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IRecognition: I am no longer Apple's Target Market

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Re: IRecognition: I am no longer Apple's Target Market

#121

Post by primitur »

nostromo wrote: post #44

The ironic ending of the blog post is interesting. He's running Ubuntu... on a MacBook Pro. Even if you hate the software and all things iOS, it's hard to find a better designed laptop.

I've been trying to kick the Apple habit since I got my first tiBook, which was the _revelation_ for me at the time, that Apple of all people were producing the Unix laptop, and also making the physicality of the thing badass.

So, in my effort to stay true to my Unix'ish roots, I've gotten a Motorola Lapdock real cheap, its at least as comfy as a macbook Air, and I'm plugging in things like .. raspberryPi, MK802/808 Android or Ubuntu sticks, my desktop 'slab PC', and so on. I think I'm close to kicking the habit - they /really/ lost me at the drop of the MacbookPro17" .. my existing one will run into the ground, and I will soon put Linux on it.

In the meantime, I would suggest that those looking for an alternative to the sexy nature of the hardware aspect, albeit with a little extra effort, switching to Ubuntu-on-a-Stick is really a pleasant treat.

Re: IRecognition: I am no longer Apple's Target Market

#122

Post by primitur »

Adaptive wrote: post #84
kitsune_ wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree. I own a Lenovo Thinkpad x220. It's perfect (for me). Its keyboard is reason alone that it beats the MacBook Pro. On top of that, I bought it back in 2011 for around 960 USD (converted). The configuration included an i5-2520M, 8GB of RAM, 320GB HDD, an 80GB m-SATA SSD and an upgrade to a 3-year on-site warranty.

Same here. I'm typing this on a macbook pro that I'm currently sucking data off onto my x220 running Arch. Similar setup. That msata bay rocks with an SSD in it, eh? FWIW, specs say 8gb max but I've got 16gb ticking away in it nicely. You're probably aware of that but worth posting here for others if they are interested. One of the best laptop keyboards I've used.

If I have to buy another laptop again, it'll be a Thinkpad. Nice to hear its solid.

Re: IRecognition: I am no longer Apple's Target Market

#124

Post by kayoone »

The thing is, every company in the comsumer PC space would go the exact same route as Apple if they could. Look at Dell, HP etc trying to mimic Apples every move in the consumer computing space. Microsoft doing an AppStore model in Windows 8 etc. If its not Apple, somebody else would gladly take its place and it might be the fate of any of todays most popular consumer computing company.

Now of course you can still use Linux and build your own PC, but you will, and have always been, a minority in the market.

Re: IRecognition: I am no longer Apple's Target Market

#125

Post by microtonal »

czhiddy wrote: post #115
microtonal wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I regularly encounter applications that are not signed. It's easy to circumvent Gatekeeper (right click, then choose open). But I can imagine that this is quite confusing for the average end user. For them, it is already turning into a walled garden.

Any user who doesn't know what Gatekeeper's purpose is (and how to disable it) probably stand to benefit from keeping it on. I imagine these people are the ones most at risk for downloading malware. People who don't want/like the walled garden can disable it trivially from the settings. For people like my mom, who clicks on any ad/link/attachment without a second thought, this will save a ton of headaches.

Any user who doesn't know what Gatekeeper's purpose is (and how to disable it) probably stand to benefit from keeping it on. I imagine these people are the ones most at risk for downloading malware.

I don't necessarily disagree (I have a mom too ;)), but: (1) there are many trustable open source programs that are unsigned because their developers cannot afford or do not want to pay $99 per year for an Apple developer account; (2) OS X could display a warning that the user can override.

What happens now is that people will Google for the error to install some legitimate software, find a blog post that describes how to disable Gatekeeper, and switch of Gatekeeper permanently.

