In Screwdrivers versus Couture, Ed Stroglio nailed the real difference between PC enthusiasts and Mac enthusiasts:
This is a companion discussion topic for the original blog entry at: http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2005/07/the-diy-pc.html
This is a companion discussion topic for the original blog entry at: http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2005/07/the-diy-pc.html
Nor did I ever say that. Nor would I ever say that.
Reminded me of something I saw awhile ago…
a href="http://funroll-loops.org/"http://funroll-loops.org//a
The hardware is the only thing a Macintosh user doesn’t customize. The OS itself is eminently customizable and there’s a long tradition of third-party hacks. Heck, Apple used to offer a program called ResEdit on the classic Macintosh OS where you could customize every little bit of the OS if you were so inclined. My Mac OS X install is replete with modifications. And so is every Mac user’s I’ve ever encountered.
On the other side, I’ve only met one Windows user that was a casemodder. And I’ve only ever worked with Windows users. Moreover, the ones who install utilities and tweaks are uncommon. I can think of perhaps 10-15 people that I’ve met that are even remotely power users–none of whom matched any of the Mac users’ alterations in my experience. Most people I’ve met change their wallpaper and screensaver and that’s it.
It might be something about having to wipe your Windows box every 6-12 months that discourages laborious customization. 
That’s a great link-- I’ve seen it before and definitely apropos here 
On the other side, I’ve only met one Windows user that was a casemodder
True, we’re talking about “enthusiasts” on each side here. And statistically speaking, there are probably a lot-- a whole lot-- more enthusiasts on the Mac side. This is something that Wil Shipley (Delicious Library) notes in his presentation:
http://wilshipley.com/blog/WWDC_Student_Talk.pdf
I believe it. But this isn’t to say that PC enthusiasts don’t exist!
“The hardware is the only thing a Macintosh user doesn’t customize.”
Not true:
http://www.macworld.com/2006/07/secrets/auggeekfactor/index.php
http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/top-10-strangest-mac-mods
“I know plenty of users who go even further and retrofit the entire GUI using WindowBlinds.”
Funny, doing this in linux (with GNOME/KDE/Xfce), is remarkably easy and part of both of the major GUI toolkits. You can even switch to an entirely different UI look and feel; the Linux OS infrastructure is the only thing you have to keep when you switch.
Don’t want to troll, but “retrofitting the entire GUI” doesn’t seem like going that far to me.
painimies on January 23, 2007 04:51 AM neither of those pages conatain actual modifcations to the macs hardware, like all mac users you are disgusting scum the lies, you should shot but that would be waste of a bullet , you make me wretch
Wow… that’s pretty harsh.
Chris:
Your comments are what give PC users a bad name. I hope you never see the light of the internet again, but that would be a waste of an admin’s time.
Jeff:
As said above by Bill, Mac users tend to keep their customization to the software (and we tend to go crazy with it) but it definitely isn’t limited to it. Besides the internals (which are kept to Apple’s standards for software compatibility and are always high quality) everything else is just as, if not more, customizable. Props to those who customize PCs (I was a hardcore PC modder 2 years ago) but its akin to wrestling Jell-O.