In short, while Apple’s hardware continues to impress me, their software has gone downhill at a rapid pace. iPhoto is an unusable mess with the volume of photos I now have. Aperture has been discontinued and is badly lagging behind in terms of both performance and features. iTunes takes forever to launch, and is bloated mess of way too many features and functions. iCloud is still a mess that I wouldn’t dream of storing my important data in. iOS 7 crashed so often that I became intimately familiar with the Apple logo that appeared every time it did. iOS 8 fixed the crashing, but introduced thousands of little paper cut like bugs. I used to install updates from Apple the second they came out, now I wait a few days to see if they are actually any good.
Something is brewing, and it’s been brewing for a while now if you follow iOS and Apple developers online.
A question for anyone who’s used NeXTSTEP:
Wasn’t NeXTSTEP designed to be used as dozens of small independent windows / applications all interacting with each other in logical GUI-oriented ways?
I think it’s sad to think of what such an elegant idea has evolved into: full screen applications, each with a ton of functionality crammed into them.
That was the drive behind Services, which still exist in MacOS X. Don’t think it ever had much success though.
A stronger effort towards this goal went into Open Doc/Taligent which died miserably long ago.
Like another poster says – Services, yes.
The UI kit we now call Cocoa is more or less the same kit that OpenStep had, which was derived from NextStep. I never used NextStep’s API, so I don’t actually know how far from compatible it was, but the UI builder (Interface Builder) and IDE (Project Builder) survived until Jaguar (10.2) and even when Xcode became the name for the IDE, the underlying functionality was pretty much identical. I used the Project Builder and Interface Builder on OpenSTEP (intel) and OpenStep for Windows back in the day, and the code was almost identical to the basic premise behind the way the Mac uses the Cocoa framework today. The details that have changed are frustrating – the way we used to do things was a lot more Visual and a lot less code oriented for the UI design. Interface Builder work flow used to revolve around creating all of the UI in there – one would subclass an existing class (say, NSObject), define a load of attributes (outlets) and operations (actions), instantiate the class (which created a visual representation of it) then visually hook up all the controls to their outlets/actions in the design (drawing lines, which was pretty cool), then one would “save” the nib file, and generate the class representation in Objective-C from a menu and you were good to go. Last time I looked at XCode, you could no longer do it that way and that made me sad. The code oriented way is all well and good – and as I recall that was an option, but the quirky Project Builder/XCode (up to 2.x, or early 3.x) was pretty neat.
The other big change was that in the old days we just used id for everything. You didn’t need to know what the underlying type was because an error was emitted if the message wasn’t supported, not that the code actually broke per sé. These days, everyone seems to use the actual class – which you could always do, and whilst that makes the code more pleasant to use in the editor, it makes Interface Builder more redundant. The day that Interface Builder stopped allowing the old work flow to work correctly was the day I stopped using the latest XCode release. I very rarely do Mac Dev now anyway, but I fired up my old G3 Wallstreet the other day and ran through some old code on Panther in XCode 1.0, and it was just as I remember it.
You could always toy around with GNUstep?
I could always install OpenSTEP and/or OpenSTEP for Windows too. Both are still fun to play with. I do have a machine that I think would run both pretty well, but it is more a case of not really having the time. I would probably rather mess about with old Mac hardware, as it is a better overall experience. Hmmmm… you’ve made me nostalgic for my old beige G3 now! Though New World Mac’s are more useful, so I might go see what is on eBay! Hahaha!
Only if Adobe would release it’s Creative Suite to Linux, then I could put OS X behind me. Until that time, for me it’s still a better choice than Windows.
Yeah, it appears that Adobe has discontinued Reader for Linux (it is no longer available to download from their website), so I doubt that is going to happen.
They’ve just released an in-browser version for ChromeOS.
Chances are, it should move to Chrome proper after the initial testing period, in which it’s education only.
