Aug 23 2010
Snob alert! Snob alert!
So what IS it about Apple computer products that make them so exceedingly superior to Microsoft products, eh? I NEVER dreamed I would in any way, shape, or form defend Microsoft… but after trying out a few Apple products (and spending TONS of money doing so, when I could otherwise have paid off my mortgage or bought a few decades of college tuition), I walk away *not impressed* with Apple. This is not to say that Microsoft is imminently superior, it’s just that… well, they both suck. lol.
I’ve been researching the iPad. I already own an iPod Touch and a Mac Mini (not to mention a few half dozen aluminum keyboards and other assorted Apple accessories). I’ve looked into buying a MacBook or a computer or an iPad… but was stricken with a severe case of sticker shock. 
Holy cow, WHO would PAY SO MUCH MONEY for those things and more?! And for what?! Just for the snob factor?
I like my iPod a lot, but it’s nothing more than a cute, tiny entertainment device that twitters, plays my music, and–when it works– checks my email. Big whoop. The Mac Mini is sluggish and clunky. I dislike the dock with all the goofy buttons. I’m an adult, I don’t want a flapping purple duck for my instant messenger and a smiling box with a juvenile name (“finder”?!) for my desktop search. Moreover, I can’t do ANYTHING on a Mac. Want to create graphics? Gotta pay for that! Want to watch Netflix or online movies? Nope! Mac doesn’t have the hardware! Oh, you want a Mac that has Intel graphics so you can watch videos? Gotta pay for that! :-p Totally sux.
This is not to say that Apple makes inferior products. They certainly do not. I’ve enjoyed my iPod and have been delighted with the technology. I also admire the gazillions of money Steve Jobs is making, something akin to George Lucas, on all the “Apple related” ad hoc toys and toodles that are born out of marketing schemes. For each and every Apple product function, there is an independent accessory. Apple Macbook briefcases in a zillion sizes and styles… docks and stations and keyboards and etc etc… Some of the accessories are VERY cool. Others are… extraneous at best.
So I’m not saying Apple is inferior. I am saying, however, that the Apple stuff is certainly overrated. And DEFINITELY overpriced. Is it humane to pay as much for a powerhouse Mac computer when you can feed entire villages in Africa for a year for the same price? And then the technology is outdated within a year or two? Is this insane? At least with PCs, they are cheap! You can throw those a couple of those in the landfill every year or so and still have enough money leftover to make your mortgage every month, sheesh!
Is the entire Apple hype all just part and parcel of The Snob Factor? We women know how men are– they must always have a “good guy” and a “bad guy”; they must always have a war or some kind of competition going on, ykwim? In this world, can’t we just have PC users and Mac users who all get along and play the midi version of Kumbaya in harmony? Must there be this “my computer is better than your computer” attitude? And must there be this “my computer is 20x more expensive than yours and therefore must be better so let’s build an entire rabid cult around the product line” attitude?
I don’t think it’s worth it.
