http://theweek.com/article/index/229766/5-signs-that-apple-is-a-cult
I don't know if this is funny or sad.
I don't know if this is funny or sad.
Is Apple a cult?
- Thread starter Yminale
- Start date
I don't know that it's a "cult," but buying Apple products is, for some people, a "lifestyle."
I wouldn't want to work for them at the retail level or the software development level, either.
I wouldn't want to work for them at the retail level or the software development level, either.
S
Stone_Cold_Sisko
Guest
I've known people who work at Apple (corporate, not retail) I hear they underpay you and work you insanely long hours, with the promise that you're "changing the world" (true in some sense I suppose). Generally the employees are true believers.
I love my Apple products, but that's only because they've proved to be worth the money. My MacBook is 5 years old and runs just as well as it did the day I opened it. I certainly have never been able to say that about any other computer I've owned. Usually after 4 years it becomes a burden to even turn them on.
* shrugs * I've had my current Macbook for nearly three years or so and it's still pretty reliable, so I'm pleased with that. I'm generally far less interested in who makes a given product as long as it's reasonably well made and functions like it's supposed to.
I appreciate Apple's superb sense of design, but at the end of the day, it's all just stuff. "Changing the world," my Vorta ass. They're the same as all the other corporations. They exist to enrich shareholders.
PS, Google is supposed to be the company that's saving the world.
PS, Google is supposed to be the company that's saving the world.
I like every piece of Apple gear I've ever owned. I intend to stick with them. Their stuff is just what I need.
A cult, though? Gimme a fuckin' break.
People use Apple products because they like said products and they work. There's no damn "cult."
A cult, though? Gimme a fuckin' break.
People use Apple products because they like said products and they work. There's no damn "cult."
Last edited:
Does the Pope shit in the woods?
All five of those points apply to nearly 90% of all retail stores, so by that measure, Apple is just another denomination among many.
They are a cult of hipsters.
The same five signs describe everyone I knew who who worked or shopped at The Gap in the 90s.
I like Apple because their stuff does (mostly) what it's supposed to do. And in some cases, seems to work better than competing products I've used (It would take a lot for me to replace my iPhone with something that doesn't start with 'i.'). I also appreciate the design aesthetic. That said, I find their stores annoying. I find their employees annoying. And I'm not so hot on people telling that Apple products are teh bestest evers1!1!. I dislike them almost as much as people who bitch at me for buying Apple products in the first place.
I like Apple because their stuff does (mostly) what it's supposed to do. And in some cases, seems to work better than competing products I've used (It would take a lot for me to replace my iPhone with something that doesn't start with 'i.'). I also appreciate the design aesthetic. That said, I find their stores annoying. I find their employees annoying. And I'm not so hot on people telling that Apple products are teh bestest evers1!1!. I dislike them almost as much as people who bitch at me for buying Apple products in the first place.
Back in the 90's and 00's, Apple was in many respects a superior product, with Microsoft constantly trying to play catch-up. This fostered a mentality of elitist devotion (of which I was a proud member at the time) and defensive condescension against anything WinTel. Now-a-days, however, I think Microsoft has finally caught up with Apple with regard to relative reliability (plug & play, device driver support, etc.), for the most part. You will still see your die-hard fanatics in both camps, and don't kid yourself, I've met PLENTY of equally insufferable Microsoft sycophants in my time, as well as Linux-heads, the latter being quite a unique and quirky animal. I don't see much in the way of a superior difference from one or the other any more. They both have their benefits and drawbacks.
Sad to say, I don't really see Apple being as good as it used to be any more. Been that way for a while for me and I've been working with them since the 80's (including Jobs' short-lived NeXT machines - loved those things). I still have an old dual-core PPC G5 - one of the last of the top of the line legacy models - still runs shitstorm fast and never felt the need to move to the Intel Macs. Now, they don't support the older machines any more and even Adobe has abandoned us with their Flash Player. Adobe would be shit without Apple giving them a platform back in the 90's. Still makes me simmer...
