Coming from an X Stanford IT employee... (Score 1)

An argument for the tech savvy PC users... We may be able to confirm that the statistics are accurate. We may be able to say that Mac users, in general, are smarter and more educated than PC users, however, I would like to propose a new challenge. What percentages of the computer population were purchased by "Computer Savvy" people? When I say "Computer Savvy" I mean people that can actually name all the components of a PC, what they are used for, and why. I don't mean someone that can open up any web page builder software, and build a web page. By the survey posted by NetRatings I would not qualify building a web page as a highly technical procedure. These days, building a web page is as easy as creating a Power Point presentation. Most applications have built in formatting, graphic manipulation, and even a means of uploading the pages directly to an FTP site. As a former IT tech for Stanford in the department of Education, I found that roughly 30-40% of the users were Mac users. That percentage is significantly higher than that of the general population, as noted in the study commented. In my experience, most of the Mac users were not tech savvy. Many of them could use the tools that Mac provided in their bundled software very well, however when it came down to some of the most basic of computer issues that would arise, they would require a tech to resolve the problem. In no way do I mean that these users were unintelligible. In fact I found them to be quite sharp in many ways, just not computer savvy. As to why the numbers of Mac to PCs are higher in Stanford then the general population? Apple is well known for their equipment donations to educational facilities, as well as a significant educational discount on new purchases. Apple has some very intelligent marketing strategies. If you grew up, and were familiar with Mac in your classrooms, which would you buy? Some would argue that Apple is more reliable, but that is a whole other can of worms that I really don't want to bore you with at the moment. To cover the income side of the argument, let's have a look at my income as an example. I have never completed my college degree, nor have many of the certifications that follow my field. Referencing http://www.whitehouse.gov/fsbr/demography.html the "Median household income in the United States was $42,148" in 2000. I was making roughly 1/3 more than this in 2000, and am now making almost twice this amount. Most IT professionals make significantly more. Most of us know the potential incomes of IT related fields with a degree, certification, and necessary experience can add up to significantly more. I don't remember seeing any household income numbers being displayed in the survey, but there we have it. Let us go back to what counts. What is more versatile? What has more potential? We all know the answers to these questions. If anyone try's to tell me that a PC can't perform in the graphics market, I will personally prove them wrong. I don't ever recall Adobe Photoshop or Quark leaving out a feature in the PC that they have in the Mac. I have worked with Photoshop for more then 9 years now, and I think I know what I'm doing. You want to talk hardware? No comparison. PC has more high-end equipment for video and graphics, and it's faster. I believe we would find that the larger populations of computer savvy users are buying and using PCs.