Posted by Alice on February 13, 2008 Has anyone else noticed a preponderance of Macs populating coffeeshops? The one I am in has 6 Macs out of 7 computers at the moment – and my school is full of engineers who supposedly only use Windoze machines! Is it just that Mac people are cool and hang out at coffeeshops, or that they lack offices and need somewhere to work? Or is it only in coffeeshops in close proximity to universities?
Me? I’m here for the Internets. Oh yeah, and the coffee. And the giant valentine cookies.
Maybe Mac owners have a tendency to be lazy bums that would rather hang around in coffee shops instead of do any work. They’re all just surfing Facebook and Youtube.
Based on 15 years or more of managing Mac and Windows computers, I can say with some certainty that Macs are just easier to maintain. In one department I had 15 Macs and 2 PCs. We spent 80% of our support time maintaining the PCs, and most of the time the Mac support consisted of a restart (before OS X, which is simpler).
If I were running a coffeeshop, and attracting people to come with computers, be assured I would set up Macs.
Yes!
Even in New Zealand (where Macs a really pricey) we still have a Mac/PC ratio which is way disproportionate to the numbers who actually use it.
I think its the Airport for easy accessibility, and the fact you get admiring glances and it’s a conversion starter.
Has anyone ever said to you in a coffee shop: “I see you’ve got a PC”?
Never heard it myself….
That said, I am having a problem on my Mac which means that I have swift internet on Firefox and Safari, but can’t access the server for either mail account to download the mail. Any ideas from the internets on that one?
I should add that it downloads perfectly on a wired connection – it’s just the Wifi hotspots that seem to restrict access to the ports.
( ScienceWomen for adding another issue to the comments!)
Overall though, the lack of Spam or viruses (cross fingers turnaround three times, throw salt over my left shoulder and spit) makes it well worthwhile!
at the company I work at, (large, well known software company,) the number of mac laptops generally seems to far outnumber the PC types, (at one meeting I was recently at the ratio was 7:1) though sometimes you have to check, many people buy the apple hardware and run windows on it. (the windows software development package tends to be preferred over mac’s xcode.) but the leisure time is all OS X.
rachel, tough one, whose wifi access points are they? can you talk to the admin and ask?
It’s probably something to do with being the kind of person who hangs out at coffee shops. I never do, and my laptop is a PC. Coffee shops are alien places. I truly can’t imagine going to one and hanging out. (Of course, I would if my internet went out at home.) But in large degree that’s because I like to go home. (And still think of cafes, etc, as places where they really depend on people not taking up their tables for hours.)
That comment from Rachel says it all:
Has anyone ever said to you in a coffee shop: “I see you’ve got a PC”?
Macs are cooler, hands down.
OS X is really a terrific operating system and it combines the best of both worlds (PC and Unix). You have the stable core of Unix (much more reliable than Linux since you have all these nice device drivers readily available) and the simplicity and user-friendliness that a PC may offer. You have a great package for either the person who wants a few basic functions to the user who wants to program and develop software.
I would complain about the price but my G3 powerbook (10 years old this summer) still works very well (with some minor upgrades). If the new machines last as long, they are a great long-term investment.
Macs are indeed beautiful, but I’m not totally convinced of that “they’re so much easier to use” bit. I recently sat down at a friend’s Mac and found it very confusing for this PC gal. I guess that means I’m stupid. Hey, maybe Windoze has made me stupid! Can I sue Bill Gates for that and retire on my settlement?????
Macs are easier to use, much simpler underneath and very intuitive once you’ve learned the basics.
I would liken the change to getting used to driving on the left hand side of the road, when you’ve been driving on the right. It’s not that hard to convert, and once you’ve got used to it, no problem at all.
I think that maybe the reason there are more Mac users in coffeeshops is that Mac users may be different on the extroversion/introversion scale.
I was telling a psychologist how I my preferred venue for writing was a cafe – movement, people, but actually few distractions. He said that wasn’t so much a function of creativity as it was that I had an extrovert style.
Macs being easier to use doesn’t explain their disproportionate representation in coffee-shops. Personally I think it’s because Macs simply look way cooler than PC laptops and people who own Macs are exhibitionists who like to show off their goods. 
There’s only one real explination.- we’re way cooler. Mac and coffee shops. Two cool things that get cooler together.
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