I was reading through google news today and noticed this article. It made me think back to the last FORGE intensive, when I looked through the room and noticed that I was one of two people with a pc; everybody else (at least six to eight people, maybe more) had a mac. And not an older mac either - a brand-new macbook or macbook pro. So when I read this article, I had this sudden flash of insight into the reason for the rather odd trend at FORGE.
At first, I thought maybe that it had to do with popularity. So many emergent-types in the states are about doing the "popular" thing to engage pop culture. But the FORGE people seem to be a bit above that, at least, the few that I know. Then it hit me - at the apple press conference, Steve Jobs mentioned that Microsoft has, in the past few years, grievously neglected the innovation that defined them as a company in the last two decades. Jobs accused them of simply copying google and apple in everything they do, despite a $5 billion budget for research and development.
In this, I find a long-sought key to understanding why people suddenly like macs: innovation. The missional church, too, is about innovation, pioneering, starting fresh with something new and different and yes, costly. A person has to go through hell to change the way they think - believe me, I'm in the thick of it myself at the moment, hence the cost. Macs are like that now too - they're innovative, fresh, and pretty expensive if you want all the interesting features. I think, in the new macbooks, that FORGE-types (and I'm guessing many emergent-types at home) have found a kindred spirit, and as they say, birds of a feather flock together.
This is not to say that I'm giving up my Dell, only that I think I found a rather interesting explanation. But lately I have wished that my laptop was smaller, lighter, more compact ... I've been taking it with me everywhere to write, and it gets a little heavy after a while. Maybe a 13" macbook, but alas, they don't offer the lighted keyboard on those models.
At first, I thought maybe that it had to do with popularity. So many emergent-types in the states are about doing the "popular" thing to engage pop culture. But the FORGE people seem to be a bit above that, at least, the few that I know. Then it hit me - at the apple press conference, Steve Jobs mentioned that Microsoft has, in the past few years, grievously neglected the innovation that defined them as a company in the last two decades. Jobs accused them of simply copying google and apple in everything they do, despite a $5 billion budget for research and development.
In this, I find a long-sought key to understanding why people suddenly like macs: innovation. The missional church, too, is about innovation, pioneering, starting fresh with something new and different and yes, costly. A person has to go through hell to change the way they think - believe me, I'm in the thick of it myself at the moment, hence the cost. Macs are like that now too - they're innovative, fresh, and pretty expensive if you want all the interesting features. I think, in the new macbooks, that FORGE-types (and I'm guessing many emergent-types at home) have found a kindred spirit, and as they say, birds of a feather flock together.
This is not to say that I'm giving up my Dell, only that I think I found a rather interesting explanation. But lately I have wished that my laptop was smaller, lighter, more compact ... I've been taking it with me everywhere to write, and it gets a little heavy after a while. Maybe a 13" macbook, but alas, they don't offer the lighted keyboard on those models.
1 comment:
nothing to do with the post...
Have you ever heard of the book "Revolution" by George Barne, I haven't read it myself just had it mentioned to me as a good read...was wonder if in your book travels you have come across it?
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