Webapps are powerful enough now that there’s no reason it shouldn’t be able to do things like hook into WebGL to utilise the host’s GPU, etc. There’s no reason it can’t be just as performant as the old version, especially if they make it offline capable.
Apple hardware has always seemed mediocre to me at best and their Mac software unintuitive, their only saving grace is that they are the best at software on consumer devices. I have had many devices technically better than iPods, iPhones and iPads before those products were even released, but they always seemed to be made by hardware companies who had an intern make their GUI in exchange for free booze.
Apple is still mostly this way. Their hardware is now above average with a few fields where they are leading, their desktop software is still confusing and unintuitive as it has always been, but their consumer software is still quite good, even if a they are not in a clear lead anymore. The biggest change is that others are now also focusing on consumer electronic software. They are no longer competing against hardware manufactorers who does not believe software matter.
Edited 2014-10-02 17:40 UTC
Apple has decided to chase market share.
Market share has been important in its own way, but historically, Apple was more interested in overall profitability rather than market share.
But now, it’s market share.
The annual release cycle of new hardware can’t be helping either.
Finally, Cook is a logistics guy, not a hardware guy, nor a software guy.
Vision from the top is important, and it is amazing that they can ship out a bazillion little boxes all in a single day, while trying to maintain a modicum of secrecy.
But this focus lets down the core of the business, and that’s the software.
I can’t see that myself but I would love to know what your evidence/arguments for that is. Not trolling – genuinely interested.
No they haven’t. No matter how much people talk about Apple needing to lower prices to gain/retain market share, Apple hasn’t done it. Their cheap iPhone is expensive compared to Android phones, and Macs haven’t gotten a lot cheaper. Apple has and continues to be about premium products for premium prices.
Apple has and continues to be about mediocre products for premium prices. Corrected.
Come on, remove your blinders.
Apple may be an overpriced premium brand, like Sony 20 years ago.
Apple enjoys screwing and locking their customers, like many others.
Other firms can sometime produce similar products a bit cheaper.
But describing Apple products as ‘mediocre’ is pure ignorance.
(And, IIRC, I have never ever bought any Apple device)
Buy yourself a dictionary. Mediocre literally means ‘half way up a hill’. ie Good but not outstanding. By any objective description Apple products are mediocre.
The (unsubsidised) iPhone models cost about 2-3x as much as their direct competitors.
Edited 2014-10-03 03:13 UTC
It actually costs about the same as flagship android models.
Ah yes, for example, here examine how mediocre the performance of the iPhone is: https://twitter.com/DanielEran/status/514824537678958593/photo/1
Not to mention the fact that the iPhone has an unparalleled fingerprint reader, fully 64 bit OS, Apple Pay (what a concept, actually use the NFC hardware for more than bumping phones!), a power connector you don’t have to fiddle with, etc. All classic hallmarks of a mediocre product.
There are also premium Android phones of course. HTC M8 is very nice, Sony Xperia is cool. Both those are also premium products.
Hardware-wise the 6 Plus is roughly equivalent to an older Note 3 or Nexus 5. The iPhone 6 has similar hardware to the 2012 vintage Nexus 4. The 5S is a mid range model at best. The 5C is just above current entry level models. All are overpriced.
Performance is merely one factor. The 6 Plus is inferior to every other flagship with regards to camera, battery life etc. It has zero water resistance.
A gimmick that can easily be circumvented.
Makes no practical difference. A good marketing gimmick though.
Totally useless outside the USA.
Non-standard and inconvenient.
You are obviously being literal not sarcastic.
These are early 2014 models that will soon be replaced
I think you have slipped into the naive assumption that one can judge a camera by it’s specs, the sort of error caused for example by thinking that more megapixels means better images. Any remotely serious photographers would know how silly that was.What counts is objective testing and comparison of actual images. DXO Mark – universally regarded by serious photographers as the last word in camera and sensor testing – gives the iPhone 6 camera the highest mark of any mobile device.
