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212rikanmofo

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jan 31, 2003
1,907
730
Just curious but is it me, or do a lot of people who use Apple stuff like to hang out at Starbucks to show off?
 
Just curious but is it me, or do a lot of people who use Apple stuff like to hang out at Starbucks to show off?

Not if they don't know anybody...who would they be showing off to? The barista? :rolleyes:

I think it's just a lifestyle choice.

You know, the coffee, the macbook, doing something in media, black frame glasses, red checkered shirt, skinny jeans,

You know you've seen him there.
 
Why does it have to be about showing off? If someone is using their apple product in public its just showing off? Thats a pretty ignorant way to look at something.
 
Why does it have to be about showing off? If someone is using their apple product in public its just showing off? Thats a pretty ignorant way to look at something.

Or maybe the OP is just posting the obvious, nothing ignorant about it. You see almost complete usage of macs at Starbucks compared to any other public gathering spot. It's even easier to spot a PC laptop at a University.

I've also noticed people hold Starbucks cups while walking the streets like it's a fashion accessory. I never see people hold non Starbucks or unbranded coffee cups that way. Not making anything from it, just an observation.

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Also, since when did Apple become a status symbol??? :confused:

You been living inside a cave for the last decade?
 
Or maybe the OP is just posting the obvious, nothing ignorant about it. You see almost complete usage of macs at Starbucks compared to any other public gathering spot. It's even easier to spot a PC laptop at a University.

I've also noticed people hold Starbucks cups while walking the streets like it's a fashion accessory. I never see people hold non Starbucks or unbranded coffee cups that way. Not making anything from it, just an observation.

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You been living inside a cave for the last decade?

Have you?
 
Seriously, you're going to act as if many people don't view Apple as a status brand?

I guess...? I mean when I think of status I think of an expensive car or big home. Not really a Mac. Everyone has a Mac...just go to any university library or coffee shop
 
I also notice the same thing here where I live. Maybe it's a city thing, and doesn't happen in rural areas. I see people holding and walking around with Starbuck cups like it's a fashion statement also.

And we all know that Apple has been a status symbol. To most people, Apple is an expensive brand. At least where I'm from and all the places I've been to, which are primarily major metropolitan areas. I even heard people and have friends who think of Apple as an elitist brand and think Apple user's are mostly picky and snobby people. It's a stereotype, but it's very common. Not that I care, I just find it funny.

I love Apple products myself and I am just making some observations and wanted to see how others feel when out in public and spotting the "typical" Apple user.

They range from all sorts of people, from the stylish hipsters, to the wanna-be CEO's who like to think they're so important, and to fashionable women who think they're a celebrity.
 
Also, since when did Apple become a status symbol??? :confused:

Quite a while ago, the apple watch is just the latest item in Apple's arsenal to be a status symbol. I'm not sure why you were/are unaware that apple has been a status symbol for quite some time.

To the OP, People go to starbuck to do their work, and yes look cool with their apple equipment.
 
I am the antithesis of hip (I'm old and look like a soldier) and really don't like the bland jazz and meh coffee of Starbucks. I do however carry a Mac with me and have been known to chill at coffee shops when I need to be around people. If I take my Mac out it's not to be seen it's because there is something I need on it because for me Mac=work not pleasure. My LUG meets at both coffee shops and bars and many of those guys are young attractive and VERY hip so hopefully we can steal some of that Mac hipness from you guys :p
 
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I don't go to Starbucks if I can avoid it. Support local coffee shops and organic roasters. I know, I know, it's a place inhabited by more than a few ********s and dweebies from local colleges before they graduate to full-on Hipsters That Go To Starbucks...

But Starbucks is in Monsanto's back pocket about not labeling GMO products. Neil Young was right; except, Neil Young or not, I still want to know what i put in my mouth.

So, without Starbucks, I show off my Apple products in general public. I regularly walk around with my iPhone in my hand rather than my pocket. Truth be told, it's partially because I just don't like things in my pockets and maybe a pinch of "I have an iPhone".

lowendlinux said:
I am the antithesis of hip (I'm old look and like a soldier) and really don't like the bland jazz and meh coffee of Starbucks. I do however carry a Mac with me and have been known to chill at coffee shops when I need to be around people. If I take my Mac out it's not to be seen it's because there is something I need on it because for me Mac=work not pleasure. My LUG meets at both coffee shops and bars and many of those guys are young attractive and VERY hip so hopefully we can steal some of that Mac hipness from you guys
You actually sound frightfully cool for "an old guy who looks like a soldier." I like seeing older people with Macs - not old people with scarves and white shoes, just general older people. Looking like a soldier AND using a Mac is even better. :)
 
I don't go to Starbucks for much the reasons that Melrose mentions, above all, the fact that it serves horrible coffee (and a coffee shop stands or falls on the quality of the coffee it serves - everything else is secondary); instead, I patronise, small, local, high quality coffee shops.

