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The Cult of Macintosh: 10 good reasons to get one |
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Written by Debbie Smit
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Sunday, 30 July 2006 |
 PC users regard their machines as merely machines. Mac (or Macintosh) users derive their identity from their machines. Here are ten good reasons:
PC users regard their machines as merely machines. Mac (or Macintosh) users derive their identity from their machines. Here are ten good reasons:
1. The box. Macintosh boxes are works of art. Mac cultists collect them religiously to add to their hoard of Mac paraphernalia. Some even make furniture from them.
2. Cool. If you think the box is sexy..! It's no mistake that movie directors use Macs as co-stars to the rich and famous. Roger Ebert, writing on this phenomenon remarks: "A historian of the future, counting all the on-screen computers between 1983 and today, would likely conclude that Macs represented 90 percent of the computer market."
3. 'i'. Although Macs are renowned for their innate stability, the okes at Apple have managed to market them in a way that makes the stodgy world of microprocessors and hard drives accessible to ordinary people. The Mac is named after the McIntosh apple. Mac operating systems are named after magnificent beasts: Panther, Tiger and the soon-to-be-introduced Leopard. Why? Do you really need a reason?
Then there is the omnipresent "i" that Mac uses to prefix the names of its applications and devices: iMac, iBook, iMovie, iTunes. Mac tells you that you are important, but to add just a touch of politically correctness, the 'i' is lower case. A Mac is a Personal Computer. Only more personal.
4. No seams. Does the AC input on your laptop light up to tell you whether it's charging (amber) or fully charged (green)? Does the date column on your mail program automatically and seamlessly change the format of the date as you widen and narrow it, or does it simply lop off the end? Mac does not advertise these small, yet infinitely delightful add-ons. Discovering them is a serendipitous adventure that increases the bond between user and machine like a divine love affair.
5.WYSIWYG. When Apple introduced the first Mac in 1984, heralded by a news-making Superbowl ad that cost the company $800 000 just for the slot, they used Orwell's book by the same name (of the year) to communicate the hope of freedom from the tyrrany of IBM. Mac introduced us to the concept of WYSIWYG: What You See Is What You Get. For the first time you could actually see what you were doing.
6. iPod. In an ethnographic study titled "iPod therefore I am", Marcus Giesler, a 28-year-old professor who has earned the moniker "Professor iPod", claims that the iPod transforms listeners into “cyborgs” through a process he calls “technotranscendence”. Apple's unique gateway into a "hybrid entertainment matrix" has enriched the English language with some amusing new words: iPodyssey (arduous journey to Ipod acquisition), podestrian (an iPod user walking) iPod nod (subtle tilt of the head as one podestrian acknowledges another) and iPodolatry (obsessive acquisition of iPod accessories).
7. Fun. This year's Macs come complete with iLife '06. Mac is not about sitting behind a desk making pie charts. Mac is about creating – making movies, writing stories, composing music and storing your memories. Who would you rather be: the grey man in a suit trapped in an office, or the sexy young creative effortlessly impressing his friends with "amazing stuff"?
8. Antivirus. Mac boasts superior protection against attacks by the 114 000 computer viruses known to mankind. Our Macs have only ever succumbed to one. Touch wood.
9. Plug in and play. For PC users it's Plug in and Pray. A Mac won't let you down.
10. You can still make pie charts if you really must. Mac can run Windows software. So, if you're addicted to Office you can still go ahead and buy a Mac.
For a more balanced view of Apple's claims check out "10 Shaky Reasons to Buy a Mac" at mikesalsbury.com. To see for yourself, get one.
© Debbie smit – The Sunday Independent
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 23 August 2006 )
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