[Closed] Why should Apple users be nerds?

I have no idea what a 'sudo mac' is.

I guess that's because I'm not a nerd.

I have no idea what a 'sudo mac' is.

OSX installed on a PC

definitely sounds a bit nerdy to me

ha ha, there are nerds in every walk of life!

We're all push bike nerds aren't we? I immediately slip into nerd/geek mode when I see someone on a shuttle with a nice piece of kit that I want 🙂

I don't get the whole mac/windows divide. I think if you care too much about it, that in itself makes you a nerd. I use all my mac AND windows stuff without really finding the need to completely berate either.

I think it's easier for PCs to attract nerds because they are so customisable (a bit like us push bike nerds, we like buying from the frame up since we all know so much about bikes and you simply MUST have kashima coating otherwise your stanchions might as well be coated in sandpaper 😉 )

Good attempt to prove that you are not a nerd.....

....until you typed this:

Oh, and I use PC's all day but have a sudo mac [hackintosh] at home for.

followed by:

Why? 'cos I can.

I think it's just a bit of light hearted messing about, isn't it?
I get called 'camera geek' or 'bike geek' by family & mates who aren't into bikes & cameras.....I take it as something to be proud of.

Embrace the nerd-ness & chill out.

Lordy. Looks like a [wannabe] nerd got out of the wrong side of the futon today.

Pseudo

Isn't sudo a Linux app?

A nerd for sure

sudo is linux for Super User DO.

Must be a nerd

OSX installed on a PC. Why? 'cos [s]I can.[/s] I'm an aple nerd

Apples are for people who want to tell people they are cool and have apples. Or for arty types who don't know anythign else. Or for the basic user who wants to pay a lot for basic features that just work.

PC's are for people who can't afford Apples, or are geeky enough to care about price:performance ratios and can be bothered to get it to work better/faster than an out the box apple.

Mac users are nerds? 😯

Art students, maybe.

They are nerds because they think choosing one brand of mass produced consumer electronics over another brand of mass produced consumer electronics makes them a beautiful and unique snowflake - a free radical and spiritual successor to Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatama Gandhi.

As a disclaimer - not all Apple users are like this - academic studies have shown that the insufferable gimp ratio is only about 78%, so there is a sizeable minority who are okay.

Spoken like a true Microsoft weirdo 8)

I have an attractive wife, a nice car, my bike looks good as bikes go, why should my home computer not be nice on the eye as it sits on my lounge on a very nice Hifi rack

I am an apple buyer 🙂 - a nerd I doubt it.

Misguided yes, brain washed? Maybe, nerds? Nah, nerd implies a certain amount of inteligence

I wish I was a nerd when it came to Macs, as once again a system with 8GB of RAM slows to a crawl after Preview takes up 7GB of it doing nothing more than showing three or four PDF manuals. Memory leak? What's that?

Embrace the nerd-ness & chill out.

Yes Nerd is harsh....Geek or Dork is much more applicable
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A computer is a tool, nothing more. When a company starts touting their particular tool as a 'lifestyle' choice, something's gone amiss.

When and how did the whole Apple geek cult thing come about?

Back in the day it was mostly artists, designers and publishers that used Apple kit. I'm sure it wasn't around then. Proper geeks were almost exclusively using variants of unix. Maybe it's become a geek thing since Apple put a nice interface on top of an unix variant as part of OS X?

A computer is a tool, but most people like to surround themselves with aesthetically pleasing things, even geeks!

A computer is a tool, nothing more. When a company starts touting their particular tool as a 'lifestyle' choice, something's gone amiss.

Pretty much EVERYTHING we use on a daily basis is manufactured, marketed and sold to fulfil a lifestyle choice to a certain extent. It can be a bit much at times, but what's the alternative? Shoot all the designers and live in a world of complete functionality and no style? All dress the same? Booooooo. Then I wouldn't be able to point and laugh at the hipsters on their fixies 🙂

I don't think you'd have to shoot all the designers. Just have a yearly cull, like seals.
Baseball bat, Starbucks, job done.

Baseball bat, Starbucks, job done.

You'd be rubbish at this... why not wait until Apple unveils its latest gadget and then 'bat' anyone who queues outside the store?

