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Review of 'MacHeads' Documentary 277

An anonymous reader writes "Just prior to its premiere at MacWorld later this week, CNet has a review of MacHeads, the new documentary film covering the obsessive world of Apple fanboyism. MacHeads features commentary from original Apple employees, the self-confessed Apple-obsessed and girls who claim they'll never sleep with Windows users. Summed up by CNet: 'MacHeads is a superb film that will give Apple haters a few cheap laughs, and Apple fans a few cheap thrills. But it'll entertain both equally, while educating everybody else.'"
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Review of 'MacHeads' Documentary

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  • ...like my obsessive defense of Deep Space 9 as the best of the Trek series.
    • by jellomizer ( 103300 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @10:28AM (#26329417)

      Yea but they just coppied Babylon 5.
      Think about it...
      Based on a space station.
      The head honcho of the station had a rank of commander then later on there was a captain.
      Head Honcho(s) had some deep destiny that they needed to follow controlled by an alien race with supernatural powers who talked in confusing language that only became clear once the events have happened.
      A secondary race of aliens who somehow have a more detailed knowledge of these super aliens.
      War against a superior race who at first is considered indestructible and later on in the series killing them becomes a piece of cake.
      Command of a ship that is brand new. Much smaller then the other ships and cannot be recognized as one of the good guys. But chalk full of shooting goodness. Now with some alien technology that makes it that much more devastating.

      It is only the best Trek series because they stole everything from Babylon 5.

      • by HadouKen24 ( 989446 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @11:07AM (#26329875)
        I think that DS9 was the best of the Treks for reasons which have nothing to do with the above.

        The ethnocentrism and blind idealism of the Federation is brought into view. Though supposedly welcoming and accepting, it views races like the Ferengi with distrust and even disdain.

        Religion is treated more directly and more honestly than in most television shows, period. Almost unimportant (except as an occasional plot device) in the other Treks, now questions of personal religious conviction are addressed. And religious extremism and religiously motivated violence as a result have to be dealt with.

        The question of the legitimate limit of violence when under occupation is brought up--and we don't get much of an answer at all.

        Potential consequences of genetic enhancement are not only considered, but humanized in the figure of an important character.

        In general, DS9 manages to help us get a grip on contemporary problems and worries by putting them at a distance from us (and, to be fair, by oversimplifying and exaggerating them). In doing so, it becomes much more interesting.
        • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

          by StikyPad ( 445176 )

          Though supposedly welcoming and accepting, it views races like the Ferengi with distrust and even disdain.

          And with good reason!! Those ugly swindling bastards would sell their own mothers if it would turn a profit.

        • by anagama ( 611277 )
          Plus, the episodes with Dom-Kira were just 30 seconds away from pornographic.
      • by hemp ( 36945 )

        J. Michael Straczynski has related how he pitched the idea for Babylon 5 to anyone and everyone(including the producers of ST:NG) in Hollywood in 1989.

        Some how, they forgot that long story arcs don't work to well on a moving starship and we got Voyager.

      • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

        by Culture20 ( 968837 )
        DS9 copied everything from another, older show. There was this show called Star Trek back in the 70's. It had a Federation, Star Fleet, transporters, warp drive, phasers, photon torpedoes, Vulcans, Klingons, and there was one episode of DS9 where they even used old footage of Star Trek and digitally added in DS9 characters. T(e)ribble, if you ask me. ;)
  • Huh. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 05, 2009 @10:03AM (#26329227)
    girls who claim they'll never sleep with Windows users

    They're probably ugly anyway.

    • by Chrisq ( 894406 )

      girls who claim they'll never sleep with Windows users

      They're probably ugly anyway.

      Now you can blame Microsoft for nnot getting laid too...

  • by Thanshin ( 1188877 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @10:06AM (#26329255)

    Other titles you may also enjoy:

    - People who buy Nike shooes!
    - Maserati: A noble car embiggens the smallest man.

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Nothing says "I don't have a personality" like quoting the Simpsons! Please, stop modding this shit funny. If it's funny, then a bird regurgitating food for its babies is FUCKIN' HILARIOUS.

  • by CommandoCody ( 1154955 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @10:06AM (#26329257)

    More likely, "MacHeads is another cheap 'find a subculture and mock it' film that will pander to Apple haters, and bore or irritate Apple fans. It will broaden the minds of neither, and pass unnoticed by everyone else."

