Oh god no macs are popular!

[KooBrewoP]

One of the best things about owning a mac is obviously the mac, but another plus is the community you become part of - a bunch of design orientated professionals who all generally know their stuff. Windows doesn't have a community to speak of, there's way too many people for generalized windows groups to form.

I play Halo, and before a patch was released i could only play against other mac users and it was fun with good in game banter, but when halo was updated we joined windows users, and it all went to hell, people started shooting team players and ruining games, everyone swore at each other and it was no fun anymore.

With the huge popularity of the ipod this is undoubtedly the best time for mac to expand, and with the addition of cheap macs, aimed at the mass market, Mac's market share will undoubtedly increase.

But isn't this a bad thing? shure they will have more cash to pour in to R&D, and more software will be made available to macs, but wont the quality and community be sacrificed as apple expands, taking on more employees, designing more stuff, and introducing more macs?

Will mac expand indefinitely? and will this inevitably turn it in to a bug ridden Windows clone? Only time will tell wether apple can survive its own success and popularity, and if it can retain what made it popular in the first place.

 

[BakedBeans]

One of the best things about owning a mac is obviously the mac, but another plus is the community you become part of - a bunch of design orientated professionals who all generally know their stuff. Windows doesn't have a community to speak of, there's way too many people for generalized windows groups to form.

I play Halo, and before a patch was released i could only play against other mac users and it was fun with good in game banter, but when halo was updated we joined windows users, and it all went to hell, people started shooting team players and ruining games, everyone swore at each other and it was no fun anymore.

With the huge popularity of the ipod this is undoubtedly the best time for mac to expand, and with the addition of cheap macs, aimed at the mass market, Mac's market share will undoubtedly increase.

But isn't this a bad thing? shure they will have more cash to pour in to R&D, and more software will be made available to macs, but wont the quality and community be sacrificed as apple expands, taking on more employees, designing more stuff, and introducing more macs?

Will mac expand indefinitely? and will this inevitably turn it in to a bug ridden Windows clone? Only time will tell wether apple can survive its own success and popularity, and if it can retain what made it popular in the first place.

erm in a word no, mac wont ever over throw windows (well, it might one day but, meh)

alot of people barely know mac exists and if we get another 10 million users then that is still a drop in the pc ocean, the icreased revenue will just go towards better products for us

 

[Timelessblur]

One of the best things about owning a mac is obviously the mac, but another plus is the community you become part of - a bunch of design orientated professionals who all generally know their stuff. Windows doesn't have a community to speak of, there's way too many people for generalized windows groups to form.

I play Halo, and before a patch was released i could only play against other mac users and it was fun with good in game banter, but when halo was updated we joined windows users, and it all went to hell, people started shooting team players and ruining games, everyone swore at each other and it was no fun anymore.

With the huge popularity of the ipod this is undoubtedly the best time for mac to expand, and with the addition of cheap macs, aimed at the mass market, Mac's market share will undoubtedly increase.

But isn't this a bad thing? shure they will have more cash to pour in to R&D, and more software will be made available to macs, but wont the quality and community be sacrificed as apple expands, taking on more employees, designing more stuff, and introducing more macs?

Will mac expand indefinitely? and will this inevitably turn it in to a bug ridden Windows clone? Only time will tell wether apple can survive its own success and popularity, and if it can retain what made it popular in the first place.

all depends. there is a community for windows users but it not going to be like the mac one since you first though is that not where it is. Mosty the comminty is in the forum of home builders and in techal and gamer forums. Places like overclockers.com sharkyextream and so on are where the windows users comminty really is. It mostly is the more techalcly oringanitated people.

I dont think Windows will ever be overthown as the king of computers OS. they set the standard on which everything else is messured against and to be honest the bar is set pretty high if you think about. Just basicly OSX is a lot better in serveral areas (falls a little short in others but for the most part is is better linux about the same)

Baiscily a lot of people never join the comminty at large it mostly the more techanl people that are what people go to

 

[edesignuk]

a bunch of design orientated professionals who all generally know their stuff

This is why PC folk don't like Mac, because they view their users as jumped up self-appointed design gurus

 

[mkrishnan]

This is why PC folk don't like Mac, because they view their users as jumped up self-appointed design gurus

Don't hate me because I'm beautiful!

 

[Blue Velvet]

This is why PC folk don't like Mac, because they view their users as jumped up self-appointed design gurus

Ha!

This jumped-up self-appointed design guru agrees with you...

Deep down, I think many PC users are jealous. They know there's something special about a Mac, but admitting this would make them appear foolish...

 

[aricher]

Deep down, I think many PC users are jealous. They know there's something special about a Mac, but admitting this would make them appear foolish...

You are 100% correct - the IT guys in my office all say the typical "Macs suck and are expensive," hollow arguments. You should have seen them after the announcement of the Mac Mini yesterday - easily 75% of them will be buying at least one - 4 have alrady placed orders. Yes, they are jealous and don't want to admit it. I'm just happy that Apple has finally released a bargain basement entry level machine - get em hooked.

