Jack Shafer Vs. "The Apple Polishers"

Slate's Jack Shafer takes on the tech journalists who go gaga over each new Apple product here, and hilarity ensues. While I don't always agree with him, love reading each of his columns and think he is dead-on here.

A taste: "I don't hate Apple. I don't even hate Apple-lovers. I do, however, possess deep odium for the legions of Apple polishers in the press corps who salute every shiny gadget the company parades through downtown Cupertino as if they were members of the Supreme Soviet viewing the latest ICBMs at the May Day parade....

Apple manipulates several narratives to continue to make its products interesting fodder for journalists...reporters love cheerleading for the underdog without ever pausing to explore why it isn't the overdog. (This is why the Brooklyn Dodgers will always rate higher in the minds of writers than the superior New York Yankees.) Apple incites fanaticism about its products via ad campaigns and evangelist outreach programs designed to make its customers feel as though they're part of a privileged and enlightened elite."

His parting shot is a bit below the belt, but well-taken: "If the press corps possessed any institutional memory, it would recall the introduction of the Apple III+, the Lisa, the Macintosh Portable, the Mac TV, the Newton, the Apple G4 Cube, and eWorld."

That sound you hear is David Pogue bashing in the mirror closest to him right now.