    • by rolfwind ( 528248 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @10:22AM (#26329379)

      More likely, "MacHeads is another cheap 'find a subculture and mock it' film that will pander to Apple haters, and bore or irritate Apple fans. It will broaden the minds of neither, and pass unnoticed by everyone else."

      Yeah. What I find are more anti-whatevers, than pro-whatevers. People obsessing over what other people use. Some of the causes might be legitimate (marketshare concerns or they end up doing tech support for friends/relatives) and some are petty (obsessing how other people spend their money).

      For the classic in OS satire, there is "The Unix Hater's Handbook":
      http://www.icce.rug.nl/edu/ugh.pdf [icce.rug.nl]

      It was pretty much the poke in the eye to unix users but the anti-foreword was written by Dennis Ritchie - but was just as scathing right back:) (This was when some users came from other systems, like Lisp Machines.) It's probably still relevant today, seeing as how OS with unix foundations are the only OS with marketshare outside Windows these days.

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by TheRaven64 ( 641858 )
        The Unix Hater's Handbook, by the way, is well worth anyone reading. Some of the comments are still valid today, and some now apply to a lot more systems than UNIX. Some, such as the X11 section, are largely obsolete (for example, many of the complaints about X11 were due to different, incompatible, X servers - now pretty much everyone uses X.org, even on Windows). A lot of the criticisms are still dead on, however, and are made even more sad by the fact that they are due to Free Software developers who
    • I'll keep that in mind when I create my documentary on people who pan movies they've never seen on the internet.

    • by Rary ( 566291 )

      I'm betting it goes pretty easy on the Apple fans. It is premiering at MacWorld, after all.

  • Fence Burns (Score:5, Funny)

    by vjmurphy ( 190266 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @10:19AM (#26329347) Homepage

    "MacHeads is a superb film that will give Apple haters a few cheap laughs, and Apple fans a few cheap thrills. But it'll entertain both equally, while educating everybody else."

    Wow, that's such a fence-sitting position that it's probably hard on their butts. It's as if they don't want to offend anyone. "While World War II was indeed a deadly conflict, it gave the Allies a few cheap laughs, and the Axis a few cheap thrills, but it'll kill both equally." I think I can use this for my upcoming performance review...

  • by Phybersyk0 ( 513618 ) <phybersyko@NOspaM.stormdesign.org> on Monday January 05, 2009 @10:24AM (#26329391)

    I don't get this obsession. Back in the day I was a rabid (psychotic) Amiga fan/user. As I matured I realized something, IT'S JUST A COMPUTER GUYS. JUST ANOTHER TOOL. If people were this committed to, say hammers or forstner bits -- you'd think they were completely insane.

    I'm also looking at you, the "yeah, but can it run LINUX" crowd. For fucks sake, people many of you are amongst the most intelligent human beings in the world, you need to be out there breeding instead of developing a goddamn zippo lighter simulator for your iPhone.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by jerep ( 794296 )

      I'm also looking at you, the "yeah, but can it run LINUX" crowd. For fucks sake, people many of you are amongst the most intelligent human beings in the world

      Since when is the linux crowd the most intelligent human beings? I'm not against linux people or anything but I fail to see how smarter they are compared to any other kind of people. In my opinion they're just more knowledgeable in this one field.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      Just another tool, eh?
      Considering the fact that we wouldn't be able to do much of what we are doing now without any tools says something about how important they are. And really how much of a human are we with a stick at most?
      These tools let us be human like and thus they become part of us.
      Should we be obsessed? Of course not, by the virtue of the word 'obsessed', which has negative meaning.
      Should we consider a computer *just* another tool? Perhaps, but we won't.

    • by yttrstein ( 891553 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @10:53AM (#26329677) Homepage
      *were* among the most intelligent human beings in the world.

      I think what you're not considering is the fact that you yourself have aged, and therefore your opinions and perceptions have changed as well. Most people mellow out of the "raging 20s" where everything seems like a social injustice, even if it's some guy in a coffee shop using an OS that they think "sucks".

      It seems to me that it's a problem of relativity. The people you seem to be referencing are very likely right around the same age you were (and I was) when we were ferocious about such things. I was an Amiga person too, and then a rabid Mac owner, then an elite NeXT user, then a smartass Linux user, but eventually I decided, just like you, that it really is just a computer and that there are far more important things to worry about and spend time dealing with.

      And that's why I use OS X.
      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by knarf ( 34928 )

        I was with you all through your comment... just until the last line:

        And that's why I use OS X.

