I was eating some chocolate when I imagined a world where Hershey’s was widely accepted, even by elitists, as the best chocolate.
Is consumer elitism just a facade for pretentious contrarians? Or are there things where even most snobs agree with the masses?
Also, I mean that the product is intrinsically considered to be the best option. I’m not considering social products where the user network makes the experience.
Leatherman plier-based multitools. They invented the category and they continue to be the top choice. You can get cheaper tools that are adequate, but Leatherman always has some of the best designs, reliably high quality, and outstanding support. I’m constantly trying new tools from all over, but I always end up carrying one Leatherman or another.
Camping supplies, especially backpacking gear (and especially ultralite gear).
But most of the top equipment brands have legitimate, no questions asked, lifetime warranties.
Also, camping stores. I’ll pay a bit extra to get my gear from REI because the employees will spend hours making sure you get a backpack or boots that fit you perfectly.
You can get similar stuff from no-name brands on Amazon, but it’s not going to be the same quality.
I’d say musical instruments.
Even an entry-level Fender Squier guitar is going to be more solid, easier to set up and keep in tune, and have better tone than an off brand instrument. Yamaha also makes beginner/student models for a large variety of instruments, all of which are designed to last for years.
I’m hard-pressed to think of any small brand that makes anything widely preferred over the recognizable ones.
Yamaha is amazing. I recently got into playing recorders and their base-level $8 plastic recorder is honestly a great instrument.
Definitely.
Cpu architecture. X86 is just a lot easier to deal with compared to risc-v a‘em, or Apple.
I’m hopeful it will change though, and I’m rooting for risc-v.
If we’re referring to battery life x86 doesn’t win very often sadly. There’s a reason most handheld devices on earth use ARM.
It’s of course a bit fuzzy what The Best really means, but I’d say that toothpaste would be an excellent example, for I’ve never encountered anyone, be they laymen, dentists or health nuts, arguing that there is some other toothpaste that’s really better in any meaningful way than the offerings from the big best-selling mainstream brands.
Just avoid the charcoal toothpastes and brushes. That’s a stupid trend of its own and you’ll do more damage to your teeth that way.
On the other hand, it doesn’t really matter. As long as it contains flourite, all toothpastes are fine.
Friendly correction for someone who frequently messes it up, it’s fluoride.
Also charcoal toothpaste should be avoided.
Out of curiosity, why?
I’ve always assumed it was some fad, but I never assumed it was harmful (maybe I’m just naive).
It’s harder than tooth enamel and can cause erosion.
Probably soda. I think most people enjoy Coke/Pepsi and the other mainstream choices are usually considered superior to the small batch artisan stuff
I’ll allow that with a big asterisk, if you consider Mexican Coke as coke then yes, its one of the best sodas. If not, there are way better options.
Do they make chinotto? I have converted and can’t go back lmao
Yeah, that’s a good one. The alternative stuff that does get popular is usually intended to hit an entirely different market, rather than a higher-end market. Is it Ollie that’s the new hot thing? It’s being marketed as the “healthy option,” and not high-end soda.
I was thinking that the answers here are generally gonna be products that are cheap/synthetic by nature. High quality chocolate has to be high-quality-sourced. High quality soda with the particular flavor that people like exists to the extent that bubbly sugar water can be high-quality.
Good answer.
Bourbon - The little indy distillers just don’t have the ability to wait the 4 to 10 years for the bourbon to age.
I’m genuinely having trouble thinking of a consumer product where the most widely sold brand or version is the “best” (highest quality, most durable, most features, best flavor, or whatever meteoric would be used).
I can think of a number of products where getting the “best” is a case of steep diminishing returns compared to the increasing price, and for the purposes of the “average” person the “best” product isn’t any better for them than the mainstream one. The “best” versions of some products are only better for those with the skills to make use of them or the need for the “best” quality or features.
Cling wrap, the store brand is absolute garbage. The cutting edge sucks and the wrap just tangles up in itself so easily.
Cling wrap, the store brand is absolute garbage
…unless that store is Costco.
Kirkland Signature cling wrap is the best. And the “Easy Cutter” is the best thing to ever happen to cling wrap.
You got a point there. No Costco here, yet at least
Ugh, cling wrap makes me feel like I’m completely fucking up the planet. I hate using it.
I think it’s hard to fit software into this question because typically when a product is made, there isn’t as large of a need to make a cheaper / more accessible product on account of larger teams typically meaning faster features, and cracked versions existing. They exist, but they’re almost always less feature-complete, and there’s a different type of user that seeks out an open-source alternative.
That said, I think FFmpeg is a good entry here.
