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Apple, like most corporations, is happy to entertain passive consumers. After all, empowering people to learn new things about computers could lead to healthy c

Apple, like most corporations, is happy to entertain passive consumers. After all, empowering people to learn new things about computers could lead to healthy competition, and that's definitely not something we want, or is it?!

emsy 5y ago
I doubt Apple cares about people that need to "work" on their machine anymore. Those people will buy PCs because a lot of industrial software is still Windows only and Apple shows no interest in changing that. Modern Apple products feel more like toys for adults (in a non-lewd way).
Wowfunhappy 5y ago
Well, Apple needs a pool of talented developers to build apps on their platform. And to hire from.
- phist_mcgee 5y ago
  The noughties dream of 'digital natives' has not ever come to fruition. Children growing up around technology has not brought great understanding of computing/creating software, instead it has driven a race to the bottom for passive apps, with predatory attention grabbing mechanics.
  - southerntofu 5y ago
    Well it has to some extent, but that's the minority seeing through the matrix. Just yesterday, i was reading here on HN about someone who learned how to make websites using just a smartphone! I can't say i wasn't impressed. Also worth noting, we can still realize our dreams of digital natives around us. Build academies, hackerspaces and whatever kind of non-profit entity/space will enable you to teach hacking to uninitiated folks.
    - phist_mcgee 5y ago
      I think what you say is true to an extent. The barrier to entry is significantly lowered thanks to the internet, so thankfully it's not just caucasian males at universities who have access (like during the first computing explosion in the 70s and 80s). Sadly though I think that there will always be a significant majority of the population who don't care how their world works, and hope only to consume media and distractions to avoid the unpleasantness of our world.
  - mhh__ 5y ago
    Young people today have grown up post computer. Evening owning a desktop is rare for non-gamers. Most people I know have no mechanical sympathy for the computer nor ability to turn it off. My (now passed away) Grandmother had better (but not great) than a lot of my-aged people I've explained things to - and thanks to basic on the BBC micro a long way back, way better abilities in terms of actually making the computer do what you want.
- southerntofu 5y ago
  I don't think that's the case so much. Apart from key elements, most workers in tech companies have no clue what they're doing. They're just a tiny cog in the machine, and they feel that way. Likewise, most people who graduate from Computer Science curriculum have no idea what they're doing. They're very knowledgeable about specific problems (eg. some graph algorithms, analog electronics, programming language theory) but fail to conceive computing as an ensemble of ethical and usability concerns. You know how it took thousands of people to build the first atomic bomb, and most of them had no clue what kind of evil force they were working on? Computing industry is like that most times, except of course in the free software ecosystem, where it does happen but community cooperation enable more skill sharing and more perspective about software from a political perspective.

emsy 5y ago

I doubt Apple cares about people that need to "work" on their machine anymore. Those people will buy PCs because a lot of industrial software is still Windows only and Apple shows no interest in changing that. Modern Apple products feel more like toys for adults (in a non-lewd way).

Wowfunhappy 5y ago

Well, Apple needs a pool of talented developers to build apps on their platform. And to hire from.

phist_mcgee 5y ago
The noughties dream of 'digital natives' has not ever come to fruition. Children growing up around technology has not brought great understanding of computing/creating software, instead it has driven a race to the bottom for passive apps, with predatory attention grabbing mechanics.
- southerntofu 5y ago
  Well it has to some extent, but that's the minority seeing through the matrix. Just yesterday, i was reading here on HN about someone who learned how to make websites using just a smartphone! I can't say i wasn't impressed. Also worth noting, we can still realize our dreams of digital natives around us. Build academies, hackerspaces and whatever kind of non-profit entity/space will enable you to teach hacking to uninitiated folks.
  - phist_mcgee 5y ago
    I think what you say is true to an extent. The barrier to entry is significantly lowered thanks to the internet, so thankfully it's not just caucasian males at universities who have access (like during the first computing explosion in the 70s and 80s). Sadly though I think that there will always be a significant majority of the population who don't care how their world works, and hope only to consume media and distractions to avoid the unpleasantness of our world.
- mhh__ 5y ago
  Young people today have grown up post computer. Evening owning a desktop is rare for non-gamers. Most people I know have no mechanical sympathy for the computer nor ability to turn it off. My (now passed away) Grandmother had better (but not great) than a lot of my-aged people I've explained things to - and thanks to basic on the BBC micro a long way back, way better abilities in terms of actually making the computer do what you want.
southerntofu 5y ago
I don't think that's the case so much. Apart from key elements, most workers in tech companies have no clue what they're doing. They're just a tiny cog in the machine, and they feel that way. Likewise, most people who graduate from Computer Science curriculum have no idea what they're doing. They're very knowledgeable about specific problems (eg. some graph algorithms, analog electronics, programming language theory) but fail to conceive computing as an ensemble of ethical and usability concerns. You know how it took thousands of people to build the first atomic bomb, and most of them had no clue what kind of evil force they were working on? Computing industry is like that most times, except of course in the free software ecosystem, where it does happen but community cooperation enable more skill sharing and more perspective about software from a political perspective.