Why Do We Do This?

[Timo_Existencia]

Can you think of any other company/product/service that inspires such passion in its followers?

Are there any other products/services/organizations that you are as devoted to as the Mac platform?

Can you remember waiting in anticipation for anything with as much fervor? The only thing I can equate this too is xmas when I was 8 years old.

And...frankly, this scares me a bit. We all learned that Santa was a fictional character. And, I tend to be very rational and skeptical in all other aspects of my life. In fact, I was raised in a very conservative religion, and was at one time a true believer...but I NEVER anticipated a church conference to nearly the same degree as I anticipate the MacWorld conferences...

What is this strange hold, this spell that has been cast upon us?

 

[arn]

Can you remember waiting in anticipation for anything with as much fervor? The only thing I can equate this too is xmas when I was 8 years old.

🙂 Hey again Timothy...

You're correct about the devotion to Apple... it's a curiosity in itself... and has really taken a life of it's own in recent years...

Apple's always commanded some loyalty... years ago I was an Apple // follower as well... but I can't say Amiga or Atari ST users were much different at that time...

Things really took off though after Jobs returned and then there was the iMac... I really think that was the turning point for pre-Expo hype. Apple wow'd people with this truly "different" product.

Ever since, security has been tighter, and curiousity has been greater. Part of the appeal of Apple is that they do make "pretty" products... their industrial design has always been top notch - even way before the iMac. They really cared about image as well as overall "experience". This carried on into the Newton, as well as Mac OS X.

Also - Apple having 2 set times of the year where they have a large Expo provides the setting for major announcements... There is no other company, I think, that has such a following - but again - few other companies have expos dedicated to them.

If there were a Microsoft Expo each year, I'd guess it would get some hype... and some anticipation - but not nearly that much... over the years it might grow... but like I said, there isn't a company with a date that you can look forward to.

The other part of it all is that Apple is one of the few companies that is capable of delivering on hype - which makes it so exciting. They could make a product that is one of those "I want one... what is it?"

That being said, I really enjoy my Sony products and would buy Sony over other brands. I've got 3 Sony monitors, DVD Player, and an Aibo. (The Aibo, btw, was one of those amazing aweinspiring products.)

The correllary to this is also the products that you get and just feel like a kid again... Certain products I had a real fun time exploring and using... For me, this list includes:

Apple //gs
- an exciting system at the time - every little thing I could get it to do was exciting. It really had "soul"... it wasn't just a tool.

Newton
- Also felt like it had personality... I remember when I first got my Newton 2000. I had my Newton 2000 on backorder (this is when it first came out). I never had owned a Newton before... just read a whole lot about it, and played with a 130 at officemax. I was visiting NYC and went to the (only) Newton Store. They had just gotten a shipment of Newton 2000's in. Sitting in the store. I bought one on the spot. Taking it back to my friends apartment and turning it on for the first time was insanely fine.

Aibo
- Ah - I bought one of the 10,000 limited 2nd run of the original model (I had to be in a lottery for it). A bit of a splurge... but it really captured my attention - as I got older, technology really didn't excite me as much - as things became "usual" and things also became much more affordable. Anyway, this was my way of reliving that youthful feeling again... As a side note, I really think robot pets are going to be huge in the future

Mac OS X
- As strange as it is... Mac OS X really brought a lot back for me... it hasn't been since the Apple//gs that I check for new apps on such a frequent basis, just to test drive it. OS X is very nice.

arn

 

[voicegy]

Why we do this: We're special. : )

Can I think of any other company where we get this worked up about upcoming products?

Well, certainly not another COMPUTER company, that's for sure.

There is ONE other company that I have an equal passion for and would, if they had such things, discuss rumors on various sites and look forward to keynote speeches made by their CEO...

and that's Bang & Olufsen. : )

You see, all of us here in these forums GET IT. We GET how our dreams have been realized by the combination of art and science. When combined, the effect is spellbinding, giving us both the satisfaction of thinking to ourselves "Yes, they did it right," plus the extra added thrill of "Wow...I didn't think of that!"

We're not simply geeks who dig computers and gadgets. Apple fans GET the beauty of the machines, the user-friendly-ness of the devices that they put out, the elegance, the simplicity, the user empowerment, the, dare I say, "soul" of the machines that Apple so lovingly puts in. I'm in the education business (San Diego Unified) and when I see the difference in how my "clients" refer to and treat their Macs compared to PeeCee owners, well, it's more of a "relationship" they have with them than just a machine to use.

I think you can all relate. And, to me, the only other company (that took something like home entertainment...stereos and tv's and such) and applied the same ease-of-use, artistic flair and "soul" that Apple takes with their computers, is Bang & Olufsen, hands down.

Advanced technology, in the end, should serve the user in the easiest, most elegant and ergonomic way possible. Wrap it up in packages that please the eye and "want" to be touched, and you end up with devices that will always attract a certain percentage of the planet.

The percentage, represented here on these forums, that GET it.

Bless us all. And the companies that give us such, well, joy.

Respectfully,
Scott

 

[chicagdan]

I find Voicegy's comments to be fascinating. I have to admit that I don't understand that kind of devotion to a machine, but I guess I can appreciate the sincere affection.

Personally, I think of computers as tools ... and increasingly frustrating tools at that. Apple hardware may be tuned for human needs, but all computer software is mass manufactured for the lowest common denominator. I'm a writer and I don't give a damn if my word processor can create diagrams and make inane grammar suggestions. I just want it to format quickly for all the ways I sell my writing ... from proposals to scripts.

But no ... I can't escape the madness of Microsoft Word even on a Macintosh. I switched to Mac a year ago and what's been the most exciting news on the Mac since the introduction of OS X? Microsoft Office for OS X! Where's the craftsmanship you're talking about in the realm of software? Office for OS X may look like Aqua and add in a few more features (that I don't need, of course) but it's the same old MS bloatware to me.

My point is this ... everyone gets so worked up about hardware improvements, but it's the software that's the problem. A beautiful titanium notebook computer is wonderful ... but if it runs nothing but the same one-size-fits-all software, what difference does it make?

 

[voicegy]

Ah, but the software...

Originally posted by chicagdan
I find Voicegy's comments to be fascinating. I have to admit that I don't understand that kind of devotion to a machine, but I guess I can appreciate the sincere affection.

...a beautiful titanium notebook computer is wonderful ... but if it runs nothing but the same one-size-fits-all software, what difference does it make?

Which is why I purposefully left out any mention of software in my statement, chicagdan. I agree with you 1000%.

Which is why, when I want to put together a quick letter and perhaps toss a graphic or two in it and print out a few copies, I open up (can you belive this?!) ClarisWorks 4.0.

The simplicity of good ol' ClarisWorks. On a Titanium. I may be nuts, but it's heavenly.

Oh, and iTunes is pretty sweet too, eh? I NEVER played with MP3's or attempted to make my own cd's before iTunes came out. Now I'm hooked. For all the right reasons...ease of use, intuitiveness of the controls, and handsome interface.

Sometimes it ALL comes together...but not, chicagdan, that often. As you know. : )

Respectfully,
Scott

 

[iCinder]

My MP3's were an udder mess before iTunes. Now they are so neat and tidy. i no longer have to go searching for a song in a folder or wonder what bit rate it was encoded at. My iBook and OS X are what keeps me up at night. Trying to find out what i will splurge on next.