Not For Macs

Posted by Paul B | October 30, 2007 .

If you are a sensible Mac user you might want to put your fingers in your ears and close your eyes now.

I’ve got a problem with Mac users at the moment, they are damaging my reputation, not on purpose I think but just because so many of them will not read instructions and will not face reality. I sell software, nothing remarkable in that lots of people do the same thing, in order to sell that software I use a service that tracks my sales. As part of all this it also tracks my returns/refunds rate. I should probably add here that my “genuine” return rate is stupidly low (2 in the last 6 months), here comes the big but, but 1 group of users is constantly pushing it up. Mac users.

After the first 3-4 returns from Mac users (”Your software doesn’t work”, followed by days of e-mailing before they actually reveal they are using a Mac) I upped my efforts to turn them away. Requirements went from being “A Microsoft Windows Based PC” all the way to “A Microsoft Windows Based PC (Not for Mac/Linux Users)”. Even my pleas for people to use the free trial (which would highlight such problems) is completely ignored. Arrogant Mac users just assume that every piece of software is written for them, buy the software and then waste my time answering stupid e-mails all to have to waste more of my time processing a refund because they won’t bloody read what is clearly stated on the page that they bought the software on. I wouldn’t mind honest mistakes, I can handle that, it’s the whole “well it should work on my Mac” attitude that really gets on my tits. Why should it work on your Mac, it was written with a popular OS in mind!

There are very good reasons I don’t write software for Macs

The amount of time to learn the ins and outs of the OS for the type of apps I write would never give me a return
Very low user base
Mainly used by kids with no buying power

The truth is that if you’re using a Mac to browse the web you are in a minority. When looking at downloads free or otherwise you should be checking to make sure that they are Mac compatible (again, you are the minority). Don’t assume that things will just work, assume they won’t and look for something that tells you it is Mac software.

If you’re a sensible Mac user then don’t take any of this the wrong way, each to their own and all that. If you’re the sort of Mac user that enjoys buying software that you know won’t work just to kick up a fuss then please take a moment to think about the person at the other end who has gone to the trouble to write the software. There are days that I just want to bang my head against the wall and cry. Thank you.

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