It seems as if every day I get called something different depending on an article I've written that day, the previous day or even six months ago. It doesn't matter what I say, I'm a fanboy of some sort, for some platform, regardless of the point I'm actually trying to get across. If I put one platform in anything but positive light, I must be batting for the other team. Right?
It's not that I care what people say. In fact, I find it more entertaining than anything. If you want to think I'm an iPhone fanboy because I call Android out for inconsistent placement of a menu button (which Google apparently wants dead anyway), so be it. It doesn't really matter in the end, because when I talk about how the 3.5-inch display on the iPhone is way too small for a guy with gigantic thumbs, a proponent for the Apple camp will call foul and deem me an Android fanboy.
That's the name of the game.
Truth be told, however, I'm about as far from being a fanboy – of one particular thing – as I can possibly get. I use anything and everything I can get my hands on, and I enjoy most of it. This ranges from gaming consoles and computers to mobile phones and tablets. Just like I said from my personal Twitter account the other day, I'm "not sure how anyone out there is a one OS man/woman."
I grew up using nothing but Windows PCs. But about two years ago, I really started getting into (by that, I mean I scratched the surface) Linux and loved every minute of it. And roughly four months ago, I bought my first Mac, a 13.3-inch MacBook Air. Needless to say, I love it for what it's good at. But I can't just use OS X by itself. I have also kept around my old Linux and Windows machines, just in case I need them for something.
My smartphone use is largely the same. It all started with a BlackBerry back in 2005 for me. Over the years, I've progressed and graduated to newer and more modern platforms, like Android, iOS, Windows Phone and webOS. Each platform has a special place in my heart, and each of them have their own set of advantages and disadvantages. And every so often, I like to switch it up and swap one of my two lines out for a phone running a different platform.
Even with tablets, I like to diversify. The first tablet I ever bought was an Android-powered Archos 5 Internet tablet in late 2009. Once the first iPad released, I picked one of those up, too. Since then, I've owned somewhere around 15 different tablets, including the iPad 2, Eee Pad Transformer, a couple Galaxy Tabs and the Kindle Fire. Not every tablet got all praises from me. There were some that I had no second guesses about when returning them. But I enjoyed both iOS and Android in tablet form, for the most part. And I plan on checking out Windows 8 tablets once they're available, along with the iPad 3 and any other high profile Android tablets that may come.
I can't imagine being stuck with one platform all the time and never branching out – solely using Linux and Android, or strictly using nothing but Microsoft or Apple products all the time.
Despite all of this, people get the impression that when I talk about the shortcomings of a platform or a specific manufacturer I must hate it and that I must be a fanboy for the opposing team trying lay down a backhanded, virtual beating. That couldn't be more wrong or short-sighted. And trust me, if that were the case, Aaron would probably backhand me a few times before showing me the door. (I'm kidding ... sort of.)
No device, no platform and no combination of the two are perfect. You could look negative comments about a platform as constructive criticism on my part, a message directed to someone on RIM', Apple's, Android's or Microsoft's development teams in hopes of them getting the message and making necessary alterations in future updates.
But that's not really the point. All of the griping, whining and criticizing I do is for you, our readers. The more you know about each platform, no matter how big or small the information, the easier it may be for you to make a decision. What may be insignificant to you could be a determining factor to the next guy. My job as a part-time device reviewer and full-time op-ed writer is to pick things apart, give my opinion and critique some of the most minute things. You may disagree with a lot of what I have to say, but at the very least, you should be able to gain some perspective.
The point is, I love and use all major platforms, mobile and desktop, and I give most manufacturers at least a couple chances before writing them off entirely. I'm not a fanboy of any specific brand or platform, but rather a fan of everything – an everything man. And I don't complain or whine without cause; I do it to put my opinion out there in hopes of it helping someone else out – and even to be proven wrong, which happens more often than I would like to admit sometimes.
What about you, guys and gals? Are you one OS men and women? Or do you like to play the field, test all platforms out and pick which one (or ones) work best for you? Do you use more than one operating system on a daily or weekly basis?
