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Macintosh... The Naked Truth
The Naked Truth is a book about what it means to be a Macintosh user, in a world dominated by Windows. This should have tipped me off as to some troubles ahead, as I live as a Mac user in a predominantly Linux-dominated world. And I proudly use Linux (and, to a lesser extent, other forms of Unix, not even including Mac OS X) daily. As I write this, I have four terminal windows running in NiftyTelnet, connecting me to Linux boxes at work and at home. I am inserting a 700MB database dump into MySQL, scp'ing some MP3s, restarting some daemons, copying some source code for later porting, and monitoring disk space. I am a Macintosh devotee, and have been for more than 15 years, but I am a geek. A big, preemptively multitasking, geek.
But Kelly takes the perspective that Macintosh is not a computer for geeks, but for creative people who can't be bothered with geek-like things. So when he belittles those "PC users" who like to build their own computers, and I see the Linux box under my desk that I've recently been fiddling with, I just take it with a grain of salt. After all, geeks are allowed to like ease of use and a consistent and usable GUI, too.
This mischaracterization of some Mac users is also evident in his "definitive platform test." The questions, asking for things like a description of your own driving skills, are intended to tell you which platform you should use. On one end of the scale is the Macintosh user ("Average, I'm not a bad driver"), followed by borderline between Mac and PC user ("I'm an excellent driver, very cautious and alert") to obvious PC user ("I obey all posted traffic signs and don't exceed the speed limit"), to "militant" PC/DOS user ("I wish all those idiots would just get off the road!"). But clearly, any sane person would choose the latter response. I don't understand what the problem is. I selected the "Mac" and "DOS" answers evenly, which didn't do well for my overall score. I happily continue to use Mac OS nevertheless.
That said, Kelby is dead-on about many things, like how computer store personnel are mostly clueless (not that this is specific to Macintosh products, but it is more pronounced in that particular arena than in most); how most anti-Macintosh arguments by PC users either don't make sense any more or never made sense to begin with; how Apple has been the primary innovator of PC hardware and OS software; how Apple seems to succeed sometimes in spite of its own management. He tends to belabor his point on occasion (OK, we get it, CompUSA's Apple store-in-a-store is all the way in the back, we don't need you to spend two pages describing just how far back it is), but if taken in the good humor intended, it's a satisfying journey nevertheless.
His most interesting points, perhaps, have to do not with what it is like to be a Macintosh user in a foreign land -- I think everyone on Slashdot can understand these things, regardless of whatever non-Microsoft platform of choice they use -- but what it is like to be a Macintosh user in relation to Apple itself. He has some keen insights about where the passion comes from; why people love Apple; what's going on inside their heads.
But then again, reading his responses to letters written to Mac Today and Mac Design Magazine by PC users are just downright entertaining -- keenly insightful or not -- if you are the sort of individual who likes to see stupid people get smacked around. And who isn't?
Now, being a geek -- and a pedantic one at that -- I did take issue with him on some relatively minor issues, like claiming that Apple changed the name of Mac OS X to "OS 10.1" when it came time to do the first maintenance release; the fact is, the official name from day one was "Mac OS X 10.0," and that nothing has changed at all in that naming scheme. The current release is "Mac OS X 10.1.4." It's the same thing, with an incremented version number. He's absolutely right that this is a point of confusion, and in some ways poor marketing. For the next major release (Mac OS X 11.0? Mac OS 11? Mac OS XI?) there will surely be some more confusion, too. But nothing at all has changed in the naming scheme since the initial release. For now. I just want to make sure everyone is clear on this point. It is "Mac OS X, version 10.1.4," and "Mac OS, version 9.2.2." "Mac OS" and "Mac OS X" are OS names. "10.1.4" and "9.2.2" are version numbers. Got it?
Similarly, he bashes the Newton. Sure, the first release of Newton kinda stunk, but it was the first version. The last versions of the Newton MessagePad, aside from the size, were still by far the best PDAs around for the next several years. Newton still, to this day, has the best handwriting recognition in any consumer PDA, as well as the best (non-color) interface, and it was years ahead of its time in functionality. It was just too big. That was its only problem. Well, and too expensive. But maybe less so if it weren't so big.
