Release Notes: I Am Not, Nor Have I Ever Been, a Fanboy
Posted 10/20/09 at 11:00:00 PM by Will Smith
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It all started with a phone call from my mom. While she’s not a regular Maximum PC reader, she read my Windows 7 review online, and called me because she was worried about the, umm, “colorful” comments. I told her not to sweat that feedback—that those folks are fanboys, people who suffer an excess of product-focused enthusiasm.
The conversation got me thinking, though. When I posted my positive review of Win7, I expected a strong response from the fanboy contingent. I expected people to accuse me of being a fanboy (that happened, check), and I expected my critics to attack my opinions (checkerino), expertise (Chekov), and moral turpitude (ditto).
I wasn’t surprised by the Windows XP fanboys, who let me know that their intractable world lacks a place for any new versions of Windows. Also not shocking? That the Apple fanboys are convinced that Snow Leopard is faster, better, and cheaper than Windows 7. And I would have been disappointed if the Linux fanboys didn’t tell me that I’m a dumbass for paying for an inferior, closed-source OS. What I didn’t expect? Well, what I couldn’t prepare myself for was the Windows Vista fanboy.
This revelation prompted further study into the fanboy syndrome. I stopped discriminating, and started engaging them. It turns out that the sources of motivation for the modern fanboy can be as varied as the products that they love. Nonetheless, after much study, I was able to classify fanboys into a few major archetypes:
The Underdog: One of the most common fanboy types, the Underdog throws his weight behind the long-shot. As self-described hopeless romantics, Underdogs shift allegiances with nearly every product cycle.
The Investor: With a strict eye toward preserving the capital expended on any particular product, the Investor frequently reads and argues about reviews of products he already owns, and rarely sees value in upgrading a product that he’s invested his money (and thus, his self-worth) in.
The Contrarian/Non-Conformist: Students of fanboyism commonly confuse these archetypes. They share similarities, but to the trained eye the key difference is simple: Contrarians like products because you dislike them, while Non-Conformists like them because everyone else dislikes them.
The Antiquarian: The Antiquarian’s motto says it all: “If it’s new, it’s overpriced crap.” Antiquarians can frequently be found dumpster-diving behind Fry’s, looking for “perfectly serviceable” parts that are “just” 10 years old.
The Historian: You know that guy with the Commodore 64 ticking along in the corner? He’s the Historian. Odds are, he’s still running a crappy Cyrix CPU, because “Cyrix made bitchin’ x86-compatible CPUs in 1993.” Don’t waste your breath arguing with Historians.
So, where do I fit in? I’m not a fanboy at all. I simply buy whatever is fastest and gives me the functionality I need. Where do you fit in?
early adopters
Submitted by claytovt on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 2:02pm
Hey wolf you do know for 30 bucks you can get the win7 pro edition through microsofts edu program till 01/05/10
Another category...
Submitted by highsidednb on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 10:32am
"The Inheritor"
This fanboy loves whatever his early adopter friends love, until those friends decide to upgrade. Then the Inheritor talks smack about his early adopter firend's parts, encourages the friend to upgrade as high as possible, then offeres 50 bucks for those two old 9800gt card that "aren't worth selling on craigslist." The Inheritor can be confused with the Cheapskate.
Submitted by win7fanboi on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 12:19pm
There is no confusing the Inheritor, Cheapskate would be an upgrade for you... but I am sure your friends are screwing you behind your back...
Submitted by The Relic on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 3:58pm
Makes me think of a Columbus policeman who used to work security at my old store. He had bought an NVidia GeForce 3 Ti200, then shortly afterward heard that the ideal way to play the (not-yet-released) Doom 3 would be with an ATI 9700 Pro.
Sure enough, he went out and bought the ATI and yanked the GeForce, then asked me if I wanted to buy a slightly used GeForce for $70...^_^
Submitted by The Relic on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 9:58am
Hmm. My crotchedy old ass must have missed this one on your list. Namely...
The Conformist: The guy who buys based on the biggest name on the block. Blinds themselves to any flaws said company may have made in their product (Some of the worst I've seen in that catagory are actually Sony fanboys, but even though I have seen Microsoft fanboys, I honestly haven't seen as many of them). Their mantra? "Accept it. <fillintheblank> is dominant."