        It seems to me you have not yet left the state you described in the previous paragraphs... Maybe in age, but certainly not in attitude... If you had that last line just would not be there. Who cares what OS you use? If it works for you, fine. If it doesn't use something else.


        • Who cares what OS you use? If it works for you, fine. If it doesn't use something else.

          That is exactly what he did. He stopped zealothing and chose his OS.

          I did the same (unfortunately I skipped the NeXT experience) and I noticed the same.

          And that's why I use OS X.

          You know what ... people still wonder and look at me and say: oh, why do you use a Mac? Years ago I started explaining why this better and that is nice and why I prefer this and that! And now? I just shrug ...

          OTOH, when I drive in a train it happ

        • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

          by yttrstein ( 891553 )
          Would your response have been different if I'd said "And that's why I use netBSD"?

          I bet it would, since really no one admits to using netBSD (though why I don't know). I chose to say OS X because 1. it's true and 2. It was funny in the context of the rest of the post and 3. it was a statement of utter irrelevancy.

          You're absolutely right, it doesn't matter at all what OS *I* use. It matters what YOU use, and that's none of my business, really. Me saying "And that's why I use OS X" was certainly inviting a
    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by spruce ( 454842 )

      I'd never sleep with anyone who uses forstner bits!

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by value_added ( 719364 )

      As I matured I realized something, IT'S JUST A COMPUTER GUYS. JUST ANOTHER TOOL.

      Expect to turn 30 and realise that NOT ALL TOOLS ARE ALIKE. You'll laugh more at yourself than others for once thinking that some of them even belonged in the same conversation.

      And if you had the foresight to develop some skills along the way and nurtured your intellectual curiousity, you'll insist on making your own tools by the time you're fourty, an advocating the same to people on Slashdot who are oblivious to the differenc

    • I don't get this obsession. Back in the day I was a rabid (psychotic) Amiga fan/user. As I matured I realized something, IT'S JUST A COMPUTER GUYS. JUST ANOTHER TOOL. If people were this committed to, say hammers or forstner bits -- you'd think they were completely insane.

      Might your lack of "patriotism" though be just a *little* influenced by the fact that your choice OS died a horrible death long ago? I'm sure if Apple went out of business today in 10 years all the Macheads would either have to adopt a "Meh, it wasn't that great anyways." position or consign themselves to the nuthouse. It's just a survival skill :).

      (For what it's worth, I use Mac, Windows, and Linux all pretty extensively, so I'm not too biased in the modern world. Sadly I never got the chance to use an

    • by Hatta ( 162192 )

      If people were this committed to, say hammers or forstner bits -- you'd think they were completely insane.

      But if people had a strong opinion as to the utility of a regular drill vs. a hole hawg [steve-parker.org], that's pretty reasonable.

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by MrCrassic ( 994046 )
      You think that a Zippo lighter's a waste of intelligence?

      The iFart application is the leading application in the App Store right now. Yes, a farting application.
    • many of you are amongst the most intelligent human beings in the world

      Intelligence is not an indication of maturity.

    • If people were this committed to, say hammers or forstner bits -- you'd think they were completely insane.

      I know people that are this rabid about other tools which do multiple things (like computers): Swiss Army knives and Leatherman multi-tools. They will swear that the generics are worthless, break or rust. Come to think of it, I know someone who won't use a non-Craftsman hammer because he's a Craftsman snob. But... insanity? No, just strong preference.

  • Just screenshot all the Apple articles on Slashdot, and you'll see fanboyism and corporate pimping at its finest.

  • Fanboys (Score:5, Informative)

    by nasor ( 690345 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @10:39AM (#26329529)
    I have a lot of Apple fanboy friends, and they finally convinced me to spend the extra money for a macbook pro when it came time to buy a new laptop. So far I've been seriously underwhelmed. Contrary to the claims of virtually every Apple user I know, my new laptop with OS X doesn't appear to be any more stable than my old Windows XP laptop. It still periodically locks up for no apparent reason, which I can only solve by making it force-quit applications. It still sometimes slows down for no apparent reason (presumably because something is hogging resources). Also, a few weeks ago one of the updates killed my laptop's display somehow and I had to plug it into an external monitor to fix it - which was a huge pain in the ass, because for some inexplicable reason the macbook pro doesn't have a standard VGA port for connecting to external monitors, AND Apple didn't bother to include the necessary adapters with the laptop. Maybe the update was a ploy to see how many people they could force to buy $16 adapters?