And he also called Compaq's PDA an "iPac." And occasionally used poor punctuation. And I think I saw a run-on sentence in there.
But now I am getting worked up. I'll settle down. Deep breath, in, out, in, out. That's the thing about being a Mac user, Kelby points out: passion. Passion for Apple and its products, even the ones that stink, because Apple is more than just a company, it is an organization that changes our lives in important ways, by making products that make a difference to us.
OK, so maybe I am in the target audience after all.
Chapter List
- Life after switching to Macintosh
Using a Mac is easy; being a Mac user sometimes isn't. - "I can't believe you actually use a Macintosh!" and other stupid things PC users say
Congress should rethink giving PC users freedom of speech. - Things Apple doesn't tell you about owning a Macintosh
Since Apple's not going to tell you, dontchathink somebody should? - The definitive platform test
Find out if you're really a Mac person, or just a PC person in cool clothing. - How to resist the overwhelming temptation to strangle Apple's management
Is "Apple Management" an oxymoron? And is "oxymoron" actually a synonym for a pimple cream for really dumb people? - CompUSA: Your own private hell
Tips for surviving the visualization of Apple's place in the world. - Why PC users need Apple
Heere's why they should be kissing Apple's butt (instead of Microsoft's) - "Don't pick fights with people who buy ink by the barrel"
PC users write me nasty letters, and I give them the public flogging they so richly deserve - Pot shots at Microsoft, the media, and anything else that gets in our way
Nobody gets out of here alive! - The 20 most important things I've learned about being a Mac user
There were actually 22 things, but that made for a really clunky chapter title. - The secret of Macintosh
Here's a hint: it's not Apple's advertising.
You can purchase Macintosh ... The Naked Truth from bn.com. Want to see your own review here? Just read the book review guidelines, then use Slashdot's handy submission form.
Yes, I've noticed this "Mac users are clueless artsy types with no technical knowhow" slant over and over. Rubbish!
.
I'm an admin on Linux and OpenBSD networks AND I love my Mac as well.
There is no conflict, especially after OS X
An elegant GUI is a wonderous thang.
Nuff Said!
Or does it seem like any Mac user could've written this book? Granted, I'm definitely interested in picking it up (Along with Michael Moore's new book) But from what I've seen, it looks like 90% of people in a MUG could've opened up a word processor and typed it out. We all laughed at the blatant rip-off the iPac was. We all got confused around Mac OS 8.0 When the OS's name changed from "System" to "MacOS". Is there any physcological or sociological perspectives or theories about being a Mac user? The notion that we're creative is not new, it's been in countless articles and MacWorld keynotes. Lemme guess, he mentions that thrill of never configuring an autoexec.bat file, right? (While a great number of Mac users actually have, most often for work).
Nice review. The book seems pretty good, and I might consider it worth buying, except for one fact--
I already have a personal identity. I know who I am. And I am a mac user. I don't need to read a book to tell me how I should behave, how I should think, or what my personality should be just because of the computing platform I use.
This point was brought up slightly in the review by pudge's criticism of the "definitive platform test," but it seems the problem would be endemic to the entire book. The author seems to be trying to get all chummy with every mac user out there, though most share the at best tenuous bond of using the same type of computer (and not even OS. Many mac users still use 9!).
However, this book might be ineteresting to someone who is not a mac user, as it could give some perspective into what "we" (and I hestiate to use the term) experience. But it seems like it alienates and bashes those who don't buy into the "jobs experience."
So my take on the book would be "don't buy."
That's the one thing that really bugs me more than anything else, how Mac users project this completely unfounded air of superiority. Quite simliar in my mind to Mensa and other activities people enter into when they desperately require validation. Here, buy a powerbook, and all the sudden you're a creative person! Wow, better living through consumerism, how progressive!
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
Based on this review, I do believe this author has been using macs for many years, and obviously is of the "old guard" of mac loyalists.