Submitted by kevjohn on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 7:25am
Or maybe a "meh. fanboy". Essentially, I'll try something and if it works I'm fine with it. I'll keep using it until it doesn't work for me, then abandon it when it no longer fulfills my needs. I bought a new PC a few years back with Vista on it, immediately disabled the UAC and haven't had a single problem with it -- despite crapifying my PC with all manner of suspect software. I don't mind taking a few minutes to speak up in Vista/MS's/Bill Gates'/Steve Ballmer's behalf whenever I hear people trashing Vista. I'm not upgrading to Win7 because I don't need to upgrade to anything, and I have much better things to do with my time and money than upgrade just for the hell of it. I guess you could also add "budget-conscious fanboy" to my list of possible labels. I don't know about anyone else here, but I have a LOT better things to do with $320 (the retail price of W7 Ultimate) than blow it on an OS. Hell man, that's airfare to Vegas!
Instead of classifying people who are simply happy with what they have and are willing to voice their support, maybe we should start categorizing you speed fetishists who always need the newest latest red hot kick ass gear to add to your mantle, as if you are Kraven the Hunter mounting some giant beast's head to your rec room wall.
Which fan boy am I?
Submitted by XP Lover on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 6:46am
BEING BANNED DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULD CREATE ANOTHER ACCOUNT AND KEEP POSTING, GHOT.
Submitted by habuza on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 6:42am
I use windows 7, I like it. Everything works on it just fine from my experience. If i were to defend against said fanboys, it would go something like this :
To the linux fanboys , your OS will never take off. Surpsising? I don't think so, your mascot is a bird that can't fly.
To the Mac fanboys, your OS is just... well. Crap. Steve Jobs gouges your wallets and you happily allow him to do so for mediocre devices. ( Which are ALL proprietery )
But, like my dad always say. To each their own.
some people are just nuts!
Submitted by dracx619 on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 5:26am
some people are just nuts! whatever, i enjoyed defending win 7 on your review...some nice time wasteres in between downtimes at work
Submitted by inahayze on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 3:33am
How about the "logical" user? He simply is not swayed by media hype, or needing to follow what everybody else is doing. He checks out the new stuff to see if it has any real benefits for upgrading, and weighs the value of the upgrade. Is Win7 going to stop spyware/malware/etc better? Is it going to stop viruses better? Is it faster? The way I see it, I like Win7, BUT- see no real reason to upgrade. Xp works just fine. It seems that Win7 has to run in 64 bit mode just to try to keep up with XP's 32 bit benchmarks (in your review Will). Is that really faster? Oh, the new features- you can now turn your taskbar into the desktop. It is doing the same thing by having shortcuts that XP has on the desktop. Oooh, you can drop a file on the shortcut and have it open- is that new?? I'm just not seeing the intelligence for the upgrade. I've never been manipulated by corporate marketing to buy something without thinking. I am still using Office 2000. It works like it should. I don't need Facebook, Twitter, or and little "fads" that the sheep flock to. XP for me- because it works!
Submitted by TheZomb on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 8:27am
Logical users have no place in an article about illogical people by the way. If your using a 64 bit computer with over 4 gigs of ram and running XP 32 your plain stupid, and wasting money. Win7 requiring 64 to be faster than XP is not a downside, It just means its faster. You may not need all that fancy smancy web app integration but most of the world likes progress hence the reason we drive cars instead of riding horses or use calculators instead of doing basic math on paper. They all work, for basic needs but we still be chucking rocks at animals if everyone thought like you do.
Submitted by win7fanboi on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 6:03am
I am with you... for one, the programs might be compatible with Win7 but they are not designed for it. That is why I am dual booting with XP... however being a software engineer, I know there are lot of things under the hood that have been rewritten, especially since XP. These changes are not evident at first but will get more pronounced as custom hardware (multi touch screens, ambient light sensors, fingerprint readers, etc ) and software/drivers designed for Win7 and 64bit OSes enter the market. I know light sensors and fingerprint readers aren't new but they are in the sense that the OS has kernal level support for them now. That means more stable OS and more consistent hardware behavior. I haven't gotten used to the new taskbar and I don't like how it groups the open windows with the pinned shortcuts. If I had to buy a copy I would wait but since I got one at the launch event I have started experimenting. BTW I am a combination of the categories Will listed and the if I had to pick one I would pick the 'Investor'. Being in the IT field I get the OSes for free but I don't want to invest my time trying to find sub-par alternatives for the things I am doing with XP. That is why I skipped Vista (even though I have 2 Vista Ultimate copies).
Submitted by WFUJay on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 6:24am
If you don't like how it groups open windows with pinned shortcuts why don't you just turn that option off? It's pretty simple.
Submitted by win7fanboi on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 6:40am
double post
Submitted by win7fanboi on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 6:42am
I have... issue is with the shortcuts (IE and Win Explorer). If I open IE it still won't open in its own taskbar shortcut... unless there is some other setting somewhere that I overlooked...
