Friday, November 10, 2006

mac is catholic

I was digging through some old stuff and found this:

The following excerpts are from an English translation of Umberto Eco's back-page column, "La bustina di Minerva," in the Italian news weekly Espresso, September 30, 1994.

"The fact is that the world is divided between users of the Macintosh computer and users of MS-DOS compatible computers. I am firmly of the opinion that the Macintosh is Catholic and that DOS is Protestant. Indeed, the Macintosh is counter-reformist and has been influenced by the 'ratio studiorum' of the Jesuits. It is cheerful, friendly, conciliatory, it tells the faithful how they must proceed step by step to reach--if not the Kingdom of Heaven--the moment in which their document is printed. It is catechistic: the essence of revelation is dealt with via simple formulae and sumptuous icons. Everyone has a right to salvation.

"DOS is Protestant, or even Calvinistic. It allows free interpretation of scripture, demands difficult personal decisions, imposes a subtle hermeneutics upon the user, and takes for granted the idea that not all can reach salvation. To make the system work you need to interpret the program yourself: a long way from the baroque community of revellers, the user is closed within the loneliness of his own inner torment.

"You may object that, with the passage to Windows, the DOS universe has come to resemble more closely the counter-reformist tolerance of the Macintosh. It's true: Windows represents an Anglican-style schism, big ceremonies in the cathedral, but there is always the possibility of a return to DOS to change things in accordance with bizarre decisions; when it comes down to it, you can decide to allow women and gays to be ministers if you want to.....

"And machine code, which lies beneath both systems (or environments, if you prefer)? Ah, that is to do with the Old Testament, and is talmudic and cabalistic..."

Well, if the Mac is Catholic, then I dare to say that perhaps Dell, with its hardworking ethic, and its thrifty lifestyle, is the perfect example of a Protestant brand (and I only wonder what Eco would have to say about the meanings in these images of a Dell laptop bursting into flames).

2 comments:

guscasas said...

Hey Nelson
Last Tuesday, in the GP conference, in a session about brand community’s, talking about apple of course, we discuss this same example. Well but I laugh again even being a PC user. Cheers

Nelson said...

I wish I was there...