Nerds Switching from Apple to Ubuntu?

Mindpicnic writes "The recent switch of two lifelong Mac nerds to Ubuntu hasn't escaped Tim O'Reilly's radar. He cites Jason Kottke: 'If I were Apple, I'd be worried about this. Two lifelong Mac fans are switching away from Macs to PCs running Ubuntu Linux: first it was Mark Pilgrim and now Cory Doctorow. Nerds are a small demographic, but they can also be the canary in the coal mine with stuff like this.'"

Mac nerds?

[linvir]

Mac nerds? Are they the same sort of people as Windows hackers and Linux gamers?

Re:Mac nerds?

[Anonymous Coward]

Mac nerds? Are they the same sort of people as Windows hackers and Linux gamers?

Rarer if you ask me. Probably along the same lines as geek girls.

Two users!

[pedantic bore]

OMG! That's 0.0004% of their installed user base! In a single week!

Nerds are a small demographic, but they can also be the canary in the coal mine with stuff like this. Or not. Jeepers. Someone out to FUD Apple this week, or something?

Oh no.

[Anonymous Coward]

Cory Doctorow has switched to Ubuntu GNU/Linux?

Not PROMINENT INTERNET BLOGGER Cory Doctorow!

NOT PROMINENT BLOGGER CORY DOCTOROW!

Re:Two users!

[bunbuntheminilop]

Reasoning and common sense has NO PLACE in this argument, you insensitive clod!

canaries

[pyrrho]

so Ubuntu is expected to KILL them?!!?

Re:Two users!

[Millenniumman]

Closer to .00001%. If that occurred every week, and no one switched to the platform, no one would be using Macs in 20,000 years.

Re:Apple has it coming

[BitwizeGHC]

No, no, you don't get it.

The original Macintosh was the UI Bible, 1984 King Steve Version, the only version which can claim to be divinely inspired. All other UIs are apostate.

Re:canaries

[flooey]

so Ubuntu is expected to KILL them?!!?

So you're saying the subject should have been "Ubuntu: OS X-killer?"

Re:Oh no.

[Anonymous Coward]

If Cory "Self-Promoting Trendoid is my Middle Name" Doctorow is doing it, it's guaranteed to be a fad.

If Doctorow heard that the "cool kids" were removing their own testicles with a fork, he'd quickly do the same.

Canaries and coal mines

[mattsucks]

Nerds are a small demographic, but they can also be the canary in the coal mine with stuff like this.

Witness the overwhelming popularity of BeOS these days.

Re:Oh no.

[NoMaster]

And that's the point, really. Two people, who owe their positions in the pantheon of 'Internet celebrities' to a certain amount of nerd-cred, find they have to [be || appear to be] even nerdier to keep those positions. What better way to do that - and generate a nice little publicity storm in a teacup at the same time - than to "switch" to Linux?

Wake me up when RMS buys a Mac...

Re:Two users!

[pedantic bore]

That's assuming that mac users live 20,000 years. Otherwise, Apple will have to pick up some new users -- they don't necessarily have to switch from windows, but they do need to be born.

Re:Oh no

[Anonymous Coward]

Scott Adams?

Re:Mac nerds?

[pyce]

"Oh no! Apple should be worried about two guys! Two guys have switched. What ever will Apple do about two guys?"

The other two Mac users were unavailable for comment.

Re:FUD much?

[The Ham of Truth]

I didn't read the part where it said they were having sex.

Re:Since when?

[poena.dare]

...first it was Mark Pilgrim and now Cory Doctorow. Nerds are a small demographic, but they can also be the canary in the coal mine with stuff like this.

Well, this is good to know. If I see Mark Pilgrim or Cory Doctorow drop dead then I'll know it was Linux that killed them.

Re:OS X "invalidates" Linux?

[krakelohm]

OK Boys... whip them out and lets settle this once and for all.

Re:Mac nerds?

[projekt2]

The same place OS X is in the server room.

Re:Oh no.

[colmore]

Meanwhile I switched from Slackware to Gentoo this week and nobody seems to notice.

Maybe if I put Plan 9 on my FreeBSD box, someone will care.

Re:Two users!

[Millenniumman]

That's assuming that mac users live 20,000 years.

That's always been my experience, or did you think we used Macs for the intuitive interface?

