I don't think he was native dutch.First rule of foreign travel, don't argue with the natives.
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Is Starbucks the place where people go to show off their Apple stuff?
- Thread starter 212rikanmofo
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I'm glad I spotted this thread. I've never really liked coffee, but my wife enjoys Starbucks whenever she can get it. I know know that it is perfectly acceptable to take my laptop just to show off while my wife drinks her coffee. Thanks for the valuable information
IMO, the Starbucks coffee you get in a cold bottle at a local store tastes better than going to an actual Starbucks.
We share so many things. I have innumerable fountain pens myself; My favorite is a cheap bent nib Lanbitou that writes incredibly well. I use Noodler's Bad Black Moccasin ink, which is just about bulletproof.
I would disagree about the quality of Starbucks, however - whilst I agree it's not the best it is, at least, very consistent and tends to be better than every other chain coffee shop whose faire I've experienced. If I fly into Vegas for the weekend I can safely enter a Starbucks and know I'll receive at least a good cup of the coffee - not an excellent one perhaps, but something I expect and can enjoy.
I use Lavazza Gran Selezione in a vintage espresso maker. I've been utterly spoilt by it. With so many options and flavors and qualities available out in a coffee shop, the best coffee I've ever had is still the stuff I make every morning of the every day.
Since the iPod became popular.Also, since when did Apple become a status symbol???
That I agree with, when talking about iDevices. But I think Macs are a differ story. Actually, there is nothing wrong with that. Macs and Macbooks are beautiful and the Apple brand holds weight.
I'm betting you can't link to proof, though; Apple's recent product releases (or lack thereof) may be clouding your better judgement due to unrealized dreams of higher resolution MacBook Airs (as in my case lol).
The fact is Apple is still perceived as a high end brand; perhaps not in the same field as Rolls-Royce, but definitely several steps up on a brand like Chevy. Luxury goods? Nah. High-end? Yes. Samsung may run an ad that says Apple is falling behind, but you have to balance Brand Sycophant Perception against the perception inherent in general public opinion. All things neutral and money being no object, if you were to present the average income buyer with the choice of either a maxed out MacBook Pro or a similar Dell, most would choose the Mac.
Your average buyer can see someone with an HP desktop and Dell and Sony laptop and go "ho-hum they're a computer nerd" but if they saw someone with an iMac and two MacBook Airs there would be assumptions made about income - whether those conclusions were factually accurate or not. With higher perceived price per unit (even though this argument is erroneous and comical at best), the perceived status climbs. With Apple's reputation for quality and it's undeserved reputation for high prices, it goes up even more.
If they weren't an instantly-recognizable status brand you wouldn't see Apple logos all over in movies, esp. in the homes and workflows of "cool" or "well to do" characters (Tony Stark's home computer setup not included). Apple says they don't buy product placements and yet their stuff is plastered everywhere in movies and TV...
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It does hold weight, but not as much as it once did. Maybe I spent too much time on college campuses though.
I'm betting you can't link to proof, though; Apple's recent product releases (or lack thereof) may be clouding your better judgement due to unrealized dreams of higher resolution MacBook Airs (as in my case lol).
The fact is Apple is still perceived as a high end brand; perhaps not in the same field as Rolls-Royce, but definitely several steps up on a brand like Chevy. Luxury goods? Nah. High-end? Yes. Samsung may run an ad that says Apple is falling behind, but you have to balance Brand Sycophant Perception against the perception inherent in general public opinion. All things neutral and money being no object, if you were to present the average income buyer with the choice of either a maxed out MacBook Pro or a similar Dell, most would choose the Mac.
Your average buyer can see someone with an HP desktop and Dell and Sony laptop and go "ho-hum they're a computer nerd" but if they saw someone with an iMac and two MacBook Airs there would be assumptions made about income - whether those conclusions were factually accurate or not. With higher perceived price per unit (even though this argument is erroneous and comical at best), the perceived status climbs. With Apple's reputation for quality and it's undeserved reputation for high prices, it goes up even more.
If they weren't an instantly-recognizable status brand you wouldn't see Apple logos all over in movies, esp. in the homes and workflows of "cool" or "well to do" characters (Tony Stark's home computer setup not included). Apple says they don't buy product placements and yet their stuff is plastered everywhere in movies and TV...
You are correct. Maybe it's just living in the bay area, I see apple products literally everywhere. In fact, I notice it more when I see someone using a non-apple device. I grew up in Michigan, and there weren't a lot of apple devices but that was only 1 or 2 years after the iPhone was released. When I went back home for a visit, they are definitely more ubiquitous.
Whatever about the perceptions surrounding Apple ownership (and I think that these are a good deal more complex than some posts seem to have realised), I really doubt that Starbucks is seen any longer as the epitome of 'coolness' that way it most certainly was around a decade or so ago.
Re the computers, I think Apple appeals to a number of different categories of people, not merely the 'wannabe cool kids', or those who are assumed to be well off, though some from these categories, too, obviously buy and use the computers, (even, or especially, in public.)
