There's a bit of a legal hoo-ha going on at the moment between Psystar and Apple. Psystar make Mac clones and naturally they want to sell them with OS X installed.
Apple doesn't like this and all the IANALly-retentive bloggers are busy weighing in with their ill-informed opinion as to whether this is legal or not.
The rather large point being missed here is that, legal or not, Mac clones are not a desirable product. There are three major desktop operating systems available at the moment:
- Linux - an open OS running on open hardware
- Windows - a closed OS running on open hardware
- OS X - a closed OS running on closed hardware
Minor feature quibbles aside, all three operating systems do much the same thing. The decision of which one to run is an ideological one that balances your love of freedom against your love of stability. The Mac is the least open platform, with the smallest choice of hardware and software for its users. Largely as a consequence of this, it is also the most robust.
And that's why I've never really liked choice. I'd much rather be forced to use one good thing than be allowed to choose between a hundred things, all of which are rubbish. Or even one good thing and one bad one. It's an irrelevant freedom, because who will choose the bad thing?
These things aren't nearly as subjective as people like to claim. So I like Macs and use them a lot. But if they make you claustrophobic, you can just use Windows or Linux. Opening up the Mac platform so that it has all the choice and incompatibility issues of a PC makes no sense at all. It would be like hacking your PS3 so that it can use XBox 360 controllers.
Oh wait.
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Your comments (10) Click to add a new comment
nicolasmerritt
January 2nd
10. I don't think the writer is arguing about the undesirability of choice in a general sense.
Interestingly, the time the Mac was most rubbish, just prior to the Second Coming of Jobs, was the time when it was most widely cloned.
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lovlid
January 2nd
9. Apple fanboy,trying to convince himself he has'nt wasted his money on that shiny looking Mac.
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cicl1co
January 1st
8. At first hand the intentions of the article were "good" but then completely missed the point.
quote: "And that's why I've never really liked choice."
And what's your definition of choice? I think the corporative-marketing stuff have worked its way on you, doing what they want: to make you a slave of one single product even if it's ****, overrated, etc. Monopoly is in some forms illegal but monopolizing minds isn't.
quote: "I'd much rather be forced to use one good thing than be allowed to choose between a hundred things, all of which are rubbish. Or even one good thing and one bad one."
One good thing about our "democracies" is to have the freedom to choose, even if the choices are not excellent. I'd rather say that it would be good to be forced to use one good thing if it's the best and if there are no other good choices. Clearly you are implying macs are the best, but who says that?
Maybe you should move to some totalitarian regimen country so you only have "one choice" for everything.
quote: "It's an irrelevant freedom, because who will choose the bad thing?"
If the only OS that exist would be linux and os x I would be very pleased that the "standard" could be linux and the second choice osx. Then you know who will choose the bad thing...
quote: "These things aren't nearly as subjective as people like to claim."
Yes, they are.
quote: "Opening up the Mac platform so that it has all the choice and incompatibility issues of a PC makes no sense at all."
False. Opening the mac platform is just making yourself free to use your computer for whatever you like even if it has "issues" as you mention. Even with all the nice things about macs, including their robust system, for me they are clearly overrated and have created a big crowd of blind fanatics.
It's good to see some others here share some thoughts.
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a.n.other
January 1st
7. Apple's hardware isn't closed. It's the same hardware that's in a Windows or Linux PC. OS X is what prevents it from running on 'non apple' hardware.
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elimgarak
January 1st
6. Who gave this guy a column? I thought this was an Onion article until I looked at the address bar. Really? You hate options that bad?
"And that's why I've never really liked choice."???
Ever thought of moving to China?
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scrum
January 1st
5. From the article: "And that's why I've never really liked choice."
This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard anybody say! Do you wear black turtlenecks everyday so you don't have to choose what to wear?
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