This is the DXO Mark results showing the superior performance of the iPhone 6 camera
http://www.dxomark.com/Mobiles/Apple-iPhone-6-and-6-Plus-review-Big…
and this shows the difference in real life in a challenging low light no flash use situation
http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5420614c6bb3f738613cdfb7-1…
Image Source
http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-6-vs-galaxy-s5-iphone-5s-came…
The fingerprint sensor is anything but a gimmick, partly because of the superior finger print recognition system acquired from the Authentec acquisition and partly because of it’s system integration. Touch ID is widely used, the touch recognition contact is far more accurate and useful than the system in other devices (because of the Authentec technology) and iOS 8 brings Touch ID API integration. I am upgrading to the new iPhone from my venerable 4s and one of the features I am most looking forward to is the integration of Touch ID in essential apps like 1Password.
Within a year Apple Pay will be the most widely used mobile system on the planet. I think you are right that in Europe adoption, if it happens, will be slower, but Apple will achieve very quick adoptionn in the huge US market and looks like have some powerful payment partnerships sewn up in China.
“similar hardware” – just WHAT are you comparing? CPU timings alone, the number of cores – get a grip. WE’ve been down this road before – more Ghz doesn’t mean more performance, etc. etc.
Try to actually read all the articles that get posted, instead of just judging the titles to suit your biases.
Some people can’t help feeling flouted when they pay more for lower specs, since theoretically the manufacturer could have thrown in higher specs and kept prices the same (lowering profit margins).
The flaw of this argument is that in a number of cases, the actual specs are not what makes the user experience.
Depends on how it is implemented. If it works as a generic NFC payment device, that will work all over the place in the UK, as we already have terminals everywhere. The fact my free debit card already does the exact same thing for free is another matter 😉
Apple iPhone 6, now with LG Curve Flex feature.
And it’s nice to see a 64 bits CPU beats a 32 bits CPU by 5-10% (regardless of the CPU frequency)
I don’t think benchmarks are multi-threaded anyway, that 64 bits improves much on user experience and that fast arithmetic loop takes more than 1 GB of memory.
Seriously, it was about the decay of functionalities and features the user actually use, not some virtualization capabilities to install Windows Server on your smartphone.
Kochise
Edited 2014-10-03 09:10 UTC
WTF are you smoking? Just from apple.com and Amazon.com:
iPhone 6 Plus (16GB): $749
LG G3 (16GB): $465
Galaxy S5 (16GB): $526
HTC One M8 (16GB): $559
Sony Xperia Z2 (16GB): $499
Your definition of “about the same” might need updating.
Single core tests comparing 32-bit and 64-bit CPUs on raw integer, floating point and memory performance are about as meaningless as can be. Fact is, most modern phones are already so fast that users practically don’t see the difference.
Oh wow, as a regular user, my daily phone use really does rely on sizeof(void*)==8.
Right, cause Android never had that. Oh wait: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.app…
And that also loves to break, costs a fortune to replace and comes with built-in DRM to make sure you don’t buy 3rd party cables.
Lay off the Apple iKoolAid, it’ll rot your brain.
> It actually costs about the same as flagship android models.
Not even close. iPhone 6 (16 GB) is 850-is EUR (the official Apple MSRP is 699 EUR, but you cannot buy it for that amount now). Samsung Galaxy S5 (also 16 GB) is about 550 EUR, Sony Xperia Z3 about 600 EUR, HTC One M8 about 500 EUR.
The flagship android models have still long way to the iPhone price.
“iPhone 6 (16 GB) is 850-is EUR (the official Apple MSRP is 699 EUR, but you cannot buy it for that amount now).”
So you are using basic economics (supply and demand) as a strike against Apple…
[ignore it, it is dupe]
Edited 2014-10-04 10:03 UTC
Not really.
All the quoted prices are market prices. Z3 is in similar position like iPhone – it is not as available as it will be later. Yet, it’s market price is 100 EUR lower than iPhone’s MSRP. Other phones are even cheaper.
