[macintologist]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4170591.stm

Apple Macs: Objects of devotion

By Stephen Evans
BBC North America business correspondent

It's tempting to think that Steve Jobs is some sort of religious leader rather than the chief executive of a rather successful computer company.

And you could be forgiven for thinking that his Apple products are objects of religious devotion rather than mere pieces of plastic enclosing silicon chips.

The Cult of Mac does have some rational basis.

There seems little doubt that the products are very good. Its strong attractions are usability and good looks (though not usually price until this week's announcement of a less expensive home computer).

Inspired behaviour

There is clearly, though, something more to it than mere mundane functionality.

Lots of companies make good products but they don't attract the kind of religious zeal that Mac inspires.

Take the case of John Charlton, for example, who, according to Wired magazine, travels the world with his Newton, the PDA which Apple discontinued in 1998, and has now created a gallery of pictures of the said gizmo in front of various global landmarks from Florida to Munich to Lisbon.

Or the people who cut their hair to show an Apple symbol or who get Mac tattoos or who dress up like Steve Jobs or who trek around the world to the opening of a new Apple Store.

Rebellious streak

It is a tribal thing - the Mac Tribe - and a sociological phenomenon, to do perhaps with a minority who believe they have seen a truth, much like the drivers of VW Beetles would wave to each other in the 60s, knowing utterly that their car was superior, but it was a secret unperceived by the rest.

There may also be a type of person who delights in going against the herd.

Whatever is fashionable for the masses becomes unfashionable for the minority. Manchester City and the New York Mets both have their loyal followers who would rather die than head for Old Trafford or Yankee Stadium. And so it is with Microsoft and Apple.

While the big company dominates the market with its uncool product, Macs offer an alternative to those with a streak of bolshiness and perversity (both nouns are compliments).

Cool dudes?

None of which is to say that Apple and Mac offer style but no substance.

Clearly, the company is getting a lot right. Its devotees (disciples?) swear by their products as being effective and easy to use.

It's just that there's something more to it than that: the packaging and sales-pitch have succeeded brilliantly in conveying a whole life-style and image.

That style emanates from the top.

Steve Jobs is the counter-image of a stuffy businessman. He wears trainers, jeans and black sweaters.

Apple's attitude to the media is actually tight and highly controlled yet the image portrayed is of a cool and easy-going counter-culture.

Pure marketing

Let me declare an interest: I own a Microsoft driven personal computer. It serves me very well. I have no strong feelings about it. Mac may or may not be better; it's just that it's not the route I happened to take.

I get stalked, though, by colleagues who insist on telling me how much better their iPod is than my Dell Jukebox, even as the reviews say the battery life of an iPod isn't the best around. Or how I should throw my PC away and get a Mac.

They may be right.

It's just that some of the message is in the marketing.

Apple Mac Fanatics by spl from Haxial.com

[Randman]

Fanatical yes. Not sure about the religious part though. As much as I love Macs, I don't worship them.

[Cubeoid]

emotion and religion very close but sometimes very far.

[Xeo]

I agree with Randman. It's not religious. I don't know anyone, nor have I ever heard of anyone, who has worshipped their Apple product.

But the article does have a point. There is definitely more to "The Mac" than just it being a good product. It has a following like no other single product, I think. There's something there.

I admit that if there is an Apple product that fills some function I want, I'm inclined to get it rather than the competition. But, IMO, they are the best at doing what they do. Is that because I'm a fanatic? Maybe... I guess I'd want to see an example of a competing product being better than an Apple one.

[Apple Pro Underwear]

i've seen this explained much better in a channel 13 frontiers special

people want to be a part of a group. it's a socialogical thing built in by nature. somebrands cultivate that behavior such as Apple, Volkswagon, star wars and etc.

apple marketing try to tap this inner nature by examining what it is that appeals to us and duplicating it...


it's not an issue of apple taking advantage of us, we're "in the mid to upper echelon" in terms of earnings and well educated. and we're talking about computers not bllod pacts so it can only go so far.

when i think of mac fanatics i don't really think of apple tatto girl and the guy who owns every mac and etc but rather SimeythLimey and Mastrap having a decently intelligent conversation over the MacMini...

[mitchell_pgh]

If he wants to spin my requirement of a beautiful AND highly functional operating system... free of the everyday troubles of the PC world, then "In Jobs I Trust."

[JHromadka]

Does that mean I can write off my Mac purchase as a charitable donation?

[TheBadgerHunter]

If there was an easy stable OS for the PC I'd be on it in a heartbeat.

[Zimphire]

Religious fanatics? No.

Fanboys? Yes.

[wdlove]

I'm religious, but not a fanatic. A fan of Apple. My worship is for God alone.

