Apple in the public consciousness

[Doctor Q]

I like the way Apple's influence permeates the public consciousness, especially in the U.S. Sure, people have heard of Dell (yawn), Compaq (ho hum), HP (zzzzz), etc. and know they sell computers. But people talk about Apple even when the topic isn't buying a computer. The coolness factor, the attention-getting ads and products, the celebrity CEO, and the connections to the music business, creative professionals, and with Hollywood all add up to a part of our culture disproportionate to Apple's computer market share.

I think its great!

 

[themadchemist]

Unfortunately, I think there are still a fair share of people who think that "Apples" can't connect to the internet.

 

[MacsRgr8]

Originally posted by themadchemist
Unfortunately, I think there are still a fair share of people who think that "Apples" can't connect to the internet.

Correct, especially over here in Europe (at least in Holland) where advertizing a Mac seems to be a sin

But, maybe times are heading for the better. The iPod really is getting on very well over here. At least Apple is now getting to be a household name, all-be-it as an MP3 player manufacturer, and something to with "paid music downloads".

Having Apple as being something cool does make the situation better, though.
People knowing Apple as a manufacturer of cool products (unaware of the even nicer Macs ), might just someday notice the iMac (G5 ???) and think: "Hey, isn't this a computer made buy that company that makes those gr8 iPods?"..... "wow, now they make computers too! Check it out!!!"

OK. A bit sarcastic, but I still think this is liable to happen here!

 

[Doctor Q]

I can't believe how many people, when I ask "Do you have a PC or a Macintosh?", reply "I don't know. I got it from Compaq." So there is still a ways to go before these people understand what a Mac is, whether they buy one or not. That's why I like to see Apple and its products mentioned in other contexts, just to have them in front of people's eyes as often as possible. It'll keep sinking in.

 

[MacsRgr8]

I agree.

I just hope that Apple doesn't get to be a name too much linked to non-IT products.
Imagine this: "the new computer from Napster! With the all new Napster OS!!!"
I mean, who would try that?

(ofcourse Napster being the Apple substitute for the many non-Apple-savvy out there)

Get the picture?

 

[1macker1]

When I tell people that i have a Apple computer they still go, "what the hell for" "Do it work" "hahahah".

 

[Counterfit]

I used my PB for a presentation last semester. My professor said "A Mac? Couldn't you get a real computer?" Then I proceeded to hook it into the prjector (which someone tried with their HP laptop but couldn't get to work ) and show a nice slideshow spiffed up in Keynote. Too bad I made it 800*600 and showed it in 1024*768 though

 

[TheArchpadre]

One of the most interesting things I've found with having a Mac is the number of people who express a desire to have one, but never actually buy one. Even when they have perfect opportunities to do so, they still find a way to chicken out and get a PC. I got my PowerBook for college a year early after I got bit by the Mac bug in my junior year and quickly caved in. My friends all loved it and claimed that they really wanted a Mac, but did they all go get PowerBooks or iBooks when the time came for them to get their college laptops? Nope. Not a one of them. They still want them, though. I was just talking to one of those friends today about his plans to save up and get a Mac.

The majority PC-based college friends are no different. With the exception of a few of the hardcore geeks (read: math majors), all love the design and ease-of-use. They just never go out on that limb and switch.

People are strange. It's like Macs are the thing to covet but never to own.

 

[applemacdude]

Quote from a stupid ass boy in my school, "Apples cant connect to the internet becasue the cable that came with my aunts was too big for it"

He was reffering to a ethernet cable he was trying to stick in the modem port. he thought the ethernet cable was a phone cable

 

[geerlingguy]

In high school (where I dwell for over half my waking hours), it seems that nobody likes Macs because "they can't play games." Most of the time, upon finding what games these PC friends play, there is a Mac version for sale (albiet, sometimes at a higher price). If not, I tell them: "Well, some people waste their lives only playing games. For the rest of us, we can live with sacrificing one or two of those games, playing only when we have time, and using our computers to do something productive!" /rant

 

[Doctor Q]

Originally posted by TheArchpadre
One of the most interesting things I've found with having a Mac is the number of people who express a desire to have one, but never actually buy one.

Maybe Macs are like good food and exercise. People know they should have a Mac, but they keep postponing it because they assume that anything good for them can't be any fun. If only they knew!

 

[Doctor Q]

Here's a good example of Apple's influence on culture. One of the tributes anyone should be honored to have - being made fun of by Mad Magazine!

In the March 2004 issue that just came out, 3 of the 50 pages (non-contiguous) are devoted to full-page fake iPod ads, under the heading "If Other Companies Copied the iPod Ad Campaign." The fake ads aren't hilarious, just silly.