The difference is quite big and disproves the original claim, that android flagships are as expensive as iPhone. As you can see, they are not, even when comparing Apple’s MSRP and not market prices.
Yes, not bad, but is the low end iPhone really worth 839 Euro? I won’t even consider the slightly cheaper 16GB, which can’t even be expanded. OTOH for about 450 Euro you can have the outstanding Samsung Note 3. True, there is a more recent version, the Note 4. But regarding the iPhone the 6 is the first model with a larger screen. I wouldn’t even consider buying a 5, the screen is far too small for my eyes.
Anti Apple zealots tend sell their anti-Apple zealotry as some kind of rational objection. It’s not based on evidence or facts, it’s more that you are supposed to hate Apple, and that scores “cool” points with your peers. It’s worse than being Apple fanboi, which is at least a positive affliction.
Positive for Apple’s bank account.
I’d say, Apple fanboys gets the same devices everyone gets as a new consumer, and even though they bought all the previous incarnations, they have to pay full price, no bargain for these ass kisser.
This marketing is genuinely devil.
Kochise
Apple should have changed their motto long ago to “Does it work?”
I can already hear TonySwash hurry up to come in Apple’s defense with a long, pointless drivel in 4…3…2…
I first went Mac in ’86 and loved it. I updated over the years, becoming more and more a bigot and Apple-only developer.
In those days their hardware was expensive but rock solid and never gave trouble. Then came the the first iMacs and the “Cheaper to fix the bad ones later” theory. After that came OS X and “Bloated and lobotomized software is your friend if it looks like your iPhone.”
OS X became mostly usable at 10.2 and gradually improved until it started back downhill again. “It just works” was still heard, as long as “It” wasn’t a printer or scanner or network with non-Apple equipment.
I quit in Mac development around 2010 and moved to Windows and Linux full time. It just isn’t fun anymore.
The hardware started going south after year 2000.
On my iBook, the display cable got broken (it was design problem, the hinge stressed it too much).
Next, on Powerbook 12, the harddrive died (it happens, I don’t blame Apple), but it took Apple 30 days to fix it (and here I do blame Apple). Also, the power cable without stress relievers meant that they broke often. I went through three new power supplies (that broke, of course and Apple didn’t replace them, even through it was due to broken design), until I got third-party one, designed correctly.
So when the OS 10.6 came out, it was Intel only and I though: when I have to upgrade, I can switch brands as well. So I switched to Lenovo’s Thinkpads and have been happy camper even since.
So if their software is getting so bad (and I agree, it is) why spend such crazy amounts of money on their hardware? Take the iPhone 6 for instance. Considering that 16GB is ridiculous, the cheapest phone you can buy (64GB) costs in Italy 839 Euro. Are we joking? I can think of dozens of good phones which are much cheaper.
Because status symbol.
I was thinking about buying an iMac as a center piece for a hobbyist music studio I want to put together. I’ve never used OSX, but it seemed like a good choice for an ‘all-in-one’ device and stable environment, with an OS that would not give me too many issues and just stay out of my way. If you listen to Apple evangelists, you’d think the platform was a dream to use, with many people swearing by it.
But after reading things like this, I’m not so sure. With Windows, it’s hard to find a solid, well-built machine that doesn’t cost as much as Macs do, and anything I attempt to build on my own usually ends up a disaster, with problems like the machine randomly locking up, etc. I just don’t have time for that kind of bullshit. At least with a Mac, I could just take it to an Apple store and let the geniuses deal with it.
Edited 2014-10-02 21:29 UTC
Like any platform, there are those that love it and those that hate it, and those that used to love it and now hate it, and those that didn’t like it, and now love it. I used to use Linux full time and then became disillusioned with the amount of work it was and random breakage. That doesn’t make Linux less of a good choice for someone else. Lots of Unix devs switched to Mac hardware over the years because it just works. As far as I’m concerned that’s still true. I have a 6 year old Macbook pro at work that’s still great, and getting a new one soon. OS X has improved with every version, and I don’t see any problems with it. Better to try it out yourself than take the word of some random person online. Just like Windows 8 is really not that bad, but if you listened to the online complainypants you would think it was a national disaster.
