Any Mac owners tired of being perceived as a Mac fanboy?

Here is the deal.

Last summer, I was in the market for a new laptop. I didn't want Vista, but I wanted something other than XP to mix things up. At the time, they had their free ipod deal for students and, guess what? I just happened to be in the market for an ipod and a notebook at the same time. Combined with the fact that I am already getting a student discount and curiosity of the OS X operating system, it was a done deal.

Now, everywhere I go that I use my laptop in public, I get something to the effect of, "hey, another Mac fan!," from some annoying Mac fanboy, and then they expect you to dwell with them on the merits of Apple products for at least five minutes.

Anyone else have a similar story?

 

Yeah, I get the "You're too spoiled/ get a life" story from my Anti-Mac friends...

 

Its always the case, isn't it? All Mac users are fanboys, all Windows users are stupid, that's the stereotype .

 

That's seems to always be the case! Sammy! You're back! Glad to see you back here! It's been a while!

 

Thanks for the welcome . It has been a while!

 

Digital Circuits professor was talking about SPIM installation and how much more difficult it was to install on a Mac. He went on to remark that he thinks Mac users are better are virtualizing and tweaking to make things work that shouldn't. Anyways long story short he asked "Raise your hand if you use a Mac." I had a MacBook Pro in front of me so I raised my hand.

In a class of 100+ I was the only one with my hand up. I got some "looks" from classmates.

 

Wow, very interesting! As far as I can see, universities these days are full of Macs .

 

Yes, Virginia Tech surprisingly has many Macs, but more-less 70-30 with PC's winning...

 

We all have our hobbies.

 

Different story with my academic career at the University of Nebraska. At least one forth of all notebooks visible on campus are Macbooks/Macbook Pros and most Mac users here hardly fit the coffee shop pseudo-intellectual persona that Mac users are stereotyped for being.

 

Depends what class you're in though. using mac for engineering classes = annoying.

 

Oh there are plenty of them they just aren't engineering/computer science students. The courses that are broad undergrad (government, history, etc) are full of Macs.

 

Well, when you make this whole brand ownership issue sound like you're the victim of racial or ethnic discrimination... it's outrageous!

 

The only place that would not have a Mac in sight is MIT. (Engineering Capital.)

 

Macs are for people who are serious for productivity, I mean they just work and they come bundled with so much GOOD software not like windows which comes crammed with bloatware.

They're just jealous

 

I'm not. I don't care.

 

nope,check their website

 

Whoa, I just saw that! That suprised me..

 

Have PC and Unibody MacbookPro and like them both. Use the Macbook mostly for work because of OS X and when traveling. The M17 for games and other stuff at home.

 

I've gotten picked on for buying a Mac by my Windows using friends. I actually had a tech question how I would be able to help my windows friends fix their system if I don't stay up with the latest version. I told him I didn't see a need to punish myself just to keep my friend's windows systems running. I also reminded him that my kids are still using XP and Vista so I'll have plenty of opportunity to keep my skills up.

 

Windows can't be used for serious productivity? It has more compatible software, can be hooked up to external displays w/o carrying around additional junk, and is more likely to be compatible with the computers of coworkers (depending on the field). Unless you try to screw up Windows, it's going to 'just work' as well. If Windows came crammed with software, it's third party applications, not Windows. That has to do with the manufacturer. Bloatware is also more prevalent on cheap systems; you get what you pay for.

 

Don't you guys know that if you own a Mac you are a fanboy?

 

Nice to have you back, Sam

In the short period that I have owned a mac, I actually did have other mac owners coming up to me and compliment on my new macbook (aluminum). There was one particular person that kept talking about how great and perfect the new macbooks are and that there were no short comings at all. I just smiled and pretended to nod in agreement

 

Yeah. I couldn't get anything done with my PC... It is a wonder how these businesses, a vast majority of whom use Windows, manage to get any work done.

My thinkpad didn't come with any bloatware. You pay for what you get. Buy a crappy notebook it will come loaded with third party software. How do you think they got the price so low? On-machine advertising.

 

No wonder people think of Mac users as fanboys, just look at a few of the posts in here. The usual Windows hate, grow up for Gods sake.

I love OSX, it's a lot of fun to use and comes with great programs. But I'll never replace Windows on my desktop because I use a few programs that have no OSX counterpart and also play a lot of games.

And to stay somewhat on-topic, I haven't really used the Mac outside much. So I've gotten no looks or comments. However, before I bought it I got quite a few "macs suck" and whatnot in group convos when I brought it up. There aren't that many Apple fans around me.

 

i waste the same amount of time on the internet not doing work as i did before i got my mac.

 

Can't we all live in peace? lol Why must Windows people bash Mac and Mac people bash Windows people? And where's the love for Linux!? XD

Anyways, both IMO have their pros and cons. Having used both types of machines and Operating Systems, I currently would not give any one up for the other because each has their merits.

 

My cousin who goes to a university in Toronto tells me 80% of the times only good looking (hot?) girls carry macs in his school.

 

Agree with Forever_Melody. Both have their good points as well as some negatives. Will continue to use both until something better comes along.

 

Thanks David!

I agree with everyone else; I prefer my Mac but someone else can prefer their Windows PC. Its a matter of opinion and choice and there's no right or wrong to that!

 

Hey Sam! welcome back!!! I missed you! are you going to "stay"?

