Given that it's Independence Day over here in the U.S., we thought it might be nice to pause and ramble on about the issues of choice and freedom in the computer world. After all, Mac users need to consider such things closely these days. There are reasons why Mac users choose the platform they do, and there are reasons why we have the freedom to choose in the first place. But if things don't change, we can't expect to keep that freedom of choice forever.

Now, it's no secret that, these days more than ever, Mac users are a different breed of computer user. While some 90% of the computer-using world is sitting at Wintel systems, there are still 4% of us still clinging to the Mac. Mac users know why we continue to exhibit such tenacity. For instance, faithful viewer Charles Martin of MacCentral fame wrote in about the whole Windows 98 upgrade craze, and the hidden costs involved:

First off there's the $30 that some people ponied up for the "preview" that's now worthless. Then there's the $89-to-99 actual cost. Then there's the $49 "Windows Plus Pak" which is pretty much mandatory if you actually want to USE the system. Then there's the $50 BIOS patch card for Y2K problems, the specialist you will need if you decide to reformat up to FAT32 (and believe me you WILL need a specialist if you don't want to toast your work), the Y2K patch you KNOW M$ will release next year (probably a "mere" $50 or so) ... now let me think, how much was MacOS 7.6.1 and/or 8.1? Oh yeah ... FREE. *And* they work the first time. Hmmph.

I am really missing out on this Windows thing. Color me jealous. Uh-huh. Yeah, right.

Now let's examine how we choose the Mac. Consumer freedom is a tricky thing when it comes to computers; it's really not the same as, say, freedom of choice when buying a car. You can go out and buy any car you like, and you're pretty likely going to be able to fill its fuel tank at any gas station you might come across. But computers are different, because they run on software, and here's the tricky bit in the computer freedom equation: computer platform market share directly affects (and is directly affected by) software availability. Chances are, if you're a Mac user, you're already painfully aware of this Catch-22 every time you look at the sparse selection of Mac software down at the local computer store, but if you don't think about it much, you're probably not thinking about it enough. It all boils down to this: if not enough people are using Macs, software developers don't write Mac software because they won't sell enough copies to make any money; likewise, if there isn't enough Mac software on the shelves, fewer people buy Macs. It's a nasty cycle that's not easy to break, especially since Apple is currently hovering around 4% market share. The lower that number gets, the harder it is to break the spiral.

Now that brings to the issue of Mac evangelism. Evangelists have a bad rep in the mainstream press; we're often seen as smug, Microsoft-hating know-it-alls who mindlessly mailbomb anyone that Guy Kawasaki points to as he shouts, "Sic 'em!" Now, as with many stereotypes, there can be an element of truth in that image, but it misses the heart of what evangelism strives to do. Mac evangelists strive to counter the misconceptions that surround the Mac platform, the primary one of which is that there isn't a Mac platform anymore. When friends ask us what kind of computer they should buy, we ask them if they've considered a Mac, and when they say they thought Apple went out of business, we tell them the truth. The point isn't to convert people who use Windows and prefer it to the Mac OS (yes, such creatures do exist; we actually know some). The point is to let people make informed decisions, and let them know they have a choice. We know lots of Windows users who say they hate Windows, but have no other choice. And that's just wrong.

The other important tactic that evangelists use is to tell software companies that we'd buy a Mac version of their software if one were available. Again, it's a way to give developers a realistic sense of a potential market for their products; if they just listen to the mainstream press, they may get a very unrealistic view of how many Mac users would be willing to pay for their software. And again, more software means more marketshare, though of course that's just incidental to the real goal, and not the primary objective itself. While AtAT would love to see the Macintosh platform capture a majority share of the computer market (wow, it's pretty hard to say that with a straight face), we're actually very comfortable being the one out of twenty-five computer users who uses a Mac. After all, if nothing else, Apple loses the "Think Different" slogan if somehow, in some Twilight Zoney turn of events, the Mac becomes the dominant platform. What's so different about using what everyone else is using? No, at the core of matters, Mac evangelists are not evangelizing to convert the world for the sake of conversion. We're fighting for the freedom to choose which computer we want to use.

So here's our point to all this: If you use a Mac, you have exercised your freedom of choice and chosen the computer you feel best suits your needs, despite its minority standing. But the price of freedom is indeed eternal vigilance; if you don't act today, you may not have a choice tomorrow. Now this is the part where someone invariably raises a very valid point: "Why should any of the responsibility of Apple's success or failure rest on the shoulders of its customers? After all, we didn't get Apple into this 4%-market-share mess-- Apple did." That's all true-- fixing Apple's market share problem is not our responsibility. It is, however, in our best interest to help in any way we can, or else someday we may lose the freedom to choose a Macintosh when it's time to buy a new system. We're not talking about necessarily spending all your free time demoing G3's down at your local CompUSA, but simply keeping your eyes and ears open, and correcting misinformation when you spot it. We're talking about filling out and sending in your software registration cards, indicating that you have a Mac. We're talking about showing your family and friends what your Mac can do, and how simple it is to use. You can be a Mac evangelist without spending over three hours a day putting together a Mac-focused web site (though, if you're as crazy as we are, by all means, go for it).

The beautiful thing is this: knowledge is still power. If someone realizes that buying a "cheaper" Wintel system soon costs more than a Mac does once you add in upgrade costs, downtime, repairs, lost hours spent trying to untangle IRQ conflicts, overwritten DLLs, registry corruption, etc., that person is perfectly free to buy a Mac instead. He or she is also perfectly free to buy that Wintel, if he or she prefers. And we're perfectly free to say this, and you're perfectly free to agree. You're also perfectly free to disagree, though if you do, we're perfectly free to ignore you. ;-) After all, Microsoft doesn't own the world. Yet.

Mac evangelism is not about crushing Microsoft. It's not about eliminating the Wintel platform. It is, at its heart, about preserving freedom of choice, and trying to ensure that the Mac remains a viable platform well into the future of computing. Heck, I'd love to be able to tell my grandkids someday about the old battles we used to fight to hold onto our Macs in the home and workplace. I'd love it more if they couldn't understand what I was talking about, because freedom of platform choice is a given right by then. But in the meantime, I'm going to keep doing whatever little things I can to help Apple increase its market share. Not necessarily because I love Apple, mind you, but because I love the Mac. Ask not what Apple can do for you, but what you can do for Apple-- and the Mac-using community. It's your choice. And your choice at stake.