Computer Bigots
Tech Wench commented recently on a subject near and dear to my own heart, having been in Tech Support myself for a few years. Her term for the manifestation was Zealot, while I would prefer
n : a prejudiced person who is intolerant of any opinions differing from his own
From the 15th century on Old French bigot meant “an excessively devoted or hypocritical person.” Bigot is first recorded in English in 1598 with the sense “a superstitious hypocrite.”
A person who is religiously attached to a particular computer,
language, operating system, editor, or other tool. Usually found with a specifier; thus,"Cray bigot", "ITS bigot", "APL bigot", "VMS bigot", "Berkeley
bigot", ("Windows bigots", "Unix bigots"). Real bigots can be distinguished from mere partisans or zealots by the fact that they refuse to learn alternatives even when the march of time and/or technology is threatening to obsolete the favoured tool. It is truly said "You can tell a bigot, but you can’t tell him much."
For the non-technical people out there this is probably a little confusing. Since you’re reading this post to begin with, it’s most likely that you’re using a computer that uses either Microsoft Windows, or Apple. There are other operating systems that also have a version of Internet browser (like Internet Explorer and Netscape), but the two most popular desktop or personal computers are currently running either Windows or Apple. This isn’t just personal opinion, but I don’t have any ready statistics on it… if you don’t believe me you’ll have to look it up yourself.
Ok, so there’s the background. The reasons Tech Wench and I, as well as most other IT people, have a problem with Technical Bigotry, is that it ends up causing a lot of unnecessary friction and heated discussion.
Here’s an example of the stupidity of all this:
I have a 4ft. by 12ft. garden I want to dig in my back yard. I want to dig down three feet so I can put in good soil mixed with fertilizer.
Solution one:
1. Measure off the area
2. Mark the area with string
3. Grab my trusty shovel
4. Start digging
Solution two:
1. Measure off the area
2. Mark the area with string
3. Rent a backhoe
4. Move my fence so I can get the backhoe into the back yard
5. Hire somebody to drive the backhoe
6. Schedule the dig
7. Dig the hole
8. Repair the damage to my lawn from the backhoe
9. Fix the fence
The point is that using the right tool for the job gets the job done efficiently. It’s ridiculous to use a tool that isn’t really designed to do the job we need done. In the long run it ends up costing us more time and money than just using a simple and easy to use interface. If I were digging a pool I’d want to use a backhoe because it’s the most efficient tool for the job. Even if I were a backhoe operator I probably wouldn’t choose to use it to dig my garden.
How does my example apply to technical stuff? Well, I happen to be a Certified Microsoft Professional. That doesn’t mean however that I insist on using a Microsoft product to do every thing I need to do technically. I use Adobe Photoshop for graphics, and Macromedia Studio for web design, for instance… because they’re what I like. They are what I am familiar with. You may have programs that you like, and does that bother me… not in the least.
The bottom line for me is that a lot of technical people want to make a campaign out of knocking the other guy. In my career I have been a Novell Administrator, an OS/2 Administrator, a Lotus Notes Administrator, and a Windows System Admininistrator, as well as directing all of the above including Unix. Each operating system has its use and advantages. An Engineering company may want to use Unix because a lot of Engineering applications are written for Unix systems, while an Accounting company may want to use a Windows system because their favorite application is written in Windows. Does that mean that one is necessarily better than the other? Not really, and to continually keep making that claim is simply ignorant. Do I care that Bill Gates makes a lot of money this year because his company sells a good user friendly product (in my opinion) compared to some others that you have to know command line commands to use? Hell no, I would rather click and drag anytime than to have to type out everything the same way I did years ago… I guess I’m just lazy that way… or it may also be that I can get a lot done faster by a few mouse clicks. Do I care if you want to use another operating system on your personal computer? Hell no, knock yourself out. I use what I like, and so should you.
So here’s a message for all the Zealots and Bigots out there who just don’t seem to have any tolerance for each other… stop wasting everyone’s time by trying to convince each other yours is bigger, stronger, better, and more robust. Use your tool however you feel you need to, and I’ll keep using whatever tool I need to get my own job done.