Wow - got a lot going on here since I've had time to post...
The zealotry thing will never go away. There are zealots everywhere, but I think that we can mostly agree that it is the zealotry that pisses us off, and not the object of the zealotry. We all know that the Mac/OSX (object) has more zealots than the PC (object).
The same goes for Firefox in a reduced manner. My
Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera rant is here. Just like the Mac zealots, the Firefox zealots drive me nuts.
I certainly don't mind hard facts that can be clearly illustrated. Blind statements with little support are annoying.
Ok - Let me jump off at this point and become a zealot for anti-zealotry.
*** CAUTION - ZEALOTRY TO FOLLOW!!! ***Whether it's an OS, a browser, or a particular piece of software, or a religion, or a political party or whatever... The object (tool) serves a purpose/function. An OS lets you run software. A browser lets you surf the web. A religion lets you communicate with g/God. A political party lets you decide how you get butt-pirated... Etc.
Inside of any of those functions there are specific things that need to be done. Different tools will perform different tasks with varying degrees of effectiveness or efficiency or style. How efficiency, effectiveness, style or *insert property/function here* ranks inside of a priority list varies by individual.
If you want to encode audio/video, Joe Blow encoder may suffice, but if you're doing it for DVD production, you're going to use something from a company like Sonic or Avid, otherwise you're an idiot - plain and simple. The priority for DVD production isn't encoder price or ease - it's quality all the way, and there are only so many products that will satisfy that requirement. Conversely, if you're making a home made DVD that you're giving as a present to your friend for their birthday and buy a $100,000 system to do it, you're also an idiot. Nobody goes rabbit hunting with nuclear missiles.
Choosing a tool for a job will depend on those priorities. Choosing the wrong tool given a set of priorities is simply a mistake. e.g. You don't use MS Excel to create documents. You don't use MS Word for spreadsheets. You don't use Photoshop for an image viewer.
It is ONLY when a task and tool are VERY simple that you can definitively say, "X is superior to Y." I have a swiss army knife, a kitchen knife, and a sword. Simple tools. I need to cut some carrots. Simple task. For that task, the kitchen knife is clearly the superior tool. Period. No debate.
Web surfing... So many things to do there... So many complex tasks... So many different aspects to it... Not a simple thing. IE vs. FF. vs. Opera vs. Netscape vs. Safari vs. *insert browser here*... There is no clear winner. There is ONLY what I prioritize as important. (As in the link to my rant above.)
I value mouse gestures for navigation very highly as I use them all the time. I value speed. I use Opera primarily. It's not a "right" or "wrong" decision - it is what it is. I'm close to
switching back to IE for some reasons that I outline briefly here. If mouse gestures aren't important to you, then that just doesn't make sense for you.
Imposing one's priorities on another is most often insane. A graphic designer needs Photoshop. But when the graphic designer forces *computer illiterate friend* to use Photoshop to resize photos to print out and put on the fridge, that's just stupid.
A similar thing goes on with the Mac zealots. They berate others for having different priorities or making a different choice.
I'm hungry. I think I'll have a pear. Does it make me an idiot because I didn't choose *insert favorite food here*?
The zealots are begging for the rest of us to make fun of their insanity. I don't think anyone needs to apologize for berating zealots for that. They're asking for it.
On the other side, it is hypocritical to berate the object of the zealotry because of the zealots. That doesn't make sense. However, we still do this. I think its more often in jest or as "bait" for the zealots - just to piss them off and lure them into being the funny extremists that we love to make fun of. It's really kind of cruel. It's not very rational. But then again, the rational thing to do when you're dealing with someone that isn't rational is to become irrational yourself. (Yes - ironically strange but true, that is the best argumentation tactic.)
The problem I see is when you actuall mean something or believe something when you become irrational with the zealots. I'm all for making fun of Macs or whatever else - heck - it's all just a fun game. The zealots aren't going to sway me, but I can get some twisted fun out of the whole thing. It is in some ways rather perverse as there is nothing to be gained.
The defining characteristic is irrationality - it's just hard to pass up stomping on it.
Oh heck... I'm just rambling on and on... Time to shut up.
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) and a Death Star to top it off would be nice. 
