arggh 😈 I’d been off STW for ages but this…splutter.

I hate the way the cool, good looking arty types have nicked the nerd title from those who are truly technical with a single minded non-social obsession. These are usually not good looking and frequently are single.

Macs are for arty farty non-technical types not nerds. Nerds use linux.

I’m definately annoyed about the incorrect use of nerd and geek.

geeks pretty much run the world. They are often intelligent, succesful, resourceful, excelent troubleshooters and very good with technology (amongst other things). They can communicate with normal people, hold down jobs,have friends, have girlfriends and wives, sit on boards of directors and can often be found in top ten lists of worlds most influencial/richest.

Bill gates, Dennis Ritchie, Steve Jobs, all geeks.

Nerds are not any of these things. They are usually social misfits, rarely all that bright, struggle to operate in challenging environments and live with their mums.

You’ve never heard of any nerds.

When it means your filesystem is inconsistant and has to be checked each and every time.

Sounds more like a faulty hard drive to me.

Umm, Vista?

Odd, I ran a Vista system from pretty much the day it came out, then in-situ upgraded it to Windows 7, and I never experienced anything like that. Actually, that -was- on a faulty drive; I ran it for about six months on a dying disk, then cloned it to a new one, and it survived that as well.

I’d therefore suggest that, from a sample of two, it’s possible that what you’re experiencing there is not an inherent fault with the OS.

I’m definately annoyed about the incorrect use of nerd and geek.

Amen, brother.

samuri I think you’re confusing nerds with neds 😆
look here
I think of nerds as trainee techytw@ts – who really run the world.

Sounds more like a faulty hard drive to me.

Well no, the FS needed checked as a side effect of the real issue, the system failed to resume from standby, requiring a power-cycle. As the system was not powered down cleanly, the dirty bit was set, forcing windows to chkdsk it before booting.

If anything, I suspect it was a motherboard compatibility issue. But it’s moot anyway, the system is long gone and I’m very happy with my Macbook.

I think of nerds as trainee techytw@ts – who really run the world.

no no no no no.

I’m self-certifying here. Geek and proud.

Well no, the FS needed checked as a side effect of the real issue, the system failed to resume from standby, requiring a power-cycle. As the system was not powered down cleanly, the dirty bit was set, forcing windows to chkdsk it before booting.

If anything, I suspect it was a motherboard compatibility issue. But it’s moot anyway, the system is long gone and I’m very happy with my Macbook.

Ah, fair enough then. And, fair enough then.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerd

Nerd is a derogatory slang term for an intelligent but socially awkward and obsessive person who spends time on unpopular or obscure pursuits, to the exclusion of more mainstream activities.[1][2] Nerds are considered to be awkward, shy, and unattractive.[3] Thus, a nerd is often excluded from physical activity and considered a loner by others, or will tend to associate with a small group of like-minded people. As with other pejoratives, nerd has been reappropriated by some as a term of pride and group identity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geek

The definition of geek has changed considerably over time, and there is no longer a definitive meaning. The terms nerd, gimp, dweeb, dork, spod and gump have similar meanings as geek, but many choose to identify different connotations among these terms, although the differences are disputed. In a 2007 interview on The Colbert Report, Richard Clarke said the difference between nerds and geeks is “geeks get it done.”[2] Julie Smith defined a geek as “a bright young man turned inward, poorly socialized, who felt so little kinship with his own planet that he routinely traveled to the ones invented by his favorite authors, who thought of that secret, dreamy place his computer took him to as cyberspace—somewhere exciting, a place more real than his own life, a land he could conquer, not a drab teenager’s room in his parents’ house.”[3]

Other definitions include:

