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The Nation of Macintosh?
Devon Avenger writes "A new short British film has been released according to this article at Wired depicting a cult of Macintosh fanatics who are organised in a manner reminiscent of the Nation of Islam."
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I just got a mental image of Steve Jobs as Louis Farrakhan.
I just don't think the bow tie would go with his black turtleneck.
So it stars an "an original Macintosh, the 512K," huh? The original Mac had a big bad 128K of RAM. (and a 400K single sided 3.5" floppy)
I think that this group will be a welcome addition to the clics in HBO's "OZ." Now you have Skinheads, Black Muslims, Italians, and the ever-so-feared Macies.
First thought: This is stupid, but lets keep reading.
So now I get to this little gem: It's about that whole religious fervor that grabs Mac users the way it doesn't with users of other platforms," said writer/director Jake Barnes, who described himself as a "recovering Mac addict."
Has Jake Barnes every met a linux user? Or a BSD user? Or a VMS user? Or hell, a BeOS or OS/2 user? He probably just looked at windows and thought "well 90% of the known universe uses it, so how excited can Hip Bob be when booting it up". He has failed to see the amount of umm... love some non-microsoft and non-apple people have for their computers. I mean come on... linux... what is there not to love. Hell even IBM spraypaints "Peace. Love. Linux." on stuff. Oh well... need coffee.
can't sleep slashdot will eat me
You can not stop us
We have this Unix
You reboot now
Are you afraid?
Death to Microsoft
Death to Sun
Steve is great
Wasting your time since 1997.
As a long time mac advocate, forced windows user and linux sysadmin . . . explain to me how mac advocates are significantly different than linux geeks who insist that Linux is the one true un*x, the one to rule them all . . .
Its not enough that Microsoft has the vast majority of the desktop.
Its not enough that the macintosh has been derided for the past 20 years as a toy, as inferior, and as the machine that is more style than substance.
Its not enough that we had a good solid ten years of the tech media announcing that apple was going out of business- never mind that when they first started making that claim, apple had more sales revenue than Microsoft!
Its not enough that most half educated self-styled geeks think macs are slow.
Or that theirs a cult of mac hatred, mac bashing, and downright viciousness directed at anyone who dares to buy the computer that is not the one ordained by the powers that be as the be all, end all, "how dare you want something else".
Its not enough that despite better economics of mac software, we've had 20 years of idiot marketing types canceling mac products to focus on windows (And then losing to microsoft in the end.)
Its not enough that bigotry and hatred towards mac users is wide spread among computer enthusiasts- and is not only tolerated but encouraged.
No, none of these are enough.
Now we need to start comparing mac users to terrorists?
Its continually amazing how threatened so many people are that some segment of the population buys the computer that works best for them.
How can you be so threatened at people thinking for themselves? Oh yeah, that's right, this is a nation that worships conformity.
This is a sad state of affairs. And some of you should be ashamed of yourselves.
Yeah, and you guys panned the ipod too: http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/10/23
These users is the reason to why Apple has been able to survive the late 80s and early 90s when the x86 ran away from then performance wise.
It is fun to notice all these little fanatic communities for all old computers: Atari, Amiga, ABC80, Spectrum, C64...
It is nice to see that some of us aren't here just for performance and the latest games!
How's the movie end?
Woz: "Just trust me and insert the purple disk..."
- If we aren't supposed to eat animals, then why are they made out of meat? - Steven Wright
Why is it ANYONE who does not use Microsoft products is considered a religious zealout? I'm serious. This has been going on for over 13 years now.
Way back when there WAS computer diversity, it was no different. If you used an Amiga, you were a zealot. If you liked OS/2, you were a zealot. But if you used Windows, you were the bastion of sanity and reason! (never mind the crashing, the unreliability, etc). And this was in an era when Windows did NOT have the majority (yet). And this was primarily a North American attitude, as well.
So now we have Mac users AGAIN being branded as fantics and zealots. What has changed? The smarmy attitude of Windows drones is more like a dominant religion, in my opinion. The Cult of Bill is far more repugnant than a few stalwarts who want to compute differently.
They should try Amiga users, they're several times worse Mac users. Really.
I have to say that I think that the Cult of Macintosh is pretty much dead.
Yeah, there are still Mac fanatics, but just like the suffragettes, the Cult of Macintosh faded when it won.
The Macintosh successfully delivered the GUI desktop paradigm to the masses. After that, well, anyone applauding Windows 95+ was also supporting the ideals that the Macintosh was successfully promoting into the marketplace - like it or not.
