The weirder section of the Apple blogosphere was pretty tragic reading even when Apple was regularly knocking them out of the park, the response to this map debacle really sorts the sheep from the goats.

It sounds awfully like Apple would like a chance to prove themselves and iterate their beta product. But we wouldn't want to be grading on a curve* now would we?

* http://duckduckgo.com/?q=site%3Adaringfireball.net+grading+o...

(I provided the reference, as this phrase, much like "race to the bottom", seems to be used in a sense about 180 degrees removed from it's actual meaning in the Apple blogs)

The As seem a bit aggressive

The reason, of course, is that they aren't actually answers, they're part of a desperate attempt to justify and deflect blame for Apple's royal screwup...

I don't know why people do this sort of thing (go nuts defending something obviously indefensible). As one of the few sane commenters points out, liking Apple's products, and even being a all-out fan, doesn't mean one can't be realistic about their problems. Indeed, well-placed and clear-eyed criticism will in the long run only make Apple's stuff better, and surely that's something any fan could get behind, right?

I'm certainly not an Apple fanboy, but I generally like Apple's products, and have even thought about buying an iphone 5 ... but now ... I'm not so sure (I guess I'll wait and see how things play out). Which sucks, because in many ways it's an absolutely delicious piece of kit (and in the case of the ipod touch, pretty much the only game in town). Please Apple, do the right thing, even if it means swallowing your pride in the short-term; if you do, I will happily give you my money...

Swap out "Apple Maps" and "Google Maps" for "iPhone" and "Windows Phone", and you have a ready-made link for Gruber, with a snarky comment about "skating to where the puck was" ready to go.

Well that was embarrassing...