Got it. Old software is good.
Got it. New software is good.
Because old software and new software is bad.
Old software is the opposite of new software.
Old software is not the opposite of new software.
Ok. Makes sense.
You obviously don't get it. You never did. I'd bet you never will.
Well the mess that is the Windows codebase has indeed shown that supporting decades-old software and hardware does indeed hurt everyone...
That's an odd view to have, IMO when Microsoft is constantly improving Windows and working on a vision for the future while Steve is too busy working on the net iGadget to care about what happens to the "trucks" of the industry. Real Macintosh fans get the shaft in favor of more phones and clouds instead of faster graphics. For all its "mess" Windows seems to run the same software faster and better than the Mac these days (graphics aren't even close on the Mac) while Apple cuts features from so-called "Pro" products instead of adding them and seems more concerned about what their phones can do than their flagship computers.
Yes, Vista was terrible at first. OSX looked to be sitting very high and mighty for a couple of years there. Steve let OSX sit on the shelf while he developed the iGadget lines and let the Macintosh lines rot except for minimal CPU updating and the like. Windows7 showed Microsoft wasn't just going to sit around and let Apple brag all day long. Notice how the Mac/PC ads all disappeared when Windows7 showed up. OSX hasn't changed in any truly meaningful way since Tiger came out. Add up all the truly useful changes to OSX since Tiger and you can count them on one hand, while the speed of OSX has been getting slower since Leopard came out with each incarnation including the supposed "efficiency" update that was supposed to be Snow Leopard (yet runs slower in nearly every measurable way from Leopard).
Just where do you think OSX will be when Windows8 comes out? More iOS features added to a stale OSX core? Microsoft isn't sitting on their laurels when it comes to Windows development and that's the key difference. It's not that Apple "can't" do better. It's that they choose not to. Steve has chosen to exit the desktop OS arena and move into what he sees as new territory and the future. The problem is that the old territory isn't exactly going anywhere in the mean time. It's the same as getting out of the computer market in general and making smart devices the new and eventually only focus. Too bad if you still like real computers. Time to get a PC again whether you want it or not because OSX isn't going to be around much longer as a true desktop OS.
I think it's a shame Apple doesn't care about desktop computers and traditional notebooks anymore. Some of us don't think smart phones are ready to replace notebooks and iPads aren't ready to replace desktops and the so-called Cloud is no replacement for a fast internal hard drive and Intel integrated graphics are no competition for a high-end video card nor is a consumer video card in a Mac Pro a replacement for a professional video card (something Apple no longer offers). Throw it in with the new Final Cut "Pro" that isn't professional and the Macbook "Pro" that is a consumer machine and the Mac Pro that wasn't made for anyone and you have Steve's "vision" for modern computing. Simplified machines for clueless users seems to be their only motto these days which is ironic considering todays' users are more computer savvy than past generations, yet Steve treats everyone like they're right out of the 1940s and don't even know what a computer is. Yes, the iPhone is lovely. But what's better about today's Mac than 5 years ago other than faster CPUs? What new feature(s) in OSX makes it so much better than it was a half decade ago?
Instead of faster graphics with updated OpenGL and better drivers, we get OpenCL (nearly useless thus far). Instead of fixing bugs introduced with Leopard, Lion simply dumps all software compatibility with software made prior to 2005, cutting the already far smaller than Windows software library in half. Instead of keeping up with the latest connectivity standards, Apple turns away from USB3 and uses the currently nearly useless Thunderbolt (as an echo of Firewire) instead with higher priced devices and little support for the foreseeable future from anyone else. Instead of using industry standard connectors, Apple implements its own mini-display port that almost no one else uses (but which Apple makes a small fortune selling adapters for). Instead of better screens, Apple implements glossy only screens. Instead of the latest version of ExpressCard, Apple dumps it entirely on the 15" models in favor of a cheap consumer SD card reader. The Mac Pro keeps adding processors, but doesn't update the bus at all or add the latest industry standards (from eSata to USB3 to enough FW channels and PCI slots to do the job for many professionals) and dumps professional graphics cards from the lineup. Instead of improving on Final Cut Pro's features, they start over and make a consumer grade product and yet call it "Professional" similar to how they call their consumer notebooks "Pro" models.
I could go on but it's pointless. You either love the new Gadget Apple or you lament the loss of the Macintosh lines that now appear to be inevitable. Somehow, I'd call that one heck of a bigger 'mess' than Microsoft supporting older software in their code-base. You can call it whatever you want, of course.
