I Told You So!!
One of the local (Houston) computer columnists who has irritated me the most has been Dwight Silverman. It’s not the technical content of his articles I found maddening; it was his railing against the Mac and Mac users that seemed to take on an almost personal context. He seemed almost addicted to Windows. He openly relished in his daughter’s inability to master Mac OS X.
How the worm has turned!
A few months ago, he began using a MacBook. Since then, his rhetoric has calmed and taken a more objective and even favorable turn. His review of the Mac Pro when it was released was pretty positive, even though it was clear he was still a “dyed-in-the-wool” Windows fan. But now, take a look at this: "The Coming Macintosh Tide".
Dwight has been the perfect example of a PC user who raved against the Mac because he had never used one. I have to give him credit for being open minded even with his hackles up. Dwight’s turnabout is understandable because I’ve been there; I can remember arguing with a PowerPC user in the mid 90’s about how much better my PC was. The Mac simply didn’t impress me until the “sunflower” G4 LCD iMacs carrying OS X surfaced. That’s when I became hooked. I’ve been converting over to the Mac platform, sometimes at great expense, ever since. I wouldn’t go back to the Windows platform if you paid me, though I routinely use it for some tasks all the time.
I was a bit irritated when Apple switched to the Intel CPU, because we had spent a bit of money moving our Macs up through OS X versions and to the G5 CPU the year before. I also was concerned that the move to the Intel CPU would open the door to more OS X viruses and spywares, but that hasn’t happened. Now, I feel that Apple’s move to Intel processors was one of the smartest it has made. I was able to get rid of maintaining a separate PC. Now, upgrading a Mac enhances both my OS X and Windows capabilities. That’s what I call “getting the most bang for your buck”!
The IT folks at both my wife’s workplace and mine always rail against Macs whenever the subject is brought up. I figure it’s because they’re both ignorant and scared and don’t want you to see it. I’d be willing to bet you if they bought Macs for use at home, their opinions of Mac in the workplace would radically change. Most of the people who rail against a Mac are those who have never used one.
Keep that in mind the next time you run across a Macluddite. Just urge them on to your local Apple Store or Apple retailer or invite them over for a cup of tea and give them a little free keyboarding time on your Mac. Once you show them what it can do, they can’t help but be impressed.
How the worm has turned!
A few months ago, he began using a MacBook. Since then, his rhetoric has calmed and taken a more objective and even favorable turn. His review of the Mac Pro when it was released was pretty positive, even though it was clear he was still a “dyed-in-the-wool” Windows fan. But now, take a look at this: "The Coming Macintosh Tide".
Dwight has been the perfect example of a PC user who raved against the Mac because he had never used one. I have to give him credit for being open minded even with his hackles up. Dwight’s turnabout is understandable because I’ve been there; I can remember arguing with a PowerPC user in the mid 90’s about how much better my PC was. The Mac simply didn’t impress me until the “sunflower” G4 LCD iMacs carrying OS X surfaced. That’s when I became hooked. I’ve been converting over to the Mac platform, sometimes at great expense, ever since. I wouldn’t go back to the Windows platform if you paid me, though I routinely use it for some tasks all the time.
I was a bit irritated when Apple switched to the Intel CPU, because we had spent a bit of money moving our Macs up through OS X versions and to the G5 CPU the year before. I also was concerned that the move to the Intel CPU would open the door to more OS X viruses and spywares, but that hasn’t happened. Now, I feel that Apple’s move to Intel processors was one of the smartest it has made. I was able to get rid of maintaining a separate PC. Now, upgrading a Mac enhances both my OS X and Windows capabilities. That’s what I call “getting the most bang for your buck”!
The IT folks at both my wife’s workplace and mine always rail against Macs whenever the subject is brought up. I figure it’s because they’re both ignorant and scared and don’t want you to see it. I’d be willing to bet you if they bought Macs for use at home, their opinions of Mac in the workplace would radically change. Most of the people who rail against a Mac are those who have never used one.
