Remember those funny, “I’m a Mac. I’m a PC,” ads back in the iPod days? They remind me of the tendency to identify with a certain brand or team. So am I an Apple fanboy, a PC nerd, or a Google geek? Am I an Android or iPhone guy? I’m a mixed bag; just a computer guy.
If I had to choose just one, though, I think I’d be a PC person. Why? Our first computer at home was a Windows 95 PC. And in college, I bought my very own Win 98 SE setup. Professionally, I’ve always worked on a PC. And even though, at different points, I’ve gone all-in with Android plus Chromebook or MacBook plus iPhone, I always lean back toward a PC, which is still the main computer in my home.
But my tendency to prefer a PC is weird to me in a way. On some level, I’m a fan of Apple thanks to the iPhone, and my current M1 MacBook Air is excellent. Yet even if macOS is objectively better than Windows overall, I like some Windows features more. I think it’s simply what I’m most familiar (and comfortable) with. Like I said, I’m a mixed bag.
At this point, since I like both Windows and Mac, if I had to choose one over the other as “my daily driver,” I’d choose Windows because it’s more practical in my household among other PC users.
I don’t know the psychology behind identifying with brands and such, but let me say I’m not having some kind of identity crisis, wondering whether I’m a Mac or PC. I’m a computer dude, simple as that. And these things are just tools; use the best one for the job. Right?
But I’ll admit that when I was all-in with Apple, I thought I might be counted as a cool guy among the hip Apple community. No such luck. Being an “Apple guy” doesn’t work for me because:
So as I’ve decouple from Apple lately, I’ve sought to make my tech setup a mix (just like me) of cross-platform tools that are most practical in my situation. The pragmatism is very handy and kind of liberating. I’m open to many tech solutions, not just ones that belong to a certain brand. And I don’t have to settle in a single camp but can use bits and pieces of them all; it’s more flexible.
Using a mix of computer stuff speaks to the practical. But for me, it’s the psychological side about identity that’s got my brain gears cranking. There’s still a part of me that wants to use what some of my peers use, to be part of the crowd. I think one aspect of being human means always wrestling with the desire to “fit in.” We are made for community after all.
What do you think?