to see Steve during next week's press event. We hope he's doing well.
