[X-Newbies] Re: Why Mac Owners Don't Invest

[Alex]

On May 30, 2005, at 01:34, Charles Martin wrote:

> I don't see how my answer was "impatient"

This is how:

>> [...] any Mac owner should know right off the bat that 1-800
>> numbers and mail order [...]
>>
>> [...] there's a lot of Mac owners out there who never bother to
>> get in touch with the local Mac User Group, never bother to find
>> out about the quality online dealers [...]
>>
>> [...] Mac owners have it VERY easy if they'll make the small
>> effort to find the resources that are available to them [...]
>>
>> [...] hard drives are dirt cheap [...]
>>
>> [...] There is NO EXCUSE for people who, after 20+ years of
>> being warned to make backups, fail to have a backup [...]

Think about how well the "1-800 numbers", "mail order", "dirt cheap", 
and "VERY easy" apply to users in less favoured nations. Even here, in 
Canada (NAFTA member), we sometimes have problems with 1-800 numbers 
(some work or are toll-free only in the US) and on-line dealers (some 
don't ship across the border). So, before offering a verdict of "NO 
EXCUSE", you might wish to exercise a little patience, and take into 
account local circumstances.

> I regularly correspond with a couple of Mac users in Fiji (which is 
> one of the more remote places for Mac users) and they have dealers 
> (admittedly not in-country, but they can get what they need nearby).

I've worked in Eastern Europe and Central America. What I wrote was 
from first-hand experience. As to Fiji, that's interesting. Why don't 
you ask your correspondents about toll-free numbers, prices, shipping & 
insurance costs, customs duties. If they find it "VERY easy", then 
you're right to be harsh with them -- but keep in mind it's an 
exception (thanks to the Australian market), not the rule.

> I'm actually English

Congratulations. But -- your mail comes from a US address; you place in 
your .sig ads about a US MUG, a US periodical, and American rather than 
British politics. In most of your messages you use American rather than 
British spelling ("marvelous" rather than "marvellous", "proselytize" 
rather than "proselytise", "gray" rather than "grey", etc.). Finally, 
some time ago, explaining one of your .sigs, you posted to this list

> [...] I simply encourage every American who gives even the
> slightest damn about this country and its government [...]
>
> [...] The biggest single problem in this country is [...] the fact
> that not enough of us *participate* in the process. [...]

I don't see how you can "participate in the process" if you're not 
American. Speaking for myself, I should not like to presume to advise 
Americans (and certainly not in those terms) what their biggest single 
problem was, unless I were one of them.

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