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Turning to the Fruit Side
Oct. 13th, 2007 01:38 pmAs opposed to the Dark Side...lol
Yes, it's finally happened. I've purchased a Mac, and it's a scary and wondrous thing. ( What Led Up to My Decision )
As of yet, I can't give any preliminary comparisons of the Mac vs. PC. The truth of the matter is, I have always hated Macs since I was first introduced to one in 1999 as part of my job, and my hatred was only re-confirmed when I purchased one in 2001 based on the patently false claims made by a salesperson, and promptly resold it on eBay because the store wouldn't take it back (I'll clarify that I purchased it at an university bookstore, not an Apple store). My dislike has always been a matter of function, not some fundamental dislike of Apple or an ideological preconception of Mac users. And my decision (at least initially) to reconsider a Mac was based almost solely on a desire to avoid Vista.
Initial tinkerings with my new laptop have only brought frustration, but I chalk that up to OS X being very different from Windows. My initial complaints about Mac have been resolved simply by other Mac users explaining to me how to operate the dang thing, so at this point in time my assessment of Mac is neutral, but definitely considering it a lesser evil than the newer PCs.
What I wasn't expecting when I purchased my laptop is just how openly opinionated everyone has become around me. Now I have other Mac owners coming up to me and without invitation extoling the virtues of their Mac while trying to get me to agree with them. At the same time I have PC users coming up to me and trying to turn me from my "evil ways". I even had a recent acquaintance say to me when he found out I had just purchased a Mac laptop, "Oh, so you're one of THOSE people".
Excuse me? One of what people? I didn't know purchasing an inanimate object of no specific theological, moral, or political purpose could suddenly tell someone everything they need to know about me. I mean, I've owned a PC of one kind or another since 1998, and I never had anyone say to me "You're one of THOSE people", so what's changed?
Apparently everything. Apparently simply by owning a Mac I've jumped at least two income brackets, became 10 times more pretentious than I already am, turned into a bleeding heart liberal urban uber-hippie who doesn't play video games and who obviously needs to be "saved" from buying into a mainstream evil corporation (*huh?*). Or somehow it only confirms every bad thing that anyone has ever thought about me. All this after only being out of the box for five days.
And why do Mac users feel like they have to come up to total strangers also using a Mac and start up conversations about how great the Mac is? Are Mac users so alone in the world that they feel the need to band together for support against "evil Microsoft"? I completely understand why you might do that with a friend (especially a computer geek friend -- I was geeking with another friend the other day over the architecture of a SPARC chip), but a total stranger?? Can anyone explain this behavior to me?
Needless to say, I might end up liking a Mac or end up loathing it as much as Windows. And yes, if I think it's worth recommending to people I will. But please don't judge me based on my OS. I was never a rabid Windows proponent, but that doesn't mean I've succumbed to the Fruit Side...at least not yet.
Yes, it's finally happened. I've purchased a Mac, and it's a scary and wondrous thing. ( What Led Up to My Decision )
As of yet, I can't give any preliminary comparisons of the Mac vs. PC. The truth of the matter is, I have always hated Macs since I was first introduced to one in 1999 as part of my job, and my hatred was only re-confirmed when I purchased one in 2001 based on the patently false claims made by a salesperson, and promptly resold it on eBay because the store wouldn't take it back (I'll clarify that I purchased it at an university bookstore, not an Apple store). My dislike has always been a matter of function, not some fundamental dislike of Apple or an ideological preconception of Mac users. And my decision (at least initially) to reconsider a Mac was based almost solely on a desire to avoid Vista.
Initial tinkerings with my new laptop have only brought frustration, but I chalk that up to OS X being very different from Windows. My initial complaints about Mac have been resolved simply by other Mac users explaining to me how to operate the dang thing, so at this point in time my assessment of Mac is neutral, but definitely considering it a lesser evil than the newer PCs.
What I wasn't expecting when I purchased my laptop is just how openly opinionated everyone has become around me. Now I have other Mac owners coming up to me and without invitation extoling the virtues of their Mac while trying to get me to agree with them. At the same time I have PC users coming up to me and trying to turn me from my "evil ways". I even had a recent acquaintance say to me when he found out I had just purchased a Mac laptop, "Oh, so you're one of THOSE people".
Excuse me? One of what people? I didn't know purchasing an inanimate object of no specific theological, moral, or political purpose could suddenly tell someone everything they need to know about me. I mean, I've owned a PC of one kind or another since 1998, and I never had anyone say to me "You're one of THOSE people", so what's changed?
Apparently everything. Apparently simply by owning a Mac I've jumped at least two income brackets, became 10 times more pretentious than I already am, turned into a bleeding heart liberal urban uber-hippie who doesn't play video games and who obviously needs to be "saved" from buying into a mainstream evil corporation (*huh?*). Or somehow it only confirms every bad thing that anyone has ever thought about me. All this after only being out of the box for five days.
And why do Mac users feel like they have to come up to total strangers also using a Mac and start up conversations about how great the Mac is? Are Mac users so alone in the world that they feel the need to band together for support against "evil Microsoft"? I completely understand why you might do that with a friend (especially a computer geek friend -- I was geeking with another friend the other day over the architecture of a SPARC chip), but a total stranger?? Can anyone explain this behavior to me?
Needless to say, I might end up liking a Mac or end up loathing it as much as Windows. And yes, if I think it's worth recommending to people I will. But please don't judge me based on my OS. I was never a rabid Windows proponent, but that doesn't mean I've succumbed to the Fruit Side...at least not yet.
