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To each their own of course, but I find these plastered laptops kind of childish. I can't be the only one right? I don't really understand why I'd broadcast di

To each their own of course, but I find these plastered laptops kind of childish. I can't be the only one right? I don't really understand why I'd broadcast different brands that might align with what I do professionally everywhere I go. Then again, I am not one to like things on Facebook either, might be a similar tendency. This seems more of a trend in America than it does here in Europe. Maybe it is similar to the more American custom to communicate 'witty' things on t-shirts?

ctdonath 12y ago
Problem is there is so little differentiation between models. I had to put a sticker on mine just so it wouldn't get confused with other Airs; may as well use something fun and hard to duplicate.
- soapdog 12y ago
  My first sticker on the air happened when I went to Campus Party Brazil. It hosted 8.000 Campers in a high tech environment. My tablet alone had about 100 people. The amount of Apple machines was too high, so I placed a sticker to know which machine was mine... today it looks like: http://i.imgur.com/i6koYyC.jpg http://i.imgur.com/i6koYyC.jpg
  - gregpilling 12y ago
    You have stickers from Brazil to British Columbia
zokier 12y ago
> To each their own of course, but I find these plastered laptops kind of childish And of course childish is bad because we are serious grown up people doing serious things.
thrillscience 12y ago
They're not childish--they're a signal of membership in a cult.
jjindev 12y ago
I always considered it a mild anti-theft measure. "Hey, that's my ..." [meaning sticker combos should be pseudo unique]
CJefferson 12y ago
I am tempted to get one just to cover up the giant glowing Apple logo I am showing off all the time. There are many laptop decals which do not show any 'brand' in particular.
drcube 12y ago
To NOT decorate the things you own seems inhuman.
- dionidium 12y ago
  I think the point I'm trying to make is that, yes, of course self-expression is a necessary part of being human, but a sticker that literally just displays the name of something you like as a type of signaling is the shallowest form of it.
  - mosselman 12y ago
    That is what I mean. I understand the practical reasons for distinguishing your laptop from others', but to do it with marketing logos from technologies you use seems childish to me.
dionidium 12y ago
I think you're being unfairly downvoted, mostly because I don't think childish quite conveys the thought. There does seem to be some personality type that likes a lot of flair in their life -- jewelry, stickers, tattoos, busy t-shirts -- and it's always felt a little odd to me, too. At risk of being reductionist, it is kind of hard to understand why anyone would feel compelled to signal their likes and group-identities to strangers in such an overt way. But I'm probably revealing more about my own personality by saying that than I am theirs.
- sp332 12y ago
  I think "compelled" is the wrong word. People like their own opinions and they like to tell them to other people. Well, you've signaled your likes to this community of strangers.
- z2600 12y ago
  Your comment is a signaling of your likes and group-identities to strangers in an overt way.
- revscat 12y ago
  > At risk of being reductionist, it is kind of hard to understand why anyone would feel compelled to signal their likes and group-identities to strangers in such an overt way. But I'm probably revealing more about my own personality by saying that than I am theirs. I think the second sentence is more true than you might like to admit. People have been decorating things for as long as there have been modern humans. There is some evidence that even Neanderthals modified their environments for aesthetic reasons [1]. The desire to make things beautiful -- including our own bodies -- is as old as history itself, and even older. If you don't partake in this then I, for one, consider that a bit sad. You're missing out on a huge part of life. [1] http://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/jun/14/neanderthals-first-create-cave-paintings http://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/jun/14/neanderthals-...
  - dionidium 12y ago
    To be fair (and as a sort of vote for the this-behavior-is-childish camp), I was much more into this sort of thing when I was a younger person.
coldtea 12y ago
>To each their own of course, but I find these plastered laptops kind of childish. I can't be the only one right? Well, a lot of users are kind of children. In their teens, 20s, early 30s. So depends on how old are you. Also, are you tie+shirt serious? If you work at some tie+shirt company's IT, you might be more inclined towards a "serious" looking laptop. >Maybe it is similar to the more American custom to communicate 'witty' things on t-shirts? As if we Europeans don't do it?
- mosselman 12y ago
  I am not tie-shirt serious nor is the company I work at. I have gone to work in almost any type of clothing, including football (soccer for Americans) shirt + shorts (for playing after work). I feel strange about the plaster laptops because it seems that people lend their identity from whatever they stick on their laptop which in turn comes from what technology they happen to use. I like Coffee script, Rails, Backbone, etc. but I don't really identify with it any further than my resume.
rralian 12y ago
My wife and I both have airs. So do a lot of people I work with. The stickers are a very simple way to know whose is whose. It's a practical concern solved in a fun way.
jaegerpicker 12y ago
I have a mac book pro 15 retina from work and a personal laptop of the same model. Stickers are a fun/easy way to tell my laptop apart quickly. There are numerous types of stickers also, I have several from different entertainment series that I like, some tech based stickers, and stickers for environmental or political causes I care about. I've had more people than i can count ask me about the environmental ones in particular. For example I'm strongly opposed to the building of the pebble mine in Alaska* so I have an anti pebble mine sticker on my personal laptop. Since I'm commonly working on side projects with friends, often in coffee shops or cafes and I tend to go to a lot programming related meetups I have had numerous people ask me about it and I take it as an opportunity to educate others about the issues involved and why I believe how I do. It's a form of low level/mild political advocacy for me that I've found to be extremely effective. This does not seem childish at all to me. *For more info see here: http://www.savebristolbay.org/ http://www.savebristolbay.org/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pebble_Mine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pebble_Mine

ctdonath 12y ago

Problem is there is so little differentiation between models. I had to put a sticker on mine just so it wouldn't get confused with other Airs; may as well use something fun and hard to duplicate.

