Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr. Drib
It also has to do with adopting a certain kind of mind-set, or feeling an affinity or connection with a product and with its philosophy.
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It's actually the mindset that baffles me -- not because I'm unable to understand someone's connection to a specific aesthetic or design philosophy, but because features and platforms are potentially fluid. Not to get political, but on election day, I'm more interested in a candidate's voting record than I am their supposed "character," which is usually the hybrid of their public persona, the press's simplification and a pejorative construct by the opposition. In that sense, gadgets are better versions of candidates for our attention; they're are able to mutate to conform to the qualities we desire.
The hardest pill for me is the idea that liking or disliking a given computer platform is an ultimate expression of the user's personality. I would argue that what you
do with your computer is the expressive part, not which computer you choose. I would also argue that making a point of refusing to use a certain kind of computer (such as a Mac or PC) is another consumer product choice and not an
a priori rejection of marketing hype. The most independent thing a person can do is choose whichever platform(s) work for them practically and to upgrade only when necessary.
I'm not condemning or praising Macs. I'm only trying to view products in terms of their usefulness. I try (vainly, perhaps) not to be hypnotized into pulling out my credit card to slake agonies of gearlust. (If only that worked as well for me with headphones and e-readers as it does with laptops!)