[Mafia]

worship.. nah

[DeathMan]

Originally posted by wdlove:
I'm religious, but not a fanatic. A fan of Apple. My worship is for God alone.

I'm with WD here. Though sometimes we worship things, without really kneeling down in front of them, by putting *things* in front of our beliefs and values.

[dlefebvre]

I know a lot people more fanatic about sports and cars than most people about Macs.

[DeathToWindows]

There is very much a pseudo-religous aspect in mac fanaticism; we are the Cult of Mac after all.

There are really two levels to the cult; there are the Zealots (those who watch Keynotes religously, etc) and there is the Brotherhood of the White Earbuds (who are iPod only).

these make up the Cult of Mac

[CreepingDeth]

I love my mac…er…what's left of it. I love my OS and the apps I have, Apple and others included. No, worshiping an idol, the mac, is rediculous and messed up. IT's like worshiping plants.

I love my iPod, even though it can't play half my damn songs.

[AppleOptionFour]

My girlfriend recently commented on this topic:

She said that Apple Fanatics seemed to think they know something the rest of the world doesn't.

From her point of view this appears a little conceited. But I explained to her that we DO know something the rest of the world doesn't.

[rant]

We know that we will never have to deal with atrocities such as Internet Explorer.

We know about OS X. We know that at any point if we felt like turning our favorite document into a PDF, we could and not pay an extra dime for it.

On another note. I've come to realize that you can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped. I installed Firefox on my roomies Dell and he continues to use IE religiously with all the hijackings he already has. Sometimes ignorance cannot be helped.

I just laugh...so maybe I am conceited about the whole thing.

[/rant]

[iMOTOR]

Originally posted by wdlove:
I'm religious, but not a fanatic. A fan of Apple. My worship is for God alone.

[CreepingDeth]

Maybe we do know that our OS is better. But I hate every crowd that has religious devotion toward their silicon.

The 14 year olds who put Red Hat on the machines and think they're haXX0rs. Maybe they just like penguins.
The fanatical PeeCee users that will spit on everything that Apple makes because they've got the 1337 machines with light mods and can play Doom 3 better. The worst are the ones that only care about games and buy from unknown PC makers who charge too much. The perfect example is the guy who buys a video card every two weeks and will pay $300 for a .1 Ghz upgrade. You know, so he can get the extra fps that his eye can't even see.

That brings me to the Apple fanatics. The ones who think they're superior to everyone because the have a mac and think everyone else who buys a PC is a complete dolt. An almost elitist outlook. But then again, that applies to all the mention groups.

I think they're all pretty bad. I love my mac, but worshipping it and saying "Macs are the best and should be used for every situation!", when that is wrong. Not everyone needs a mac, and some can't use what they need on it. In a sense there is a cult like thing going on, but I guess that depends on your perspective. So I think any religious devotion to their machines is wrong. After all, there is only one thing to worship, and it is not a toaster…or an iMac.

[AppleOptionFour]

Originally posted by CreepingDeth:
but worshipping it and saying "Macs are the best and should be used for every situation!", when that is wrong.

When Apple comes before God or even other people in your life, that is an Addiction like any other.

[insha]

I'm with WD and iMotor on this one.

not a fanatic or a zealot but I love my Mac.

[TailsToo]

I'd consider myself a fan, but not a fanatic. The guy that was sitting behind me moaning at everything Steve Jobs said at the last keynote, he is a fanatic.

[moonmonkey]

Its not like religion at all, Apple actually exists, and you wont burn for ever in damnation for buying a PC.

[zerostar]

Originally posted by moonmonkey:
Its not like religion at all, Apple actually exists

I am a fanman of Apple.

[CreepingDeth]

Originally posted by moonmonkey:
Its not like religion at all, Apple actually exists, and you wont burn for ever in damnation for buying a PC.

Subliminal religion bash?

[insha]

Originally posted by moonmonkey:
Its not like religion at all, Apple actually exists, and you wont burn for ever in damnation for buying a PC.

Yeah, I think using a PC pretty much one-ups "...burn[ing] for ever in damnation...".

[hayesk]

I think some Apple fans seem overzealous at times because they are basically sh*t upon all the time. It's a defensive reaction.

I've been using UNIX, PCs, and Macs for 15 years. I have a computer science degree. I don't pretend to be a genius but I feel I do know more than the average computer owner. In the past 15 years:
- people said to me I must not be knowledgable in computers because I use a Mac
- people have said "I don't believe in Macs" (what the heck does that mean?)
- people said to me that I must use a Mac only because that's what I first learned on. They don't even see how that is an insult.
- people have asked me if Macs can connect to the Internet since 1995.
- people have told me not to dial up to the Internet (with PPP) because AppleTalk packets would flood the network
- people have told me that putting a Mac on their LAN is a security risk
- people have told me that a Mac is a toy is a PC is a real computer, but then explain PCs are better because of the games
- I've seen departments switch to PCs because "supporting one platform is cheaper than two" - well, only if you choose the one that is cheaper to support, which they didn't.

