How Could One Not Know What Type of Computer One Owns?

Amie

Amie

Mac Convert for Life
I was at a cafe the other day and saw someone working on their beautiful, 15-inch PowerBook. Being a Mac lover myself, I walked over to her and asked, "How do you like your PowerBook?" She looked at me with a confused expression and said, "What?" I couldn't see her laptop very well because of all the clutter around it (books, papers, etc.) but I *thought* it was a PowerBook, so I asked, "That *is* a PowerBook, right?" She replied, "No, it's a ... uh ... Mac notebook." She then removed her clutter and I got a better look, and it was indeed a PowerBook. I said, "Yep, that's a PowerBook, alright." She said, "OK, if you say so." (She wasn't being snooty; she was very nice and laughing about it; this girl just had no clue.) How could one not know what type of computer one owns? That, to me, is unfathomable. It's like not knowing what type of car you drive.
 
That's weird. :confused: If it was brand new, it should say that on the box that it shipped with. It should also say the name on the bottom of the screen.

Very weird... :confused:
 
nixgeek said:
That's weird. :confused: If it was brand new, it should say that on the box that it shipped with. It should also say the name on the bottom of the screen.

Very weird... :confused:
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Oh, I'm sure it says it in all the right places. This girl was just clueless. LOL
 
Perhaps she needed to borrow someone elses machine to write a paper for a class. MSOffice on Mac and PC are pretty much the same.
 
spb said:
Perhaps she needed to borrow someone elses machine to write a paper for a class. MSOffice on Mac and PC are pretty much the same.
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Nope. I asked her how long she'd had the computer. She said she bought it a few months ago.
 
Well: Does it _really_ matter whether it's a PowerBook or iBook? It's a "Mac laptop" alright, gets the job done etc. No worries. Not all people need to be geeky about everything. :)
 
I think that says something about Apple right there.
If an OS caused a user a lot of problems then they would probably automatically know what kind of system they are using from having to tell people over and over again what it is on tech support calls or looking online for answers.
If nothing ever goes wrong and they just flat-out get their work done, then they would never have to know what type of computer it is.
 
fryke said:
Well: Does it _really_ matter whether it's a PowerBook or iBook? It's a "Mac laptop" alright, gets the job done etc. No worries. Not all people need to be geeky about everything. :)
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Yes, but the darned thing has the model name right below the screen...in plain sight! How hard is it to read that? :p
 
fryke said:
Well: Does it _really_ matter whether it's a PowerBook or iBook? It's a "Mac laptop" alright, gets the job done etc. No worries. Not all people need to be geeky about everything. :)
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Well, yes, it *does* matter. But that's not the point. If she wasn't sure whether it was an iBook or PowerBook, *that* wouldn't have been so bad. But she didn't even know *what* the computer was. At all. That's pretty bad.
 
iball said:
I think that says something about Apple right there.
If an OS caused a user a lot of problems then they would probably automatically know what kind of system they are using from having to tell people over and over again what it is on tech support calls or looking online for answers.
If nothing ever goes wrong and they just flat-out get their work done, then they would never have to know what type of computer it is.
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I can just see it now: Because she liked the computer so much, when she decides to buy another one down the road, she'll go into a store and say, "Hey, you know what? I really liked my old computer a lot. Do you have anything similar? Oh, sorry, I don't know what kind it was."
 
She said "Mac notebook" according to the first post. That should get her an iBook or PowerBook should she ask for "something similar" in my opinion. And it also shows she knew "what it was". But whatever, I don't want to defend the innocent too much, so let's just bash that ignorant girl, eh? Yeah, let her burn... No, really: I think you take this too seriously. Sure, it's right there below the screen. But maybe she didn't actually take it for the product's name. Maybe she misunderstood the question(s). Maybe she was somewhere else with her thoughts altogether. What does it matter...?
For example: My girlfriend knows hers is an iBook. But I'm sure she has no idea that it has a G3 processor, doesn't know it has 640 MB of RAM, doesn't know that 10.4 is also called "Tiger", she doesn't know that the technology in that little USB stick is called Bluetooth, but she _does_ synch her mobile phone with her Mac, and I personally think that's more important. ;)
 
Another thought: It might have been a gift from her Mac-loving relative, and hey, if it does e-mail, web-surfing, and Word, that's all that matters, right?

In all fairness, at least she said "Mac," and not "Apple." That's a little more specific.
 
