OS loyalty = Religion

[Cain]

I'd like to know.  Does there need to be any other reason?

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I'd like to know.  Does there need to be any other reason?

Certainly not. But, curiosity and derision are two very different things. "I don't get it, what's the deal?" is quite different from "Why would anyone, dumbest idea ever".

[East Coast Hustle]

But they're also not mutually exclusive. I am curious about many things that cause a feeling of derision in me.

[Laughin Jude]

With me, it's just plain curiosity. I can get paying more for a Mac if you're doing a lot of media work because they're supposed to be pretty good for that kind of stuff. I know that's what we used when I was in journalism classes way back in the day. But for home use, when you're just doing the usual web-surfing/word processing/storing pictures/etc. that seems to be what most people use computers for anymore, I guess I don't see any difference except that Macs are more expensive and have the brand name. I'm not against people using Apple products, and I'm certainly not a Microsoft loyalist (it's hard to believe there could be such a thing)... I just don't see where there's an meaningful advantage to using a Mac for the average person that justifies the price.

But I guess that's where personal preference comes in and reminds us that people aren't necessarily rational actors motivated solely by black and white cost-benefit analyses.

Now if someone's using a Mac because s/he wants to stick it to Bill Gates, that's hilarious to me, not only because Gates is off doing his own thing anymore without Microsoft, but also because the way Apple seems to hold back features they could put in their devices so they can release updated versions that include those features a year down the road (after the original nerfed version has sold a few million units) says to me that Steve Jobs has no compunctions about sticking it to Apple fans if it'll make him money. It's similar to what Nintendo's been doing with its portables ever since the GBA...

[East Coast Hustle]

Microsoft loyalist (it's hard to believe there could be such a thing)

[oscilloscopter]

Article = total neurophilia.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

But they're also not mutually exclusive. I am curious about many things that cause a feeling of derision in me.

They're not mutually exclusive.

It's just that applying one of them to people's technology preferences is super-dumb. 

[Salty]

*
Chapter 1 almost done so THERE!
*

Consumers  do not want computers. They never did and only accepted them because they're so useful it would be absurd not to. But people still resent them. 

They want the the media and applications and GPS and all those things that computers DO. Apples has succeeded gloriously in removing the computer from the PC. It's just personal. All your shit wrapped up in that Hottest, Newest Thang you saw on the TeeVee. 

iPads are very convenient for reading PDF's (easier than my netbook), web browsing, playing games seemingly designed for and by children, even word processing to a point. 

And if you don't have a computer, have an old computer you rarely use because you're "Too Damned Old To Figure That Shit Out" or "Just want something to watch movies on when I fly" it is near perfect. 

If ridiculously, expensive. 

I would never buy one, but I wouldn't throw one away if were given to me

[East Coast Hustle]

But they're also not mutually exclusive. I am curious about many things that cause a feeling of derision in me.

They're not mutually exclusive.

It's just that applying one of them to people's technology preferences is super-dumb.  

Sometimes peoples' technological preferences are super-dumb.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I like computers.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

But they're also not mutually exclusive. I am curious about many things that cause a feeling of derision in me.

They're not mutually exclusive.

It's just that applying one of them to people's technology preferences is super-dumb.  

Sometimes peoples' technological preferences are super-dumb.

Sometimes, yes. Like people who buy top-end computers just to feel superior, when they're actually low-end users. That's dumb.

But most of the time, people just buy stuff that works for them, and it may not work for me but why the fuck should I care one way or the other. I don't want an iPad, but I know people who have them and think they're the cat's pajamas. You know what? I also am not a world-famous photographer or an advertising executive or a physicist, and I don't use my computers for the things they use theirs for.

As for calling it "ridiculously expensive"... OMG. Aren't they like, $500 or something? For the newest one? Since when is a purse-sized touchscreen computer available for $500? Oh, wait.

[Salty]

Ridiculously expensive for my needs for sure, I should have been clearer there. For my budget, considering I spent $39 for my netbook it would be ridiculous for me to spend $629-829 for that. For someone with no computer at all and certain needs an that price would be perfectly reasonable. Lots of folks buying these have computers and smartphones already, that is IMO a bit silly, but I certainly don't give a shit what people spend there money on.

I deal with a lot of people buying these things, the bulk of consumers that come my way want all the good stuff without the actual fuss and mess of the technology that drives it. Just my $0.02 on why people want them: less computer and more stuff I want.

[Nadezhda]

Maybe it's because I have tiny hands, but I can easily type on my iPad and use it for all my notes at school.  I buy all my books and most of my textbooks as ebooks, which are cheaper/free from the interbutts, and I can easily read and annotate the bajillion PDF articles I have each week, instead of straining on a computer screen or killing fifty trees and also my wallet each week.  I also play music on it, since its in my purse anyway and has more storage/battery on it than my phone.  I also have an interval timer on it for doin high intensity interval training.  I've used the slideshow program for power points for school. I have a multi language dictionary on here which is a lifesaver, instead of carrying around an English or Russian dictionary the size of several bricks.  It's lighter than my laptop and fits in my purse.  I can change the keyboard to Русски язык with the touch of a button instead of having to switch out keyboards for Russian home works.

I don't know, I like it.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Yeah, it sounds extremely useful for what you use it for.

[East Coast Hustle]

I got a kick-ass tablet with a 10" touchscreen that runs Android and does everything an iPad does, and I got it for $220 from Hong Kong on ebay. Yeah, I had to teach myself some chinese on the fly in order to switch the interface to english (it also has a cyrillic setting for russian), but I think that was worth saving $600.