Wednesday, December 3, 2008

PC: Barack Obama of laptops

About a year ago, when I was starting out as an art director, I didn't even own a laptop. Up until that point, I spent a good 7-8 years on my PC desktop doing flyers, posters, etc. But when I came to the CC, the first thing that was apparent was that the ad world was completely Mac driven. It seemed that everyone and their little dogs had a Mac, and for a while, I sorely hankered for one. Like how Carlos Mencia hankers for dignity.

Of course, I can see why people like them. Sure, they are sleek and completely user friendly. Of course the resolution looks amazing, especially for designing projects. And they absolutely look cool, especially when you are checking your email at the coffee shop. (I wonder what the correlation between coffee sales and Mac sales are. It's gotta be higher than Willy Nelson's tour manager.)

But there's really only one why I buy a PC over a Mac:

Price.

I just don't have the kind of money lying around to buy a such a high-priced piece of silicon and solder. I can't afford to buy my accessories from Mac and no one else. I don't have the time to drive out to the Mac store and wait for them to fix my machine for me; God only knows I hate being at the mall.

Buddah, Allah. They both know too.

Furthermore, it's the price tag which has resulted in this computer-fashion statement. It's that logo that is emblazoned on car windows and T-shirts. People have conversations about their Macs. I guess they can afford to, but it seems a little overbearing to me. I wouldn't be suprised to see a Mac tattoo or five.

Oh wait: Taking Apple a little too far

I think some people fail to recognize is that it's just a machine, just like soda is a machine. This strong brand identity has strongly put me off. I just can't live my life behind a brand name. Brands are just products, and not our livelihoods.

It's like choosing between OBama and McCain. Some people voted Obama, not because he would make a good president, but because he wasn't a Republican McCain.

PC: it's not a Mac.