Why Apple is Getting On My Dark Side
I like Apple. Or, at least, I like the old Apple. I liked the pre-Leopard Apple. If you had asked me in highschool if I was for Mac or Windows, I would have said Mac immediately. Recently, however, I find it hard to say that I'm a Mac user without sighing.
When I got my first computer, it was a Unix based system. Nothing too complicated, but I didn't need anything complicated. When I got my first Apple computer, it was a Blue ad White G3. It came pre-installed with Mac OS 9. I didn't like Os 9 very much for anything but playing Warcraft 2, so I installed Mac OS X Tiger on it, too. Mac OS X Tiger was great. It gave me a lot of creative freedom. I could run all of the programs that came with Tiger, from iMovie to Garageband. I was also able to use Appleworks, a no-nonsense document, spreadsheet, drawing, and painting editor. Of all the programs I used, I used Appleworks the most.
Besides using Appleworks, I also used iTunes. I originally used it for playing the music off of the CDs I ripped while I was doing homework, but, after getting a refurb iPod Mini, I discovered podcasts. I was soon using iTunes to get Japanese language podcasts, animation podcasts, and a variety of others. iTunes was nice. I wasn't just limited to my own music, either. I could easily connect to my dad's computer and easily pull over the songs I liked. But then, I updated iTunes. For some reason I couldn't fathom, I couldn't drag songs over from my dad's library to my own. I could drag songs off of my iPod that I's lost in my computer. Eventually, I couldn't connect to my dad's library at all and, shortly after, I could no longer use the iTunes store, not even to download the new podcast episodes for the podcasts I was all ready subscribed to. Now this only started happening around three or so years ago.
Appleworks, the creative program that came with every Mac, was discontinued. Instead of getting a free, serviceable program for basic word processing and picture editing tasks, you had to pay for iWork, a program that is difficult to use, finicky in its controls, and confusing with all it's menus. For a program that's supposed to be better than the old, free version with all its features, it doesn't have the features in an easily accessible format.
iMovie, a program I regularly use for compiling together my animations, has been discontinued in favor of an expensive program that has the same sorts of faults as iWork as the replacement for Appleworks. Even though iMovie has only recently been discontinued, it is not supported by Apple. In fact, they released a version of it that is broken, forcing you to either buy the expensive program or forget the idea entirely. Personally, I'm in favor of giving up Apple entirely and migrating to Linux. Linux has a variety of free programs available to the users. The programs are generally free, are updated and fixed by their users, and have the technical and moral support of a community of users behind it.
Now, I'll admit, I've been using Tiger exclusively ever since I got my G3 and later my mini. I anticipated a bit of deprecation of loss of support for the old programs. But, I also anticipated better, faster, stronger Mac OSs, programs, and technical support. I've been terrified to use Leopard because I'd have to give up all the programs and versions that I use. If I thought I'd be moving on to something better, I mightn't have minded. I've only recently upgraded to Snow Leopard because of the newer programs I use. Because I'm into computer animation, I like using some of the tools that are more recent than, say, Sculpt 3D. Miku Miku Dance is a program I've recent;ly become interested in. I wanted to use Wine as a Windows emulator so that I could run it. There are a range of other programs I want to take advantage of, as well, web browsing being among them.
So, this Monday, I decided to bite the bullet and install Snow Leopard. Nothing bad has happened to me yet, but I'm still holding my breath. I wouldn't trust Apple with my lunch box, let alone my work computer.
When I got my first computer, it was a Unix based system. Nothing too complicated, but I didn't need anything complicated. When I got my first Apple computer, it was a Blue ad White G3. It came pre-installed with Mac OS 9. I didn't like Os 9 very much for anything but playing Warcraft 2, so I installed Mac OS X Tiger on it, too. Mac OS X Tiger was great. It gave me a lot of creative freedom. I could run all of the programs that came with Tiger, from iMovie to Garageband. I was also able to use Appleworks, a no-nonsense document, spreadsheet, drawing, and painting editor. Of all the programs I used, I used Appleworks the most.
Besides using Appleworks, I also used iTunes. I originally used it for playing the music off of the CDs I ripped while I was doing homework, but, after getting a refurb iPod Mini, I discovered podcasts. I was soon using iTunes to get Japanese language podcasts, animation podcasts, and a variety of others. iTunes was nice. I wasn't just limited to my own music, either. I could easily connect to my dad's computer and easily pull over the songs I liked. But then, I updated iTunes. For some reason I couldn't fathom, I couldn't drag songs over from my dad's library to my own. I could drag songs off of my iPod that I's lost in my computer. Eventually, I couldn't connect to my dad's library at all and, shortly after, I could no longer use the iTunes store, not even to download the new podcast episodes for the podcasts I was all ready subscribed to. Now this only started happening around three or so years ago.
Appleworks, the creative program that came with every Mac, was discontinued. Instead of getting a free, serviceable program for basic word processing and picture editing tasks, you had to pay for iWork, a program that is difficult to use, finicky in its controls, and confusing with all it's menus. For a program that's supposed to be better than the old, free version with all its features, it doesn't have the features in an easily accessible format.
iMovie, a program I regularly use for compiling together my animations, has been discontinued in favor of an expensive program that has the same sorts of faults as iWork as the replacement for Appleworks. Even though iMovie has only recently been discontinued, it is not supported by Apple. In fact, they released a version of it that is broken, forcing you to either buy the expensive program or forget the idea entirely. Personally, I'm in favor of giving up Apple entirely and migrating to Linux. Linux has a variety of free programs available to the users. The programs are generally free, are updated and fixed by their users, and have the technical and moral support of a community of users behind it.
Now, I'll admit, I've been using Tiger exclusively ever since I got my G3 and later my mini. I anticipated a bit of deprecation of loss of support for the old programs. But, I also anticipated better, faster, stronger Mac OSs, programs, and technical support. I've been terrified to use Leopard because I'd have to give up all the programs and versions that I use. If I thought I'd be moving on to something better, I mightn't have minded. I've only recently upgraded to Snow Leopard because of the newer programs I use. Because I'm into computer animation, I like using some of the tools that are more recent than, say, Sculpt 3D. Miku Miku Dance is a program I've recent;ly become interested in. I wanted to use Wine as a Windows emulator so that I could run it. There are a range of other programs I want to take advantage of, as well, web browsing being among them.
So, this Monday, I decided to bite the bullet and install Snow Leopard. Nothing bad has happened to me yet, but I'm still holding my breath. I wouldn't trust Apple with my lunch box, let alone my work computer.
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