>he couldn't understand why anyone would want one, because technically a laptop can do basically anything an iPad can do, right? And it's more powerful to boot!

>he couldn't understand why anyone would want one, because technically a laptop can do basically anything an iPad can do, right? And it's more powerful to boot! I've definitely been that guy at points. >Both are communal/anti-profit movements, but on the surface that doesn't seem directly related to "not caring about UX". I think in both cases the issue is about freedom. For instance, in IRC, if the server you are on sucks, you can move to a new one. You can even set up your own. In the same sense Myspace sucked. People could do absolutely hideous things to their profiles. It was a terrible platform, but you could change it to be your hideous platform. UI/UX often takes the form of "This is the best way to do something." I think that is a fine strategy when it works (see:iPad), but when the person who created the UI can change it at any time to suit for their own ends it really rubs the wrong way. Facebook used their ability to change the user experience to manipulate emotions. That's not unique to Facebook of course, but it explains why people would rather use Myspace. I'm not a Marxist, not by a long stretch, but I'm definitely becoming less accepting of non-free software as time goes on. I bought a Surface Pro when they first came out because I thought they were the coolest form factor I had ever seen. That Surface has been the source of about half of my computer related frustrations over the past 3.5 years. I still love the form factor, but my experience is often soured by Microsoft's horrible OS design. I wouldn't mind the horrible design if it stayed the same, but they often make changes to their design that make the user experience worse. I understand that Microsoft has to design an operating system that works on hardware they do not control, unlike Apple. Before I had a surface I used this fact to excuse a lot of bugs and poor design. Unfortunately, Windows has more bugs on my Surface than it does on any other computer I use. My experience with the Surface, a computer I love, has eliminated the remaining shreds of respect I had for closed source software. The fact that Microsoft will not or cannot fix persistent and widespread bugs and errors affecting a computer they wholly designed is embarrassing. FOSS software has its bugs, but when it breaks I can (and have) fixed it myself. Even if the overall experience is worse, at least I own that experience, and can change it. This is what it really boils to: I'd rather live in a hell of my own making, than in a heck created by someone else. I think that argument probably rings true for staunch capitalists and Marxists alike. I've often heard variations of my sentiment above used to excuse the lack of social welfare in the US, and I think the Marxists probably feel that if they are going to be disenfranchised they'd rather have a more equal society than a less equal one.