Just Works??

[realitystops]

Hello,
I started life with Apple with the glorious G4 12"mac Pro and it survived my ignorant Microsoft methods for two years finally teaching me the 'just do it' mantra which has served me well since.

Well it is now becoming a lost/failing method.

Is it me or are things substantially more complex to use and massively more difficult to fix??
OSX+iOS+Cloud+iTunes+Apps+Apps - to me my computing life is becoming just - TOOOO MUCH - again.

Snow Leopard was the last time I really had a grasp on things but since; flying blind would be a good simile.

Am I alone? Do I matter to Apple anymore? Or is the forward momentum a natural erasure of past users?

iCloud needs to be simpler (user friendly). The OS X needs to be written from scratch to deploy all the new stuff in a more cohesive package or scrapped altogether along with iOS and ONE operating system brought forward to sweep the mess; as is away like the original OS X did years ago. Not painless I know but necessary.

I cannot see me staying with Yosemite on my MP as the added complexities are irrelevant to my needs but, will have to keep it on my AIR so that I can help my wife should she have problems with her MBP & iPhone. However given how my success in troubleshooting her machines is getting lower perhaps just dumping her on AppleCare at the first sign of trouble may be my way out. Very Sad for me

 

[Traverse]

Err, well no, Apple doesn't care about you when they have millions of others. As far as complexity goes, OS X Mavericks and Yosemite are still basically the same idea as SL, just with new looks and added features. You don't have to use any of those features.

iCloud appears to be one of the most "simple" solutions, thought I admit that right now it's a mess, but to the average non-techy user I'd image it is simple: just flip a switch in settings. Things only seem to be complicated for techy users like the ones on this forum because they try to push the technology farther.

I admit things have gotten more chaotic with annual software updates, managing multiple devices and the cloud, but I don't think it's unmanageable. If you don't want or need any of the new features of the current OS's then downgrading back to what you liked is certainly plausible. I suppose it could be a bit hectic to try and manage 100+ iOS apps unless they are mostly games and such, so I try and keep my devices a lean as possible and only keep apps I use and I try not to have repetitive apps. I just use one PDF annotator, one Office suite, etc.

I disagree about the "one OS" idea. It seems nice in theory, but we've seen that just doesn't work. A 4.7" phone can't run the same OS as a 27" iMac with Quad-core i7 processors and a dGPU without compromises somewhere. Apple is trying to keep their two OSes separate, but bring them closer and closer together. This can be frustrating for some, annoying or infuriating for others.

I will admit this, their software quality has degraded. Whether that's a consequence of the annual cycles, poor QC, or implementing deep software changes, I've never had an iOS device be as buggy as iOS 8 has made it and OS X doesn't seem to get all it's issues ironed out before the next version makes your obsolete (there are still some minor bugs in Mavericks that I reported since 10.9.0, but have never been fixed and now they never will be).

 

[realitystops]

Perhaps joining at the hip would be a better description rather than homogenising.
I think it is the ADD ON/PLUGIN/APPS method that causes my most knee-jerk reaction.
If the software is to remain under the Apple umbrella to keep the hard-software strength we have enjoyed then the very core functionality has to stand on its own merits without the scaffolding of the dreaded "third party". All I see now are calls for the base software to be made a platform for multiple apps/plugins and add ons. To my mind the original software should be a fully functional piece with the ability to add on when required not the other way round. Platform for add ons with minimal functional capability to start with. Simple power for the base user and flexibility for the "techi".
Interfaces are also the problematic hub for any system. e.g. internet connection, wifi connected peripherals, "imap" and syncing in general. If the all in one is strength can be applied to these surely sales would follow.
I remember the old iMacs that seemed positively magical at the time a true plug and play.
Recognising the complexities involved I still feel that pulling these things in house would bring back that 'just use it' warm glow that seems to be disappearing fast.