fanboyism

[Victor Steinbok]

[ecosystem; fanboyish; intuitive; speed; processor speed; battery life;
anti-competitive; consumer base--either not in OED at all, no listing
for a particular sense, or simply a usage quirck]

This post [ http://goo.gl/zoBmV ] seems to be a magnet for
phone-geek-speak (or general techy jargon). There is a lot more in the
comments:

> they pick Apple because their ecosystem is built in such a way where
> the user knows exactly where to go if they have a problem.
> ...
> This article is hunched over on the last crutch that apple has left
> with the whole "lt's all about the ecosystem and the five hundred
> thousand million apps I can download." -- give me a break.

"Ecosystem"? Really? Just to see how confusing this is, note that the
two comments cited above use the word differently.

"Fanboyish":

> Infact, to even say that is really pompous, uncalled for, and clearly
> one of the most fan-boyish comments I've ever heard.

"Throttle" in the sense of "limit the flow or reduce the speed of the
flow of information/data" (OED only has for fluids):

> If you might use a lot of data (watching youtube videos or using
> Pandora radio), be aware that Sprint is the ONLY carrier that does not
> cap or throttle your data after it reaches a certain limit.

Here, the idea is very simple. Verizon and AT&T put a hard cap on data
usage--using more than the allotted amount triggers an automatic charge
for the next block. T-Mobile "throttles" the flow once you've reached
the "soft cap"--you an continue to use the data service, but the
exchange occurs at lower speeds (3G vs. 4G is what they advertise--the
actual difference is a bit more technical).

"Intuitive system/interface"--one that is easy to use, can be used
without a manual; not in OED in this particular sense:

> I have never used the new Windows Phone operating system, but have
> heard that it is very simple, easy to use, and allows you to quickly
> see or get done what you need to, rather than going through many
> screens - an advantage over either iPhone or Android. Android is very
> intuitive as well, despite iPhone fan's cries - otherwise it would not
> have roughly double the market share of the iPhone.
> ...
> If I have a car with all the bells and whistles and I have to read the
> manual to figure out how to set the clock, the car becomes less
> desirable.

OED has no separate entry or subentry for computational sense of
"speed"--processing power, the number of "calculations" per second,
computational frequency or fluency. In particular, the is no entry for
"processor speed", although it shows up in a quotation under "overclocked":

> 1998 Forum on Computer Risks 7 May,   The processor speed and serial
> number turned out to be forged and what I had purchased instead was
> most likely an overclocked P266 or P233 processor in a motherboard
> jumpered to run it at 300 MHz.

There is also a broader sense of the "reaction time" for a device,
processor, port, in response to a data query. This is what's contrasted
here:

> 4g does matter, as does the siz of the screen or the speed of the
> device (notice I didn't say speed of the processor).

Rate of exchange of information is simply not the same thing as the gear
ratio or the mechanical advantage of a pulley (II. 5. b, c, d.). Nothing
else even comes close, unless one considers the medieval sense of
"power" to be an instance of the same.

"Battery life" is not in OED:

> I live in a major metro area and I can only get it downtown AND... it
> destroys my battery life. So it's still practically worthless unless
> you are using on a 4G capable device in your home. Even in the iPhone,
> assuming even a better battery... until they can get power consumption
> handled, it doesn't really matter. I turn it on for specific downloads
> and it's off the rest of the time. A lot of these "high speed"
> protocols are worthless without better battery life or less power
> needed to run the said function. So it's a pointless debate anyway.
> Mine stays OFF.

There are, however, already three quotations--under auto-off, PCMCIA and
promotion.

"Anti-competitive" is not in OED (there is a quotation under
"inhibition"). "Consumer base" isn't there either.

> The iPhone's survival as the single most-sold phone is the result of
> Apple's marketing and their completely anti-competitive/proprietary
> embracing policies that have locked their consumer base in with a
> passive penalty.

Finally, a cute, but likely unstable, portmanteau:

> The iPhone 4s is a shining example of this blindness. IMHO, the war
> has already been fought an won...Android has prevailed and Googlrola
> will only cement that fact.

     VS-)



















On 10/9/2011 4:37 AM, Victor Steinbok wrote:
>
> http://goo.gl/zoBmV
>> "Before the [iphone 4s ] Apple press conference had ended, fanboyism
>> began to run rampant across the Internet," Zeman wrote. "You could
>> hear the smug tone of superiority in the voices of those who prefer
>> other platforms and devices, in Web forums, comment threads, and on
>> Twitter."
>
> "Fanboy" has been covered here earlier. I thought this was a good
> follow-up.
>
>     VS-)
>
>

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