Macintosh... The Naked Truth

From the opening pages of Scott Kelby's Macintosh... The Naked Truth, I was literally laughing out loud. I am a generally jovial character, so this is not the finest endorsement available, but it is typical of the experience the rest of the book offered me. Macintosh... The Naked Truth author Scott Kelby pages 219 publisher New Riders rating 7 out of 10 Macsbugs reviewer pudge ISBN 0-7357-1284-0 summary Funny, irreverent, but kinda bugged me in spots

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

1. Life after switching to Macintosh
   Using a Mac is easy; being a Mac user sometimes isn't.
2. "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.
3. Things Apple doesn't tell you about owning a Macintosh
   Since Apple's not going to tell you, dontchathink somebody should?
4. The definitive platform test
   Find out if you're really a Mac person, or just a PC person in cool clothing.
5. 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?
6. CompUSA: Your own private hell
   Tips for surviving the visualization of Apple's place in the world.
7. Why PC users need Apple
   Heere's why they should be kissing Apple's butt (instead of Microsoft's)
8. "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
9. Pot shots at Microsoft, the media, and anything else that gets in our way
   Nobody gets out of here alive!
10. 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.
11. 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.

Comments

Yes, a pretty cool book

[PhysicsGenius]

As a big-time Mac user I really loved this book and its explication of Mac users as a cutting edge minority. Here's the way I like to explain it to people: Everybody goes to a regular doctor. But hip people who really care about their bodies seek out alternative therapies of wellness like herbal remedies and additives. Macs are kinda like that--the less popular but low-cost alternative to the overpowering majority.

Re:Yes, a pretty cool book

[matticus]

Cost of 15" LCD Monitor:
$250
Cost of 40x12x48 speed CD-RW drive (which is, incidentally, extraordinarily faster than the drive on the imac):
$80

So that's $330. You mean I have $1069 left to build the computer in order to defeat an imac with a 40GB hard drive (80gb hard drive, $80), 128MB of SDRAM (512MB of PC2100 DDR, $100), and a 700MHz processor (given Apple's faulty performance claims, I'll even spot you 2-for-1 on the megahertz, getting an Athlon XP 1800+ 1533MHz processor for $99). Now we're down to $790. Uh-oh, I have to beat a geforce2 mx with a Geforce4 TI 4600 VIVO ($309) just to blow you out of the water, oh, and because I can. Down to $481, oh no, I'm shivering. A nice case with a 420W quality AMD-approved PSU ($100), an MSI KT3-Ultra motherboard ($90), a quality keyboard/mouse/floppy drive/network card ($100 total), a Hercules Game Theater XP ($100)-incidentally, much better than the imac's crappy audio-and we still have $91 left for a Pioneer Slot-load DVD drive ($60).

There we go. $1368. No crappy components, even allowed $100 for the case. And this computer will play any video game at exponentially better speeds than that mac (if you don't play games, save $250 and get a geforce2 gts-v or something). The sound system is exponentially better. It has video capture, 4x the memory (twice as fast) and double the hard disk space. I personally would rather have a nice 19" trinitron than a 15" flat panel, but I catered to what you wanted.
Granted, this configuration does not have an OS, but if you're a Windows guy and want an OS, go one step down on the video card (we did buy top-of-the-line) and you'll have more than enough.

NEVER say macs are a cheaper alternative-they are only cheaper compared to PC prices of two years ago. I'm sick of macintosh users being spoonfed doctrine about how their computers are cheaper and faster. It's only to make them feel better for spending so much. Use a mac-that's fine with me. Just don't lie about it.

My review

[DNS-and-BIND]

My review? The entire book is not about Macs, it's about PC's. And how Macs desperately wish they had won the competition they lost so very long ago. Ready?