    Overall I'm still enjoying my laptop, but I'm astounded that so many people basically lied to me with claims of how perfectly stable and wonderful macs are. I find it very difficult to believe that I'm the only one who has to force-quit applications or deal with inexplicable slowdowns. Surely all these fanboys are having the same sorts of problems. So why can't they just admit it? Why do they have to insist that everything is perfect?
    • Re:Fanboys (Score:5, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 05, 2009 @10:49AM (#26329639)

      Er... if you're able to force-quit applications, then the operating system hasn't locked up. The operating system is working fine, and the program in question has locked up. Even Apple can't save you from poorly written applications. (although your complaint is perfectly valid if the apps you're seeing lock up were written by Apple)

    • Re:Fanboys (Score:5, Interesting)

      by gad_zuki! ( 70830 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @11:29AM (#26330161)

      Im convinced that most people who talk about OSX being superior are windows users who have built up some kind of weirdo OSX fetish fantasy. At my old job I supported several OSX machines and they were as much trouble as anything else. I loved sitting there watching the spinning rainbow do its thing for no reason and trying to navigate to the command line to run top while it was running so slow. There really should be a hotkey to top or a GUI-based task manager equivalent.

      Apple does a good job of forcing a lot of features into its OS but that usually translates into a slow experience, especially coming from XP on an modern machine.

      As far as the lying goes, well, exaggeration is human nature. Its really your job to filter out the BS. This doesnt just apply to computers, but to everything in life.

      • spinning rainbow

        Spinning beach-ball of doom.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      I don't know why I'm doing this, because you can almost never figure out what is going on from these kinds of stories but I feel I need to at least try and help you. :) So, did you install any of the "Application Enhancer" or other kernel hacks? If you did, there's your problem, they break with ever upgrade and have been known to cause the system to become unstable. Next, try reseting the PRAM [apple.com] and the PMU [apple.com]. If that doesn't help, try keeping your activity monitor open and see what applications are hogging
    • by Sycraft-fu ( 314770 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @11:56AM (#26330513)

      1) People who have crap hardware. A number of people I know who got a Mac and find it to be much better find that mostly because they had a really bad PC. It was a cheapie and slow right when it came out, never mind the 5+ years later when this is. Also means they were running a rather outdated OS. So it isn't a surprise that a massive hardware + software upgrade gives a much better experience.

      2) People who have an extremely broken system. Their system is full of crapware and breaks basically all the time. Software doesn't install, etc. They are finding it a major improvement because it was effectively a wipe/reinstall.

      However by far the most common

      3) They are lying to themselves. Seen this time and time again. They want/need to believe that this change is 100% for the better, so they tell themselves there are no problems. My best anecdote for this is from when I was in university, back before OS-X. I was in a friend's dorm room and his roommate and I were discussing computers. He had a Mac. He was telling me that the thing he liked was that "Macs never crash." As he was talking and noodling around, his system bombed. You know, the old bomb error. He clicked the restart and continued on. I interrupted him saying "Wait, right there! Your system crashed!" He then argued that no, it wasn't a crash like Windows does and so on. He was just lying to himself. He'd convinced himself that his system just didn't have problems like Windows did.

      So that's the biggest reason they won't admit it: They really don't acknowledge that they are having problems. They lie to themselves, which then leads them to mislead you.

      The truth of the matter is no consumer computer is perfect, and none likely ever will be. No matter what your OS, when you have an environment as complex and uncontrolled as one where people can install whatever they like, problems WILL happen. Certainly some OSes will have less problems, but anyone who tells you there's no problems is full of it.

      • by gregorio ( 520049 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @05:57PM (#26335831)

        was just lying to himself. He'd convinced himself that his system just didn't have problems like Windows did.

        Lots of OSS zealots who sometimes spend 5 days to make something simple work at Linux (sometimes that happens, even if its the person's fault) are also that way. In fact, most of them use "smart people" distributions like Slackware because "they never break" and "allow me to be in full control of my machine". Yet, when something breaks they realise (but don't admit) that they do not have full control over it, that their precious "superior choice" also has issues.

        It's the same thing: they're lying, and with a touch of elitism into it. Their "thing" is not about making a good choice about computing or executing tasks faster of cheaper. It's about belonging to groups (and, on an advanced point, being part of the group's institutional machine) and feeling good. It's just radical enviro-activism.

