# Does being a Mac user make you smug?



## Rhisiart (Jun 6, 2006)

Er ... that's it.


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## adambyte (Jun 6, 2006)

Yes... though, all my friends have become Mac users over the years, so it isn't really a problem... lol


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## Satcomer (Jun 6, 2006)

I was smug when i first bought a Mac but have to the old saying about catching more with honey. So I no longer bring my Mac saying unless asked anymore. If I do happen to slip, it is just in recommending getting a Mac (especially since the Intel Macs) because of now dual booting and getting the best of both worlds with a Mac. I also find iLife is a huge draw in word of mouth recommending.


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## nixgeek (Jun 6, 2006)

Actually, I still find Windows users tend to be more smug than Mac or even Linux users for that matter.  Or maybe it's just ignorance on their part.


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## sinclair_tm (Jun 7, 2006)

not me, just annoying.


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## Mikuro (Jun 7, 2006)

I'm reminded of a poll from As the Apple Turns a while ago. There was some news about Windows viruses or something, and the question was, what's your reaction? One of the options was something like, "I'm torn between smug self-satisfaction and self-satisfied smugness."

Yeah, I'm smug, when the time is right. It's human nature. Windows users, especially developers and web designers, seem to go out of their way to smack us in the face, so why shouldn't I snigger and rub it in every time they complain about spyware and viruses and god-knows-what?

But perhaps the most important question is: Does being a Mac user _make_ you smug, OR does being smug make you naturally attracted to the Mac? Philosophers will be struggling with this till the end of time, I'm sure.


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## fryke (Jun 7, 2006)

Yeah, but they recently put an end to the question of when _that_ will be. In the year 4321. It's a bit of a countdown, really, says Robert Rankin. Everything will be done and be done again by then. I don't remember which book that's from, though. They're all good. 

But on subject: I think it's important for us to point out to Windows users who have problems with spyware/adware/viruses/worms that there _are_ alternatives. And now that an intel Mac is rather affordable (MacBook, Mac mini) and you can run Windows software on it at native speed if _really_ needed (either through BootCamp or Parallels Workstation), we have all the arguments to "turn" them. We shouldn't be smug, we should be strutting our stuff and brag and lead the way. Pretentious? Certainly. But in a good way.


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## fryke (Jun 7, 2006)

Oh, btw.: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8631701936876784775&q=1984 ... Just look at how smug Steve Jobs was even when he first introduced the Macintosh. I guess there's something to it, then... Gosh... He was a popstar even 22 years ago, wasn't he...


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## powermac (Jun 7, 2006)

I may have been smug years ago. Even now, I don't let opporunities pass by when a Windows moment comes up. For example, when a colleague is going crazy trying to get a power point presentation to work, or has lost a file, etc, without saying something. 
I agree, I think most PC people are smug.


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## CaptainQuark (Jun 7, 2006)

fryke said:
			
		

> http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8631701936876784775&q=1984


OK  hands up! Who _else_ is old enough to remember those old Macs?


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## fryke (Jun 7, 2006)

Didn't we have an age-poll recently?  ... And: _Are_ there people who have _not_ seen one in some movie (Back to the future II? or I?) or computer museum or attic or something?  Actually, I'm not sure whether I've ever seen an _original_ Macintosh computer in real life. I've seen a Macintosh 512K, quite a bit of Mac Plus machines, some SEs etc. ... But the original was the 128, right? Oh. Now we're off-topic. And it was my fault... Sorry!


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## CaptainQuark (Jun 7, 2006)

Back to topic: yes, I'm smug as hell about being a Mac user. Life's so much simpler and everything just _works_!


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## davebz (Jun 7, 2006)

I would say I'm smug but polite about it.  (that may sound confusing, I know)
I still giggle when I go home and the family "Hell" has a BSOD or it's acting weird and I have to clean it up.  My family will probably never be mac fans.  They are too cost conscious (nowadays that's just an excuse) and they've dug themselves too deep into the dark side.  Quite frankly, I don't know what they would do if I sat one of them in front of a mac.  I guess I'll have to try it when I get my MB-Pro.

Macintosh, because you're too creative for Windows


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## reed (Jun 7, 2006)

Smug? Depends on what PC creep you're talking to.


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## Satcomer (Jun 8, 2006)

To bring up the smug thing reminds me of something. It still amazes me that most anywhere on the net there is a Mac board some PC trolls will show up trying to start a flame war. Even if it is a trouble shooting board.  I bet is the mods here have to delete these kind of posts all the time on this site.


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## fryke (Jun 8, 2006)

Hm. Less and less, I think. Unless it's all the _other_ mods who fight the trolls.  ... But of course the whole issue of flame-wars between PC users and Mac users are a sign of both sides being smug about different and the same things. I think the way a Mac user turns "smug" in the eyes of others is this:

1.) User gets a Mac. Falls in love with the ease of use, the details etc. and how he or she can actually work more and troubleshoot less.
2.) This experience wants to be shared, so the user starts talking about how Macs are great ("I've seen the light...") and gets the usual misinformed answers of how Macs don't have any software, are slower etc.
3.) The user learns that he or she is part of a relatively _small_ group, the David where Goliath would be the Windows world, so to speak, and has to constantly defend the use of a Mac.
4.) The user learns to just shut up and enjoy his/her Mac. And when _asked_ about it, turns to those rather smug answers we all know so well:

"I use a Mac, because contrary to Windows, it just works." - "I use a _real_ computer." (Hinting at the toyish look of Windows, Ubuntu etc.) - "Get a Mac." (Whenever someone talks of problems with drivers or viruses etc.)

I think the _new_ lines should include Windows like this: "I've installed Windows via BootCamp/Parallels, but I found out that I just can do 99% of the things better on the Mac side. Now I only use Windows on my Mac to play the occasional game or test a website in Internet Explorer. If that kills Windows, I can just reinstall it without endangering my _real_ operating system."


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## reed (Jun 8, 2006)

That was very well said fryke.
    Seems to put the Mac/PC deal in a nutshell.  

    I've heard and participated in the same discussions....how many times? I think we are always for the innovator, the underdog, the "small against the big," and a true "operating system" that is QUALITY. Does that make one smug? Perhaps.
  Let us hope Mac continues in the right direction, warts and all.


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## chemistry_geek (Jun 11, 2006)

I wouldn't say that I'm smug, but I'm content that my computing environment is safe and unhindered by virii, spyware, adware, (worms/trojan horses now exist for Mac OS X that require administrative password to do anything).  My parents' Windows PCs take a long time to start-up with all of the Norton and other vendors' anti-virus software.

I'm just happy that everything works well for me and that I don't have to waste time 'making my computer work' which allows me to concentrate on getting things done so I can go out and play.


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## nixgeek (Jun 11, 2006)

CaptainQuark said:
			
		

> OK &#8211; hands up! Who _else_ is old enough to remember those old Macs?



Hell, I remember those Macs _and_ the Apple II series preceeding them (especially the IIgs, which I still drool over).  I used to own an Apple IIc myself.  Still have my old floppies.....don't know if they still work though (doubt that they do).


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## li_williams (Jun 17, 2006)

Not At all!!
If anything, it justs make you feel less of an Idiot


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## nixgeek (Jun 17, 2006)

li_williams said:
			
		

> Not At all!!
> If anything, it justs make you feel less of an Idiot




Sounds kind of smug to me.  ::ha::


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## lurk (Jun 17, 2006)

Yep, I knew that finally someone would make a version of Unix that was able to run office. ;-)


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