The Mac Digital Divide

Increasingly, I've noticed that almost all Mac users fall into 1 of the following 2 categories:

1) People who know everything about OS X. This group seems to be split 50/50 between old school pre-Intel Mac users and Linux users who switched to OS X.

2) People who know nothing about computers. I'm talking about the kind who somehow manages to download the Windows version of Firefox and then can't understand why it doesn't work...

Where's the happy middle ground? There seems to be a lack of Mac users who can't recite all the chmod parameters by heart, but still understand that the comet cursor crapware from a Flash banner ad won't install no matter how many times they click on it.

 

I'm finding fewer and fewer people who can be called OS X experts...

 

Their favourite troubleshooting phrase:
"Send it to the genius bar..."

 

I find OSX extremely difficult to debug. If it can not be fixed by clearing the logs or repairing permission I am pretty much stuck. Then if google brings up no result I would not even know where to look.

I have used Linux and I am good at Windows. Finding which driver is behind a bluescreen or where an error comes from is pretty easy in Windows.

Beachball of death? No idea where to look or what to do about it. Reboot and hope it doesnt happen again.

 

That's because most the time it's a hardware problem. Unlike windows where it has better chance to be a software problem, and can be fixed with out having to take it to someone, unless it's a hardware problem.

 

Like wave and seshan said, most of the problems that people run into are software problems. If there is a hardware problem, the easiest solution for the average user is to just take it into the genius bar because they are good for replacing stuff, and its usually under warranty.

If you're getting beachballs too often, I'd say check the logs to see what was causing it at the time. Most of the software problems I get are just because a program isn't updated to the latest version (that being said I run nightly builds in almost everything I use daily, so I problem run into more things then other users)

But yea, most of the time the issues I've seen are just programs freezing, that eventually gets fixed in an update. Or there can be issues with weird hardware that I run across.

But just as there are many windows users who know nothing, and a lot who do, its the same in the mac world. Maybe its just that our numbers are smaller, so you usually run into one or the other.
The thing about osx, is that if you dont want to learn more about it, you dont have to. with windows, sometimes you run into problems and you HAVE to learn how to fix it, or just bring it to someone who does. osx generally will run fine without people running into problems (there are generalizations, please don't start going crazy over it)

 

im a windows sys admin and trying to use my form of problem solving in os x never works lol.
In osx I find myself doing the following; repair perms', and read the logs and hope i find the reason for the error. And google!

 

almost all the probs i got till date were solved through google. i found myself installing bootcamp the first day i got my mac

 

It's interesting to note that for osx stuff there always seems to be a solution on google, with someone else that has been through the same problems as you and posted a way to fix it.

Seems like a common answer that a bunch of us use.

 

I actually find OS X easier to use and maintain than Windows. With 5 Windows computers in the house I used to waste a whole day doing updates. Vista always wanted to give me errors on updates and refuse to install them. The MS website helped some but there were a few times I simply had to do a fresh install because nothing I tried would work. I've had no issues with OS X so far. I can update 4 computers within an hour and need to do so less frequently. Yes, I'm less familiar with the inner workings of OS X but I was that way with Windows when I first started as well.

As for the divide, I guess it all depends on who you talk to. I work with several people who have no clue how to do just about anything in Windows.

 

True, I do find that most people with macs don't know much about computers. They are attracted to the mac because of its hassle-free reputation, that it can't get viruses or spy-ware, which is no problem for the average user who knows to install anti-virus, but is a godsend for the type of person who would download "comet cursor," or run "virus doctor" exe because an add "scanned" their computer and told them it was infected.

I'm currently in school, and gave taken two computer related classes, one is a computer architecture class, focused on the hardware of computers, the basics of how a computer works from a hardware perspective. And the other is a computer software class, an intro to java programing. The comp arch is full of computer engineers sporting Asus/Alienware/MSI, basically hardware based machines, while the software class is dominated by computer science majors with mostly Macbooks.

I think most consumers with the middle-ground knowledge are most likely to go by specs alone when purchasing a computer, cpu speed, ram, HDD, screen quality. Which would lead them to a pc. However people who know about the unique software advantage of mac would still take advantage of it, and of course brand oriented customers with no clue will buy too amusing more expensive = better.

 

Here's another possibility, those Mac users who are in the middle ground, don't have many problems, thus don't visit forums, so you don't hear from them. There off happy using there mac as Jobs intended.
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Very very true.

 

where do you find Mac users?

some the know nothings seems to come online looking for help a lot...

the know it alls are usually online a lot...

the .. kinda middle ground people don't care too much and don't really frequent mac topic type forums or whatever, so aren't seen as much.