I'm a mac owner and Solaris Sysadmin. I just got tired of fixing shit at work all day, just to come home and do the same on Windows. My Macbook is lovely, the hardware is head & shoulders above Acer/Dell etc [maybe not in reliabilty terms, but the apple mutlitouch trackpad can't be beat and the Alu enclosure is very robust]. Mainly I use a Mac as I require Photoshop & Lightroom, otherwise I'd probably use Linux of some sort [Don't talk to me about WINE]. I find the OSX gui to be much more classy than Windows which is horribly gaudy.

I just got tired of fixing shit at work all day, just to come home and do the same on Windows

How do you manage to break it so much?
I can't remember the last issue I had with this box - getting used 12 hours/day

Time was, PC users were the nerds and Unix super nerds, I guess it must be since OSX arrived that Mac users became nerds.

Personally having ran the gamut of lots of platforms, until Lion the mac was without doubt the best platform for simplicity and turnkey plug and play, it's not now Lion has made it over bloated in an effort to appeal to the mass market.

Having said that it's a long time since I tried to battle with windoze and although pleasantly surprised by 7 I'm still struggling to get my parallels mac to network connect with the bloody PC laptop I have to use to place orders with our corporate HQ in france on an antiquated MS Access database.

Yup, peterfile - it can be a bit much at times.
I'm not advocating there be no style in the Laptop world - I recoil at IBM Thinkpads like they carry disease. Macs now seem like a uniform to me. Sure they're stylish, but the lock-ins to Apple and cancelling of jailbroken items etc just scream to me that Apple products don't really belong to you. Fair enough, but how does individuality come into this?

I know no one cares about my personal experience with Mac or PC, but there might be more ad revenue from me typing this. I've simply not had a problem with Windows since '98, unless you count failing to boot because I thought 4.2GHz on an old Pentium 4 on stock air was a good idea. The benefits I get from using Windows still exist: Stuff like hacking drivers so my little gaming card acts like a workstation card. Using the hardware I want very easily.

*wanders off muttering about the death of the American Dream, Apple drones...*

I tried to battle with windoze

Were you using Micro$oft Internet Exploder too?

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.

How do you manage to break it so much?

Let's see, a suspend feature which [i]never[/i] worked from day one, no amount of BIOS flashing or footering could fix it.

Let's not pretend the Windows 'half-life' feature where the system slows to a crawl over a 6-12 month period requiring a clean install, doesn't exist either.

Let's see, a suspend feature which never worked from day one, no amount of BIOS flashing or footering could fix it.

Wow, that's a show-stopper.

Let's not pretend the Windows 'half-life' feature where the system slows to a crawl over a 6-12 month period requiring a clean install, doesn't exist either.

It doesn't. You've used a PC since Windows 95 came out, yes?

I found my MAC definitely slowed over the time I had it.
Had a great one where using the Mac+Space search it advised the standard "use this to find what you want quicker", then a bit lower down "Indexing, ready in 98 minutes" - or something along those lines.

Let's see, a suspend feature which never worked from day one, no amount of BIOS flashing or footering could fix it.

Let's not pretend the Windows 'half-life' feature where the system slows to a crawl over a 6-12 month period requiring a clean install, doesn't exist either.

Another, "I work in IT, therefore I am a POWER-USER, but actually knows just enough to **** everything up" idiot!!

Wow, that's a show-stopper.

It doesn't. You've used a PC since Windows 95 came out, yes?

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

Umm, Vista?

Muffdiver, what a ****

Dude? Hero?

STW must be delicious, as it just cannot stop eating itself.

Misguided yes, brain washed? Maybe, nerds? Nah, nerd implies a certain amount of inteligence

/sigh

Oh, and I use PC's all day but have a sudo mac [hackintosh] at home for.

[img] ?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1278642523866[/img]

Just me? Oh well.
You are a nerd for having a Hackintosh BTW. If you had just gone out and bought an off the shelf Mac because it is just easier, then you wouldn't be a nerd.

...sent from my IBM Thinkpad

...my other Computer is a Macbook Pro 😉 🙄

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 [url= http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/11/22/frank_fisher_creative_class/ ]here[/url]
I think of nerds as trainee techy****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]I think of nerds as trainee techy****ts - who really run the world. [/i]

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.
[b]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.[/b]
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. [b]I'm proficient enough with a command line and google to be able to work most things out thankfully.[/b]
[b]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.[/b]

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

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 [i]in preference to [/i]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.

[img] [/img]

....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.

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

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?

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You know the irony of this whole thread? It is in relation to [url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/psa-apple-nerds-this-friday ]a thread I started[/url]......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! 🙂

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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?

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.