g r o t t o 1 1

Peeve Farm
Breeding peeves for show, not just to keep as pets 
  Blog \Blôg\, n. [Jrg, fr. Jrg. "Web-log".
     See {Blogger, BlogSpot, LiveJournal}.]
     A stream-of-consciousness Web journal, containing
     links, commentary, and pointless drivel.

On My Blog Menu:

InstaPundit
USS Clueless
James Lileks
Little Green Footballs
As the Apple Turns
Entropicana
Cold Fury
Capitalist Lion
Red Letter Day
Eric S. Raymond
Tal G in Jerusalem
Secular Islam
Aziz Poonawalla
Corsair the Rational Pirate
.clue

« ? Blogging Brians # »





Book Plug:

Buy it and I get
money. I think.
BSD Mall



 10/6/2003 -  10/8/2003
 9/29/2003 -  10/5/2003
 9/22/2003 -  9/28/2003
 9/15/2003 -  9/21/2003
  9/8/2003 -  9/14/2003
  9/1/2003 -   9/7/2003
 8/25/2003 -  8/31/2003
 8/18/2003 -  8/24/2003
 8/11/2003 -  8/17/2003
  8/4/2003 -  8/10/2003
 7/28/2003 -   8/3/2003
 7/21/2003 -  7/27/2003
 7/14/2003 -  7/20/2003
  7/7/2003 -  7/13/2003
 6/30/2003 -   7/6/2003
 6/23/2003 -  6/29/2003
 6/16/2003 -  6/22/2003
  6/9/2003 -  6/15/2003
  6/2/2003 -   6/8/2003
 5/26/2003 -   6/1/2003
 5/19/2003 -  5/25/2003
 5/12/2003 -  5/18/2003
  5/5/2003 -  5/11/2003
 4/28/2003 -   5/4/2003
 4/21/2003 -  4/27/2003
 4/14/2003 -  4/20/2003
  4/7/2003 -  4/13/2003
 3/31/2003 -   4/6/2003
 3/24/2003 -  3/30/2003
 3/17/2003 -  3/23/2003
 3/10/2003 -  3/16/2003
  3/3/2003 -   3/9/2003
 2/24/2003 -   3/2/2003
 2/17/2003 -  2/23/2003
 2/10/2003 -  2/16/2003
  2/3/2003 -   2/9/2003
 1/27/2003 -   2/2/2003
 1/20/2003 -  1/26/2003
 1/13/2003 -  1/19/2003
  1/6/2003 -  1/12/2003
12/30/2002 -   1/5/2003
12/23/2002 - 12/29/2002
12/16/2002 - 12/22/2002
 12/9/2002 - 12/15/2002
 12/2/2002 -  12/8/2002
11/25/2002 -  12/1/2002
11/18/2002 - 11/24/2002
11/11/2002 - 11/17/2002
 11/4/2002 - 11/10/2002
10/28/2002 -  11/3/2002
10/21/2002 - 10/27/2002
10/14/2002 - 10/20/2002
 10/7/2002 - 10/13/2002
 9/30/2002 -  10/6/2002
 9/23/2002 -  9/29/2002
 9/16/2002 -  9/22/2002
  9/9/2002 -  9/15/2002
  9/2/2002 -   9/8/2002
 8/26/2002 -   9/1/2002
 8/19/2002 -  8/25/2002
 8/12/2002 -  8/18/2002
  8/5/2002 -  8/11/2002
 7/29/2002 -   8/4/2002
 7/22/2002 -  7/28/2002
 7/15/2002 -  7/21/2002
  7/8/2002 -  7/14/2002
  7/1/2002 -   7/7/2002
 6/24/2002 -  6/30/2002
 6/17/2002 -  6/23/2002
 6/10/2002 -  6/16/2002
  6/3/2002 -   6/9/2002
 5/27/2002 -   6/2/2002
 5/20/2002 -  5/26/2002
 5/13/2002 -  5/19/2002
  5/6/2002 -  5/12/2002
 4/29/2002 -   5/5/2002
 4/22/2002 -  4/28/2002
 4/15/2002 -  4/21/2002
  4/8/2002 -  4/14/2002
  4/1/2002 -   4/7/2002
 3/25/2002 -  3/31/2002
 3/18/2002 -  3/24/2002
 3/11/2002 -  3/17/2002
  3/4/2002 -  3/10/2002
 2/25/2002 -   3/3/2002
 2/18/2002 -  2/24/2002
 2/11/2002 -  2/17/2002
  2/4/2002 -  2/10/2002
 1/28/2002 -   2/3/2002
 1/21/2002 -  1/27/2002
 1/14/2002 -  1/20/2002
  1/7/2002 -  1/13/2002
12/31/2001 -   1/6/2002
12/24/2001 - 12/30/2001
12/17/2001 - 12/23/2001
Tuesday, March 26, 2002
10:01 - Gritting your Teeth So Hard they Crack
http://www.lileks.com/bleats/032502.html

