Fanboys…. They are what makes companies last through ups and downs and through thick and thin.

Its a very interesting topic to post about. Basically, fanboys are just a group of people who admire a company to such an extent that they believe it can do no wrong, and are oblivious to everything else.

The best and most widely alluded to example is Apple. Most Mac users are Mac fanboys. They believe that, no matter what, Macintosh is better than Windows and Linux, that the PPC Big Endian architecture rocks Little Endian, and that, no matter how high of prices Apple charges and how slow of a PC they get in exchange, Apple is God.

I’m not going to say that I *cough, cough* disagree with them or think they are a bunch of single-minded lunatics, but what started out as a Mac-only phenomena has compounded to cover almost all the other popular companies out there.. All but one.

As of now, fanboys can be most clearly seen in the followers of Google, Firefox, Apple, and Linux. Linux fans tend to be more objective, realizing that Linux is not (at the moment at any rate) anywhere near as easy to use or adopt as Windows, but they live for Linux, and will never badmouth it. At the same time though, you have many Linux users who respect Linux, but are far from worshiping it. A decent mix.

Google!!!! Now, that is something else. The newest kid on the block, it has gained ground and worshipers like no other. No matter what they make, what they invest in, who they hire, what technologies they champion and scoff, to these Googlians, Google is King. This takes on a double meaning, since it is now eternally clear the Microsoft and Google are the two Gladiators in the playground, domineering over the rest. In essence, to be a Google fanboy is to hate on Microsoft forever.

Firefox is a more mysterious affair. You have people that swear by Firefox, and would never leave it for Microsoft, yet they are aware of its shortcomings..But, get this, they are proud of them! Ask any Firefox fan about the UI, and they will admit it doesn’t ship pretty, but they are proud owners of a browser that cares more about works than looks.

At last, is Microsoft. Fan-less I’m afraid. Over the years, though Microsoft has proved its worth over and over again, I’m afraid that to the followers, it has hurt too many companies, broken too many laws, and is unworthy of their trust. That doesn’t (of course!) mean that no one uses it, after all, it is still the first name in computers and technology. But it doesn’t have a group of followers who will go with it to the ends of the earth, fending off attacks left and right.

Where does that leave Microsoft??? Well, Microsoft has thus far proved its worth, earned its name, and secured its rank. A couple of years ago, no one would have guessed that it would ever teeter above its self-dug grave. Yet today, it has surely witnessed the power of fans, followers, freeware, and open-source. Today. Microsoft could do with followers, but so long as it keeps going straight and steady, it will always have a chance.

Ushering in a new era of compatibility and integration with newer technologies (CSS3, increased W3C Compatibility, better popup blocker, etc.) is what the Mozilla Foundation claims its latest release is about.

Soon Firefox will dump support for the SSL2 protocol, one which was meant to provide security, but is a liability in and of itself…

All these changes… It is more than obvious to someone who hasn’t been hiding in a bomb shelter for the past six months, or enjoying an extended vacation in the Bahamas, that Mozilla is refusing to go down to IE 7, not without a fight.

In the end though, here at NeoSmart, we feel that what they are doing is going in circles and avoiding the real battle. Unfortunately, our good friends at Mozilla do not realize that their fight is not with the Computer Gurus, Techies, Geeks, Wizards, Programmers, etc. but with the average man.

Firefox

John Doe and Bill Smith could care less about CSS3.. What is it anyway?? What matters is the interface, the availability, and the usability. The former and the latter can technically be piled together; but they are so important that they deserve to be mentioned separately.

I am a web developer, and to me it is very important that my browser support JavaScript 1.6 and CSS2/3 completely, but do you know what? When I develop websites, I test them on Internet Explorer first. Why? Because I know my audience.

The majority of the world (88%) uses Internet Explorer (obviously by Microsoft). The first reason is obvious: it ships with Windows, and its free. But more importantly than that, what it boils down to is: it works. The common man is dictated by the age-old falsehood ‘If its not broken, don’t fix it.’ This cliche has never been more wrong, but just the same, to the people that matter, the bulk of the audience, the filling of the pie; Internet Explorer is getting things done, there is no need to switch.

No need to switch to what? A program that looks like it was made for Windows 95? A program where pages don’t transition smoothly, scrollbars don’t change color, and eye-candy is gone unused??

If Mozilla wants Firefox to be number 1, they have a far way to go. Its not that far actually, nothing that a dozen programmers couldn’t get fixed in a month, but so long as their priorities aren’t straight, a while is no different from forever.

Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer has long since conquered the home. No PC isn’t without IE from Mac to Windows, its there. Why? Because its impossible to not who Bill Gates is, what he invented, and what browser comes with your computer. Because it ships with Windows, and it gets things done.

With Internet Explorer 7 though, things are starting to change. Microsoft was for a while a PC for Dummies thing, but not anymore. With IE7, new boundaries are being forged, the old ones broken and shattered beyond recognition. IE7 is Microsoft’s response to the growing threat from Mozilla as it takes away the Computer Enthusiasts from Microsoft’s platform. And, from what I have seen as a MS Beta Tester, its quite a comeback.

What does all this mean???

Real simple? It means that until one company buys the other, or Google buys The Mozilla Foundation (or Firefox at the very least), both these browsing giants will continue to evolve and improve, and either way, we will benefit. Until then though, it boils down to the geeks, the fanboys, and everyone else.

The geeks will constantly switch from one to the other, seeking the bleeding-edge, just like those before them searched for the end of the Earth, where everything stopped.
The fanboys will pick one and never switch even years after its death (now might be a good time to point out that Microsoft never really had a fan base, just consumers wishing it didn’t charge so much, while open-source will always have its place in society).
As for everyone else, so long as Microsoft exists and ships IE with Windows, and refuses to ship Firefox with it, the battle will pass right on over their heads.

Me? Well, I have Firefox on a USB drive that use everywhere at work and school. At home I have Internet Explorer 7 which I use for normal browsing, and Firefox for simple RSS reading… What the future holds, I know not.

—Addendum—

Looking back, my first post was long.. maybe too long? Feel free to let me know :)
Hopefully in the future posts will be less round about and more explicit…

Hey all….

Ramblings of a Computer Guru is a WordPress-powered blog and the beginning of a new line for NeoSmart Technologies. If you ever want the inside scoop on corporate buyouts, antitrust lawsuits, new applications, ground-breaking technologies, earth-shaking discoveries, or constant ranting on everything that goes wrong in cyberspace, this is the place to go.

This blog is where you find out what the latest news translates to, and what we at NeoSmart recommend. Often this information will be pertinent to your survival on the extra-terrestrial platform of technology, but we what you hear here may leave you sleepless for a couple of weeks.

Hope you stick around and enjoy the blog, that’s what its here for.

Out for Now,
The Computer Guru