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iMessage is a surprisingly good platform lock-in for the mac, too. I didn't realize how much of my normal Messages/SMS happens on my computer until I tried to s

iMessage is a surprisingly good platform lock-in for the mac, too. I didn't realize how much of my normal Messages/SMS happens on my computer until I tried to switch to linux. No more "let me just text this link to someone..." or "ha ha, let me share this meme with my friend" without it. I mean you COULD, but then you have to go convince your friends to use $alternateMEssenger instead of their phone's built-in SMS app.

joshstrange 8y ago
iMessage is the greatest long con that isn't a con of all time. You don't know how great it is until you talk to someone that isn't on iMessage or you lose access to it. It just slowly sneaks into your life until you think it just IS text messaging. Never bought into iMessage "apps" or sticker packs but I love things like typing indicators/read receipts/etc.
- cromwellian 8y ago
  I have an iPhone and almost never use it. I use FB messenger, WhatsApp, Slack, and Discord for 99% of my contacts.
- tinus_hn 8y ago
  I don’t understand the group features at all though. Do people really have groups of friends in which noone has an Android phone?
  - joshstrange 8y ago
    In smaller or very similar groups yes. I have a group iMessage with 11 friends in it but even so for group messages I normally use FB messenger, a surprising good product, so android/ios is equal.
  - ryanwaggoner 8y ago
    Out of 40-50 family and friends that I text regularly, maybe 3 are on Android.
- hunta2097 8y ago
  Certainly in Europe WhatsApp fills that gap. There isn't much point solely using iMessage when at least 50% of your friends have Android phones. The web version is fast and functional too.
  - graeme 8y ago
    Does the web version keep login credentials well? I tried the desktop app, but it was taking an insane amount of storage for some reason.
    - hunta2097 8y ago
      You login with a QR code from your phone. I don't think WhatsApp even has accounts - just phone numbers.
      - graeme 8y ago
        Oh I know. I meant whether the login stays persistent or whether you have to scan repeatedly on the web version. On the desktop app you can once and it lasts months.
spronkey 8y ago
To me, iMessage on the Mac is almost a sad indictment of just how little progress has been made in computing in the last 2 decades. It's a feature that was obvious back when we were all using Nokia 3310s. Connect phone and computer as one thing. Call and message from either. Heck, calling from your computer was an obvious feature-to-be back in the monochrome screen days! It's ridiculous that a) Apple is the only company that has this right now, and b) it took them so long to get there in the first place. What the hell is everyone doing!?

joshstrange 8y ago

iMessage is the greatest long con that isn't a con of all time. You don't know how great it is until you talk to someone that isn't on iMessage or you lose access to it. It just slowly sneaks into your life until you think it just IS text messaging. Never bought into iMessage "apps" or sticker packs but I love things like typing indicators/read receipts/etc.

cromwellian 8y ago
I have an iPhone and almost never use it. I use FB messenger, WhatsApp, Slack, and Discord for 99% of my contacts.
tinus_hn 8y ago
I don’t understand the group features at all though. Do people really have groups of friends in which noone has an Android phone?
- joshstrange 8y ago
  In smaller or very similar groups yes. I have a group iMessage with 11 friends in it but even so for group messages I normally use FB messenger, a surprising good product, so android/ios is equal.
- ryanwaggoner 8y ago
  Out of 40-50 family and friends that I text regularly, maybe 3 are on Android.
hunta2097 8y ago
Certainly in Europe WhatsApp fills that gap. There isn't much point solely using iMessage when at least 50% of your friends have Android phones. The web version is fast and functional too.
- graeme 8y ago
  Does the web version keep login credentials well? I tried the desktop app, but it was taking an insane amount of storage for some reason.
  - hunta2097 8y ago
    You login with a QR code from your phone. I don't think WhatsApp even has accounts - just phone numbers.
    - graeme 8y ago
      Oh I know. I meant whether the login stays persistent or whether you have to scan repeatedly on the web version. On the desktop app you can once and it lasts months.

spronkey 8y ago

To me, iMessage on the Mac is almost a sad indictment of just how little progress has been made in computing in the last 2 decades. It's a feature that was obvious back when we were all using Nokia 3310s. Connect phone and computer as one thing. Call and message from either. Heck, calling from your computer was an obvious feature-to-be back in the monochrome screen days! It's ridiculous that a) Apple is the only company that has this right now, and b) it took them so long to get there in the first place. What the hell is everyone doing!?