Sure, the Mac had some really really dark days... mostly in the late 80's, early 90's when that Pepsi guy was pretending to run the place.
But again Apple has taken the industry to a new level, with computers that push design and function, and with a real, extendable, fairly open, standards-friendly OS behind it.
In any case, the war is over. Maybe Apple didn't win all the love and money. But it propelled the industry forward on many, many fronts.
Thank goodness for comapies like Apple pushing innovation into the marketplace. Maybe someday Microsoft will be able to do the same.
Nah, they have no incentive to do that.
I'm convinced the reason behind it is that the typical Mac user is someone who is not very technical and was perhaps intimidated by using a computer, so when they figured out how to use their Mac they get a certain sense of pride and accomplishment which they in turn morph into zealotry.
Common misconception. Most Mac users are creative professionals that have no NEED to learn the inner workings of computers and the technical details of their machines. It has nothing to do w/ "pride" in figuring out how to use it. It has to do with the perceived ability of the Mac to facilitate their creativity.
Like you said, this is changing. With many *nix heads coming over to the Mac camp, the average tech savvy-ness of the Mac user IS going up. However, please remember that a great majority of Wintel users can't even figure out how to use AOL by themselves, let alone use Final Cut Pro to create a full-length movie w/out a manual.
And there are PLENTY of tech savvy mac users. I happen to be one of them. I've been building x86 boxes since the 286, worked on every flavor of windows, use linux regularly, and have ALWAYS preferred Macs.
People with no vision are always the first to deride those with style. People with style are always the first to help out those with no vision.
I noticed that the dev guys were very calm and rational people, pretty much just the opposite of the Mac user
Maybe that's because instead of having to crunch their brains fixing problems (which, trust me, the high-level OS engineers at Apple would behave the same way as your BSD dev team) with a kernel, most Mac END-users are EXCITED that they have enough free time after getting all their work done cuz their machines don't crash freeze ask for money or otherwise hinder functional use.
Just a thought.
And what about all the idiots who queue for hours at night to be the first to get their hands on the latest Windows OS when a new one arrives? Oh but wait a second! Those people are not zealot! Just plain arsholes!
I'll do it for cheesy poofs.
Actually the i-bowtie is a Steve Jobs Insanely Great trademark from the 80s.
Steve Jobs circa 1984
I still think Sculley looks scared to have Steve behind him.
Apple-am a-laikum, my iBrothers and iSisters. Would you like an MP3 copy of Steve's Final Call for your iPod? Can I interest you in an iBeanpie? We didn't tear down the gates -- Gates tore us down!
My name is Mac-colm X, and I will soon make my pilgrimage to Cupertino.
Visit me on the web at Permanent4.com.
I just upgraded to FC Pro so I could do some stuff with a project I can't do with iMovie. The elegance of the product is really astounding. It's well thought-out - it scales down to my incredible level of ignorance well, and it produces a beautiful product. When I wanted to make the movie, here's what I needed: Mac, FCPro, video cam w/ Firewire.
Now I suppose Adobe Premiere on a beefy Windows machine could do the same, but I'm getting nervous just thinking about it. I use Windows every day and consider myself a very proficient user. (blech)
So what do I need to do the same project? I suppose:
Premiere, Beefy Windows-based Machine (XP? 98? 2000?) - I'm guessing 2000, but that's just a guess - So I have to downgrade. And the right video card - Oh my gosh! Which one shall I get? Hmm.. And I forgot: I need a FIREWIRE card b/c they aren't standard on most PCs. Oh crap. Firewire drivers, Oh yeah - video card drivers. What, there's a conflict (IRQ?) between my add-on FW card and my add-on HD. CRAP! See what I mean?
Before you write "Dude, you're stupid" I'll concede the point. I'm stupid. You got me.
But I am smart enough to figure out how to run FC Pro in some fashion or another, produce multimedia, etc. etc.. and I'm pretty sure I'm smart enough to puzzle out all the Windows crap, BUT I DON'T WANT TO. I'm smart enough to get my work done, and that's all I care about. I don't like "computers" and I don't want to spend half my life figuring out why they don't work.
Yes, it's a blog. Sorry if that offends you.
You know what it is about Mac users? People who 'discover' the Mac (or Linux/*nix for that matter) and like it more than Windows feel like they've made this major leap. They know 90% of the planet isn't aware of any other OSes because they used to be one of those people, not too long ago.... so it's hard not to feel smug.
