"A little more than an year ago I wrote my rant post The Linux Desktop Experience is Killing Linux on the Desktop and for the first time in 8 years I wasn't a desktop Linux user anymore. I spent about a month wrestling with Windows 7, but let's face it - Windows is ill suited for professional Ruby programmers like me (and it's ill suited for most programmers, except maybe Java & .Net I guess). Anyways, it was never my intention to stick with Windows - I was just doing my Mac due diligence. Now with 1+ year of OSX usage I'd like to share a few things about my experience thus far with you."
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Member since:2005-07-06
I thought that the article was fairly balanced. He mentioned a bunch of things that he liked, a bunch of things that he found OK, and a bunch of things that he didn't like.
These type of articles are bound to be subjective of course. They are meant to be, since the author is writing about his experiences.
You are reading way too much into the author's motives. Assigning intent is a slippery slope. I could say that you don't like the author's conclusions, and thus you rationalise that the author must be rationalising his choices because he spent a lot on Apple hardware. Sounds ridiculous?
There's no need to reel out the whole "overpriced hardware" and "assholes" lines. Your "objective truth" sounds way more black and white than the article.
Member since:2007-11-23
I absolutely agree with OP.
These types of articles are too subjective and are intended to make the user feel better with whatever he/she choose.
You don't need to preach anything when everything is ok.
People tend to forgot that their opinion doesn't really matter. What matters most is what is objective. Not everything is subjective, some things are intersubjective at least. We can surely say, that Apple hardware is overpriced. No matter how much you earn, it doesn't change that fact. We could say many other things, but that's not a place for it.
Member since:2005-07-06
It's not about assigning intent, humans simply have a very hard time disconnecting from various "motives" - just how our brains are wired up.
Consider http://news-service.stanford.edu/pr/2008/pr-wine-011608.html or audiophile ~placebo. Or, WRT ~computers, http://plan9.bell-labs.com/wiki/plan9/Mouse_vs._keyboard/index.html and how, despite numerous "experts" praising trackpoints, actual research seems to suggest that touchpads are in fact superior (some examples linked in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointing_stick#Comparison_with_touchpa... & http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=18522893 external link; conversely, note how the views and links supportive of trackpoint seem to be "subjective opinion" in character; and personally I even do like trackpoints, I'm used to the concept, but...)
Member since:2011-08-08
The author shared his own personal experience. What he calls advantages are advantages in his view, not "supposed" ones. The article didn't come across as the author just saying things to make himself feel good about switching. To the contrary, he made it clear it wasn't painless and there are things he misses about linux.
Are you aware of all the generalizations you've made in your post? It's like a guy saying he hates broccoli, then eating a whole plate of it.
He is clearly having a far better desktop experience with OSX than he ever did with linux. If he is telling himself anything, it's probably "I'm glad I switched".
He is no more wrong for his apparent love for OSX than you are for your apparent love for linux KDE. Although I'm no OSX fan, I do have to side with the author. IMO linux is complete trash for a desktop environment, with OSX and Windows shitting all over it.
Is it OSX you hate or just anything Apple-related? Being so emotionally attached to a company seems like a massive waste to me but hey, if that's what turns your crank....
Member since:2006-09-02
Is it OSX you hate or just anything Apple-related? Being so emotionally attached to a company seems like a massive waste to me but hey, if that's what turns your crank.... "
I think you are mostly right, but I don't see how his last point isn't valid. Two things:
1. Have you ever heard the word 'boycott'? It is a perfectly valid way of action against immoral companies.
2. Isn't Apple all about emotional attachment anyway?...
Member since:2007-03-30
Member since:2012-03-19
Member since:2006-12-05
No, because it's not true: Xfce is better than KDE. Just kidding.
I fully agree with everything you said in your post. You've brought up some excellent points, very well said.
I'm also using KDE, although admittedly it's not my primary choice for one major reason: it's a bit to heavy on resources (especially memory) for my computer and my actual usage. I was running CrunchBang (with OpenBox) but when openSUSE 12.2 was released, all those new versions of programs were just irresistible. I'll probably continue using it until the swapping starts driving me nuts (it's already getting annoying--having only 1GB RAM really sucks).
Member since:2008-10-01
I'll tell you this: I've switched to OS X a couple of years ago as well and I still think to this day it was the right choice for me. And no, I have not spent one penny on Apple hardware so I don't need to rationalize anything. Also I don't need to feel good about my choice. If I don't like an OS I just search for another one, that's how I ended up with OS X anyway. As I never particularly liked Windows I used to have a cycle of Linux tryouts. Maybe twice or 3 times per year I would try several Linux distros as my main computer, but I've always reverted to Windows because I just couldn't do my work efficiently or in some instances couldn't do it at all on Linux. So about 2 years ago I tried OS X and it stayed.
