Before I was blessed with a Mac of my own, I didn't regularly visit any dedicated Mac or Apple related news source. As someone who used to use PCs exclusively, I didn't feel like I needed any more news than the inescapable mountain of supposedly fascinating crap that came out of the Apple hype machine.
I did read John Gruber's fantastic essays over at Daring Fireball though. Because, even though his writing oftentimes is exclusively within the Apple realm, the writing is of such high quality that it doesn't really matter what he writes about, only that he does.
Therefore, it's not until now that I too use a Mac, after having read Daring Fireball for a year and a half, that I've begun to read other Mac related news sources as well. I started out reading about ten or so different news sites, but quickly narrowed it down to just a couple of them. Because, quite frankly, they all write about the same stuff, if you read only one or two Mac news sites you're not really missing out on anything that happens in the Apple universe.
Mac news is one thing, punditry is another. In my opinion, Daring Fireball is easily the the number one source of Mac punditry. Not because Gruber is sitting on any exclusives, but because he knows his shit (apart from the time he argued in favor of referrer listings over trackbacks and pingbacks), and he knows how to make a thorough argument.
I bought the t-shirt, if you've enjoyed John's writing as much as I have, it is my humble suggestion that you seriously consider doing the same thing yourself.
Comments
If it's punditry you seek, check out the Mac Journal at www.macjournals.com. (Or, you could try out MacMove of course, but - truth be told - the boys at MJ have more time on their hands.)
Comment by Seth at 04:44, 22 Jun, 2004 #
Yes, eventhough I dont own a mac (I do use one regularly), I always make a point to read Gruber because of his writing. He has made many excellent points in the past that have prompted me assess my views on issues. His writing is thorough and excellent.
I cannot understand why Apple would not support Daring Fireball. You would think it would be in their interest to do so. Of course he will lose his independent perception but that's beyond the point. But I believe that its Apple's interest to support folks like Gruber. Would be much wiser than spending millions on ads that they do normally.
Also why are we not seeing something similar on the Windows front? Yes, there is a lot of info but no one as informative ("knows his shit") and authoritative as Gruber. Lot of information but no personality.
Comment by Sunny at 05:23, 22 Jun, 2004 #
Now heaaar that!
Comment by swimp at 10:48, 22 Jun, 2004 #
While I do have an old G3 with OS X, I hardly use it anymore. I still read Gruber, though -- he does indeed Know His Shit, and in addition to that also has personality, and that alone is reason to keep reading his writings.
If I wasn't a poor student with the summer (and no CSN money) coming up, I'd love to help him out.
Comment by Johan Svensson at 11:42, 22 Jun, 2004 #
The discussion has been closed on this entry. Thanks to everybody who participated.