I'm not really clear on how you think this whole 'fanboy' thing works. Do you think I have been brainwashed by Apple? You think I only bought an Apple to be in the 'in' crowd?

No. I bought a MacBook, thought it was fantastic compared to all that I had had before, and kept using it. I played with an iPhone in a shop, and for the first time, thought to myself "wow. I would actually use the browser and email on this phone", so I bought one.

I'm not arguing this to persuade you that Apple products are actually good, I'm arguing because by labeling people 'fanboys' you're effectively saying they have no clue. It's offensive.

You obviously don't like Apple. You've made it clear you hate things like font smoothing ;) That's your choice, but labeling people 'fanboys' is just lazy.

Arguing any more is pointless. It's like you calling me a fascist.

Like I said, I think most of their products are good, maybe a couple are even great. I don't dislike them, I just wouldn't recommend their PCs to my aunt. That was more or less the point of my original post, which you found to be trolling, because you disagree with it.

I do dislike fanboys though. I don't know if you are one or not, but I'd guess you are by how offended you get over any implication that you might be. It's the same concept as homophobia. Me simply mentioning the existence of fanboys on my blog constitutes trolling to you.

Every fanboy at some point bought an Apple out of curiosity. Every one of them will say "I didn't want to be part of a club, I just wanted to see if their products were better." That's how marketing works. Nobody says "I bought Budweiser because I like talking frogs." But a lot of people buy Budweiser because they like talking frogs.

So if you agree with me that there are fanboys (and maybe you don't) just trust me when I say, they all think the same way as you. That doesn't mean you are one, of course.It just means that if you were, you wouldn't know it.

Funnily enough, we have just recommended a mac mini to my mum+dad in law. Their current Dell is away being repaired after being infected for the umpteenth time. They are sick of it and just want something that works. Their usage is pretty much web/email/office, which the mac mini does without any issues.

I completely agree there are fanboys. My personal definition would be "Someone who promotes an obviously dud product as being great, out of overzealous brand loyalty".

For example, someone who loves Microsoft who argues about how much better the Zune is than other mp3 players, is quite likely to be a fanboy, because I think the overwhelming evidence is that the Zune is a dud product.

Your mentioning fanboys on the blog wasn't trolling in itself, it was the complete generalizations of all Apple users that was trolling. "Apple has created a club, and the people in it genuinely look down on others for not being a member."

The reason people get offended when you call them a fanboy is because you are effectively saying they are liars. You are accusing them of lying about their review of the product.

I don't think those statements imply that all users of Apple products are fanboys. You're reading into it what isn't there.

Also . . . I think being a "fanboy" isn't dependent on the object of fandom being a "dud". One can just as easily be a "fanboy" for something good as for something bad. It's the attitude that makes a "fanboy", not the product.

If Apple turned out nothing but crap for the next two years and you continued to defend it, you'd be a "fanboy". If it turned out nothing but crap for the next two years and you immediately jumped ship to, say, a Thinkpad running FreeBSD, or just stuck with your two year old better-quality Apple products because you liked what Apple did before it went down the tubes, you wouldn't be an Apple "fanboy".

If the product is a "dud", that makes it easier to identify the "fanboys", but it's not the deciding factor.

Also . . . I think implicit in the label of "fanboy" is that the only lying they do is to themselves. They really believe what they tell everyone else. If someone's lying to others, that's not fanboyism -- it's called being a shill.

Which is why no fanboy realizes that they are a fanboy. Except my friend Russ. He wears the badge with pride.

I don't think I characterize all Apple users that way. Just a large number, though not a large percentage. Direct quote: "That’s how big Apple has become in the minds of many of their users. Not all, and probably not even a majority, especially if you count people who only own an iPod." You seem to automatically lump yourself into that group even though two days ago I had no idea who you were, and then get offended.

Actually, the Zune v 2. looks pretty good. It's got 4 stars on Amazon and an 8.3 on CNET, which is identical in both cases to the 80GB iPod. Don't you think it's a little disengenuous to say "the overwhelming evidence is that the Zune is a dud product"? Seems the evidence is its as good as an iPod. Doesn't it seem a little Apple fanboyish to write it off as a dud?