Sporkman
February 11th, 2008, 07:15 PM
Cute. Philisophical point made at the end.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120172199374929447.html?mod=yahoo_hs&ru=yahoo
A Mac Ad You'll Never See
How a Columnist's Transition to Apple
Hit a Snag Almost Before It Got Started
February 4, 2008
OPEN on a stark white background, with tinkly music in the background. On the left stands a stuffy-looking man in khakis, jacket and tie, wearing glasses. On the right, a laid-back guy in casual clothes. In the center, a bald, nondescript middle-aged guy.
Laid-Back Guy (morosely): Hi, I'm a Mac.
Stuffy-Looking Guy (smugly): And I'm a PC.
Nondescript Guy: And I'm a tech columnist.
Mac: I don't know what to say. This almost never happens.
PC (gleefully): What happened, Mac?
Mac: Well --
Columnist: What happened is, you broke. Three and a half weeks after I got you, I came home and your screen was dark and you wouldn't switch on. Thank goodness I'd just put PC aside, instead of putting him on the curb like I'd planned.
PC: Came crawling back, did you? So I guess that bright and shiny Mac world wasn't quite as wonderful as you thought it would be.
Columnist: No, actually it was pretty nice.
(PC looks at the camera, nonplussed.)
Columnist: After 25 years using PCs, I bought a 24-inch iMac in December. And I was impressed before I even plugged it in -- it came in one slim box, instead of a stack of them. I had it up and running in about three minutes, and was on my wireless network a minute after that.
PC: Why don't we skip ahead to the part where Mac breaks?
Mac (patiently): PC….
Columnist: And it was great clearing out all those wires and cords. I don't think I'd seen the floor under my desk in two years with all the mess down there.
PC: But surely it must have been strange, adapting to all the peculiar ways those people work.
Mac: PC….
Columnist: Yeah, it was weird for a while. I had trouble getting used to the idea that there was one status bar at the top of the screen, instead of one on top of every application window. And it took me a long time to figure out Apple-C instead of CTRL-C. I felt lost for a week or so, sure. But then --
PC: But tell me about the part where he breaks!
(Mac hangs head.)
Columnist: Calm down, PC. It took me a while, but I got all my stuff transferred -- mostly files for iTunes and Word and Photoshop. My biggest problem was with Mozy, the program I use for remote backup. I loved it on the PC, but it was really slow on the Mac. Brought everything to a crawl, and crashed sometimes.
Mac: I like working with lots of programs. But I can't always control --
Columnist: I know, Mac. I'm not blaming you. Mozy for Mac's in beta. (They say they're working on an issue with wireless backups for the Mac, and pointed me to a new software release.) And even that hasn't been so bad: I know once I get the initial backup finished, things will be a lot easier. Meanwhile, I felt like I'd really made the switch. I mean, iTunes was a revelation on the Mac --
PC: Revelation? Let's not get sacrilegious here!
Columnist: ITunes worked a lot more quickly and smoothly, how's that? My dad was even inspired by my example -- he got a MacBook. A couple of days later, he asked me what antivirus software he should get, and I heard myself saying, "You don't need it, Dad -- it's a Mac." It was my first Mac Guy moment. And I felt proud.
PC: And then he broke.
Mac: Oh, don't be cruel, PC.
Columnist: Yeah, I came home and you were broken.
(PC begins hopping up and down and clapping his hands.)
Mac: What was wrong with me?
Columnist: Bad power supply. I called Apple and they had me take you into the shop. I got you back a week later.
Mac: Wow, tough break. But you know, if something like this does happen with me within the first 90 days after you take me home, you get complimentary phone support.
(Mac looks off to the side.)
Mac: Hey, let me bring out one of our technical-support people! I think she'll be played by that girl from "Juno" --
Columnist: No offense, Mac, but I was hoping not to be acquainted with your technical-support folks quite so soon. I got an appointment at the Genius Bar in the Soho Apple store. It's a strange place, the Genius Bar. Everybody waiting for help looks kind of mournful, like they did something wrong.
PC (scoffing): Sounds like some kind of weird cult to me. I'd be careful.
Columnist: Please. If there were such a thing as a PC Genius Bar, people wouldn't be waiting quietly. They'd be rioting.
PC: Hey! I'm not the one who stopped working!
