the tindog coffeehouse

Website Hunch.com recently published a large and detailed infographic comparing Mac and PC users, based on questions answered by visitors to the site. The non-scientific study, which was republished on a few other tech blogs, basically confirms every stereotype about Mac and PC users: that Mac users are young, liberal, artsy-fartsy types, while PC users are old, conservative, spreadsheet fanatics.

I don’t know how much of that is actually true. Instinctively, I suppose it’s fairly accurate just based on the kind of image Apple has spent decades cultivating. Apple has always wanted us to see it as the anti-Microsoft, even going back to their infamous “1984″ commercial. But one area of the infographic that I think is entirely wrong is the Technology category, and more specifically this stat:

Mac people are 21% more likely than PC people to consider themselves computer-savvy gearheads.

Huh?

How can this even be remotely accurate? Apple products are designed from the ground up to be closed systems. That is, if you want to run OS X, you can (legally) only run it on an Apple computer. That means no building your own computer, which already calls the “gearhead” description into question. Also, while you can change some things within OS X, that level of customization is nothing compared to Windows. With Windows, I can make Registry changes, implement group policies, create various scripts, hack the built-in visual styles, and more in order to customize the UI to my particular liking and do exactly what I want to do. I’m not dependent on an Apple-sanctioned app store for programs, and if something does go wrong, I don’t have to drag my computer across town to the nearest Apple Store in hopes some “genius” can fix it; I can fix the problem myself.

Please understand I’m not putting down Apple or OS X; I think that the closed system approach works very well in certain conditions, such as with the iPhone. But real “computer-savvy gearheads” will always prefer PCs over Macs.

Previously:
Prediction: Windows 8 will look more like iOS than Windows
The Apple Gestapo
‘Innovation at scale’ proves just how out of touch Microsoft is
Windows launch party video: the perfect ad for OS X
‘How Apple Plays Upon Our Insecurities’