Even though smoking has become a sign of really bad behavior, ranking right up there with animal cruelty, I still find that the most interesting conversations take place with those poor addicted-to-nicotine souls who have been banished to the patio at a party.
Another discovery I’ve recently made: People who own a “Mac” are more fun to be around that those who own a “PC.”
For years, all the cool graphic designers I know have been loyal to Apple products. And Carrie Bradshaw, the patron saint of hip writers, was often seen writing her column on a Mac in the iconic television series, Sex and the City.
But I always resisted joining the Mac generation. Even though a friend of mine has long considered Microsoft to be the “evil empire” and Bill Gates its dark prince, I have always owned a personal computer, mainly because it meshed more closely with the operating system at my previous job.
But in my new job at CultureMap, I’ve gone over to the other side. One of the perks is a sleek silver Apple laptop. It’s so beautiful, I want to sleep with it.
And it doesn’t get viruses.
I’ve fallen hard for it. The keyboard glows like the first star on the horizon at night. The little icons are so cute and so intuitive. Unwanted materials go into a wire mesh trash can, a stamp jumps up and down when I have mail, and a “dashboard” reveals a dictionary, calendar and five-day weather forecast.
I’ll admit the Mac has taken some getting used to, however. PC habits are hard to break. I’m always hitting the wrong keys to attempt the simplest function and I’ve had to learn a softer touch with the track pad because only a slight flick of a couple of fingers sends images on the screen into orbit.
Even so, the Mac is so superior from a design standpoint I can’t believe that Apple didn’t win the computer wars a long time ago. It lost out because it originally kept its system proprietary while Microsoft licensed its software to anyone and became the industry standard.
Microsoft still controls more than 90 percent of the market and its new search engine, Bing, and a new operating system, Windows 7, are getting good reviews.
But I have a feeling Apple might win in the long run.
Everyone I know under 30 either has a Mac or wants one. They’ve been raised on iPods and iPhones and won’t settle for boring products. Their faces light up when they see my computer. They want to engage in deep conversations about its virtues as they belittle the competition.
Now I feel like I’m a member of an exclusive club. It’s the cult of the Mac. I visit the Apple store in the Galleria—it’s a toy store for adults—and pal around with the geeky sales staff. We discuss the Mac’s features and ponder the next generation of products.
I suddenly feel so much younger. My Mac is expensive, but it sure beats a facelift.
