Humorous little story

[crossed-over]

My fiance' had a really interesting story about her powerbook that I wanted to share and see what others thought of it; the words in quotes are the words she chose to describe the story:

She works at a Holiday Inn Express as a front desk representative. While working one day, she had her powerbook out doing various things on it. A kind of "uppity" business man was sitting in the lobby and came up to her and pulled out a "fat" Toshiba laptop and said to her: "Now this is a laptop." She looked up at him, and just said, "...ok..."

It sounded to me like the guy felt threatened by her powerbook. I was just thinking about it, and the funny thing is, I can't see too many mac users actually doing a thing like this. It seems to me that most of us mac users are kind of silent about our beloved machines, because we just know we have a better computer. However, you always hear about PC users "bashing" macs and trying to pick fights with mac users. What does that say about the two different worlds? Just some thoughts. What do you think?

BTW, I told her I would've responded to the guy and said, "Yeah, well this is American made."

[MoparShaha]

I absolutely agree with your assesment. Us Mac users know we have a better computer than everyone else, and thats just dandy with us. It's all the insecure PC users (pun intended) that feel threatened and need to validate themselves. I suppose it's analogous to an insecure male needing a monster SUV to compensate for something lacking downstairs.

[abhishekit]

nah...my mac shipped from taiwan:D

[idkew]

yeah, macs are not made in the usa, although they are designed in the usa.

[crossed-over]

I didn't say it was "made in America", I said "American made", but you know what I meant.

[Ryan1524]

mac users have better taste and is beyond such petty bickerings.....or maybe not.. :p

[ChrisH3677]

A little expression I like for that belief in something that you don't have to justify is
It's when you know that you know that you know.

I don't know if it's grammatically correct but I just like it! :)

[snickelfritz]

PC-zealots always come-off sounding distinctly ignorant.
I get back at them by charging $100/hr to fix their stupid computers.

[edesignuk]

Originally posted by snickelfritz
PC-zealots always come-off sounding distinctly ignorant.

So do Mac zealots, and there are a lot of them round here. Both "sides" are as bad as each other, if you think otherwise you are deluding yourself :rolleyes:

[crenz]

Originally posted by crossed-over
A kind of "uppity" business man was sitting in the lobby and came up to her and pulled out a "fat" Toshiba laptop and said to her: "Now this is a laptop."

Hmm... that reveals a lot about how some consumers think. Maybe he perceived fatness = speed + features + sturdiness? People probably can't imagine that so much laptop can fit into so little case ;) .

[virividox]

people always say, oh my laptop has a better video card, bigger hd, faster proc

i just say, oh thats nice, then watch them stare as i burn a dvd, run an app in vpc, while applying filters to photoshop project, type an email, and import photos.

then i say, wow, yours must do all those thing too huh, then i close the lid and walk away haha

[Heart Break Kid]

Originally posted by virividox
people always say, oh my laptop has a better video card, bigger hd, faster proc

i just say, oh thats nice, then watch them stare as i burn a dvd, run an app in vpc, while applying filters to photoshop project, type an email, and import photos.

then i say, wow, yours must do all those thing too huh, then i close the lid and walk away haha


amen to that bro.

[alset]

I know the reason I'm silent about my iBook's superiority is because it speaks for itself. I don't have to tell anyone how great it is because I feel smug just letting the Apple glow.

Dan

[sparky76]

It's all the insecure PC users (pun intended) that feel threatened and need to validate themselves.

I think you're generalising. Maybe the guy is just a w*nker.

[rueyeet]

Originally posted by ChrisH3677
It's when you know that you know that you know. Very well said. :)

I think insecurity and/or arrogance is similarly distributed among all populations, be it PC users, Mac users, men, women, etc. What differs from group to group is WHAT they're insecure and/or arrogant about. Mac users can be just as defensive about being the minority platform, and elitist to boot.

But it does seem that this PC user, in particular, was being unduly insecure/arrogant about the "size" of his laptop. :p

[Maritan]

Something similar to this incident happened to me when I was at the airport.

I had some time to kill before my flight was called, so I whip out my 15 incher PB :D and start doing some work on it. This random guy sits next to me, whips out his really THICK Gateway or Fujitsu or whatever the hell it was. He looks at mine and says "That's an Apple, huh?" I beam with pride, and say "Of course". So he says, "Yeah, but you can't do much on it can you?" I keep myself under check and ask what he means. He gives me the standard "No software for the Mac." I forget which ones he mentioned, but i assured him that whatever he had mentioned were available for the Mac.

He then says a couple of things about coding in various languages. I ask him politely what language he codes in. He says, "Java, C and C++". I say, "Well, I can easily code on my machine. It comes with compilers in built. I don't even need to download any of the compilers." He looks at my laptop, and he says, "Yeah, but I code Windows specific stuff." At this point I'm ready to drop it.

