Paul Murphy writes for LinuxInsider, “What differentiates a Mac user from a PC user, assuming the usage decision is uncoerced by an employer? My wife, a reformed PC user (always the most merciless of evangelists), answered that question with a list straight from Jeff Foxworthy:
– You think virus protection is what you get a flu shot for.
– You actually make a conscious choice in selecting your Web browser and presentation software.
– You have suppressed a smile at the sound of another user rebooting their computer for the fifth time that day.
– You dress up in a black turtleneck and jeans to go out at Halloween.
– You’ve never sworn about a service pack.
– You have a Bush-Cheney sticker on your Volvo.
“OK, one of those is a ringer — but the question itself is interesting: what individual characteristics differentiate the two communities? Listen to the people who made the PC versus Macintosh decision for themselves and it’s pretty clear that the PC people get heavily vested in their knowledge of the machine and whatever Windows variant they have or aspire to, while the Mac people tend to assume the machine and talk about what they do with it,” Murphy writes. “That’s a very big difference, but what’s behind it?”
“One idea is that the Mac user’s focus on the applications is reasonable, and that the PC people whose focus is on the machine or the OS are really suffering Stockholm Syndrome — investing in the machine and emotionally bonding with the PC community rather than the professional one defined by the application as a survival strategy for the persona,” Murphy writes.
MacDailyNews Note: See SteveJack’s seminal article “Defending Windows over Mac a sign of mental illness” for more on how Windows users suffer from Stockholm Syndrome and the related Cognitive Dissonance.
Murphy continues, “Another idea comes from A. H. Maslow’s Theory of Human Motivation (Psychology Review, 1943). His idea was that people act to satisfy the highest unmet need in a hierarchy of needs with the basic physiological needs at the bottom and self-actualization at the top. Thus, his way of looking at the difference in behavior would be to say that the Mac user’s basic physiological needs have been met — after all they can assume that the thing works — and so their focus can move to meeting self-actualization and other higher level needs more closely tied to the person’s professional interests.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Mac OS X stays out of your way, unobtrusively allowing users to get work done, while Windows XP is constantly in your face demanding things, impeding productivity. Users who use both know this is so. Mac-only users surmise it. Windows-only users will scream bloody hell, but that doesn’t alter the truth. And Windows-to-Mac switchers will swear to this as fact in a court of law.
Well said.
The primary difference is that Mac users spend their time using application software while PC users spend their time maintaining/cursing/repairing their OS. The OS is a tool and as such should stay out of the way.
This writing the secret code word at the bottom sucks.
And then when it does not work – often- one loses all the text one wrote.
Hey I love talking about hardware, but usually in the context of how much I can do with it and how it effect my work as compared to be just a # unto itself
Is there a genetic component perhaps? Tolerance for pain? An e-virus plague affecting millions? Or are Mac users slowly evolving into large-brained, martian-like waifs who will ultimately be able to iSync telepathically?
(huh?)
Stayed tuned…
The secret code has never failed for me.
It’s necessary because there’s no moderation here. We can post whatever we like.
This means that automatic spam posting could affect this forum. It add to the size of pages and add to the bandwidth requiremens of our generous hosts. This would increase their costs and maybe they’d end up shutting down the site if it got too expensive.
So on a free site like this, the secret word is a small price to pay in the war against spammers.
what else is new 😐
You have a Bush/Cheney sticker on your volvo? WTF is she talkin about I equate Mac users with liberals, open minded people thank you.
Get out there and evangalize, people!
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Congratulations, Dave Hunwick! The first poster to start the political debate. You get a swift kick in the arse.
I’m offended. I don’t drive a Volvo, I drive a Benz.
I only use Windows because I’m paid to. In my own time I use a Mac.
But those appreciate performance and build quality use a G5 and drive a BMW.
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Liberal & conservative labels do not seem relative Mac users. For instance, both Al Gore and rush Limbaugh are Mac users.
As a full time home/office Mac user – I spend my time looking for a good OSX alternative to Office!
iggyB relax it was kind of a fun jab I thought. Not to be taken too seriously.
Why do ECT publish Mac vs PC articles on LinuxInfiltrator, after all they publish the more appropriate titles MacNewsWorld and TechNewsWorld?
Hey Dave,
I’m pretty sure the Bush/Cheney/Volvo quip was a joke. A Volvo would typically be a car a liberal would drive. Having a Bush/Cheney sticker on the car would be strange, or odd and different from the norm. You know, they’d Think Different. That’s my take anyway, I could be wrong.
Regarding “Word Image Sucks” problem with the secret code image in the post area and the possibility of losing all your text if it doesn’t work… A trick I used back in the day when I would often lose my text in crappy forums that didn’t work right was to type my ramblings in TextEdit, then copy and paste it into the webpage. If the webpage forum eats and loses your post, then you can just copy and paste it again from TextEdit.
Or, after you’ve typed up your post in the webpage, select all then copy and paste your message into TextEdit right before you submit, that way you’ll have a backup in case the post doesn’t take.
I build my own computers. I only run XP Pro. Never a problem if you know what you are doing.
I built and drive a 1968 Camaro RS/SS 502 Crate 775HP street legal. Bring me that BMW dweeb…
Ah! fun jab! I guess it is I who deserves the swift kick in the arse.
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Muddy Mudskipper, you dirty boy. It’s obvious that you like tinkering with hardware while Mac users use their hardware to complete a task.
Example, while you’re busy building your XP Pro dream machine, I’m using my Mac to make money. Example #2, while you’re trying to fix the idle problem on your Camaro, I’m cruising down the expressway.
You have illustrated the points of the article perfectly. Thank you.
Never a problem if you know what you are doing
Unfortunately, most Windows users don’t know what they’re doing. I run into them almost everyday.
To be perfectly honest, I kind of miss not having to check Windows Update or run scans or do daily maintenance.
I value my time more and more. When I get a PC virus at 5:30pm when I’m trying to get home from work, I don’t leave until an hour or so later trying expunge the freaking virus from my machine. My employer loses productivity from me, and my family gets pissed because I’m not around.
When I use my Mac, I don’t have that problem. I get my work done faster, better, and without the unpredicatable delays of getting some peice of malware on my computer at the most inopportune times.
Don’t need to make money with my PC, other than checking my stocks, and I never have to “fix” the idle on my RS/SS, it’s perfect the first time. Everytime.
See you in my rear view mirror “me”.