At the risk of breaking one the few and only rules of blogging, don't upset your readers, I feel the need to discuss my love-hate relationship with Mac computers.
Please hear me out here, I like Macs. There are a lot of things that I will admit that Apple does better than Microsoft. Out of the box they are cleaner, typically more stable, and have pretty-intuitive features that come with them. I do like their look. When I see someone sitting in a coffee shop with a MacBook Pro open, I assume that he's a pretty cool guy. And yes, I too have been persuaded by their marketing campaign to some degree.
But I must admit, one of the biggest turn-offs from buying a Mac for me, right now at least, is not something that has been on my usual list of valid reasons, but actually a new one - their users. This is not a blanket statement by any means, but in this last month, I have met three Mac users, that have just really been ill-informed Mac elitists (or want-to-be's), and their comments have just been the biggest bunch of junk ever. Anyone that knows me, knows I love a decent technology debate, but that's not what I seem to get when talking with these "I thought that Mac commercials were cool, so I bought a Mac" converts. Believe me, I would be more than open to switching to a new system if someone can honestly tell me how I could do my job better on Mac, but pulling an uneducated reason out of the sky, is not helping your attempt to convert me over.
Now let me be honest here, if I seem angry, I'm not. Actually quiet the opposite. I tend to turn and chuckle from these interactions. Just yesterday, I was in a conversation with a guy at work, who basically said that he had to switch "'cause I do web stuff." Now why wouldn't I laugh at that, because I know what he really means is that he creates some simple graphics and videos and plugs them into a content management system built on Windows Machine, hosted on Windows Server, running on ASP.NET - a Microsoft programming language. I won't argue that his job might be easier with a Mac, but walking into a room with two web designers that have built every-tool you have used to do your "web stuff" (on Windows), with an uneducated comment like that, is no way to make a convert out of me.
The reality is there is still a large segment of technology needs out in world, that I feel Apple has not gone after yet, and until they do, there's a large number of users for better-or-worse that are still better off with a Windows PC. And I believe we all need to come to a point where we can admit that, no matter what side of the fence we are on. If a Mac vs. Windows conversation can't start there, then we will never be able to be honest about the pros and cons of one switching.
And above all, I wish that at the end of the day, whatever the topic is, that we attempt be educated. I don't know it all either...
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