Columnist: Don't start with me, PC. How many times a week did you tell me you were low on virtual memory? And remember Windows ME? I've had tumbles down the stairs that were more fun than that.
PC: But that was a long time ago! You were happy with XP! That's what I don't understand, Jace. I know I was getting old -- I couldn't simultaneously run Photoshop and Excel and surf the Web and play that indie rock you're too old for. But you could have upgraded me! You could have bought a new me! What did I do to you that was so bad that you'd leave?
Columnist: It wasn't you, PC. It was me. I guess I just wanted to try something new. I loved my iPod, and iTunes changed my musical life. Then I got an AirPort Express, and I liked that too. And eventually, the fact that I liked all these Apple products made me wonder what I was missing. I thought it might be fun to play around with iMovie and GarageBand, you know? And since you two can share files really easily now, what was holding me back?
PC: Well, busted power supplies, for one.
Mac: PC, please. So did everything work out OK?
Columnist: I don't know, Mac, you tell me. You've been running for a week. I guess that's progress.
Mac: You know, I'm really sorry that happened. But I'm not sure you're being fair here. Our factories make a lot of me, and sometimes something goes wrong. I got fixed, it didn't cost you anything, and now I'm sure I'll work just fine for years to come.
Columnist: I hope you're right, Mac. And I'm sorry that I'm mad. But I mean, I switched. I saw all the ads and read about all the neat products and I read my own columns, and so finally I switched. And then three weeks later I'm lugging a busted iMac around Soho. I was just so disappointed.
Mac: Like I said, I'm sorry. But -- and I don't mean to be harsh here -- you're 38 years old. You've lived with computers your whole life. You've written this column for more than five years. I just wonder why, after all that, you're taking something like this so personally. We're both just machines….
PC: Wait a minute! He was the one in the shop. Why does he gets the big philosophical speech? These should be my lines.
Columnist: Fair point. Take it away, PC.
PC: Um, where were we? Oh. We're both just machines. We may look different, and we may do some things differently, but we're still just machines. We can be a big part of your life, but what computer you buy doesn't have anything to do with what kind of person you are. We're just computers, Jace. We're ways to get things done. It's silly to make us into anything more than that.
Mac: Couldn't have said it better myself, PC.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120172199374929447.html?mod=yahoo_hs&ru=yahoo
A Mac Ad You'll Never See
How a Columnist's Transition to Apple
Hit a Snag Almost Before It Got Started
February 4, 2008
OPEN on a stark white background, with tinkly music in the background. On the left stands a stuffy-looking man in khakis, jacket and tie, wearing glasses. On the right, a laid-back guy in casual clothes. In the center, a bald, nondescript middle-aged guy.
Laid-Back Guy (morosely): Hi, I'm a Mac.
Stuffy-Looking Guy (smugly): And I'm a PC.
Nondescript Guy: And I'm a tech columnist.
Mac: I don't know what to say. This almost never happens.
PC (gleefully): What happened, Mac?
Mac: Well --
Columnist: What happened is, you broke. Three and a half weeks after I got you, I came home and your screen was dark and you wouldn't switch on. Thank goodness I'd just put PC aside, instead of putting him on the curb like I'd planned.
PC: Came crawling back, did you? So I guess that bright and shiny Mac world wasn't quite as wonderful as you thought it would be.
Columnist: No, actually it was pretty nice.
(PC looks at the camera, nonplussed.)
Columnist: After 25 years using PCs, I bought a 24-inch iMac in December. And I was impressed before I even plugged it in -- it came in one slim box, instead of a stack of them. I had it up and running in about three minutes, and was on my wireless network a minute after that.
PC: Why don't we skip ahead to the part where Mac breaks?
Mac (patiently): PC….
Columnist: And it was great clearing out all those wires and cords. I don't think I'd seen the floor under my desk in two years with all the mess down there.
PC: But surely it must have been strange, adapting to all the peculiar ways those people work.
Mac: PC….
Columnist: Yeah, it was weird for a while. I had trouble getting used to the idea that there was one status bar at the top of the screen, instead of one on top of every application window. And it took me a long time to figure out Apple-C instead of CTRL-C. I felt lost for a week or so, sure. But then --
PC: But tell me about the part where he breaks!
(Mac hangs head.)