• Ch. 1 - author bashes PCs
• Ch. 2 - author bashes PCs
• Ch. 3 - author bashes Apple, Inc.
• Ch. 4 - author bashes PCs
• Ch. 5 - author bashes Apple, Inc.
• Ch. 6 - author bashes PCs and CompUSA
• Ch. 7 - author bashes PCs
• Ch. 8 - author bashes PCs
• Ch. 9 - author bashes PCs
• Ch. 10 - author finally has something positive to say about the Mac
• Ch. 11 - author admits there may be other reasons to own a Mac other than to attempt to broadcast to strangers that you identify with the media content produced by Apple's marketing department.

All that being said, this guy evidently knows his audience and I'm sure the book will sell well. Perhaps his book will become as trendy to display in pretentious workspaces as the latest Apple hardware?

Re:TV version?

[Alan Partridge]

"I think you need t reality check man. nothiong beats a good book in terms of entertainment."

I disagree. Prolonged sexual intercourse while tripping on acid is infinitely more entertaining than reading a fucking book. Conversation is often more entertaining than reading a fucking book. Bookc CAN be excellent, but most aren't (I'm thinking Jeffrey Archer here), so let's not hold up book reading as some kind of higher spiritual experience. Coz that's nonsense.

Re:A PC vs. Mac vs. PC Point of View

[feloneous cat]

What I mean by that, is that they randomly attack the PC, while pointing out the stupid ways PC users attack macs.

No, most of us attack the WINborg - which usually meant PC's (unless you know of a MS OS that runs on the Mac?).

Most PC users I know, before OS X, didn't give a sh*t about macs, be they good or crappy machines.

Not true. "PC World" would frequently run editorials talking about the good things in Macs. Weird, huh? Mac users, in fact, are the harshest critics as they knew what they were talking about. Most Windroids don't.

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.

And how does this differ from the "old guard" Mac user? I believe power and ease of use has always been the mantra of the Mac OS.

Sounds like another "Macs are great!" book...

[mttlg]

Just what we need, more propaganda to sweep under the rug in 10 years with all the "We don't need a CLI!" and "Who needs more than one button?" nonsense. People who don't like Macs won't care about this, and people who do like Macs will feel smug for a little while until they too don't care. I guess I just don't see the need for all the back-patting anti-PC rhetoric.

I would like to see a pro-Mac book that actually addresses the shortcomings of Macs instead of pretending that they don't exist. Instead, we get David Pogue saying stuff like "Who needs to be able to encrypt files when your entire computer is password protected?" in his Mac OS X Missing Manual book. Why hasn't anyone addressed the spatial information deficiencies in Mac OS X? Why aren't there any articles about how horrible iPhoto really is (Apple's own discussion board on iPhoto is almost entirely composed of usability complaints, with no comments from Apple staff)?

It gets frustrating seeing the stupid "love it or leave it" mentality used to defend Macs in the absence of a critical but fair analysis of Apple's hardware and software. While I can't imagine using anything but a Mac as a general purpose computer, I don't see why Macs should be exempt from reality.

Re:Above-average book

[Buck2]

That's his fucking point.

Re:Better user factors

[cakoose]

MacOS 8 and 9 suck so hard. I don't know if the retarded behaviour can be configured out, but the defaults are ridiculous:

- Can't have a few windows from one application and a few from another at the top. If you have a bunch of browser windows, clicking on one brings them all to the top.

- The Start menu is so much better for launching programs. The idea of having to open folder after folder of windows that stay open is worse than the Win 3.1 Program Manager.

- Apple made a conscious decision to avoid 2-button mice for so long. The context menu right-click is so useful in windows. Yeah, yeah, you can press the apple key to fake it, but that is a pain.

- The lack of a taskbar (remember, we're talking about OS 8 and 9 here) makes it hard to switch between programs. The peice-of-junk menu at the top right is no substitute.

- Finder is much worse than Windows Explorer.

- Applications that don't quit even after closing all Windows is a weird feature. I can see how sometimes it may be useful but most of the time it just gets in the way. The OS even detects that and pops up a dialog to ask you if you want to close it. This is a sure sign of bad design.