Let's talk attitude! - Part 2

The couple instances I mentioned in Part 1 happened in the early 90's. Yesterday, while doing some research for this article, I ran across a blog that had a Mac vs. PC thread from last year. This shows that the pc mindset continues unabated. Check out the message left by StrangeOne. To quote him:

"My personal opinion: Macs are okay if you are computer illiterate and want to stay that way."

First of all, look at his use of the term "computer illiterate". This is the mindset I'm talking about. What he meant was "Windows illiterate" or "PC illiterate", but he said "computer". In a subliminal way, he's telling you that if it's not a PC running Windows, it's not a real computer.

Admittedly, there are some Macs that aren't meant to be opened up and "diddled" with. The very first Mac was designed to make it difficult to open. You had to have a special extra-long torx screwdriver to get to the two upper screws holding the case together. But Macs did get upgraded. Add on hardware and upgrades became available. How many of you remember the MacCharlie? Named for the PC commercials using a Charlie Chaplin lookalike, this was an add-on unit that let the original Mac emulate an IBM PC. We're talking 1985 here, folks, yet the PC folks are still hollering about "compatibility".

Since the introduction of the Mac II, there have been current model Macs that were designed to be opened and upgraded/enhanced. For most of the models that weren't really designed to be opened and changed, innovation won out and methods to upgrade many of those models became available. The nice thing about Macs, though, is for most people's needs, the Mac has what meets those needs already built in. While PC folks are out shopping for sound cards, many of us Mac users are reminiscing about listening to sound files back in 1986, with no additional hardware necessary. When did PCs finally discover digital sound for the masses? 1990 or so? or was it after Windows 95 became available? Mac users had it from day one.

Back to the post by StrangeOne. I take exception to this statement of his:

"But, to get the most out of a PC, it is good to be above-average on the computer literacy scale."

I would say that to get the most out of a pc, it is absolutely imperative that one be above average on the "computer literacy" scale. Again, this person means "PC literacy" or "Windows literacy". Anyone below average is simply not going to be able to "get the most out of a pc".

He further says:

"Someone who just picks up a Dell or HP or whatever from the store and uses it out of the box will not fare as well."

I concur.

On the other hand, there have been countless thousands of Mac users that have picked up their Mac at the store and used it "out of the box" and fared quite well. There was even a Mac vs. PC challenge where a 10 year old boy beat out two pc pros in a contest to see which system was easier to set up "out of the box". For the record, the Apple guy offered to make it more fair the following year by bringing his 6 year old son to do the test that year.

So, Mr. StrangeOne, you do err, not knowing the facts. But I'm not suprised by your mentality about Macs. It's the same mentality that's been around for years and years.

Back in '1987, in the middle of some online Mac/Pc debate, one of the pc users, in some delusional belief that he'd dazzle me with sheer numbers, informed me that he could get a mouse for his pc with 64 buttons on it. I told him you could get the same thing for a Mac, but we called ours a keyboard. Why in the world would anyone need a 64 button mouse? That makes as much sense as a hemmorhoid transplant. . . . .from a technical standpoint, impressive. . . . . but why????????? Here's another perfect example of having the technology and ability to produce something that should never, for any reason, exist.

Tomorrow, I'm going to explain why one can get more accomplished with a Mac.