Class signaling via Apple products

[firecat]

"A Macbook Pro is just as much of a status marker as a Louis Vuitton purse or a BMW."

I recoil at the notion because I think Vuitton purses and BMWs signal a different class than ones I identify with. (At least I tend to have prejudices about people who have those things—I'll assume "not like me" unless I get evidence to the contrary.) But I do think that, in California at least, there's a class I might call "hi-tech professionals" and having Mac products can signal identification with it.

FWIW, I think I'm kind of clueless about class.

Anyway, it's interesting to contemplate. What do you think?

Comments

[epi-lj.livejournal.com]

You've had some good responses so far, but I think it's worth looking at the cost difference between a functional other-brand laptop with comparable features. It's my impression that it's something like "BMW" but nowhere near "Louis Vuitton purse" -- that is to say, that a Mac laptop might cost 50% more than a similarly-specified non-Mac laptop, and that a BMW might have something like that markup (although it might be harder to find a direct comparable), but that a Louis Vuitton purse could be at least one order of magnitude more expensive than a similarly-capable purse.

It's also worth recognizing that a lot of people who use Macs do so because "comparable" PCs either don't handle the tasks they do as well, or because the tools they use and have already invested in only exist for the Mac. Then there are workplaces that supply them for a wide variety of reasons. I'm not sure if something can function as a good class identifier if you have a mixture of people who buy them for various different reasons, some of which might be necessity.

[firecat]

Those are very good points.