When the first M1 Apple Silicon systems sprouted at the end of 2020, we loved the tech but not the walled garden it grew in. Apple had complete control over all its platforms and could set its own rules, but only to become more Apple-y. There was a whole world outside that area where Apple Silicon would never tread, even if Cupertino could iterate fast enough to keep up. Plus, Apple’s appliance sensibility limited its expansion options, especially with performance dependent on its own silicon.
More than five years on, that remains true. Yes, the architecture can iterate at least as fast as anything else in its class. It turns out that gigabit Wi-Fi, 10 Gb Ethernet, and high speed expansion is not such a problem anymore. Otherwise, if you ignore embedded niche cases that nobody cares about, Apple is still where it started, in desktops and laptops. It has even lost one form factor. And ironically, the most exciting new machine for years, the Macbook Neo, doesn’t even have an M-type SoC in it.
And yet, that Macbook Neo has given the Windows world the fear, precisely because of the Apple Silicon walled garden strategy. A simple equation has reached a critical point, and it may be irreversible. Every year of Apple Silicon, the experience of using a Mac has gotten better. Every year of Windows 11, the experience of using a PC has gotten worse.
It really feels like OS makers fail to accept “this is working just fine for me” and endlessly attempt to shoehorn more in. Every time I get an Android update, my first reaction is “what workflows that had been working am I going to need to relearn?” I can’t even figure out how to get someone I’ve not talked with in four years out of the primary position in Frequently Used on my contacts list.
Oh good, this isn’t a me problem.
I mean, at least I’m talking with my ex-wife again, so that’s less irritating than it had been.
(These are separate people.)
Don’t do it, mate. Ya’ll split for a reason. It never ends better the 2nd time than the 1st.
I’ve had some similar comments about Windows in the past. Like, a lot of the lock-in value that Microsoft enjoys isn’t anything special that they’ve done — it’s because people are expert in using their platform. If you make them change their workflow, you throw that out. And people profoundly dislike changing their workflow, once they’ve put the effort in to become accustomed to one.
I’m in my 40s. I never converted to PowerShell from the command line. I can use a Linux terminal, but I’d really rather not. I was never a pure-play coder, so I just want shit to work while also having full control when need be. Like, totally hypothetically, putting two news sources at each others’ throats to make sure my ex-wife’s water wasn’t shut off.
I loved being a beta tester back in the days of Chicago. But I was also a teenager who hadn’t gotten into calcified workflows at the time. I don’t mind learning new things, but don’t force that on me!
Oh, Android does this to me too. It constantly suggests I want to call my old boss from 13 years ago who I honestly hope I never see again.
Seeing as you have a backup of your contacts (don’t you??), why not just delete it…
I mean, I figured a long press and a context menu would solve the issue, but no. When my dad died last year, I had to completely remove him from my contacts (not wholly unreasonable, given that’s a bit of a useless number). I don’t want to remove this guy from my contacts because, well, life changes, we bonded over a lot of shared interests, and maybe I’ll be in NYC at some point.
You want that guy in your phone. You don’t want him to be Option 1.