[Leica] Macs/PCs, Leicas/The rest

["emu@aloha.com" <emu@aloha.com>]

Strange, ain't it. This mailing list is a bunch of people who use very
expensive cameras and lenses because they deliver slightly (but to us,
critically) better results and because they are considerably more pleasing
to lay hands on and use. Yet in my short time lurking here, I see people go
ballistic whenever Macs are brought up.

There's such an apt parallel that this really amazes me. A Mac (or a Leica)
doesn't really do anything a PC (or Nikon/Canon/etc) doesn't do. It just
does it in what some people think is a much more elegant way. And enough
people are willing to pay for that level of elegance that such products
still exist. As a Mac user, I couldn't care less whether Macs have become a
"niche" operating system. As long as the niche is big enough to provide me
with the fairly basic kinds of software I need. The lollypop models
recently introduced probably will ensure that is the case for at least the
next few years. God bless Steve Jobs, even though I'm glad I don't work for
him.

Leica users don't stay up at night worrying about the fact the most of the
world uses other cameras. Nikon and Canon users don't work themselves into
tizzies because a tiny percentage of shooters prefer Leicas. So why does
this Mac/PC thing set off such strong feelings? It's not a religion, after
all; it's just a household appliance, like a washing machine.

I'm a working stiff of limited means who tries to get as much quality as I
can realistically afford. For me, that means I use Leica when I can (M
system for general photography) and Nikon otherwise (closeup and ultra-wide
work). It also means my computer is a Mac. (But I do buy from Mr. Gates the
one product he makes that's proven vastly superior to almost all others,
including Leica's: Microsoft shares.) If I had to, I could live a full and
satisfying life without Leicas OR Macs. But I don't have to. If your
preferences are different, fine. That's why we have choices.

People who don't always do what most people do aren't necessarily evil. Or
brain-damaged. Hell, we may not even be eccentric. Much.

Back into lurk mode. Aloha

Ernest Murphy
Honolulu, Hawaii