The bizarre role reversal of Apple and Microsoft • Hacker News Board

Re: The bizarre role reversal of Apple and Microsoft

#131

Post by brazzledazzle » Sat, Oct 29, 2016, 2:23 AM UTC

wsinks wrote: post #123

cmelbye wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When Cortana was launched on Windows, I went to a Microsoft Store to try it out. I found a Surface and tapped the Cortana button, and it opened a "Microphone Calibration Setup Wizard" that looks like it was from Windows XP. So yeah, taste is one thing, but execution is a different ball game.

Any thoughts about Cisco? We're literally trying to be the taste and execution. I work for Cisco. Curious about candid thoughts.

Cisco Anyconnect and the ASA web interface reeks of an outsourced enterprise developed massive legacy code base haunted by developers pissed all over by meddling middle managers. If you were going for the opposite of taste and execution you knocked it out of the park.

Re: The bizarre role reversal of Apple and Microsoft

#132

Post by randallsquared » Sat, Oct 29, 2016, 2:24 AM UTC

TazeTSchnitzel wrote: post #111

jrockway wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is kind of what I like about Windows 10; it can be a dumbed-down experience for people that don't care, but if you want, there are gradually escalating levels of configurability. Settings -> Control Panel -> fuck it, I'll edit the registry directly. I would definitely not want to maintain this codebase, but as an end user, I'm happy.

macOS has something better: all the settings in one place. Windows used to have something like that too, I think it was called the Control Panel.

No, it doesn't. Preferences, but also 'defaults write ...', or just edit a plist...

Re: The bizarre role reversal of Apple and Microsoft

#133

Post by dpark » Sat, Oct 29, 2016, 2:24 AM UTC

troygoode wrote: post #62

dpark wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You think they're going to ditch lightning after everyone buys a bunch of accessories? They could, but I doubt it. What would switching to USB C do for Apple?

"They could, but I doubt it." – you mean exactly like they did with the switch to Lightning already?

Yes, I mean it exactly like that. Apple could and would switch if it provided them significant benefit (smaller, more robust connector, ability to make the phone thinner, new capabilities). I don't see that USB-C provides them with anything except a loss of control over the connector and a bunch of annoyed customers.

Re: The bizarre role reversal of Apple and Microsoft

#134

Post by linguae » Sat, Oct 29, 2016, 2:26 AM UTC

tajen wrote: post #96

yladiz wrote: post #52

The thing is, hardware is important but software is arguably more important because it's what you interact with every day (yes, you interact with the hardware too but not directly, besides the keyboard and touch pad). In that respect, I trust Apple more than either Microsoft or Google. I will not trust Google with any of my data unless it's necessary and Microsoft isn't so great in my eyes either due to their ad and…

A paid Linux! That's what I said on this comment about "Ask HN – What innovation would you want to see", which 84 people upvoted: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12570030 I wish we would have executed on that wish a year ago, because with the two Microsoft & Apple events, it's clear there is demand for "a Surface Studio, but not with Windows 10". Yesterday people effectively said they stay on Macs because of mac…

I feel the exact same way. I've been a Mac user for over ten years largely because of OS X, but I've been disappointed in Apple's direction for the past few years, and yesterday's MacBook Pro announcement was the last straw for me.

Linux is a wonderful server OS, and in fact I do most of my development inside of a VirtualBox VM running Debian, but in order for me to move to a full Linux workflow, I need to use some proprietary software packages like Microsoft Office and Apple Keynote (while I find LibreOffice Writer to be a suitable replacement for Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel fits my needs better than Calc, and Impress is behind both PowerPoint and Keynote).

In line with a paid, polished Linux experience, another thing that would be nice for me and other disgruntled Mac users is a Wine-like compatibility layer that allows Linux users to run Cocoa programs. There's already a project called Darling (http://www.darlinghq.org/introduction/) that has some of the basic functionality implemented. If this project had more contributors, then it could develop into a working solution for running my Mac programs.

My dream OS would have a Unix-like foundation (like Linux or FreeBSD) with an interface similar to Mac OS 8/9 (with various features from OS X added like Spotlight, Expose, and the Dock) and with Don Norman's UI advice (http://www.jnd.org/dn.mss/apples_products_are.html) taken seriously.

I'm actually interested in contributing to such efforts toward an alternative OS for disgruntled Mac users; I have experience with systems and kernel programming. If there is enough interest, maybe an alternative OS will materialize.

Re: The bizarre role reversal of Apple and Microsoft

#135

Post by duaneb » Sat, Oct 29, 2016, 2:31 AM UTC

kristopolous wrote: post #105

whyenot wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You seem to be mis-remembering the facts a little. The Think Different campaign was nearly 20 years ago (1997). If you look at the list of celebrities[1], almost all are/were not "anti materialist socialists." 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Think_different

The socialist leanings of the people used is incidental to what I was saying. I may not have stated myself well. For a productive conversation here, are you unclear on the position or do you fundamentally dispute it?

