Earlier today, Fermicat posted an entry (Mixed Marriages) about her constant computer-platform "debate" with her husband, "PDM." My comment on that entry grew too long, so I have decided to post it here as an entry of my own.
One or two of my one or two regular readers might not care about this entry; nonetheless, it might possibly provide you with a pleasant (if not too literary) way to pass a few minutes.
FC: "PDM is a Mac person and I use a PC."
Me: Oh, my God! You shouldn't have written this entry! But I will try not to make you regret it! I don't want you to start seeing only the words, "Blah, blah, Mac, blah, blah..." in this entry. ;-D
And, yes, my smile was *that* big while I was reading your entry. At this moment, I can say with some certainty that I am a big fan of your husband. ;-)
FYI: I was a self-taught Macintosh network administrator at a relatively large school district from 1998 to 2003 (until budget cuts eliminated my position). I was a self-taught amateur prior to that time, from 1988 to 1998, using both PCs and Macs and hating the PCs with a passion (no offense). Needless to say, I could never have been a self-taught Windows network administrator, because everything is about twenty times more complicated than it needs to be in order to do the very same things I did with Macs. Think of it this way: If Apple built fighter jets, they would make them so that the average person on the street could hop in one and fly it like a pro with minimal experience. I know this because I was one of those people (computer-wise, that is). If Microsoft built fighter jets..., well, let's just say there would be lots of training fatalities, and I'm not saying that as a joke.
FC: "It’s not the end of the world. We can (and do) use each others’ computers."
Me: I'm sure PDM is well aware that any Intel Mac you buy now will also run Windows natively. In fact, in some reviews I've read, PC users believe Windows works better on the Mac than on a PC box. For instance, take a quick peek only at the title of this article; or this one. Just think how you and your husband would have one less difference between you (hardware-wise, at least) if you were to buy one of those multi-platorm Macs. Of course, then you might be fighting over who gets to use the computer. Ha.
FC: ...Highly specialized scientific applications are usually only available for PCs...
Me: I think you'd be really surprised at the number of highly specialized scientific apps for the Mac, maybe not the exact same ones, but there are a lot of them. For instance, a few years ago, a huge number of NASA engineers used Macs and refused to use Windows. They were dead set on giving up their Macs when a new busybody, know-it-all NASA chief tried to switch them all to Windows. I do not know if he was completely successful or not. I just know they preferred their Macs for their highly complex work.
FC: "Like most (all?) Mac users, PDM is quite vocal about it."
Me: Did you ever think that there might be a legitimate reason for our being so vocal? It's not as if we drank some spiked Kool-Aid or were starved for some sort of cult to follow (I hate all "cults," whether they are obscure or mainstream). I think our vocal nature comes from a sense of disbelief, among other things (more later). Here we Mac users are, driving down a beautifully designed interstate highway, while the majority of the world's drivers are crowded onto a bumpy, poorly maintained gravel road that runs parallel to the interstate. Many of us Mac users (not all) shout over to some of you Windows users, imploring you to join us on the better road (such invitations have nothing to do with being mindlessly devoted "fanatics"). Instead, you (I mean "you" in a generic sense) call us fanatics and say, "We're not interested. Most people are on this road. It suits our needs perfectly fine. We know all the twists and turns and curves and stop signs. Besides, we need to remain in contact with everyone else" (never mind that the interstate and the gravel road are nearly 100 percent connected and lead to the very same destinations).
FC: "He even blames problems with Mac stuff on Microsoft. 'If they didn’t have to make it PC-compatible, it would work fine.'"
Me: He knows what he is talking about, FC. ;-)
FC: "...Bill Gates and Microsoft are evil, money-grubbing, unfairly competing pigs..."
Me: "Once again, he's right. You only have to read some of the various computer histories to know those statements are based on fact, not on opinion. I rave just as much about Gates and Microsoft as he does; although, now I have quieted down a lot because Apple has been making a major comeback in recent years, and Microsoft is well aware of it. I hope Gates lives long enough to be put in the position in which he once put Apple, when he stole their idea, marketed it as "Windows" and licensed it to Apple's competition (cut-rate PC companies).
Since PC companies in the 1980s and 1990s were selling "IBM compatible" computers, people naturally felt "safer" buying any computer that was associated with that "famous IBM logo." The operating system was merely an afterthought for most first-time computer buyers at that time. Apple, the little upstart company with a masterpiece of an operating system (and which had been the first company to mass market the personal computer) didn't stand a chance against the big-name (cut-rate) discount companies with cheap metal boxes using a shoddily constructed imitation operating system. The average buyer had no idea. They only saw that "IBM compatible" tag, and that's all they cared about. Bill Gates is the traitor who ripped off the little company (a company that truly believed in selling a quality product and user experience) and licensed its secret to the big discount profit makers.
I have this thing wherein I don't believe in rewarding criminals by buying their products. That belief is even easier to maintain when the criminal is selling a product that is far inferior to the original. Yes, I know that hundreds of millions (probably billions) of people are completely used to using Windows and feel totally at home with it. That's understandable, but it is not a good enough reason not to try something else. They just need to realize that there might be a bit of "unlearning" to do in the process.
FC: "...All I hear is 'Blah blah Mac blah blah blah…' and my eyes roll back in my head."
Me: :-) Please answer this question. Which one of you is more familiar with the other person's preferred platform? Do you have more experience with the Mac platform, or does he have more experience with the Windows platform? I'm willing to go out on a limb here and guess that he has more experience with Windows because this is a Windows world. If that is so, then is it possible that he might know what he is talking about when he trashes Windows and praises the Mac?
FC: "My problem with using a Mac is that because I learned how to do everything first on a PC, doing it on a Mac seems backward and unnatural."
