Why are Mac people so evangelical?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Why are people who like to use Apple’s Macintosh computers so evangelical about it? You’d think that some period of required proselytizing is included in the Mac OS licensing agreement.

In almost every thread on here where somebody asks for PC advice (meaning IBM PC/Windows PC, not “personal computer”), there are ALWAYS Mac people chiming in with “Get a Mac. It’s cuter.”, or something like that, in spite of the fact that they’re not asking about Macs, that Macs aren’t mainstream, and that the software base just isn’t terribly big for Macs except in a few areas.

I’ve used Macs before- they’re ok, nothing special. But I don’t get the religious fervor behind the Mac users and their almost evangelical love of that particular brand.

Anyone have any ideas?

2

I have a Mac at home & a PC at work, and yes, I’ve been known to do my fare share of prothelitizing (not on this message board however). Personally, while growing up, we had a whole slew of PCs at my folks house that broke down, lost documents, and just generally…well…they sucked. I went to Apple in college and never lost a single thing. For people like me (who use computers primarily for music, artistic-ventures, internet, and word processing) Macs are in fact superior. If I owned a small business, I’d never go with them.

But I digress. I badger my friends about it because they always whine that their PCs are virus ridden or too slow and they don’t use them for anything PC-specific. So why buy an inferior product?

As for Macs not being mainstream, I think that’s a plus for some Mac users, including myself. Viruses are virtually non-existant because of this and the programs on Macs never cross each other and slow the computer drastically down. And yeah, you gotta admit they look better.

Weirdly, this is one of the only companies I’m so wholeheartedly behind. That I can only explain by saying that, while PCs habitually ruined my life, Macs have been sturdy and foolproof. Hell, just today my PC at work damn near exploded. So add that to the tally.

3

It’s because we get crapped on so much. I get crapped on for having a Mac on a weekly basis without ever bringing it up. It’ll come up somehow, like I’ll say “Damn, my iChat’s not working” or they’ll see my laptop at school and BOOM “Ewww, Macs.” It’s extremely irritating. So I get defensive about it and I know others do, though I can’t say for sure why all of the people who do… do.

I do think the vehement anti-Mac PC User sentiment has an impact. For some reason, whenever someone finds out I have a Mac, they automatically feel the need to criticize it.

4

It’s a Garden of Eden thingie.

:smiley:

5

No, it’s not evangelicism, but laziness. I’m tired of always being go-to guy for computer problems. Got another one today at work ::sigh:: I always finish by saying, you should have gotten a Macintosh. Deep down, I’m also postpending “…and leave me hell alone.”

6

Well, once upon a time using a PC meant this was your environment, whereas using the Mac let you work with this.

The IBM / MS-DOS computers were ubiquitous because of the business-world clout of IBM. Think what you will of the modern Microsoft operating systems, but believe me, in the beginning people did not initially adopt the IBM PC out of appreciation for the operating system. The Mac came later, and those of us who saw it thought it was as much an improvement over DOS as modern indoor hot & cold running water is over a hand pump in the yard. I admit it — we were arrogant and evangelical as all get-out. “You’re using a PC? Why don’t you get a Mac!?” But, really, we had reason. The only thing the PC had going for it was the large installed base and the things that come from that (lots of software, lots of compatible hardware). And the hostility of PC users to the Mac — “It’s a #$@@ toy, that silly ‘mouse’ thing, ooh you click the pretty pictures to run pwogwams that’s so cute, it’s a toy” —just fueled us up that much more.

The Microsoft operating system has come a long long way, and so has the PC hardware. Y’all don’t use text-based screens any more, you use a screen like ours, with color values for each pixel. You’ve got a mouse. You switched to the same 3.5" diskette that we used (until we quit using floppies a few years ago). Your software took on standardized motifs — menus at the top, usually File on the left, then Edit, with common keyboard commands such as Z for undo, X for cut, C for copy, V for paste, P for print, O for open, and so on, just like the Mac. Your OS can support multiple monitors now, and supports plug and play addition of new hardware.

(To be sure, there were many hardware developments that appeared on the PC first or at least no later than on the Mac, and the Mac platform either followed suit or hopped onboard along with the PC — USB, the VGA monitor port, function keys (Fkeys), PC (PCMCIA) cards, AirPort (WiFi), support for multi-button mice, etc — but none of them were there in the original PC. No convention of the old-world PC was adopted by the Mac platform as The Way It’s Done, the switchovers were all in the other direction because the Mac really was ahead of its time.)

A lot of the rest of it is just inertia and old rivalry. If the two platforms somehow popped into existence only now, without the rivalry history and starting from square one as New Things (no installed base, no software offerings yet, no viruses or malware exploits either), I don’t think the same fervent evangelical thing would develop, not with that kind of intensity. I think there’d be much more mutual respect, although there’d be personal preferences and whatnot for one or the other.

7

All religious fundmentalists want to convert the heathen masses. Macologists are no exception.