Across the tundra
Submitted by Havok on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 5:03am
Here, we see the Antiquarian in its natural habitat. The user glides through Windows XP with seemingly no effort at all, and is able to defend it from predators such as the Great White Mac. However, such confidence is the Antiquarian's greatest enemy, as it is often timid or even skeptical of great new enhancements in the realm of Operating Systems.
CLICK.
Just a quick word from
Submitted by Modred189 on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 4:38am
Just a quick word from someone who went from XP to 7.
You really are missing out if you do not upgrade, benchmarks notwithstanding. Artificial benchmarks mean very little, given that driver makers and the benchmark company has had umpteen years to optimize for XP.
Being able to manipulate windows (maximize, 1/2 screen, aero shake etc) alone makes 7 worth it, but the better memory management, greater allowable ram, better multitasking/threading, quicker boot/shutdown, security, WMP internet streaming for free, start search and better organization make it ten times better than XP. And my reference is my Acer Aspire One (1.6ghz atom, 120gb 5400 hdd, GMA crap and 1.5gb ram) netbook.
Submitted by win7fanboi on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 6:07am
You can "manipulate windows" in XP as well (other than the aero effects). Hold down Ctrl key and click the two or more windows you want to tile, right click any of them in the taskbar and you can choose to tile vertically or horizontally (not sure if you can tile horizontally in Win7). Aero shake looks cool but is not practical unless you are a mouse person. I agree with the 'under the hood' changes but greater allowable ram isn't new.
I've got all the major brands covered, under 1 Roof!
Submitted by Belboz99 on Tue, 10/20/2009 - 7:47pm
IMO, the most contentious topics for Fanboys are CPU's, GPU's, and OS'es...
Well, here in my wife and I's lovely home, we have 2 PC's, and 2 Desktops (1 of which is technically a server).
3 of those have Dual-Core CPU's, my personal Desktop has an Intel Q6600 Quad Core, paired with an Nvidia 8800GTS. It runs Windows XP and Ubuntu 9.04 (soon to be 9.10) roughly half and half, with the time in XP being spent mostly gaming, and Ubuntu time being mostly used for everything else.
My personal Laptop has an AMD Processor, and an ATI GPU. It's also a Dual-Boot, although in this case I've got Windows 7 and Ubuntu 9.04.
My wife's Laptop has an AMD Processor as well, paired with an Nvidia GPU, also in dual-boot, although here it's Windows Vista and Ubuntu 9.04 (though she's thinking of trying something different soon).
The Server runs an Intel C2D E6300 with an ATI 3650, running Ubuntu Linux 100% (and 100% run time, save power outages).
Simplified, in our 1 house, with 4 PC's, we have the following Combos:
Intel + Nvidia + Ubuntu + WinXP
AMD + ATI + Ubuntu + Win7
AMD + Nvidia + Ubuntu + Win Vista
Intel + ATI + Ubuntu
I think we've got our bases covered!
Can anyone here every realistically call us "fanboys"? I don't think so!
Dan O.
Submitted by Russtynailz on Tue, 10/20/2009 - 7:23pm
I too would put myself in the front line/early adopter catagory.
If it is new I probally have it or used it.
"IF IT IS NEW IT IS BETTER!!!! I hope.......
Submitted by Skillz_n_Magic on Tue, 10/20/2009 - 6:57pm
You're a total closet mac fanboy. There are more and more articles about macs in the pages of MaximumPC ever since you took over. I'd appreciate it if you would stop trying to be trendy and instead focus the staff's energy on PC's. You know, those things your magazine is named after...
Submitted by JuanSolid on Tue, 10/20/2009 - 10:57pm
Will Smith is the best EIC MaximumPC has had IMHO.
I think your talking about the articles about busted iphones, build an hackintosh, and other various articles about apple products in some way. Your missing the fact that all the articles are about proiducts used on the PC hardware. The building a hackintosh article is just to let users know what they can do, not saying they should, with PC hardware. This article is just as genuine as an article on loading linux on a PS3, building a media center pc, duel booting your os, or anything other walkthrough to give pc users who want to tinker, a guide to tinker.
Show these numerous articles that are just about mac's only.
I also take offense that you think the PC platform can not be trendy in anyway. Customizing your PC, and the gadgets you use, is like decorating your home or car. Geek cred is about how many hacks/customizations you have utilized, or do utilize. How is that different from a trendy show like 'cribs' or 'pimp my ride', or 'orange county chopper'?
Sorry it's not only about PC hardware, and sometimes about pc related accessories?.....which is just about everything these days. I bet you think MaximumPC should not do an article on TV's with web browsing built in!