 

[edesignuk]

This jumped-up self-appointed design guru agrees with you...

haha... I'm not saying there aren't a lot of designers using them, but to blanket the whole mac community as "design orientated professionals who all generally know their stuff" is just arrogant.

 

[Savage Henry]

You are 100% correct - the IT guys in my office all say the typical "Macs suck and are expensive," hollow arguments. You should have seen them after the announcement of the Mac Mini yesterday - easily 75% of them will be buying at least one - 4 have alrady placed orders. Yes, they are jealous and don't want to admit it. I'm just happy that Apple has finally released a bargain basement entry level machine - get em hooked.

Market seems impressed as well ... I've just checked the stock and they are still at the $72 mark..

I piddy da fools that jumped out yesterday at $64 ..... that thar mini is a hit.

 

[maya]

Don't hate me because I'm beautiful!

You tell them.

 

[maya]

Ha!

This jumped-up self-appointed design guru agrees with you...

Deep down, I think many PC users are jealous. They know there's something special about a Mac, but admitting this would make them appear foolish...

Replace jealous with non-understanding and replace foolish with different.

That would be correct, well where I live at least.

 

[Toppa G's]

Market seems impressed as well ... I've just checked the stock and they are still at the $72 mark..

I piddy da fools that jumped out yesterday at $64 ..... that thar mini is a hit.

The reason for the big jump was not the Mac Mini success; rather, the stunning revenue growth Apple had in the 1st quarter. Highest profit ever, I believe Mr. Jobs noted. And with over a million new Macs shipping, a fantastic step in the right direction.

 

[wdlove]

Ha!

This jumped-up self-appointed design guru agrees with you...

Deep down, I think many PC users are jealous. They know there's something special about a Mac, but admitting this would make them appear foolish...

They may be jealous, but like their job. I have heard it said that some of them even have a Mac at home, but their livelihood depends on the PC. The PC is just more problematic.

 

[mkrishnan]

They may be jealous, but like their job. I have heard it said that some of them even have a Mac at home, but their livelihood depends on the PC. The PC is just more problematic.

So you're saying they're Maccies on the down low? Hehehe now *that's* a trip to urban dictionary that's worthwhile.

 

[rasp]

So you're saying they're Maccies on the down low? Hehehe now *that's* a trip to urban dictionary that's worthwhile.

Well, to keep the record straight, I am tech support at work, mostly windows (except for the linux servers I managed to get in there)... and my one lonely powerbook. And really, there is plenty to be done outside of putting out dumb fires from poor OS security. It's just that most admins don't want to admit it and it would be more work to justify existance. The fires are easy proof you are doing something. things break, you fix, and become the hero.


The truth is it boils down to inertia, we are looking at these different web based apps and they *all* need IE to run. so much for the dream of platform independence through web based apps.

--
another rambling post made at half past midnight

 

[busasa]

As long as Mac don't support x86 cpus, "wintel" still will hold their monopoly in the pc industry. That being said, it's still crazy if anyone actually hope that Mac don't grow too far, since it's vital for a company to keep growing, especially in this industry where many things have standardized already. Hanging onto that digital music market is apple's top priority right now.

 

[5300cs]

...I play Halo, and before a patch was released i could only play against other mac users and it was fun with good in game banter, but when halo was updated we joined windows users, and it all went to hell, people started shooting team players and ruining games, everyone swore at each other and it was no fun anymore...

I'll go out on a limb and agree with you. I know exactly what you mean. I'd prefer not to mingle with windows users, either. Linux, BSD, anything other than windows users.

There was a funny post on /. a few weeks ago, unfortunately they posted anonymously or I could've given them credit. Here it is:

__________
Oh no, here come the proles. The tasteless rabble. The masses who see nothing past the price tag. Of course you can’t blame them if their trust funds aren’t large enough to provide them with life’s very finest—they wouldn’t appreciate it anyways—but surely Apple should know better than to serve the poor peasants la crème de la vie on the discount rack at Sears.

There was a time, not long ago, when you could tell everything that mattered about a person by his or her choice of operating system. You would notice a man at the local bistro with his titanium PowerBook and a deep garnet Merlot, and you instinctively knew: here is a man with a certain flair, a je ne sais quoi that makes his company worth your while. You’d wonder if the dark-clad woman striding down the street was your type; then you’d notice tucked under her arm a Duo 2300c, so retro and so delicously delicate, and you’d be smitten, simply devastated. You’d go for coffee along Bedford and the two of you would talk about the next East Village gallery opening, or the latest collection from Philippe Starck, or how Frank Lloyd Wright had ruined American architecture.

And it wasn’t just about being able to identify like-minded individuals. As a Mac user yourself, you belonged to an exclusive club of discriminating individuals and creative geniuses. Artists like Picasso. Activists like Teresa Heinz. Revolutionaries like Václav Havel. Writers like Dave Eggers. Actresses like Chloë Sevigny. I remember at a cocktail party in SoHo once—it must have been in the mid-’90s—Susan Sontag, Haruki Murakami and I spent hours debating the merits of Mac OS 8’s new “Platinum” theme. Those were fine times, indeed.