Yeah, I turned 40 recently, and I just don’t have the patience for ‘random breakage’ anymore. The older I get and the less I start to care about tinkering for the sake of tinkering, the more appealing that Apple products become.
BTW: I’m not just listening to one random person, but several random people
Esp a guy on G+ who’s constantly bitching about Mavericks, like how he has to connect a real keyboard up because his bluetooth keyboard stops working every time he reboots.
Edited 2014-10-03 00:56 UTC
Mavericks ain’t great, but it’s better (in my experience) than that steaming pile of santorum that was Lion.
When you say “hobbyist music studio” do you mean a studio for production/mastering or just a studio for listening to music? If it’s the latter, then an iMac is overkill. Just get a dedicated streamer and a decent digital-to-analog connverter (DAC). For iMac money, you could even get an audiophile-grade Sony Z1-ES player and hook it straight to your amps/monitors, since it’s already got a DAC built in. Better quality audio, less hassle. Can even use your smartphone as a remote.
For hobbyist production, it’s more a matter of the digital audio workstation (DAW) software and compatibility with whatever audio interface you’re employing.
Your choice of DAW has traditionally dictated your choice of OS. Logic has always been Apple only (for obvious reasons), Pro Tools has traditionally performed better on Macs, while Yamaha/Steinberg suites have traditionally been better optimized for Windows (they were windows-exclusive at one time). Ableton Live works well on both platforms.
All in all, while the daily OS experience can be an acquired taste (it drives me so mad that I’d rather browse the web on OpenBSD or Arch running in VMware on my Macbook), Apple’s Core Audio framework still gets much love from the majority of DAW and plug-in makers.
For audio interfaces, ADC/DACs, etc – the Firewire ones (usually expensive and not what “hobbyists” go for) tend to perform better with OS X. Not sure why, but it’s probably a driver thing. USB ones are dependent on maker and USB Audio Class support. Windows 7 usually needs drivers for UAC 2.0, while OS X and Linux have native support. Not sure about Windows 8.
If you’re serious, it’s better to ask this question on a forum like Gearslutz or Audiogon.
It’s for production. Buying a PC would mean I would never be able to try out Logic. But since I’ve never used a DAW before, I don’t know if that’s bad or not
Basically, I’ve had a Yamaha Motif XF8 for nearly 4 years and have never used a DAW with it. But really, I have never used a DAW at all, except screwing around with Fruity Loops many years ago.
So yeah, spent 5 minutes this morning getting my Apple bluetooth keyboard to connect to my MacBook Pro. This happens about once a week.
Spent months last year with a totally unacknowledged flaky wi-fi bug in the OS X software stack. Every other day my wi-fi would just randomly disconnect, sometimes not working again until a reboot. Other machines worked just fine.
Hours researching online revealed that many people had the issue – and at some point months later it was fixed in some patch or update – not even sure if Apple know they fixed it, because they didn’t seem to be aware of the issue in the first place.
I think that “it just works” has always had a caveat that it was only true if you plugged in or plugged into other Apple products.
I tend to agree with the general sentiment. Once you’ve discounted pretty much all the included GUI apps in OS X, what’s left is better served by the various linux distros and incarnations of BSD. Windows can cover the proprietary software installs while providing support on a wider range of hardware for a longer time. Apple hardware tends to be a real hassle from a serviceability standpoint as well.
Can’t agree to that. I started using Linux last year (at work) after having left Linux at around 2002 on my private box. Was shocked how bad the user experience of one of the leading Linux distro was. Fancy image effects but the same brittle config stuff under the hood. And why the hell should I care about 32bit / 64bit binaries in 2014? Is Linux still not able to build fat binaries? Most desktop stuff tries do mimick Windows or MacOS but does it half-heartedly or in a inconsistent manner.
