Are Mac Users Crazy, Fanatical, Zealots, Or Smart?

So, you’re a Mac user. Does that automatically make you a crazy, fanatical zealot willing to defend the Mac at all costs and with all manner of language?

Or, are you simply a well informed computer buyer who knows the difference between mediocrity and excellence, and you’re willing to choose what’s better, even if it is representative of a minority?

Frankly, that’s what Apple’s old award winning Think Different advertising campaign is all about. Maybe it should have been titled Think Better. After all, isn’t that what we’re doing when we buy a Mac and use OS X?

Two events have been set in motion to bring me to the question about Mac zealotry.

The first event was my neighbor on the left—a switcher to the Mac from Windows. I helped her choose a Mac and got it set up and running. Why did she choose a Mac? Two years of trouble with her HP Windows XP computer. Constant crashes. Virus scans. Malware scans. It just got worse for her, as it does for many Windows user.

During that time she asked me about the Mac, and noticed that our family actually enjoys using a computer, which, she said was “intimidating” that people could enjoy using a PC. Let me speak for most Mac users when I say, “I enjoy using my Mac.” I have seldom enjoyed using a PC.

My neighbor on the right is a Windows PC user who disdains all things Mac and Apple and hurls an insult or two whenever they’re over for a visit. He’s had the same trouble with his Windows XP that neighbor on the left had, and upgraded to Windows Vista, only to find even more troubles, and finally bought a new PC with Vista pre-installed.

Yet, whenever possible, he pokes away at our decision to be Mac “zealots” and “fanatics” by choosing a Mac over a PC. When we politely point out that Macs don’t get viruses or malware and are more stable and dependable than Windows PCs, he repeats the derogatory refrain. Zealot. Fanatic.

The second event was a Mac360 article which compared reviews of Mac OS X Leopard. One review was from Apple basher and flame-bait journalist, Paul Thurrott. The other review was from Tom Yager, a noted technology writer.

Mac360 pointed out the obvious differences between the two reviews, and highlighted the inflammatory slurs in the Thurrott review which was, as expected, pretty much devoid of serious analysis. On the other hand, Yager highlighted the inner workings of OS X Leopard and why it will be an outstanding upgrade for Mac users, eye candy notwithstanding.

That’s where it got interesting. Out of the woodwork comes a new Mac360 Forums member deriding Ron’s comparison article, insulting Mac360 for being “fanatic zealots,” and unintelligent, and, amazingly, defending poor old Paul Thurrott. Obviously, fellow Mac user WhoMeWorry has not been a Mac360 reader for very long—as in a single article which deflated his dear uncle Paul, but Mac360 readers quickly pointed out the error of his ways. Naturally, he took offense to the whole shebang gangbang and left in a tiff.

My eyes rolled and I actually felt dizzy reading all the responses. Or, the baby is kicking again. Whatever it was, it was like a middle school food fight with a flurry of words instead of peas and mashed potatoes. Still, I had to ask myself, “Am I just a zealot for all things Mac?” Or, “Do I really choose a Mac because it works better for me?”

My neighbor on the right struggles with his multitude of Windows PCs, but calls our family Mac zealots and fanatics. But we don’t struggle to keep our Macs running. They just work. So, why the vitriolic response from a so-called fellow Mac user? Why the constant barrage of insults from a neighbor? Jealousy? Is there something in the human psyche which hates it when others have it better, especially so if they’re in the minority?

I use a Mac and a PC, but mostly a Mac. It’s a choice, not a religion. Apple does a great job building products that work well enough to get out of the way and yet have an endearing personality. Kudos to them. But when Apple does something hair brained, we at Mac360 don’t mind doing the hokey pokey all over their digital eyebrows to let them know the error of their ways.

Does that sound like the actions of a religious zealot? Hardly. It sounds like the actions of an informed consumer, a buyer willing to make a choice for what is better, and not settle for mediocrity. I encourage you to read Ron’s article comparing Leopard reviews, WhoMeWorry’s response, Mac360 reader responses, and Bambi’s measured, and tempered response to the whole shebangbang.

It’s enlightening as to which side the true zealot lives.