Why can't we all just get along? Easy. Obama is a Mac -- Hillary is a PC

[nichomachus]

People wonder why Hillary supporters and Obama supporters can't get along, can't be civil sometimes, and are always at each other's throats.

Now we have the answer

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/04/technology/04link.html?ei=5087&em=&en=5e3347e31ae96ba0&ex=1209441600&pagewanted=print">Obama is a Mac and Hillary is a PC

On one thing, the experts seem to agree. The differences between hillaryclinton.com and barackobama.com can be summed up this way: Barack Obama is a Mac, and Hillary Clinton is a PC.

That is, Mr. Obama’s site is more harmonious, with plenty of white space and a soft blue palette. Its task bar is reminiscent of the one used at Apple’s iTunes site. It signals in myriad ways that it was designed with a younger, more tech-savvy audience in mind — using branding techniques similar to the ones that have made the iPod so popular.

In contrast to barackobama.com, Mrs. Clinton’s site uses a more traditional color scheme of dark blue, has sharper lines dividing content and employs cookie-cutter icons next to its buttons for volunteering, and the like.

Jason Santa Maria, creative director of Happy Cog Studios, which designs Web sites, detected a basic breach of netiquette. “Hillary’s text is all caps, like shouting,” he said. There are “many messages vying for attention,” he said, adding, “Candidates are building a brand and it should be consistent.”

But Emily Chang, the cofounder of Ideacodes, a Web designing and consulting firm, detected consistent messages, and summed them up: “His site is more youthful and hers more regal.”

Mr. Obama’s site is almost universally praised. Even Martin Avila, the general manager of the company responsible for the Republican Ron Paul’s Web site, said simply, “Barack’s site is amazing.”

And anyone who knows anything about the Mac vs. PC "wars" will immediately see the parallels to the rhetoric over that split and the rhetoric over the Hillary-Obama split. Mac users and PC users have been slinging the mud for years.

[undeterred]

1. Really awful metaphor of computer brands for people.

I don't want to go near that one. People are not brands or machines.

[nichomachus]

3. What? You've never heard of "machine politics"

[frickaline]

12. the article is comparing their web site styles, not the people themselves.

[QC]

2. It doesn't bode well for the general election if the apparent nominee

only has about 5% market share.

[nichomachus]

5. On the other hand

do you really want a candidate who crashes on a regular basis, doesn't work well with others, and isn't compatible with things she said in the previous version?

[QC]

11. That depends.

Do you want to win or just be superior to the Great Unwashed Masses?

[nichomachus]

19. Huh?

[newmajority]

4. So where does that leave Obama supporters that use Linux?

:shrug:

[cbayer]

7. Oddball geeks that most of us fear and respect. nt.

[cbayer]

6. More people use PC's even though Mac is a better product.

Mac users think they are superior, PC users make up all kinds of excuses for their unstable platform. Macs cost more and have limited software options. PC's give you more choices and cost less. I could go on and on.

I love the analogy -

Sincerely,

a dedicated Mac user who absolutely feels superior to all PC users and is tired of their complaining

[nichomachus]

9. Why people use PCs

More people use PCs because the corporatocracy has pretty much endorsed it as the platform of choice and the reason for that is that it can be bought cheaper.

[ginchinchili]

8. That would be unfortunate for Obama since PCs are more popular.

[nichomachus]

10. PCs are more widely used, but not "popular"

Most people use them grudgingly and they don't work very well.

[ginchinchili]

21. Still, sticking with your analogy, Hillary wins, even if the majority vote for her grudgingly.

[cottonseed]

13. Obama is an iPod and Hillary is a Zune

Ties up the PC market share rebuttal neatly. Also, iPod is a revolutionary, new and exciting product that just plain works better. Zune is a manufactured mess trying to capitalize on the popularity of the much superior product; the iPod.

[GoneOffShore]

14. That's an even better analogy

More on this discussion - snarkyness included here http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5693942&mesg_id=5693942

(Shameless thread promotion)

[cottonseed]

16. Ha! Thanks, I'll post that thread for kicks nt

[DangerousRhythm]

27. Excellent analogy! N/T

:D

[DavidDvorkin]

15. I'm a PC owner. I despise Macs.

I despise those commercials.

I support Obama and strongly dislike Hillary.

To say that that article is bullshit wouldn't be strong enough.

[nichomachus]

20. There is no such thing as a PC "owner"

If you have a PC, it owns you.

[sushi]

22. True! lol

I have both.

[baldguy]

24. Like a cat?

Sorry, but PCs are much more useful than cats.

[GoneOffShore]

28. Well, even if you do hate Macs

And I can't imagine why -

Maybe the analogy would be Obama is Unix and Hillary is Vista?

[DavidDvorkin]

29. Since I've long considered Unix to be the operating system of the gods

I can go along with that.

[GoneOffShore]

33. Mac now is UNIX based.

[DavidDvorkin]

34. Yes, I know

But there's still the inexcusably clumsy UI atop it, and the castrated mouse.

I won't give money to Apple just to get a Unix machine. There are easier ways to do that.

[baldguy]

17. McCain is

[newmajority]

18. Mc Cain is NOT Linux, goddamn it!

Mc Cain is more like a Vic 20

[GoneOffShore]

25. Or one of these

[DangerousRhythm]

26. Haha! That's more like it.

I'm a fairly recent "convert" to Mac, after being a Windows user since 3.1, and in fact just got a brand new Macbook in addition to the Mini I've had for several months now. I guess it's kind of fitting. :)

[GoldieAZ49]

23. That would make McCain carbon paper

[RichardRay]

31. It was only last week that I agreed with something ruggerson posted...

...and now I'm forced to post in support of another person I normally disagree with strongly!

But I had to wait until the giggling fit subsided...

....carbon paper.... arf arf arf...

:thumbsup:

[smalll]

30. Go with this, Obamatrons! (It only reinforces the "latte liberal" meme.) /nt

[RichardRay]

32. Thank god, it's all clear now...

I run a network with PC's, Mac's and two flavors of Linux, and network hardware from Cisco and Foundry.

And I'm a Libra.

And I take Prozac.

No wonder I can't figure out who to be mad at...

[GoneOffShore]

35. And do you drink latte's and drive a Volvo?

[RichardRay]

36. I drive a 1988 Nissan Pathfinder with 275,000 miles on it

and drink what we locally refer to as a 'Shot in the Dark' - a cup of black coffee with a shot of expresso.