 (top) link
Lileks yesterday had a run-in with a Mac-basher at a party-- one of those types of PC Thugs who Will Not Be Derailed. They've got a maglev TGV of opinion, barreling down on any hapless soul who is obviously willingly making himself the subject of his ridicule by daring to delve a little deeper for the truth of a subject than what one has heard from one's friends on Everquest.

But the barkin' Brit had his script, and went to the next page with relish. “The Mac's intuitive, they say. Oh, yes! Dragging a floppy to the trash can to eject it, that's intuitive!”

“We don't have floppies anymore,” I said, smiling.

Another fellow chimed in, and insisted that the only people who used Macs were people who collected porn, since the Mac was so good at graphics.

“And they can't be networked!” the Brit said with inordinate delight.

“Actually, I have a wireless home network that works just fine, and at the office all the graphics Macs are networked quite nicely. Now, for burning DVDs at home -”

“WHO DOES THAT?” he brayed.

Obviously not PC users, Nigel, because they can't!

Even working where I do, literally across the street from Infinite Loop, where half the cars going through the intersection abutting our parking lot have white Apple decals in their windows, I still have to deal occasionally with people just like this. And like Lileks encountered, many of these people are my friends-- especially the ones I know only online-- so I can't just tear into them. I'm forced to write petulant blog articles directed at nobody in particular instead.

These are simply people who never allowed themselves to try something different. They'd already spent their money, they'd learned what they had to about their chosen platform, and thereby they'd convinced themselves through the act of gaining knowledge that Their Way Must Be Right. If they'd ever had a single experience with a Mac, their brains filtered and simmered it down into only the bad experiences, so they could develop a script like the one this guy had with which they could skewer any hapless misguided dweeb who happened to timidly raise his hand and mention how Macs are not just little beige all-in-one boxes with 9-inch black-and-white screens and no hard drives.

Really, they're not.

And it was Muslim terrorists who attacked on 9/11, not the Jews-- whatever the interviewees in Syria and Saudi Arabia still so vehemently insist. No, we can't be wrong, they say with a smile. Anyone who thinks a Muslim could have crashed that EgyptAir flight off Nantucket on purpose is an idiot and an anti-Islamic fanatic. Don't bother me with your petty "facts". I'm right, and you're just infidel scum. Nyah.

But what I especially loved about this exchange was the "Who wants to do that?" dismissals of the acknowledged strengths that James pointed out in the Mac's defense. Video editing? "Who does that?" DVD burning? "Who does that?" See, if it's a fact that can't be argued that the Mac is designed to do such things, and if it's accepted even in the background hum of a bar that the Mac does those things better, well then, those things must be irrelevant. Even the Mac's graphics capabilities are somehow turned into a liability with the remark about porn.

Remember when these same people would look at Macs and say things like "Icons and folders for your files? Who would want that?" and "24-bit color displays? Who would ever need that?" and "Plug-and-play devices? Dual-monitor setups where you just plug it in and drag the virtual screen to wherever you want it? TCP/IP settings that don't make you reboot when you change them? Customizable icons? Who would want that?"

I hear it every day at work. "Adjustable LCD monitor on a movable neck? Why would you ever want that?"

Yeah, well, they won't be saying that in two years, when everything has that. Then their sour grapes will have fermented nicely into sour wine. But they'll have something else to scoff at. Some things never change. And I suppose I should find that bizarrely comforting.

Because whenever someone scoffs, I just superimpose onto them a guy in a bowler hat sneering "Get a horse!"
Back to Top

© Brian Tiemann