"Apple is the female computer company," says MacCreator's Eolake Stobblehouse, who has just bought a 500 MHz G4 Cube.

"Men and geeks like power and bulk," declaims Eolake. "And if it is difficult to use, that is a definite bonus. That gives you something to fight."

"Women, artists, philosophers, and other higher-level creatures like things that are nice, and don't cause problems," he continues.

Hmmm. I hope Eolake has his flame-proof underwear on. Remember the storm of controversy ignited last year when PC columnist John Dvorak said that the iBook was "a computer for Barbie?" Dvorak didn't hold back, calling the iBook"effeminate," and "sissified," and asserting that it looked like a makeup compact: "You expect to see lipstick, rouge, and a tray of eye shadow inside when you open it up. You don't expect to see a 12-inch LCD; you expect to see a 12-inch mirror." Now hare's a Mac guy making similar, albeit friendly, comments about the Cube.

"The Cube and the iMac [are] not designed to look big, bulky, and difficult. They are designed to be nice. And they are." says Eolake. "They are also quite powerful, but they did not have to be. Today's computer speeds are nearing levels where unless you are working on very very big files professionally, it does not matter one bit whether you are using this year's computer or last year's."

"Power is used to fight. When you rise above that level spiritually, you get higher and better priorities."

Those may be fightin' words, Eolake!

However, if Eolake is right, making a feminine-friendly computer is not a dumb marketing strategy. There are now more females than males surfing the Internet, teenage girls being a particularly strong demographic, and slightly more than 50% of the population is female.

Last year, Michaela Platzer, vice president for research with the American Electronics Association told Marilyn Geewax of Cox News Service that women are discouraged and intimidated by the fact that computers crash a lot, and lack confidence that they will be able to keep them running. Men in general are found to be much more willing to confront the complexities and aggravations of computer setup, and are less discouraged by technical glitches and malfunctions. Men, are also much more likely to be technology buffs who enjoy, read about, and talk about computers as an end in themselves, rather than as a utilitarian tool or means to an end, which is pretty much what Eolake is saying.

Simplicity along with avant-garde styling equals a computer obviously calculated to appeal to female buyers. Both the Cube and the iBook will appeal to style-conscious female computer buyers, and making them more girl-friendly may have been Apple's deliberate intention.

You can read Eolake Stobblehouse's essay, "Apple, the feminine computer producer," here:
http://maccreator.com/articles/feminine.html

Charles W. Moore

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March 16, 2010