?
For most parts its standard PC stuff.
It’s interesting that the discourse on Apple shifts so quickly from ‘they aren’t doing enough†to “they are doing too muchâ€.
The scale of Apple’s ambitions that have been revealed in the last year or two is pretty staggering and in scope is way beyond any other tech company. Consider some of what they now do – simultaneously.
An annual refresh of both the desktop, tablet, and phone hardware.
The desktop annual refresh stutters sometimes reflecting mostly Apple’s dependence on the Intel roadmap, a problem that my might fade if they start running some mac, say the smallest Air line, on ARM processors (with the additional benefit of bringing technology like Touch ID to the desktop).
An annual refresh of the mobile CPU.
An annual refresh of the mobile OS that over the last two years has amounted to a complete redesign of the mobile OS.
The development of new specialist chips such as the M series and the new S series
An annual refresh of the desktop OS. This has included some big, ambitious new frameworks like HealthKit, HomekKit, Cloudkit.
A new mobile equivalent to Direct X in the form of Metal.
An integration, at a functional level, of the mobile and desktop OS through new functions like Continuity and Extensions.
A new programming language.
An entirely new platform in Apple Watch and Watchkit (I think very few people have noticed the mutational nature of Apple’s ambitions with the watch, as demonstrated by events in Paris last weekend).
Continued to run the largest and probably fastest growing digital goods market in the world.
Continued to run and expanded the huge Apple retail system.
Begun the reshaping of the iTunes music stores basic business model.
There’s more but that list I think shows the massive series of parallel but interdependent work programmes underway in Cupertino.
Housed incidentally in a sprawling mess of scattered temporary buildings while Apple awaits the completion of it’s new ‘mothership’ HQ. Poor fragmented accommodation has an impact on how an organisation functions so I am hoping that the new HQ will have an impact on performance.
Personally I am amazed they seemed to have pulled this all off with out a major crash. I think the rough edges show but I am hoping they will be smoothed out as the rush of work unleashed by the Watch development programme and most importantly the post Forrestall integration process is completed.
iTunes remains problematic. I doubt Apple would have ended up here if they had known in advance how pivotal iTunes would end up being to so many different things. I think Apple now faces the same sorts of problems Microsoft has had, a massive installed base and a redesign process utterly constrained with ensuring backward compatibility (not just in the technical sense but in terms of the learned use habits of over 500 million people).
I assume with people like Marc Newson working on special projects there is going to be some more surprises in the pipeline. Apple’s ambitions and reach remains very exciting to watch – hope the wheels don’t come of
Well, frankly, compared to Apple’s revenue, I would rather say that Apple’s focus is very, very narrow.
Compare with Samsung, which builds phones, watches, computers, semiconductors, fridges, cameras, dishwashers, ovens, TVs, fans, ships, oil and gas, banking, screwdrivers…
If you think Apple’s focus is narrow (except in the sense of concentrating on a very limited number of hardware device models) then you are looking through the wrong end of the binoculars.
I think it’s not helpful to compare the totality of a Korean Chaebol to an ordinary non-Korean tech company, more useful to compare Samsung Electronics with Apple. Compare an average Samsung phone and an average Apple phone and compare which components in each phone were designed by Apple and Samsung respectively. I think it’s true that Samsung is the nearest competitor to Apple in range and ambition but it does not have Apple’s technical chops. It doesn’t even write the OS used in it’s devices let alone design the CPUs.
Well, of course, Samsung was taken as an extreme example!
In the past, companies as large as Apple would diversify (often through acquisitions) much more to avoid depending too much on few markets.
Instead, they focus on vertical integration, and deliver very few products, updating them every year is not an huge achievement.
3M makes 55,000 products, has 132 manufacturing plants and employs 88,000 staff.
Apple has barely a dozen products, no manufacturing facilities and employs 98,000 staff.
