I should clarify. OSX has the same potential functionality as any flavor of BSD, but the GUI is designed to hide it. It's part of Apple's "get it out of the way" philosophy. Their products are designed to be used in the way they intend, so those things they expect (or want) people to do is easy, but the side effect is that going any deeper is fraught with stumbling blocks. The programming guidelines are littered with "don't let the user know this, don't let them see that, never let them even think this..."
Simplicity and depth/flexibility are often incompatible, and Apple takes it to an extreme. Very few controls are exposed, and many are simply inaccessible. Tasks that in windows are a simple matter of opening the control panel, in OSX require opening a terminal and going far deeper than a typical user would be comfortable with.
Hardware wise, well, we have a staff member for whom we recently got a MacBook Pro. We had to get an overpriced adapter so she could be wired into the network. No ethernet port on a high-end laptop.
That's right, no ethernet port.
That might be okay for hipsters who spend all day in a coffee shop showing off their ability to afford a Mac while pretending to be writers, but in an office it's an obscene oversight.
So perhaps then it isn't the design of the software or the hardware, but the overall aesthetic. Both the Air and OSX are "pretty", but lacking in functionality. There's also an (undeserved) reputation for ease of use to consider, which ties back into the lack of functionality/flexibility.
Well, I agree with a large part of what you're saying, but you aren't factoring in the hardware design. What's a MacBook Air but a mediocre laptop in a very carefully, artfully, designed case? Leaving aside the absence of functional things like ports, it's a beautiful design. First time I ever opened a Mac Pro, I was impressed. The components were nothing special, but the layout and attention to detail certainly was. Fan cowlings directing airflow through separate heat/ventilation zones, unobtrusive cable management, dust covers.... At the time it was hands-down the best case I ever laid hands on. Probably still better than any under $600. Still not worth $1000 over the price of a comparable PC, or dealing with that lousy OS, but beautiful nonetheless.
Wow, awesome points! I hadn't considered it that way, but it makes perfect sense. Enterprise systems require a depth of configurability/customizability that Apple flat out rejects despite their pretense of individuality. They don't do flexibility, and from an enterprise IT standpoint, that's not good. Not so good at security either.
Well, enterprises don't want to pay 50% or more for comparable hardware on the basis of aesthetics. So even though Apple does make servers, nobody wants them. I have seen them though. Only the once, but it happened.
Maybe now, but not always. Steve Wozniak was a groundbreaker, and put Apple ahead in substance. Jobs was too focused on style, which is pretty much the only thing Macs still have going for them.
Well, it was the fastest browser at one point. Even on Windows. So I started using it for a while and really liked it. Then it stopped being the fastest and started taking forever to start instead. By then Chrome was much faster in both respects so I changed over. Never really liked firefox. I think it reminds me too much of Netscape.
Well, it's been 0% of mine and I don't keep it a secret, so... Yes, I can say that with a straight face. Though a flash of disdain may briefly cross as I process the inanity.
Really? "A belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human racial groups determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to dominate others or that a particular racial group is inferior to the others."? (dictionary.com)
I don't really think computers can reach that definition.
That atmosphere can be changed. CO2 -> C+O2 is easy if you have cyanobacteria and sunlight. Throw in some sulphur eating bacteria, and wait. It wouldn't smell all that great, but it could work.
Stress can be depressing, and creativity correlates with chronic depression. No surprise that depressed people could have a great idea to turn into a startup, or that the stress of doing so could express as depression. In the case of BiPolar disorder, that manic phase has obvious advantages for an entrepreneur, but people with BPD rarely consider themselves depressed.
As a personal note - excessive, semi-random use of rhetorical/grammatical tools like "scare quotes" also correlates to BPD. Combine that with starting a number of successful businesses during periods of high-energy, optimism and a sense of operating at a mental optimum, along with phases of crippling depression, and you've pretty much announced that you have BPD. I'll be the armchair asshat who says it - you just described the symptoms perfectly. No criticism, no shaming, I'm just going to recommend you repeat that to a psychiatrist.
My name is Matt, and I suffer from Major Depressive Disorder.
It sucks, but it's common enough that I don't feel stigmatized. Although it could just be that my Wellbutrin is doing the trick (so did Paxil, but the sexual side effects were intolerable. Ruined a relationship or two, which was depressing). That sense of being stigmatized could just be another way your depression is expressing itself.
Depression does seem to correlate with creativity though.
I wholeheartedly agree! Venus is a much, much better target for terraforming. Mars can't even hold an atmosphere, Venus already has one. We just need to fix it.
