May 2010: Sour Apples

Background

My article is late this month mainly because I've been engrossed in my new iMac computer and trying to get the ball rolling with possibly developing some of my software for Mac OSX and beginning some development for the iPhone as well.  As many who read my articles know, I've been writing and selling PC/Windows software like Qimage, Profile Prism, FlashPipe, and TT Dyno for over a decade.  My company is known for its excellent support and feedback dealing directly with customers and the high quality products we produce.  Fueled by my own admitted addiction to my iPhone, a couple friends with Mac computers, and maybe even a clever "Mac versus PC" commercial or two (which I like BTW), I decided it'd be a good idea both for my company and my users to develop some apps on the Mac and the iPhone.  Well, after more than 25 years of programming in the "open source" arena that is PC/Windows, I was in for a rude awakening when it comes to developing for the "closed world" that is Apple.  This article is based on my own research and opinion and explains why after weeks of trying, I have given up on the Mac platform entirely and how Apple has made me a true PC/Windows "fan boy" out of me!

The goodness that is Apple

I admit it.  I love my iPhone.  I've also seen a friend or two (although statistics would tell you less than 10% of them own Macs) with their iMacs and Macbooks talk about how nice their computers are and how much easier they are to use than Windows.  I've seen them open and use programs that come with their Macs that I know don't come with Windows and they say "look at what this thing can do right out of the box".  In the back of my mind I knew that you pay a premium for that: I could get a comparable PC/Windows setup that is just as powerful and install a lot of software (and I could pick the software that I need) for about the same amount of money.  But Mac users are so happy with their computers.  It's almost like a cult.  While Macs still don't demand a lot of market share, the percentage of happy customers must be high.  So as an owner of a software company who makes their customers happy too, why not jump on the bandwagon?  What could possibly be the down side?

 

Tight reigns

I guess I never knew how tight Steve Jobs holds the reigns to his company.  After 25+ years of programming on PC's, I'm used to an open architecture.  To me, programming is akin to freedom of speech.  I should be able to create whatever I want and then let the users decide what they need and they'll tell you whether they like it or not based on what they buy.  Apple, as it turns out, is almost like its own country in this regard.  If Steve Jobs doesn't like it, you'll never see it!  Well, not so much for Mac computers maybe, but certainly for the iPhone.  Perhaps some of you are aware of some Apple strong-arm tactics being brought to light in the news in recent months: cash being denied for iPad purchases, homes of Gizmodo editors being raided in relation to leaked "next gen" iPhone articles or what Apple calls a "stolen phone", and Ellen DeGeneres being "forced" to apologize on the air for an iPhone spoof/commercial (a funny one too).  An article on CNN outlines some of the most recent tactics.  It may seem that I focus a lot on the iPhone but I see the iPhone as a device that I could bring into my own company plan.  You see, I didn't just want to develop my Qimage batch photo printing and processing software for the Mac, I wanted to make Qimage for the iPhone as well and link the products together.  I saw it as an opportunity!  But at what cost?

The iPhone app store: it's not your iPhone!

When it comes to the App Store, that's Apple's baby.  They keep tight watch on their store and can deny apps based on, well, just about any reason they see fit.  Technically it is their store so shouldn't they deny apps that could potentially be a detriment to the devices they sell?  One school of thought says yes!  Your local grocery store cannot be forced to sell guns or adult videos.  They choose what they sell as their establishment is meant to serve certain customers.  Why should the App Store be different?  Well, the App Store is a monopoly in my opinion.  Unless you want to jail break your iPhone (something that it seems only gutsy hackers and teens actually do these days), there really is only one store.  It's not like you can make a choice.  What Apple is doing with their App Store is akin to selling you a DVD player but then telling you that you are only allowed to watch movies "approved by the manufacturer".  Sure, what Apple is doing is not illegal and some would argue is a even a good strategy, but some people are starting to realize that there are limitations to this strategy.  Some BIG limitations.  It's not your phone... it's Apple's.  You are just using it.  Don't even get me started on how user-unfriendly iTunes is, and how difficult it is to just get simple media onto the iPhone due to Apple's "big brother mentality", or make me ponder why it takes Apple 2-3 hours to perform a backup of about 2 GB of data over a USB port that, by its data rate, should be able to do that task in just a couple of minutes max.

