I was talking about this issue at work today, because I work with one of those guys that everytime you say something about computers, he says, "Well, Mac had that 5 years ago." We all get kinda sick of it, but whatever.
Would I be right in making this statement: "The average Mac user knows is more technically knowledgeable about his (her) piece of equipment than the average PC-user is about their machine."? Aside from the fact that there are far more PC/Windows users than there are Mac users (increasing the probability that less intelligent people will be using PCs), it seems to me that a Mac person tends to know a lot about the product they use, how to maintain and use it to it's full potential, whereas the average PC user tends to be totally computer stupid. I am constantly fixing people's PC's and there is rarely a time I have met someone who actually knows what they are doing. They just blindly download all sorts of damaging data. And then they call some minimum-wage kid at the "tech support" for help, getting mad when the kid reads from a book that can't solve their problem. It's like buying a car but never changing the oil, filters, or tires. Why doesn't my %$&*#$@ car run?!?!?! well, duh!
I think it's true that 1.) Macs are made of better quality components, causing them to be more stable and durable. 2.) Mac software is of a higher quality simply because it only has to work with Mac hardware. 3.) the average Mac user knows how to properly use his machine.
But hey, I'm cheap and was raised on good old DOS and Windows 3.1. I like being able to tinker with my machine and make it more like a peice of art. I don't care if it crashes, cause, yeah, it's frustrating, but you learn something through fixing it. I still think, however, that the stability thing has partially to do with the fact that PC users think it's no different than a TV, which you never maintain except for dusting the screen off!
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