"Reading is fundamental." :p :D

Again, all she had to do was look. Not too hard to shift the eyes, but that's my opinion. Not too technical or g33ky either.

No one expects her to knowwhat the specs in detail are, but if the machine's name is plastered on the front, that should beenough to clue her in.
 
fryke said:
She said "Mac notebook" according to the first post. That should get her an iBook or PowerBook should she ask for "something similar" in my opinion. And it also shows she knew "what it was". But whatever, I don't want to defend the innocent too much, so let's just bash that ignorant girl, eh? Yeah, let her burn... No, really: I think you take this too seriously. Sure, it's right there below the screen. But maybe she didn't actually take it for the product's name. Maybe she misunderstood the question(s). Maybe she was somewhere else with her thoughts altogether. What does it matter...?
For example: My girlfriend knows hers is an iBook. But I'm sure she has no idea that it has a G3 processor, doesn't know it has 640 MB of RAM, doesn't know that 10.4 is also called "Tiger", she doesn't know that the technology in that little USB stick is called Bluetooth, but she _does_ synch her mobile phone with her Mac, and I personally think that's more important. ;)
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Yeah, sorry, gotta disagree with you there. People should know what they purchase and what they use. Period. If you drive a Honda Accord, you should know it's a Honda Accord and not just "a four-door sedan of some sort." Case in point, if you own a PowerBook, you should know it's a PowerBook and not just "some sort of notebook."
 
nixgeek said:
"Reading is fundamental." :p :D

Again, all she had to do was look. Not too hard to shift the eyes, but that's my opinion. Not too technical or g33ky either.

No one expects her to knowwhat the specs in detail are, but if the machine's name is plastered on the front, that should beenough to clue her in.
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Eggsactly! :D
 
You don't know her. Know nothing about her background. You expect her to know something. She doesn't. You judge her. That alone is sad, in my opinion.
You create a thread about it in a public space. Want to know what people think about that "pathetic girl". You get opinions. Disagree with them. Have a definite opinion about how people need to know the product name of their notebooks and cars. That's sad, too, in my opinion.
What's the point here?

You say: "People should know what they purchase and what they use."

Yes, they should. But what defines the PowerBook she's bought? She calls it a "Mac notebook". Fair enough. She could've called it a PC and would have been right, because it's very _much_ a personal computer (hers, even). She could've said it's a tool to get work done and would've been right. She could call it Leopold and would've been right, because it's hers to give a name to. If you expect other people to always meet your expectations, to share your views and opinions or you'll shun them and diss them, you're not going to know a lot of people well. In my opinion.

Come on! I _know_ the PowerBook's got a "PowerBook" logo below its screen. I _know_ that I'd expect a PowerBook owner to know it's called a "PowerBook". If I meet a person with a PowerBook who doesn't know it's a PowerBook, I'd be interested to find out why this person doesn't care about that. Maybe there's something to be learned from that person.

Wow. Moral speech. Sorry. Ignore me tonight, if you must.
 
How did "looking at the name on her PowerBook/Mac laptop/magic box" turn into the public stoning of this particular person? All we're saying is that it wouldn't have been too hard to see what it was. From Amie's description, is seemed as though she didn't care what she was using, so much so that even attempting to read the front of the Mac laptop ;) wasn't even a consideration.

I guess my personal beef is that some people love being blissfully ignorant. I don't understand how anyone can live like that, but I guess they are free to do so. I just don't understand. I wasn't there so I don't know the exact scenario, and your right she probably borrowed the laptop. But again, she had to learn how to use the computer to do anything with it, so she had to know something about it at the very least.

Anyways, that's my stance.....judge me if you will, since I'm seen as having judged another. I am not without my faults and there are many...hey, I like Linux! Does anyone think this has gone on longer than it should? Can we agree to disagree?? Can't we all just get along????

Sorry..:eek:
 
I can see everybody's point, me thinks...

I would have also been surprised that the girl didn't seem to care too much about what brand or model her laptop is.

BUT: I always love coming across people like that... They just have different priorities...

As probably most of you are, I'm the personal tech support of all my Apple friends, and oftentimes hear: "Wow, I wish I knew as much as you do, etc. etc. etc.", to which I always reply "Thank God you don't and can keep some brain capacity free for stuff that you really care about"...

patrice
http://www.patriceschneider.com/apple-osx/blog/
 
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