An Experts Guide to Apple

We all know the sites and bloggers/vloggers that peddle rumors, superficial news, hardware/software reviews. But where to turn when you want expert, in-depth analysis of Apple's ethos, business, culture, etc? When you want to sound smart about Apple, these are the folks I recommend reading:

• John Gruber of Daring Fireball (writer/blogger) - The quintessential non-official Apple apologist. Doesn't mean he always agrees. But if you want a definitive understanding of Apple's ethos, look no further.

• Benedict Evans (VC analyst for Andreessen Horowitz) - Highly-regarded tech analyst. He and Dediu (below) are the two guys to read if you want great insight into Apple's business and cultural strategy. They also talk about the tech industry as a whole.

• Horace Dediu of Asymco (industry analyst) - He makes occasional appearances on CNBC and other business-related shows. Extremely in-tune with Apple's business strategy and philosophy, and has amazingly-detailed graphs and charts. He and Evans are often-quoted by Gruber.

• Marco Arment (app developer and enthusiast) - Creator of famous apps like Instapaper and Overcast. Bit of an ass, but fun to read/listen to.

• Steve Cheney (programmer, industry analyst) - Another oft-quoted writer, keen insight into Apple's ethos as well. Quiet on blog these days but active on Twitter.

• Stephen Hackett of 512 Pixels (design and marketing guru) - Great insights into Apple's design ethos, from web to software.

• John Siracusa (tech writer, developer) - Famous for his intensely detailed reviews of Apple products, rivaling Anand Lal Shimpi. Quiet on blog these days but active on Twitter.

• Jared Sinclair (app developer, blogger) - Famous for his Unread RSS app, I look to him (and Marco) to get a developer's perspective on where Apple's going.

Any other folks that I've missed? I intentionally left out Walt Mossberg and David Pogue since they're more popular writers from big tech/news websites.