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How Apple Alienated Mac Loyalists

10 points by bootload 10y ago

pavlov 10y ago
Apple needs to license the operating system again. Since they don't care about desktops anymore, why not license macOS just for those form factors? Essentially the licensees could build any kind of Mac clone as long as it doesn't have a battery. This could be attractive even to startups: desktops are easier to design than laptops, and there's so many Mac user niches that could be served by specialist Mac clones. Some pro users need Mini-style compact boxes with an abundance of ports; others would really like a Surface Studio -style pen-driven design for drawing tasks; some would need a thin blade server with a fat GPU; yet others just want the good old hulking tower with all the PCIe slots you can fit. Apple won't make any of these, so why not reap the goodwill and licensing fees of letting a handful of partners do it? The 2013 Mac Pro is a disappointing example of Apple trying to build a pro machine that would cut across those niches with the magic of design and Thunderbolt ports, but ending up not really answering anyone's needs. (I deployed a bunch of Mac Pros for a video job and found out the design suffers from overheating. Over the years Apple has been quietly replacing machines that start exhibiting certain crashes. That really put me off from the Mac Pro, and unfortunately it meant that the project is exploring Windows-based options next because there's nothing else from Apple.)
trm42 10y ago
 Old-timer here: they have alienated loyalists before and they will do it again. They're not afraid of change. The bigger problem is that there's not that much of alternatives for many. If one wants to concentrate on making things with computer instead of making computer to work, Linux* isn't that good option and no, Windows isn't an option still... * I'm still missing the windowing and Finder of Mac OS Classic ;-) For desktops and servers Linux is usually fine but laptops are PITA + there's still no Adobe apps for Linux.

10 points by bootload 10y ago

Apple needs to license the operating system again. Since they don't care about desktops anymore, why not license macOS just for those form factors? Essentially the licensees could build any kind of Mac clone as long as it doesn't have a battery. This could be attractive even to startups: desktops are easier to design than laptops, and there's so many Mac user niches that could be served by specialist Mac clones. Some pro users need Mini-style compact boxes with an abundance of ports; others would really like a Surface Studio -style pen-driven design for drawing tasks; some would need a thin blade server with a fat GPU; yet others just want the good old hulking tower with all the PCIe slots you can fit. Apple won't make any of these, so why not reap the goodwill and licensing fees of letting a handful of partners do it? The 2013 Mac Pro is a disappointing example of Apple trying to build a pro machine that would cut across those niches with the magic of design and Thunderbolt ports, but ending up not really answering anyone's needs. (I deployed a bunch of Mac Pros for a video job and found out the design suffers from overheating. Over the years Apple has been quietly replacing machines that start exhibiting certain crashes. That really put me off from the Mac Pro, and unfortunately it meant that the project is exploring Windows-based options next because there's nothing else from Apple.)

trm42 10y ago

 Old-timer here: they have alienated loyalists before and they will do it again. They're not afraid of change. The bigger problem is that there's not that much of alternatives for many. If one wants to concentrate on making things with computer instead of making computer to work, Linux* isn't that good option and no, Windows isn't an option still... * I'm still missing the windowing and Finder of Mac OS Classic ;-) For desktops and servers Linux is usually fine but laptops are PITA + there's still no Adobe apps for Linux.