A derogatory reference to a person obsessed with intellectual pursuits for their own sake, who is also deficient in most other human attributes so as to impair the person’s smooth operation within society.
A person who is interested in technology, especially computing and new media. Geeks are adept with computers, and use the term hacker in a positive way, though not all are hackers themselves.
A person who relates academic subjects to the real world outside of academic studies; for example, using multivariate calculus to determine how they should correctly optimize the dimensions of a pan to bake a cake.
A person who has chosen concentration rather than conformity; one who passionately pursues skill (especially technical skill) and imagination, not mainstream social acceptance.
A person with a devotion to something in a way that places him or her outside the mainstream. This could be due to the intensity, depth, or subject of their interest. This definition is very broad but because many of these interests have mainstream endorsement and acceptance, the inclusion of some genres as “geeky” is heavily debated. Persons have been labeled as or chosen to identify as physics geeks, mathematics geeks, engineering geeks, sci-fi geeks, computer geeks, various science geeks, movie and film geeks (cinephile), comic book geeks, theater geeks, history geeks, music geeks,[citation needed] sport geeks,[citation needed] art geeks, philosophy geeks, literature geeks, historical reenactment geeks, video game geeks, and roleplay geeks.
A more recent school of thought sees nerd as being a derogatory phrase, while geek is simply a description. It is taken to be someone who is an enthusiast, often in things outside of the mainstream spectrum. It may also describe immersion in a particular mainstream interest to an extreme that is beyond normalcy (e.g. sports geek)[citation needed]. Of note is that in this definition, there is no reference to being socially inept in the slightest.[citation needed]

So that’s clear.

Either way, back to the OP, you’ve done a great job of showing yourself to be a nerd 🙂

In my experience Mac Users tend to be fashionable idiots or super-nerds.
It makes things easier for the fashionable idiots because a lot of options are removed from view.
This means you need to have pretty decent *nix command line knowledge to do a lot of things that are much easier for a low-level geek on a windows system.
I had a work macbook pro for a year and a half – no way I’d have one if it wasn’t provided for me. I’m proficient enough with a command line and google to be able to work most things out thankfully.
My latest Dell (to be fair outlet) cost me under half the price of a similar spec Mac and I can run a wider range of programs with more flexibility on it.

Deary, deary me. What a sad little man you are. You sneer at people who buy Macs as

In my experience Mac Users tend to be fashionable idiots or super-nerds

, then show yourself to be the architypal super-nerd who’s happy to spend hours fixing or tweaking stuff because it’s either broken or won’t do what you want, whereas probably 90%+ of Mac owners have them precisely because the computer does do what they want without endless fannying around, which is why graphics and print people have always tended to use them; less time spent trying to fix problems = more time actually earning money.
But you’re too wrapped up in yourself and your obsession with endlessly fiddling with your toys to actually realise why so many people have Macs in their homes: the damn things just work.
The fact that an iMac looks nice in a living room, and a Mac Mini is effectively invisible is also hugely important to people who actually have to live with them.
Why are people continually being criticised for wanting a computer that looks nice in their home? Why do some people find that so offensive?
Can’t anyone remember the ugly beige boxes that sat on the floor sprouting a rat’s nest of wires with an enormous monitor on the table above it? My computer is a tiny little silver box tucked under one corner of my TV, with more storage and power than I would have thought possible five or six years ago, with a multi-gesture trackpad that has made my mouse pretty much redundant.
Carry on with enjoying your ‘command-lines’, I’m sure the two of you will have a long and happy life ahead of you

Why are people continually being criticised for wanting a computer that looks nice in their home? Why do some people find that so offensive?

The implication you’re missing is form over function; ie, the assumption is that people want something that looks nice in preference to something that does what they want.

Obviously, this isn’t always the case, but then again it isn’t always not the case either. So halfwits like to tar everyone with the same brush. Apple fans tend to be good targets for this, as they tend to be obsessed enough to write a screenful of monologue in response.

Here comes a muddling allegory

Mac users used to be like roadies – they’d buy a machine for the one or two specfic tasks based on how it looks, how fast it works and the couour of the paint. PC’s – MTB’s – a horrible mishmash of parts hacked together on to whatever you could afford at the time, but capable of doing some extraordinary things.

The sheer horror of windows 7 and vist is driving me to the darkside, albeit in the cyclocrosstastic world of the hackintosh…

Ooh I can’t stand Phil Collins… 😡

I used to like Phil Collins, but take a look at me now…

Count Zero, your use of paragraphs has improved markedly of late, and I must say that it has made your contributions much more readable. 😀

Here comes a muddling allegory

Here comes something straight from the Big Book Of Bollocks.

obsessed enough to write a screenful of monologue in response.

…from the contributor of seven posts to the thread.

Here comes something straight from the Big Book Of Bollocks.

At least it’s a new entry, and it’s called STW, not BBoB

I was confused by the first line.

