there’s something wrong with Mac users

One thing I’ve never really understood about Mac users is where this perception of the habitually clean workspace comes from? There is this belief that they are the only ones capable of ordering their lives like so, and that because of such a regiment they conditionally produce more than PC users, have increased workflow and creativity levels, that they aren’t “cluttered” by all the excesses of PC living.

This perception is sometimes very sterile however:

Wow, looks nice. But not really. The clock is nifty but I’d find staring down and beyond the screens into a white void of a wall like that mind-numbing.

Furthermore, it simply isn’t true. Mac users are messy. But this perception that they are ordered is sold to them by the Apple brand via their stores, product ads and overall “lifestyle” package. It’s summed up in a moment in the Onion’s “One Button. Endless Possibilities” parody of the no-keyboard click-wheel laptop when the lady in the store who is not an Apple employee (she’s not wearing the blue-shirt uniform) spends seconds on end compulsively straightening a display box so there’s as little gap and as much grid-order as possible:

But again, it simply isn’t true. We all know it’s not true, Mac users especially. It isn’t about the branding but about the person, it’s all about the user. So check out these Mac users who are not only messy but intriguing because of such a chaotic lifestyle. Personally I like the clutter, the chaos, the choices of inspiration that users post on the walls around them, the detritus they leave on their desk, their personal sense of stability and usability and order.

I love this next photo. It’s not only a remarkable photograph but truly chaotic, and check out the row of pipes on the back wall. How wonderful!

The point is it should be about the user. It’s about what do you want to get out of computing? Why are you using such a device and interface? You want chaos, then make chaos! You want order, then make order! The argument could be made that Apple’s stripped-down design let’s you focus on the things you want to be using a computer for (or at least not distracting their customers), and is therefore in the best-interest of the user, but anybody reading this far knows that’s also untrue. Apple is a very controlling company, which yes does frequently benefit its users; but again these images are concerned with Apple’s almost forceful approach of streamlined lifestyle branding, which any computer is capable of delivering.