“Conservatives are so PC. Not PC as in ‘politically correct,’ though they certainly have more than their share of those who patrol the language for any nuance that gives off hints of liberalism. PC as in PC,” Devilstower writes for Daily Kos.
“No one has any doubt that PCs running some flavor of Microsoft Windows dominate the computer landscape as much as dinosaurs did the Jurassic plains. Little Unix systems pop up here and there, as do many less well known systems, holding down small niches in the computer ecosystem,” Devilstower writes.
Devilstower writes, “And then there is Apple.”
“The scampering mammals of the IT landscape, Macs have sometimes come close to extinction and even now hold down just less than 5% of computer sales. Hardware wise, that 5% is not so bad, considering that the PC world is divided up amongst Dell, HP, Gateway, Sony, whoever owns IBM’s name this week, and a thousand others. Apple is solidly among the top brands,” Devilstower writes.
Devilstower writes, “But on the software side, the share of the market held by Apple’s OS X operating system looks tiny beside Microsoft’s behemoth. It’s even smaller on conservative web sites. When it comes to visitors to Instapundit, OS X visitors make up only 2-3%, suggesting that conservatives are less likely to go for the Apple brand than the general public. On the other hand, Daily Kos statistics show that between 15% and 25% of visitors to this site are using Macs — an astounding 5x times the general population of these computers. If you were at YearlyKos last time around, you could spot more Macs at breakfast than you’d find in an Apple store.”
Devilstower asks, “So here’s a question: why? Why do liberals like Macs, while conservatives shun them?”
In the full article, Devilstower explores four theories:
• The Fiscal Conservative Theory
• Conformists vs Individuals Theory
• The Hip vs Tragically Unhip Theory
• The Artists vs. Sausage Makers Theory
Full article, with, oh, about 700 reader comments, here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Gandalf” for the heads up.]
MacDailyNews Take: Devilstower might be surprised at just how many “conservative” Mac users actually exist. Especially “fiscally conservative” Mac users. It really depends to the definitions you’re using for “liberal” and “conservative.” But, certainly in the opinion of most, Mac users are generally considered to be at least a tad more left of center than Windows PC sufferers. Forget about Apple’s usual quarterly guidance, the last time we looked, Al Gore was sitting in Apple’s boardroom, but we couldn’t find hide nor hair of Newt Gingrich. What do you think? How do you label yourself, if you do?
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I am an X liberal here!!! The anti-American stance of the modern day Hollywood liberal and 1/2 of my old party leaders made me switch. We are now a county of “Mr. Rogers” gutless wimps. And by the way, “The rich Republican” is Bulllhsiit now. Some of the richest people in our government and big business are Democrats. You are intellectually dishonest with yourself if you believe the rich Republican BS still.
Conservative Libertarian here. Been Mac since 1999.
This is a dippy article. He should have also addressed the “Moron With a Deadline” angle.
I’m not American, if that counts for anything, but am very conservative, and have been a Mac user all my life, will use nothing else. I think the problem is that artists generally have a very liberal attitude to life, and most artists/designers would use Macs, just in case no-one has pointed this out yet!
Let’s see, I wouldn’t be caught dead with a Windows PC, and I sure as hell wouldn’t vote for a Democrat even if you paid me. This stereotype of liberal equals Mac and conservative equals PC is just about as stupid as it gets.
Independent here, but undoubtedly more progressive on social issues than most here. Definitely not a hippie, have a well paying job, and dedicated Mac user. None too pleased with the Republican party right now. Surprised most of you so called conservatives haven’t kicked the current Repub gang out on their ear (well maybe you did in November). The current thugs in the White House, besides being miserable cretins, are free wheeling spenders, they just borrow against their grandchildren.
Whatever happened to the Eisenhower Republicans? I could live with them.
Adam: “Given that both Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are big Democrat Party supporters”
Wrong. Bill Gates is a Republican.
http://fundrace.org/neighbors.php?type=name&lname=gates&fname=willi&search=Search+by+Name
The commentary here just proves two things:
1. There are too many unthinking fools who, whether they self-describe with the liberal or conservative label, parrot silly generalities instead of engaging in reasoning.
2. There is no correlation between choice of platform and intelligence.
MDN MW: “nearly” as in, “nearly all the political commentary posted is tripe.”
Unabashed conservative here who believes that we aren’t learning from history’s leasons when we listen to the Neville Chamberlains who make up the Democratic Party. And, I exclusively use Macs.
