So I just watched MacHeads. The movie is specifically about the community that revolves around Apple. Not Apple Inc., not Steve Jobs, not the products. Just the people that comprise the user community and their beginnings, their struggle during the 90's when Apple was sinking, to their rise again in the 2000s and ironically, their impending demise due to the way the 'net and Apple's newer products are alienating and / or making user groups and communities superfluous. What I learned / observed:

1. User Groups and Communities have become useless because just Googling for help nowadays provides you the answer you need as opposed to the early days when you'd need to rely on a specific group for solutions.
2. Due to the fact these groups of people flocked together, our human tendency was to form relationships therefore bringing about the community. The Mac Community took pride in their 'religion' of following and supporting the Mac, but the real reason, I think, was that they bonded on the notion that it was 'them against the world', the foundation of which was truly a superior, but usually mismanaged (at the time) computer company. They felt that promoting such, they were helping make the world a better place as it were.
3. Sadly, Apple itself was disinterested in the user groups, only providing focus on them if and when it was to their marketing advantage. In that, Apple is just like any large corporation like Ford, McDonalds and yes, Microsoft and IBM. That's a hard thing to swallow, I imagine, given their investment in time and effort promoting the brand.
4. It's sad their efforts could not have been better utilized by true community efforts such as Open Source. Linux was and still isn't very sexy, but it certainly embodies the spirit of 'openness' and 'a greater world' that they keep talking about in that movie.
5. Equally sad was the fact BMUG had to eventually fold up and die, given the changing climate.

And yes, it reminds me of PLUG, and it's own search for relevance in these modern times. Time was you ran to them for help on all things Linux in this country, but now there are far more resources available. I understand the Mac Community now more than ever. Of all the things I observed though, the one I feel most strongly about is the fact their efforts would've been better served promoting Open Source. The Mac is a beautiful machine and yeah heck I want one. But thinking that 'you can change the world' with it is flawed. It's just a very well marketed, and yes, well made and well thought of machine by a company whose main goal is to make a buck. There's nothing wrong with that, except it did not align with the community's supposed goals of making 'the world better'. I still believe, naivete or not, that that's possible with Open Source. I kept wishing all of these nice people wouldn't be so alienated right now, if they pushed for Open Source instead of a company selling (let's admit it) expensive toys. And oh! There was a Happy Slip sighting. Dunno if she was interviewed and got cut off or something, but that's certainly a surprise. Googled around to try and find more info re her and the movie, but nada. Ergo future Googles of her name + macheads should result in this blogpost, so yay.

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