6 ms·

That's a very good point - Apple's desktop software is definitely not a highlight in the last few years. What's not clear is: (i) how much it matters - the cor

by rm445 12y ago

That's a very good point - Apple's desktop software is definitely not a highlight in the last few years. What's not clear is: (i) how much it matters - the core desktop experience is very solid, and between web browsers and MS Office it's not clear how much the iLife(?) apps actually get run. And (ii) whether it's a symptom of some deeper malaise - Apple still seems to be killing it in other areas so perhaps it's just a weak or resource-starved group within the company.

bsbechtel 12y ago
Maybe overlooked rather than resource-starved. Apple's sitting on $100B in cash. Resources shouldn't be an issue in any department.
- hengheng 12y ago
  Even $100B is not a reason to dump money mindlessly. I generally don't trust moves that seem purely driven by money (e.g. facebook's VR hiring spree), and which don't have a clear goal in mind, and a strategy along the way. Given Apple's high aspirations, they probably don't know what to do with the desktop. Ive's expectations seem way beyond what native apps can fulfill ... perhaps the Windows way was the right approach after all, and the complexity of "other" operating systems was just right for the high complexity of daily tasks after all ... and maybe the Apple way of thinking is more apt for mobile use where the computer interface doesn't have the user's full attention. Personally, in my last years of using OS X, all I had open was the PDF reader app, a browser and a terminal. I don't know if that was my personal interpretation of the Cloud age, but suddenly I was completely OS agnostic. Incidentally, this led me away from buying Macs, as the operating system didn't do anything for me anymore. I don't know about the desktop experience. Either it seems to be "power user web crawling", for which the cloud is the best fit, or it's about spending the whole day in a random Pro App with its very own user experience. I'm looking forward for their cars and watches, but I don't care much about their desktop computers. It seems they don't, either.
  - deeviant 12y ago
    I think it's pretty one dimensional to call Facebook's VR acquisitions purely motivated by having a pile of cash laying around. There are plenty of smart people who see VR finally coming around to be the disruptive technology that it was thought to be 25 years ago.
edvinbesic 12y ago
While I agree with regards to iLife, the software overall just seems to have gone down in quality. Since upgrading to Yosemite I've had a ton of issues with Apple Mail (which is a staple for me) and wifi in general. Having to toggle your wifi on & off throughout the day gets pretty old pretty fast. Still a tough sell to go outside apple simply due to the hardware quality & resale value, but at least we have some contenders today where a few years back there were none.
- jaxbot 12y ago
  I have constant crashes/freezes when waking up on Yosemite, and something about having iCloud disabled makes every iLife application show unrelated dialogs (usually "This will overwrite the existing file on iCloud" warnings, despite the file not existing at all, nor having iCloud), the EULA box randomly shows up in System Preferences and gets stuck in an infinite loop of showing me the terms even when I press cancel, yada yada. I agree with the word "shoddy". I can work around all this, but it's like nobody bothered to test it. I'm part of the Appleseed program and send in every bug I find, but apparently they're all minor enough to not be patched. Frustrating.
- cheesedoodles 12y ago
  I agree. The Mail client is constantly beach ballin and freezes at times. The issue is resolved by deleting the account and recreating it again. Surely not as intended. Especially for an app that virtually everyone on a Mac uses on a daily basis. I keep sending my crash reports but Mail client software updates seems to never come... Also, another really annoying bug is when screensaver goes on and locks the screen. Sometimes, if I try and wake it up to fast it will freeze with a black screen for 60-120 seconds before I can unlock it again.
- LoSboccacc 12y ago
  Yup. The iconic lack of care on software side can be seen since forever when ejecting an usb. What used to become an eject icon with an eject label it's an eject icon with a trash label That is just the smallest of thing, but is so easy to spot and fix and really his square against the level of detail the hardware side gets.
- 12y ago

by rm445 12y ago

bsbechtel 12y ago

Maybe overlooked rather than resource-starved. Apple's sitting on $100B in cash. Resources shouldn't be an issue in any department.

hengheng 12y ago
Even $100B is not a reason to dump money mindlessly. I generally don't trust moves that seem purely driven by money (e.g. facebook's VR hiring spree), and which don't have a clear goal in mind, and a strategy along the way. Given Apple's high aspirations, they probably don't know what to do with the desktop. Ive's expectations seem way beyond what native apps can fulfill ... perhaps the Windows way was the right approach after all, and the complexity of "other" operating systems was just right for the high complexity of daily tasks after all ... and maybe the Apple way of thinking is more apt for mobile use where the computer interface doesn't have the user's full attention. Personally, in my last years of using OS X, all I had open was the PDF reader app, a browser and a terminal. I don't know if that was my personal interpretation of the Cloud age, but suddenly I was completely OS agnostic. Incidentally, this led me away from buying Macs, as the operating system didn't do anything for me anymore. I don't know about the desktop experience. Either it seems to be "power user web crawling", for which the cloud is the best fit, or it's about spending the whole day in a random Pro App with its very own user experience. I'm looking forward for their cars and watches, but I don't care much about their desktop computers. It seems they don't, either.
- deeviant 12y ago
  I think it's pretty one dimensional to call Facebook's VR acquisitions purely motivated by having a pile of cash laying around. There are plenty of smart people who see VR finally coming around to be the disruptive technology that it was thought to be 25 years ago.

edvinbesic 12y ago

While I agree with regards to iLife, the software overall just seems to have gone down in quality. Since upgrading to Yosemite I've had a ton of issues with Apple Mail (which is a staple for me) and wifi in general. Having to toggle your wifi on & off throughout the day gets pretty old pretty fast. Still a tough sell to go outside apple simply due to the hardware quality & resale value, but at least we have some contenders today where a few years back there were none.

jaxbot 12y ago
I have constant crashes/freezes when waking up on Yosemite, and something about having iCloud disabled makes every iLife application show unrelated dialogs (usually "This will overwrite the existing file on iCloud" warnings, despite the file not existing at all, nor having iCloud), the EULA box randomly shows up in System Preferences and gets stuck in an infinite loop of showing me the terms even when I press cancel, yada yada. I agree with the word "shoddy". I can work around all this, but it's like nobody bothered to test it. I'm part of the Appleseed program and send in every bug I find, but apparently they're all minor enough to not be patched. Frustrating.
cheesedoodles 12y ago
I agree. The Mail client is constantly beach ballin and freezes at times. The issue is resolved by deleting the account and recreating it again. Surely not as intended. Especially for an app that virtually everyone on a Mac uses on a daily basis. I keep sending my crash reports but Mail client software updates seems to never come... Also, another really annoying bug is when screensaver goes on and locks the screen. Sometimes, if I try and wake it up to fast it will freeze with a black screen for 60-120 seconds before I can unlock it again.
LoSboccacc 12y ago
Yup. The iconic lack of care on software side can be seen since forever when ejecting an usb. What used to become an eject icon with an eject label it's an eject icon with a trash label That is just the smallest of thing, but is so easy to spot and fix and really his square against the level of detail the hardware side gets.
12y ago