Re:The market apple could lose: nerds with time

[prockcore]

It took me about a day to get the graphics system to work on the machine (X11 - text was fine). And by work, I mean "display at all."

And yet OSX won't even install on that same hardware.

Re:Oh no.

[Anonymous Coward]

find they have to [be || appear to be] even nerdier

I think the word you're look for is nerdlier. Consider me the French Resistance of the speling Nazis.

Re:Mac nerds?

[mrbooze]

Come on, if they were *real* nerds they'd be switching to Gentoo, not Ubuntu.

Re:Mac nerds?

[Millenniumman]

Real nerds build their own distro [linuxfromscratch.org].

Re:Mac nerds?

[Anonymous Coward]

ahem, that's "Computer == a tool", buddy!

Wait to see if they die ?

[Joebert]

but they can also be the canary in the coal mine with stuff like this.

So, we should wait & see if theese two die off before doing anything about this ?

Why God?

[Omniscientist]

Why can't there be a Retarded or Slightly Confused mod? I have mod points but they are no good here!

Re:Mac nerds?

[jpardey]

I have a similar point of view to you. Macs are all very nice, and it is pretty awesome that they run on a *nix, but I'm not going to pay that much for that. There are/were incredibly bad security flaws (sorry, no examples), which escape mainly because of the lack of use.

Anyway, I met a Reality Distortion Feild victim once. I was talking to a proffesor in the physics lobby at my college. He asked me about my Sony mp3 player... talked about it a bit. Then he asked when I would get an iPod. This struck me as extremely odd. My Sony thing works alright, why would an iPod be better? I just mentioned that I didn't want an iPod because they make users look like yuppies. RIGHT THEN, another proffesor (who I will call B) in the adjacent room shouts "No they don't!" Me and B talked about apple for a bit, and I saw his apple laptops in his room, talked about the Nano, cameras, etc. Pretty normal electronics conversation.

Why do I say he was an RDF victim? Because B was wearing a turtleneck.

Re:Oh no.

[Anonymous Coward]

Please, don't call it "removing one's own testicles with a fork." You miss the big picture. The trend is called balliberation and it is taking the blogosphere by storm. You, a devotee of the MSM, clearly don't Get It. You're off my blogroll.

Re:Oh no.

[Chemicalscum]

If Cory "Self-Promoting Trendoid is my Middle Name" Doctorow is doing it, it's guaranteed to be a fad.

Oh so you mean the Mac fad is over now. Thats my view too.

Re:Why God?

[karearea]

Yes, those mod points are no good here because you made a comment here ;-)

Re:Mac nerds?

[epee1221]

FWIW, I know plenty of Mac users who hear "nano" and think "text editor."

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[CCFreak2K]

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Re:Mac nerds?

[Jesus_666]

Where is Linux on the desktop again? Just askin'.

~/Desktop/linux-2.6.17.3.tar.bz2

Re:Mac nerds?

[bursch-X]

No mouse pointer in the middle of the keyboard like is found on the Thinkpads or the Toshiba Tecra line.

Oooh, I would never trust a computer with a clit.

Re:Mac nerds?

[Gropo]

Dude, I'm typing this on a 1999-vintage PC running Windows 98

Windows 98!? Jesus Haeleth, he's probably running 10.4.7! Terrible comparison! You just blue screened your entire argument!

Load up Windows XP Service Pack 12 Security Pack 419... No wait I'm sorry that doesn't even have contemporary features... Load Vista Beta on it and get back to us!

-Typed on a year 2000 G4 running 10.4.7

You should learn to use the "clit"

[AHumbleOpinion]

"No mouse pointer in the middle of the keyboard like is found on the Thinkpads or the Toshiba Tecra line."

Oooh, I would never trust a computer with a clit.

Someday, when you get some experience with one, you will learn to love it. Learning to operate it truly is the best way to move things in the direction you want. Good luck and have fun.

Re:Mac nerds?

[linvir]

Okay, I concede. You are right, period.

I retract the disparaging comments I made about Linux gaming in your post, and I apologise for any offense I may have caused you with those wicked lies that you put into my mouth.

Re:You should learn to use the "clit"

[AHumbleOpinion]

Well, you know I have learned that there are things beyond clits that are way more fun to tinker with...

I apologize, I did not consider folks with alternative orientations. ;-)

Mac geeks?

[Anonymous Coward]

Real geeks build their own version of Darwin from source ... at least we did