3 ms·

I have met the writer and he is a nice fella but he is so preposterously missing any kind of substance in this article. A lot of great Apple technology has the

by vr46 7y ago

I have met the writer and he is a nice fella but he is so preposterously missing any kind of substance in this article. A lot of great Apple technology has the ability to get out of your way and I often feel that people are being angry on principle. Making things maintainable or serviceable is a design requirement from the get-go, with all kinds of trade-offs and compromises that are endlessly speculated about on the web. But some people seem to think these trade-offs don’t exist. Hypercard? Great at the time. How much did a Mac cost to run it though? Anyway, this article is poorly thought-out and badly-written on top, with absolutely nothing to offer that you didn’t already know.

kick 7y ago
How is it lacking substance? He points out issues very sanely and very cleanly, like... 1. How Apple has gone out of their way to prevent allowing other people from touching their devices, including influencing legislation. (It wouldn't be nearly as much of a problem if they weren't trying to get guns pointed at anyone who wanted to fix their device themselves, but the act of lobbying to make the law bend to fit your desires is bad for just about everyone.) 2. How the iPad has (nearly) succeeded at ruining the best parts of hobbies he likes, like comics. 3. Apple design principles have moved from "Sane, intuitive," to making software targeting the stereotype of "My mother's a dumb old lady; she'd never understand this!" 4. They've made a joke out of non-vendor-locked software distribution. 5. People coming to their defense have disavowed basic market principles in doing so. I don't even mind Apple's "walled garden," but Doctorow makes sound points, and I think the article is a fantastic read, especially when paired with the article it's referencing.
mark_l_watson 7y ago
+1 I agree with you. I have two Linux laptops that I can do anything I want on. Fit for hacking and having fun with. I also value my Apple closed system devices: Apple Watch + AirPods, iPhone 11 pro camera (it makes phone calls also), MacBook, and a small iPad Pro. The Apple devices sort of fade into the background for reading books, listening to music and audiobooks, and writing. I don’t see what is wrong having open devices and also locked down devices, for different use cases. EDIT: also, I don’t install very many apps on iOS devices and when possible use web apps. More of my software development is also now done on leased VPS. Usually, I want my local devices to be secure and convenient.

by vr46 7y ago

kick 7y ago

How is it lacking substance? He points out issues very sanely and very cleanly, like... 1. How Apple has gone out of their way to prevent allowing other people from touching their devices, including influencing legislation. (It wouldn't be nearly as much of a problem if they weren't trying to get guns pointed at anyone who wanted to fix their device themselves, but the act of lobbying to make the law bend to fit your desires is bad for just about everyone.) 2. How the iPad has (nearly) succeeded at ruining the best parts of hobbies he likes, like comics. 3. Apple design principles have moved from "Sane, intuitive," to making software targeting the stereotype of "My mother's a dumb old lady; she'd never understand this!" 4. They've made a joke out of non-vendor-locked software distribution. 5. People coming to their defense have disavowed basic market principles in doing so. I don't even mind Apple's "walled garden," but Doctorow makes sound points, and I think the article is a fantastic read, especially when paired with the article it's referencing.

mark_l_watson 7y ago

+1 I agree with you. I have two Linux laptops that I can do anything I want on. Fit for hacking and having fun with. I also value my Apple closed system devices: Apple Watch + AirPods, iPhone 11 pro camera (it makes phone calls also), MacBook, and a small iPad Pro. The Apple devices sort of fade into the background for reading books, listening to music and audiobooks, and writing. I don’t see what is wrong having open devices and also locked down devices, for different use cases. EDIT: also, I don’t install very many apps on iOS devices and when possible use web apps. More of my software development is also now done on leased VPS. Usually, I want my local devices to be secure and convenient.