Keep that in mind the next time you run across a Macluddite. Just urge them on to your local Apple Store or Apple retailer or invite them over for a cup of tea and give them a little free keyboarding time on your Mac. Once you show them what it can do, they can’t help but be impressed.
posted by Andy Foster at
9:09 PM
4 Comments:
Actually, Andy, I never railed against the Mac per se, but rather the smug and often rude behavior of Mac zealots who thought themselves and their platform superior when really, it's not a religion, it's only software.
I had a good time needling them, because their reaction is so predictable.
Anyway, you err when you say I'd "never used one". In fact, I used Macs to put out a magazine I worked for in the late '80s; and I actually owned one of the original iMacs for a long time, until we gave it away last year to a family who couldn't afford a computer. My MacBook is actually my SECOND Mac.
And if you count the Mac the Chron's Business News department had in the mid-1990s -- which I requested and managed so I could look at Mac software -- then maybe it's my third!
And the main reason I bought a MacBook -- it can now run Windows! I wanted a portable of my own, and I wanted to be able to continue looking at the Mac OS, so I bought a MacBook. I do love it . . . regardless of the OS it's running. It's got Vista running in Parallels, and I'll probably set up a Boot Camp install of Vista as well.
I'm actually pretty platform-agnostic, but I focus on Windows because that's what most folks have.
By
Dwight Silverman, at 2:44 PM
Hi Dwight,
I agree with you that computers are not religion. I've said so myself in this blog. I much prefer objective discussions about hardware and software. It's a much better learning atmosphere.
If your intent was simply to go after the Mac "zealots", that wasn't apparent in your writing. When my wife and I read your work, we had the definite impression that all us Mac owners were "Mac Zealots". Here are two recent quotes from your blogs:
"“Sorry, Apple zealots, but she's a Windows user. Don't waste your time recommending a MacBook Pro. She uses Macs at school and doesn't like 'em.”
AND:
“And those new "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" advertisements didn't factor into the decision, did they?
"We're not picking specifically on Macs here, but if you watch those 'Get a Mac' commercials enough, it eventually makes you want to stab one of those users in the eye with a lit cigarette or something," Maynor said.
Yeah, fellas, you are picking on Macs. Well done.”
Kinda hard to see those as "platform agnostic" comments.
Anyway, thanks for writing; and I look forward to reading more of your work in the future.
By
Andy Foster, at 8:26 PM
Andy,
The first quote is me predicting what I thought I'd get in terms of comments if I said my kid didn't like Macs. Again, I'm complaining about the behavior of the zealots, not about he platform. (I did, by the way, get the very reaction I expected. Check the comments in that entry.)
The second item you quote isn't even from me: It's from Jim Thompson, who writes occasionally in my blog. Scroll to the bottom of that entry and check the "Posted by" notation. And even then, he's quoting someone else in another entry, and then his "well done" punchline is clearly sarcasm.
Jim, you see, is a Mac user and a big fan of the platform. In your cursory read, you not only didn't see who the real author was, but you didn't catch the sarcasm.
By
Dwight Silverman, at 11:39 PM
Three more quotes from you here to make a point:
"Of course, when it comes to whining, the Linux and Mac zealotry have nothing on us Windows users. We are . . . professionals.
No, I'm not a fanboy, but here are 42 reasons to switch.
OK, now I get why Mac fanboys are willing to pay Apple's premium."
I see absolutely no distinction in your writing between any Mac owner and any Mac zealot, so, from my perspective, you certainly have left a lot of Mac owners with the perception of bias. The use of the term "fanboy" or "zealot" is not necessary unless your intent was to antagonize. If you want to convince me you really are platform agnostic, then stay with the facts and leave the personal attacks, no matter whom they're aimed at, out of the picture.
You're right, I did miss the author of the second quote. That said, I think most readers would expect to see the real author's name at the top of the article especially when it doesn't agree with the writer's name in the rather large byline at the top of the page, which was the case here. The tiny, light grey "Posted by Jim Thompson" at the bottom of the article is easy to miss. And sarcasm doesn't always come through on the written page. I read it again and it still didn't come through unless I was looking for it.
By
Andy Foster, at 2:50 AM
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