        After all, they allowed themselves to define their own personality based on those choices. That's how weak they are right now. They're not in control anymore: denying the tool/group/choice would mean denying their own personality.

    • by Tom ( 822 )

      Look, I've had the same story, but a widely different experience. For me the MBP I bought was largely a "wow" experience.

      But yes, there are problems. It isn't perfect. Still, compared to XP, I'd say there are worlds between them. Among those I know who switched to Macs during the past 2-3 years, the general consensus is that it isn't perfect, but there are few flaws and many great things, while XP is just barely bearable.

    • I have a lot of Apple fanboy friends, and they finally convinced me to spend the extra money for a macbook pro when it came time to buy a new laptop. So far I've been seriously underwhelmed. Contrary to the claims of virtually every Apple user I know, my new laptop with OS X doesn't appear to be any more stable than my old Windows XP laptop. It still periodically locks up for no apparent reason, which I can only solve by making it force-quit applications. It still sometimes slows down for no apparent reason (presumably because something is hogging resources). Also, a few weeks ago one of the updates killed my laptop's display somehow and I had to plug it into an external monitor to fix it - which was a huge pain in the ass, because for some inexplicable reason the macbook pro doesn't have a standard VGA port for connecting to external monitors, AND Apple didn't bother to include the necessary adapters with the laptop. Maybe the update was a ploy to see how many people they could force to buy $16 adapters?

      Overall I'm still enjoying my laptop, but I'm astounded that so many people basically lied to me with claims of how perfectly stable and wonderful macs are. I find it very difficult to believe that I'm the only one who has to force-quit applications or deal with inexplicable slowdowns. Surely all these fanboys are having the same sorts of problems. So why can't they just admit it? Why do they have to insist that everything is perfect?

      Firstly, you left out some interesting details. Did you get one of the the new glass screen MacBooks? In that case you should have expected crap like this from a newly released product line regardless of whether it is a Mac, a PC or anything else. Which Apps are freezing up on you? Some OS X apps much like some Windows Apps are not particlulary well written. Another point is that OS X GUI apps like those written for Windows and Linux tends to like RAM, lots of RAM and the default amount of RAM that comes wi

  • As a MS developer with a journalist girlfriend who runs Linux on her Asus EEE PC, I fart in their general direction. ;-)

    </gloats>

  • by Asgerix ( 1035824 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @10:49AM (#26329623) Homepage

    'MacHeads is a superb film that will give Apple haters a few cheap laughs, and Apple fans a few cheap thrills. But it'll entertain both equally, while educating everybody else'

    I like this quote. It basically says that if you're not a fan and not a hater, it's because you're not educated properly!

  • We need a better name for Apple fanboys:

    Mac-aroons?

    • Or the "I'm-upper-middle-class-and-can-afford-proprietary-hardware-and-my-new-volkswagen-with-a-flower-holder-in-the-dash-and-expouse-my-northern-california-peace-movement-and-oh-my-god-ponies-and-IPhones-and"-heads.

      No wait, that's a flame.

      But a flame, by any other name, would smell like an apple.

    • by Hatta ( 162192 )

      Apple turnovers?

  • by Fear the Clam ( 230933 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @11:47AM (#26330371)

    They're used to lousy performance.
    No mater how bad the sex is, I just promise that next time it's going to be better than ever and they believe me.
    If I "crash" while they're trying to, y'know, get things done, it's no big deal.
    They're used to getting boned in the ass.

  • girls who claim they'll never sleep with Windows users

    Good for them. They're idiots. I wouldn't want to sleep with someone who judges people on their OS choice (of all things) rather than things that actually matter, like personality or how well the two of you connect. Them not wanting to sleep with users isn't a damning indictment of Windows, it's a damning indictment of themselves.

    Seriously, people like that need to be punched to death.

    • But if the MacGirl was hot enough though, would it be worth pretending you are a MacHead? If your a linux guy you could show her a Bash shell in OSX and she's yours.
      • I AM, for want of a better word, a "MacHead". I use Macs and OS X exclusively. And yet I don't want to sleeo with someone who's so up herself and materialistic that someone's choice in OS is a factor in wanting to fuck them. That's my point.

  • by w0mprat ( 1317953 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @03:23PM (#26333581)
    Do mac girls only have one nipple?

Understanding is always the understanding of a smaller problem in relation to a bigger problem. -- P.D. Ouspensky

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