I consider Macs to the more “minimalistic” computers – not in terms of features, but in terms of required upkeep, bloatware, etc., and they can be maintained by an average individual (i.e. they don’t require visits from “the Geek Squad”). I my mind, that perfectly correlates with a desire for small efficient government and self-sufficient individuals.
Add my name to the list.
Very conservative and fired Bill, bought my first Mac (and six more). Never looked back!
Life’s short, get a Mac. (I just love that)
I voted for Jimmy Carter . That Was the Only Stupid Vote I ever Did
I am a VERY conservative 37 year old! In both my politics and my theology and I’ve never owned a PC but owned 7 macs plus worked on 2-3 times that.
This is a crazy generalization.
I’m conservative. Have been all my life. And, I’m a Mac user.
Looks like someone’s learned how to troll for hits a la MDN.
This guy is so 90’s with his article. There were more liberals that used Macs back then because you would find them in publishing, graphic arts, and media professions and that’s were the Macs mostly were. Obviously this exposure to Apple products mad them fans. They just happen to be liberal for the most part. It’s not the case so much today.
BTW, I’ve been a conservative all my life. My first computer? An Apple IIc.
I have a small theory. I work in publishing, where Macs are prevalent in most organizations, if not dominant.
Many journalists tend to lean to the left (big shock to those who purport a biased media). Journalists are also very well-read types, and it could be that even conservative writers are visiting this website just to shape their opinions.
And while we’re on the topic of baseless theories, I do have one about why journalists tend to lean to the left. Look at this way: Most of us are relatively poor but have rich educational backgrounds. That means we’re less likely to vote for big business and we probably had two or three gay friends back in college. It’s pretty simple, really.
Hm.. has an excellent point. I think the difference between PC and Mac users are irrelevant to party/political stance. It is more a question of intelligence. Smart people use Mac. Lemmings use PC’s.
End of story.
Of course, as everyone here has pretty much proved, politics has nothing at all to do w/ PC preference.
But I also dispute that PC users are “lemmings.” There are a lot of good reasons one might choose a PC.
1. They want to have the same computer set up (and share software) between work/home. Sure, Macs can run Windows and Parallels, but this needlessly complicates matters. If you just want to use windows and windows softare, why get an expensive (if beautiful) computer that does both?
2. They want to play the most advanced games that either a) aren’t available for Mac or b) would run slowly in Parallels.
3. They want more software choices.
4. PC’s can still be found that are cheaper than Macs.
5. They enjoy programming/PC troubleshooting, and all that technical stuff.
Look, I think Macs are great–I’ve been a loyal user for 20 years–but it’s narrow-minded to think that only a fool would buy a PC. Thankfully, Apple doesn’t think like that (at least not anymore), or they’d never have a shot at making the kinds of improvement (Intel switch, OS X, Boot Camp) that improve market share, etc.
People can say “well, Mac’s can do Windows too, so there’s no reason to
Republican here… social moderate and fiscal conservative. Mac user since 1988. Liberal and conservative are not as important as old and young. Daily Cos is more hip and geared to younger audiences. Older are more likely to go with the PC (shoved on them by their corps over the last 20 years….). That is reflected in the increase in Mac ownership in the colleges et al by incoming students.
I think it more of a “follower” or “independent” kind of thing NOT liberal/conservative.
Mac users of years past have tended to be “independent” thinkers seeking out the BEST computer platform. Where as Windows users have made their purchase due to purely financial reasons or from outside influence with someone telling them that Windows was a great way to go – looking no further.
It’s very obvious to me that there is NO conservative/liberal bias in choosing a Mac.
I tend to be more Liberal. The last Republican I voted for was Ford – because I didn’t know better.
-1 FLAMEBAIT!!
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-1 FLAMEBAIT!!
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-1 FLAMEBAIT!!
-1 FLAMEBAIT
I’m a Virgo who is into photography and long walks on (nude) beaches.
Oh, snap-wrong forum…
I don’t think that your politics matter when choosing your computer. There are informed and intelligent people on both sides of the political aisle, and they choose Macs. I’m liberal. There are a number of conservatives on this board. We generally agree about most everything when we talk about computers, and we disagree when we talk politics. So what? I don’t see any relationship between your politics and your computer choice any more than I see a relationship between your choice of breakfast cereals and your computer choice. The only difference is, people are passionate about their politics, and often passionate about their computer choice. They usually are not about breakfast.
Buddy of mine uses a PC because “I can tinker under the hood when it goes wrong, and you can’t do that on a Mac”.
Erm, what do I say? I want a machine to work with, not to repair!
I feel it’s a slight willy-wave (though I don’t offend by saying so!).
He does take apart old cars at weekends, so I guess it makes sense. Sort of.