Blind Not Dumb (Posts about apple)https://www.feoh.org/categories/apple.atom2024-01-21T01:02:41ZChris PattiNikolaThe walled garden is the future of computing.https://www.feoh.org/posts/the-walled-garden-is-the-future-of-computing.html2012-08-15T21:32:00-04:002012-08-15T21:32:00-04:00cpatti<p>These days it seems like almost everybody (at least almost everybody in the technology world) has made bashing Apple their new favorite past time.</p>
<p>One of the complaints I hear again and again is that Apple's mobile operating system that runs every iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch are designed based on the "walled garden" philosophy - meaning that you can only install approved apps on the device from Apple's App Store unless you throw all caution (and your warranty :)) and jailbreak your device.</p>
<p>Compare this to Google's Android OS where the user can install anything they want, from wherever they want from wherever they want, including some fairly insidious malware. I know I've been spammed two or three times by friends who had their Android phone's address book compromised. However even Google is making moves in more restrictive directions of late, but only in their app store, which you can ignore completely if you prefer.</p>
<p>What these geeks are missing is that for 99% of the population, the jail is <strong>a good thing!</strong> <em>People want their devices to be appliances</em>. They want to browse the web without fear, write their documents and spreadsheets unfettered by things like virus checking, file systems and storage devices, and play their games secure in the knowledge that they're not pulling in a Trojan that will send Nazi supremacist hate mail to their grandma and their boss.</p>
<p>The hard truth for many geeks to accept is that for end users, this represents pretty much the ideal computing experience. This goes way beyond Apple and iDevices and into the realm of general purpose computers like laptops mad desktops.</p>
<p>All one need do is examine the marketing blurbs for the latest OS versions from Apple and Microsoft to validate my claim. Windows 8 features required code signing for installed apps, effectively the beginnings of a walled garden of their own.</p>
<p>As I mentioned previously, Apple lead the charge into the walled garden future I'm predicting with IOS, but with tithe release of MacOS X Mountain Lion, they're filing the rough edges from the computing experience for desktop and laptop users as well.</p>
<p>Honestly it's been rather amusing to,watch the geek-o-sphere practically tremble with rage over this issue, ranting and roaring on about Apple's new found tyranny.</p>
<p>In truth I just don't get it. Gatekeeper can be bypassed with a single key press. What's the big deal? I predict that there will always continue to be trap doors and escape hatches for those who know enough to seek them out.</p>
<p>Apple is in fact not trying to impose some kind of Orwellian new world order and declaring a Jihad on geeks, they're just doing what they've always done, innovating the tech in ways that will improve the quality of life for the majority of users.</p>
<p>Simply put, geeks need to get over themselves. Computing has become such a part of the mainstream of every day life that people don't <strong>want or need</strong> to be beholden to the techno-priesthood any longer. To my mind, this is nothing but win. Over the long haul, it means we can get out of the business of being family tech support, and get back to playing with technology and having fun pushing the envelope!</p>Why Apple's Mac App Store will be good for the Machttps://www.feoh.org/posts/why-apples-mac-app-store-will-be-good-for-the-mac.html2011-06-21T14:19:00-04:002011-06-21T14:19:00-04:00cpatti<p>When Apple said they were introducing an "App Store" to OSX a-la the iPhone, iPad, etc. there was much ranting and foaming at the mouth...Many geeks proclaimed the death of Mac OS X as we know it. "Apple is iPhone-izing the Mac!" they cried.</p>
<p>They're largely wrong, at least in all the important ways.</p>
<p>Here are the salient points:</p>
<ul class="simple">
<li><p>Discovery - people are *far* more likely to purchase things that are available from a single, readily accessible source. Having a veritable floatilla of awesome software that's discoverable right from the Apple menu of every Mac means that if you're a publisher, people are FAR more likely to try your software. I myself found a free copy of Autodesk Sketchpad in the app store that I am very much enjoying. I might end up buying the commercial product as a result - possibly through the app store! (See caveats below for why I might choose the shrink wrapped version.)</p></li>
<li><p>Ease of installation - just like on the iPhone and iPad, you click "Buy" or "Install" and *BOOM* it's on your machine, happily bouncing in your dock. For non technical people, this is a godsend. They do not want to know about .dmg files, dragging apps to the Applications folder, or the like. Yes, I know, this is VASTLY easier than the folks in the Windows world have it with their highly complex installers, but even still.</p></li>
<li><p>One Stop Shopping for updates - Sure, lots of devs these days are bundling some kind of update mechanism into their apps, but this is once again - seamless and easy to use for non technical people.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Of course, every silver lining has a cloud attached, so there are a few down sides:</p>
<ul class="simple">
<li><p>Inflexible upgrade path - Apple has imposed rules around publishers app store offerings, I don't know all the details, but I do know that publishers are not happy. They want total control of how they monetize the sale of upgrades for their customers, and to a certain extent I can't blame them. Over all I think the net winner here is the consumer, so we'll see how many publishers sign up and grudgingly cope with the new rules.</p></li>
<li><p>Restrictive rules about permitted content - Nothing sexy, nothing violent, no Java or Rosetta, just like the IOS app store.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>From my perspective, people who object to the app store on OSX are on shaky ground, because unlike the IOS world where the app store is the ONLY way to get apps, the app store on OSX isn't. You can still install apps the old fashioned way, and Apple has given <em>no</em> indocation that they intend to do this now or at any time in the future. I don't think it's in their best interest to do this, and I think people who are predicting imminent doom really need to get their collective head checked.</p>
<p>Then again, geeks do have a propensity for hysterics.</p>
<p>To sum up, I think everyone (publishers, consumers, and the wider Mac community) has everything to gain and nothing to lose from the app store, and I for one welcome the addition.</p>Apparently hell froze over - Apple made Safari into a usable web browser!https://www.feoh.org/posts/apparently-hell-froze-over-apple-made-safari-into-a-usable-web-browser.html2008-03-18T11:37:00-04:002008-03-18T11:37:00-04:00cpatti<p>For a long time I have *wanted* to be a Safari user...</p>
<p>But every time I would try I would end up using it for 5 minutes and then find myself butting heads with a site that's entirely unreadable using it.</p>
<p>My hard core Mac zealot friends would wave their arms and say "BUT THOSE SITES AREN'T STANDARDS CONFORMANT!" which is probably true, but there are times I simply want to be an end user, and web browsing is one of them.</p>
<p>Happily, with version 1.3 Apple seems to have improved the HTML, CSS and Javascript rendering support enough that all of the sites that I tested which used to fail utterly or render useless results under older versions now work like a charm.</p>
<p>Kudos to Apple for having had the sense to bring their default web browser for OSX up to the excellent user experience standards exhibited by the rest of its environment.</p>