How to overcome anti-mac predjudice...

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
I'm not sure what thread this belongs in and this is the most commonly visited thread so I'll post it and let it be moved if a moderator wishes it so.



My general observations of being an avid mac user are that I am predjudiced against. I can be talking to someone about computers and they will enevitabally bring something up like "what kind of sound card do you have?" or "Do you play CS?" or some other question that will make me say that I own a mac.



95% of the time I say "I don't need a sound card, I have a mac." people look at me like I'm some raving lunatic, laugh at my face, and walk away. (I'm in high school) When pressed, less than half of these people have ever used a mac for more than 15 minutes at a time. People come up with the stupidest exuses why "macs suck". I usually just say I do DV editing and graphic design and there is no way a PC can equal the power and software available for a mac.



Undoubtedly many people on this board have had similar exchanges, what is your usual response to these ignorant idiots?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 17
    I usually say, "OK, whatever. You use your computer, I'll use mine."



    Sometimes I lose control and shout out "MACS RULE PCS DROOL!~!##@" and proceed to beat them senseless with an ADB keyboard.
  • Reply 2 of 17
    ahh, but you probably never crushed some PC skulls with an Apple Adjustable Keyboard.... ADB in its best



    Apple Adjustable keyboard... designed for all those PC heads you need to crush... and anatomically designed for your pleasure





    muhahahaha
  • Reply 3 of 17
    nav3nav3 Posts: 34member
    Just ask them why they think Macs suck, and most of the time they wont be able to come up with a good reason that you cant prove wrong. That works most of the time for me.
  • Reply 4 of 17
    telomartelomar Posts: 1,804member
    With the exception of cost and games I have heard very few arguments against macs that aren't just a case of naïvity.



    Personally games aren't a big thing for me. Besides I own a PS2 and a gamecube already :eek: As for cost when I last bought a Mac I thought it worth the extra money. Will have to see what I decide next year when I buy again.



    90% of the time the obvious ones of stability, lack of microsoft, ease of use, etc. PC users also seem to have this funny belief that things should be complex and therefore dislike the mac. Personally the more time I can save on easy the happier I am. If I want complex (wrong word but can't think of a decent one) I can always work with the CLI.
  • Reply 5 of 17
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    Moving to General Discussion.
  • Reply 6 of 17
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    Whenever people say things like that to me I ask them why they think Macs suck. Usually they give some stupid reason that doesn't make sense. Then I tell them to shut up until they have a real reason.
  • Reply 7 of 17
    [quote]95% of the time I say "I don't need a sound card, I have a mac." people look at me like I'm some raving lunatic, laugh at my face, and walk away.<hr></blockquote>



    Well? without a sound card you don't have 3D sound for DVDs and games, or real-time EAX sound effects, and your CPU has to handle a bigger load, which causes drops in things like FPS for games. But I don?t know if that?s why people laugh at you.



    Seriously, if someone laughs at you for that then they?re a jerk. Doesn?t matter what kind of computer they use. But I don?t believe your 95% statistic. Either that?s gross exaggeration on your part or you?re a jerk magnet. I?d like to see this phenomenon with you walking around wearing an ?I Love Macs!? t-shirt and witness the stream of people that will show up to laugh in your face.



    Anyway, this whole topic seems rather prejudice saying that all PC users are laughing idiots. Well, except for that sensible 5% of course.
  • Reply 8 of 17
    fran441fran441 Posts: 3,715member
    Whenever I tell PC users I own a PowerBook, they either think it's made by IBM (and that is sucks), or they want to know what color it is.



    I don't really care, though, because I get to laugh at them every time another huge security hole is found in Windows, or when they have to reload their OS.
  • Reply 9 of 17
    cosmonutcosmonut Posts: 4,872member
    I feel I can only give you an example of one of two typical conversations:



    THE IGNORANT COMPUTER USER --



    "I actually prefer Macs."

    "Oh, really? I don't like Macs very much."

    "Why is that?"

    "Well, they just seem really complicated and confusing to me."

    "How much have you used a Mac?"

    "Actually, not very much. I used them in high school, but my family's always had an IBM."

    "Oh, well I've found that like anything, if you just take the time to get used to them, you'll end up liking them."

    "Right, well they're more expensive too, right?"

    "Generally, yes, but you have to understand that what you get is a more solid marriage between the hardware and software. It helps that the same company makes the operating system AND the computer it runs on."

    "Okay, well, I've gotta go now, thanks."



    THE MORE INFORMED COMPUTER USER --



    "Actually I prefer Macs."

    "You do? God, why? They're so much more expensive, AND there's so much less software available for them."

    "Well, I do a lot of video editing and web publishing, and they tend to be better for stuff like that. Oh and where software is concerned, Macs really have all the major software that PC's have, without all the cheap, useless stuff that PC's can run and I don't need anyway."

    "True, they are good graphics machines. But they're SO much more expensive for slower processors."

    "(restraining myself) Yes, they do tend to cost more, but you have to realize that Macs have a much better marriage of hardware and software, as well as processors that can do more with less clock speed. That's definitely going to bump the price higher."

    "Whatever man. We'll just see how good your machine is compared to mine when we go head to head at [insert shoot-em-up game]."

    "(You're an idiot) Okay, right, we'll have to do that sometime (and then I'll smoke you in Photoshop, an actually productive program)."



    Of course, my dad's argument is always:

    "Well all I know is that the majority of the business world uses IBM's, not Macs. There's no need to use a Mac if you can't use the same thing at your job."