Columnist: Calm down, PC. It took me a while, but I got all my stuff transferred -- mostly files for iTunes and Word and Photoshop. My biggest problem was with Mozy, the program I use for remote backup. I loved it on the PC, but it was really slow on the Mac. Brought everything to a crawl, and crashed sometimes.
Mac: I like working with lots of programs. But I can't always control --
Columnist: I know, Mac. I'm not blaming you. Mozy for Mac's in beta. (They say they're working on an issue with wireless backups for the Mac, and pointed me to a new software release.) And even that hasn't been so bad: I know once I get the initial backup finished, things will be a lot easier. Meanwhile, I felt like I'd really made the switch. I mean, iTunes was a revelation on the Mac --
PC: Revelation? Let's not get sacrilegious here!
Columnist: ITunes worked a lot more quickly and smoothly, how's that? My dad was even inspired by my example -- he got a MacBook. A couple of days later, he asked me what antivirus software he should get, and I heard myself saying, "You don't need it, Dad -- it's a Mac." It was my first Mac Guy moment. And I felt proud.
PC: And then he broke.
Mac: Oh, don't be cruel, PC.
Columnist: Yeah, I came home and you were broken.
(PC begins hopping up and down and clapping his hands.)
Mac: What was wrong with me?
Columnist: Bad power supply. I called Apple and they had me take you into the shop. I got you back a week later.
Mac: Wow, tough break. But you know, if something like this does happen with me within the first 90 days after you take me home, you get complimentary phone support.
(Mac looks off to the side.)
Mac: Hey, let me bring out one of our technical-support people! I think she'll be played by that girl from "Juno" --
Columnist: No offense, Mac, but I was hoping not to be acquainted with your technical-support folks quite so soon. I got an appointment at the Genius Bar in the Soho Apple store. It's a strange place, the Genius Bar. Everybody waiting for help looks kind of mournful, like they did something wrong.
PC (scoffing): Sounds like some kind of weird cult to me. I'd be careful.
Columnist: Please. If there were such a thing as a PC Genius Bar, people wouldn't be waiting quietly. They'd be rioting.
PC: Hey! I'm not the one who stopped working!
Columnist: Don't start with me, PC. How many times a week did you tell me you were low on virtual memory? And remember Windows ME? I've had tumbles down the stairs that were more fun than that.
PC: But that was a long time ago! You were happy with XP! That's what I don't understand, Jace. I know I was getting old -- I couldn't simultaneously run Photoshop and Excel and surf the Web and play that indie rock you're too old for. But you could have upgraded me! You could have bought a new me! What did I do to you that was so bad that you'd leave?
Columnist: It wasn't you, PC. It was me. I guess I just wanted to try something new. I loved my iPod, and iTunes changed my musical life. Then I got an AirPort Express, and I liked that too. And eventually, the fact that I liked all these Apple products made me wonder what I was missing. I thought it might be fun to play around with iMovie and GarageBand, you know? And since you two can share files really easily now, what was holding me back?
PC: Well, busted power supplies, for one.
Mac: PC, please. So did everything work out OK?
Columnist: I don't know, Mac, you tell me. You've been running for a week. I guess that's progress.
Mac: You know, I'm really sorry that happened. But I'm not sure you're being fair here. Our factories make a lot of me, and sometimes something goes wrong. I got fixed, it didn't cost you anything, and now I'm sure I'll work just fine for years to come.
Columnist: I hope you're right, Mac. And I'm sorry that I'm mad. But I mean, I switched. I saw all the ads and read about all the neat products and I read my own columns, and so finally I switched. And then three weeks later I'm lugging a busted iMac around Soho. I was just so disappointed.
Mac: Like I said, I'm sorry. But -- and I don't mean to be harsh here -- you're 38 years old. You've lived with computers your whole life. You've written this column for more than five years. I just wonder why, after all that, you're taking something like this so personally. We're both just machines….
PC: Wait a minute! He was the one in the shop. Why does he gets the big philosophical speech? These should be my lines.
Columnist: Fair point. Take it away, PC.
PC: Um, where were we? Oh. We're both just machines. We may look different, and we may do some things differently, but we're still just machines. We can be a big part of your life, but what computer you buy doesn't have anything to do with what kind of person you are. We're just computers, Jace. We're ways to get things done. It's silly to make us into anything more than that.
Mac: Couldn't have said it better myself, PC.