So, while I readily admit to quite liking the ambience of Starbuck's, I dislike the monolithic mindset, the cannibalistic business practices, and the awful coffee. Thus, I only go if others insist on meeting there.

And, I'm not the sort to wear skinny jeans, or red checked shirts, but yes, I plead guilty to the tortoise shell glasses. And I use my MBA for working, or responding to emails, or checking something out, sometimes in a coffee shop, or airport, or train, whenever I am between locations. Being seen to be 'cool' has nothing to do with it.

Actually, I'm not a 'stylish hipster', or any of the other categories of coolness mentioned; I'd fall closer to what lowendlinux described himself as being: I am a middle aged former academic who drinks a lot of coffee and uses Apple computers, and solid Nokia phones. And fountain pens.
 
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I happen to have all Apple products. I don't quite fit the mold, although I might have 30 years ago. I wore large black frame glasses before they were cool because they work better with progressive lenses.

I go to Starbucks in the summer when I want to get some work done, because there are too many distractions at home. I don't know anyone at Starbucks, so no one bothers me. I can sit and drink tea while I work for a few hours...on my Apple products.
 
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 ;).
 
Quite a while ago, the apple watch is just the latest item in Apple's arsenal to be a status symbol. I'm not sure why you were/are unaware that apple has been a status symbol for quite some time.

To the OP, People go to starbuck to do their work, and yes look cool with their apple equipment.

I've never seen it as one because everyone had a MacBook Pro in college. It really was no big deal and was nothing exclusive. I don't think anyone thought you were rich for having Mac.

Also. When I go to Starbucks, I never think the people there with their Macbook Pros look cool. I always thought they are there just to get work done albeit not a great place to do focus.

I actually go to Starbucks every single day, so maybe I'm just use to seeing it.
 
Why does it have to be about showing off? If someone is using their apple product in public its just showing off? Thats a pretty ignorant way to look at something.

Exactly.

Some market segments exhibit Apple-domination that might seem puzzling considering Apple's low overall market share. On US airliners and in Starbucks... it's an Apple world, or so it seems sometimes.

It has nothing to do with showing off. It has to do with use-cases and preference, vs. being handed a generic Dell by your corporate IT department that you dutifully use at your desk from 9 to 5, or buying a cheap crappy netbook at Wal-Mart because you need to save your pennies for denture adhesive.

Those represent folks you just don't see at Starbucks.

Frequent flyers might actually carry a separate computer for personal use, which is an excellent, excellent idea given how nosy corporate IT has gotten. And what better 2nd machine to stuff in your briefcase than a nice thin Macbook Air or iPad?

Starbucks-goers are often coders and creatives, for whom the Mac is a technical and cultural norm. Or maybe they're consultants or freelancers who have a choice. Or maybe they're corporate drones on a break who are wise enough to use their own hardware for personal use.

But showing off? Nah.
 
Free anonymous internet

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You been living inside a cave for the last decade?
500x_computer-homeless.jpg
 
Free anonymous internet

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I probably wouldn't trust Starbucks Internet....hackers abound

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Exactly.

Some market segments exhibit Apple-domination that might seem puzzling considering Apple's low overall market share. On US airliners and in Starbucks... it's an Apple world, or so it seems sometimes.

It has nothing to do with showing off. It has to do with use-cases and preference, vs. being handed a generic Dell by your corporate IT department that you dutifully use at your desk from 9 to 5, or buying a cheap crappy netbook at Wal-Mart because you need to save your pennies for denture adhesive.

Those represent folks you just don't see at Starbucks.

Frequent flyers might actually carry a separate computer for personal use, which is an excellent, excellent idea given how nosy corporate IT has gotten. And what better 2nd machine to stuff in your briefcase than a nice thin Macbook Air or iPad?

Starbucks-goers are often coders and creatives, for whom the Mac is a technical and cultural norm. Or maybe they're consultants or freelancers who have a choice. Or maybe they're corporate drones on a break who are wise enough to use their own hardware for personal use.

But showing off? Nah.

I completely agree. And think about this:

Who are they showing off to given they wouldnt know anyone there?
 
Just curious but is it me, or do a lot of people who use Apple stuff like to hang out at Starbucks to show off?

We don't have Starbucks, the only one is at Schiphol.

We do have various independent Cafés, some of them like the Grand Café and the Wit Haus dating back to 1730.
But because the coffee is freshly ground, from recently roasted beans, people come for the coffee, as they have for centuries, and not to pose there with their laptops from a make of fruit.:D:p:D:p
 
A better question would be, why do you view it as showing off? Perhaps you should review the previous experiences in your life to determine why you harbor in that assumption?
 
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