I can use google services but not be locked into android, I cant use Apple services without being locked into Apple hardware
But you're locked into Google.
Google doesn't care if you're on Android or iOS, so long as you are locked into Google.
I can use google services but not be locked into android, I cant use Apple services without being locked into Apple hardware
Hoping Microsoft fails is a little naive, for all that they do wrong, they're still the most used OS out there by far. I used to be a huge Apple/Mac fanboy, but then I got a "real" job doing IT work for many large companies, they ALL (except for the print shops or graphics arts dept) use WinXP or Win7.
I think Win7 is a really really solid OS. Is it as flawless as OSX, no, but it's mainstream and widely accessable (IE you don;t have to own Mac hardware to use it).
Btw, I've built 2 Hackintosh's and got the best of both worlds =]
I somewhat agree with you, but on things like movies and music is where I think people refer to Apple as "locked in".
I use a SIII now (my iPhone4 cracked and iPhone5 wasn't out yet) and I can buy or get music or movies from anyway, and I mostly still use iTunes lol, and put them on my phone.
Don't get me wrong, I love iPhones but I also love the Galaxy S3 *gasp i know*
I always tell people: If you want something that just works, get an iPhone. If you like customizing or a bigger screen, get an Android.
If Google (and Samsung and Microsoft) want to beat Apple they need to do one simple thing:
Make a better iTunes and make it work seemlessly with Android.
Currently Android phones are a nightmare to sync and have some of the worst UX I've ever seen. I've gone back to an iPhone after a year of misery with an Android phone.
I thought about switching to an SIII or Nexus, but I got an iP5 instead because of my investment in the Apple Ecosystem. And the longer I stick with Apple, the harder it will become to switch. I've been on an iPhone since the 3G, but the tipping point for me was if Apple didn't change the screen size on the 5.
70 customers? That seems like...not a lot of people to base an article on. Right?
I spent most of the first month I had my first MacBook Pro discovering all the little details where Apple did things right with the hardware, and wondering why no Windows PC vendor seemed to have thought of any of them.
Seriously though i would agree. I would never go back to iOS, but I do miss the ease of buying an album or dumping a movie into iTunes, then just dropping my phone/iPod in a dock to get them on the device.
Now, I have to find the song files, and the playlist files and copy them over.
You can get Apple stuff everywhere too. It's like the 'closed ecosystem' fallacy all over again, bravo.
The whole "locked in" ecosystem is the way it's always been. And it used to be worse, when you couldn't even open up files from different OSs. But you have always had to buy a version of the software specifically ported to your OS, making switching difficult. Although I guess now, with Adobe's subscription based service, that might be changing. So if anything, things are maybe less "locked in" now.
What is wrong with a product which is easy to use? If people think "cutting edge" and "a total pain to use" are the same thing, well, that explains why people describe Android as cutting edge. What kind of nitwit says "wow this phone would be hard for my grandmother to use, finally some innovation!'?
I'm a Mac user *because* I've worked in IT for the past 16 years. (I went with Linux for a while because I couldn't justify having two different computers at the time, and Macs weren't Intel systems yet.) The biggest thing that got me to switch was being sick of the inconsistencies and instability of Windows in my day to day work. Win 7 seems to have solved most of that, but I still prefer OS X when I can use it, so I do.
I spent most of the first month I had my first MacBook Pro discovering all the little details where Apple did things right with the hardware, and wondering why no Windows PC vendor seemed to have thought of any of them.
Nothing wrong with a decent Android phone these days. It's not *my* preference, but the hate and bile (from fanboys on both sides) is pretty absurd, frankly.
But you're locked into Google.
Google doesn't care if you're on Android or iOS, so long as you are locked into Google.
It most certainly is a tax, not in the literal sense but a mandatory premium you pay now that you are in the ecosystem because it is very tough to leave.
Every elderly person I've met thinks Windows is far more confusing looking than OS X.
In all fairness, I doubt that the guy was comparing the iPhone to a Windows PC, because I can't imagine a 27-year-old law student being that clueless. My guess is that the reporter talked with him briefly about the iPhone vs. competitors' phones, and then about Macs vs. Windows PCs, and then selected one sentence from each part of the conversation. Reporters quote people out of context all the time.
It most certainly is a tax, not in the literal sense but a mandatory premium you pay now that you are in the ecosystem because it is very tough to leave. And it is due to Apple not making it super easy for its products to work with others. Like why cant I delete Apple's Map app? This smells like MSFT / IE back in the day and it will all come to roost soon. We are starting to see signs of it.
Which parts of the Apple ecosystem locks one in?
I have never purchased any video content (and never would. I'm okay with subscription services like Neflix and Hulu, but have no interest in purchasing video one off).
I have purchased very little music from iTunes. Maybe half a dozen albums? Hopefully they are DRM free, but not sure. 99% of my music is imported from CDs imported as MP3s and so portable to any other platform.
Other than that, what locks one in?
All e-mail, calendar, and contact data is exportable and portable to any other system.
The only thing that "locks" me into continuing to use Apple products is the continued convenience. I appreciate the ability to easily sync music and pictures between my phone and my computer and the quick sync of PIM data between phone/cloud/computer.
But I could easily port back to google services or use Exchange based services and I'm sure I could figure out syncing music and pictures with an Android device. But I like the way the Apple stuff works.
It's true, I've intentionally avoided iTunes content to remain portable, even though I don't have any intention of moving away from Apple. But I definitely don't like the idea of not having that option. But, I would argue, you only get locked in if you let yourself. It's not difficult to avoid and remain portable.
YMMV.
Cheers.
Hoping Microsoft fails is a little naive, for all that they do wrong, they're still the most used OS out there by far. I used to be a huge Apple/Mac fanboy, but then I got a "real" job doing IT work for many large companies, they ALL (except for the print shops or graphics arts dept) use WinXP or Win7.
I think Win7 is a really really solid OS. Is it as flawless as OSX, no, but it's mainstream and widely accessable (IE you don;t have to own Mac hardware to use it).
With Apple's iOS rapidly losing market share, and with Android increasingly dominating in sales, how long will devs keep supporting the underdog?
It's the Ecosystem, stupid. And for Apple to remain on top of the ecosystem wars, it has two choices: Get back its lost market share, or spend huge amounts on R&D to make lots of exclusive, "must-have" software in-house, like they were forced to do with maps.
Without market share, the third-party devs will pay as much attention to iOs as they do to OSX. IOW, almost none.
With Apple's iOS rapidly losing market share, and with Android increasingly dominating in sales, how long will devs keep supporting the underdog?
It's the Ecosystem, stupid. And for Apple to remain on top of the ecosystem wars, it has two choices: Get back its lost market share, or spend huge amounts on R&D to make lots of exclusive, "must-have" software in-house, like they were forced to do with maps.
Without market share, the third-party devs will pay as much attention to iOs as they do to OSX. IOW, almost none.
So it is with any infrastructure.
Nobody whines about a "Microsoft tax", even though M$ survives in large part because leaving that ecosystem is hard - just that the M$ ecosystem is now so large that the fact that it is an ecosystem is overlooked. Linux isn't easy to transition from either. Sony tried to build a hard-to-leave ecosystem around MemoryStick and ATRAC, but that died out (at least here in the USA) and I'm paying a price for that forced exit.
The fact that changing from one localized status quo to another is hard and pricy in no way makes the cost a "tax".