BYTE retracts anti-Apple rant by blogger
Back in the early days of the personal computer revolution, there was no better magazine to read than BYTE. It was often a thick tome full of reviews, programming tips, and insightful columns by industry legends. The magazine disappeared in 1998, but was recently resurrected as an online magazine by the publishers of Information Week. It's obvious the BYTE name retains much of its journalistic credibility, as the magazine recently retracted an anti-Apple rant by one of its bloggers.
The post, titled "The Crucible: A Sobering Look at Apple," was written by BYTE blogger Demetrius Mandzych and published originally on July 11, 2011. Whenever a post starts out by stating that
In all honesty, I don't know why people buy products from Apple. Apple assures everyone its products 'just work,' that specs don't matter and that its products are like finely-tuned German roadsters ... The reverse is actually the case.
you have to wonder what's going on in the author's mind. By July 15, there were a number of negative reader responses, and BYTE pulled the post. The rant is back now, but completely covered with a strikethrough from beginning to end, and with an apology at the beginning:
The opinion column that follows doesn't live up to the proud tradition and our best intentions for BYTE. It not only lacks the deep and authoritative technical content that we want BYTE to be known for, but it also doesn't reflect the community's views on Apple. Although there are plenty of people who don't like Apple products, and some who have had bad experiences with Apple, those are the exception, not the rule.
As you see from our heavy coverage of Apple – in particular our aggressive coverage of OS X Lion -- we consider Apple and its products to be important topics for news, reviews, how tos, tips, and debate. BYTE strives for authority above all, in keeping with the highest journalistic standards. That standard was not met here.
Well done, BYTE. And welcome back. (I'm personally happy to see sci-fi legend Jerry Pournelle back in the saddle at Chaos Manor.)
[via Daring Fireball]
