ONE BRAND OVER ANOTHER

EMAIL was in FOR AS LONG AS COMPUTERS have been

my freshman year of college in around, so have camps. And I’m not

1988. I attended Dartmouth, and referring to the types of camps you find

we had a system named BlitzMail. in the woods. I’m talking about sides—

Every student was granted an email people choosing one side over another

address and access to the system. side, and fighting about things on a near

Like most students, I didn’t use it at religious level. all. It’s hard for even me to believe,

You see it everywhere: Mac versus but back then I was in the habit of PC. Android versus iOS. AMD versus

writing letters and postcards. Intel. People get really passionate about

I vividly recall the tipping point, the brands they beholden themselves

though. In 1re years and my first job to. When this happens, things get really

in PC Week’s lab in 1992 to actually personal. Attacks are made and insults

start using it. Like a lot of corporate are tossed across the border, as though

workplaces, email was commonly one had to defend themselves on a

used for interoffice communications. personal level. But the volume wa989 in the middle

I find this to be frustrating because of my sophomore year, I was eating conversations tend to deteriorate, and

lunch with a few freshmen who were the merits of a product become lost.

talking about how great email was For me, focusing on empirical data

for chatting up women. I remember yields much better results, although

being shocked at the notion that sometimes it’s hopeless, even when data

these guys didn’t have the courage to is presented. pick up the phone. Little did I know. For the most part, I consider myself

I’d be lying if I said that I took to to be campless. I go for the product that

email the next day. I didn’t. It took is best at that time, but I do take into

three more years and my first job consideration a brand’s history. Has

in PC Week’s lab in 1992 to actually said brand shown a history of making

start using it. Like a lot of corporate reliable products or providing reliable

workplaces, email was commonly service? It’s easy to come up with one

used for interoffice communications. great product, but it’s much more

But the volume was manageable; I difficult to land a string of home runs.

remember going two or three hours However, many people hold on dearly to

without new email. That sounds their brands, whether their products are re

absolutely crazy now, but this was legitimately good or not. The funniestst

the era before SPAM even existed. part is that the same people accusese

As more friends started working others of the very guilt they themselves es

and came online, the postcard- and hold. I say, let the data speak for itself, lf,

letter- writing days ended forever. and leave feelings out of it. ( That lab job was also awesome

But it’s difficult, isn’t it? People because after four years of using get passionate about their hardware,

a Mac in college, I was able to get and passions run high in the PC

back to PC gaming— after hours, of

course.) community. Make no mistake, though,

I’ll be honest; I still love checking it’s no good for anyone when brands die. my inbox and discovering email—

Some might not remember, but there from friends, family, writers, was a time when there were far more

readers, PR people, whomever— even GPU options on the market than there

if it has become a bit overwhelming. are now. Today, I count two options. I

Between re years and my first job liked it better when there were more:

in PC Week’s lab in 1992 to actually S3, ATI, Nvidia, Rendition, 3dfx, Matrox,

start usingaccounts, I’ve never had PowerVR, BitBoys, 3Dlabs, Number

trouble keeping up. Until now. This is Nine. I probably forgot a few, but wow,

partially what inspired this month’s that was a truly glorious time. I wish

cover story. Over the last 18 months, those companies were still around.

I’ve begun to notice that my ability to When there are more players in a space,

quickly parse, read, and respond to innovation moves faster. email just isn’t fast enough anymore.

Right now, we’re in a risky situation. I need to develop new systems and If one of the major two players gets

shortcuts. I need to change my ways. acquired or goes bankrupt, we’re in

I’m curious— are you finding big trouble. Not only does innovation

yourself in the same boat as I am? plummet, but prices get affected, too.

If so, what have you done to better I always want all the players in the

manage your email life? Let me know industry to do well. at George@ maximumpc. com.

Does that mean I wouldn’t recommend one brand over another? No. There are

XXXXXXXXX some brands that I would absolutely

Finally, the winners of last month’s recommend, while others I wouldn’t,

challenge to identify the fake Google but that depends on the current product

app icon. For those scoring at home, lineup as well as things like failure rates

the correct answer was Google and customer service. Does that mean

Storage. Here are the winners: Keith I wish the rotten apples would die off?

Lucas ( who was the first correct Absolutely not. I want them to get their

response), Andy Man, Chris Brush act together and make better products.

I plant my flag squarely in the middle. But I let my wallet do the talking. Gordon Mah Ung is Maximum PC’s deputy editor, senior hardware TuanNguyenis Maximum PC’s editor-in

expert, and all- around muckraker. chief,alsoknownas“thepointyendofthe stick.”He’sbeenwriting,marketing,and raisinghellinthetechindustryfor20years.