[kraig911]

Being a mac user is like a select few going down a road, and seeing all these people in their own pit, you try and help them out but they wanna stay there no matter what... and its hard to just walk on by...

[SKMDC]

no it's not.

[Mac+]

1. It is human nature for people to be resistant to change.
2. Some people don't place that much importance on the OS they use.
3. Ultimately, people get what they settle for.

For those reasons above, I try not to let their preference for a substandard computing experience get on my nerves!

[DMBand0026]

I just tell them they are all idiots, and go on my merry way. Knowing full well that they suck, and I don't


Life is good for a Mac guy, life is good

[staph]

I find that being supercilious doesn't work very well... although I do usually have a good laugh at them when they come begging for me to fix their virus-laden spyware-ridden boxs.

Honestly, I think people stick with Windows because:

(1) It's ridiculously easy to do the absolute base-minimum basics on it (web surfing and using word);

(2) They're usually not aware of any alternative;

(3) The concept of learning any kind of computer system is scary to them, so platform-jumping fills them with dread.

Not to mention the usual myths like expense, lack of software etc.

[Chinney]

Well, it’s not so easy to pin down the reasons here. There are, for example, current Windows users who are well aware of the Mac world – and quite a few that are former Mac users. I spoke to one last weekend – a young guy whose family had bought pretty much every Mac since they first came out - and still had every old machine (and all the old software) in boxes in the basement, including a couple of Newtons. They had stayed fanatically loyal until the mid-to-late nineties – the kind of Mac user who had those t-shirts and posters that said “Friends don’t let friends buy PCs”. They had moved, however, to PCs in the mid-nineties. It was never clear to me, while talking to him, the exact reasons why, but this was the time that Apple was drifting as a corporation.

In any case, the guy found it interesting that I was using Macs now and that I had very happily converted from PCs. But I did not get the impression that he was in any big hurry to make the switch back to Mac. One interesting thing, however: he had just bought an iPod a couple of days before, and was very happy with it. I wonder if the iPod may eventually be a gateway for such people back into Mac computers. It has not really happened so far – although I think that there is every reason to be a Mac owner today – many more so than in the mid-nineties.

[FFL]

Originally Posted by staph Honestly, I think people stick with Windows because: (3) The concept of learning any kind of computer system is scary to them, so platform-jumping fills them with dread.

I believe this is much more of a factor than most of us realize.

[Mac+]

The mid to late 90s were a tough era for Apple. As many, I'm sure, will recall, they were almost on the verge of folding! I'd be inclined to think that your friends have not really experienced OS X - and for them, the quality of Apple product is based on their memories of OS 8 or OS 9 or whatever they were last using.

It is when I hear stories such as this, that I begin to think "if only they got to try OS X." I'm certain that this is why Apple lost a % point or two of their market share. (Weren't they at one stage about 4 or 6%, and now they are only 3% or so? ... somebody please correct me if I am wrong.)

Even though learning a new computer system may fill some with dread - it should also be remembered that changing platforms requires a major commitment, both financially and with regard to the transfer of data. Additionally, it is often a case of "if it ain't broke - don't fix it". Thus, those that are now happy with Windows don't really have any incentive to try a new OS from Apple since they can achieve what they want with what they are currently using.

[staph]

Originally Posted by Mac+ Even though learning a new computer system may fill some with dread - it should also be remembered that changing platforms requires a major commitment, both financially and with regard to the transfer of data. Additionally, it is often a case of "if it ain't broke - don't fix it". Thus, those that are now happy with Windows don't really have any incentive to try a new OS from Apple since they can achieve what they want with what they are currently using.

Quite.

Having said that, most normal people usually buy machines when their old ones break, and upgrade much of their software at the same time, so I think this factor can be easily overstated.