I'd hate the magazine if it was only articles about new hardware for PC building. Maybe
you would like it to be that darned plain jane, but I think the
majority of the subscribers like the tech articles more.I wonder if you consider it a waste of resources when they built the multitouch PC? Shame on them for doing some woddwork to build the darned thing, they should have bought a case and built it with that lol. Or better yet, become planPC and showed off thier newely bought hp touchsmart! lol
If we didn't cover Apple
Submitted by willsmith on Tue, 10/20/2009 - 10:45pm
If we didn't cover Apple stuff, we wouldn't be doing our job as an enthusiast magazine.
Look at them a different way. Since Apple started selling Intel hardware, they've moved from 8 or 10th place to 3rd or 5th place, depending on what exact market segments you're talking about. That kind of growth doesn't happen if they're not doing something that resonates with people who are spending their hard earned money on this. We didn't talk about them for ten years because they weren't relevant to enthusiasts and power users. When they stop being relevant, we'll ignore them again
FWIW, I do applaud Apple for having the rocks to keep putting their customer's experience above marginal revenue streams. They charge a premium for it, but when you buy a Mac, you don't have spend two hours removing all the crapware that every other major PC vendor loads on every PC they sell, just to have a chance to make a couple of extra bucks off of you.
Whoa whoa whoa....
Submitted by 1337Goose on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 5:45pm
True: Apple has experienced significant growth over the last five years or so, but to go as far as to say that Apple is relevant to enthusiasts? I think I'll draw the line of agreement there.
Doesn't it ever feel as if Apple's entire business strategy is to be counter-enthusiast? Most of the readers of this magazine are drawn together by the fact that we love to tinker endlessly -- something that Apple staunchly opposes.
No PC magazine would be complete without coverage of the entire computer spectrum: Linux/Windows/Mac. But sometimes I feel as if you go a little too soft on Apple. Personally, I don't think Apple will be relevant to us until you can switch from Windows to Apple without wincing at the lack of your enthusiast tools.
Finally, sure I guess it's a good thing that Apple doesn't install crapware on your PC, but the bottom line is, The Apple OS simply cannot compare to Windows for power users. It's like buying an HD-DVD player for your house because you think HD-DVDs are nicer than Blu-Ray discs: you can point out all the great thing about HD-DVD, but at the end of the day, nothing will justify HD-DVD because blu-ray has the one argument that makes all other arguments moot. Such is the case with Windows and Mac.
I hope I didn't come across as a lunatic.
~Goose
Submitted by ExarKun1138 on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 6:00am
Will, I don't think most of us who hate Apple really have anything against the Company, per say, but we have a problem with the Apple USER. Those that have Apple based systems tend to look down upon us poor Windows users as though we are scum, and do not know better. I get this attitude all the time in my work. My company services both Windows based PC/Servers, and Apple systems(no servers, since Apple's servers suck), and the underlying attitude from Apple users is that they are so superior to the Winodws user, they almost feel "sorry" for them. Yet, when it's pointed out to them all of what a Windows based system can do, they just shrug it off or claim that Apple systems "do it better".
In my experience, I can't agree with that. I see as many issues in the Mac world as I do in the PC world, and yet, those Mac users just say that this only happens "once in a while", compared to PC's. Well, considering the disproportionat number of PC's to Mac's in the world, I always say, "Well, uh, no kidding. Look how many PC's are in mission critical locations compared to Mac's. Mac's aren't used in companies as servers, or workstations like they are with PC/Windows based systems."
And, Windows based systems are used in far more capacities than Macs. Macs are just too expensive for most small to medium businesses to drop the dollars for, and they won't serve their purposes either, and for large companies, Macs don't have the right tools there either. As far as home PC's go, well, the Windows based systems are in far more homes than Macs because of the above reasons. And, as MaxPC even stated before, some 65% of Mac owners own a Windows based PC too.
Submitted by willsmith on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 7:27am
It turns out that my job is to test and review HARDWARE, not USERS.
Submitted by ExarKun1138 on Thu, 10/22/2009 - 6:31am
And you do a great job of doing that! Keep up the good work. BUT, I think my point is valid. I'm not saying that you, particularly, have to review the users of the OS's, but just that it needs to be pointed out the differences between said users because the relavence of the OS is based on what the user expects. OSX users expect their hand to be held through the OS experience. Windows users want less hand holding, more tweakability(real word?), and Linux/Unix users simply want to do what they do, no interference from the OS at all. That will define what OS a person should have. Most Windows users don't like OSX simply because it feels too closed, and lacks user tweaking, and so, even if it is a great OS, it's not for them(or me). Windows 7 is by far the best OS out there on any system, simply because it takes the best of ALL OS's and puts them into one package. If you need a command line, it's there. If you need endless helps, it's there. If you wanna tweak the hell out of it, you can. To me, that is what makes Windows platforms, and especially Win7, so "kick-ass"!