Look at the reaction of any newly converted users. They are flabbergasted at the difference. Again, goes for both Linux and Mac... really, it's not hard to see why. Not for the people in here.
This actually goes with my larger theory that only 90% of the planet even cares, or can objectively see the difference between a good UI and a bad one. Hence, Apple remains at 5~10% (don't give me the 4% figure, I've never believed that).
If Jesus wants me it knows where to find me.
There are Windows zealots, they're just lost in the crowd of point-and-drool Windows users that have no idea that "computer" doesn't necissarily mean "Wintel".
I mean, what about the scores of MCSE monkeys that think every other operating system outside of Windows is a toy? Isn't that a type of zealotry? They're not going out and actively preaching Windows but they're passively dissmissing any other platform. There's plenty of Kool-aid to be drunk that's coming out of Redmond.
If the movie's any good, they'll have a confrontation between a mac zealot and an MCSE monkey that tells him "Macs can't network." I'm picturing a Steve Martin type reaction from the movie "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" when somebody mentions "cleaning woman".
Actually, what the article is referring to is the Nation of Islam group - not Islam in general. If you're not familiar with the Nation of Islam you can find more information here.
Those who will sacrifice Freedom and Security will get Windows...
Hopefully, this is just an issue of absorbing the R&D costs [fool.com] of their new O/S. I'm not a Mac user, but some of my best friends are ...
Read the earnings report yourself. They actually posted a 7M profit before one-time non-recuring changes due to an internal reorg and recent acquisitions.
Given this, they actually met their predictions. This is pretty good while other hardware manufacturers plummet.
With more than 4 billion in cash reserve, a net loss of 47M is just a good tax evasion for the next quarter.
Slashdot spends *a lot* of time talking about Apple. I'm not entirely sure how Uncle Steve built his company to attact so much attention, but it just seems that we talk about it a lot.
:)
As far as the Cult of Steve, I am a member, having recently returned from exile in the PC wilderness. Ah, how nice it is to return to the warmth of the Reality Distortion Field, where all benchmarks are Photoshop and all the UI components are lickably delicious.
Macs aren't the only products that inspire fanatical devotion (see comments re Linux, BSD, etc.). Not even just computers (shocking, isn't it?). Have you ever met people who drive Saturns? We're rather fanatical about our friendly dealerships and polymer side panels (dent resistant *and* rust proof
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside a dog, its too dark to read.
I think I'm missing something...where are we talking about religious suicide holy war? Not in the article we're not. We're talking about the Nation of Islam - as in the organization currently headed by Louis Farrakan - who's mission is (off the top of my head) a seperate all-black state, not the Nation of all Islamic people (as in the geopolitical sense). It's not a particularly Muslim organization; it's mostly about black empowrement.
I don't like stereotyping, but this is exactly what the above is: somone read it, saw the word 'Islam' and instantly thought "terrorism blaming! terrorism blaming!" without seeing the context.
More power to you for defending your faith. But try and read what the context and the article is before you go calling everyone racist. Unless you're actually Nation yourself, in which case you're allowed to be offended.
Cue The Sun...
I wonder if Steve Jobs will rename Apple HQ to Macca. Start praying, Mac people!
I got so much trouble on my mind
I refuse to lose
Here's your ticket
Hear the drummer get wicked
The crew to you to push the back to Black
Attack so I sat and japped
Then slapped the Mac(Intosh)
Now I'm ready to mike it
(You know I like it)
It's written exactly like that in the liner notes too.
FWIW, Chuck D has gone around helping indie rapper set up Mac-based ProTools studios for quite some time.
It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
...compared to certain radical Muslim factions, we're rather peaceful.
/will/ laugh, though, when Windows bombs itself.
For example, we don't bomb things.
We
± 29 dB
No more blue screens of de-eath.
Off the pigs!
Revolution has co-ome.
Make the switch!
[Note to mods: if you were born after 196x, you may not get the reference. Mod accordingly.]
"What is the sound of one belly slapping?"
In my 6 or some odd years of using Macs, I dont think I ever spent more than 5 minutes wrestling or hating my box.
That shit happens normally on Wintel for me (cant get this or that going.)
I'm a C/C++ developer. I'm no moron. But I have a job, friends, family, and no desire to spend my time "fixing windows that shouldn't be broken in the first place."
I was always zealous about the Mac because it pretty much worked as advertised. If that ain't the kinda shit you preach from the mountain tops, I don't know what is.
