14 DAY TRIAL // A guest commentary by Bryan J. Ball, stand up comedian and long-time Apple fanboy, has been published by CultOfMac, with Ball noting “ My relationship with Steve used to be such a happy one […] but I’m starting to have my doubts.”
Describing his life as “pretty Apple-centric,” Ball reveals he owns an iMac, an iPad, an array of iPods, “and I was literally first in line to get an iPhone 4,” he says. “My first response to the iPhone 4’s problems was to ignore it,” Ball says, referring to the widespread reports of reception issues with the smartphone. “I tried to replicate the problem myself and I couldn’t do it,” he reveals. “I assumed it was something that would pass in a couple of days. When it didn’t I made the mistake of visiting some of my favorite Mac message boards to see what others had to say. By then the infamous emails from Steve were being posted,” Ball writes.
“I still stuck up for Steve and Apple. I tried to explain one of the particularly terse ones and actually even said, ‘Maybe he’s just having a very bad day’. […] Then came the promise of a software fix that doesn’t seem like it will fix a thing. My confidence was shaken,” the visibly disappointed Apple fan continues to outline.
“The final blow came this morning when I saw that Apple had deleted threads on their support forums that referred to the damning Consumer Reports review and its ‘do not buy’ recommendation,” Ball relates. “I took particular offense to this because I own and operate a very large message board of my own. I have never once deleted a thread that was disparaging to me or my business. In fact, I let people on my forum say things about me that would get them quickly banned if it were about someone else,” he explains. The comedian concludes by admitting “It’s tempting to just make problems go away.” However, he firmly believes “that Apple is becoming painfully aware that trying to control the conversation just makes it more hostile.”