 

The middle ground folks are around, they just don't want to deal with the "take it to the mac store" or the "it just works" crowd. If they're lucky they will run across someone who does know a lot about OSX, and will just ask them directly by-passing the aforementioned crowds and all "cult of mac fanaticism" and endless speculation.

Coming from a linux and windows background i find your average "expert mac user" to be rather annoying in regard to their attitudes about open computing and EULAgreements.

So in the end i'll sum it up by saying.... you don't see the middle ground folks like myself all that often because..... I like the computer, like the Operating System, but find the community to be rather boring and annoying.

also before anyone gets all upset and justifies everything i've just said, I'm just being honest and answering the OP's question with my opinion, if you don't like it : that's cool, if you don't agree that's cool too.

 

Among my acquaintances in real life.

I wish I was one of the lucky ones. Sure, it might take me longer to figure out how to set up Mongrel on OSX by using Google, but it still beats having to approach the OSX experts I know because of...

Precisely this. Every time I ask a question, they find some way to turn the answer into a sermon.

So in other words, you're one of the few people who truly (and quietly) appreciates OSX without feeling the need to force everyone else around you to appreciate it too.

I wish I knew you in real life. It'd be so nice to be able to talk about OSX with someone without having to worry about getting a super-defensive response from both the Windows and Mac camps.

 

I have been working on PC's and Apples since the mid 80's..... Most persons go the cheap pc route, but endup spending more money on software to make it work. If they had purchased a Mac most of the software is included free. In the end the Mac was cheaper....

Have using both hardware about equal time, it is very pleasant working on Mac's since they are so stable and very seldom have any problems. On the PC side, drivers never seam to work, or stay working if an update. I spend 95% of my time working on PC's while the Mac's just keep going.

 

Which brings up another question: Do most Mac users actually buy software?

It's a lot easier to find free copies of Office 2003/2007 than it is to find a free copy of Office 2008 for Mac. Aside from online games that tie your account to your CD key, just about anything on the PC can be found for free within 5 minutes of Googling, whereas with Macs, if it's not open source, you really need to dig...

 

Please tell me you aren't talking about pirated copies.

 

do you just steal food from the store when your hungry too? ... really gotta shop around and find the easy place to steal what you want....

 

Sure isn't true anymore. I got Office for free, and most software is free these days anyway. Not that you really need much with Windows 7.

 

He meant free software, like open office vs Microsoft office. Open office is available for mac, but there are far more free software for windows that is just as good as the ones provided in OS X. You just have to look for them. OS X is like an all in one package, while windows you have to put together (but you get to customize it with the software that best suites you). It all depends what you want, but no, you don't end up saving money on OS X by not buying software. I don't pay for 99% of the software I use on pc, because its free. But on my mac, everything I need is usually there, but the things that aren't almost always cost money.

 

Most serious foss is also cross platform. There is a huge amount of software available for mac.

 

Unless you want Windows Mail, photo gallery or movie maker.

 

The home user shouldn't need to invest heavily in software. There are way too many free solutions that will do just fine for them.

 

I have no idea what you're talking about.

 

Blissfully ignorant?

 

No, I mean you have to pay for those? I had no idea. But I'm sure there's free software to cover those anyway.

 

I didn't claim you had to buy them, just that you were wrong that you didn't need much if you have Windows 7.
-20 points for READING COMPREHENSION

 

Um, we were talking about software purchases and free solutions. What I said made perfect sense.

 

Read the thread.

 

I think he's the one who needs the Reading Comprehension skills, I freakin Ace'd my reading portion on the SAT.

 

Like I said, I wasn't arguing the free software part. I'm sure there are more free programs for PC than Mac. My point was referring to your comment that you don't need much when you have Windows 7. Saying that implies that W7 has almost everything you need, right out of the box. Saying you don't need to BUY much if you have Windows 7 would be a different matter. W7 removed programs for Mail, Photo Gallery and Movie Maker that were included in previous Windows versions. You now have to download them or find alternatives. If anything you need to find MORE software now with Windows 7 than you did before and even more than if you had a Mac.

Current reading comprehension scores

Angelic -40 points
surfasb -20 points

 

What on earth is going on here? Why has this thread turned into some reading comprehension scoring game? Who cares if Win7 comes with Windows Media Player pre-installed or not?

The thread had already turned into some discussion about free software, and it is true that there are plenty of free applications for all purposes available for both the PC and Mac platforms. I'm going to have to close this thread if this thread continues like this.

 

Taking quotes out of context is a straw man

 

This thread is essentially nothing but flamebait. It is now closed.