To me, there was very little downside to temper the kind of excitement and satisfaction I got from fuckin around with my Mac.
"Old man yells at systemd"
The followers of the Nation Of Islam believe in (all quotes taken from their homepage or their publications): ...one God (Allah) and that Allah (God) appeared in the Person of Master W.Fard Muhammad, July, 1930; the long awaited 'Messiah' of the Christians and the 'Mahdi' of the Muslims...
... ". And according to a hadith narrated by Masruq, in Sahih Bukhari, 'Aisha said, "If anyone tells you that Muhammad has seen his Lord, he is a liar, for Allah says (in 6:103), 'No vision can grasp Him.'...".
...the blackman is god and his proper name is ALLAH. Arm, Leg, Leg, Arm, Head.
However, the Qur`an states in chapter 4, verse 36, "Serve Allah, and join not Any partners with Him;
The followers of the Nation Of Islam further believe "in the resurrection of the dead--not in physical resurrection--but in mental resurrection. We also believe that the so-called Negroes are most in need of mental resurrection; therefore, they will be resurrected first." But the Qur`an states in chapter 20, verse 55, "From the earth did We Create you, and into it Shall We return you, and from it shall We bring you out once again." Even more pointedly, the Qur'an also states in 64:7,
The Unbelievers think that they will not be raised up (for Judgement). Say: "Yea, by my Lord, Ye shall surely be Raised up: then shall ye Be told (the truth) of All that ye did. And that is easy for Allah."
Besides the above two differences, the followers of the Nation of Islam also believe in other things contrary to Islam as defined in the Qur'an and Sunnah, such as:
*
[We, the Black Muslims, believe] "in the truth of the Bible, but we believe that it has been tampered with and must be reinterpreted so that mankind will not be snared by the falsehoods that have been added to it".
The problem with this belief: The true Prophet of Islam ordered Muslims to neither accept the Bible nor reject it - certainly there was no mention of reinterpretation.
*
"That we who declare ourselves to be righteous Muslims, should not participate in wars which take the lives of humans. We do not believe this nation should force us to take part in such wars, for we have nothing to gain from it unless America agrees to give us the necessary territory wherein we may have something to fight for".
The problem with this belief: The Qur'an and Sunnah are crystal clear on the necessity of going to war when the situation demands it.
The Nation of Gods and Earths (5% Nation of Islam) is apparently an offshoot of the so-called Nation of Islam. Like its parent, this group's beliefs clearly identify it as being fundamentally outside the pale of Islam. Specifically, and we quote (from their homepage):
The original man is the Asiatic Blackman, the maker, the owner, the cream of the planet Earth, father of civilization, God of the Universe.
This is in clear contradiction with one of the essential axioms of Islam, namely that Allah (God) is Creator and all else (including men - asiatic blacks or otherwise) is created. In chapter 25, verse 54 of the Qur'an, Allah says that He has created man, therefore it is logically impossible for man to be Allah.
The second quote above is a prime example of a tendency of the "Nation of Gods and Earths" to conjure up beliefs that are, to a large extent, highly confused. Some examples of these beliefs that have nothing to do with Islam are "supreme mathematics and alphabet", an evil person named Yacob, a prophet named W. D. Fard, and a belief that black people are superior in some way.
The true Prophet of Islam refuted this last racist belief in his Farewell Address,
O people! Verily your Lord is one and your father is one. All of you belong to one ancestry of Adam and Adam was created out of clay. There is no superiority for an Arab over a non-Arab and for a non-Arab over an Arab; nor for white over the black nor for the black over the white except in piety. Verily the noblest among you is he who is the most pious.
For a deeper expose of this group and its parent (the Nation of Islam), the interested reader might wish to examine the autobiography of the late Malik Al-Shabaz (Malcolm X).
And thus, I leave slashdot.
You need to get out of the house more, kid. I'm sick and tired of hearing the incessant bitching and whining about the slashdot moderation system. This is slashdot - your comments and views are being thrown into the mix with 12 year olds, the janitor from Radio Shack, legit geeks, and bored out of work guys.
By looking at your profile, you've been around long enough and certainly posted more than enough to be an occasional moderator yourself. Put up or shut up - the only worthwhile thing you can do is moderate responsibly. Whining about it is a waste of your time, my time, and any other poor schmuck who bothered to read your post.
If someone mods you down, remember, this is just slashdot! I swear some people need to go into therapy just because their shitty post got modded down by a thirteen year old.
"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." - Jack Nicholson
And thus, I leave slashdot.
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