Wallpaper: Reality Distortion Field

[cprofitt]

I was doing some reading about things IT and a writer claimed that the cult of Apple was fueled by the reality distortion field that surrounds Steve Jobs. This made me think...

Apple finds success despite being closed source, locking their users in to a narrow subset of hardware and anti-comeptitive practices. They are still beloved where Microsoft is hated.

Linux is, despite the beliefs of others, rather easy to install if you stick with a few of the 'main course' distros. The problem is that Linux has a negative distortion field and people continue to think their choice is:

Windows (w/ lots of choice)

vs

OS X (w/ minimal choice)

This inspired me to make a new desktop wallpaer... called Reality Distortion Field (http://www.gnome-look.org/content/show.php/Reality+Distortion+Field?content=77632) (in three flavors).

Let me know what you think... and feel free to discuss the general thought of the 'perception' issues around all three desktop OSes.

[Xzallion]

The wallpaper is allright, not my thing though.

[cprofitt]

To give some folks some background to the term... it was interesting to learn how far back the term went.

History (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality_distortion_field) - more history (http://folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=Reality_Distortion_Field.txt)

A general article describing the 'how' of it (http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/01/how-steve-jobs.html)

An article from 2006 (http://blog.fastcompany.com/archives/2006/01/10/steve_jobs_at_macworld_reality_distortion_field_in _full_effect.html)

Some more information about it...


As I began to think about it, how come the writers fawning all over the iPhone never mentioned Microsoft during the discussion? How does that work?
How do you bring out a product, use a name that isn't yours, copy the idea of a major competitor that is constantly accused of copying your ideas, and get off free of criticism?
The answer lies with something called the reality-distortion field, a term coined long ago by an Apple employee regarding Steve Jobs. :: link (http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/steve-ballmer-iphone-reality-distortion-field/story.aspx?guid=%7B44E59588-47B0-48F7-B66F-0CA7CA05D521%7D)

Again... Jobs, and Apple, does what Microsoft gets whacked with lawsits for and he gets away with it... He sells products that others invented, named and failed to sell...

Does Linux need a RDF?

[days_of_ruin]

I believe apple gets away with it because they have such a small
marketshare (on the desktop anyway).I think windows gets
sued for anti-trust violation because some people believe
windows = pc.Mac ads don't help either.

[cprofitt]

windows = pc.Mac ads don't help either.

Just another example of how Apple gets away with things... some of their ads are blatant false advertising; yet nothing happens. I think Jobs must have naked pictures of Gates in Vegas getting married to Dennis Rodman or something.

[spupy]

I have just one critique regarding the wallpaper:
Why did you put the Gnome logo as some kind of Linux logo?
EDIT: nevermind, saw the name of the website! ;)

[muchojackdaniels]

It's because the developers of Linux has not contributed to the consumer's world. Many consumers think of Apple when they need to edit a video clip and think of Office when they need to do a presentation.

Marty

[K.Mandla]

Moved to Art and Design.

[cprofitt]

It's because the developers of Linux has not contributed to the consumer's world. Many consumers think of Apple when they need to edit a video clip and think of Office when they need to do a presentation.

Marty

I can see your point, but I do not know how that results in Apple getting a free pass on things while Microsoft doesn't. Also, Linux gets a bad wrap for being difficult when it is not.

[cprofitt]

Moved to Art and Design.



Ya, see... Steve Jobs called the mods here and we have been moved to the Art and Design board... does anyone come to this board... I see rolling tumble weeds and discarded Apple IIs here.

The distortion field has bumped me

:)

[days_of_ruin]

ha ha!

[bobbybobington]

Steve Jobs has no shortage of charisma, he is an interesting person though. I'll have to read a biography sometime. Although I think SABDFL (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Shuttleworth) has some of the same qualities.