soapdog 12y ago
My first sticker on the air happened when I went to Campus Party Brazil. It hosted 8.000 Campers in a high tech environment. My tablet alone had about 100 people. The amount of Apple machines was too high, so I placed a sticker to know which machine was mine... today it looks like: http://i.imgur.com/i6koYyC.jpg http://i.imgur.com/i6koYyC.jpg
- gregpilling 12y ago
  You have stickers from Brazil to British Columbia

zokier 12y ago

> To each their own of course, but I find these plastered laptops kind of childish And of course childish is bad because we are serious grown up people doing serious things.

thrillscience 12y ago

They're not childish--they're a signal of membership in a cult.

jjindev 12y ago

I always considered it a mild anti-theft measure. "Hey, that's my ..." [meaning sticker combos should be pseudo unique]

CJefferson 12y ago

I am tempted to get one just to cover up the giant glowing Apple logo I am showing off all the time. There are many laptop decals which do not show any 'brand' in particular.

drcube 12y ago

To NOT decorate the things you own seems inhuman.

dionidium 12y ago
I think the point I'm trying to make is that, yes, of course self-expression is a necessary part of being human, but a sticker that literally just displays the name of something you like as a type of signaling is the shallowest form of it.
- mosselman 12y ago
  That is what I mean. I understand the practical reasons for distinguishing your laptop from others', but to do it with marketing logos from technologies you use seems childish to me.

dionidium 12y ago

I think you're being unfairly downvoted, mostly because I don't think childish quite conveys the thought. There does seem to be some personality type that likes a lot of flair in their life -- jewelry, stickers, tattoos, busy t-shirts -- and it's always felt a little odd to me, too. At risk of being reductionist, it is kind of hard to understand why anyone would feel compelled to signal their likes and group-identities to strangers in such an overt way. But I'm probably revealing more about my own personality by saying that than I am theirs.

sp332 12y ago
I think "compelled" is the wrong word. People like their own opinions and they like to tell them to other people. Well, you've signaled your likes to this community of strangers.
z2600 12y ago
Your comment is a signaling of your likes and group-identities to strangers in an overt way.
revscat 12y ago
> At risk of being reductionist, it is kind of hard to understand why anyone would feel compelled to signal their likes and group-identities to strangers in such an overt way. But I'm probably revealing more about my own personality by saying that than I am theirs. I think the second sentence is more true than you might like to admit. People have been decorating things for as long as there have been modern humans. There is some evidence that even Neanderthals modified their environments for aesthetic reasons [1]. The desire to make things beautiful -- including our own bodies -- is as old as history itself, and even older. If you don't partake in this then I, for one, consider that a bit sad. You're missing out on a huge part of life. [1] http://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/jun/14/neanderthals-first-create-cave-paintings http://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/jun/14/neanderthals-...
- dionidium 12y ago
  To be fair (and as a sort of vote for the this-behavior-is-childish camp), I was much more into this sort of thing when I was a younger person.

coldtea 12y ago

>To each their own of course, but I find these plastered laptops kind of childish. I can't be the only one right? Well, a lot of users are kind of children. In their teens, 20s, early 30s. So depends on how old are you. Also, are you tie+shirt serious? If you work at some tie+shirt company's IT, you might be more inclined towards a "serious" looking laptop. >Maybe it is similar to the more American custom to communicate 'witty' things on t-shirts? As if we Europeans don't do it?

mosselman 12y ago
I am not tie-shirt serious nor is the company I work at. I have gone to work in almost any type of clothing, including football (soccer for Americans) shirt + shorts (for playing after work). I feel strange about the plaster laptops because it seems that people lend their identity from whatever they stick on their laptop which in turn comes from what technology they happen to use. I like Coffee script, Rails, Backbone, etc. but I don't really identify with it any further than my resume.

rralian 12y ago

My wife and I both have airs. So do a lot of people I work with. The stickers are a very simple way to know whose is whose. It's a practical concern solved in a fun way.

jaegerpicker 12y ago

I have a mac book pro 15 retina from work and a personal laptop of the same model. Stickers are a fun/easy way to tell my laptop apart quickly. There are numerous types of stickers also, I have several from different entertainment series that I like, some tech based stickers, and stickers for environmental or political causes I care about. I've had more people than i can count ask me about the environmental ones in particular. For example I'm strongly opposed to the building of the pebble mine in Alaska* so I have an anti pebble mine sticker on my personal laptop. Since I'm commonly working on side projects with friends, often in coffee shops or cafes and I tend to go to a lot programming related meetups I have had numerous people ask me about it and I take it as an opportunity to educate others about the issues involved and why I believe how I do. It's a form of low level/mild political advocacy for me that I've found to be extremely effective. This does not seem childish at all to me. *For more info see here: http://www.savebristolbay.org/ http://www.savebristolbay.org/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pebble_Mine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pebble_Mine