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Apples Are For Grannies?

Posted by Zonk on from the all-named-smith dept.

RoboJock writes "So much for Justin Long — the young, hip 'n' trendy face of the Apple Mac (as seen in the 'Mac vs. PC' ads) is even further removed from the average Mac owner than everyone suspected... By three or four decades. According to research discussed at Silicon.com, 'nearly half of Mac owners are 55 and older — that's almost double the share for average home-PC users.' It seems the young guns don't have the extra cash to stump up for smooth shiny aesthetics." From the article: "For the digital youth, high-street box shifter Gateway is the brand of choice, taking the number-one slot among PC buyers aged between 18 and 25. Dan Ness, principal at MetaFacts, said in a statement: 'Apple can claim long-time loyalists but its future among the young technoliterati is an interesting dynamic.'"

6 of 432 comments (clear)

  1. I got my parents a mac mini. by FlyingSquidStudios · · Score: 5, Interesting

    My mother is in her 60s and my dad in his 70s and they can handle it a LOT better than their old XP machine. I actually like XP and I run both OSX and XP, but the ease-of-use factor with OSX and the $500 mini price tag (especially since they could keep their old monitor, printer, etc.) made it worth getting. Now they aren't only into it, but my dad has gotten himself a Macbook Pro too! They used to hate their computer when it was XP because they had no idea what they were doing. They still don't really have much of an idea, but this time they can actually get things done.

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    http://twitter.com/OLDTELEGRAM
    1. Re:I got my parents a mac mini. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Exactly! It's not so much the advertising, it how many parents and grandparents ask someone savvy in the family what computer they should get. You say what most of us say: "Get a Mac." Nobody wants to clean an exploit out of a relative's XP machine.

      The opportunity here is getting to the point where it's as easy to give them Ubuntu.

    2. Re:I got my parents a mac mini. by soft_guy · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The opportunity here is getting to the point where it's as easy to give them Ubuntu.True. For just web browsing and email for a non-techie, Linux is pretty close. The problem is when they call you and say "how do I do this [digital photography] thing I've heard about"? Where [digital photography] could be GPS mapping or digital movie making or DVD burning or something else. My elderly relatives can figure out things like iLife (iPhoto, iMovie, Garage Band, etc.), but if they were using Ubuntu I wouldn't even have any idea what to tell them. Plus, I wouldn't have an answer for "you setup my computer for me and now you tell me I can't use iTunes/iPod with it?? The clerk at the store said that iTunes works on all computers (Mac AND PC)."

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      Avoid Missing Ball for High Score
  2. Look at Metafacts clients... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And Gateway is their client. Suprise Suprise...

    http://www.metafacts.com/pages/corporate/metafacts _background.htm

  3. Well Of Course They Do by ellem · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Old people just want their computers to work. No driver loading, virus scanning, malware removing... just plug the camera in and press a button to publish it on the web yadda yadda.

    Shit, when I get home I just want my computer to work.

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    This .sig is fake but accurate.
  4. Don't worry, this is already out of date by geekwithsoul · · Score: 5, Funny

    I just bought an iMac for my 4 1/2 year old. Now it all balances out, right?