Rather than emphasising the 'well off' dimension of those who own an Apple computer (because they are more expensive than most other computer brands), why not make the obvious point that for a number of the individuals who buy Apple computers, they do so because having an excellent (and stylish) computer matters to them?
Such individuals might not make a similar judgement in other areas of their lives, such as a choice over the make of car they choose to drive. Thus, one can draw a conclusion that Apple owners need not necessarily be well off; just that owning a good computer matters to them, and they are prepared to spend a little extra money in this area of their lives, but might choose to spend less money on other areas of their lives that matter less to them.
Re the computers, I think Apple appeals to a number of different categories of people, not merely the 'wannabe cool kids', or those who are assumed to be well off, though some from these categories, too, obviously buy and use the computers, (even, or especially, in public.)
Rather than emphasising the 'well off' dimension of those who own an Apple computer (because they are more expensive than most other computer brands), why not make the obvious point that for a number of the individuals who buy Apple computers, they do so because having an excellent (and stylish) computer matters to them?
Such individuals might not make a similar judgement in other areas of their lives, such as a choice over the make of car they choose to drive. Thus, one can draw a conclusion that Apple owners need not necessarily be well off; just that owning a good computer matters to them, and they are prepared to spend a little extra money in this area of their lives, but might choose to spend less money on other areas of their lives that matter less to them.
It's a funny observation and one I've thought about before. In fact, last week I was in a Starbucks and noticed that 4 of the 5 people using a laptop inside had Apple machines.
btw sorry if my post came as snippy. I didn't mean it like that.
That's a statement I can get behind. While they do have a reputation for price, and the status incumbent upon that to it's relative degree, they don't have the reputation for quality that Apple does - at least, it's a much wider swinging range of reputation.
I would say, though, that there are still "certain types of people" who do like to be seen sitting in a Starbucks - Apple laptop or Sony laptop - because they perceive coffee shops in general, and Starbucks especially for the commercially-aware patrons, to be The Place where cool people hang out. I don't know what anyone thinks s/he is 'hanging out' in such a place, but there you have it.
But that's culturally dependent, I think. On any day of the week you can visit a café on Champs Elysees and see a bescarved espresso drinker, complete with beret and book/phone/tablet and they're not trying to be anything nor do they care one single baguette crumb about what anyone thinks who sees them. It's Paris, so they just are. What is perceived as wannabe Hipster in the USA would be regarded as commonplace in the Moveable Feast.
It's strange. People doing it seem to think they're showing the rest of the world how much of an individual they are. And yet they all look identical with their hipster clothes, all with Apple branded products and over priced caffeinated refreshments. I've experienced people like it before. The type who spend their entire lives attempting to fit in and then complain when they don't get noticed.
As I said, it's very strange. Or at least in my eyes. I do wonder sometimes what they're actually doing and how they can afford to sit on their arses all day and drink expensive coffee.
As I said, it's very strange. Or at least in my eyes. I do wonder sometimes what they're actually doing and how they can afford to sit on their arses all day and drink expensive coffee.
Do you wear clothes? Chances are you do it because everyone else does too, spending your whole life trying to fit in... damn human nature to want social acceptance!
See? fitting in isn't always bad.
You nailed it! If someone needs a MacBook and coffee to feel rich and showoff to people who are equally not rich then I have nothing to say.
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The coffee shop IMO is the worst place to get stuff done. Most people go there to do the exact opposite- hangout and relax.
I agree. I don't understand how anyone can get work done in crowded, noisy environments. :?
In my last job, the coffee shop was where I got almost all of my work done. I sat and sipped coffee, read (and wrote) stuff, and made space for people who wanted to talk to me, and whom I wished to speak with in a comfortable - and most important this - a neutral, - and private - environment, none of which I could have done at my desk.
I am a huge fan of spending hours in coffee shops. Now, not necessarily, crowded, or fashionable coffee shops. But coffee shops that serve good coffee, have decent wifi, and where the people I wish to meet know they will be able to find me.
We've got a couple of nice, large, quiet coffee shops around here - actually pretty conducive to getting work done, and a nice break away from the home office on occasion.
http://citycoffeeco.com
http://www.dosbar.com
However, this can create a problem for those who just want to go into the coffee shop to have a coffee and am unable to find anywhere to sit. It is actually very annoying to see four or five people with computers in coffee shops each on a table that can sit three or four that are nursing a single coffee for three hours. Not good for the coffee shop and not good for the potential customers. Some coffee shops in London have banned computers between certain hours.
For all of the oft-lauded advances enabled by tech - email, video-conference, text (and all of that) - at the end of the day, if I wish to talk properly to someone, (in a neutral - and somewhat relaxed - environment) nothing, but nothing, beats a face-to-face talk in a coffee shop.
You have both privacy and activity. Personally, I can get a lot more done in a coffee shop than I ever could in the bane of corporate life, that soul-destroying thing called an open-plan office.
Just out of curiosity, did you feel that those 4 people were showing off or were they just using their computers?