But ever since the introduction of the mass-produced iMac and iBook, it’s been getting harder to distinguish the aesthetically conscious literati from the unwashed masses. It started with the yuppies, and now it’s moving on to state-school students and former Dell buyers. On Bedford Avenue, L Café is gone, replaced by a Baby Gap. Soon it will be smelly Linux enthusiasts (ugh!) popping their pimples over translucent keyboards and lickable widgets.

We Mac users were willing to forgive Apple the iPod’s popularity, but this... if this rumor is true, then this is going too far. Mon Dieu! Apple, why do you want to sell to these poor peasants? These people don’t appreciate beauty and elegance. They don’t understand it. They probably even voted for Bush—all four times.

Mr. Jobs, please establish eligibility requirements for the purchase of a new Mac. A good start would be to disqualify anyone who listens to Ashanti or anything they play on K-Rock. You could also disqualify people who think digital watches are cool, as well as all objectivists. In America, don’t even bother selling to the lower Midwest. Don’t accept applications postmarked from trailer parks. Ban the entire Hilton family.

One way or another, something must be done to preserve the Macintosh community. Anguished but unified, we cry out with one voice. Dam the river, close the gates, pull up the portcullis, keep out the tasteless proles. Please, Mr. Jobs, don’t wait until it’s too late.
___________

 

[asphalt-proof]

I'll go out on a limb and agree with you. I know exactly what you mean. I'd prefer not to mingle with windows users, either. Linux, BSD, anything other than windows users.

There was a funny post on /. a few weeks ago, unfortunately they posted anonymously or I could've given them credit. Here it is:

__________
Oh no, here come the proles. The tasteless rabble. The masses who see nothing past the price tag. Of course you can’t blame them if their trust funds aren’t large enough to provide them with life’s very finest—they wouldn’t appreciate it anyways—but surely Apple should know better than to serve the poor peasants la crème de la vie on the discount rack at Sears.

There was a time, not long ago, when you could tell everything that mattered about a person by his or her choice of operating system. You would notice a man at the local bistro with his titanium PowerBook and a deep garnet Merlot, and you instinctively knew: here is a man with a certain flair, a je ne sais quoi that makes his company worth your while. You’d wonder if the dark-clad woman striding down the street was your type; then you’d notice tucked under her arm a Duo 2300c, so retro and so delicously delicate, and you’d be smitten, simply devastated. You’d go for coffee along Bedford and the two of you would talk about the next East Village gallery opening, or the latest collection from Philippe Starck, or how Frank Lloyd Wright had ruined American architecture.

And it wasn’t just about being able to identify like-minded individuals. As a Mac user yourself, you belonged to an exclusive club of discriminating individuals and creative geniuses. Artists like Picasso. Activists like Teresa Heinz. Revolutionaries like Václav Havel. Writers like Dave Eggers. Actresses like Chloë Sevigny. I remember at a cocktail party in SoHo once—it must have been in the mid-’90s—Susan Sontag, Haruki Murakami and I spent hours debating the merits of Mac OS 8’s new “Platinum” theme. Those were fine times, indeed.

But ever since the introduction of the mass-produced iMac and iBook, it’s been getting harder to distinguish the aesthetically conscious literati from the unwashed masses. It started with the yuppies, and now it’s moving on to state-school students and former Dell buyers. On Bedford Avenue, L Café is gone, replaced by a Baby Gap. Soon it will be smelly Linux enthusiasts (ugh!) popping their pimples over translucent keyboards and lickable widgets.

We Mac users were willing to forgive Apple the iPod’s popularity, but this... if this rumor is true, then this is going too far. Mon Dieu! Apple, why do you want to sell to these poor peasants? These people don’t appreciate beauty and elegance. They don’t understand it. They probably even voted for Bush—all four times.

Mr. Jobs, please establish eligibility requirements for the purchase of a new Mac. A good start would be to disqualify anyone who listens to Ashanti or anything they play on K-Rock. You could also disqualify people who think digital watches are cool, as well as all objectivists. In America, don’t even bother selling to the lower Midwest. Don’t accept applications postmarked from trailer parks. Ban the entire Hilton family.

One way or another, something must be done to preserve the Macintosh community. Anguished but unified, we cry out with one voice. Dam the river, close the gates, pull up the portcullis, keep out the tasteless proles. Please, Mr. Jobs, don’t wait until it’s too late.
___________

This was also posted here when the Mac Mini rummor was first posted. Can't remember who it was. It was kind of hit and run. Same exact post as /.. In fact, the MR post came out first I believe. At least I read it first on MR.

 

[asphalt-proof]

It seems when the iPod first came out that every issue of Wired magazine had an interview with an artist who extolled the virtues of the iPod. I expect that the same will happen with the Mac mini in other magazines. This year is Apple's year to shine. I hope the Tiger upgrade is so cool and innovative that it will totally change how people think about their computers. Wait: Did I just channel Steve?

 

[Palad1]

Thanks

There was a funny post on /. a few weeks ago, unfortunately they posted anonymously or I could've given them credit. Here it is:

Thanks, I've been trying to get a hold of this post but couldn't find it

One of the undersigned.

ps: rasp, I feel your pain, I'm a developper (mostly Java) and I dream all day long of finding a job where I could develop on Macs.