I feel one of the downsides of Macs and the whole Apple product lineup is that almost all of their products rely on a specific account. This makes it non-universal, meaning that someone else can't just pick up the device and it have the same experience for everyone.
Basically, with the iTunes/App store and now the Mac App Store, I feel that Apple relies too much on stuff that is "tied" to a specific account. Think of it this way: a blu-ray movie or physical disc-based video game can be played from scratch on any system, and works the same for everybody. Whereas, if I buy something from the iTunes or App store, that App is tied to my account. If an entire family uses a single device and that device is tied to a single person's account, this can cause frustrations for the account owner when he leaves the device with his family and gets his own and has to transfer everything over and use another "account license", etc.
Basically, everything about Apple is great, but I feel this is the one thing getting in the way - single account-based purchases. Of course, most other companies use this format, and almost everything else uses this format (including MacRumors), but it can get hectic when the account is not used just by you.
Why can't we have easy access to these things without creating a mess involving user accounts, transfer of apps to another device used by a specific account, etc.
There's gotta be a way to make it more like the old days when you could just buy a music CD, and it be used by everyone in the same way, and nothing is personalized or changed. Another example is buying a video game. You can take it over to a friend's house or let the whole world use it and nothing is changed or personalized...it's still the same old disc that has the same media to be accessed by everyone. Think of this as an arcade-style format where many people are able to use the same arcade machine.
Something like a computer, a song, or a game, should not be tied specifically to a person. What if there is a Mac in a house with 20 people and I didn't want any personalization or anyone buying stuff off my account? What if Joe Schmo wants to buy an iPad and wants all his apps on the family-computer transferred to his iPad, but he originally used my account to buy the app? What if I don't want him to use my account in the future? I would have to let him use a "license" or be tied to my account in some way, and then he'd have to use his account to make purchases from then on. But then he's permanently tied to my account in a way.
I just wanted to get all this out of my system because it's really annoying to me how digital downloads and computer systems have to be customized to a single person. Like I said above, I would like these devices to be "pick-up-and-play" by anyone, much like how an arcade machine at an arcade is utilized. It's not "tied" to any one person and can be utilized the same by all.
A format like this is completely appropriate for a forum, for example. But in my opinion this format is not appropriate for things you buy through the App store, iTunes store, etc.
Basically, with the iTunes/App store and now the Mac App Store, I feel that Apple relies too much on stuff that is "tied" to a specific account. Think of it this way: a blu-ray movie or physical disc-based video game can be played from scratch on any system, and works the same for everybody. Whereas, if I buy something from the iTunes or App store, that App is tied to my account. If an entire family uses a single device and that device is tied to a single person's account, this can cause frustrations for the account owner when he leaves the device with his family and gets his own and has to transfer everything over and use another "account license", etc.
Basically, everything about Apple is great, but I feel this is the one thing getting in the way - single account-based purchases. Of course, most other companies use this format, and almost everything else uses this format (including MacRumors), but it can get hectic when the account is not used just by you.
Why can't we have easy access to these things without creating a mess involving user accounts, transfer of apps to another device used by a specific account, etc.
There's gotta be a way to make it more like the old days when you could just buy a music CD, and it be used by everyone in the same way, and nothing is personalized or changed. Another example is buying a video game. You can take it over to a friend's house or let the whole world use it and nothing is changed or personalized...it's still the same old disc that has the same media to be accessed by everyone. Think of this as an arcade-style format where many people are able to use the same arcade machine.
Something like a computer, a song, or a game, should not be tied specifically to a person. What if there is a Mac in a house with 20 people and I didn't want any personalization or anyone buying stuff off my account? What if Joe Schmo wants to buy an iPad and wants all his apps on the family-computer transferred to his iPad, but he originally used my account to buy the app? What if I don't want him to use my account in the future? I would have to let him use a "license" or be tied to my account in some way, and then he'd have to use his account to make purchases from then on. But then he's permanently tied to my account in a way.
I just wanted to get all this out of my system because it's really annoying to me how digital downloads and computer systems have to be customized to a single person. Like I said above, I would like these devices to be "pick-up-and-play" by anyone, much like how an arcade machine at an arcade is utilized. It's not "tied" to any one person and can be utilized the same by all.
A format like this is completely appropriate for a forum, for example. But in my opinion this format is not appropriate for things you buy through the App store, iTunes store, etc.
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