It is very likely is Apple is a massively bloated bureaucracy with tens of thousands of redundant employees.
It’s also likely that sticky tape is easier to design than a “hardware + software” computer system complete with drivers, applications, etc.
They have to many people around messing things up. If you look at Pages a Word like editor with version 5 all the features went missing. Like they lost the complete sourcecode. Mail merge is still missing.
You are just displaying your ignorance. 3M is one of greatest hi tech companies in history. They are involved in pure and applied research in hundreds of advanced technologies. [About 1/4 of 3M products are less than four years old.]
On the other hand it would be hard to name a truly unique technology Apple has developed in house during the last 20 years.
50000 Apple’s employees are working in Apple Stores.
If you remove the physical stores, Apple has less employees than Google which has no stores.
Google has a far wider research focus than than Apple.
https://research.google.com/
Which doesn’t validate your initial point.
And Google doesn’t make hardware. Google doesn’t design SoC. You can play this game both ways.
You forgot these http://www.samsungtechwin.com/product/product_05_01_01.asp
Great !
Apple should definitively build (stylish) Howitzers!
Except they would use non-standard Apple ammunition.
Taking it back to the Apple Store every time you need to clean the barrel would be a tad inconvenient too.
I am a Mac user since 1989.
25 years later, I am as enthusiastic with Apple product line as I was when I get my first Mac.
But Apple’s success implies more and more haters and naysayers obviously: all the negative “Apple is Doomed” or “Steve Jobs wouldn’t have allowed this” articles are annoying, but meaningless.
Should Apple care about the fact that people who do not like Apple products do not use Apple products?
So, Thom, feel free to continue to publish your predictions about the supposed end of Apple: it really doesn’t matter.
But considering Apple current product line and recently announced future products, I think you are going to hate more and more Apple in the coming years
Very few people hate Apple. Most people just don’t buy into the hype.
The reality is that Apples products are no longer class leading and lack innovation.
“The reality is that Apples products are no longer class leading and lack innovation.”
Can you tell me then who is the class leader? And which company bring so much innovations?
Had no problems whatsoever on either the iPhone5, 5S, 6+, iPad Air, iPad 3 and iPad mini. But I have the habit to do the full install thing from iTunes instead of installing the deltas.
The apple machines are nice to carry, and the OS can be nice to use. I am not a designer, nor visually inclined, but I find some other OS/W-managers easier to use (but def. not as nice-looking)
As a part of 3 of nearly 150 people in a distributed web-shop, not using OSX, I find not using it is a PITA, mainly because of inter-operability.
However I really like the internal changes going on in Linux. Much better advancements in kernel technology, that are being driven by, and driving really interesting advancements in usage.
You’re not likely to get the kind of movement that led to Docker on OSX, (maybe even windows is more likely,) where you have a combination of advancing concept leading to kernel changes, feeding back into userland changes, and accelerating into people talking about a completely different way of running applications and the OS.
Obviously I am in a corner case when dicussing on virtualization/containerization, but the only recent OSX virtualization advancements that I heard of were some “improvements” in Maverick.
It is painful to pair with anyone running something like a www-stack in a VM on a Mac. It really feels like they’re holding back their nice hardware by not keeping up with some of the real internal advancements.
It feels like their FS is also from the dark-ages, like NTFS.
In Linux they’re in a state where they are arguing between really big renovations in the approach to system and application encapsulation that is really far ahead of anything (that I hear about) coming from Apple and MS. In Linux these changes will also filter from server->desktop->mobile (sometimes mobile even get’s things first like wayland compositors etc.)
It seems to me that the apple advantages are:
– OS interface design (that will never go away, but is more subjective than admitted)
– Better hardware, but more limited by the system (same hardware underperforms in comparisons)
– Nicer hardware cases (I’ve never had to put tape on a Mac)
– I hear good support as well of course
but really nothing interesting under the hood.
NTFS feels positively fresh compared with what’s available on the Mac…