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Apple Macs: Objects of devotion
It's tempting to think that Steve Jobs is some sort of religious leader rather than the chief executive of a rather successful computer company.
And you could be forgiven for thinking that his Apple products are objects of religious devotion rather than mere pieces of plastic enclosing silicon chips.
The Cult of Mac does have some rational basis.
There seems little doubt that the products are very good. Its strong attractions are usability and good looks (though not usually price until this week's announcement of a less expensive home computer).
Inspired behaviour
There is clearly, though, something more to it than mere mundane functionality.
Lots of companies make good products but they don't attract the kind of religious zeal that Mac inspires.
Take the case of John Charlton, for example, who, according to Wired magazine, travels the world with his Newton, the PDA which Apple discontinued in 1998, and has now created a gallery of pictures of the said gizmo in front of various global landmarks from Florida to Munich to Lisbon.
Or the people who cut their hair to show an Apple symbol or who get Mac tattoos or who dress up like Steve Jobs or who trek around the world to the opening of a new Apple Store.
Rebellious streak
It is a tribal thing - the Mac Tribe - and a sociological phenomenon, to do perhaps with a minority who believe they have seen a truth, much like the drivers of VW Beetles would wave to each other in the 60s, knowing utterly that their car was superior, but it was a secret unperceived by the rest.
There may also be a type of person who delights in going against the herd.
Whatever is fashionable for the masses becomes unfashionable for the minority. Manchester City and the New York Mets both have their loyal followers who would rather die than head for Old Trafford or Yankee Stadium. And so it is with Microsoft and Apple.
While the big company dominates the market with its uncool product, Macs offer an alternative to those with a streak of bolshiness and perversity (both nouns are compliments).
Cool dudes?
None of which is to say that Apple and Mac offer style but no substance.
Clearly, the company is getting a lot right. Its devotees (disciples?) swear by their products as being effective and easy to use.
It's just that there's something more to it than that: the packaging and sales-pitch have succeeded brilliantly in conveying a whole life-style and image.
That style emanates from the top.
Steve Jobs is the counter-image of a stuffy businessman. He wears trainers, jeans and black sweaters.
Apple's attitude to the media is actually tight and highly controlled yet the image portrayed is of a cool and easy-going counter-culture.
Pure marketing
Let me declare an interest: I own a Microsoft driven personal computer. It serves me very well. I have no strong feelings about it. Mac may or may not be better; it's just that it's not the route I happened to take.
I get stalked, though, by colleagues who insist on telling me how much better their iPod is than my Dell Jukebox, even as the reviews say the battery life of an iPod isn't the best around. Or how I should throw my PC away and get a Mac.
They may be right.
It's just that some of the message is in the marketing.
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