Since my [recent post about why we're a "Mac-centric" site][1] is more of an announcement (rant?) than anything, I won't open comments, but if you would like to discuss it further, please do so in this thread. Thanks.
Merlin Mann wrote: > Since my [recent post about why we're a "Mac-centric" site][1] is more > of an announcement (rant?) than anything, I won't open comments, but if > you would like to discuss it further, please do so in this thread. > Thanks.
<caveat>I work in a school district, supporting Windows, Macintosh, and yes, even Linux (both server and desktops)</caveat>
All computers suck. But they each suck in their own unique fashion.
Although I'm primarily Windows guy (at least since 2000, now that I don't see the BSOD every other hour), I thoroughly enjoy reading 43F -- it gives me an insight into the different types of apps that are being built there. I assume it has to do with Mac's lineage as a more "creative" platform.
For me at least, the OS on my desktop doesn't matter so much, since I'm trying hard to make GTD work with my Palm (actually, a Treo) -- I have it with me all the time, but at work the desktop environment makes typing into it easy, and I especially like being able to cut-n-paste from other apps (e-mail, pdf's, etc.).
So all in all Merlin, I say keep up the Mac focused info. Even if I can't run the programs, simply reading about how they work and how they help you work broadens my horizons.
Frankly, it's nice to find a site devoted to the mac. While I'm not a
heavy mac user myself (I run linux at home and am forced to use
winders at work), my wife has only used macs as long as I've known
her. And, since she has a mac that also happens to be a laptop, I
find myself using a mac a fair amount of time at home.
I've managed to find a huge number of links, tips, and new software
for both of us to use that we simply would never have been aware of if
not for my addiction to 43Folders and Merlin's ranting. By being
exposed to this software, I'm also being exposed to the lack of some
of this software for my chosen OS.
This is a Good Thing (tm) for a few reasons:
1) I get to find out about new sexy things for the mac.
2) I am forced to learn more about my chosen computing platform and
how to make it work more like I would prefer
3) By finding this distinct lack of software, I have started thinking
about getting off my arse and actually writing some tools that
incorporate the functionality of the mac software that I find useful.
You know what? It doesn't bother me at all. I've been enlightened to open source, and ever so slightly to Macs, even as far as suggesting my fiance buy one (It'll probably be less of a maintenance headache than her Compaq). We'll see how far that goes.
In any case, I've been using (suffering) with Windows since version 3.0, and even though I am not Mac-Centric, I read 43 folders very often for the GtD stuff, and even get a kick out of some of the apps that you discuss. (sometimes even wishing I could get to play with Tinderbox on a PC).
I won't get into the religious wars, cause it's not so much about the tools as it is the process. If the tools don't let me get the job done, then they're not worth it, and everyone's situation and opinion is different. Use the knowledge for what it is - maybe it'll spur you to 'switch', maybe not, but for me, the entire GtD process is about increasing my prodcutivity in things that truly matter, and tossing the mundane to the side. I'll keep reading and sharing.
I might even make the move to add a Linux machine in my home environment in the next year like I've hoped.
Reading the Mac-Centric stuff, even if it doesn't apply to me right now, is worth the invaluable tips and opinions that have been shared already.
On Tue, 28 Sep 2004, Merlin Mann wrote:
> Since my [recent post about why we're a "Mac-centric" site][1] is more
> of an announcement (rant?) than anything, I won't open comments, but if
> you would like to discuss it further, please do so in this thread.
> Thanks.
-- [-----------------------------------------------------------------------]
Thought of the week:
-------------------
"Remember, Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies. "
--Andy Dufresne
yeah, this was well-done. I won't want to gush on it, because I don't want it to turn-holy war in any way, but I think you put it all just right.
I don't consider myself any kind of crazed mac-head - I'll use whatever's in front of me, and make it productive, I just choose a mac for my personal use/time. BUT, I love what I can do with my mac, that I can't do on a pc (windows os that is) I love the 'wow' people elicit (whether in their face, or audibly) when they see something I can do (so simply!) on my powerbook. But as you said merlin, it ain't for everyone. A friend of mine got one because she saw all the neat things I did on mine. I pour hours into modding my user environment with apps and tweaks and the like. She's more a casual user. any computer will do what she needs, but she fell under the mac spell anyway. she doesn't get out of it what I do. The only reason I don't worry about it, is she made the decision on her own without asking my thoughts on the decision.
"they will say, "what can a mac do that a wintel computer can't?" and the truth is they do the same things, it's just that the mac does them better. maybe only slightly better, but better nonetheless. the pc industry, however, is all about feature checklists. whoever has the most features wins; if you offer the same features, whoever is cheaper wins. and so if you compare macs and pcs that way, there seems to be no logical reason to decide to use a mac."
"that's ok. if someone doesn't perceive any difference between the mac and windows, they should just use windows."
