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iPad Owners Are 'Selfish Elites'
An anonymous reader writes "It's not exactly official, but should also surprise no one: According to a new study the psychological profile of iPad owners can be summed up as 'selfish elites' while have-not critics are 'independent geeks.' Consumer research firm MyType conducted the study, in which opinions of 20,000 people were analyzed between March and May. The firm's conclusion was that iPad owners tend to be wealthy, sophisticated, highly educated and disproportionately interested in business and finance, while they scored terribly in the areas of altruism and kindness. In other words, 'selfish elites.'"
Sampling Bias?
I was showing this story to Charles, my butler, on my iPad. As he was handing me a snifter of brandy in the reading room he assures me I'm no "selfish elite" or a "snob".
Trolling is a art,
Nearly every Apple *fan* that I've met has been a pretentious prick. Now now, I don't mean if you use Apple products you are automatically a prick...but Apple fanboys(girls) are rabid on a level that is just plain scary.
For the record, I personally think Apple makes decent products, they just aren't for me.
Living With a Nerd
Though, I have been considering an iPad for my technophobic grandfather-in-law, who "has no patience for" Microsoft Windows, OS X, or Ubuntu.
My dad is a techo-illiterate. A few months ago he came back from a trip to the US with an iPad (!!!) He was doing all sorts of whatever he does on it. I was quite blown away, here's a guy who never used or owned a computer suddenly buying this at age 75.
I was impressed enough with it that when they became available here (.ca) I picked one up. And I don't really have a butler...
.
Trolling is a art,
Like I care about what those insignificant little researchers say. They're just jealous of my success.
Alex, I'll take keybindings not used by Emacs for $400....
That's exactly what they want you to think, via marketing. You're falling right into their diabolical trap!
No, their market is actually douchebags with more money than sense. Which this article is just confirming.
Comment of the year
It seems to me that most of the people with iPads are getting exactly the features they want
Well yeah, considering that, for most of them (judging by the iPhone users and other macfans), that consists of "it's shiny and makes me look hip."
Sometimes I think these people would pay a grand for an Etch-A-Sketch if it was white and smoothly-rounded.
The way I see it the iPad/Phone/Apple in general is like a very large, beautiful prison cell. Sure, WE might walk far enough to reach the walls and be unhappy about it, but to the average consumer (who doesn't walk far and never reaches the walls), it feels like beautiful freedom. It's like the restrictions don't exists.
Sorry, but that's kind of a depressing analogy. It seems to me that most of the people with iPads are getting exactly the features they want or enough of the features they want that the ones they don't have don't matter
So, pretty much exactly what he said, just worded a bit more cheerily?
"People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
In other news :
Expensive luxury products are bought by people with lots of money who want luxury for themselves. This probably goes for quite nearly all apple products.
- Captain Obvious
Well yeah, considering that, for most of them (judging by the iPhone users and other macfans), that consists of "it's shiny and makes me look hip."
My mother has an iPad and she fits your gross generalization in no way whatsoever. In fact, she fits into a completely different category I would just call 'convenience based end user.' She cares almost nothing for what others think of her aside from how good her casserole was at the pot luck or if she was a good hostess for Thanksgiving. I'm really tired of the /. mentality on what an Apple product user is.
Reply to That ||
How did this bullshit troll article make the front page? C'mon editors, this is ridiculous.
I assume, then, that you have examined the study's methodology and discovered that is invalid, and are not simply being a knee-jerking iFanboy who has suddenly discovered sand in one's own vagina?
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
This isn't some Mac-basher's blog post, it's an article in Wired that cites a real study. And it's relevant to techies (Wired certainly thought so too).
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
The thing that really strikes me these days is the hatred for ordinary Americans by the elites.
I've heard this sort of claim before and I never really got the classification system here. Who are the "elites" exactly? Is it based on money? Because a lot of the people railing against the "elites" have more money than the "elites" they rail against. Is it based on self-perception? The big city professional may look down on the Bible belt housewife as unsophisticated, tacky, and ignorant, but the Bible belt housewife may look down on the big city professional as immoral, degenerate, effeminate, and communist. Does that make the housewife an "elite"?
Well yeah, considering that, for most of them (judging by the iPhone users and other macfans), that consists of "it's shiny and makes me look hip."
Sometimes I think these people would pay a grand for an Etch-A-Sketch if it was white and smoothly-rounded.
Sometimes, the product I'm using is simply an outlet for my geeking, like when I fire up Linux in VirtualBox. Other times, I need a tool like R, which has few if any limitations (though it has a corresponding complexity). Most times, though, I simply need a tool that elegantly and straightforwardly does the job. In no case does "it's shiny" or "it makes me look hip" have any bearing on the matter. And I think I'm not alone in this.
Of course, a sense of style and elegance of operation is important... for you as well as me. Unless you simply wear trash bags instead of clothes, because trash bags are stainproof, waterproof, and cheap, I imagine you actually wear clothes that are comfortable and look good. And I doubt that you make all of your own clothes because you insist on pockets being a specific width and lined with a specific material.
Similarly, when I need a computer, I have choices of multiple languages, multiple OS's, and multiple IDE's on my MacBook. When I want to read a book, or get the news, or check the weather, or follow a flight's arrival status, or check my stocks, or monitor tasks, or organize my thoughts, or handle most email..., I use my iPad or iPhone or other convenient form factor. And I don't need to use a half-baked interface designed by a geek instead of a designer in order to do so.
I'm curious. What are those things that you coudn't do before?