Cock-eyed view

Was reading an opinion column on MacNewsWor ld over my oatmeal this morning and was struck at how my fanboy-ism te nds to tint my Apple glasses too rosy sometimes. I wrote a post the other day about how nice Apple was to declare all updates and software feat ure additions for the iPhone for free, and how this makes Appl e stand head and shoulders above all other companies. Crowding Jobs & F riends on a pedestal is really one of the weaknesses of sideline commentat ors like me with questionable objectivity, i.e. Macheads. In "When it comes to spin-doctoring, Apple has a PhD" by Vern Seward in The Mac Observer, Mr. Seward observes that yeah, Apple is giving that stuff away for free, but look deeper, fanboy - all they're actually saying is that they can't finish the iPhone they way they planned, so they will release i t on sked anyway, and just catch up later on by adding the stuff that should ha ve been on it in the first place in future "updates". Spin doctors indeed. I didn't see the forest for the trees. Of course that makes sense! Why didn't I see that? I'm disappointed in Jobs & Friends, but more in mysel f that I was so ready to ride the spin. Damned sycophantic fanboy. Hmph! Gotta learn to look at things cock-eyed now and then, especially where Stevie's concerned; he's been known to pull a fast one. Or two. In the end, Vern pulls the punch a bit (I guess he's a fanboy like me) but the points have been made. (Speaking of cock-eyed views, this shows Apple's and Steve's doctorate degree i n spinning; Bill, try as he might, has nothing on the folks at Cupertino in thi s department. Apple wins again.) It's an excellent, incisive piece, with much more analysis and observations tha t make sense. Great read, and you can see it for yourself here. Shows how much I got to learn.