Apple Zealots: Fact or Fiction?

When the days begin to shorten and the clock is arbitrarily manipulated you can be sre that the most popular thing in East Tennessee is Volunteer Football. Sports Talk show ratings fly through the roof and the orange found on trees entering winter’s sleep is solidly shouted down by a mass of orange shirts and hats. It comes as no surprise that along with the support comes a fair amount of zealotry. There are fans convinced that there has never been a football game played by the Vols where the refs weren’t actively and consciously helping the opposition win. Other fans are simply never satisfied, the national championship season was a disappointment because there were too many close games.

In football fanaticism is expected, even encouraged, fans buy shirts and tickets after all. In the world of computers, zealotry seems a bit out of place. Computers are not athletes who make public utterances one can empathize with. Computers don’t travel the state talking to large groups of fans in an attempt to build support for next year’s donation goals. Indeed, computers are just a conglomeration of silicon, screens and electrical components that a corporation will put together and sell you for a fee. It is the classic business model.

While the rabid evangelizing might seem out of place when waxing poetic on an inanimate, the reality is that Mac zealotry is alive and well. A cursory examination makes one wonder why there is such a large number of vocal pro Mac people. Apple is more than a little responsible for this mindset, during the dark years the company felt the need to counter what it saw as a coordinated campaign to scare people away from Macs. To fight mass media misconceptions Apple rehired Guy Kawasaki. Guy turned out to be the computer world’s version of James Carville and stayed on top of every FUD eruption and offhand statement that could possibly be interpreted in a negative manner.

The dire straits Apple was in when the Evangelist was being published has now turned into lush green fields where the major crop is the iPod and people crowd around the privacy fence trying to a glimpse of what new varieties Apple is attempting to cultivate. But the iPod isn’t the only thing growing for Apple, the fields devoted to the once lowly Mac have suddenly sprung forth with renewed productivity. Looking at the Apple landscape today one is hard pressed to come up with a legitimate reason Apple needs evangelists to spread the message, Apple seems to be getting the message out fine on its own.

Still, Apple zealots persist and one is forced to wonder what effect they are having. The easiest conclusion to reach is that the exhortations of the faithful can’t hurt, that they are like a cherry on a chocolate sundae, not strictly necessary but far from a bad thing. Just because something seems readily apparent doesn’t mean it is reflective of reality. Some argue, often persuasively, that fervent Mac community is actually hurting Apple.

Commonly this argument arises when individuals feel put off by what they regard as unchecked fanaticism and smugness in Mac fans certainty about the inherent superiority of their choice in computing. For example, if one were to opine that maybe, just maybe a bare bones Windows based machine is substantially cheaper than a Mac and well suited for the average user, they will subsequently be bombarded by arguments that the Mac is actually a better value. Sure, you’ll have to factor in what you get for the money and that will be followed up with reasoning that indicates that even for the most mundane of tasks the Mac is still superior. Were the person to allow that the computer was only going to be used as a doorstop they’d get an earful about how the Mac was still superior because of aesthetic considerations. Those kind of “Mac is always better is every situation no matter what” contentions do get annoying after a time so it is likely the case that few users are out off by the zealous among us. Still, it is equally likely that the net effect on sales is still positive.

On the other hand if powerful industry types are put off by Mac fanaticism, that is a more dangerous thing indeed. Which brings us to Adobe. Recently Mac fans have been castigating Adobe for perceived slowness in bringing native versions of Photoshop et al to market.* An Adobe manager responded with:

Maybe I should, but as a die-hard Mac user I feel like someone has to speak a little truth to the Mac community–or rather, to that vocal little group of zealots and forum trolls. So here’s my message for those folks: You’re hurting the Mac platform. You’re hurting the Mac community. You need to crush a little aluminum foil against those antennae of yours, because you’re hurting everyone concerned. You’re making it harder (and less appealing) for people of goodwill to make the effort to support the Mac.

By now the message is clearer than an artic sunrise (which one assumes would be renowned for its clarity if only people lived at the North Pole): it is time for the zealots to crank their iPod Hi Fi to max volume and shut their collective pie holes. After all, if the zealotry is doing no good and actually angering key software developers, why waste the energy? A sound conclusion given the arguments presented but, as we are about to see, an erroneous one.

The argument is predicated on the fact, taken as a given without critical examination, that Apple zealotry is some how anomalous. The idea being that people don’t get bent out of shape and go all crazy about brands of hamburgers or soft drinks. That notion simply isn’t true. Whether it is an integral part of the human psyche or a symptom of capitalism isn’t clear but any product purchased that costs a substantial amount of money causes a non-trivial level of zealotry in individuals.

Nothing illustrates the notion of frivolous zealotry more aptly than the Honda Pilot/Toyota Highlander debate. To the uninitiated both vehicles seem like large station wagons or mini vans for guys who refuse to drive a minivan. Certainly nothing to get people foaming at the mouth, right? Wrong. The debate over which hunk of glass, plastic and metal is superior rages with a fury usually reserved for politics. If you read the forums for a few days (not recommended) you’ll begin wondering if everyone arguing is independently wealthy because all the seem to do is talk about a couple of overpriced, too large, station wagons.

With that in mind we turn our attention back to the Apple zealots. Why do they seem so prominent, why has everyone run across and Apple zealot while the Pilot/Highlander war to end all wars is relatively unnoticed? The answer is simple on a moments reflection. Those interested in tech are the ones most likely to have opinions, strong ones, about platform choice. In essence, by surfing to sites like Digg, Macitt and Apple Matters you are placing yourself in the area most likely to contain Apple zealots. If you’re an Adobe manager chances are a lot of the stuff you pay attention to is oriented towards graphic designers, a group which relies on the Mac in disproportionate numbers. In the end, it isn’t so much that Apple zealotry runs rampant it, is more a question of where on hangs out. The whole thing is akin to attending a NASCAR race and being surprised that the place has some people who really like Chevys.

* It must be noted that Adobe is being blamed in no small part because Apple completed the transition ahead of schedule. If there were still Macs waiting to go Intel no one would be whining.