Apple Archive

Mac vs. PC Platform Passion

A 'Best of Apple Archive' Article

- 2002.07.26

I've been noticing that there is something of an attempt to draw a line between PC users and Mac users. Phrases like "Mac users have a deep relationship with their machine" seem to be common. But what these people are ignoring are the simple things that show that die-hard Mac users and PC users aren't really all that different.

Have you ever gone into a library or computer lab where iMacs are present and noticed someone commenting on how if they were PCs, they would work better? I know I have. It doesn't really bother me, though, since I'm comfortable with both Windows and the Mac OS, and I don't mind using either platform for most things.

But walk into a PC lab sometime. You'll probably hear, "If only this was a Mac, I could get this project done much faster."

Now all of a sudden the Mac users are going to say, "See, that guy is devoted to the Macintosh platform." Yeah, that's probably so, but what about the PC user? Isn't he devoted to the PC?

It seems that Mac users don't realize that there are people just as devoted to the PC as Mac users are to their Macs. In fact, I knew one person who refused to upgrade her old 100 MHz Pentium tower because she liked it so much and thought that she could never like any other computer as much.

There's devotion to a PC for you.

You have to understand, however, that the things people like about the different platforms aren't all that different. You see people who are devoted to PCs from specific companies. There are those who only buy Compaqs. There are some people who love IBMs and refuse to buy anything else, because in their mind, there is nothing close to being "as good."

Mac fans buy Macintoshes because the hardware is elegant and easy to upgrade and maintain.

However, people buy IBM laptops because they like the durability of the machines, not necessarily because of the OS that comes installed on them. People buy G4 PowerBooks because of the features and appearance, not necessarily the durability. Both crowds are just as loyal; they just have different ways of showing it.

Then there are those who are in the middle - the "fence sitters" of the computer world - who don't side with one platform or the other. The PC fanatics and the Mac fanatics may try to convert these people to their own side, but they will probably never succeed in permanently converting any of them.

These people are probably a good deal of the consumer audience that Apple and other companies are trying to win over. These people, as I've said before, are not brand loyal and do not care what type of computer they buy as long as it has the features they want and is available for a price they can afford to pay.

Those who are strongly devoted to a platform, whether it be Mac or PC, have one main thing in common: Their opinions will never be affected by any advertising from the opposing side.

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