Upcoming release

[_mental_]

Money matters of course but hassle with documents and their validation process is the most important reason for me to do not even touch it.

[Rachael]

I think they are betting most important open source projects will have someone pay the 100 dollars annual fee. One of these days they are going to overplay their hand though. They act a bit like Microsoft in the 90's now, but it seems someone forgot to tell them that they have less than 10% market share.

I think their hubris comes from the fact that their fanbase is *FIERCELY* loyal. It's not hard to start a huge argument with "ye average Apple user" because for every one bad thing you have to say about Macs they have 20 bad things to say about Windows - even when almost every point they raise is outdated and comes from pre-Vista versions where security was much less of a concern.

But even so, if Windows was so horrible far less people would use it. Apple is just banking on those fiercely loyal users, because even if you tell them Linux is better they will defend Mac to their very last breath.

This strategy failed them early in the millenium, though, and it seems they've learned nothing since.

[dpJudas]

I think their hubris comes from the fact that their fanbase is *FIERCELY* loyal. It's not hard to start a huge argument with "ye average Apple user" because for every one bad thing you have to say about Macs they have 20 bad things to say about Windows - even when almost every point they raise is outdated and comes from pre-Vista versions where security was much less of a concern.

Fanboys will always be fanboys. I wouldn't pay too much attention to what those are saying on either side of the fence.

What I meant by overplaying their hand is more that Apple had a golden opportunity with the Windows 8 failure that they more and less wasted, and now they act like they are in a position where they think they can force developers to commit to their tech and platform exclusively. I don't think Steve Jobs would have made the mistakes that Tim Cook are making now. Starting to think he might just be Apple's version of Steve Ballmer.

[Graf Zahl]

Starting to think he might just be Apple's version of Steve Ballmer.

That thought first crossed my mind two years ago already. I actually think they are exactly the same type of CEO: The have a good enough knowledge of the technology to not run the company into the ground right away, but they are putting too much focus into squeezing money out of their customers (which for strange reasons often coincides with building obstacles for developers) so that they are blocking the safe roads into the future. Well, with Ballmer we have already seen how this will end ...

[dpJudas]

Yes, the pattern is awfully similar. Bring out the popcorn. The final outcome for Apple could turn out much worse though - Microsoft still had their monopoly to save their asses, but I'm not so sure Apple will be as fortunate.

[Rachael]

I do not inherently wish the demise of Apple - however I would wish the demise of any company that makes such dangerous assumptions and attempts lock-ins like that for the sake of money.

I don't use Mac OS much, but from what little I have used it, it seems to be extremely solid, and I do like that. I also like the fact that it is built from a Unix core, and that it is the only commercial Unix system that is still available and being maintained, today.

I also like that (as far as I know) Apple didn't follow in Microsoft's risky trends with Windows 8 and try to turn their desktop PC's into mobile devices. I still don't like that I had to move the mouse to the corners of the screen in order to do anything on Windows 8.

But with this code-signing fuckery - yeah... that's pretty lame. As far as I know, nearly every feature that Mac OS X offers is also offered in Linux in some way, even if it is harder to find or to get to. So in the end they really are just hurting themselves by fucking over potential developers.

It would be nice if Apple just opened its doors and said fuck it - let everyone come in and develop software. Let's stop this corporate bureaucracy and give Microsoft something to actually worry about for competition. I think such a move would greatly improve both Windows and Mac OS, because nothing good ever happens when you have no real competition.

The worst thing that'll happen is maybe 1 or 2 Mac OS X viruses get discovered. Oh, the horror, someone might have to install AVG on a Mac. It's not like viruses haven't ever targeted Apple platforms before.

[Graf Zahl]

The problem with Apple is not their products per se, but that they are constantly being compromised to ensure effective vendor lock-in. With the iPhone it's already bad and if you had looked carefully, Apple has been gradully moving macOS into the same direction. The blocking of unsigned apps is another step into forcing the user to use the app store. Of course they can't do it now, but it's clear that Apple will erect ever increasing barriers to keep non-store apps out of their systems - and increasingly making their products incompatible with unlicensed peripherals.

It's the typical actions of a CEO who only goes for the money, and overlooks the big picture as a result.

[Major Cooke]

Apparently Windows might slowly start becoming guilty of this too. Although it hasn't occurred... yet.

[Rachael]

There was definitely an opportunity for it with Windows Store in Windows 8. If 8 hadn't been the colossal flop that it turned out to be, Microsoft would have progressed on this path a lot longer.

Good news, everyone! I've found a way to avert vendor lock-outs entirely!

Although Ubuntu is treading on a fine line, itself. It is ultimately run by a corporation, but if they do make the same mistakes you can always just go right back to Debian.

[Graf Zahl]

Nobody uses UWP. It's the same crap as the Modern API for Windows 8 and has flopped / will flop just the same. The API is just too castrated to be of any use and is utterly hostile toward platform independent code. And with the large amount of open source libraries around that alone is almost a guarantee that it never will leave the niche it caught itself in.

To be clear: UWP was the last ditch attempt to save Ballmer's vision - the main reason being that outright ditching it would not have gone well with financial investors. Same reason why Windows Phone hadn't been dumped yet. And in that context it makes sense. Beyond that it won't be enough to overcome the momentum behind Win32 development that's driven by the availability of a gigantic amount of code.

Microsoft knows very well that going that route would alienate a lot of disgruntled users who had been suffering through the Win8 fiasco in some way or another - driving them right away over toward Apple or even straight to Linux. And if Microsoft loses the monopoly on the desktop the game will be over for them. Just see how long people held out with XP - the same will happen with 7 and also 8.1 if 10 gets degraded like that guy claimed.

Oh, I am still on Windows 8.1 (Professional, so no free upgrade anyway) and certainly won't upgrade to 10 unless it becomes unavoidable.

[Rachael]

All my Pro systems had the free upgrade available. I only did Win10 for my laptop though because it is the newest system and I want it to continue being relevant in 5 years, even if it will probably be replaced by something else in that time.

I also didn't do it on my old Pro systems because they are VHD installs - something that's not supported by the Windows 10 upgrade (which is really strange...). I've found that keeping the entire operating system inside a single file is hugely efficient as far as system management goes - because it forces me to install programs on a much bigger hard drive and it keeps all OS-only stuff on a virtual hard drive. When the OS goes kaput (all of them inevitably do) - just delete the file and reinstall. It also saves me a lot of time since I don't have to manage partitions and worry about disk fragmentation.

Regardless, over the years I've learned to *never* keep my OS and data on the same partitions, anyway (although having a VHD on my data partition is fine), if I can avoid it.

Also - easy solution for Windows 10:

Code: Select all

sc stop wuauserv
sc config wuauserv start= disabled

I've probably said farewell to about 200 headaches already just doing that.

[Graf Zahl]

What's that doing?

[Rachael]

Turns off and disables Windows Update.

[Graf Zahl]

I'd rather stick with Win8.1 then. A system where updates need to be disabled is broken in my book.

[Major Cooke]

An even easier way, just turn on metered connection.

WIndows doesn't download updates on those.