The first one has this text:

iPoop
New 1.6 gallon and 3.0 gallon toilets.
For all your hot downloads
American Standard

 

[Doctor Q]

I'm sure you'll all demand that I post the other 2, so here goes.

iPop
New 1 oz. and 5 oz. tubes.
A solution for all your digital releases.
Clearasil

 

[Doctor Q]

iPot
New 1/4 oz. and 1/2 oz. bags.
Perfect for all your hits.

 

[Doctor Q]

It's been a few months since my previous post here, but I have two more examples of the influence of Apple (specifically the iPod) on culture:

First, we have the iRaq, iPod advert parody.

Second, MAD Magazine has another iPod joke this month. For subscribers who get MAD in the mail, every issue comes in a paper sleeve, on which the MAD artists put a joke or silly picture. The current issue, July 2004, has Harry Potter on the cover. Here's what's on the sleeve:

 

[wdlove]

Those are great finds Doctor Q, thank you for posting. Those brought a welcome smile.

 

[Flowbee]

One of the most interesting things I've found with having a Mac is the number of people who express a desire to have one, but never actually buy one. Even when they have perfect opportunities to do so, they still find a way to chicken out and get a PC.

I think the vast majority of people just aren't interested in computers enough to want to learn how to use a new OS and apps. Seems like more trouble than it's worth. That's one of the main reasons so many people are still using Windows ME or 98. It's the OS that shipped with their computer and they're fine with it. (Look at how many Mac users are still using OS9 for that matter.)

You can tell people that using Macs is easier all you want, but there's still a learning curve, and that's a major psychological hurdle for many.

 

[encro]

Most people don't realize what they are using because they simply don't even care about it, they ain't computer enthusiasts like us.

A lot of the younger generation has missed out on the Amiga/Atari/C64/MS-DOS era where it was far more obvious because they all worked very differently to each other.

Now most OS work very similar and has attracted the general public who just treat a computer like it's a blender.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

I used my PB for a presentation last semester. My professor said "A Mac? Couldn't you get a real computer?" Then I proceeded to hook it into the prjector (which someone tried with their HP laptop but couldn't get to work ) and show a nice slideshow spiffed up in Keynote. Too bad I made it 800*600 and showed it in 1024*768 though

Had an experience with my boss that shows if Apple will just show what it is capable of, then they will get market share.

Had an advertising planning meeting. My boss asked about ads for the next month. I said that I didn't know off hand, I proceeded to pul out my PB (in sleep mode), and started right away to the apps I needed.

Now my boss is thinking about the Mac as his business computer. So far only us "creative types" are able to use a Mac in the work environment.

 

[rueyeet]

One of the most interesting things I've found with having a Mac is the number of people who express a desire to have one, but never actually buy one.

I know several such people myself. A couple of them are scared off by any possible learning curve, but all of them just can't afford one. Sure, Macs are perfectly price-competitive when compared to a similarly-equipped PC, but if that Mac and that PC are both out of your price range compared to the $499 PC at Best Buy, you'll end up with the PC. Most of them don't want something like an eMac, either.

I am glad to see all the recent mass-market coverage of Apple, especially the positive stuff. Coming from being a Windows user for most of my computing life, and a former CompSci geek, I just can't convey how little the average computer user knows or cares about Macs. If they know they exist at all, they usually only vaguely know that Macs are those strange "other" computers that no one they know uses--and that's ALL they know.

Most consumers don't even know what an operating system is. Support techs don't ask, "What OS are you running?" They ask, "What version of Windows do you have?" Windows is the computer, and a computer is the thing that runs Windows. So any curiosity the average Joe walking into CompUSA might have about this Apple thingy that doesn't run Windows is immediately squelched by sticker shock, and he buys the nice cheap familiar Compaq.

That's where I think the Apple stores are such a good idea. Get people to wander in and see that Macs are computers too, that they're not so frighteningly different, that they can do the same stuff, and that in fact they do a lot of the basic stuff--photos, music, etc--more easily than a Windows machine. And do it in an environment where there is no readily available price comparison, while marketing the whole thing as an Apple-branded "experience". Even without sales, that does a LOT to open up mindshare.

 

[Frohickey]

I like the way Apple's influence permeates the public consciousness, especially in the U.S.

I think its great!

Unfortunately, I do not agree with you.

If Apple's influence permeates the public consciousness AND their buying habits, then I might grudgingly agree with you.

 

[smllpx]

Maybe I could provide some insight into the "want a mac but bought a pc" crowd. It is similar situation with my dad, who would be better served by a windows box (he is in virtual pc quite a bit and some other complex issues, but I don't really want to debate the whole mac vs pc argument; I use almost everything: Mac, Windows, Linux, Solaris, AIX, Irix, HP-UX, FreeBSD and with the exception of Irix and HP-UX I say use the right tool for the job, so you will just have to trust me that he would be better off with Windows... in his case).

Anyway, its the software investment. He has already spent a bunch of money for his mac apps and would have to purchase the same or similar software again. That alone makes switching at least an additional $2k investment. It is easier to stay with the same architecture.