 

I just hate it when EVERYBODY teams up on you and disses you and starts breaking down your "perfect spoiled life"

And then you have to shell out such an EPIC burn that you deem it a waste of your life to even make a comeback on it


But all I know is that it's just because they are jealous and ignorant

 

Why do people care so much about what others think?

I don't get compliments, nor do I care.

Seriously, if your friends are bad mouthing you because you own a Mac you need to expand your circle of friends.

 

I've gotten accused of being a fanboy here, meh, I don't care. The macbook is a lovely machine, I like the hardware and the Apple tech support, that's why I went with Mac this time around. I didn't buy it to please others, so I don't care what others think.

 

I feel sexified when I use OSX!

But seriously, when I was at Drexel, that's all we used were Macs and DOS/Windows users were the, "outsiders..." I remember feeling, "dirty," when I did my Co-op and all the C development work was on Windows 95 machines.....ugh, the travesty. I secretly wrote as much as I could in ANSI C with Metrowerks before finishing up in Borland C on the Compaqs.

Now? I use primarily PCs with a few Apple pieces left over. Namely: my original 2004 30" Apple screen, the Apple Extended Keyboard II w/ ADB adapter from OWC I REFUSE to let go (I even ordered a few, new backup Extended Keyboard II's for when this one dies (3rd one since 1992) and more iPods and 2x iPhones.....

My last Mac as my, "main machine," was a G5 Dual Core 2.5ghz tower when Jobs was promising 3ghz and we topped out 2.7ghz....ah well!

In the end, I admire ALL technology that catches my eye, regardless of the OS (or sometimes because OF).

Unibody's are sexy.....

I'd gladly take a 17" Macbook. They may not spit out the uber scores of some gaming notebooks, but man that's an elegant piece of hardware.

Pic attached for those who want to see the strange pairing of a PC w/ a 30" Apple display and an Apple Extended Keyboard II.

Oh yeah, and a Seahawks mug since I'm originally from Puyallup/Tacoma area.... (yeah, we suck now).

 

10 seconds after soliciting my opinions of Macs will make it very clear I'm not a fanboy

 

So its one Mac user talking about another Mac user about how great Macs are

 

There's nothing fancy about having a mac. It's like any other computer, except that people will stare at you when you remove it from your bag. My friends don't perceive me as a fanboy. They perceive me as somebody who's trying to learn something new and conquer unknown territories.

 

all of my friends said that it is awesome and almost all of them bought one

 

I must say I haven't come across this, but then I don't use my mb in public, and the French are fairly reserved anyways, so I doubt that it exists here.
Online however I feel that its more likely to cause the opposite effect. That is owning a mac or saying that I like using my mac tends to result in negative personal attacks & fan boy labeling.... esp. if I do this in a mac forum.
go figure
a


p.s personally I can't wait for this place to go back to the simple "helping out mac users with problems" place that it used to be... maybe now that Sam is back its a sign of goodtimes again.

 

I dont worry about it, I have multiple laptops configured for multiple jobs, do people look at me when I haul out the old MPB, yes ... but I also get stares when I haul out my toughbooks. theyre tools for me, no different than my scope, soldering station or logic probes, who cares honestly, I get accused of being a windows geek, a mac fanboy and even a linux junkie ... do I care nope im a TECH junkie

 

I travel a lot and see a lot of Mac's at airports these days even though I don't see many in the companies I work at. Macs do attract a bit more attention as they are still less common.

I don't consider myself a "fanboy" My personal experience is much better with Macs, than PC's and I'm glad to spend a few minutes here and there sharing, but thats not everyones experience and it doesn't really bother me one way or another what other folks think about my motives.

All I can say is that if I work around a fixed group of PC users for any period of time, my productivity and user experience usually has some of them considering Macs for their next computer if thats an option for them.

Macs are definitely not perfect, but I'm much more productive on one, and when I compare my experience with fellow PC users, I never doubt I made the right choice for me at lest.

 

People only consider you to be a fanboy when you start proselytizing people and berate people for using a non-Apple computer for no good reason. You are also a fanboy when all you talk about are Apple products and how PCs are inferior in a conversation about polysaccharides, metabolism, and thermodynamics.

 

wow, I sure wish I could understand that. *hint hint*

but yea, my friend hates macs. I asked him why and he said he doesn't have a reason, he just doesn't like them.

 

i love being a fanboy. some of my friends tease me about it but silently wished they had one. this is one of those "to each their own", IMHO.

 

and how is called the person who spends most of his time doing the opposite thing?

 

How about throwing your mac out of the window to prove that you are not a mac fan boy .
I will be outside to pick it up.
JK ^_^.
I am no macfan boy. I still prefer to have XP/Vista in my main working machine. OS X is great though, but so far I only use it for surfing the web while in class, lolz .

 

haquocdung, ... never threw my macbook out the window but I have thrown the Pannies . and NO you cant have them either

 

It sucks for the casual Mac user to be percieved as a Mac fanboy. It is really the few Mac users out there who can't seem to stop saying how great Macs are that screw this up for the casual Mac user.

 

I get tired of the whole fanboy thing. The funny part is the anti-Apple fanboys are usually the ones who yell the loudest and start much of the flaming in my experience. One look at the comments on some engadget threads will explain what I mean.

To me, in the end we are talking about an OS or phone. Who cares really? Use what you like and let others use what they like.