The Real Story - We Didn’t Drink The Hard Apple Cider!
Posted by JohnnyAppleseed | Under Hardware, Opinion, Software Friday Apr 11, 2008Does the world need another Macintosh Blog? I suppose that depends on who you ask. What we have found is that their are two rather indistinct groups of Macintosh users. The first is the long-time Mac user, who’s been using a Mac since before the days of OS X. That user is probably a Mac devotee, the type that thinks that the Mac is the greatest computer ever. That user is the type to try and convince all their friends and relatives to switch to the Mac. They are, in short, the convincers - if it weren’t for them, there would be far fewer Mac users today.
Then there is the other group - the “switchers”, a.k.a. the “recently convinced.” They’ve never known anything other than OS X on a Mac, but they may have struggled with several versions of Windows prior to finally getting a Mac. Now, some of them may be wondering if they made the right choice. For the first month or so after switching from Windows, they will probably experience much wonder and doubt - wondering what they’ve gotten themselves into, and occasionally doubting that the “convincer” friend or family member steered them on the right track.
The problem is that things are done differently on a Mac than on other platforms, and it’s not always in a manner that’s agreeable to everyone.
For example, let’s say that you are having a problem with your computer. Let’s suppose that in some application, or maybe all applications, the characters don’t always appear on the screen immediately as you type them. Let’s suppose that you are asking for help in an online forum devoted to your particular computer/operating system. What do you suppose the most frequent (though not necessarily correct) response would be?
In a group of Windows users, I would expect it to be something like this: “Your computer is probably loaded with spyware and adware, or maybe you have picked up a virus or a trojan horse program that is logging your keystrokes. Go install this and that anti-spyware/anti-adware/antivirus program. If that doesn’t work, reformat your hard drive and reinstall Windows.”
Okay, what about in a group of Linux users? “You are probably having a driver issue - type (some magical incantation) at the command line and that might tell you where the problem is …” (I will pause here to note that if you actually do this, you will probably get a screenful of information that would only mean something to a true Linux geek) “… and failing that you may want to run (some other incomprehensible command) or try recompiling the driver.” If you have just switched from Windows to Linux, this will all be about as clear as mud to you, and the geeks will think they are doing you a favor by not just telling you the solution to your problem in plain English (or whatever your native language might be), but instead sending you off on a Google quest or to read “man” pages, often without even giving you any hints about what search terms you should be using, or what “man” page would contain the answer.
So what about on a Mac group? Here’s the advice I’d expect to see: “Go down to the Apple store and buy a new Apple keyboard. If that doesn’t work, take your Mac into the Genius Bar and let them figure it out.”
And that brings me to my first crab about the Mac: Far too often, when you are looking for a solution to a Mac-related problem, the advice that you will be offered can be expressed simply as “Buy Something.” And if that something is computer hardware, well of course it will be strongly suggested that you should buy it from Apple.
That may sound like fine advice to long-time Mac users, but it doesn’t always sit well with the switchers who have just come from the world of “Windows and Gates”, and expect that most problems can be solved with software, and that most of that software is available somewhere out on the Internet as freeware or, at worst (or if you are too lazy to search beyond the first page of Google results), low-cost shareware. If, by chance, you do need new hardware, you can get it from a multitude of suppliers, and if you search the ‘net (or watch the local sale circulars) it will be very reasonably priced.
It would be easy to dismiss the Mac as being a machine designed for high-end users, like an expensive automobile. But that would not always be a correct assumption. In particular, the Mac Mini is a very reasonably-priced machine when you compare the specifications to available Windows boxes, and realize that the Mac Mini includes the latest version of the Mac OS X operating system. And many Windows users have found that a “pre-owned” desktop Mac gives reasonable performance at a fair price. Even if someone splurges for a brand-new desktop Mac, or whatever happens to be the latest and greatest Mac laptop, that doesn’t always imply that they have money to burn.
One of the things we hope to do here at CrabApple Forest is tell you about some of the great Mac Freeware that is out there, that doesn’t always get the recognition it deserves. But beyond that, we want to try and help people who have switched from Windows fairly recently, and are not long-time Mac fanatics. You really will enjoy using the Mac once you’ve had it for a while, but some things are done differently, and maybe we can help you with the transition.
Personally, I think that the biggest reason the world may need another Mac-related blog is because of this: We didn’t drink the hard Apple Cider - what I mean is, you’ll never catch us standing outside an Apple store in the chilly night air so we can be among the first to get our hands on some new Apple product. We want to put our Macs to use, not dress them up in expensive accessories and brag about them to our friends that still use Windows (well, maybe just a little, but only when the Mac really does do something better than Windows).
So if you are looking for a hard-nosed blog that’s not written by a bunch of Mac fanboys, maybe you’ve found it! When there’s something about the Mac we don’t like, we’ll crab about it. But when we find some delightful new freeware program, or some helpful hint or tip that makes it more of a joy to use a Mac, we’ll pass that along.
Oh, and don’t worry, most of the articles should be more concise than this one - we know you are busy and don’t have much time to read, and my editor has said he’ll chop off my articles if I let them get too long, and start to ramble on…..
Subscribe to CAF
