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Woe is a Boulder PC guy
By Steve Outing on Dec 21, 2007 in Technology
I’m an outcast in my family. I’m like Apple’s “PC Guy” in a family of “Mac Guys.”
This morning I learned that my mother-in-law just got a new Macbook after a life of using PCs. This was a few months after my father-in-law switched from lifelong use of PCs to a Mac. Within the last year, my wife and 2 daughters each have gotten Macs — again, switching away from PCs. Oh, and there’s my (now ex-) business partner, who switched to a Mac in 2006.
I’ve been using a PC since 1995, when I gave up using a Mac because in those days, every new Internet application that came out was for PC only; the Mac versions usually came out 6-12 months later. But I’m ready for a change back. PCs have gotten so annoying, with all the crap that accumulates on them: the spyware, the viruses. (Last time I upgraded Norton Anti-Virus, Firefox slowed to a crawl, and I’ve yet to find a solution.)
Maybe Santa will put a Mac under the tree for me this year. Let’s see, have I been nice? … Umm, my start-up company nose-dived this fall. I doubt Santa can afford it. 
But seriously, my family can’t be an aberration. There seems to be a serious move away from PCs. Have you noticed it in your circle of friends and family?
On Dec 21, 2007, Amy Gahran
said:
You’re STILL on a PC? Is that legal in Boulder?
On Dec 21, 2007, Amy Gahran said:
You're STILL on a PC? Is that legal in Boulder?
On Dec 21, 2007, Alan said:
Indeed I have noticed a similar trend, backed by some actual numbers from a recent survey of 50 friends & family: http://asteele.net/post/22014622 I'm in Seattle not Boulder but it sure seems like things are moving in Apple's direction.
On Dec 21, 2007, Alan
said:
Indeed I have noticed a similar trend, backed by some actual numbers from a recent survey of 50+ friends & family:
http://asteele.net/post/22014622
I’m in Seattle not Boulder but it sure seems like things are moving in Apple’s direction.
On Dec 21, 2007, Steve said:
Amy: I live outside city limits, so I can get away with it.
… But it's embarrassing.
On Dec 21, 2007, Steve
said:
Amy: I live outside city limits, so I can get away with it.
… But it’s embarrassing.
On Dec 21, 2007, Dan Pacheco said:
I switched from a PC to a Macbook Pro earlier this year so that I could support other people in the office who use our Web sites on Macs. But I got Parallels with Windows XP on it so that I could also see everything on the Windows side. It works great with XP! Not as great with Vista, but it's good enough for checking in on the Vista experience every so often. If you go this route you will find that you use the Mac stuff most of the time because it's simpler, better, more powerful and fun — just like the "I'm a Mac" TV commercial guy says. Beware, though. Once you go down the Mac route you start buying all kinds of other Apple stuff, like wireless mice, keyboards and of course the iPhone. And while their products are pretty good, they're not without fault. Then you get to deal with the totally irrational nature of some Mac enthusiasts who simply refuse to acknowledge any flaws whatsoever in Apple products. That's why I posted a whole blog entry about where the iPhone sucks: http://www.futureforecast.com/dansdiner/2007/12/w...
On Dec 21, 2007, Dan Pacheco
said:
I switched from a PC to a Macbook Pro earlier this year so that I could support other people in the office who use our Web sites on Macs. But I got Parallels with Windows XP on it so that I could also see everything on the Windows side. It works great with XP! Not as great with Vista, but it’s good enough for checking in on the Vista experience every so often.
If you go this route you will find that you use the Mac stuff most of the time because it’s simpler, better, more powerful and fun — just like the “I’m a Mac” TV commercial guy says.
Beware, though. Once you go down the Mac route you start buying all kinds of other Apple stuff, like wireless mice, keyboards and of course the iPhone. And while their products are pretty good, they’re not without fault. Then you get to deal with the totally irrational nature of some Mac enthusiasts who simply refuse to acknowledge any flaws whatsoever in Apple products. That’s why I posted a whole blog entry about where the iPhone sucks: http://www.futureforecast.com/dansdiner/2007/12/where-iphone-really-sucks.html
On Dec 21, 2007, Jill said:
Sorry, Steve – I'm past my mid-40s and switched to a MacBook last summer after almost 20 years on a PC. More interestingly, though, is that my 68 year old mom has been an Apple user since the late 80s and just upgraded from an iMac to a MacBook too. My dad? Doesn't touch the stuff, PC or Mac. Husband and other kids: PCs. Older brother – BIG Mac guy but can build his computers himself. Come to the other side.
(And Dan Pacheco is right re: watch out for all the other Apple stuff that ends up in your home and taking your money – we know each have an iPod, I use MicroMemo on my iPod to use the voice recording function, wireless this and that – it goes on and on.)
On Dec 21, 2007, Jill
said:
Sorry, Steve – I’m past my mid-40s and switched to a MacBook last summer after almost 20 years on a PC. More interestingly, though, is that my 68 year old mom has been an Apple user since the late 80s and just upgraded from an iMac to a MacBook too. My dad? Doesn’t touch the stuff, PC or Mac. Husband and other kids: PCs. Older brother – BIG Mac guy but can build his computers himself.
Come to the other side.
(And Dan Pacheco is right re: watch out for all the other Apple stuff that ends up in your home and taking your money – we know each have an iPod, I use MicroMemo on my iPod to use the voice recording function, wireless this and that – it goes on and on.)
On Dec 22, 2007, Chris Amico said:
Same thing happened in my family. I made the switch in loyalty first, when I was in college and Apple donated 20 iBooks to the academic resource center, which had wireless. I'd grab one for two hours and sit outside, staring out over Monterrey Bay writing my articles for the campus paper. Brilliant marketing move. At this point, only my brother still uses a Dell. The rest are MacBooks or Pros. Even if I ever went back (say, for cost reasons), it wouldn't be to Windows.
On Dec 22, 2007, Chris Amico
said:
Same thing happened in my family. I made the switch in loyalty first, when I was in college and Apple donated 20 iBooks to the academic resource center, which had wireless. I’d grab one for two hours and sit outside, staring out over Monterrey Bay writing my articles for the campus paper. Brilliant marketing move.
At this point, only my brother still uses a Dell. The rest are MacBooks or Pros. Even if I ever went back (say, for cost reasons), it wouldn’t be to Windows.
On Jan 15, 2008, Derek Scruggs said:
What they really ought to do is investigate why there are so many? There\'s <a href=\"http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2003/10/13/03101...rel=\"nofollow\">solid evidence</a> that California officials are not doing enough to prevent suicides there.
On Jan 21, 2008, Howard Owens said:
You\'re absolutely right … a window opening to all known details of each jumper would humanize the entire project and maybe give it the heft to bring the kind of action Derek is suggesting.