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Why Are Macs So Common In Coffee Shops?
- Thread starter Goona
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I use my Mac in the school library between classes...does that make me an extroverted show-off?Frankly, I don't give a flying **** what other people think of my computer.
well... you do have your computer set up in your signature, so obviously you must care if people see what you're rolling with.
I mean people in public places...as for the sig line it's mainly so I don't have to mention my setup if I have a question here.
Good grief.... you guys continued a pointless, but heated debate while I slept. Who cares about mac users in starbucks... I've stated why I go to coffee shops with my mac, and there are a few other reasons floating around in this thread somewhere. Who could care less? It's just an expensive computer and coffee, why on earth would people go out of their working day, just to show off?
Now stop this pointless discussion before I tell your mothers.
Now stop this pointless discussion before I tell your mothers.
everytime I go to starbucks, I see about 7 or so MBPs and like 3 PCs. Whats funny is when I stop and crack my Dell mini 9 with OSX on it I get so many odd looks with that, its funny... especially when sitting right next to a Mac user
I get so many odd looks with that, its funny... especially when sitting right next to a Mac user 
I was early to meet a friend and dived into a Starbucks for 20 minutes a few days ago. There were about 10 macs, a few iPhones and of course the ubiquitous iPod between the 20 customers. I felt like I should whip out my iPhone to show that I belonged or something.
I've taken my mac to coffee shops before. The first few times were when the bathroom floor was getting ripped up. A quiet corner in a coffee shop was A LOT more productive.
I think the only other time's been to show some friends some photos and I just happened to have my laptop then.
Does it count if your mac is old and most of the stares you're getting is because your "macbook" doesn't look quite right?
I've taken my mac to coffee shops before. The first few times were when the bathroom floor was getting ripped up. A quiet corner in a coffee shop was A LOT more productive.
I think the only other time's been to show some friends some photos and I just happened to have my laptop then.
Does it count if your mac is old and most of the stares you're getting is because your "macbook" doesn't look quite right?
Does it count if your mac is old and most of the stares you're getting is because your "macbook" doesn't look quite right?
As long as you're not taking it there to show off. Sounds more like you're taking it because it's your computer and you enjoy using it.
Sounds like a very American thing to do, to me. Starbucks is a horrible place and it raises issues around data security, theft etc. etc.
I disagree with the point about the batteries, i'm on my 3rd Macbook Pro laptop battery in 2 years and thats now dead, the things are a joke.
I disagree with the point about the batteries, i'm on my 3rd Macbook Pro laptop battery in 2 years and thats now dead, the things are a joke.
Personally, I prefer switching workplaces often and go to different places, for instance cafés. There is research showing how people after a while tend to be less productive in their office workspace because they don't feel they are there to get work done, but just to be there.
I also don't know what kind of office you work in (personal home office?), but all the offices I've ever worked in were far busier than any coffee shop. Phones ringing, colleagues chatting, coming to your desk to point out some tedious point they just sent you an email about, printers, faxes, clocks, alarms etc.
It's not about background busyness. Our brain has evolved to learn to drown out unimportant things. That is why I can pretty much ignore interruptions at a coffee shop, in an office most often I cannot because I am obliged to react.
Personally, I work well where I can relax enough to focus on the task at hand. Whether that is more the case in an office or a coffee shop... Depends, I guess.
I can see your point of the willingness to show off your Mac in a trendy public place, there certainly is some Veblen effect/conspicuous consumption going on. But I don't see why you need to pretend that you cannot get work done efficiently at a coffee shop, because there are a lot of professionals who disprove that on a daily basis.
Who cares about Starbucks...if you want to show off your computer while taking up a table for hours on end...Panera Bread is the place to be...
Hickman
Hickman
You two are arguing about the wrong thing. What you should be debating is the definition of "work".
Some work can be done in a coffee shop. Like grading true/false exams. Some work can't be done effectively in a coffee shop (i.e. engineering). However, I'll bet some architecture design ideas could pop up in a coffee shop.
Good grief.... you guys continued a pointless, but heated debate while I slept. Who cares about mac users in starbucks... I've stated why I go to coffee shops with my mac, and there are a few other reasons floating around in this thread somewhere. Who could care less? It's just an expensive computer and coffee, why on earth would people go out of their working day, just to show off?
Now stop this pointless discussion before I tell your mothers.
I didn't know that you were the boss of the thread. Why didn't you lock the thread if you didn't want anyone else talking about this?
Of all the discussions in these forums...... this is the one you single out as being pointless?
I know engineers that can, and have, worked efficiently in a coffee shop. I know doctors and lawyers that get great work done in coffee shops. They enjoy getting out of the office for a change of scenery.
I've successfully worked on complex accounting problems in coffee shops.
I think it's really all about the individual- some people can concentrate well and work efficiently anywhere and some can't. Obviously, there is a whole spectrum of people in between those two extremes. It's not about the definition of 'work'.
