[Comments] Mac Writers Asleep on the Job?

Monday, October 23, 2000

The fact that so many Mac sites have automatically praised Microsoft's Office 200l up one side and down the other is bad enough, but the fact that everyone has ignored the obvious insult is quite stupefying.

Yes, it's hard to believe, but Cupertino and Redmond have been pushing the latest bloatware for Macs without anyone on complaining about the toilet seat packaging! When the iBook first came out, the toilet seat allusion was heard here and there, even though who among us has ever seen or used a rectangular version of this everyday necessity? The Office 2001 package, however, is right on the money: "Mac software, huh? Must be [you know]!" So why hasn't anyone mentioned this? Are we all so flunky-fied that our brains are dead?!

We recall a recent remark to the effect that any consumer unhappy with what Apple is giving them just hasn't awakened yet to the greater wisdom of the company's marketing genius, i.e. Apple gives us what we don't know we want, or "Apple knows best." This is absurd enough, but now the question occurs to us: is Apple so embarrassingly pro-Microsoft that they haven't complained about the Office 2001 packaging? Well, maybe Steve thinks it's a waffle iron instead. Hey, good enough for us: let it be a waffle iron, or a big can of acne cream. Just don't put the CD in a serious, hard-edged package, 'cause we want everyone to know it's for toys.

[P.S. -- We didn't pay attention to the packaging until a reader pointed this out, so the rest of you are forgiven. :-) But we DID complain about the Web advertising! -- JHF]

s