Re: IRecognition: I am no longer Apple's Target Market

#126

Post by czhiddy »

wging wrote: post #49
nostromo wrote: post #44

The ironic ending of the blog post is interesting. He's running Ubuntu... on a MacBook Pro. Even if you hate the software and all things iOS, it's hard to find a better designed laptop.

A well-designed laptop which is heading toward zero upgradeablility.

Aside from PCMCIA/ExpressCard upgrades, which are useless nowadays thanks to USB2/3, the only upgrades available to laptops are memory + disk. RAM is cheap enough where companies can toss in 8gb (soon, 16gb) without a second thought, which is more than enough for probably 99% of the customer base for as long as the laptop is in service.

That leaves the disk drive as the one non-upgradable part. I imagine part of the reason for this is the (relative) bulkiness of the 2.5" SSD form factor. Are there any other standardized sizes that could work in a rMBP form factor? 1.8" maybe? The 11" MBA may have problems fitting it, but a swappable 1.8" SSD on the larger models would be quite nice.

Re: IRecognition: I am no longer Apple's Target Market

#127

Post by hippee-lee »

SquareWheel wrote: post #106
BenoitEssiambre wrote: post #91

I wish to concur the statement that Ubuntu is now the fastest most user friendly modern OS out there. Try it you might be surprised.

Has much changed in two years? Every once in a while I hear Linux is finally user friendly, and I go try it and my multiple monitors don't work and my graphics card drivers require manual installation and I get constantly riddled with permissions prompts which I'm sure is necessary but still annoys me as an end user.

Not much has changed. I stopped upgrading my work desktop because the drivers for my wired Ethernet needs to be recompiled every Ubuntu upgrade. Very annoying when I am in the middle of a sprint and I have to stop to figure out why basic things are no longer working.

Re: IRecognition: I am no longer Apple's Target Market

#128

Post by djisjke »

SquareWheel wrote: post #106
BenoitEssiambre wrote: post #91

I wish to concur the statement that Ubuntu is now the fastest most user friendly modern OS out there. Try it you might be surprised.

Has much changed in two years? Every once in a while I hear Linux is finally user friendly, and I go try it and my multiple monitors don't work and my graphics card drivers require manual installation and I get constantly riddled with permissions prompts which I'm sure is necessary but still annoys me as an end user.

It has. But there is still the ol' quirks. I had problems with sounds on ubuntu on my ThinkPad. I had to install XFCE for it to play nice with 2 monitors (since the gpu in the old laptop is kind of sucky). But Macosx has even worse compability, so if you buy computer parts that are knows to play nice with linux you'll have a swell time :).

Also, when you start playing with tiling window managers you'll be glad you don't have a mac.

Re: IRecognition: I am no longer Apple's Target Market

#129

Post by gramsey »

> You are about unit sales now. You need more and more consumers to want to get the latest Apple device. I get it. I don’t agree with it, but that is where you are now.

This author seems personally hurt by the fact that Apple rapidly releasing new devices, as if he feels that he is being obligated to purchase the latest products as soon as they come out and doesn't want to.

Is there a small, vocal minority of the Apple fanbase that has to have the latest thing? Certainly. But the average user does not, and has no need to upgrade their Macbook Air just because a new one comes out a year later. In fact, I've had mine for a year and a half, and I have no need or desire to upgrade anytime soon.

> I didn’t jump at the iPhone 5. I wasn’t in-line on day one like I was with the iPhone 3 and iPhone 4. I am unsure why I just didn’t care anymore.

Great, you don't need to care! Before the iPhone was released, would you have stood in line for a phone at all? I know people who still use the iPhone 3G and have no issues, because they don't need a retina display or the ability to run intense games, they just want a phone that works.

Either this author:

(1) Wants to have bleeding-technology all the time but is offended by the fact that he would have to pay for it often, or (2) Is so brainwashed by the blogomania surrounding Apple that he is unsatisfied with the fact that the company keeps fairly rapid release cycles, therefore causing his products to technically be "older versions".

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