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Apple fans are coming to hate Apple software

latimes.com

261–270 of 613 posts

Re: Apple fans are coming to hate Apple software

#261

It's kinda weird to read commentators talking as if this was the end of a golden age of Apple. From my perspective, their application software has always sucked. It was there because you need apps to bootstrap a platform and attract enough users to attract developers. But you can't really expect a consumer electronics company to have the best application for a given niche once the niche has been identified and attrac…

The first version of iMovie was brilliant. Sublime, and easy to use. I used it on a Mac Cube and loved it. It has gotten worse with every new iteration.

Re: Apple fans are coming to hate Apple software

#262

I used to be fairly content with Apple: the iOS ecosystem (or walled garden) was pretty decent, and OSX is basically Unix. I was happy. Then, after a few years of iOS use, I switched to Android. Suddenly, I was an outcast among friends: any group SMS conversations I had been a part of, I would no longer get. I get it: Apple uses iMessage, and it is not present in Android. But at least Apple could warn the sender that…

> But at least Apple could warn the sender that it is unable to deliver the message to me, instead of silently dropping it! It's harsh, but this only happens if you don't follow the instructions. Deregister and turn off iMessage: https://selfsolve.apple.com/deregister-imessage If you follow this, you'll never miss a message.

I did follow the instructions. I deregistered several times, and Apple knows that my number is not registered with iMessages anymore.

Re: Apple fans are coming to hate Apple software

#263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh, I certainly wish Apple would allow you to set third-party programs as defaults for integration. But unfortunately that's not my call. I just suck it up and manually launch the programs I want to use, because I like using them better.

Were this Windows, there would be a 3rd party app...err application... that would let you change the default launch app. Why not on OSX?

There's some confusion in the above posts. You can do all that easily in OS X (Apple's desktop OS). It's only iOS (the mobile one) that's locked down.

Re: Apple fans are coming to hate Apple software

#264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me, the lack of an ethernet port is a dealbreaker, because most of the on-site work I do at clients requires it. The last thing I need is to forget a dongle. I myself gave up on Apple after my 2011 MBP bricked itself last year. That was too bad, because I really liked the discontinued unibody form factor. If I was spending money on a new laptop, it wasn't going to be a two year old 2012 unibody or one one of the…

So buy an adapter.

Let me reiterate: "The last thing I need is to forget a dongle."

Re: Apple fans are coming to hate Apple software

#265
post #3

It's not just software. While I'm still a fan of Macbooks, I'm getting close to abandoning ship thanks to the increasingly un-repairability of these things. I have a Macbook from ~2008 that's still functional as a media PC thanks to memory/SSD upgrades and battery replacements over the years. My current Macbook Pro has memory soldered on to the motherboard and a battery glued to the case. The SSD is technically repla…

Comparable laptops aren't really any better. The rMBP is a lot more repairable than say the Surface Book (which won't let you even open the case without possibly cracking the display). At least Apple has a battery replacement service at an advertised price--what'll Dell charge you to replace the non-servicable battery in the XPS13 or XPS15? And no other PC laptop hits that right sweet spot of power/battery/display qu…

S and X Thinkpad lines have considerably improved screens nowadays. Nowhere near Retina, but they get the job done. Also, most of the parts inside are field serviceable, you don't really need more than a screwdriver to fix it.

Re: Apple fans are coming to hate Apple software

#266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh, I certainly wish Apple would allow you to set third-party programs as defaults for integration. But unfortunately that's not my call. I just suck it up and manually launch the programs I want to use, because I like using them better.

Were this Windows, there would be a 3rd party app...err application... that would let you change the default launch app. Why not on OSX?

OS X lets you set default apps. I had Chrome set as my default browser for a while.

Re: Apple fans are coming to hate Apple software

#267
post #70
post #3

It's not just software. While I'm still a fan of Macbooks, I'm getting close to abandoning ship thanks to the increasingly un-repairability of these things. I have a Macbook from ~2008 that's still functional as a media PC thanks to memory/SSD upgrades and battery replacements over the years. My current Macbook Pro has memory soldered on to the motherboard and a battery glued to the case. The SSD is technically repla…

This lack of repairability is actually not a recent thing at all. For example, I worked a support job in the late 90s where a high proportion of Applecare complaints were resolved with "replace the motherboard." With PCs we just replaced the offending part, which was rarely the motherboard. The worst part of this is that Apple's success has dragged the rest of the market toward things like non-replaceable batteries.

The real problem is that lithium-ion batteries suck in every dimension except energy density. They're fragile, can blow up, don't allow many charge/discharge cycles, and charge slowly.

There are other battery technologies, such as lithium iron phosphate, which have much better lifetimes, but you give up some energy density. Sealed units should use one of those technologies.

Re: Apple fans are coming to hate Apple software

#268
post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> (comes out to be ~$60/month) Even phased like that that is a lot of money.

Is it? As a software engineer, I leverage those $60/month into $8000+/month. I think that's more than worth it. Why the hell haven't I bought a backup machine yet just in case this one breaks?

I would try to save some of that 8k+/month. I hope things stay good.

Re: Apple fans are coming to hate Apple software

#269
post #3

It's not just software. While I'm still a fan of Macbooks, I'm getting close to abandoning ship thanks to the increasingly un-repairability of these things. I have a Macbook from ~2008 that's still functional as a media PC thanks to memory/SSD upgrades and battery replacements over the years. My current Macbook Pro has memory soldered on to the motherboard and a battery glued to the case. The SSD is technically repla…

Comparable laptops aren't really any better. The rMBP is a lot more repairable than say the Surface Book (which won't let you even open the case without possibly cracking the display). At least Apple has a battery replacement service at an advertised price--what'll Dell charge you to replace the non-servicable battery in the XPS13 or XPS15? And no other PC laptop hits that right sweet spot of power/battery/display qu…

It's a bit of an overstatement to say that the batteries are unreplaceable. They have some tape on them and they require patience to remove, but that's not anything new as far as laptop part upgrades go.

https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Dell+XPS+13+Teardown/36157

Re: Apple fans are coming to hate Apple software

#270

The problem is that there is no reasonable alternative. If you want a retina display, solid construction, and anything even close to a reasonable command line, then MBPr and OSX are my only real options. Apparently, engineering and producing a high-quality laptop is a really hard problem. Only Apple and Lenovo seem to be able to do it. And if you go Lenovo, then you are stuck installing Linux who's device drivers are…

Dell XPS 13 Developer edition comes with Ubuntu and a "retina" level screen for about the same cost as a MBPr. Lenovo Yoga 900 can run fedora based linux without issue and is also a "retina" level screen and solid hardware.

Yoga 900: retina screen, 16GB memory, core i7, 512GB ssd: $1400. That's pretty darned reasonable! Definitely tempting.

Engadget's review says 9 hour battery life, cranky touchpad, and shrunken keyboard. Argh. C'mon Lenovo.

Do you have one?

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