The world of computer users can be divided into two types: those who understand how computers work and those who merely use computers. I am of the second type, but I’m diligently studying and learning so I can be one of the first type. I have two Macintosh computers. The one at work is used mostly for the daily chores that we require of our computers, such as accounting, word processing, graphic design, net research and such. The one at home is used mostly for play; correspondence via email, chatting, cruising the net for interesting information, reading my personal’s ad responses, (*blush*…now y’all know), and things of that nature.
I spend a fair amount of time in technical chats which relate to the Macintosh computer. I’m hungry to learn things which will make me productive and able to troubleshoot problems which crop up occasionally–without my having to be rescued. I also lurk about the technical self-help boards. Over the past few months, I’ve been adding to my library of third-party technical books. Last but not least are those few dear friends who will rescue me when things get so bad that I can’t fix it myself. I find that I have to call on them less and less, and I’m certain they are grateful not to be receiving “ohmygawdwhatdidIdonow?” emails in the middle of their work days.
I guess you could call me a self-educated, low-tech computer user, if labels are important to you. I plod along slowly but surely and learn a bit as I go. Often my best learning experiences come from what one techie described as the “poke and hope” method. I rely on that a lot, the only downside being I can’t always remember exactly what I did to fix the problem. The upside is that I own a Mac. I can poke and hope to my heart’s content, and still be confident that I haven’t erased my hard drive.
One of the most wonderful points of owning a Macintosh computer is the vast amount of helpful, informed, and patient folks out in computer land who are willing to lend a helping hand. And this, dear readers, is the point of my article this month. In the past few months I have seen these wonderful helpful, informed, and patient souls turn into raving and ranting maniacs.
With the advent of the iBook and the G4, the friendly Macintosh gear heads have gone PC, and I don’t mean politically correct. Sometimes I think I’m talking with the likes of those PC users who endlessly argue the superiority of their processor’s design and speed. I hear people talk and I read articles and I visit the discussion boards and wonder about these so called Macintosh aficionados who all of the sudden don’t have a good enough computer. It’s not FAST enough; it’s not POWERFUL enough; I want my RAM to be bigger than your RAM. Wah, wah, the new G4 isn’t what they promised it would be! Wah!
Now you could have all the money in the world and give yourself the biggest and baddest Macintosh out there. You can scream your way through the Internet and play your games in 3D-raging color at the speed of light. You can also call up your friends and say, “My RAM is bigger than your RAM.” But hey, with all of that, does your big bad computer make you more productive?
Imagine me with a new G4, or even a nice used loaded-to-the-max G3. If this computer doesn’t make me a more productive user, then all I’ve bought are bragging rights. Have we all forgotten the fact that no matter which Macintosh computer we own, we still own the best computer on the planet?
I have always ascribed to the notion that more is less. Imagine me with bragging rights.
“Hey dude, I got me a new G4! *smirk*. My new G4 can complete over 1 billion floating point computations per second, but hey, all I really needed to know was the square root of 16 divided by 4.”
Then I imagine my time at work. With a new G4, I could cut 23 seconds off the time it takes for a Photoshop filter to finish. What could I do that was more productive in that 23 seconds? Well, let’s see… 23 seconds times the maybe four times I would use it in one day would equal, what… a minute and a half. Personally, I enjoy my Mac working a little bit slower. I can sit back, relax, look around, hum a tune, daydream, take my eyes away from my monitor and … hey! the pic is done. Back to work.
Can you type one billion words per second?
If Apple wants to make a computer for me to be most productive, it would make a crash proof computer. I get nervous over the fact that I view the Apple corporation trying to increase stock prices and market share to compete with the perceived notion that they have to “beat” Microsoft, Intel, eOne, Gateway, and everyone else out there. Yikes! You’ve lost the entire point, people.
An integrated system, that’s what Macintosh builds. Each part in these computers integrates with style and panache with the next part. If I want to buy RAM, or VRAM, or even upgrade my motherboard, I know that the parts I purchase will seamlessly interact with the other internal parts of my computer. I know that if I want to turn someone with limited funds onto a good, solid working machine, I can point them to places where they could purchase a used but not abused Mac, that would take them places and make them into productive computer users, with fewer hardware calls, with fewer software calls, and with less hassles then they could get if they spent the same amount of money on a “brand new computer!” from their local put-the-parts-together-and-get-the-system-the-salesman-makes-the-most-commission-on computer.
This is the beauty of the Macintosh computer.
Now I do want to give you all a little break here, because for years the only thing we’ve had to go on is the seamless integration/ease-of-use issue. Now our Macs can go “vroom-vroom.” My request is that when you are done revving up your Macintoshes, could you please go back to being not only the best computer operators in the world… polite, helpful, informed, and patient, but a little more mature about it?
Chill out, fellow Maccies. You will never be able to buy fast enough or powerful enough to keep up with technology. As soon as you get the newest and brightest, something better will come along. Take a deep breath, love and cherish the Mac you have, learn it to the maximum of your productivity, and stop whining! This is the way we best support our platform.
Beth Lock
beth@infowest.com
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