The iPhone Haters

And speaking of games, Apple rage isn't one. Indeed, it is a phenomenon with no geographic bounds. David Robilliard is a Web designer based in Birmigham, England. He started We Hate Macs about a year and a half ago, he says, when he first saw the iconic "Get a Mac" commercials (a bizarro U.K. version of the well-known stateside ads starring hip young Justin Long as "Mac" and doughy humorist John Hodgman as "PC"). "I've always been a PC user and that advert really pissed me off," says Robilliard. "Ninety-six percent of the market uses them! It's an international standard! By using the Mac, you're making the statement: 'Oooh, look at me, I'm so clever.' The whole Mac fanboy thing really annoys me."

Not to be out-annoyed, Swedish Apple agonist Janek Magnusson has launched two sites: I Hate My iPhone and I Hate My iPod. People from all over the world are invited to post their reasons for hating (or defending) their product of choice. Take this excellent sample post from a correspondent in Switzerland: "I bought the iphone the other day and the first call I receive was from my girlfriend who announces she will leave me. i was devastated. Now everytime i look at my ugly iphone i think of that moment." Perhaps for that one pour soul, the iPhone's second coming will accompany a second chance. After all, haters need love, too.

© 2008