After almost two years of doing ISP support I have come to the following conclusion.
Macs suck- but not as much as their users.
Listen up you mealy mouthed, techno-weanie wannabes:
You are not special (unless you count your schoolbus- notice its size compared to the one the other kids ride?)
You do not have the right to become belligerent with the support specialist on the other end of the phone and accuse them of just not wanting to help because they are "anti-mac bigots" You called us for help when YOU screwed up your precious little "etch-a-sketch with an attitude"
Just because a support tech has to put you on hold for a few moments to seek out the advise of a Mac-savvy tech does not mean we are any less competent. Most of us carry around working knowledge for several architectures and OS's and due to market demand, Mac just ain't one of them allot of times. I carry around in my head support knowledge for X86, Vax, Alpha, Sun, M$'s Manson family of products, OpenVMS, 3 flavors of Linux, a little NetBSD, Plan9, and a few other older obscure ones, not to mention 16 years of recipes from my previous career as a chef. The human brain can only pack in so much information and retain its ability to allow its user a social/married life. So if you think I'm going to dump my working knowledge of TRS-DOS or the recipe for Chipotle Buerre Blanc with Roquefort just to make room for Mac OS- whateverthefucknumbertheyareonnow- FORGET IT
Fruity flavors are for Gelate', gum, tea, certain wines and ice-cream. Fruity flavors are not for coffee, beer, cigarettes or color schemes for computers. And while we're on this note, Amiga's still kick your collective ass at graphics and they never came in "Strawberry".
While the ad campaign may tout "Think Different" you all don't. Most Mac users I have encountered all think the same way, just like a little pack of high-school fashion lesbians crying out about being "oppressed by the patriarchal status quo" while stuffing enough large chunks of metal through non-vital parts of their bodies that they raise the attention of even the Logan International Airport security guards. And you wonder why we can't look you in the eye- Its not that we are embarrassed about things we might have said about you behind your back because you "think different" - Its because we are trying to be polite and NOT LAUGH IN YOUR FACE.
*One more little tid-bit. Never EVER try to justify your rage at tech support with the tired line of "but when they sold it to me they said it would work"
Its real simple you more-money-than-brains-talking-monkey. Salesmen lie. Pure and simple. Whatever the circumstance, from the waiter that tells you the little dark line down the back of the shrimp is a "sand vein" to the leader of the free world telling you some far off country that AAA doesn't have a road map for has "weapons of mass destruction"- its all lies. You don't really think that drinking Budweiser is instantly going to have a the Norweigan Bikini Ski Team lounging around your pool do you? So why would you think that the pimply face little geek-wannabe working at the MegaTechWharehouse isn't going to spin a little fantasy about that $300 cell phone you just bought? If what ever new goodie you bought doesn't have the little "MacOS" smilee on it- don't expect a tech on the phone to some how wave a magic wand and recompile what is probably already a crappy program / peripheral just for your little 2grand etch-a-sketch. Geez- how narcissistic can you be? Oh I forgot.... you are a Mac Owner. 'nuff said.