    Right, Dad.
  • Reply 10 of 17
    There's no point in trying to tell a hardcore gamer that Macs are just as good. For the hardcore gamer, Windows is the only way to go.



    But if you're NOT a hardcore gamer, a valid answer to that person is "I use my Mac for more than just games, so for what I use it for, it's the best machine for me."
  • Reply 11 of 17
    You tell them to go f!@K themselves, kick 'em in the balls and run away





    Works all the time.
  • Reply 12 of 17
    cosmocosmo Posts: 662member
    I used to argue for quite literally hours on end with some of my friends who happen to be hardcore pc users and very anti-mac.



    I've since given that up. I take pride in knowing that i can do everything with my machine that they can with theirs...only better and with less of a head ache. Sometimes i will ask people why they feel a PC is better, but not often because the arguments that follow are just pointless.



    On a brighter not I am one of the more knowledgeable people when it comes to computers (within my group of friends) and to date i have convinced one friend to buy a mac, another is buying one in the next few months (i told him to wait until after MWSF) and a third will be buying a mac as soon as he can afford it.

    Two of those people are windows converts, and the third is new the computers in general (yes i know its shocking).



    What i'm saying is i prefer to explain what is good about a mac, rather than what part of a mac is better than a PC.



    ok enough rambling for now.
  • Reply 13 of 17
    I don't say anything usually, then give them extra shit when their pc stops working.



    my two friends with their uber maxed out pcs constantly give me shit about my iMac, whenever I'm hanging out with either of them something either goes wrong with their computer, Or it takes them forever(litereally over 10 seconds) to load folders and even longer to load applications.
  • Reply 14 of 17
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    It depends.



    If it's a smartmouth, jerky type, I usually say something short and curt and leave it. Something like "Macs are the industry standard in the field in which I make my living...and even if they WEREN'T, I would still use one. What do you care? Wanna measure dicks next? Bug off..."







    If it's an intelligent, reasonable person that I can actually carry on a conversation with without feeling the need to choke him, then I'll simply say the above, only much nicer and with more detail.



    I've gotten to where I don't give two flying damns about the whole Mac vs. PC thing because it's just an ugly circle.



    But the whole "there ain't no software for the Mac..." argument REALLY gets to me because it's the one spouted the most AND the one most obviously full of shit.



    Yes, there ISN'T as much software for the Mac as there is PCs.



    But somehow, I'll manage to survive without "Big Bird's Krazy Klip-Art Collection, Volume 7" or "MegaLordz of Destiny" or some fourth-rate word processor that costs $23.95 at OfficeMax and comes with kick-ass 1992-era bitmapped clip art of skinny-tied people in a business meeting or a chicken sitting on an egg.







    These people obviously don't have a grasp of the whole "quality vs. quantity" thing.







    For the Mac, I can have Microsoft Office (OS X native, no less), not to mention a kick ass mp3 player (iTunes). Digital video, word processing, page layout, personal finance, document creation, e-mail, Internet access, graphic design, illustration, photo editing, video editing, streaming multimedia, compression utilities, anti-virus utilities, chat software, FTP software, screensavers, desktops, an entire universe of typefaces, a supreme search engine (built-in), etc.



    WHAT, in God's name, am I missing out on?



    Uh, nothing? Jeez.



    Yeah, there's "no software" for the Mac. Just only everything I need for work and play, swizzledick.



  • Reply 15 of 17
    I remember while working at an ISP in *1996*, some PC "rocket scientist" told me why Photoshop was so much better on a PC. I mean, how does one even argue with someone that probably thinks the earth is flat?
  • Reply 16 of 17
    [quote]editing and graphic design and there is no way a PC can equal the power and software available for a mac.<hr></blockquote>



    And you wonder why people are "predudiced" against you?



  • Reply 17 of 17
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    Oh please. The graphic design and creative arts industry/community has always been heavily Mac-based.



    Adobe and others routinely put their stuff out for Macs first and damn near every graphics software "how to" book on the Barnes and Noble shelf has Mac screenshots and is written from a Mac-centric point of view.



    Not all, but most.



    If people can't at least agree with that, then what's the point.



    The Macintosh spurred the whole desktop publishing/graphics thing and over 15 years later it is STILL the platform of choice for publishers, designers, illustrators, etc.



    Go do a search and read Scott Kelby's article about how Macs are a superior platform in many, many ways when it comes to graphics, typography, color management, software, printing, software, etc.



    I've been doing this type of work for just over nine years now and I've lived in three distinct areas of the country: the Southeast, the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area and Southern California.



    In every job I've had and with every contact I made with other graphic artists, printers, illustrators, designers, etc. we (and they) were ALWAYS 100% Mac based.



    There's got to be a reason, right?



    Honest to God, in these nine years (working at magazines, newspapers, marketing departments, book publishers, etc.) I have met ONE person who was in the same field I was in and who was PC-based.



    His name was Kevin and he used CorelDraw on a PC and did spot illustration work on a part-time freelance basis.



    And, oh yeah: he did NOTHING but bitch and complain 24/7 about printing, color and font "issues" the entire time I knew him.



    When I finally suggested that perhaps he might be happier on a Mac, using the industry standard platform and perhaps giving Adobe Illustrator or Macromedia Freehand an honest try, his response was basically, "dude, I ain't a Mac person...".



    Well, "dude", good luck never getting your stuff to come out the way you want it to. More power to ya, pal.



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