I feel like Hersheys is an odd example I’d argue Hersheys is tat I can consider it mainstream , but elite no, not when you can either Swiss or a real chocolate elsewhere. But then that’s a different argument of quality over marketing.
Hershey’s isn’t very well liked outside the US, I believe. It’s an acquired taste - to many foreigners it tastes like vomit because of the butyric acid in it.
US chocolate generally isnt well liked outside the US, there are preservatives they used that make it smell oily (and effects the taste) that the rest of the world bans because they have actual standards and functional regulatory framework
Tastes like vomit to me too. To be clear, I was NOT eating Hershey’s. I was playing make-believe.
Can confirm, it’s marketshare is tiny. Though having to compete with like 3+ huge local companies doesn’t help.
People love to bring up the vomit thing, but butyric acid is also naturally found in milk, butter, Parmesan cheese, and even papaya. Things a lot of Hershey’s detractors would claim to like.
I like don’t hate Hershey’s nor do I think it’s the best. I also like European chocolate like Cadbury, Tony’s, etc as well but they do seem a bit flat or one-note in comparison. Sometimes that’s what I want. I can also understand how if that’s what you’re used to any deviation could be off putting.
Just containing some chemical doesn’t mean it will have same effect as it does in a different product.
Chocolate, milk, butter, cheese, and papayas are each a chemically distinct environment, so what this acid does to chocolate may be mitigated or completely offset by the chemical makeup of those other environments.
A more appropriate comparison to chocolate with butyric would be to chocolate without it, and between those two, the difference is a subtle acrid flavor reminiscent of vomit. If you don’t personally pick up on that flavor, you should count yourself as lucky - once you notice it, it really does ruin the experience.
A more appropriate comparison to chocolate with butyric would be to chocolate without it.
That was the comparison I made. I thought I was pretty explicit about that in my comment. I count myself lucky that I can taste it and I enjoy it. Some folks just prefer a simpler flavor profile.
I’ll readily admit I’m a bit of an odd duck, though. I can appreciate and enjoy more challenging foods than most.
like European chocolate like Cadbury, Tony’s, etc as well
Those are low-to-mid tier at best though. Good chocolate is stuff like Callebaut
Those are low-to-mid tier at best though
So is Hershey’s. It seemed fair to me to compare like to like
Eh, good point.
I was using it as a counter-example.
Cadburys was before the it was bought out. Now its Lindt, for me.
Other than fizzy pop i wouldnt consider anything else to have a brand with superiority.
Seconding Lindt. It’s fantastic chocolate, hands down. Love those Lindt balls (sounds wrong, but I can’t think of the right term right now).
Photoshop.
Which is crazy considering how unpopular Adobe is.
Microsoft Windows.
Someone posted about a link where I can check for Linux compatibility on my games, it’s like protondb or something. And, I started to look up games that would work for Linux should I decide on switching. As soon as I found that three games weren’t going to work 100% on Linux, particularly Mint for example, then Linux was not going to be my choice.
I built my computer with the purpose in mind, that it was going to run nearly all of my games without a hitch. It does that. Windows does that for me. I can deal with software alternatives which was another thing I research if this theory of switching was plausible. But, I couldn’t deal with the idea that not everything I want to simply run, won’t do that on my Linux distro of choice, not without going through a lot of steps first. Whereas with Windows, it’s a matter of clicking this and it’s there for me.
People need to respect the preferences of others. There are people out there, who value their time and patience. When they want things to run, they want what it will take for that thing to simply run on without going through any hoops to do so.
I’ve pirated my Windows copy, so I didn’t give Microsoft a dime. In fact, I encourage people to pirate Windows than give Microsoft anymore money than they have. Linux may have some advantages and I like it that it is there for people to go to for whatever reason. I just hate it when there are people who’re going around just telling people what to use because they use it.
As soon as I found that three games weren’t going to work 100% on Linux, particularly Mint for example, then Linux was not going to be my choice.
Is that because your games need a rootkit to let you play, or is it an actual incompatibility? I’ve been running Bazzite at home for over a year now with minimal issues.
Linux may have some advantages and I like it that it is there for people to go to for whatever reason. I just hate it when there are people who’re going around just telling people what to use because they use it.
People recommend moving away from the company that abuses it’s users and is enshittifying it’s OS to the point it’s becoming slop. And I’m not a windows hater, I support it professionally and have for over a decade. But the writing is unfortunately on the wall, so finding ways to make your system work better for you is a good idea before Microsoft really fucks you over with a bad update that bricks your system.
You’re right. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. But for those few games that don’t run you get:
- A truly FREE OS
- No data tracking
- No advertisements
- No OneDrive
- No forced updates
- Complete control over your system, including visuals
- Tons of FOSS
Computers are more than video game machines. I made the final switch away from Windows because I wanted to be treated like a person, not a customer.