It simply works for me. I develop, run and administer my own web sites, so I use the computer to mainly do PHP development, administer Linux servers, web-design and also some occasional DTP, photo and video editing. At the end of the day I need to run a business and after several years of trial and error I've came to the conclusion that OS X is the best OS for my particular business.
I don't see the author of the original article preaching anything, he's just sharing his experience with the goods and the bads, that's all. I think the article is truthful and if anybody learns anything from it then it was worth publishing. On the other hand your comment sounds like rant blinded by hate.
The third and final WWDC product I want to talk about is - of course - OS X 10.9 Mavericks. While iOS 7 was clearly the focus of this year's WWDC, its venerable desktop counterpart certainly wasn't left behind. Apple announced OS X 10.9 Mavericks, the first OS X release not to carry the name of a big cat.
We already talked about iOS 7 yesterday (after a night of sleep, it's only looking worse and worse - look at this, for Fiona's sake!), so now it's time to talk about the downright stunning and belly flutters-inducing new Mac Pro. As former owner and huge, huge, huge fan of the PowerMac G4 Cube - I haven't been this excited about an Apple product since, well, I would say the iMac G4. This is the Apple I used to love.
Apple held its big keynote event thing at WWDC earlier this evening, but since I was away with friends I've had to read up on it later in the evening. The company announced iOS 7, OS X 10.9 Mavericks, and they gave a preview of the new Mac Pro. Especially the Mac Pro impressed me, and while iOS 7's new Holo/Metro-inspired theme looks messy and garish to me, I do commend Apple for finally breaking the mold. This news item will focus on iOS 7 - I'll dive into the Mac Pro and OS X 10.9 tomorrow (it's late here now).
And yes, the PRISM scandal is far, far from over. More and more information keeps leaking out, and the more gets out, the worse it gets. The companies involved have sent out official statements - often by mouth of their CEOs - and what's interesting is that not only are these official statements eerily similar to each other, using the same terms clearly designed by lawyers, they also directly contradict new reports from The New York Times. So, who is lying?This story is getting bigger and bigger. Even though most Americans probably already knew, it is now official: the United States government, through its National Security Agency, is collecting the communications and data of all American citizens, and of non-Americans using American services, through a wide collaboration with the large companies in technology, like Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and so on. Interestingly enough, the NSA itself, as well as the US government, have repeatedly and firmly denied this massive spying on Americans and non-Americans took place at all.Ah, patents - the never-ending scourge of the technology industry. Whether wielded by companies who don't actually make any products, or large corporations who abuse them because they can't compete in the market place or because they're simply jerks, they do the industry a huge disservice and are simply plain dangerous. According to The Wall Street Journal (circumvention link), president Obama is about to take several executive actions to address patent trolls - which may seem like a good idea, but I am very worried that all this will do is strengthen the positions of notorious patent system abusers such as Apple and Microsoft.
With version 13.05, the developers of the Genode OS Framework take measures to ensure that Genode continues to scale well with a growing number of users and the steadily broadening platform coverage. Further highlights are the improved SoC support for Exynos 5, OMAP4, Raspberry Pi, i.MX, and new components for realizing headless systems.At the D11 conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook once again took the stage to be interviewed by Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher. While most of the interview can be replicated by picking and reading 10 random Apple fanblog stories - there were still a number of very interesting things that warrant some closer scrutiny.
So, the Xbox One disaster continues. Microsoft's policy for dealing with the used games market has reportedly leaked - and it's a clear and direct attack to destroy the used games market. Prices for used games will be set at the retail value of a new game, and retailers have to hook into Microsoft's computer systems and comply with Microsoft's terms and conditions.At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!
Member since:
2006-01-28
There is nothing in the article that is objectively true. Just a bunch of generalizations to make the author feel good about the supposed advantages of his new OS.
I can´t stand when people make gross generalizations about the technical virtues of any platform. To me, nothing beats KDE as a great workstation, entertainment platform and development platform. Should I preach this from the rooftops on the hopes that somebody will follow me down the same path?
Paying a bunch of money for overprized hardware will make you do JUST THAT. People need to rationalize past behaviour by telling themselves how much better off they are because of said behavior, when, perhaps, objetively, the world is not as black and white.
I will say one thing which is an objective truth: I will not give any of my hard-earned money to a company run by assholes who believe in software patents and use litigation to kill competition.
Edited 2012-09-09 23:49 UTC