Hell, just being able to nod knowingly as you read Gruber (http://www.daringfireball.net) is reason enough to use a mac.
BTW, is the word wrapping in these google groups all over the place or is just me?
I read John Gruber's Daring Fireball entry regarding viruses on Windows vs. Mac, and had a revelation of sorts.
Why would we (as Mac users) want the whole world to move to our platform of choice? The only real reason Windows users are plagued by malicious malware while the rest of us are not is because we are not where the action is.
This may be a "well, duh" for many of you, but I just realized that Macintosh is like that great little cafe two blocks off main street that you really love. It's got great service, great atmosphere, and terrific food and drink.... and it's not too crowded either-- just enough to stay in business.
If too many people find out about that little cafe, it (and all of the current customers) will suffer from its success. The same would happen to the Mac.
Perhaps we're better off letting those Windows users think what they like, and enjoy our well-kept little secret. Oh, and let a close friend in on it, every once in a while.
I can't imagine why Mac users get blamed for being arrogant and elitist. The web is my OS. Go ahead and fetishize the Mac. Sit at it all day, fondling its buttons and knobs. Its so pretty.
I just took offense to the comment: "But, if the existence of information outside your single area of interest causes you stress, you should either stick with the non-Mac categories or just not visit here at all."
In other words, deal or shut up. Awww, isn't there a slightly more tactful way to put this?
I believe you left off one way, in between the third and fourth choices: 3.5. Ideological separatism---"I wish that I could get general Productivity/Lifehacks/GTD-type posts, without the platform-specific product plugs."
This is the best new blog on both OS X and productivity. I appreciate the categories, but do wish there was a simple method to show all posts from one that AREN'T in the other. I also wish that the OSX category be divided-it is good to see a Quicksilver category, but I wish there were more. In particular, I want a CLI category: many of the tips are also useful to me (I run Linux).
I do like having access to and do read all the content: I like OS X & am interested in hearing what I could do if I was willing to pay more for both hardware and software. I just wish there were better ways to get at the posts which are most relevant or immediately useful to me. --Rick
I can understand your frustration, Rick, and I think your points are good.
Again, though, this is a site that's intended to help OS X users first and foremost. Anyplace I can work in a little trick or hack, I most certainly will.
Having said that, thanks for visiting and for your interest. If it's any consolation, I think sites about GTD and productivity will really be taking off in the near future (esp. after that post, I imagine! :) ), so I wouldn't be surprised if other options presented themselves to you soon.
Merline, you said that you "tend to discourage friends from ?switching? for the very reason this post now exists; it takes a lot of courage to move from the hegemonic center to the slightly less well-defined edges of any system".
My experience of Mac, nine months after 'switching', has been fourfold unhappy. Part is poor quality hardware, and a threat from Apple that if the machine is returned and declared by them not to be faulty, they will charge me just for inspecting it. Part is what I feel to be a poorly designed and 'unergonomic' interface, and a third part to be an inflexible and uncustomisable OS. (It crashes and locks up a lot too, but no more than Windows XP)
But the worst quarter has been the response from the Macophiles who were trying to encourage me to 'switch' late last year. They were a lot more present and encouraging and as wide-eyed as Moonies about getting me to buy an iBook than they were to help me sort out the mess three months later, when I started regretting my decision.
I'm delighted to read your GTD efforts and it's a great and readable blog. But a lot of the helpful advice you ladle out seem to me to be answering problems that definitely exist on my Mac at home, but not on the Windows XP and 2k machines I use (and support) at work.
I bitterly regret spending my hard-earned home money on a Mac, but I have no money right now to switch back. (It did, after all, cost me twice as much as an equivalent PC clone) Hopefully I'll be a little more solvent by Christmas.
Of course, the appropriate slogan here is 'your mileage may vary'. Obviously Merlin Mann gets a lot farther on a tankful of OSX than I do.
Reading 43 Folders, I'm wide-eyed with delight for all the fat promises held out. But I feel a lot like Oliver Twist overhearing Mr Bumble the Beadle tell Mr Limbkins how large the portions are at dinnertime in the workhouse!
One thing I've found ironic since switching to OS X is how much more I have learned about Unix using it than I ever did messing with Linux. And I did Linux the Gentoo way, the next best thing to rolling your own. But I spent all of my time fiddling with it and trying to get things to work. Everything always works on my Mac, so I have time and energy to actually learn sed, vim, LaTeX, etc.
I was kind of iffy about my first Mac too, until I learned the theory of why it did things the way it did. Frankly, it can be the hardest for expert or power users to make a platform switch. They already know how to get Windows or whatever work. They don't get pop-ups or spyware. Their systems don't crash, because they know what they're doing. It's like being a PhD in English literature, or a nobel prize winning author, and then learning Japanese where all you can say is "I like doggies." More apt, it's like knowing Portuguese as a second language and being pretty damn fluent. Then you try to learn Spanish and it's just weird how everything is ever so slightly off.