It’s a lot more about philosophy than functionality. When something doesn’t work in Linux, I know it’s a genuine mistake someone made and that it wasn’t intentional. M$ has infinite money and they can’t even figure out how to keep the Sleep function working while at the same time forcing you to sign up for an account that they can choose to cancel for any reason whenever they feel like.
You don’t own your PC on Windows.
- OS is free from pirating
- Is tracked anyways, so doesn’t see the point of changing OSes just to be tracked less on one thing
- I don’t get advertisements unless I’m on the internet and if I’m not using adblock plus the version of Windows I pirated, I see less of them anyways
- Never used
- Probably the only thing
- Totally subjective and sometimes total control has a lot of risks than rewards and irrecoverable consequences
- Nah
- There are entire communities ready to prove you wrong on the piracy issue, also you can just windows games through WINE/Proton or a virtual enviornment
- Nothing to hide has been and will always be a farce of an argument. Be proactive so you don’t feel trapped in surveillance.
- Congrats, on a firefox-derived browser with Ublock origin (or a Chromium-derived browser like Helium with Ublock origin), you’ll see even less ads!
- shame
- wow, how dismissive
- That’s why there’s so many distros to choose from, with some explicitly immutable to prevent said risks (at the cost of reducing the amount of customization possible, similar to Windows restrictions)
- double shame
See? This is what I am talking about, this browbeating shit I see from linux users. It is insufferable and you all sound like advertisements and I hate advertisements. Linux technically has advertisers and it is people like you.
The difference with Windows advertisements and Linux advertisers is, I can close and ignore the Windows advertisement. With Linux, you fuckers just follow and hound on everyone that so much even mentions Linux and how they talk about THEIR computing preferences.
“WHURRT?! U NOT USE LINUX! U ARE SHEEPLE WHO DON’T USE LINUX!! UR DICK WILL BE ALL HARD IF U JUST USE LINUX!”
I never EVER hear this shit from Windows users, only loser no-life Linux ones. Fuck all the way off.
Can you honestly say that you didn’t come to this thread looking for this fight?
I dual boot Kubuntu and Windows Enterprise LTSC for the best of both worlds, at the price of a little bit of redundant storage. There’s pros and cons to both. I think being able to recognize that is all the other user was initially saying, rather than pretending like they’re not there.
It’s also why I feel like the answer isn’t in the spirit of the question: each of the major OSes hit a different type of user, and you just admitted that the snobs and elitists mostly exist on the Linux side (and Mac), which is true.
I mean, if all you want is a video game box, and you don’t care about privacy, security, or customizability, Windows is more compatible, sure. I wouldn’t call it better.
The games I enjoy (e.g. Portal 2, No Man’s Sky, Split Fiction to name a small few) all get noticeably better performance on Mint via Proton than on Windows. But games like Destiny 2, Fortnite, etc. with their invasive anti-cheats will never work on a system that respects the user’s privacy.
So if what you want is compatibility, sure, Windows is king. But you do pay a price.
Honestly, I’ve “solved” this by accepting defeat. My gaming PC is only used for gaming, and I consider it to be roughly on par with an Xbox or Playstation or work laptop. Any data on it should be considered public.
I do literally everything else on my Linux box, which I actually feel OK about. Yes, I could dual boot, but honestly, having my stuff airgapped from the crazy intrusive “security” is nice.
MacBooks.
Plenty of reasons to hate Apple as a company but the hardware and build quality of MacBooks really is second to none. I know several Linux/OSS die-hards who swear by their M1 MBPs.
My over 10 year old ThinkPad disagrees. The abuse it has put up with while still working puts macbooks to shame.
I know, the newer ThinkPads aren’t what they used to be, but I have a pretty new one as my work computer, and it still doesn’t let the MacBooks off the hook.
Wake me up when you can repair one without Apple’s hostility and replace storage and RAM without a soldering iron. Hard pass.
Tons of Windows based laptops have soldered storage and ram, though.
But you’ll pay extra just because it’s Apple
I full heartily disagree because MacBooks are a trap: While I agree with you in terms of production quality it’s a point of no return for a lot of use cases which rarely makes it the best option in my opinion.
It’s basically eliminating too many options down the road for it to be a good recommendation for most people for me. There are exceptions of course but i couldn’t call it “best” with good conscience.
Right. Of the major operating systems, I think none of them are good answers for this. Too close of a market share to really be in the spirit of the question, and they all really do hit different markets.
Agreed - and none of them are a catch-all answer suited for everyone from my point of view.