What I mean by that, is that they randomly attack the PC, while pointing out the stupid ways PC users attack macs. It's been my experience that mac users of this "old guard" (which is to say, they've been using macs well before OS X was a glimmer in NeXt's eye) are very annoying. Most PC users I know, before OS X, didn't give a sh*t about macs, be they good or crappy machines. Mac users meanwhile wouldn't shut up about how good their macs were...as if they were trying to compensate for...something.
Now, with OS X, I may actually go buy a mac one of these days. It's UNIX when I want it to be, and a pretty looking OS for the days when I just don't feel like thinking. If I do get one, however, I'm going to mostly steer clear of those longtime mac users and instead find people who got a mac for the same reasons I did. At least then I could get some work done in peace!
When compared with an equally equipped x86 machine, and taking into account the quality and resale value... yes, low cost.
mark
If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe. -- Carl Sagan
I think those die-hard Mac users who still think that Macs aren't for geeks are a (sometimes vocal) minority. They are unhappy with how Steve has now significantly changed "their" OS (without asking their permission!), and some just don't like to see geek outsiders coming into their club.
I think a lot of Mac users welcome the influx of geeks because it adds some "legitimacy" to the platform, meaning that if geeks like it, then Apple can't be scoffed at as a toy anymore. And it means Apple more or less got it right with the Unix underpinnings.
Just my thoughts as a long time Mac user.
mark
If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe. -- Carl Sagan
I quote the article:
"But now I am getting worked up. I'll settle down. Deep breath, in, out, in, out. That's the thing about being a Mac user, Kelby points out: passion. Passion for Apple and its products, even the ones that stink, because Apple is more than just a company, it is an organization that changes our lives in important ways, by making products that make a difference to us. "
What is he talking about? Are we supposed to understand exactly how Apple has "changes our lives in important ways" without him mentioning how? Look, I've got PCs & Macs running Windows, Linux, and Mac OSs. They each have their good and bad points. But none of them have something so special that they "change our lives in important ways". They are all jusy fscking operating systems. We'd all be doing fine if we were using OS2 or Amiga or Be.
It's what people do with computers that makes a difference.
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Apple didnt invent or popularize EVERYTHING. But they've done their fair share.
-Popularized USB (an intel invention that wasnt taking off)
- First (and really the only) desktop "PC" to have standard SCSI acoss product lines.
- Quicktime
- Firewire
- Dylan (a great language that never took off)
- Put a GUI in the hands of home users (Just to get this straight, Xerox sold the idea to Apple for stock, which Xerox made a hefty profit off of. Xerox actually made a GUI based computer for "business" that sold at the excellent price point of $19,000 USD....and you thought macs were expensive. Xerox had no interest in putting a GUI on consumer desktops).
- ColorSync , a technology probably never heard of by PC users, but essential for print work.
- When macs first came out they were expensive, but they had the same CPU's as many workstations and servers of the time.
- Digital hub, I know its a marketing term. But its real. Its nice for a geek with no artistic experience to be able to produce his own movies of the kids n send it to relatives. There are much better digital video editing programs, but anyone can use iMovie....and its free.
I'm sure there are many more I cant remember. If Apple was just pretty case design they wouldnt have the following they do.
Mac users meanwhile wouldn't shut up about how good their macs were...as if they were trying to compensate for...something.
Or maybe they were just enthusiastic about their computer in a way you weren't about yours. Sometimes the truth is right in front of you and not a paranoid conspiricy about people's secret thoughts
That "definitive platform test" is a joke. I mean, come on! If you score 20-40 (militant PC user), his advice is to "...put your hands on your head, walk out the front door of your home directly toward the officers, and listen carefully to their instructions. Keep your hands clearly in sight and don't make any sudden moves." Yup! That sounds like a serious platform quiz to me!
Kelby's humor takes a little getting used to and his over-exaggeration of Mac and PC user stereotypes wears a little thin, especially in the era of OS X. There is some useful info in here--covering the obstacles you're probably going to run into and what to do about them (if you want lots of games, buy a Playstation), but for the most part the book is meant to be fun (usually at the expense of Wintel users). In the last chapter, he reveals the true origins of the Cult of Macintosh (and a lesson in media manipulation). General Burkhalter? Go fig! ;-)
Buying advice--if you prefer MacAddict over Macworld, you'll probably enjoy this book.
