Smaller is better

Did a little upgrading with my laptop situation and moved away from my Dell Inspiron dinosaur to an Asus Eee. It’s a netbook that came recommended by a fellow friend and Eee user. So far, I’m enjoying a lot of aspects of having one. I originally thought that something this small would be disadvantageous, but I am definitely an advocate for these little guys now. It’s a PC, not a Mac, which brings me to what I want to talk about…Arrogant Mac users. Macs are good computers, and I have a great deal of respect for the Apple brand on the whole. BUT, I can’t stand the vibe some people give off just because they own a freaking Mac computer.  Now if you’re sitting there compiling reasons why Macs are better than PCs, there’s a chance that you are one of these arrogant individuals.  Again, I have used Macs, they’re great computers, but I have used PCs as a personal computer for years, and I have been satisfied. See, even gorgeous blonde girls use Asus computers on the beach…

I think the best way to go about this would be to look at the marketing campaign battle between Mac and PC. Windows goes with the slogan “I’m a PC” being said by various individuals. I mean Eva Longoria apparently uses a PC, how much more convincing does one need?!

When you watch this commercial, the focus is on PCs and their user’s endorsements. It’s clever and gives off a positive vibe.

THEN we have the Mac commercials which are alluded to at the beginning of the PC commercial just shown above. These commercials are on the same level as political television advertisements. Political ads that spend the 30 seconds ripping on why John McCain or Barack Obama would be a terrible choice for President. The focus is on the opponent’s alleged flaws rather than pointing out the positives in voting for the guy/gal that actually pays for the advertisement. Mac has the same strategy. In this commercial the focus is on PC. Not once do I hear a reason for why I should buy a Mac. You can say that it is implied that Macs do not have the problems pointed out in the commercial, but if that is the goal of the advertisement, why not put the focus on your product’s positives rather than your opponent’s negatives?

The attitude of these commercials is represented in everyday life with some Mac users that I have come in to contact with. Since buying PCs I have heard “Why would you buy a PC?” from Mac advocates. NOT, “Why wouldn’t you buy a Mac?” The focus is always on PCs, which, if Apple continues to obsess about keeping the focus on PC flaws, then I guess we’ll never figure out why Macs are apparently superior.

I applaud Windows for keeping the focus on their product. I hate being sold on the negatives of others. This was a key factor in my college decision of Drake University. I will never forget my “Mac” college visit experience at Eastern Illinois University. EIU is a great school, and I would have further considered it had it not been for the individual that I spoke with in the admissions office. He was extremely interested in where else I was looking at going to school. I said, well Drake University…he quickly countered with “too expensive.” I said Northern Illinois University…he responded with “too close to home.” I also mentioned the University of Wisconsin and his two cents were “too big and too much money.” Yes he did talk about EIU, but it really turned me off that his strategy was to rip on these other schools. When I went to Drake on a college visit, they took the PC approach and kept the focus on why Drake would fit me. Case and point, I chose Drake, and I choose PCs when investing money in a personal laptop.

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