Apple Planned Obsolescence

It is all about the money. You'll get no argument from me.

 

That could well be the case. I don't hate Windows at all, but I do feel it gets in the way a lot worse than Mac OS does. For me, Mac OS generally "disappears" when I'm actually using it for day-to-day stuff. Windows to me is always a kludge and a drag. I concede that it largely boils down to personal taste, and I don't dispute that Windows can still be useful for certain things.

The problem I encounter is with neophyte producers and directors who believe that because they have the software and hardware, they have the skill and talent to use them. It's rarely the case these days. I subscribe to the belief that it takes 10,000 hours of work to become an expert at a lot of things, and I would put directing, editing, sound mixing, color-correction, and VFX on that list. Once in a blue moon, you see a neophyte writer hit one out of the park, but even that's rare. And the software did very little of the work when it comes to writing.

60 Minutes did a sobering story some years back about how most of the nuclear launch stations operated by the U.S. military around North America are all controlled by floppy-disk-based CP/M systems dating back to the 1970s. They said that in a way, this is actually safer because the risk of getting a virus is almost nonexistent, plus none of the systems are connected to the internet. Still, it's scary to think that if a 10-cent floppy disk doesn't read, an H-Bomb could accidentally launch (or not launch when we need it to).

 

My prices are all stated on my website which is how a lot of customers come to me. It was discussed what they wanted, a HDD swap and a rebuild. That particular job I knocked £20 off before I invoiced them as it was for me a novelty.

He was just trying it on and wanted it done for nothing. Some customers are like that, luckily not many. I didn't give in.

Anyway moving on...

 

Exactly. My Apple repair guys had folks queued round the block to get kit fixed and serviced but the way more modern Apple kit is made and the increase as you say in phones and tablets just meant supporting it became too time consuming and not economically viable for them.

Where it would take me 10 mins tops to swap out a HDD or a graphics card it would take them upwards of two hours and then have to carefully replace double sided tape, glue etc. etc. to put it all back.

Plus I think a future life of mainly replacing broken iPad and iPhone screens was not something to look forward to.

Just the nature of the beast.

 

Having been a software engineer for the past 15 years, I find Microsoft's explanation very likely. I see bad code that fails to consider future scenarios all the time. I could totally see the following code having been written in the late 90's:

If Left$(sVersion, 1) = "9" Then
'Assume Windows 95 or 98
End If

 

Apple does produce hardware that supports the past.
Even when changing architecture from PPC to Intel, they had an emulator to run old software. The question is ....how long are they supposed to keep dragging old code along? I think they've been pretty fair about it, but I guess some people think it should be indefinite. No one said its mandatory to update the OS at every release. The computer doesn't just stop functioning if the OS stays where it is.

 

I'm a software engineer too (20 years). I'd fire myself if I ever wrote such terrible code - now or in the '90s. I certainly hope there isn't much of that in deployed applications. It's also unclear how common such version checks are (in everyday applications other than drivers, virus scanners, or O/S utilities), and how much of said software would still be in use today.

 

PPC Macs are near useless now, even the higher spec machines. They're gorgeous in design, and I have found uses for them, but unless you're doing CD-quality music mixing with outboard effects, or simple word processing, even Apple's oldest Intel machine will be of more use.

I have several of them. The fastest by far is a DP G5 Power Mac that has been maxed out on memory. It chokes on HD video from YouTube. Just the nature of the beast. P4 computers of the same era would be the same way, except you can upgrade them to Win7 and max the memory out and they'd likely perform OK if you didn't have too many background processes running.

The coolest machine I have is a G4 Cube, but it's slow as dirt. It's pretty much just a conversation piece. I do have a G4 iMac 17" as well.

 

Yes, but at least it used to be that Windows machines became less usable in a couple of years, and the Macs were usable much longer AND they needed WAY less futzing around with updates and junk, plus you go go for months without needing a reboot. I don't know if that's still true, because now when I use a Windows machine it seems like a pain in the butt so I avoid it-probably I have just gotten acclimated to Macs.

 

Well, again all things being equal I think it's still apples and oranges. This assumes a Windows laptop without the crapware, plus higher quality parts which would put it in the price ballpark of a MBP. It then comes down to OSX or Windows 7/8 and which OS you prefer more.

 

The only reason I reboot my Windows 7 machine is when required for patches. At work, I usually have to reboot once every couple of months, usually because a network hiccough locks up an application.

 

I use a MacBook Pro for my recording but I agree with the OP - their use of software to create hardware obsolescence and sell expensive hardware is ugly and unconscionable, especially considering the environmental impact. No PCs AREN'T just as bad...

 

Thanks to all who commented about my plight.
I plan to watch the post-Christmas sales and get a cheap PC desktop for my music.
Happy holidays!

 

TBH I prefer Linux Mint. I would only use Windows now if there were programs that I absolutely had to have.

 

Try Sharepod. It may get your music onto your new iPhone.

 

You will be waiting forever since there will not be a version "9".

 

Most people would be shocked, shocked to find out how much all of our military relies on very old technology and how much it costs to maintain it. Just about every old system-mainframe, mini, workstation, micro-imaginable is used somewhere for something, much of it very classified, some quite open for all to see.

It isn't just computers, but all kinds of stuff. Most of the vacuum tube stuff is gone but 1970s era TTL and acres of transistors and small scale ICs are used to do what a tiny chip does everywhere else.

 

Ironically, the Amiga folks are now scouring the internet for old G4 Macs to run an Amigalike OS called MorphOS.

 

I'll walk into my nearest Windows store screaming for Windows 9! I'll wear a shirt that says, "number 9, number 9, number 9!" Maybe that will do it.

 

What I read is they're skipping "9" and going to "10" for some reason.

 

10 is louder than nine, when you need that extra push.

 

Then I demand Windows 11! It's one better!

 

What is the DP in a G5 Power Mac?
I have a G5 maxed out on memory, but I don't know if it is the DP or not? I don't follow Macs too much, as I'm on four PCs most of the time.

 

They don't want to behind Apple's OS X 10.10.1 See look we have ten also... Amazing they didn't just go to Windows 1,000,000

 

I like names being used for OSs, like Tiger and Lion, etc.

Windows should come up with a cool name as well.