iCheeseburger

I was reading this CNN article about the new iPhone's hilariously awful maps when I disregarded all logic and scrolled down to the comments. You had your typical comments bashing Apple, defending Apple, supporting Apple, and I think Hitler was inevitably mentioned somewhere. But this was a comment that stuck out for me,

I've yet to understand why you people get on here and complain about products you don't own or like. It's like telling someone everyday you hate cheeseburgers but are always hanging out at a burger joint. [accessed 9/21/2012 4:45 PM]

Okay, I think I will explain this to you within the guidelines of your metaphor. Let's imagine that cheeseburgers are the only type of food that saturates the news. Anytime some minor change occurs with a cheeseburger, the news organizations cover it like mad. People stand in line for hours just to get the new cheeseburger, even if there is no real change to the recipe from yesterday's cheeseburger. And when those people do buy their cheeseburgers, they brag about it and how it is sooooo superior to your lowly hamburger. They act smug, like they are better than you because they have a cheeseburger, even if it was made from the same ground up cow and made by the same minimum wage employee as your hamburger.

It's the bombardment of positive news relating to this company that others don't seem to get. For a company that only has 10% of the market share for operating systems, they get a disproportionate amount of press. It's the cult-like devotion to acquire the newest product, even though their year-old device still works fine. It's the smugness of the customers thinking they are superior to PC users, even if both products are the same damn thing with their individual pros and cons. It's the hypocrisy of anti-corporate, anti-consumerist people supporting a corporation with questionable business practices, and participating en mass in consumerism.

This is why some people love to hate Apple products and their costumers. It's when a product is more than a product and becomes a "way of life". That by using an alternative to the predominant PC/Windows, they are somehow more unique and more superior to the rest of the population.

Now for the obvious "fairness disclaimer". Not all Mac users are like this. They just prefer this system over Windows, and I can see why. Windows sucks. I get so many errors and problems on every computer I've ever had. Pressing the "Space" key has gotten me an "illegal command" message. Numerous games crash for no reason (games in which the computer meets all necessary recommendations). Turning my computer on after being asleep may give me the "Blue Screen of Death". They change programs that I liked (movie maker is now horrible on whatever system this is, so now I need to buy $100 software) or they rename them from the last system, causing confusion and wasted time. Constant updates at inconvenient times in which I can't see a damn difference. I can understand people wanting an alternative!

But Macs are not for me. I grew up with a PC, and that is what I am accustomed to. I NEED a right click on my mouse. It once took me ten minutes to turn on an iMac G3 because the power button was in the back and slightly under the computer/monitor thing. Because having a power button in clear sight was clearly an industry practice that needed to GO!

Some people like Hamburgers, some prefer them with Cheese. But eating either one doesn't make you special, so shut up and let me enjoy my damn meal!