Although it would really stink for the first colonists.
Slashdot Mirror
Simplicity and depth/flexibility are often incompatible, and Apple takes it to an extreme. Very few controls are exposed, and many are simply inaccessible. Tasks that in windows are a simple matter of opening the control panel, in OSX require opening a terminal and going far deeper than a typical user would be comfortable with.
Hardware wise, well, we have a staff member for whom we recently got a MacBook Pro. We had to get an overpriced adapter so she could be wired into the network. No ethernet port on a high-end laptop.
That's right, no ethernet port.
That might be okay for hipsters who spend all day in a coffee shop showing off their ability to afford a Mac while pretending to be writers, but in an office it's an obscene oversight.
Ever read something written by someone with BPD during one of the extremes? Reading case studies was a hobby of mine. They can be a lot of fun.
So perhaps then it isn't the design of the software or the hardware, but the overall aesthetic. Both the Air and OSX are "pretty", but lacking in functionality. There's also an (undeserved) reputation for ease of use to consider, which ties back into the lack of functionality/flexibility.
Thank you life, for being so damn funny.
Well, I agree with a large part of what you're saying, but you aren't factoring in the hardware design. What's a MacBook Air but a mediocre laptop in a very carefully, artfully, designed case? Leaving aside the absence of functional things like ports, it's a beautiful design. First time I ever opened a Mac Pro, I was impressed. The components were nothing special, but the layout and attention to detail certainly was. Fan cowlings directing airflow through separate heat/ventilation zones, unobtrusive cable management, dust covers.... At the time it was hands-down the best case I ever laid hands on. Probably still better than any under $600. Still not worth $1000 over the price of a comparable PC, or dealing with that lousy OS, but beautiful nonetheless.
Oh... wait... Nevermind.
Wow, awesome points! I hadn't considered it that way, but it makes perfect sense. Enterprise systems require a depth of configurability/customizability that Apple flat out rejects despite their pretense of individuality. They don't do flexibility, and from an enterprise IT standpoint, that's not good. Not so good at security either.
Well, enterprises don't want to pay 50% or more for comparable hardware on the basis of aesthetics. So even though Apple does make servers, nobody wants them. I have seen them though. Only the once, but it happened.
Maybe now, but not always. Steve Wozniak was a groundbreaker, and put Apple ahead in substance. Jobs was too focused on style, which is pretty much the only thing Macs still have going for them.
I thought they ended when Woz left.
Well, it was the fastest browser at one point. Even on Windows. So I started using it for a while and really liked it. Then it stopped being the fastest and started taking forever to start instead. By then Chrome was much faster in both respects so I changed over. Never really liked firefox. I think it reminds me too much of Netscape.
Interesting. I'm neither Canadian nor a victim of moose-rape, but a moose did bite my sister once...
No, but suggesting that a majority of employers would do so certainly is. Even if it wouldn't expose them to costly lawsuits.
But your use of scare quotes is still ridiculous.
Damn. That does make me feel old.
Well, it's been 0% of mine and I don't keep it a secret, so... Yes, I can say that with a straight face. Though a flash of disdain may briefly cross as I process the inanity.
I don't really think computers can reach that definition.
That atmosphere can be changed. CO2 -> C+O2 is easy if you have cyanobacteria and sunlight. Throw in some sulphur eating bacteria, and wait. It wouldn't smell all that great, but it could work.
With MMX?
As a personal note - excessive, semi-random use of rhetorical/grammatical tools like "scare quotes" also correlates to BPD. Combine that with starting a number of successful businesses during periods of high-energy, optimism and a sense of operating at a mental optimum, along with phases of crippling depression, and you've pretty much announced that you have BPD. I'll be the armchair asshat who says it - you just described the symptoms perfectly. No criticism, no shaming, I'm just going to recommend you repeat that to a psychiatrist.
Wow, you sound depressed.
It sucks, but it's common enough that I don't feel stigmatized. Although it could just be that my Wellbutrin is doing the trick (so did Paxil, but the sexual side effects were intolerable. Ruined a relationship or two, which was depressing). That sense of being stigmatized could just be another way your depression is expressing itself.
Depression does seem to correlate with creativity though.
Stress. Could just be that 30% of people faced with high levels of stress react by sinking into depression. I know it happens to me.
We can't do both? Mightn't researching how to terraform an uninhabitable planet lead to valuable insights into how to "unfuck" ours?
Although it would really stink for the first colonists.