Macs are hard to use for Windows users. I know this. Go to a university computer lab. No one knows how to close an application- they just close windows. You'll go up to a computer with 10+ open applications, and no open windows. People run IE even though Safari and Firefox are right there, begging to be clicked on. When things don't work the way they expect them to, they don't blame their own lack of knowledge, they blame the computer. Macs are more logical and intuitive, I think, to new computer users and to people who are interested in interface design, usability, and that kind of hoo-ha. But most people who are going to have a computer, already have one, and it's a Windows box. Habits are hard to break, and for most people, it's just not worth the energy.
That said, I tell people the main reason that they should buy Macs is that if they're asking me, that means I'm the computer nerd they know. And I can hook them up with Mac stuff. If they want to buy a PC, they can depend on the Web OS if they want any good software.
Merlin: Allow me to put on my crusty old "I've been doing this since
1998" pants and my "it's your damn blog, write about what _you_ care
about, and if people don't like it, they can start their own" hat and
say that you've clearly tapped some sort of vein and should ignore
whatever backlash is springing up and keep on keepin' on with your bad
self (just more frequently, please. 8^>=).
Andrew: Don't feel like MacOS X is the only thing you can run on that
iBook. One of the reasons I choose to invest in the Apple hardware is
because I knew that even if I ended up totally hating MacOS X, I'd be
able to run Linux. It might be something for you to consider.
I also had a lot of troubles with my initial iBook; I had to send it
back to Apple 4 times in a little over two years. (Buying the
AppleCare was a good, good idea.) Finally, with the fourth time, Apple
gave me a new iBook -- so if you've got a lemon, just keep on
bitching. (The Mac world is totally ripe for a "words from the Genii"
site skewering rude and/or ignorant things that the "Geniuses" at the
Apple store have said, IMO...)
Yesno: I'd call Linux From Scratch the next-best thing to rolling your
own. Gentoo is good (and it's what I actually run) but you can't beat
LFS for the sheer "learning how it's all put together" factor.
MetaCrossThread: yes, the Gmail word wrap is wonky, especially in the
editing stage.
I wouldn't go so far as to say "frustration:" I do like your site & these are merely "wishes."
> Having said that, thanks for visiting and for your interest. If it's > any consolation, I think sites about GTD and productivity will really > be taking off in the near future (esp. after that post, I imagine! :) > ), so I wouldn't be surprised if other options presented themselves to > you soon.
Perhaps, but I'm sure I will continue to enjoy reading your site too! -Rick
Merlin Mann wrote: > Since my [recent post about why we're a "Mac-centric" site][1] is more > of an announcement (rant?) than anything, I won't open comments, but if > you would like to discuss it further, please do so in this thread. > Thanks.
Well, I was willing to read as long as you kept in your place, but now that you've come out as a wild-eyed platform fanatic ....
I kid! I'm primarily a Windows user for reasons of professional and personal history, but I've had Linux and Mac boxen on and off for years as well. I'm way behind on the Apple side because I don't have anything that will run OS X, so I enjoy reading about all the cool new tools and gadgets you guys have for that. Although I'm not going to be a switcher, it's always been my impression that Macs have a much more organic and interoperative field of software to work from.
Also, I definitely like to take the comparison and see what might be useful from those tools, and seeing them (at least through your eyes) *in operation* really teaches me more than just reading the specs in a review. If I can, I'd like to get back into tool-writing, so there's plenty of opportunity to learn in that regard as well.
Frankly, I love you just the way you are. In a strictly platonic, manly way, of course. But then, I'm a mac user at home, so I guess that's to be expected. [Eeeek...I've just realised I switched 11.5 months ago. Time to go get that Applecare ordered on my Powerbook.]
This is one of the few blogs I bother to check on a daily basis. Keep on doing what you've been doing, and I'll keep reading. :)
I'm switching at home, but we're Windows only at work. I don't find your site overly Mac-centric at all. Sure, the apps and utilities you talk about are for the MAC, but the ideas and philiosphies cross over to all platforms. I've been able to apply some things I found here to my Outlook setup at work. Use the tools that you feel comfortable with, and that allow you to trust in the fact that your GTD system won't let you down.
I happily run my life from my 12" screen 3 lb. wintel laptop (along with all personal email, ssh to my server, etc.) that sites beside my phone, while I work on a honking big IBM laptop.
It seems that the richness of knowledgeworking tools in the Mac space along with the increasing number of people who routinely use separate personal laptops alongside their office PCs (thanks to corporate lockdowns on installing applications, security, filtering, etc.) is a potentially new niche for you Mac zealots to jump on.
