I am always impressed by the passionate users Apple Computers throw up. Whenever I work with a Mac user they are always 100% committed to the operating system and everything Mac – to the extent many of them will use personal machines in the office if they have been forced to sit at a Windows box all day long (amusingly, Tom has to get used to an office-based Windows machine – an entry I read immediately before I opened this Windows alert). It really is interesting because with large number of ambassadors why isn’t Apple the biggest supplier of office-based/home-based computing power?

I’m constantly tempted but never have the nerve to jump into the great lake Mac. I was once a Systems Administrator who suffered trying to network a Mac with a group of PCs and a whole stack of Solaris and Linux systems but I accept that was years ago and probably a result of my own failings rather than anything to do with the machine. What is it that is stopping me? I wish I could put my finger on it.

There aren’t many companies that have this level of loyalty and you rarely read about a Microsoft user that has such passion – although there must be some (Americans put Microsoft at number 5 in the best of brands league). I used to be passionate about my trusty Palm Vx machine but now see it purely as a tool (maybe I’ll get excited again if I ever get the cash together for a Tungsten). Perhaps the toning down of my Palm evangelism is more to do with the fact that the PDA concept is now more widely accepted and I don’t have to convert people the way I used to.

Still, there must be lessons to learn from Apple if you’re in the business of inspiring customer loyalty and building a brand. What they are, I’m not sure, but I wish I could bottle it.

• ConsumerAffairs: Apple Is A “Good Guy,” Dell Makes Rogue’s Gallery
  

On this day…

2004: It’s Getting Warm In London
2003: Dannii Minogue ‘invents new dance’
2002: Ministry of Truth

I keep hearing that tension is mounting and we’re heading for some kind of war with Iraq. The West, apparently, wants rid of Saddam. The thing that concerns me most is that I have not heard or seen any evidence so show that it is right for The West to start throwing their weight around in that part of the world again. It is always suggested that we should fear this man (and maybe we should) but can somebody please tell me why we are doing this? Reason would tell me there is some terrorist threat. President Bush is going after the terrorists in every country. I would like to believe we have some sound arguments (and, of course, some evidence) for any attack. In a democracy, aren’t we supposed to know why our leaders may send fellow citizens to war?

Apparently, the church even think it’s immoral. However, as they don’t appear to have any more of a clue than I do what all this is about, how can they say that?

The anti-Iraqi messages coming from The West (and most importantly, from The White House) reminds The San Francisco Chronicle of Orwell’s 1984. While everybody with a weblog on this planet may be linking to this article at the moment, it’s not going to stop me from pointing you in that direction too.

On this day…

2004: It’s Getting Warm In London
2003: Business Like Apples
2003: Dannii Minogue ‘invents new dance’