For years, tech critics like me have occasionally endured abuse from the Cult of Mac. If you write anything that even hints at a less-than-perfect Apple effort (like my reviews of, for example, the original Apple TV, iMovie '08 or MobileMe), the backlash is swift, vitriolic and heated. We're talking insults, vulgarities and even threats. I've always thought that that vocal sub-population of Mac fans make up the world's most watchful, most hostile grass-roots lobbying arm.

But now I see that I was wrong. There's an even nastier one: the BlackBerry nuts.

When did this happen? Maybe when Apple entered the smartphone racket and started getting all the attention. All of a sudden, Apple was no longer the underdog; it was suddenly Goliath. The poor little BlackBerry was the underdog.

But if the iPhone keeps it up, watch out. There's a new oppressed minority in town. And you wouldn't like them when they're angry.

-- David Pogue, The New York Times, Readers React to David Pogue’s Review of the BlackBerry Storm