I'm late to the party here, but here's my opinion.
Even back when I worked as a Systems Engineer in the Apple ecosystem- their hardware was a generation behind, more expensive, and landlocked to their own OS.
That doesn't mean that weren't a great computing platform. But in today's ecosystem I'm not sure that business model works so well. And I'm pretty sure Apple doesn't care since the bulk of their profits come from elsewhere.
What Apple and other companies are missing, is that now is the time to *invest* in the desktop space. With VR coming into vogue, alternative OS availability, strong gaming, and the semi-demise of Microsoft- it's time to embrace the desktop rather than run from it. The platform is far from finished, still has incalculable advantages in performance, and has many uses not even dreamed of yet.
But Apple, in my historical opinion, stopped trying to lead shortly after the release of OS 10- which had great promise. I've still got the alpha and developer releases on CD- and yes it runs on generic x86.
So we'll see the death of the Apple platform unless they invest heavily in newer technologies. But they've been so engorged with cash from the iPhone that they will not see this vision. The smart move would be to move OS X onto commodity hardware.
But I do not think that will happen. Rather they will milk the desktop for whatever they perceive to be left- and when the desktop platform roars to live with a new killer app- they'll be left flatfooted.
And... um.... VR is kind of doing that now. It remains to be seen if that will be sustained.
I remember this like it was yesterday. Was four and a half years old, and I watched the landing with my father.
My dad was a pretty brilliant guy in the technology of the time. And he had tears welling up in his eyes when seeing Armstrong jump off the ladder to the lunar surface.
I remember his words to me: “We did it...”. Then he sobbed for a while but was ashamed of having his emotions that close to the surface.
Dad was a pretty smart guy in the high tech of those days. And he understood exactly how big this achievement was. He knew how hard the work was to do it. A lot of people in our family were involved in technology- it felt like the family had a part in it (and in fact my uncle educated NASA engineers in electronic engineering).
To this day, it is the most important moment in my life. It set the tone for everything I did in the future. And led to a career in technology.
That day- was perhaps my greatest lesson learned. It influenced countless other people I know in technology as well.
Ok... aside form the possible tax implications we may or may not have to deal with...
We've de-funded NASA, the National Endowment for the Arts, education in general, and the state university system.
All we'd have to do is fund those items fully- and ten years later we *might* be able to consider some form of UBI. But not before the infrastructure needed to support it is in place. And it's probably a bad overall idea.
This seems a better investment to me: Make education easier, fund creativeness (a singular American strength), fund science, and fund space exploration.
That's a winning combination for any economy.
UBI is a nice idea for countries who have their economy in order with the goal of long term prosperity. The USA does not manage it's economy for long term goals. It simply tries to survive....
(As a note I do support social security and disability benefits for those who qualify for it.)
I'm going to go ahead and agree with you. I'm semi-retired. And while I still play with computers- the thought of going back into IT makes my stomach turn.
It's also true that the IT business has changed so much and is now driven by certifications and buzz-words rather than by talent or skill. Heck when I started working for a Fortune 100 in the mid 1990s I didn't even give out a resume. I had a *reputation*.
It was only after the housing crisis and economic meltdown that I needed a resume. Apparently, financial meltdowns make a persons over qualified or too expensive. One interview I went to had me seated with three other guys in a waiting room. I knew two of the guys- both of them thought if I was there that they would not get hired. But apparently the three of us were not hired- but rather the recent college grad we didn't know. He probably worked cheap and had the right certs.
But regarding what programming language- I'd use the lowest level one which pragmatically makes sense.
Been in the same boat. And just decided to retire. Was outsourced in the middle of the housing crisis- and never found a damn thing.
I'm a systems engineer and network security guy. Wrote my first program in 1979.
So I built an amateur radio station, and started writing ham software. Definitely not the big check or company car I was used to. Luckily the house is paid off and I don't have to work unless I want to.
With the press, political garbage, continued military actions, bad economy and the apparent focus on material wealth- who would expect a different outcome?
People need stability, security, and community to really thrive. This country has not promoted those values.
This shouldn't be framed as a political or religious problem- it's a lack of decency. It means that as individuals we've simply stopped caring. Societies rise and fall based on how people treat others on a daily basis. We treat each other badly. Some people will decide to leave. Some will take their lives. Some just take it. Those who complain are called whiners.
