So what if you are such a newbie that you confuse an apple store where you can buy Golden Delicious and an Apple store where you can get a Mac? Whether or not you know the specs or even the name for that particular brand of computers, it is my theory that you understand more about what a Mac is for than you realize. As a newbie, you are highly aware of your real-world needs – like the need to buy an actual apple to eat. The computer is a tool that may get you the apple more efficiently than you could on your own. It could suggest places nearby that have them, tell you what’s in season, or even provide you with a place online to trade the money necessary to have someone send you an apple. However, you as a newbie know that the point was always the apple for eating, not the Apple computer.
As someone actively pursuing geekdom, I have found it refreshing to speak with people who consider themselves newbies because of this very reason. The newbie isn’t wowed with how many widgets the software has, whether a device can crunch so many gigs of data, or, dare I say it, how nicely does it fit inside a manila envelope. While usability is important, relevance is key. Newbies want it to SOLVE THE PROBLEM. The technology has to answer the question how do I get my Golden Delicious apple.