The Lite Side's Guide to Mac Humor on the Web

- 2006.06.02

From time to time I get the itch to see what the Mac Humor competition is up to.

What competition? How can there be competition when you're in a class all by yourself? (That's how I interpret what Dan means when he says, "Well, at least you're different. Kinda.")

Well, believe you me, there is competition among us Mac humorists. Call us Machumorsistas. Or Comedytoshes. Or PTCHIWRI - Pundits That Couldn't Hack It With Real Information. But yeah, we're competitive.

At Macworld San Francisco, we hang around the hot dog cart outside Moscone Center and wish we made enough money collectively to send one of us in to actually look at the stuff we make fun of.

At Macworld New York, we hang around Times Square and wonder where all the advertising for the conference is supposed to be. (For the life of us, we can't find it. Oh, that's right, Macworld New York moved to Boston. Or was it canceled?)

Mostly, we just sit around and read each other's stuff, because sure as heck no one else is reading it. That's what gave me the idea for this, a review of all the major Mac humor sites. Well, at least for the first five that come up on Google.

Now, you could search Google yourself, (Lord knows I've done it countless times), but then you don't get the benefit of my snarky comments in The Lite Side's

Guide to Mac Humor on the Web

or

The Mostly Compleat Guide to What Makes Mac Folk Laugh

Crazy Apple Rumors

CARS (as we post-Pixar groupies like to call it) is the 400 pound gorilla of Mac humor. Wherever it sits, a definite stench of gorilla bum remains, and it sits pretty much wherever it wants.

I interviewed the editor of CARS, and got some very interesting feedback.

LS: So you guys are the ones who write the stuff on CARS.

CARS: CARS? What is that? Some kind of obscure Pixar joke?

LS: Never mind that. How did you get started writing Mac humor?

CARS: Well, one day, one of us said, there's really no Mac humor on the Web, hasn't been for years, so maybe we should write some.

LS: Well, actually....

CARS: Yeah, there's AtAT, but as everyone knows Jack's dead, so you can't really count that.

LS: I don't think Jack's dead.

CARS: Where did you hear that?

LS: I read it on the AtAT forums.

CARS: (laughs) Oh yeah, that's a prime source of information.

LS: Well, actually....

CARS: So anyway, we started writing some stuff, and people liked it, so we pitched it to the Internet, and they bought it. And then the Internet wanted more.

LS: The Internet bought your column?

CARS: Sure. The Internet buys lots of stuff.

LS: But the Internet isn't a person. It's, uh, a system, a medium.

CARS: Riiiiight. My new Prius says you're full of crap. Paid for by the Internet.

LS: You can afford a Prius with your online site postings?

CARS: Sure. We get hundreds of thousands of hits. Millions. Some losers will read anything.

LS: Now that you mention it, I happen to write a Mac humor column myself.

CARS: Really.

LS: No kidding. It's called the Lite Side and it appears on Low End Mac.

CARS: Never heard of it.

LS: The Lite Side?

CARS: No, Low End Mac.

LS: Ah. Well, you should take a look. There's lots of useful stuff posted there about older machines and optimizing your setup and opinion and news. And, of course, my own stuff.

CARS: Like this interview? Will this be posted at Low End Mac?

LS: Yes.

CARS: We'll pass.

As the Apple Turns

This soap-opera like daily compendium of Mac news hasn't been updated since October, but it still has that daily sorta day-old grease feel to it. According to this forum entry, Jack Miller (proprietor) is "not dead yet". Realize, of course, that this is coming to you fourth-hand (poster asks friend of Jack who relays message from Jack through friend and poster and on to forum and now me), so it's reliability is as good as anything else you read on the Lite Side. Or AtAT. We miss you, Jack, and we sincerely hope we someday get as many hits as you do with a seven-month old post.

As the Apple Turns 2

This self-proclaimed successor to AtAT (as we post-Star Wars nerds like to refer to Jack's site) copies the "look and feel" of AtAT. It's even funny, but to be honest with you, I think my stuff is funny, so I don't know how valuable my opinion on the matter will be to you. It still has cheesy pop-culture references (albeit not as many as the original) which gives it a whole "Shrek-like" popular appeal, and links to the various models of Macs that are referred to in the newsy "episodes." Also, there's a lot of italics. I mean a lot. So much italics that I feel like leaning my head way over to read the articles. Of course, if I read more than a paragraph to form my opinions, they'd actually be worth something.

The Joy of Tech

The Joy of Tech™ is a funny little online cartoon with no recurring characters, shame, or morals. Seriously, these cartoons are quite funny if you're part of the "in" crowd that knows everything about tech and Star Trek so you get the jokes. You can also buy stuff at the Joy of Tech™ site. Like Joy of Tech™ T-shirts™, Mugs™, Clocks™, Trademarks™™, and Clever Dork Proximity Alert Gizmos™. I still don't get this one, posted recently on their site:

MacComedy

While you're browsing check out MacComedy - movies and video clips with parody commercials and more. Caution: Don't send them anything if you think there's the slightest chance they will make fun of your honest attempt at a homemade Mac commercial. My therapist says that it would be a good idea if I didn't say anything else.