Comments on: Please stop pretending any operating system “just works” http://andrewski.net/2008/11/please-stop-pretending-any-operating-system-%e2%80%9cjust-works%e2%80%9d/ Coming soon in three dimensions Tue, 23 Aug 2011 03:46:56 +0000 hourly 1 By: Andrew http://andrewski.net/2008/11/please-stop-pretending-any-operating-system-%e2%80%9cjust-works%e2%80%9d/comment-page-1/#comment-325 Andrew Fri, 14 Nov 2008 01:29:43 +0000 http://andrewski.net/2008/11/please-stop-pretending-any-operating-system-%e2%80%9cjust-works%e2%80%9d/#comment-325 That's fair. Though I'd argue that for the most part Ubuntu succeeds with that same out-of-the-box (well, "freshly installed") experience. And half the problem you'll see are because Ubuntu (and Linux) have a much loftier goal: consistency on all hardware. Apple doesn't care about non-Apple hardware. (And while the experience is better, I don't appreciate the narrow-minded goal.) But that reminds me of that article I read a while ago about the dock: <a href="http://www.asktog.com/columns/044top10docksucks.html" rel="nofollow">Top Ten Nine Reasons the Apple Dock Still Sucks</a>. "It makes for a great demo, but not a great product." In general, that's how I feel about OS X: it's a great out-of-the-box OS, and integrates with Apple things (iPods/iPhones, iTunes, iLife/iWork, etc.) <i>very</i> well. But overall the experience feels limiting. A lot of times, I can't do in OS X what I can in GNOME. Obviously that's not the case for everyone, and I won't try to convince them (for the most part ;)). The thing I appreciate about this quote is that it almost completely nullifies any argument of this OS over that one. That’s fair. Though I’d argue that for the most part Ubuntu succeeds with that same out-of-the-box (well, “freshly installed”) experience. And half the problem you’ll see are because Ubuntu (and Linux) have a much loftier goal: consistency on all hardware. Apple doesn’t care about non-Apple hardware. (And while the experience is better, I don’t appreciate the narrow-minded goal.)

But that reminds me of that article I read a while ago about the dock: Top Ten Nine Reasons the Apple Dock Still Sucks. “It makes for a great demo, but not a great product.” In general, that’s how I feel about OS X: it’s a great out-of-the-box OS, and integrates with Apple things (iPods/iPhones, iTunes, iLife/iWork, etc.) very well. But overall the experience feels limiting. A lot of times, I can’t do in OS X what I can in GNOME. Obviously that’s not the case for everyone, and I won’t try to convince them (for the most part ;) ).

The thing I appreciate about this quote is that it almost completely nullifies any argument of this OS over that one.

]]> By: Zach http://andrewski.net/2008/11/please-stop-pretending-any-operating-system-%e2%80%9cjust-works%e2%80%9d/comment-page-1/#comment-324 Zach Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:59:00 +0000 http://andrewski.net/2008/11/please-stop-pretending-any-operating-system-%e2%80%9cjust-works%e2%80%9d/#comment-324 Not to start a flame war, but I think that Mac users refer to something very specific when they talk about Macs "just working." It is that you can take a Mac out of the box, turn it on, and within minutes you are working. There's no crapware to turn off/remove, few, if any, drivers to install, no tracking down software in repos, no hardware incompatibilities, no terminal. It is working. It's not that Macs are problem free. The "just works" refers to the beginning, less than overall user experience. Not to start a flame war, but I think that Mac users refer to something very specific when they talk about Macs “just working.” It is that you can take a Mac out of the box, turn it on, and within minutes you are working. There’s no crapware to turn off/remove, few, if any, drivers to install, no tracking down software in repos, no hardware incompatibilities, no terminal. It is working. It’s not that Macs are problem free. The “just works” refers to the beginning, less than overall user experience.

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