Note: I'll be getting those photos
sorted soon enough. They're uploaded, but I just
can't be bothered with the markup right now...
I, recently, was assigned a brand-new Macbook
Pro at work. We're getting a bunch of new-hires in
that will be using them, so we need to ensure
they'll work with our enviornment. While that's
not really a concern of mine, I understood that
this came from higher up on the food chain, and
did what I needed to do.
One thing I like to pride myself on is being
versitile. I can use lots of different operating
environments and still be mostly productive. While
I have a some Windows-centric things for my
position, the rest is mostly just email and phone
calls.
For a lot of my life, I was an Apple user. I
had a big 'ole Grey iMac G3 and a Powerbook G4 as
well as varying newer models. I've also been a
long time iPhone user, which makes being a Mac
user an easy decision, especially as the two
platforms have grown closer. I've also been a
frequent Linux user and a professional Windows
support jockey. Finding middle ground between all
of these platforms hasn't been easy, and usually
takes a heaping amount of compromise.
Recently, though I can't find the blog post it
was in, I expressed interest in going "all in"
with Apple. I already use their phones, their
music and movies, I may as well settle in for a
well integrated (at the cost of being more
flexible) experience and let my fortunes be what
it may.
However. I spent a decent amount of time poking
around in the newer versions of macOS, only to be
disapointed at how stripped down it has
become. Sure, I could rely on Homebrew to paper
over some of that, but it feels like I'm either no
longer the target demographic, or I'm fooling
myself into believing that I'm something that I'm
not. Recently, I feel like it could be either of
those things.
Reading that Apple is stripping out all
scripting languages like Python, Perl, Ruby and
more is disheartening, but it doesn't really
affect me. As I've said before: I'm not a
programmer. I do, however, feel like just
knowing this strips some of the luster away. Sure,
their hardware feels great, and the performance is
impressive, but to what end? I'm just a regular
power user, now. I write some HTML and CSS, tinker
with some configuration, and read comics and the
news. Isn't it time I get real and choose a
platform that emphasises those
experiences?
I wish it were as simple as that. Having a
Linux machine tells me that freedom is liberating,
if exhausting. Windows tells me that a consistent,
long-term experience is a value in-of-its-own. Mac
tells me that for better or worse, we're all going
to be shoehorned into choices that we may not on
the surface like, but fit ourselves
better.
Computers really are something awful.