But not him. He says, "Well, my computer actually burns DVDs". I say, "Oh really? That's great, so does mine." That's when he sees my slot loading drive, looks at my face which has a nice smug grin. At this point, he doesn't say anything, and shuts down his computer. I couldn't help but say, "That's another thing Apple does much better. We hardly ever need to shut it down. We just let the computer sleep." And I demonstrate. :D He couldn't say anything. He just left the place.

[ExoticFish]

i get most of my reactions because people know (being a LAN Support Specialist) that i generally am going to know more about computers then they do. then they see that i gave up my PC for a Mac. they are naturally curious as to why and start asking me questions. i answer every single question and they always walk away "wowed" by my machine. PC people are constantly being impressed by everything i'm able to do with my PB. it's really fun to see people expressions when i'm coding some VB.Net with VPC fullscreen and they get confused and ask "i thought that was a Mac?" then i go to windowed mode and they see OS X underneith with all my other apps open. i love the look on peoples faces when they see that. it's a look of "oh, my PC can't do that". priceless. :D

[virividox]

hahah yeah i love doing the full screen vpc trick, they are like "Hey win XP", and im like, yup. i think macs have been bashed for so long people are actually shocked when they find out how much they can actually do

[beefcake]

I get it.

insecure.

good pun.

[virividox]

Originally posted by beefcake
I get it.

insecure.

good pun.

good thing you got it!!! hehe

[tomf87]

Originally posted by ExoticFish
i get most of my reactions because people know (being a LAN Support Specialist) that i generally am going to know more about computers then they do. then they see that i gave up my PC for a Mac. they are naturally curious as to why and start asking me questions. i answer every single question and they always walk away "wowed" by my machine. PC people are constantly being impressed by everything i'm able to do with my PB. it's really fun to see people expressions when i'm coding some VB.Net with VPC fullscreen and they get confused and ask "i thought that was a Mac?" then i go to windowed mode and they see OS X underneith with all my other apps open. i love the look on peoples faces when they see that. it's a look of "oh, my PC can't do that". priceless. :D

But their PC can do that.... Virtual PC or VMWare.

Anyway, what do you need VPC for? Just curious, as I have managed to lose it after the switch here at work.

[ExoticFish]

Originally posted by tomf87
But their PC can do that.... Virtual PC or VMWare.

Anyway, what do you need VPC for? Just curious, as I have managed to lose it after the switch here at work.

they might be able to run Windows on top of Windows but they can't run OS X on top of Windows.

edit: oh yeah, i use VPC to run Visual Studio.Net

[7on]

I use vpc to run Partypoker.com myself

[varmit]

Maritan, you didn't break out VPC and say, oh wow, I can program in windows too. I'm guessing you didn't because you might not have that on your laptop. But you defended your mac quiet well without having to stab at a PC to much. So far I haven't had people come over with their PC lap tops and try and bash me, more just inquires from passer bys that want to know about the mac.

I have a story too, just happened, not on the same wavelength as the stories I have heard here today but here it is. I my gf knows I'm all about the Mac, so anyone she sees with one she lets me know. Well a guy from one of her classes was presenting their project using his Mac, haven't gotten what type, using Power Point. See sent me a text message stating this. They got though the presentation just fine, but the teacher wanted them to go back to a certain slide. Well, what happened was Power Point started crashing. So they couldn't go back in there slides. Well, what did the teacher say, none other than, "This is why you shouldn't use a mac." I smacked myself in the forhead and sayed you have to be kidding me. I so wish I was there to raise my hand and say, "Well if MS programs would work correctly, we wouldn't have this problem on the mac, ummm, and PC." Maybe I am a little bit more agressive than most people, but I only react when poked in the eye like this.

[pinto32]

I am both a Windows and a Mac user, and I have noticed something very amusing.....when I talk to my fellow Windows users, it is always about how to fix a problem, or about the latest virus, or how much I hated retyping that 10 page paper last year when Windows currupted my hard drive (*bad memories*).
On the other hand, talking to Mac users is always about how much I love using it, how beautiful the OS is, how I ended up switching, and how I cant wait to get an iPod....

My point? Mc users are generally happier people, because, for all the time we in the western world spend on computers, our experiances with them have a very big effect on our psyche. If you actually enjoy being on your computer for hours on end, then the rest of your life just seems to be a little bit nicer.

[crossed-over]

I love your signature quote pinto LOL

[purplehaze]

Actually, I think this thread is wholly wrong.

From my own experience (and from reading these forums) there's a significant body of mac users who are dripping with arrogance, snobbery and elitism.

That's not to say they are bad people, but their objectivity does have to be questioned. It seems that they identify themself with their macs and are threatened by any criticism of apple and/or the mac community. Consequently, there's a lot of "troll-baiting" and group hugging going on in here.

