I would say what makes them different is the thing that makes them different enough to pay premium for a laptop/computer in the first place: These people place a value on quality.
Add to that that I'd venture 80% of the windows users have never "bought" software (except games). Windows is either pirated or comes with the computer... office is acquired from work, some other programs are freeware/never paid for shareware.
It's also a different culture. No one could possibly claim that vim or emacs aren't "quality" software. UNIX/Linux users also place value on quality, but the form of value is just different--historically the value you pay for something like vim or emacs is you send patches, you add syntax support for your favorite new language, you file coherent bug reports, etc. It's not in dollars, but it has a price. So, there's this somewhat smug notion that Mac users are arbiters of quality and taste and the only honest computer users in existence...but there are different means of valuing software than money.
And, saying that Windows users are universally pirates is simply disingenuous. Paint Shop Pro made millions as a small software development shop, and then sold to Corel for millions and became part of a big development shop. This wouldn't have been possible if Windows users never paid for software from small shops. In fact, I suspect one could find more Windows-based small development shops making a good living than similar Mac-based shops just based on the size of the respective markets. (I'd never want to do it...but it's a viable model.)
I'm just saying, "don't be a smug Mac weenie". Many people are making a good living building and selling software on many different platforms.
The OP asked a question, and I simply extrapolated a response from my observations. I don't see how that makes me a "smug Mac weenie", I've got three boxes running, and only one is a mac.
To suggest that there isn't rampant pirating in the windows community by holding up Paint Shop Pro (generally a b2b piece of software) is ignoring the obvious, though.
What makes you smug is that you stated that Mac users were different in that they appreciate quality, and thus that people who are not Mac users do not appreciate quality. And, you stated that 80% of Windows systems are running entirely pirated software, which is, frankly, a ridiculous claim.
Paint Shop Pro isn't b2b. It's the epitome of consumer software. Businesses buy Photoshop.
I'm not arguing piracy doesn't exist among Windows users, I'm arguing that you're being smug about being an exalted and holy Mac user which makes you uniquely capable of judging quality and uniquely honest enough to pay for the software you use--unlike the riff raff using other operating systems. Sorry you don't like the term...but that's smug.
I'll admit to being smug and thinking, like you, that Windows users are idiots. But, I take it one further and think that Mac users are idiots, too (and they paid too damned much for their computer to boot). Likewise for most Linux users. Users, in general, are idiots.
>What makes you smug is that you stated that Mac users were different in that they appreciate quality, and thus that people who are not Mac users do not appreciate quality.
That's not always a good thing, and shouldn't be construed as such. For example, there are many great free products out there that won't appeal to some mac users at all because they equate price with quality. It's the same type of mentality that buys a BMW when a chevy will suffice. Sometimes the "buy quality" mantra is accurate, sometimes not. It is an aspect of that particular set of users though.
>And, you stated that 80% of Windows systems are running entirely pirated software, which is, frankly, a ridiculous claim.
No, I said 80% of windows users have never bought software that isn't a game. Given my experience of close to 15 years in various IT roles, I think that's not that ridiculous.
I think you're assuming you are talking to a particular type of individual and responding in kind, but rest assured, I'm not that person.
Add to that that I'd venture 80% of the windows users have never "bought" software (except games). Windows is either pirated or comes with the computer... office is acquired from work, some other programs are freeware/never paid for shareware.