Me: I understand what you're saying, and, I'm sure you would agree that it's merely a matter of perspective. However, that which came first should not be considered "backward" and "unnatural." The Mac operating system came first -- in January 1984; therefore, it is forward and natural :-). Windows 3.0 came second -- in 1991, after Microsoft had struggled for seven years to disguise an arcane DOS operating system with a Mac-like "look and feel" (like putting lipstick on a pig). Therefore, it is backward and unnatural. As is the case with that gravel road, you've just gotten used to it.
FC: "I don’t enjoy things that make me feel stupid."
Me: First, you are married to a Mac user! Have him teach you! That is the perfect way to kill two birds with one stone: 1.) You will learn how to use a Mac (discovering that it is far easier than you think), and 2.) You and your husband will have yet another excellent excuse to do something together. A side benefit of No. 2 (at least I imagine it might turn out this way) is: Since he is teaching you how to use a Mac, he would almost certainly be far less vocal about them (at least in an angry way) than he presently is. Part of his vocal side might just have to do with your seeming reluctance to take him seriously and to see if he possibly has a point.
Second, you are a medical physicist who is studying to take the ABR exam. You are certainly not "stupid," and you are also quite obviously not unwilling to learn complicated things. That said, learning how to use a Mac is the exact opposite of complicated.
Furthermore, if you buy a Mac that can use both operating systems side by side, you could slide back and forth between the two operating systems whenever no one is "looking." You could do your "serious" work on the Windows side and, whenever the spirit moves you, you could jump to the Mac side and just play around a little and explore. Pretty soon, you will find fewer and fewer reasons to return to the Windows side. I say this because it has been the case with the vast majority of former Windows users I've taught in recent years.
FC: "Plus there are some things I just don’t know how to do yet on a Mac..."
Me: In the past 18 years, I've taught a lot of Windows users (and beginners) to use Macs. I've also read many testimonials of Windows users who have switched to Macs. The thing I have found to be true at least 90 percent of the time is the fact that most tasks are so simple on the Mac that Windows users cannot figure out how to do them. They are convinced that there must be a "hard way to do it" (they aren't consciously thinking in those exact terms, though), so they spend a long time trying to find the hard way, when, in the end, the task could have been completed with a mouse click or two. I'm sure your husband will agree with me.
FC: "I get frustrated trying to locate an appropriate application for something so simple it would take me two minutes on a PC.
Me: I'm not really sure if you are talking only about locating the applications or if you are also referring to the tasks for which you would use them once you have found them. If it is the former, we will have to agree to disagree. Application storage on a Windows computer is incredibly confusing. I used to have to try to teach people how to use Windows computers when I worked at the local public library. It was a miserable experience. When I did find the appropriate application to do what they (or I) wanted, it could barely do one-fourth of what an equivalent Mac application could do.
The only "drawback" for Windows users and beginners when it comes to using Macs is the fact that you can store many applications anywhere you please (many are automatically installed in the Applications folder, but most 3rd-party apps may be stored anywhere the users chooses). Most computer users are neither organized nor tidy (the same is true in regular life). They end up storing some apps in very strange places (either on purpose or by accident), and then they end up blaming the computer for their own lack of organizational skills. I'm not saying that is the case with you, because you don't even own a Mac.
FC: "I’m sure that will get better the more time I spend using PDM’s Mac."
Me: Once again, does he have an Intel Mac? If so, maybe he would install Windows on it for you
FC: "In spite of our significant difference of opinion on computers, PDM and I get along very well and enjoy spending time together."
Me: "Will wonders never cease?" ;-)
FC: "We are best friends and that one thing will smooth over an awful lot of irritating differences, like his near-constant grumbling about traffic and vocal Mac superiority complex."
Me: Ask yourself why he does it? Does he do it for his health? Of course not. Does he do it to annoy you? I'm sure that's the last thing he would wish to do. Something legitimate must be motivating him to speak about Mac superiority constantly. You would think I would be more "agnostic" with all my years of experience on both platforms. But I'm not. The more I use Windows computers, the more I never want to use them again.
There is one other possible reason for your husband's vocal nature. I know it is true of me. You should ask him. From 1988 to 1996, I was critical of Windows computers and of Bill Gates, but I had nothing but my own opinion and experiences on which to base my personal preference. During that time, almost every Windows user I knew was incredibly insulting of the Macintosh platform (calling them "toys," etc.). As angry as their arrogance made me, I couldn't argue technical details because I would not have known what I was talking about. I just defended my choice and grew angrier and angrier at them for their condescending attitude. Then I discovered the internet, and soon thereafter I found endless facts (independent studies, etc.) to back me up. I began returning the insults to those condescending, insulting Windows users with a vengeance, mostly in an effort to shut them up before they even had a chance to begin attacking me. I discovered the best way to deal with them was to beat them at their own game. If any of them ever brought the topic up, I immediately took the offensive. There was no better way to kill a condescending smug attitude than to attack fast and hard and to act absolutely certain of myself. I also backed up my certainty with indisputable facts, because I finally knew what I was talking about on the technical side. I was the oppressed getting even with the oppressor for years of mistreatment, and it felt great. I'm sure the same is true of millions of other Mac users too. After a while, we just got sick of being ridiculed, especially when we were using the superior product. It's like North Koreans criticizing Canadians (for example) for practicing democracy. The astounding thing is that the North Koreans actually believe what they are saying.
FC: "...and my ever-growing shoe collection and refusal to ever cook anything."
Me: "Not even a frozen dinner? ;-)
FC: "I hope we will spend many more happy years together, during which I can tune out all that crap he says about how his Mac is better than my PC."
Me: Be a diplomat. As much as it galls you, try to take a genuine interest in what he is saying. As I wrote earlier, I think he would calm down quite a bit if you were to do this.