Heh,
Submitted by Taz0 on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 9:03am
Heh, it seems you missed the above fan type, Will. Great article btw, one of the few which I actually waited for it to be posted online after reading it in the magazine, so I could refer people to it when in distress.
Usually I am annoyed when I encounter an article in the magazine the I have already read online, or when I read an article online half way through before realizing I've already read it in the magazine a while back. But this is the exception. On that subject, is there any chance you could add a "From the magazine" moniker (a little icon or a tag) to your online articles so that I may save the read for the magazine? That would be fantastic!
Submitted by 1337Goose on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 4:24pm
Totally agree with your post. I think when I read this article in the mag, I left a comment on some random thread in MaxPC about how much I liked the article.
I also agree with the getting annoyed at reading an article twice before realizing that I've read it in the mag before. I second the notion of putting some form of visual indication that the article has appeared in the mag, that'd be great.
~Goose
Submitted by dracx619 on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 6:15am
i am one that agrees with you. i however am one who despises not only the user you so eloquently described, but the company as well. their products are ok but of course not asgreat as apple hypes them to be.
Submitted by ExarKun1138 on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 6:42am
Apple systems are expensive, and genrally, you pay more for less than comparable Windows based systems. I build all my PC's, so I save even more money over "boxed PC's". The thing I really hate about Apple is their constant need to make the computers look "cool" just sitting there(like I'm just gonna STARE at my PC and not use it!), and put a lot of effort into that, which raises the prices, yet the guts of the systems are no better than something in the PC world that costs half as much. I have never understood this need for hip looking asthetics when it comes to a computer being more important to Apple owners than true computing power. I guess you have to be a "Mactard" to understand......I sure don't!
WoW Will, you managed to
Submitted by DBsantos77 on Tue, 10/20/2009 - 6:35pm
WoW Will, you managed to suck me into reading the whole damn article while simultaneously explaining each fanboy terminology with precision. I'll admit that I do tend to be an underdog fanboy at times. It's a great read! Kudos!
-Santos
Submitted by 1337Goose on Tue, 10/20/2009 - 6:33pm
I loved this one when I saw it in the magazine. It really did get me smiling.
I think there's a touch of underdog in me. However, the real fanboy in me is the Apple hater, that's the only fanboy-ism I indulge, and I really do indulge it to the extent of indulgence... Who's with me?
~Goose
Submitted by aldude505 on Tue, 10/20/2009 - 9:53pm
I agree with Goose on this one, the only real fanboy I consider myself is an Apple-hater... And I don't even hate Apple products, I do own a iTouch (gasp). But what I do hate is the poeple that love Apple for no other reason than because its supposed to be the hip thing. They have no idea that their computers these days are pretty much PC's hardware with a nice cover. Like a spoiler on an El Camino, just because you think it looks cool doesn't mean its better. But I will let that be for now... until another time.
I'm feeling you on the
Submitted by quickone on Tue, 10/20/2009 - 6:45pm
I'm feeling you on the Apple, I have a Zune, a PC, and am looking at
the Palm Pre. It isn't so much that I have anything against Apple, I
am just not going to buy something for aesthetics opposed to function.
The Zune is hands down better than an Ipod, it is cheaper, does more
and is less restrictive. PC's you can put whatever you want in
them, run whatever OS you want etc, the Iphone is pretty compelling,
I'll give it that, we'll see. I don't even mind using
Macs, if it is there I'll use it, and I am proficient with it, I'm just
not going to shell out $2000 for $1200 worth of parts.
Maybe it is because Mac users are usually fanboys and I lothe such people who allow themselves to be blinded by an idea over reality
~~The difference between insanity and genius is merely succes~~
Submitted by Modred189 on Tue, 10/20/2009 - 6:28pm
While I don't much consider myself a fanboy, as I am willing to give anything at least a fair shot, and most things a second chance, I would define another group:
The frontliners/early adopters. We like the newest because it is new. release-day bugs be damned, if it's shiny and new and purports to be better, I'll get it. And guess what? No matter the kinks, and minor issues, it's freaking batter man!!!!!
Less a fanboy archetype, and more of a syndrome, i suppose...
Submitted by wolf17 on Tue, 10/20/2009 - 8:27pm
lol, a part of my mind can't help but agree :D If only I wasn't a broke college student so that I could afford to have early adopter syndrome!! hahah
"Life is about living, not stressing" - a very smart girl :)
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