The Rodney O. Lain Archive

Mac Advocates and Misplaced Zeal

Rodney O. Lain - 1999.10.21

This article was originally published on The iMac.com, a site which no longer exists. It is copyright 1999 by RAC Enterprises, which also seems to no longer exist. It is thus reprinted here without permission (which we would gladly obtain if possible). Links have been retained when possible, but many go to the Internet Wayback Machine.

Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.
- Acts 5: 38-39

Q. What is the hardest thing you, as an evangelist, ever had to do?
A. Admit to myself that despite all the evangelism that I did, Microsoft Windows was going to control the world.
- Guy Kawasaki

Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com

OWC: Plug & Play Hardware RAID up to 8.0TB. High Performance, Data Redundant Solutions. FireWire 800, FireWire 400, USB2, or eSATA. Hot Swappable Bays, Data Rates over 200MB/s. Click here

Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full Tilt Poker Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.

"Dear 'Guy' (I just realized that I don't even know your name - not the aforementioned Guy Kawasaki),

"I don't like to offend people intentionally, but it seems I offended you anyway.

"You're a pretty likable by all accounts, and you don't really cause trouble in the store - that I know of. I'm sure that you read the Mac 'nets, so I want to be sure to say everything that I want to say this time, since I was too busy to talk with you at length this weekend.

"You probably were surprised that I blew up at you the other day. It wasn't planned, and honestly, I don't regret it.

"I didn't know any better way to say it; God, I don't even know if you heard everything that I said, because therein was my biggest frustration expressed.

"Try to understand my position. I used to do the same things you do: I used to visit computer stores and defend the Mac. I would literally sell computers to customers. I maintained the same siege mentality that you seem to be upholding. Today, however, a siege mentality is an anachronism for us Mac users - it's no longer necessary. Like I did, you need to do some self-evaluation. Like I did, you need to see yourself as customers see you now: a person with misplaced zeal; a person who appears to have some Apple-lyptic mission to convert people by sheer force of will.

"This is how you are coming across.

"I wasn't going to say anything, but it became necessary. Nowadays, Apple Computer is a mainstream company that in many ways no longer needs us 'evangelists' to support the products and 'get the word out.' In the old days (which were not too long ago), Apple needed all the help it could get, since its management was ostensibly clueless.

"But, I hope you can see now that you don't need to devote as much time as you do now to hawking Mac wares in our store.

Please don't spend all day arguing with the Intel rep (that's my job :-). No, seriously, it just isn't professional, and I'd like to think that Apple would prefer if we Mac supporters would present a more mainstream image.
We do not need any sales help in the store. I do appreciate your zeal (sometimes I come across as a zealot in this column myself, so I can relate). On several occasions, I asked you if you'd like to apply for a job. I also asked you if you'd like to apply for a Demo Days' position. You declined both times. Yet, you remain in the stores all day. Doesn't this seem a tad odd from a more objective standpoint?
You asked me if I meant everything that I said when I told you that I was tired of you being in the store. I said yes. I feel bad that I said it, but any other response would be a lie.

"These are painful things that need to be said. Many of them may be things that needed to be said to me in my most zealous moments.

"They need to be said, because Apple, Inc., and its Macintosh is entering a period of newfound celebrity. Customer satisfaction is high; public relations are a breeze. More and more people are switching to the Mac platform, in spite of the people who wish Apple would dry up and die (yes, believe it or not, there are people who will never use a Mac, due to bad past experiences or due to strong pro-Wintel preference). As for those who do buy Macs, though, they will need outgoing Mac users like you to help them make the transition.

"But what we need is a little more maturity than in times past. In the past it was excusable, because we were a persecuted minority. Every warm body was needed. Today, the Mac is a viable option; a mainstream choice.

"It's time we start acting like it."

Editor's Special Announcement: Did you like this editorial? I always LOVE Rodney's view of our world, as I'm sure you do, too. Well, if you want a double dose of Rodney every week, then you must subscribe to The iMac.com Newsletter. There will be a bonus column from Rodney every week in the newsletter, so sign up now. Hope you join us - over 10,000 subscribers can't be wrong! [Editor's note: If you have these bonus columns, please email them to Dan Knight - thanks!]

Rodney O. Lain, a former university English and journalism instructor, works full-time as a software developer and works part-time at a local CompUSA Apple Store Within A Store. A card-carrying member of the local Macintosh User Group Mini'app'les, Rodney writes this column exclusively for theimac.com. His greatest desire is to become an African-American Guy Kawasaki. A self-professed "workaholic writer," he waxes prolifically about race, religion, and the "right OS" at "Free Your Mind & Your Behind Will Follow", his unabashedly pro-Mac website. When he's not cranking out his column, he collects John Byrne comic books, jogs, and attempts to complete his first novel. He lives in Eagan, Minnesota, a southern suburb of St. Paul.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: 15" MacBook Pro Core Duo, Jan. 2006 - The first Intel-based MacBook launched at 1.83-2.0 GHz, had several teething problems.
Group of the Day: System 6 is the email list for those who choose System 6.
Support Low End Mac

Recent Deals

Best eMac Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz Combo, $100; SuperDrive, $269; 1.25 GHz Combo, $119; SD, $319; 1.42 GHz Combo, $289; SD, $498.
Best Mac OS X 10.6 and Mac Box Set Deals, 11.18. "Snow Leopard", single user, $25; 5 users, $45; Mac Box Set, single user, $139; 5 users, $180; Server, $414. Shipping included.
Best Xserve Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz dual G4, $649; 2.3 dual G5, $795; 3.0 4-core Xeon, $1,899; refurb 2.26 4-core, $2,499; new, $2,888; refurb 8-core, $2,999; new, $3,449; more.
Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 11.17. Used 1.83 GHz, $750; 2.16, $800; 2.33, $900; refurb 2.4, $1,299; 2.53, $1,449; 2.66, $1,699; 2.8, $1,899; new 2.53, $1,579; 2.66, $1,799; more.
Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.17. Used 400 MHz, $50; 933 MHz, $80; 500 dual, $60; 867 dual, $90; 1 GHz dual, $150; 1.25 GHz dual, $225; 1.42 GHz, $499.
Best Mac OS X 10.5 Deals, 11.17. "Leopard" upgrade, $80; single user license, $135; 5 users, $173; Mac Box Set, 5 users, $230; Server, 10 users, $340; unlimited, $850. Shipping included.
Best Mac mini Deals, 11.16. Used 1.42 GHz G4 mini, $379; 1.66 GHz Core Solo, $419; 2.0 Core 2, $450; new 2.26 GHz nVidia, $580; 2.53 GHz, $769; Server, $990.
Best iBook G4 Deals, 11.16. Used 12" 1.07 GHz Combo, $210; 1.33 GHz, $298; 14" 1.33 GHz, $398; 1.42 GHz, $479; SuperDrive, $498.
Best iPod shuffle Deals, 11.16. Used 1 GB, $35; 4 GB, $65; refurb 1 GB, $39; 2 GB, $59; new 2 GB, $55, 4 GB, $75. New and refurb prices include shipping.
More deals in our archive.

Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2009 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.