I have never gotten the impression the "Think Different" campaign claimed the depicted people would use the laptop; rather, that Apple's innovation is analogously innovative to... whoever. These are cultural allusions, not spokespeople.

I'm not a fan, but you're interpreting the campaign differently than I.

Re: The bizarre role reversal of Apple and Microsoft

#136

Post by verisimilidude » Sat, Oct 29, 2016, 2:32 AM UTC

threeseed wrote: post #23

CuGi wrote: post #5

I feel like Apple is trying to force innovation with their latest offerings. I'm not against change, but change for the sake of change is annoying. The idea well must be running pretty dry at Cupertino

20 years Apple released the iMac which did away with SCSI, ADB, RJ232 etc in favour of USB. What they have done now with the MacBook Pro is exactly the same thing. They are trying to establish USB-C as the one port to rule them all just like they successful did with USB-A. Yes change can be hard and some people like yourself clearly struggle more than others. But change is needed sometimes to push the industry forwar…

The original iMac was a new product for a new market at a relatively low price.

The new MacBook Pro is an update to an existing product, with a large base of current users who already have expectations about what the product should do for them, at a relatively high price.

That's a big difference, and it's the main reason people are so peeved about the total switch to USB-C. Apple should have added USB-C ports to the existing slate of MacBook Pro ports for at least a generation, to help everyone bridge the gap. Nobody cares about the 2 or 3 mm that Apple shaved off the thickness by discarding all those ports for this generation of the product, and anybody who does can go buy the little MacBook instead.

Re: The bizarre role reversal of Apple and Microsoft

#137

Post by brazzledazzle » Sat, Oct 29, 2016, 2:38 AM UTC

nicolas_t wrote: post #88

The Surface Studio is a major coup for Microsoft not because it'll necessarily sell well (although I think it has the potential to) but because it's made Microsoft cool. I showed the video to my wife and she was so impressed that she looked at all the videos Microsoft did detailing the development. She's been a mac user for more than 20 years and tt's the first time she's ever looked at a Microsoft product. Apple dur…

>the new macbook pro 15 inch design choices are non-sensical for professionals

You can't imagine how disappointed I was that they tap out at 16GB of RAM. I don't use that much memory every day but sometimes it would be really nice to have. I haven't bothered watching it again but the announcement gave me the impression that it started at 16 and going to the purchase page was a sad time.

Re: The bizarre role reversal of Apple and Microsoft

#138

Post by rangibaby » Sat, Oct 29, 2016, 2:46 AM UTC

serge2k wrote: post #95

TheOtherHobbes wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple absolutely invented competent technology marketing. If you look at the old issues of Byte, you can immediately see the difference. Most of the ads are generic spec/price lists with maybe some crappy hand-drawn graphics. A few are photos and professionally drawn images with some attempts at metaphor, but they invariably look crude, heavy-handed, jokey, or cartoony. The primary focus in the early Apple ads is the…

I thought rose gold was more about appealing to asian markets?

Yeah, Asian women. I know my ex rushed out and bought a pink iPhone as soon as they were released.

Re: The bizarre role reversal of Apple and Microsoft

#139

Post by brazzledazzle » Sat, Oct 29, 2016, 2:50 AM UTC

mark_kalvelage wrote: post #102

nathas wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you think Windows is a tire fire and OSX is usable? I used my first OSX machine ever earlier this year. I wanted to add some extra keyboard commands, so I had to download a 3rd party program that had to unlock accessibility controls and essentially take full control of the machine. That's absurd to me. I also hit tons of external display problems. Things wouldn't connect or sync right, desktops not correctly m…

Last year I bought a new Macbook Air that came with Yosemite, so after I got home and went through the setup process, I tried to update it to El Capitan through the app store. The laptop went to reboot... and didn't come back up. I thought it was completely bricked because pressing the power button did nothing: no LED light, no startup chime. Apple support guides said to hold down the power button for ten seconds and…

In my experience Macs have never worked very well with non-Apple displays. Switching from a Dell to an Apple display was like night and day.

Re: The bizarre role reversal of Apple and Microsoft

#140

Post by joshcohen » Sat, Oct 29, 2016, 2:56 AM UTC

bradleybuda wrote: post #43

I'll keep buying Apple hardware (even if the latest rev isn't great) since macOS is the only usable operating system. Windows is (still/increasingly?) a tire fire that's only useful if you're a gamer, and Linux is for programmer-masochists.

Thank goodness you shared your opinion.