Completely wrong and quite insulting I think.

Nerd is an insult?

which is why graphics and print people have always tended to use them; less time spent trying to fix problems = more time actually earning money.

….would have worked on a mac.

The best thing I ever did to my (free) macbook pro was wipe osx off and install Win7, Much better!

And the so vaunted apple build quality? the alu case has warped and is no longer straight, yeah a ‘quality’ laptop 😉

…from the contributor of seven posts to the thread.

Only a couple of sentences each time. But yes, I take your point.

Nerd is an insult?

Yes.

i love these threads. the haters are just as bad the fanboys.
it’s a computer. deal with it.

Love the diagram with it all clearly marked out, haha.

not long ago, arguing about computers in public would have been deemed nerdy in itself 😀

It’s just a box chaps. Not a political statement. Not a way of life. Nothing to get upset about.

Double post…

, then show yourself to be the architypal super-nerd who’s happy to spend hours fixing or tweaking stuff because it’s either broken or won’t do what you want, whereas probably 90%+ of Mac owners have them precisely because the computer does do what they want without endless fannying around, which is why graphics and print people have always tended to use them; less time spent trying to fix problems = more time actually earning money.

I think you’ve rather missed my point.
I don’t like spending hours tweaking stuff because it’s broken or doesn’t do what I want.
I found I had to do this far too much with a Mac.
I get asked an awful lot by Apple users “how do I do….”
An amusing case I had was when I wanted to print some basic t-shirts. Have to print in reverse, but after a lot of time spent trying to find the function, then google it, it seems that apple have devolved the software by removing the functionality.
So I had to print to PDF, export the PDF to an image file, reverse the image file than print that. Not great when I had 20 to do after being let down by someone who worked in a printing shop – finished up at half 3 or so with the event the next day.

So, if you’d read it, you’d see my issue is they don’t “just work” and that I don’t like endless fiddling.

I’ve got an ‘ugly beige box’ sat next to my TV. It has got 5 wires coming out of it. This doesn’t overly bother me.
It cost me under £100 and does everything I need.
I control it from my phone generally.

Carry on with enjoying your ‘command-lines’, I’m sure the two of you will have a long and happy life ahead of you

Again; you’ve missed the point. I don’t like command lines. This is one of the reasons that I DON’T LIKE macs. Windows has the functions I need to setup my computer to work smoothly with the least hassle. While MACs do need complex command lines, or to be used in less than convenient ways which people end up getting used to and ‘putting up with’.

well done you.

20 years of using Macs never used a ‘command line’
i guess i’m doing it wrong?

Command Line.

That sounds well nerdy/geeky.

What’s one of those then?

i dunno but they are complex and evidently i need one 😯

Been using macs for, hmmm, around 8 years and someone’s only flipping telling me now that I need a frickin command line. 😐

What’s one of those then?

You know the irony of this whole thread? It is in relation to a thread I started……and I use an iMac.

lolz.

requiring a power-cycle

Is that “tech speak” for turning it off and on again?

You know the irony of this whole thread?

Oh teh ironversity! 🙂

20 years of using Macs never used a ‘command line’
i guess i’m doing it wrong?

Maybe that’s because for most of that time the OS wasn’t unix based and didn’t have a command line 😉
Funny thing happened yesterday….. after 9 years of looking after the little SBs she’s got a part time job in a property rental place in our local village. I went to have quick look at the (small/not yet open) office and sat on the desk was a lovely new iMac for Mrs SB to use – and I can’t think of anyone less nerdy, even Sky+ confuses her sometimes!

Command Line.

That sounds well nerdy/geeky.

What’s one of those then?
It’s where they hide away all the confusing ‘basic settings’ that Mac Users don’t understand ;).

It’s perfectly possible to ‘just use’ a Mac and get on fine with it.
My skill with full suspension mountain bikes could probably be likened to such mac users. I just hop on and ride without fiddling with the settings and am fine unless there’s something badly wrong.
But give someone of the same stature as me my FS bike and they’ll probably be reaching straight for the airpump because they know a few small tweaks will make a big difference to the usability and general riding experience.

I used a Spectrum just fine without the convenience offered by a modern PC. But that doesn’t mean I want to go back to those levels of service :P.