Mac Versus The Rest.
Posted on May 13th, 2008 by Simon ChenOh God. I think I’ve turned into a Mac Snob.
I was sitting in a meeting this morning and a guy came in to present to us. He had set up his PC on the boardroom table and I couldn’t help feel sorry for him. He had wires and crap going everywhere. I think it was a Benq machine. Whoever the hell they are.
Worst of all - his screen saver was an ad for Benq machines, about how well designed they were, the inherent quality and form and function and all that other marketing pish. The screen saver even bragged about the fact that this machine was blessed to come pre-loaded with Windows Vista. Cursed more like it.
Anyway.
He laboured through his presentation. I didn’t listen to a word.
Man, was the machine ugly. It was enormous. And it probably weighed a ton.
Now, I only recently moved to a Mac environment about a year ago. I am a total convert. But I am worried that I’ve turned into this Mac snob who is close to accepting the fact that membership to the Mac cult is not far away.
What is it about the Apple brand that affects most users?
All I know is that I can’t go back. It’s too late. They work too well. And too easily.
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May 13th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
How not to be a Mac Snob: Realize that that the Mac-PC-Linux world does not define all possible options. Macs are great, yes, but there is tons of stuff which simply has not improved, and has needed to, for the last 40 years, across the entire computing industry.
For example — why is it you can still lose a document if are yet to save it? Why is transferring files to someone remotely still so bloody hard or require arbitrary knowledge? Why does a mouse still only have essentially 1 bit input and no feedback? What kid today would have ever seen a file folder in real life? Why do we still have file extensions? Why is manipulating windows and applications still a PITA?
Demand simpler, more intuitive, more enjoyable computer experiences. Sure, it may be a huge ask, but realize that this is one industry which affects millions of users.. the effort in improving one small thing in an OS, for example, has huge repercussions across the world, for years to come.
To answer your question: I think the Apple brand has the concept that the user doesn’t actually care about computers — just the stuff they can make. That’s why they make stuff which already has many decisions made for the user, why the hardware looks like something your wife would let you keep in the living room, and why Apple stuff tends towards the minimal — because they realize that the users want to get stuff done — not do ‘computing’.
May 14th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Couldn’t agree with Simon more.
I bought a MacBook Pro 10 months ago.
I run OSX & WinXP in Duel model.
I rearly face compatability issues, and always have minimal fuss with connectivity.
The thing works really, really well… I’m a total convert.
May 21st, 2008 at 11:53 pm
Simon
You often see one eyed views like this with Collingwood supporters. All they see is black and white and not the real issues.
Macs are great - i have one and love it. They are great for home, in creative environments and small businesses. But in the coporate world I still find them hard work. Integration with networks, custome built applications, inbox/calendars, file structures and obtaining support are hard - harder than it should be.
We tried to integrate a Mac into our office and the user imploded. I think i explained the Apple key was the control key approximately 100 times. I took to heavy drinking - it was too hard and too different for the average office user with a Msoft Office DNA
So i think they are great…and especially for technically savvy people. However - the change from the devil (msoft) for the average person is too great. And IT departments in big corporates wont change for decades.