With all of the ignorance people display - some in a deliberate attempt to put Apple out of business, I'm not surprised people get a bit zealous.

Now I'm not one to go up to people in a store and tell them not to buy a PC. But when someone complains to me about how crappy Windows is and how they keep having to reinstall to get rid of viruses and spyware, I'll suggest they try a Mac.

[CreepingDeth]

Not an excuse.

[Xeo]

Originally posted by TailsToo:
I'd consider myself a fan, but not a fanatic.

You do know that fan is short for fanatic, right?

Originally posted by insha:
Yeah, I think using a PC pretty much one-ups "...burn[ing] for ever in damnation...".

Originally posted by CreepingDeth:
Not an excuse.

Am I missing something? Who are you replying to?

[CreepingDeth]

Originally posted by Xeo:
Am I missing something? Who are you replying to?

Insults to macs are no excuse for the rabid zeal of mac fanatics.

[Apple Pro Underwear]

Originally posted by hayesk:

- people said to me I must not be knowledgable in computers because I use a Mac
- people have said "I don't believe in Macs" (what the heck does that mean?)
- people said to me that I must use a Mac only because that's what I first learned on. They don't even see how that is an insult.
- people have asked me if Macs can connect to the Internet since 1995.
- people have told me not to dial up to the Internet (with PPP) because AppleTalk packets would flood the network
- people have told me that putting a Mac on their LAN is a security risk
- people have told me that a Mac is a toy is a PC is a real computer, but then explain PCs are better because of the games
- I've seen departments switch to PCs because "supporting one platform is cheaper than two" - well, only if you choose the one that is cheaper to support, which they didn't.

KNOW WHAT?

a lot of these are just people saying stupid things. the "computing" age has really just begun in 1996 but has really just began to start rolling before the burst in 2000/2001.

i think once people become smarter and the new gen is brought up with itunes/iPods and a general computer savvy of what Macs can and cannot do... then the fun will begin. [not even Macs really... a better knowledge of computing...]

i mean... just look what is happening to Internet Explorer now. It's losing market share because better products are out there and people are getting a clue. Kids are growing up without the "only microsoft is good" myth.

[CreepingDeth]

Originally posted by Apple Pro Underwear:
i mean... just look what is happening to Internet Explorer now. It's losing market share because better products are out there and people are getting a clue. Kids are growing up without the "only microsoft is good" myth.

Probably due to the security holes. Ask anyone who has spyware or viruses. Many problems can be traced back to the use of IE.

[Xeo]

Originally posted by Apple Pro Underwear:
Kids are growing up without the "only microsoft is good" myth.

You have a point. The 14-15 year old crowd is much more computer literate than most people in their 40s. Who knows what'll happen when these kids are the adults running everything.

Our high school was especially computer illiterate when I was a student there. Not because we didn't have computers or the internet, 'cause we did, but it was just not cool to use computers for anything and no one had them at home. But I think it's changed, not that "computers are cool" but that the kids there now just know how use the internet without hand holding.

[JLFanboy]

Sorry. Just made me think of this.

[DeathMan]

Computers are cool. Except when they have COMM1 problems (or whatever it was my friends were talking about with the modem causing problems with the palm cradle in Windows 98). Supposedly putting the modem in a different PCI slot was going to fix it. My response: Good luck with that.

[C.A.T.S. CEO]

I say, and thau presented in front of the people of MWXP and said "thau prays thau Mac mini and iPod shuffle" [addience] all prays the lord Steve Jobs and hope for death of saten
Bill Gates.

[historylme]

My name is History1me, and I'm a believer!

...that questions from time to time.

[MilkmanDan]

I'm a Mac Fanboy. And yes, I keep track of all the people I've converted.

[hayesk]

Originally posted by CreepingDeth:
Insults to macs are no excuse for the rabid zeal of mac fanatics.

Oh, I agree. I'm just attempting to explain it. Notice, I said I don't act that way.

[sworthy]

I think it's pretty simple really. I use a computer that I perceive to be much better than the computers that 97% of the market is buying. I think we are perceived as trying to make converts because we want others to be able to use the same computer we do. And while they're certainly good reasons not to use a mac (games, specific PC apps, etc), for the majority of users the mac makes the most sense - yet most people are still not convinced.