You can in fact beat a person to the point where they prefer death. The beatings in the USA are done by a million paper cuts.
The federal government will try to take Apple apart piece by piece: in court, in the press, and perhaps by brain drain from people leaving.
To the government, it's very important to set a precedent where companies have to comply, in all circumstances, with any and all requests for technical assistance- regardless of the true legality. So expect ongoing government behavior to accomplish these goals.
If engineers quit over this, good for them. If Apple makes it out relatively unscathed- I'll be content.
This particular issue- might damage the company and US tech industry in ways we've not even considered yet. Consider the idea that encryption technology moves offshore from the US. Consider the competitive disadvantage if foreign encryption schemes need to be used rather than home grown ones. Would US companies be competitive? Would secure foreign technologies even be available in the US?
This whole thing is dangerous in the long term. Apple better win this or the face of technology changes in the USA.
Slashdot Mirror
That really stinks. Baker was a nice man and very open to his fans. He was also in Time Bandits- another beloved movie.
At the very least- you could say he was a man who didn't make the world a worse place, Though I suspect he did far better than that.
RIP Kenny.
I'm not old. What an asshat statement.
Ageism on Slashdot? Pathetic.
I'm late to the party here, but here's my opinion.
Even back when I worked as a Systems Engineer in the Apple ecosystem- their hardware was a generation behind, more expensive, and landlocked to their own OS.
That doesn't mean that weren't a great computing platform. But in today's ecosystem I'm not sure that business model works so well. And I'm pretty sure Apple doesn't care since the bulk of their profits come from elsewhere.
What Apple and other companies are missing, is that now is the time to *invest* in the desktop space. With VR coming into vogue, alternative OS availability, strong gaming, and the semi-demise of Microsoft- it's time to embrace the desktop rather than run from it. The platform is far from finished, still has incalculable advantages in performance, and has many uses not even dreamed of yet.
But Apple, in my historical opinion, stopped trying to lead shortly after the release of OS 10- which had great promise. I've still got the alpha and developer releases on CD- and yes it runs on generic x86.
So we'll see the death of the Apple platform unless they invest heavily in newer technologies. But they've been so engorged with cash from the iPhone that they will not see this vision. The smart move would be to move OS X onto commodity hardware.
But I do not think that will happen. Rather they will milk the desktop for whatever they perceive to be left- and when the desktop platform roars to live with a new killer app- they'll be left flatfooted.
And... um.... VR is kind of doing that now. It remains to be seen if that will be sustained.
I remember this like it was yesterday. Was four and a half years old, and I watched the landing with my father.
My dad was a pretty brilliant guy in the technology of the time. And he had tears welling up in his eyes when seeing Armstrong jump off the ladder to the lunar surface.
I remember his words to me: “We did it...”. Then he sobbed for a while but was ashamed of having his emotions that close to the surface.
Dad was a pretty smart guy in the high tech of those days. And he understood exactly how big this achievement was. He knew how hard the work was to do it. A lot of people in our family were involved in technology- it felt like the family had a part in it (and in fact my uncle educated NASA engineers in electronic engineering).
To this day, it is the most important moment in my life. It set the tone for everything I did in the future. And led to a career in technology.
That day- was perhaps my greatest lesson learned. It influenced countless other people I know in technology as well.
My proudest day as an American.
I'm pretty sure *you* can't do the math considering the drugs you must be taking.
Ok... aside form the possible tax implications we may or may not have to deal with...
We've de-funded NASA, the National Endowment for the Arts, education in general, and the state university system.
All we'd have to do is fund those items fully- and ten years later we *might* be able to consider some form of UBI. But not before the infrastructure needed to support it is in place. And it's probably a bad overall idea.
This seems a better investment to me: Make education easier, fund creativeness (a singular American strength), fund science, and fund space exploration.
That's a winning combination for any economy.
UBI is a nice idea for countries who have their economy in order with the goal of long term prosperity. The USA does not manage it's economy for long term goals. It simply tries to survive....
(As a note I do support social security and disability benefits for those who qualify for it.)
I'm going to go ahead and agree with you. I'm semi-retired. And while I still play with computers- the thought of going back into IT makes my stomach turn.