Also I have noticed that Firefox converts are the same. Whenever there is a thread about a problem someone is having with IE there is sure to be someone who posts just to say ‘get Firefox’.

8

  1. Some people are evangelical, and it’s generally more noticeable the less popular the product (or sect) being evangelized is.

  2. There is no factual answer to your question.

9

I will never suggest a Mac when someone has already provided a reason for not wanting one (unless that reason is based on misinformation). For example, I think you are misinformed on the software base for Macs. In my opinion and experience, the software base for Macs is equal to or greater than that for Windows in nearly all areas except

  1. Games.
  2. Specialty programs designed for very niche markets and custom-built programs.
  3. Broken crap that nobody really needs.

Depending on my snarkiness, I may mention Macs in a Pit thread decrying the sad state of home computing. But many threads are asking for advice in selecting a computer.

Macs are a good solution for lots of people, but they often don’t even get considered. People want a computer that they can use for web browsing, email, office, etc. and are worried about spyware, adware, and potential hardware/software compatibility issues. Macs are great for that.

Macs really are nicer to use for most things. I’ve used computers for 15 years, including a bunch of operating systems. I currently have three computers running 4 OSs at home, and another few at work. The computer I like using the most is my iBook. Macs are certainly not for everybody, but I believe that they’re the best choice for a lot more than the 5% of people who currently use them.

10

This is GQ, so I’ll try to answer from a factual rather than emotional basis.

For me, the biggest reason for Mac evangelism is because I am sick of the “Mac myths” put around by those either ignorant about Macs or biased against them. Such as:

  • Macs can’t do Word (or Excel, or PowerPoint)
  • Macs are really really expensive (they were, they aren’t now)
  • Mac OS is unstable (it was to some extent, before they threw it out and replaced it with hella-stable Unix)
  • Macs can’t open/read PC files
  • Macs are difficult to network/use wifi/etc (they’re easier, FAR easier to set up)

I don’t mind if people have an informed reason for disliking or not wanting a Mac (eg the scarcity computer games available on Macs as compared to PCs - this is fair enough) but it does bug me if their antipathy dervies from ignorance and/or prejudice.

11

This is still true for a large percent of the market. For those who are able/willing to sink a decent amount of cash in a computer system, Macs are quite competitive with Windows boxes. However, for those wanting a decent system under $400, the Mac doesn’t have much for those users.

And for those of less than the highest ethics, and aren’t beyond piracy, its a lot easier to find people willling to “share” their software on the Windows platform. Note that the pirates tend to be correlated with the poorer people.

12

I have a new question to insert here. First the background - My dad is 75 yrs old and VERY computer challenged. My 7 year old can make power point presentations, but my dad still doesnt understand how to minimize a window.

The good thing is, the old guy makes an effort at it and realizes that he needs email, web access, publisher etc. to stay active with his projects. Email attachments seem to be his biggest problem.

Question - Would he be better off with a Mac?

13

Partly because they’re an oppressed minority and partly because they comprise a higher than normal proportion of arty types, who typically have more emotional investment in their work than, say, your average cube-dweller.

14

Dunno. The Mac tends to be easier to use in that it’s more consistent about how applications do things, but it’s not a panacea that will immediately give a user a 300% increase in IQ. Best thing to do is to have him try using one for a spell and see how it goes.

If your Dad is near one of Apple’s retail stores, take him for a visit. Not only can he play with the stuff all day long, not only can he ask the store’s clerks and “geniuses” when he has questions, but they also have free workshops to teach how to get things done. I imagine sitting in on a few of those might help.
As for the OP, Mac users get “evangelical” for the same reason people visit the Straight Dope – fighting ignorance. :wink:

15

My last message was in response to Soylent Gene, natch.

16

I’d add to that 4) diversity of choice - For most types of application, there are probably more choices of program to do it for PC than there are for Mac.

and 5) Freeware - there’s probably more of it out there for PC than Mac.

Not that ‘more’ necessarily means ‘better’, in either case, admittedly - and very often, it means the complete opposite.

17

The OP is looking for opinions instead of asking a question which has a factual answer.

Moved to IMHO.

samclem GQ moderator

18

Agreed on 4.

That hasn’t been the case in my experience. And since I use both OSs, I will often look for freeware on both to see what’s available. With OS X being based on Unix, there are lots of Free Open Source Software projects that can be run on Macs.

Soylent Gene, he’d probably be better off with whatever you (or whoever his family first-line-of-support person is) are most comfortable with. The other thing that tends to help people who have trouble with computer basics (Hi, Mom!) is for them to write down the steps for common tasks when they first learn to do it. They’ll still have trouble with it the first time they do something new, or if something goes wrong, but anyone should be able to follow their own notes about a procedure.

I second rjung’s advice to let him try one out for a while. It might just click for him.

19

True, but it’s one thing to suggest downloading a new browser for free-it’s quite another to tell someone to buy a brand new computer.

20

And they are convinced that their system/belief is superior to all else, and they think they are doing you a favor by converting you.