Anyways, that's my $.02 for what it's worth. Apple ain't what it used to be and neither is it's fan-base.
Sad to say, I don't really see Apple being as good as it used to be any more. Been that way for a while for me and I've been working with them since the 80's (including Jobs' short-lived NeXT machines - loved those things). I still have an old dual-core PPC G5 - one of the last of the top of the line legacy models - still runs shitstorm fast and never felt the need to move to the Intel Macs. Now, they don't support the older machines any more and even Adobe has abandoned us with their Flash Player. Adobe would be shit without Apple giving them a platform back in the 90's. Still makes me simmer...
Anyways, that's my $.02 for what it's worth. Apple ain't what it used to be and neither is it's fan-base.
^^ Windows 7 particulary is quite good and don't forget that it has to work on a totally open platform with an immense hardware variety, in some way thats quite impressive..
As for Apple, I have a Apple slut as colleague, he's about as devoted to Apple as a North Korean is to his glorious leader...
totally brainwashed that kid so yeah to some its a cult... 
As for Apple, I have a Apple slut as colleague, he's about as devoted to Apple as a North Korean is to his glorious leader...
totally brainwashed that kid so yeah to some its a cult... 
I've known this behaviour from a hobby of mine.. tabletop miniature games. back in the 90s and early 00s one company basically ruled the market and its fans were at times very.. extreme.
I've known occasions where critiquing the company and their games was met with downright anger and insults and when the first company stores opened in Germany in the 90s the people who got a job there were regarded as the Kings of the hobby to be held in awe.
In reality the company exploited the fandom of its salespeople by paying absolute minimum wage (maybe enough to get by for an early 20s college dropout but nowhere near enough later on to live well or support a family), demanding long working hours and additional effort such as organizing events and such but you got to be at the centre, right?
It's the same all over when fandom takes over the sane mind.. all the managers of these products have a more worldly view of their product and they know exactly how to use the fandom to their advantage by getting cheap, highly motivated workers and when they inevitably burn out there's a boatload more people where they came from.
I've known occasions where critiquing the company and their games was met with downright anger and insults and when the first company stores opened in Germany in the 90s the people who got a job there were regarded as the Kings of the hobby to be held in awe.
In reality the company exploited the fandom of its salespeople by paying absolute minimum wage (maybe enough to get by for an early 20s college dropout but nowhere near enough later on to live well or support a family), demanding long working hours and additional effort such as organizing events and such but you got to be at the centre, right?
It's the same all over when fandom takes over the sane mind.. all the managers of these products have a more worldly view of their product and they know exactly how to use the fandom to their advantage by getting cheap, highly motivated workers and when they inevitably burn out there's a boatload more people where they came from.
Absolutely Right(TM).
I don't know if Apple is a cult for its workers, but I know it's not a cult for its customers. If Apple gear happens to fit a lot of people's needs, where's the harm in that? Nothing cultish about buying stuff that you like and can use.
Even the most ardent Android user wouldn't begrudge anyone else's right to like an iPhone. Right?
Even the most ardent Android user wouldn't begrudge anyone else's right to like an iPhone. Right?
Like FPAlpha said, there are people out there who take there dedication to a product a little too far. So yeah, I think maybe a 'cult' mentality exists among some Apple users. Just like there are those who buy their products as a status symbol, and those who are loyal just because they prefer they way they work.
Sometimes I think everyone who will be allowed to touch a computer should have to take an introduction to set theory, so they will stop making inane statements like the above.
Some Apple customers do behave like they're part of a cult. There are plenty who proselytize like it's some kind of religion. And then there are the people who buy Apple products just because it suits their needs.
You absolutely cannot make the statement that no Apple customers behave like they're part of a cult, because they obviously do. Anyway, where do you think the cultish employees come from? They're Apple's customers in the first place.
I don't care if they're a cult or not. Their shit works right and is durable. We've got two iPods and three iPads and never had a bit of problem with any of them. My five year old has been beating the crap out of the iPads for almost two years now and they're no worse for it.
Similar threads
