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Some people use a PC or Mac for work or email and to them their computer is just a tool, nothing more. For those of us who spend a large portion of our time using our computers for recreation purposes (perhaps dealing with our digital photos, maintaining a blog or so on) it becomes an indespensible part of our lives. We can’t be without it! At that point we can become quite attached to our machines, in much the same way a car enthusiast may be attached to their Mustang, and wouldn’t consider using anything else. While many PC users love their machines it’s generally common knowledge that Mac users in particular are especially attached to their computers, possibly moreso than others. Hence being a Mac user has often been compared to a cult, with Steve Jobs as the leader. I’m not sure I’d go quite that far but there are certainly signs that I’m more than a Mac “user”, I’m a Mac “person”.

What’s the difference between a Mac User and a Mac Person?

1) You dread having to use a Windows PC
You intentionally chose a Mac over the more common Windows platform because you were probably fed up with the problems and generally frustrating experience of trying to coax a Windows box into doing what you want. Having to use a Windows PC now for any reason (perhaps to try and fix a problem for a friend) results in a lot of cursing and head banging and is a great reminder as to why you decided to “think different”.

2) You evangelize the Mac platform to others
As far as you’re concerned using a Mac is much less frustrating and much more satisfying, why would anyone subject themselves to the horror of using a Windows box? Whenever a friend is considering buying a new computer or expresses discontent with their Windows computer you dive straight into a long list of reasons why they should make the switch and try and coax them into doing so. Do we do this for Apples benefit? No. We do it because we know the Mac experience is so much better and we want our friends to be happy.

3) You start to find fault with other products and wish Apple made one you could buy
Prior to the launch of the iPhone a lot of Apple users, including myself, got incredibly frustrated with our mobile phones especially when the features they promised didn’t live up to our expectations, web browsing being a great example. Normal phones, smart phones, 3G phones, no matter what we tried browsing the web was hopeless and unless you had a Blackberry, email support was also a joke. Syncing your contacts and calendars between your computer and your phone was often a hit and miss affair too… We prayed for an Apple phone as we just knew it would work infinitely better. Our prayers were answered and we got something probably beyond our expectations. Some people sarcastically suggest that Apple people would buy any product that Apple put their logo on. You bet we would, but not for the reasons they think, we’d buy it because we could actually use all the features the device promised.

4) You look forward to Keynote speeches by Steve
Steve Jobs is a great showman, there’s no question of that. But his job is made easier by great products, it’s easier to sell something that works well and looks good. Apple have long been a company that innovates but having said that, they may not be the first out of the gates with a certain product type (the mp3 player and mobile phones are great example) but you can bet your bottom dollar that the item will work well and revolutionise the way you use that product category. Watching a Keynote speech by Steve is watching tech history in the making. When he announced the iPhone the audience went wild with applause and cheers and you could feel the hairs on the back of your neck lift as you knew you were seeing a significant moment in tech history.

5) You take any negative press about Apple personally
The media love to cover Apple, it guarantees them page hits or viewer eyeballs. The best way of pulling people in is to say something controversial about Apple. Watch the page hits rise and the advertising dollars roll in. You get used to that after a while but what really grates with you is when they say stuff that you just know is, well, wrong. When industry analysts misunderstand Apple and present their bonehead opinion as fact you hold your head in your hands. A great one is the topic of Apples market share. Wall Street types love to concentrate on market share, they consider it one of the most important metrics on which to judge a company. Naturally Apples market share is not as high as say Dell and this causes them great concern. Of course, you might argue that Apples profitability is a much more important metric and is an area where they trounce their competition, and as a future guide, their sales growth is also impressive in a market (computers) that is largely flat for others. You have to wonder if Wall Street and company executives paid closer attention to profits than market share things might be in better shape out there today…

6) You care about Apple, if they do something that seems stupid you worry
When Apple do something you consider stupid, such as removing firewire on the latest MacBooks or adding Windows support to the iPod you worry (hands up who thought that was a bad idea and would give people less reason to switch to the Mac. Yup, me too). Why do you worry? Well, let’s say they make a very costly mistake in the direction they take the company and as such Apple suffers big time and goes under (highly unlikely but still). What are you going to do when you need to buy a new computer? If there’s no Mac to buy you’d have to buy a Dell or something, and that would mean leaving OSX and having to use Windows. That’s a thought that can keep a Mac user awake at night. So you worry about bad decisions as they will have a negative impact on *your* life.

7) You’ll stand in line to buy from the Apple Store
When Apple launch a new must have product, for example the iPhone, queues tend to form days in advance. This fact tends to puzzle those who either view their gadgets as tools (eg the internet is not a big part of their life) or who view one item as being the same as the next (often they consider all technology equally bewildering and unsatisfying). Sometimes another retailer may have some stock of the same product, with shorter lines. But you choose to queue to buy yours at the Apple Store, even though you have to wait in line longer. Thing is, it’s something of a social event as you’re basically hanging out with folks who clearly share a common interest…

8) The aesthetics of your desk/office and peripherals are now an important issue
You don’t want to put your shiny new iMac on any old desk, it must be something befitting such a beautifully designed product. So you might choose a nice glass or white table and some nice gloss white peripherals. Then you buy a new aluminium Mac. Time for some new peripherals and maybe a new desk…

9) You buy Apple branded merchandise
By now you’re really a Mac person and you don’t care who knows it, in fact you’re proud of the fact. So coffee mugs, pens, t-shirts and anything else you can get your hands on that re-inforce that message to others are welcomed. If you can’t get a certain item with an Apple logo on it, you’ll slap one of those little stickers on it that Apple so thoughtfully include with every product…

10) When on vacation it affects your itinerary
Wherever you go in the world you feel the need to visit the local Apple Store whether you need anything or not. When taking a vacation to California, you consider it necessary to stop off at 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino. Apple’s headquarters. The “mothership”.

It’s not a cult.

Honestly…

For some other humorous insights into what it’s like being a Mac person in a PC user world I highly recommend Scott Kelby’s book “Macintosh – The Naked Truth”

Filed under: Computing
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