Duane Martin said:
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Says you, and yet
this poll of 400,000 computer users found Mac users to be both better educated and consider themselves more computer savvy. In fact, PC users are far more likely to admit they have no clue when using their computers.
Ouch, facts hurt, don't they?
There is probably some confounding variables at play. Macs have a higher purchase price which means they will generally be sold to people with higher incomes. There is a general correlation between education and income (excluding a few college degrees with very little demand in the workforce). Therefore, it is not surprising to me at all that Mac users tend to be better educated than PC users. Better educated probably also correlates with "more computer savvy" although I have not seen the data on that.
Let's look at the poll and see if it has any validity at all. 400,000 people polled. Statistically, only about 7% of all computers are Macs from the data I've seen and perhaps 14% of "home users" (i.e. take enterprise out of the equation). Yet this poll is saying 25% are Mac users. I find it hard to take the poll seriously at this point. It has over 2x as many Mac users responding as there should be and so I have to question how they found these people to poll them. Does it mean Mac users are more likely to engage in odd personality polls, for instance? And what about the 23% that said "neither?" Does that mean they couldn't decide, didn't know what they were or never used a computer in their entire life? It's hard to tell since it's a "fit all remaining" kind of category.
Let's look at the 4-year degree thing. It says 54% have 4-year degrees or higher (Windows users), but that is 52% of 54% even in this seemingly skewed towards Mac users poll (given the 25% versus 14% at best disparity above). 67% of Mac users have 4-year degrees, but that's 67% of 25%.
Thus I must conclude that 112,320 of the 400,000 users are Windows users with 4-year degrees while 67,000 Mac users of the 400,000 people have 4-year degrees. So much for more Mac users having 4-year degrees in this poll. That's the problem with percentages, after all. They skew linear results. The sad fact is that even with an incorrect ratio of real-world Mac users versus Windows users, you still have 208,000 of the 400,000 users calling themselves Windows users and 112,320 of those users have at least 4-year degrees. That gives you 100,000 people using Macs and only 67,000 with a 4-year degree.
What does that tell us? It tells us that out of 400,000 people, 179,320 total had 4-year degrees and only 67,000 of those were Mac users. Thus in REALITY, only about 37% of the total pool of people with 4-year degrees that considered themselves Windows or Mac users in this poll were Mac users compared to 63% of Windows users.
So suddenly your argument that you're not surprised that Mac users are smarter people falls apart because almost twice as many Windows users have 4-year degrees than Mac users. Why?
It's because more 4-year degree holders chose Windows over OS X to begin with!
Some of the other statistics provided are disturbing indeed. For example, the idea that Mac users would prefer a Vespa scooter over a Harley motorcycle makes me want to go buy a Windows PC right now! Sorry, but when I think of Vespas I think of Howard on Big Bang Theory and I don't care how smart an engineer he's supposed to be, he's one creepy arse dude! I don't want to be a creepy Mac user.
I personally like Hummus
and Patty melts. Mac users are early adopters? Perhaps that's because our hardware is out of date so much sooner than a typical PC that can be upgraded?
It suggests Mac users are more likely to be "liberal" and yet Windows users all like Rachel Madow (left wing as you get) better. Exactly how does that make any sense unless Windows users are more likely to be turned on by lesbian women than Mac users? (She does remind me of Mary Lou Retton a bit, so I could understand that, but she doesn't want
me so it really doesn't matter if I'm turned on by her or not).
Really, looking at the overall lists, I must say that I must be a Windows user, after all. I prefer impressionistic art and seldom throw parties; I do watch Rachel Madow; I do like patty melts; I do prefer motorcycles over scooters. Like Steve Jobs, I prefer jeans (he must have been a Windows user too). I hate potato chips (I do like corn chips, though) and I am a sucker for something sweet as long as it's a cake or cookie. Hot toddy's are nasty and so are daiquiris too. I like Margaritas and craft beer. I'm definitely NOT a vegetarian (I like to eat cows, lambs and ducks). I FREAKING HATE The Office (dumbest show ever made). South Park was crass, but it was also pretty funny most of the time. OTOH, I HATE the SYFY channel (once it went all crappy b-movie mania and ditched real Sci-Fi along with the name). I did like Great Expectations but hated Moby Dick. I'm over 40 now too.
So WTF do I own three Macs and a Hackintosh Netbook.... I can't imagine. Oh yeah, I came from the Amiga (which I loved) and hated Microsoft with a passion. I hate malware. I hate software that always crashes (sorry but up until Windows7, it was a disaster). I love Logic Pro and play three instruments (guitar, keyboard/piano and saxophone), wrote my own album, played all the parts and sang it and produced it and mastered it and it sounds like Pink Floyd quality. Yeah, THAT's why I bought a Mac. Classic Mac OS was GARBAGE. AmigaDos ruled! OS X, however is 10x more like the Amiga than Classic Mac OS was and neither was like Windows (old). Yeah, that's why I went with a Mac. Stays up 24/7 with no malware and has the best DAW ever made. It sure wasn't because Macs are great for gaming (sadly that part doesn't jive with the Amiga which was an awesome game machine in its day).
The funny thing is that back in the 1980s and 1990s, IBM (Big Blue) and Microsoft were largely synonymous. The "PC" was, after all, the bastard child of IBM and Microsoft. So now IBM (synonymous with big business, stiff suits and backwards technology back in the '80s) is now Apple's partner. I don't know if that says something good about IBM or something horrible about the new Apple because I'm pretty sure it's not good either way. Steve Jobs is rolling in his grave.