Thursday, January 24, 2008

Macheads and the Cult of Mac

I have often told people that mac users are part of a cult (the cult of Mac, the cult of Apple). Mac users are unusually passionate about their choice of computers. This "zeal" is often annoying to others as I have posted about before. Apple fanboys and Mac zealots, although frustrating to others around them, have to be admired for their dedication and outright love (yes, love) for their platform. Seriously, do you ever see anyone get super excited about their Dell laptop or HP PC and try to convince others around them to "convert?" I think not!

There is a new documentary about the most radical of the radicals called "Macheads" coming out soon. Here's the trailer for it:


Will I see it? Of course.

My own "conversion" to Mac came during my first year of Bible college in 1993. I had some friends who were mac users and I was experiencing "powerbook envy" (apple laptops were called powerbooks at that time and PC users were jealous of their sharp looks). Although I was a PC user, I was on the fence and waffling. Should I try Macs? There was just something about them that is hard to describe which made them so different. I had money for a new computer but I wasn't sure. Since I was such a huge Risk fan, I decided that when I went into a computer store, I would look for the game Risk. If the system requirements were for a PC, I'd buy a PC and if they were for a Mac, I'd buy a mac. I ran into the store and picked up the first Risk game I saw; it was for macs. I have never looked back.

Apple is kind of a media darling right now. Everyone (even Sony!) wants to be them. But I remember "the dark years" when people thought Apple was dead in the water and thought they might even go under as a company. It was tough being a zealot back then. We were always on the defensive, always the target of jokes and jabs. Now, Apple is hugely successful (the iPod, the iPhone, iTunes) and there marketshare is almost 8% and they are the 3rd or 4th largest computer manufacturer in the U.S. Their OS is super reliable, free of viruses, and easy to use. Their hardware designs are not just functional, but esthetically pleasing. I'm glad for Apple's success, but I kind of miss the old days. What are you thoughts on Apple these days?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Better than lemons!
Guess Who

Mark said...

Hmmm . . . no idea. Really.

Anonymous said...

I admit I resisted the pull of the Mac for quite awhile, but finally caved after I played around with Mark's Mac at camp one summer.

At first when I bought my own I felt like I didn't know how to use a computer as I "relearned" how to do things. Now though I much prefer to use my Mac for as much as possible. It is harder to find free applications so I will say it is handy to have my PC laptop available too. :)

That being said, I won't push a Mac on everybody. My Grandpa, for example, was thinking of getting a computer again. I'd rather see him buy a cheaper and more barebones PC than a Mac because quite honestly all he'll use it for is e-mail and maybe viewing the occassional video (if it's e-mailed to him). He doesn't need the power of a Mac for that. And he has enough trouble piloting a PC, let alone if I had to try teach him how to use a Mac!

Jay

Michele said...

I was almost tempted to buy a Mac while looking at recording equipment to write music at home. Then I discovered a wonderful guy at a music store who showed me a great program for my PC that will do everything the Mac program would do. Ahhhh...bliss is mine. I don't have to learn another computer language - yay!

Anonymous said...

i think it's a lot easier to use a mac than it is to use a pc. because on a pc if you're trying to find just one file or program you have to search through your whole computer just to find it (if you don't know where it is) on a mac it's right there in front of you (all the time).

Warren & Liane Thiessen said...

My iMac... I love it... when Warren wanted to buy an iMac shortly after we got married I said NO WAY I don't want to learn how to use a new computer. He won and I'm glad about that. I would never go back to PC!

- Liane

Mark said...

Yup, it's so true. Once you try one, it's like crack cocaine. You're addicted . . . and happy! Jobina too wasn't too excited about my Mac's but now she has a beautiful new iMac and is loving it!