You can be a fan of both. I think Andy is great because he’s more concerned about the use of technology than the brand of technology. It’s great to have someone who’s using Android as their daily driver on the show, to get the compare and contrast on various topics. Andy’s critical of Apple when he needs to be. He’s been critical of Google as well.
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Also: Squirrel!!!
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Old-ish thread, but wanted to mention that I also unsubscribed from MBW a few months ago after being a listener since at least 2007-2008, and mostly because I got tired of Andy’s tendency to ramble on the same subjects (Apple’s elitism, and how much he hates the 2016 keyboard), and a continued lack of perspective from Rene when it came to evaluating Apple products. I love the products too, but my job isn’t to reviewing the stuff, and he’s unfortunately lost credibility with me as a relatively objective observer of the brand.
Has the addition of Lori helped at all?
I would like to hear about Lori as well. I didn’t know there was a new contributor. What perspective does she bring?
Does it make me a jerk if I state the obvious: How about listening to an episode to see if you like her contributions?
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We have had Lory on our network for some time now :).
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Lori is great - I always enjoy her well thought out contribution to discussions.
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Lory is fun and does a good job
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I think that people need to relax. I am primarily a Linux guy but am using Windows at work and also own mac products. I approach everything from the Linux user perspective and i enjoy watching Mac break weekly as well as all about android and windows weekly.
It is important to understand where each presenter is coming from. Some people are specialising in one ecosystem whereas others are generalists. I expect the specialists to provide insight of the deep integrations of the platform and the generalists to provide views on how the platform interacts with other platforms /ecosystems.
I first met Andy as a mac specialist but the last few years he has switched to being more of a generalist. I think that enhances his perspective and gives him more insight on the strengths and weaknesses of the platforms he is working on.
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A big question, why does he have to be one or the other?
I use a mix of technology, I’ve used a lot of Apple equipment over the years, Microsoft products, Android phones and tablets, Linux and UNIX devices, heck even ICL, IBM and DEC minis and mainframes with their esoteric operating systems. Each has their strong and weak points. As long as you remain objective, do you actually have to belong to any single camp?
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I believe that it’s natural to be a generalist. But some people love a platform so much that they abandon all else and thus become specialists. Its quite common.
I agree about specialising, but this is more than that. This argument seems to be about him going from an Apple specialist to a generalist and people being confused or outraged, because he is no longer just an Apple user, suddenly he is no longer “one of us”, he is “one of them” and therefore can’t talk authoritatively on “our” beloved products any more, burn the heretic.
For me, in his job, that makes his input now much better, because he isn’t “blinkered”.
But some seem to have lost faith in him, because he is no longer purely Apple. That is the sad part. “He is no longer one of us, so he can no longer be trusted to talk about our beloved manufacturer.” I leave that as “manufacturer”, because this seems to be increasingly the case about a lot of companies. You are either a fan of the company or you are against it… As if you need to have/show loyalty or alliegance to a company in order to talk about it.
Being a user of the technology, but also having experience on other technologies allows you to speak more authoritatively about the products/technologies, because you can compare them with the rest of the world, you can more easily see the mistakes that are made and point them out. But the “fan boys” don’t like to hear anything negative about their beloved brand, especially when it comes from an “outsider”.
This is true in most aspects of life these days, not just IT.
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Certainly. I’m also multi-platform, being a Mac/iOS user for work and an Android fan for everything else. And I’m Linux and Chrome OS curious, I guess. 
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I donno why the Beach Boys just popped into my head. "She gets around…round… " 
But it’s true, a lot of us do get around to a lot of different platforms and OSes, especially if you factor in networking (routers and modems) and IoT and watches and… I’m certain I don’t need to provide the reference, but what the heck:
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I think the old PC/Mac & newer iOS/Android is just tribalism rearing its’ ugly head. I’ve lost several internet points trying to defend one platform or another in a very measured way in the wrong forum.
I’ve used Macs and Apple since I could afford them. But the last few years, I’ve found them limiting. So I built a Ryzen mini-ITX machine and hot damn that a neat form factor. I still don’t quite trust Windows, because my previous experience was XP, but I really appreciate its’ flexibility. And though I really enjoy the smoothness of the Apple TV, I’ve enjoyed toying around the Shield TV as well (Kodi SNES emulators!). I’m a bit Pi-curious, but I don’t know what I would do with that. I’ve tried running some Linux VMs and Docker, but it’s a bit above my pay grade.
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Hey Dave here is a neat pi use case
https://www.piretrogaming.com/
There are tons of other applications. Pis are quite performant.
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@nickapos That reminds me of this, which I have been considering trying. It’s a PI-a-like. https://www.cloudmedia.com/?product=roshambopro-retro-gaming-kit-rockpro64-2g-board-fanheat-sink-12v3a-power-supply
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Hah, I’m an iPhone user with an Android tablet, running Windows and Linux 
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I watch Windows Weekly, the hosts are rabid Microsoft mavens…serious Microsoft experts, Apple bashers! Mary Jo Foley said, on one show last week, “I just don’t like the Mac community!”, when asked why she didn’t like Apple! Not Apple products, but the people who use them! Yet, they also call out MS when warranted. I would expect the same from ALL the hosts on MBW - Andy used to be that way, but no longer as he drifts away from Apple products. Rene, Lory and Alex are to Apple, what Mary Jo and Paul are to Microsoft! Come to think of it, Watch All About Android and see the hosts proselytizing Android and dumping on Apple - yet even they call out Google et al when warranted! My point is, the hosts on Company or Product specific shows should all be major users, evangelists and experts of the companies or products they cover - yet be willing to call out the company or product when appropriate! They should not be functioning as a GENERALIST!
IMHO of course
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