> Lighten up what? Didn't realize I was coming down so hard. This is just way > off topic and has gone on for several days. How wonderful that MS has > developed an operating system that will kick Apple's ass. I'm yawning with > excitement.
I have to say- I probably learn so much from things that are off-topic or just a little bit "iffy" on lists... Everything from macs in space to just little tips/tricks that come out in a casual conversation. I dig it. I delete a lot of things that don't interest me, but I consider it a good thing (whatever my opinion is good for) as it helps build knowledge and a community. > My client (a graphic designer of course) had to > provide a copy of a logo to one of the guys in IT. When she handed him a > floppy, he groused at her that he couldn't read a Mac disk. She stated that > she knew that which is why it's a PC formatted disk. To which he replied > "Macs cant read PC disks!". > You would think after more than a decade, Windoze folk would at least know > something this basic. I hear the same stories from another client at a small > TV station here, as well as other designer using Macs in large corporate > environments. *sigh* Don't take this as a flame at all, but I think you might be the one with a skewed attitude on the subject. You might see my other post on the fact that when you have a 5% marketshare, you can't expect people to know/care about your platform. Evangelizing is great, when it is asked for. Instead of getting annoyed, a simple "Actually you know what is cool? I can read mac and pc disks on my mac. I have to be careful to add the extension to the file name so pc users can read it (this isn't the case with OS 10.1 now) but otherwise it's cake." This not only doesn't make you come off as elitist and defensive, but it leaves nothing but good thoughts in their heads about the mac platform. > I know a number of folks who have found it easier to fix there > own Mac problems (thankfully few and far between) rather than suffer the > indignities of their IT department treating them like peons. Absolutely, it's one of the great strengths of the classic OS. You had a very spatial finder that was very modular, and didn't use many distributed libraries. It's also one of the reasons it was so popular with designers/educators- if you had a problem, it wasn't always easy, but things were logical enough that if you spent some time you =could= fix it on your own. Plus, the myriad of hardware that caused the most problems on a wintel machine doesn't exist on the mac, you're at least starting with a basic system, so tech support calls weren't, "we have no idea what the hell is in your machine now, so just re-install everything as it woujld take ages to track down how things could have gone wrong." A lot of that is changing with OS 10... Heh, apple now reccomends after applying the new security update that if something goes wrong, you need to completely reformat the drive. Sound familiar? :) > As you said, keep your > enemies closer. If only because I have to keep up with the arrogance of the > people in these IT departments that I have to deal with. Do you really need to think of them as your enemies? Heh, the way Ford people drive around with a sticker of calvin pissing on a chevy log? One of the most astute things Steve Jobs said a few years ago (minus the very creepy big bill gates on the screen) was, "Mac users need to get over the idea that for Apple to win, Microsoft has to lose." I really believe that the best way to be an advocate of the mac platform is just to use it and get your work done, but not to beat people over the head with how great the mac is versus a windows machine. It makes people feel as though you think they're stupid for ever choosing a PC, and yeah if you're super cool and they worship you they'll want to get a mac so you'll like them. But if you're just a normal joe like myself, they'll just get annoyed that I'm making them feel bad about a decision they spent a lot of money on. -- Michael Bryan Bell http://homepage.mac.com/michael_bell/ -- G-List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- We have Apple Refurbished Monitors in stock! | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> G-List list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml> Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/g-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Macintosh? Get free email and more at Applelinks! <http://www.applelinks.com>