There's no doubt that macs are more stylish and better built than pcs, and I'll admit that this is one of the reasons I want to switch, but loyalty or allegiance with the apple brand is someone I just can't understand.

One quick glance at any mac forum will tell you that mac zealots are alive and kicking. edesign's got it right - you're just as bad as each other...

[crossed-over]

Right, but if you refer to the original post, the point of this thread is that we don't actually go out and antagonize PC users, as they do us, we tend to keep it in-house such as the original story states. We defend ourselves, nonetheless, when antagonized, but I don't know too many mac users who would whip out their pb or ibook in front of a random pc-wielding stranger and boast, "now this is a laptop".

[billyboy]

It is well known psychology that blokes especially feel obligated to justify their purchase if the price tag seems a bit on the high side. You know, like when you paid $10 for a CD and your mate says, "Could have got that for $9.25 down the road." You say, "But you want to see the chick who sold me this CD for $10, it was worth the extra." You know that is a BS argument, but that is how minds work.

The thing with Macs though, you pay a bit more than you would for a PC, but you have undeniably got your money's worth, so you can keep quiet, albeit smug. It really can do all the things that the Cupertino marketing people flogged at you. And when people cant work out where the CD tray is, it would be rude not to indicate a slot loading drive. And when, in my case, my housemate dumps a tin colored paving slab on the desk, and says, "Doesnt it look like a Powerbook" and then fires up the turbines, why shouldnt I be able to just open the 5mm thick lid on my 1" thin computer and wake up 23 projects while PC man prioritises which essential software he is going to download from Kazaa because his Mac lookalike came preloaded with basically nothing of use.

[sethypoo]

Originally posted by Ryan1524
mac users have better taste and is beyond such petty bickerings.....or maybe not.. :p

Oooook, let's not get too high and mighty.

[brianellisrules]

Originally posted by crossed-over
silent about our beloved machines, because we just know we have a better computer. However, you always hear about PC users "bashing" macs and trying to pick fights with mac users.
:rolleyes:

You're joking, right?

[Makosuke]

Originally posted by crossed-over
Right, but if you refer to the original post, the point of this thread is that we don't actually go out and antagonize PC users, as they do us, we tend to keep it in-house such as the original story states. We defend ourselves, nonetheless, when antagonized, but I don't know too many mac users who would whip out their pb or ibook in front of a random pc-wielding stranger and boast, "now this is a laptop". I'm with crossed-over. Mac users are notorious for bashing Windows, Windows users, and for their irrational defense of Apple and their products. If you ask me personally, when I do it I think it's because it's justified, but there are plenty who take it a step too far as well.

That said, I agree completely with the original poster that, in my personal experience, Mac users just don't do that. I've never once (personally) seen a Mac user go out of his/her way to antagonize a PC user without provocation like that, approaching a stranger to do so. Maybe it's because a lot of us feel insecure being alone in a big, bad PC world, but I just don't see it happening.

On the other hand, I've seen plenty of PC users feeling the uncontrollable need to go out of their way to insult Mac users they don't even know, and for no good reason whatsoever.

I'll bash Wintel but I sure won't do it unless it's provoked, or somebody asks for my opinion. As for my response when a PC user feels the need to take a potshot at me, it's easy: "What do you actually do with your computer?" Never met anybody who can match half of the list I have.

[raptorhigh]

I've gone through 3 OS stages in my lifetime:

Windows- I bashed Windows

Linux - I bashed Windows

Mac (current)- Guess what... I'm still bashing Windows

[stoid]

One of my friends here on campus once made the argument that since his PC runs loud, hot, and is really fat that he knows there are parts in there.

I challenged him to a benchmark test of his choice. Note: this is my 15 AluBook at 1.25 Ghz vs his 2.7 GHz Wintel slab. My laptop soundly whips the spit out of his and I say, "That's how I know my laptop has parts in it."

[pinto32]

hmmm....while there are always going to be some crazy zelots in any grop, I still agree with the majoity of you taht Mac-users are more layed-back about arguing thier computing choice. One notable exception however, is when people on both sides try to switch people:
Mac users generally will ask how you do something on the PC, and then show the easy way on the Mac. Also, its fun to brag about the reliabilit, etc. Some surely do misinterpret this as arrogance, but it is simply our way of "showing them the light."
When PC users try to state thier case, on the otehr hand, it isnt through demonstation or bragging....it is by insults...."you cant do anything with it"..."its crap"......"Steve Jobs is crazy".....you get the idea....

[oldschool]

Originally posted by 7on
I use vpc to run Partypoker.com myself

Try out pokerroom.com...Thats mac compatible as its browser based.

hey do you know "sniper" on partypoker?