Technology Tribulations: Computers and Me: My Journey Into Unix and Apple

Computers and Me: My Journey Into Unix and Apple

I love Unix, its history, and the more I delve into using, and understanding its concepts, I'm intrigued at how efficient it is, while also knowing its place in the scheme of operating systems of the last 60 years. I don't know every nook and cranny of Unix, as there is lots and lots to uncover as it were, I've enjoyed the challenge to learn and adapt this operating system.

I started with Unix as a novice little user whom had very little grasp of the core functions, and construction.  I did not learn Unix in school insomuch that I took on the task on my own. While it took a few years using Linux variants, and understanding the lingo (command line) and file structure.

My strengths are administration, not in the programming compartment. I get the way it works, and the rules that govern it, but I am not a programmer, I am an artist first, which plays havoc with my learning and getting down core components. Damn you algebra!

Anyways, I spent three years proto-typing Fedora Core 6 through 10 release candidates. I also played with Xandros, Mandrake, Red Hat, Ubuntu, Debian, and CentOS. While these systems had their quirks, I got to really dig into X Windows, command line interface, and fixing broken code/drivers with the Linux OS's. From 2004 to 2009 I was a Linux user. Free was the only optimal choice because of flexibility, open aspect, and I had time to sit and learn the ins and outs.

I began to have reservations with later Fedora Core projects, more specifically release candidate 9.  There were major changes implemented, which created friction with core developers of that distribution. Though I knew and understood inherent risks using proto-typing software, many of the release candidates were stable enough for me to use. Yet with release number 9 was buggier, many applications didn't work correctly, and were released to the public still in the alpha stage. This drove me bonkers.

I dove right back into Debian forks like Ubuntu version 8.04LTS. Even that distribution had some quirks with open source codecs, and proprietary licenses. Something had definitely changed, as most of it brought about with a well timed media blitz brought on by Microsoft's complaint against open source usage of 260 plus patent violations with their Intellectual Property (IP).

This I can attest with numerous blogs and technology news sites. Linux during the late 2000's had problems gaining traction as a viable third operating system choice. It was clear to me that if I was going to use open source, I would have to pay for license codecs to enjoy media I owned, which frustrated the hell out of me.

While my foray into Linux never ended insomuch that I saved enough money and evolved into a more expensive platform named Apple. I dove into Apple after seeing how tight the platform was. I didn't have much trouble getting into the platform because of the familiarity of Unix core. Some functions weren't there with the command line, but the learning curve wasn't as steep and I felt confident with my acceptance with it.

I labored for awhile on getting a Mac because of the closed platform, and forced upgrades which I will explain later. I finally purchased my first Mac, a Mac Mini, kind of a starter to see if I liked the platform enough to stay with it. Upon first impressions it was a little engine pulling double duty with whatever I threw at it. For three years it was the machine that did most of my college homework.

In my research the Mac platform is stable, and reliable in a way that and that was why I dove in. I was tired of having to buy new hardware every year to combat motherboard failure, power supply issues, and purchasing new hard drives for my growing information needs with Linux. I felt then that the Apple platform gave me a bit of leniency with legal codecs for playback of music, movies, animation, and web content. I could even use applications that weren't Microsoft derivative.

Most of that changed after a year owning my first Mac. When Apple announced the iPad in 2010, basically supplanting a new shift in where productivity was going. I have felt somewhat that Apple has literally become the dreaded hype machine, catering toward a broader audience than what and where they were.

I was curious nonetheless, and bought and played with both iPad and iPad 2. For all the hype these devices get, I feel it is drastically underwhelming in a couple stunning ways. Obviously it's closed platform, yes you can still get apps that aren't Apple centric overall, yet not give a lot of wiggle room with this platforms ecosystem.

Something to note on: if your developing for Apple one will have to deal with Apple's very draconian software development agreement. Secondly, for a productivity device it isn't quite there, yet. Sure one can remote desktop to their Mac, Windows 7, or iTunes library but overall it is a entertainment device in the strictest sense. I've used the iPad 2 for doing artwork, yet I don't feel it really gels with my need for tactile touch for paper, pen, and coloring.

