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Why Are Macs So Common In Coffee Shops?
- Thread starter Goona
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Working in a coffee shop might be distracting for you, but I am able to focus and get my work done. The background noise and hub-bub helps me focus.
Everybody's different.........
This is one of the reasons as why Mac users are seen as so pretentious. It's as if they need to be seen in public while working. As if they need validation from the general public.
OK, remember I am Norwegian, and have never been in a Starbucks, but aren't they really just McDonalds with coffee instead of burgers?
In Norway the coffee shops are full of small tables, sofas and comfy chairs, and they all have wi-fi for free in order to make you stay longer and maybe order some food... And macs are indeed common!
If Starbucks is like McD, I agree that it's odd that people stay there. If it's like our coffee shops, then the reason is that people like the kind of coffee you can't make at home, and it doesn't really cost that much to spend a few hours drinking three cups while you work.
In Norway the coffee shops are full of small tables, sofas and comfy chairs, and they all have wi-fi for free in order to make you stay longer and maybe order some food... And macs are indeed common!
If Starbucks is like McD, I agree that it's odd that people stay there. If it's like our coffee shops, then the reason is that people like the kind of coffee you can't make at home, and it doesn't really cost that much to spend a few hours drinking three cups while you work.
Nah, a lot of Starbucks in the States (and here, though I think there's only 1 or two in NSW) have the comfy couches and lounges and stuff.
My generalizations are not personally directed. I don't know you. But that is indeed how I feel about people bringing laptops to do work in public places.
So because I choose to get out of the house every once in a while and do some work on my MBP at my local Starbucks, I'm pretentious and a show-off? I know that you aren't personally directing your generalizations at me, but clearly I fall within them.
What exactly are you basing your generalizations on? How do you know what the intentions of Mac-users in coffee shops are? Maybe people just like getting out of the office/house for a couple of hours......
Why do you need my validation so much? If you disagree with my opinion you can ignore me.
Oh, I'm sorry. I thought that the point of discussion forums were to discuss things. If everyone ignored everyone's opinion that differed from their own, what exactly would go on around here?
Yeah. I need your validation. That's it. Please give it to me.
I'm simply annoyed by your unfair, blanket generalization.
Why do you think so little of people who work on laptops in coffee shops? How dare they utilize the portability feature of their laptop!
Bingo. Also helps that Apple started this trendy thing years ago with showing ads of MacBooks used by students at Starbucks ... the signature cup with the brown heat cover with the label turned.
Most likely. It Sure helps that Starbucks & Apple had an agreement to have free wifi for iPod/Mac users with the music selection by Starbucks brass authorized to play in Starbucks to be available for purchase by iPod users.
Oh, I'm sorry. I thought that the point of discussion forums were to discuss things. If everyone ignored everyone's opinion that differed from their own, what exactly would go on around here?
Yeah. I need your validation. That's it. Please give it to me.
I'm simply annoyed by your unfair, blanket generalization.
Why do you think so little of people who work on laptops in coffee shops? How dare they utilize the portability feature of their laptop!
Will you explain to me why a Mac user would want to do work in a coffee shop?
Both of these pretty much sum it up. In general, Mac users (and not just fanboys, either) like showing off their Mac. They like being able to show off that it's a better computer. And, because their computers actually have a battery that lasts long enough to do some work, it's just convenient.
People bring computers to coffee shops all the time but I think more PC users would bring their machines if (a) the batteries lasted longer, (b) if their computers were fast enough to load while they were there, and (c) if they were "proud" of their computer.
I can say that mine fits all of those categories. And I'm proud of my computer. So I'm going to take it with me to wherever's convenient that I can sit down and do what I need while enjoying a nice, hot beverage.
P.S. I hate coffee.
The free wifi that you are referring to is only for iPhone users who are with AT&T (in the US). It is not for Mac or iPod users.
However for everyone else (Mac and PC users), in order to use the daily 2 hours of free wifi at that is provided by Starbucks, you have to have an active (used within the past 30 days) Starbucks gift card.
Um...... why not? It's a comfortable environment, there is free wifi, and perhaps that Mac user enjoys a fresh espresso-based drink.
What an odd question.
Some people work from home. Sometimes it's refreshing to be in public for a few hours during the day.
My point is it's a distracting environment. If you're serious about getting work done you won't go into a place where you're temped to talk to other people, people watch, get up and grab coffee, etc. An office in solitude is a much better work environment. The only reason to take your giant glowing apple endowed eye catching computer is to make a statement, so people can see what you're worth. It's like wearing Prada or Comme des Garçons.
Maybe for some people, but I find a quiet, sterile office the WORST place to get anything done.
I used to go to cafés to study at Uni because I found I could really focus on the task at hand when I was surrounded by the goings on of life.
FOR YOU.
What is good for you is not necessarily good for everyone else.
I can concentrate in a coffee shop. I get good work done in an environment like that. I find that, sometimes, I work even more efficiently at a coffee shop than at home/in an office.
I agree with Chundles above, and I stated this in a prior post, see:
This is why generalizations aren't the best way to think.
you two seem to not understand the difference between distracting and distractible. A coffee shop is busy. Fact. An office is your own workspace. Very little drama is likely to occur in an office, but a coffee shop has people pouring in and out. A coffee shop is a lot more likely to have a few obnoxious people walk in, or even a breeze roll by, or you might bump into someone you know, etc.
Fact is it's not a good work environment. Not just for me personally but for a multitude of people. Maybe in this constant noise radio/television/facebook/myspace/youtube world we live in people don't know how to handle themselves without some kind of "noise" in their life.
There was a time before music on demand, or the ability to carry your video collection with you.
Fact is it's not a good work environment. Not just for me personally but for a multitude of people. Maybe in this constant noise radio/television/facebook/myspace/youtube world we live in people don't know how to handle themselves without some kind of "noise" in their life.
There was a time before music on demand, or the ability to carry your video collection with you.
For this Mac user, it is because I am self-employed and work out of a home office--alone. So, 1) sometimes it is nice to get out into a place where there are other people--just to hear the background noise of voices; and 2) often I have several appointments outside the house that end up leaving me an hour or so of spare time between meetings. It's easier and burns less gas to find a good coffee shop and get some work done than to drive home and then back out again.
It never occurred to me that someone would think I was showing off my computer. But I'm not going to buy a PC just so I can work outside the home without looking "pretentious."
PS I live in a town with many excellent locally owned coffee shops, so I never go to Starbucks ...
PPS I formed my adult work habits in newsrooms, so I am well-used to getting serious work done in noisy, distracting environments. Sometimes the home office is just TOO quiet!
Lol
And you don't seem to understand this statement:
An analogy:
Some people can't stand the taste of tomatoes. Some people love the taste. According to your reasoning, if you didn't like the taste of tomatoes, it would be a fact that tomatoes taste bad.
Your belief that coffee shops aren't good working environments is not a fact. It is your opinion.
It's not like I go out of my way to show off the kinds of tomato I buy.
PS I live in a town with many excellent locally owned coffee shops, so I never go to Starbucks ...
but you must understand where I'm coming from. How it can be seen as pretentious. Pretentious in the way of only going to locally owned.... oh never mind.
Again, ridiculous. You're funny.
So...... you've never packed a lunch and ate in public before?
Why did you cut off and not respond to the last sentence of my last comment?