Sara
Breakfast served all day!
Another book needs to be written because the religious user debates do not really explain why Apple has a 3% market share.
I would call this book "The Rise and Fall of the Mac Developer."
In this book, I would enumerate all the things that Apple has done to drive truly creative developers from the platform. Of course one can argue "semper fi", but where is Guy Kawasaki today?
In this book I would have the following chapters.
1) The failure of Marketting/Evangelism
Yes, I'd have this in the book. I spent five years promoting the use of Macs in enterprise and engineering. Apple could never keep these positions well stocked, and when they did find people, they gathered a self-delusional-reinforcing clique of groupies that denied that Apple was pooching NOT attempts to enter the space, but pooching toeholds they had in the space, and telling developers trying to build products that their applications were not "killer apps." Is there an engineering killer app? For five years Apple reps announced at WWDC the same thing: We will foster development and awareness through VAR incentives. That's right... No help for people building products - but give a salesman who doesn't know a Mac from Adam a T-Shirt and he'll promote a product into an Oil company without ANY SOFTWARE to make it useful.
2) Starve the Developers for Development Tools
First tell developers they must pay for expensive development tools, and delay on providing those tools. [The developers want free tools to write product to sell your platform.]
3) Jerk the Developer Chain through Legalese
Have developers wanting to support new technologies sign incomprehensible NDAs and technology agreements. [The developers must wait months to actually get there hands on the technology.] Then announce that certain specs for internal hardware will NEVER be released.
4) Remove the Reason for Start-ups to Use Macs
Any developer incentives like the hardware purchase program must be abolished. [It is more likely small start ups that cannot afford 200%+ mark up will support fringeware.]
5) Run in Circles and blow the Developers Credibility
Get new technologies out, convince developers they must support them, and kill them a year later. [Copland, OpenDoc, QD3D...]
6) No Support for You
Put a barrier between your core developers and technical resources that do not know the technologies and claim every bug you report in the Software is a support incident requiring the DEVELOPER pay for it.
7) Close the Playing Field
Make sure that any attempt to support CHRP and get other Vendors making Macs is pooched.
8) Kick your Developers in the Groin
Never return the phone calls of a developer known as a Doubting Thomas. Make sure the development teams that do have tight contact with developers ignore advice from the seasoned ones because it illustrates design flaws, or points out missing key parts of a strategy, or because the developer said after stating factually why something is stupid, resorting to saying "The Idiot Who Did This Should Be Short" must be threatened with LEGAL ACTION.
9) Lie To The Developers
In 1996, WWDC, "Apple will be the Number One Java Development Platform." Apple FIVE YEARS LATER delivers a functional Java implementation.
10) Creativity Must be Stiffled
Kill ATG, research, and disclosure because Microsoft delivers the cool thing you saw at WWDC the previous year.
11) OpenSource this
Don't forget to kill mkLinux because you might eat into your OS X sales. But wait - OS X won't run on older hardware. F**k ADB and NuBUS - who uses old Macs [except every die hard Mac developer I know.]
Unfortunately most of the things that Apple has done right, they did long, long after it would make a difference. Think different? I don't think so.
p.s. Tim, f**k you for breaking all the UI guidelines making iWhatever look and feel like consumer products. A skin should be a choice... and Apps should be consistent.
/\/\icro/\/\uncher
OMG. sorry.. but Pudge calling himself "jovial" would be up there with hearing Tom Daschle calling himself "professional bullshit artist" - accurate, but hearing it from him, you'd swear you'd entered the Twilight Zone.
You all should see how "jovial" pudge is when he's beating the stuffing out of some poor college freshman's poor argument. Its like watching a 800 pound gorilla tackle a miniature poodle and stuff it into a thimble. Its so awful, you can't help but watch in glee (i mean, doesn't everyone find glee in the idea of one of those horrible little poodles being stuffed into a thimble?)
guns kill people like spoons make Rosie O'Donnell fat.