The downside with using Apple stuff is that they are notorious for killing off platforms, and operating systems. By doing this they force users into whatever the next paradigm shift is becoming. The problem I have with this idiom is that it undermines users like me who still like using a desktop option for productivity. By removing that aspect, I can still to a lessor extent get another desktop but I'll be using iOS as the operating system of choice.

It is not by chance or design that this is the standard that Apple gets away with. A lot of the fan boys and gals are all about flashier, short attention span tech. By shifting away from physical media (CD's, and DVD's) into a always connected digital streaming model is not surprising. This has been a concerted effort to weed users off of plastic since the mid 2000's, because of paying to play with the next iteration of brand ecosystems i.e. Apple, Microsoft, and Android.

The other shift is the operating system foundation. While true, learning reams and reams and employing gobs of time for both consumers, and enterprise software is a 20th century concept. Yet with each new iteration brings major changes to the look and behavior of said operating systems. I have learned in my travels that established businesses prefer using a dedicated foundation to keep internal operations going.

But having spent time in an enterprise foundation most businesses do not use Apple brand products because of the niche status it has/had. Most of the brand is tailored around businesses with disposable income,  and young adults who don't care about ownership of anything but a device that is throw-away. I feel the experience with this side is not for me.  I from a time were you can own in either physical form, or digitally. Yet I am crucially aware that I am not in the target Apple is focused on. I am too old, well knowledgeable about computer hardware, the types of operating systems, and possess keen troubleshooting ability.

Yet whereby aligning myself to Apple's paradigm the hardware and software I use eventually becomes shanked to obscurity after 3 years. I get and understand the need for upgrades as hardware takes an extreme beating with chip creep, and software becomes labored in age and repetition. On the flip side of this is a now growing e-waste problems and I feel not a lot is really being done to address this. I'm not theoretically convinced that Apple is doing a lot to help the environment, which is another discussion in itself.

Which brings me to my next concern, Apple hardware. The one thing that really irked the crap out of me was the original Mac Mini logicboard died, I had to endure a disconnected Genius bar attendant. Since I knew already the logicboard fried, the salesperson really didn't seem all that interested in really addressing or clarifying anything to my plight or concern.

While I explained that I built custom computers for private clients, used Microsoft, and cut my teeth on Unix, he laughed at me. This didn't sit very well with me, and it bothered me. I finally figured out why, because I think Apple employs a strategy by infuriating built-in users of the old paradigm. Most of their business model now is throw-away technology hence the tablet, and smartphone structure. This is a bold statement, but I can't help but be observant of the what-is-not-said.

There isn't any real connection to the machines people work on, there is a clear disconnection to that, and watching people stand in line and be so matter of fact about it, raised my eyebrows more than a few times. It took two weeks to get the Mac working, even then the in fact I have more of a connection with my Mac than the gents selling Apple stuff in store. So, this begged a precarious question out of me, if the vested aspect is only for the bottom line, I cannot help there is a herd think mentality with having the latest and greatest Apple branded stuff.

My other bitch is with iOS. This option undercuts the classic sense of what is designed for in productivity. iOS does a remarkable job of giving users the ability to touch what they doing at all times. It simplifies tasks, marginalizes the need to have the device in hand at all times. The purpose of course is get the customer to spend time, and money in a tightly controlled environment. In 2007 the iPhone opened that Pandora's box for a dedicated in the hands all the time device. But I am not the target audience I keep reminding myself about often, and repeatedly.

In closing, I wrote report in college back in 2008 about Apple. I understand why aligning oneself to a specific product or ideal often isn't the same with business interests. They don't give a crap about the personal experience. It is about money, and anyway to marginalize that experience for profit. This definitely doesn't give me a whole lot of confidence going forward using Apple.

I feel like I'm in this vacuum struggling to stay true to my convictions, while assailing what I think is terribly wrong with a corporate entity that dictates what I can and can't do with files, music, and information I elect to keep. The dearth more or less is becoming an non-ownership class society, and I am sadly not buying into that. I wasn't on the boat with that meeting apparently, so alas, I will stew awhile until I find a way to break free from the clasps of monthly monetary interests of our ongoing technological servitude. Thanks for reading.


B.