Okay here's the part that, for Windows users will show me as one who sees the bigger picture, and for Mac users will just show me as ignorant.  It's about my brand new iMac.  I've used it.  And I've really tried to embrace it.  I honestly wanted to give it a fair chance as I saw it as a way to renew my passion for coding on a fresh platform.  I've spent a LOT of time on it in the past couple of weeks, which is the reason this article is three weeks late this month.  So I'll cut to the chase.  I don't like it!  I don't like reaching around the back of the monitor to plug in my SD cards blind.  I don't like the "kiddie keyboard" that comes with it where everything but the arrow keys is performed by some strange "command" or "control" sequence and a distortion of finger presses.  I don't like the funky "no button" mouse that has no tactile feedback for left/right buttons.  I don't like that there is nothing upgradeable about it.  And that's just ergonomics.  The iMac and OSX really don't even work that well based on my own review.  People talk about Windows locking up?  This iMac has locked up cold about twice a week just doing esoteric things in Apple installed software like iMovie, Photo Booth, and other included software. 

The first thing I did when using the Mac was to get on the internet.  While hooking it up to my wireless network was really easy, probably easier than my Windows 7 experience, using Safari (Apple's included web browser) was not.  In fact, in my opinion, the entire OSX user interface is inferior to Windows.  Press the green "+" button in Safari so you can get a broader view, and the Safari window doesn't change size and it jumps halfway off the screen on the lower right so part of the screen isn't even visible.  Download FireFox, click the same button, and it works properly.  Apple "fan boys" will tell you that "+" button is a "zoom" button and that it only expands the window to "as large as it needs to be".  How does Apple know how large the next web page I'm going to view after the current one will be?  I'd like to use my whole screen, thank you!  And every time the iMac comes out of sleep mode, it takes a good 3 minutes to recognize my home network.  If you open "Finder" (Apple's equivalent of Windows Explorer) before that 3 minutes, the iMac locks up completely and you get an endless spinning dial.  The only way out is to hold the power button or pull the plug.  Oh, and BTW, you shut down an iMac by holding the "Control" button while pressing the "Eject" button on the keyboard.  And people joke about having to click the "Start" button to shut down a Windows computer?

I guess the best way to put it is that Macs are great as long as you want to do things "the Mac way".  There is little flexibility there.  I was surprised that, out of the box, the iMac had no clue how to display an MTS video file: the video format used by just about every HD camcorder and HD capable digital camera on the market today.  Not only does Windows Media Player play them happily without conversion and without any extra software, it'll stream them to my other computers on the network and even my 60 inch HD TV via my Xbox 360.  Considering it's limitations and (in)stability and that the iMac has locked up or treated me to access violation type errors more times in 2 weeks than my Windows 7 computer working even harder for 9 months, I can't say that I see the allure of Macs just yet.  Not that my initial Windows 7 experience was any better.  In fact, admittedly I spent more time getting my Windows 7 setup to work the way I wanted it, but I was also using that computer to go well beyond just the "out of the box" functions as I was coding (programming) heavily on that system. 

To me, the "kiddie keyboard", the "funny mouse", iMovie, Photo Booth, the oddball placement of USB ports, and just the overall user experience make the iMac seem, well, just more like a toy than a computer.  Who knows, maybe that's why people like them: they don't feel like "work".  To me, the iMac's "crazy widgets" just seem like something to play with rather than things that make your computer more productive.  The bells and whistles just don't seem to make your computer any better but might make you sit back and say, "Hmm.  That's pretty cool."  I've found little use for the fluff, but I'm not your average user as I must get things done on my computer, and done efficiently.  So if you are a Qimage user and you just asked me whether or not I/we plan to develop a version for the Mac, I probably sent you to this article for the answer.  If you've read the article, I think you have your answer.  :-)

Is there anything I like about the iMac?  Sure.  It looks kinda cool sitting on my desk and I really do like the screen.  The iMac's 1920 x 1080 screen is really sharp and is one of the best monitors I've seen.  So there!  I'll end with something nice to say.  ;-)  As I pack my iMac back up in the box and as it leaves my office to go to a more "deserving" Appleite who can better appreciate it, I find myself a little saddened by its absence.  It's like watching a reality show where you know the guy is letting go of someone good, but he just wasn't able to fall in love with her.  While the iMac just isn't for me, at least in its current state of affairs, I'm not blind to why others might fall in love .  The Apple products are certainly different, and that alone has an allure!  As they say, different strokes for different folks!

Mike Chaney