4 ms·
I think there are additional reasons MacBooks are more popular. Certainly you can't ignore the bandwagon effect. All the cool kids have MacBooks. I'm not sayin
by Haul4ss 12y ago
I think there are additional reasons MacBooks are more popular.
Certainly you can't ignore the bandwagon effect. All the cool kids have MacBooks. I'm not saying that's why everyone owns one, but you can't discount it as a reason.
Also, the hardware is really nice. I know I'm making Stallman cringe when I say it, but Apple makes products that are enjoyable to use. And if you're going to use the Apple hardware, OS X is the path of least resistance.
Lastly, and the author does touch on this, OS X is nice because it can be used "both ways" - it has a pretty GUI, and it has keyboard shortcuts, programmability, and "Unixness" built in. I haven't come across a Linux/BSD desktop environment that I can use in my hacker's way, and my wife can use in her point-and-click way.
- harel 12y agoI think today you'll be cooler not using a mac... Herd mentality causes the non mac user to be the new 'individual free thinking anarchist'
- jcromartie 12y agoIt's all about trajectory. In the 00's you were cool when you had an Apple while the acceleration of popularity was positive. The acceleration is negative now, even though popularity is still rising, but it's no longer cool because you aren't on the edge. I believe that the inflection point for the beginning of Apple being cool was when they announced OS X, and the other inflection point was maybe around the iPhone 3GS.
- seanmcdirmid 12y agoBeing a masochist isn't cool. Unfortunately, what could you use besides a Mac? An X1? They aren't that great. I wish for just one PC laptop that gets trackpad right. Just one!
- pyre 12y agoIs everyone that is 'cool' an 'individual free-thinking anarchist' nowadays?
- harel 12y agoModified Simpsons quote
- archagon 12y agoOutside of vitriolic tech sites, I know of no one in the real world who associates Apple products with herd mentality or even anything particularly negative. They're just computers. People really don't care that much.