It's also true that the IT business has changed so much and is now driven by certifications and buzz-words rather than by talent or skill. Heck when I started working for a Fortune 100 in the mid 1990s I didn't even give out a resume. I had a *reputation*.
It was only after the housing crisis and economic meltdown that I needed a resume. Apparently, financial meltdowns make a persons over qualified or too expensive. One interview I went to had me seated with three other guys in a waiting room. I knew two of the guys- both of them thought if I was there that they would not get hired. But apparently the three of us were not hired- but rather the recent college grad we didn't know. He probably worked cheap and had the right certs.
But regarding what programming language- I'd use the lowest level one which pragmatically makes sense.
In other news... water is wet, cheese is good, and just breaking: there's a sale at Pennies....
This matters? WTH?
With everything going on in the tech world should we be worried about a lawsuit about Trumps hair?
We. Are. Doomed.
"Ban People"
Will fix everything.
Finally someone is going to push us off this rock.
We stopped space exploration in the 1970s and never really returned. It's about time to start doing amazing things again.
Yes- people are going to die. And those who take the risk will understand the possible sacrifice for pushing our species forward.
Thank you in advance.
Gosh... I've got 16Gb of RAM on my PC 6 of which is never used.
Please use my memory and give me more thread... please.
Firefox is such a performance dog and they are trying to sell small footprint?
Sorry- I think Firefox is a hideous browser.
You don't even understand what the Fermi Paradox is. It actually supports your argument. Which is a garbage argument.
But the real bullshit? It when pseudo intellectuals try to make sweeping claims based on nothing.
Go crawl back into the dark ages and let the big boys get back to work.
I've been a systems engineer since 1995, and before that worked networks and as a technician.
Based on my experience with the reliability of Microsoft products: I will never EVER put my life in the hands of Microsoft.
If the car runs Windows (or a Microsoft product) I won't own it or ride in it. Simple self preservation.
Not at all... this is the end game. Wait and watch. The owners of this country are now able to elect one of their own.
"So this is how liberty dies... with thunderous applause..."
Enjoy the slide down my dear countrymen. It's Mr. Toad's wild ride from here on out. Enjoy the political litmus tests and loyalty oaths...
So a doctor is giving two people head at once!!!!
Been in the same boat. And just decided to retire. Was outsourced in the middle of the housing crisis- and never found a damn thing.
I'm a systems engineer and network security guy. Wrote my first program in 1979.
So I built an amateur radio station, and started writing ham software. Definitely not the big check or company car I was used to. Luckily the house is paid off and I don't have to work unless I want to.
Hope you find a happy place soon bro.
With the press, political garbage, continued military actions, bad economy and the apparent focus on material wealth- who would expect a different outcome?
People need stability, security, and community to really thrive. This country has not promoted those values.
This shouldn't be framed as a political or religious problem- it's a lack of decency. It means that as individuals we've simply stopped caring. Societies rise and fall based on how people treat others on a daily basis. We treat each other badly. Some people will decide to leave. Some will take their lives. Some just take it. Those who complain are called whiners.
You can in fact beat a person to the point where they prefer death. The beatings in the USA are done by a million paper cuts.
The federal government will try to take Apple apart piece by piece: in court, in the press, and perhaps by brain drain from people leaving.
To the government, it's very important to set a precedent where companies have to comply, in all circumstances, with any and all requests for technical assistance- regardless of the true legality. So expect ongoing government behavior to accomplish these goals.
If engineers quit over this, good for them. If Apple makes it out relatively unscathed- I'll be content.
This particular issue- might damage the company and US tech industry in ways we've not even considered yet. Consider the idea that encryption technology moves offshore from the US. Consider the competitive disadvantage if foreign encryption schemes need to be used rather than home grown ones. Would US companies be competitive? Would secure foreign technologies even be available in the US?
This whole thing is dangerous in the long term. Apple better win this or the face of technology changes in the USA.
.... there is a lot of encrypted source code.
Seriously... they won't give up those keys either. And those keys are far more difficult to crack.
I would mod you up but I can't use points in a thread I've posted in.
Excellent post.
Someone watched a movie.
You're totally right. They are a great company. They just aren't a computer company anymore.
Good points. But they need to take that OS and put it on everything. They tried it once and Jobs killed it (one of his few mistakes).
It needs to happen again or the platform dies.