July 20, 2000
MacTampa Manifesto
The history of the personal computer has been dominated by the struggle of operating platforms.
DOS and UNIX, Windows and Macintosh, proprietary and open source, in a word, oppressor and oppressed, stand in constant opposition to one another. In the epoch of electronics, the struggle for machine dominance has entered the realm of the personal computer and, thus, into every aspect of our professional and private lives. The decisions that we make now regarding human / computer interaction (HCI) are the single most important decisions that humans face today, for this choice will continually pervade and affect every facet of our lives and therefore who we are.
Computer tyranny must be crushed through informed choice. Windowscentrism must be stopped. Computerism in all of its beastly forms must be recognized for what it is: discrimination. The techno-despots have ruled too long through fear, uncertainty, and doubt. No longer will we stand idly by shrugging our shoulders while Macs and other marginalized platforms are hauled away as garbage to be ironically replaced with the smellier boxes smeared with the logo feces of companies that do not dare to oppose the great Wintel Empire.
Choice, my friends, is being eliminated. The compulsory use of any technology in our homes, schools, and businesses not only affects how we work, but also the very way we perceive life. Does your business choose your car for you? Ridiculous! Think about the technologies you use the most in your daily lives. If a computer is not number one, chances are it will be in the next few years. Why, my friends, would you want to use something that is unreliable and unintuitive? Because most feel they have no choice. With all major computer stores overstocking hardware and software for Wintel, other operating systems are relegated to lonely back shelves if they even get places at all. With major computer manufacturers offering no choice of operating systems, it’s a wonder there still is a choice at all. With store shelves lined with software for Windows, no wonder people buy those machines.
We at MacTampa support informed choice that fights the computerism that is veiled in fear, uncertainty, and doubt — we oppose the naked, shameless, direct, brutal tyranny on all levels: institutional and private. This tyranny compels all computer manufacturers and users on pain of extinction to adopt their methods of working and playing to conform to how they want us to work and play; this computerism nestles everywhere, settles everywhere, establishes connections everywhere. The tyrannical march of computerism will not stop its lumbering technological juggernaut until it effects the complete Borgification of every aspect of human-computer interaction. We must join is solidarity to steadfastly oppose this oppression, this tyranny, this end of individualism.
MacTampa’s choice is clear: we chose and support the Macintosh Operating System. We feel that the MacOS is the one of the most flexible, intuitive, and reliable consumer operating systems available. The owners of MacTampa believe that the Mac is an excellent choice for most computing applications, are committed to supporting others who make the Macintosh choice, and desire to help end the dominance of inferior products popularized by fatuous and erroneous marketing and mythologizing.
