apples and oranges

Ever hear someone say "Dude get a mac, PCs are stupid" or "macs are stupid, use a PC"? This topic has caused me frustration, indifference, and laughter.

You can't compare/contrast macs and PCs and say that one is better than the other. The whole argument of one being better than the other is ridiculous. It causes people to shift the blame of their own stupidity to the computer, initiates pointless arguments, and makes people less productive.

IT'S JUST A COMPUTER!
Macintosh computers and Microsoft Windows computers are different from each other... duh. A wrench and a screwdriver are different but neither one is better than the other, they're just different. Macs aren't better than PCs and PCs aren't better than macs. But many mac users swear that macs are better than PCs. However, many PC users swear that PCs are better than macs. Both think the other is delusional. I use both and I like both. They are merely tools that I use, not objects of worship or sources of loyalty.

I sometimes get frustrated with people for shifting the blame to the computer when something isn't working, simply because it isn't the platform that they like. When setting up sound equipment for church Sunday morning I encountered a problem recording the sermon onto my MacBook. When the other sound guy noticed my problem he said, "oh, its a mac. I've never had that problem on my PC" and walked away. He didn't even think that it might be something wrong with the software, the mini jack cable, the converter, or the sound board. He just blamed the mac and walked away. Now that's what I call efficient trouble shooting. If you ever have a problem with a computer that isn't your pet platform try, just try, to be objective and figure out what the problem actually is.

Here's a video I found about mac computers and gaming that I thought was interesting. I hear that mac computers are lousy for gamers. I wouldn't know because I'm not a gamer, but oh my goodness, could this possibly be evidence that the mac is not the holy grail of computers?!


Side Note: Isn't it interesting that the mac commercials compare macs and PCs, when mac computers are also PCs (Personal Computers)?

In the mac lab at my college I hear many comments like "aw man, what happened? These macs are stupid" or "you know, the PC software is better than that Mac software". These kind of statements just make me laugh! Have you ever thought that maybe it isn't the computer that's stupid? Maybe you should read a manual! That's like saying a saw is stupid when you try to cut something using the dull end. I'm ashamed to say that I am guilty of doing the same thing. So easily we want to blame something other than ourselves. Once I realized how silly I was acting I tried to actually figure out what the problem was. Next time you encounter an issue with a mac or PC don't blame the tool. Instead, admit that you don't know how to use it. Then you might actually be able to learn something new. Novel thought.

Here's a video of one of my favorite mac commercials. I think these commercials are arrogant, stereotype casting, and many of them are wrong, but this one is pretty funny.

I actually really don't like iMovie, though I do like iMovie HD. By the way, I think that both macs and PCs are good for video editing. I've used both and they are both efficient video editors, they both also have their problems. Actually, I think its more an issue of the editing software than the operating system.

These kinds of ludicrous biases occur everywhere with all kinds of products. I could say so much more in this post on this subject, and maybe I will in a later post, but that's all for now. Later I'll probably post about materialism and how it has attacked me.

stay tuned!