Also.... someone who thinks that a workplace isn't a distracting place to work in has never worked in that kind of environment before.
I actually like Starbucks. Pumpkin-spice lattes ftw!
Not ever had a reason to bring my computer in with me, though.
And I lol'd.
Not ever had a reason to bring my computer in with me, though.
everytime I go to starbucks, I see about 7 or so MBPs and like 3 PCs. Whats funny is when I stop and crack my Dell mini 9 with OSX on it
And I lol'd.
I should break out my PowerBook G3 Pismo and take it to a coffee shop. Be all like, "yeah, I was totally ahead of this Apple fad - by 6 years!"
Even if my glowing Apple logo is upside-down! At least it has built-in Wifi.
I bet I'd get a few strange looks.
To take this a step further - does anyone know of the earliest Apple laptop that could now be used to access the web via WiFi?
My guess would be something like a PowerBook 520c with a PCMCIA card cage and OS 8.1 compatible Wifi card.
Take that baby into a coffee shop! Whooo!
Even if my glowing Apple logo is upside-down! At least it has built-in Wifi.
I bet I'd get a few strange looks.
To take this a step further - does anyone know of the earliest Apple laptop that could now be used to access the web via WiFi?
My guess would be something like a PowerBook 520c with a PCMCIA card cage and OS 8.1 compatible Wifi card.
Take that baby into a coffee shop! Whooo!
I personally can't stand it.
And as an addition to what Jimmy said, I wouldn't be caught dead and gagged bringing my laptop to almost anyplace outside of my house.
As a Mac user and owner of an iBook, I definitely notice Macs out there in coffee shops, more in Starbucks than anywhere else. They seem to be around half of the laptops I see.
When I add in hotspots besides coffee shops, then that percentage becomes very small, maybe less than a quarter of all laptops.
What I have seen more and more in coffee shops is the presence of netbooks. This trend grows each time I go out in public and I wouldn't be surprised if Apple came up with a very small footprint netbook of their own.
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.
He's the exception. Most Mac users go to Starbucks rather than a smaller coffee shop because they want to work, but also want to be seen.
Why go out and get better coffee from a small shop if nobody is there to see me, right? And yes, I'm a Mac user who brings his laptop to Starbucks on occasion. I go to Starbucks, but also a locally owned place down the street that roasts their own beans and exists mainly to sell coffee beans and equipment.
I enjoy working in areas where other people are making background noise. I like "noisy" environments, and with my earphones in my ear (with no music on!??!?) to make the voices really non-distinctive. I also have ADD, but for some reason, I either need to have Frank Sinatra or She & Him music playing in the background, or smeared out background chatter.
However, I actually agree with you that many Mac users just want to "be seen". Many of them aren't simply in a demographic that has enough money for a coffee, or a demographic that enjoys coffee more, or one that has better hardware (say battery life). Let's call a spade a spade.
And that's what *many* people who take their Macs into coffee shops want you to see. "Look at me! I'm stylish and intelligent, because of my computer."
It doesn't matter what computer it is. Some smart people own PCs and some very dumb people own Macs.
It's a matter of taste. Some have it, some don't. Some choices are tasteful by general standards, others are not. It's like those who would rather own a couple of nice things than a whole roomful of crap. Both are consumerist-materialist examples, but one has more refined tastes, the other does not. And really, there are others that just don't care.
So anyone with taste buys a Mac and those without taste buy PCs?
puh-leez
Puh-leez, this argument you guys are having is so juvenile.
OP: Next time you see someone in Starbucks with a Mac, ask them why they are there and why they use a Mac.
TuffLuffJimmy & *LTD*: Grow up. Who cares why Mac users choose Starbucks. If you think they are showing off, think that. I can't think of anyone who would have time to spend hours in Starbucks, just showing off their Macintosh Laptops. It's nothing to do with taste. Its probably to do with the durability of Mac Pro's... even with just a Macbook, I take it out places more than my old Compaq Presario, simply because it seems more durable.
Now go get a life.
It's a perfectly valid social inquiry. How do consumers view objects? Based on what measures? can "taste" be quantified or qualified somehow? Why do some people have "taste" and others do not? What determines all this? Is there really a connection with education, or income level, or social environment? Why a coffee shop in particular? And what "kind" of coffee shop?
It's an interesting topic for discussion. Just don't take it personally. Don't let your social and moral roadblocs prevent you from discussing such issues.
This is why I (and most of my friends) don't bother going to Starbucks. Because we know that we can't get a decent sofa (and not one of the old wooden chairs that Starbucks is phasing out) to sit down and enjoy our coffee because of the laptop people & azn divas hogging all the seats.
Even if it was a cold winter day and Starbucks was empty, we still wouldn't go to Starbucks. 7NZD for a coffee? No thanks!
Oh look at that doctor in Starbucks performing surgery!