If you have seen Apple’s recent crop of ads to counter Microsoft’s Laptop Hunter Ads, you will find two themes: Apple Genius’ are amazing at technical support, and Windows computers just don’t operate without crashing and constantly catch viruses. Of course these are just marketing gimmicks, just like the Laptop Hunter ads were also, but I think it’s fair to take a few minutes to talk about something we often forget, reality.
Watered Down Geniuses
When you walk up to the Apple Genius Bar, the cool cats in the brightly colored shirts give off quite the air of style and chic, but does that translate to great technical support? Before I relay some of my own personal experiences, how about a reality check. On average, Apple Geniuses make about $25,000 a year, that translates to about $12 an hour. Now this is just mean, but if you stand behind a bar for 40 hours a week for $12 an hour, how smart are you really? The reality is that the average age that I see is around maybe 20?
A great place to start is reading “A day in the life of an Apple Genius” from Maclife. There are some great tid bits in this article like:
- Probably 70% of the stuff we see is physically damaged by the customer
- People should not use extensive mods to their OS, it always causes problems
The basic rundown is this. A Candidate gets screened by a round of troubleshooting questions. If he answers most of those correctly, he gets a two week training session in Cupertino that results in three certifications. The source for Maclife’s article admits the tests aren’t particularly hard. After testing, the candidate gets some real world retail training. That’s where they learn the ticketing system and such. In these two weeks they are well versed in AppleCare policies, entering information into the support database as well as general Apple policies. Finally the genius does a couple weeks training in a real store and bam, they stamp genius on his or her head and he may stand at the alter in an Apple Store. Excuse my cynicism here, but 6 weeks does not a genius make. Malcolm Gladwell posited in Outliers, that it took 10,000 hours to become an expert at anything. Apparently it only takes 240 hours to become an expert at all things Apple, and that’s assuming that they were absorbing for a solid 8 hours per day over these 6 weeks.
I want to be clear, I am not saying that you shouldn’t go to a Genius Bar to get your Mac Fixed, I just did. But I will say that had I not did 10 minutes of due diligence on Google before going in, my repair would have cost me $1,000 vs. free. The Genius was not aware that there was an issue with nVidia chips that was nearing class-action status and because of this Apple had extended the warranty on machines with the issue to two years. Seems like something you would hope they knew, right?
The time before I went to get an Airport Extreme card installed in my Mac Pro, only to have them accidentally disable Bluetooth in the process.
The point is, don’t expect them to be all knowing and never make mistakes, they are Apple’s Geek Squad, no different.
For a more amusing read, check out the MacLife article’s source’s blog, Ungenius.
Viruses Smiruses
I encourage you to first think back and tell me the last time you or someone you know got a virus on their PC. I know it does happen, but I also know it is much less common than the general perception is. I can’t remember catching one myself since “I love you” in 2000. It was a nasty bugger, but it was proliferated across the network because at the time people pretty much opened anything that came in an email attachment without ever looking at it. I like to think people are a bit smarter now.
Also software is better. Despite the hordes of Apple and Linux aficionados that will quote the countless thousands you will have to spend to hopefully be protected, I have been using AVG Free edition from Download.com for years. I would say that more often I hear of virus hoaxes than actual viruses.
Probably the only companies happier than Apple that Viruses DO exist, are anti-virus software makers themselves. It’s become a tremendously profitable industry spawning not only software sales but ridiculously expensive subscriptions. I personally have no problem installing Windows XP, Vista or 7 on a new machine and connecting it to the internet with no Virus protection software. 99% of not being affected by viruses is using your computer responsibly.
The point is that the Apple commercials are hyperbole, Viruses and OS Crashes are nowhere near as common as they would like you to think. As a parting note, Apple’s DO get viruses too. You can only expect them to rise with popularity. The most common, and true, argument is that Windows machines have more viruses because 90% of people use Windows computers, if you are trying to cause damage, you go after the larger target. OS X won’t find safety in it’s small numbers forever.
Now That’s Good TV
It is. The commercials are absolutely brilliant from a marketing perspective and have done wonders to create FUD (Fear Uncertainty and Doubt) about Windows Vista, PCs and pretty much anything that isn’t Mac. The laptop hunter commercials are great too, and now Apple is attaching those as well. Enjoy the commercials, but I sincerely hope that you don’t use them to make purchasing decisions.
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I personally have no problem installing Windows XP, Vista or 7 on a new machine and connecting it to the internet with no Virus protection software.
You would have to be a fool to install a new pc and not protect it.
I run an IT firm and we get paid a lot to remove viruses/rootkits and malware from people just like you who have that attitude.
Viruses/Malware are very prevalent, software and education are the tools you use to combat this.
Lots of drive-by malware out there even if you are a “responsible” user.
Its very irresponsible to even hint that viruses are in anyway passe. I am sure an infected user cannot bill you for all their easily avoidable issues. My two cents..
::The most common, and true, argument is that Windows machines have more viruses because 90% of people use Windows computers, if you are trying to cause damage, you go after the larger target. OS X won’t find safety in it’s small numbers forever.
Hmm, you think that is true, right? Where is your proof?
It is so dumb to hear that argument over and over again. Linux for example has less or no viruses because it had a sound security infrastructure FOR EVER, while Windows truly sucked security wise, starting with NT and even XP was had still holes that you could drive a 747 through. Microsoft was incredible pathetic in trying to deny it, instead of cleaning up their act. Now with Vista and 7 this has changed (although the standard settings of 7 are much more insecure than Vista, expect security headlines from this soon) I am certified security expert on both Windows and Linux (CISSP), so I have a perspective on both systems.
So where is my proof? here:
I am so tired of hearing this DUUMB line over and over, mostly from people that really don’t know much about computers and have no truly deep training in it. If you don’t know stuff, why not just shut up instead of losing your face when you meet a person that truly knows how things are?
A security architecture must be present from the very start in a OS. Retrofiting does never work. It is like you install steel doors in a hut. The legacy compatibility modes of Vista and 7 are truly ugly in that respect and punching HUGE holes in the whole OS.
Unix on the other side was already designed with least priviledge and all kinds of security consideration back in the early 70′ies and Linux inherited much of that, including highly trained people that you can truly call engineers today.
And yes, I have seen virus ridden systems in the last 4 years, tons of them. Usually of users that get the antivirus trialware when they buy the computer and then refuse to pay for a subscription. Well, heck, of course they should not. Why would you have to pay for something that should be included in the price? They often don’t know about free antivirus and so the systems I encountered, they were beyond help. Even installing a antivirus ended with a few reboots and bluescreens all around and a reinstall. This was on XP. How good Vista and 7 is going to be, only time and experience will tell. Virus infections will surely go down, as a result of the new security features. Which are, funny enough, pretty close to what Linux has always had: least privilege, separate user accounts and no working as admin, password prompts for privilege elevation.
Oh, and I just remember, I forgot the link from the last post:
here the document I refered to..
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/22/security_report_windows_vs_linux/
an interesting read, especially concerning the architectural differences between the two OSes and how they affect security.
As a security pro I know that ease of use often is totally opposite to good security.