OMG I am so sick and tired of people mocking me for using Apple products. I use them because they just work… and they work for me. I have tried other “ecosystems” — they just do not work for me. Period. I do not care what any Apple-haters say. The trend seems to be like this: once a company rises to popularity, people start mocking it.
Do you ever remember any Apple-haters back in the 90s? I am sure your answer is “no”. That’s because only very few people used Apple products at that time. Every hater’s attention seemed to be focused on the evil giant Microsoft – and that’s because it was the dominant and most popular computer company.
… and I am willing to pay more for quality. Anything I buy is an investment for me. I will not buy something that will break after a few months of use… or something that does not work for me. At this time (and for the longest time), Apple products fit the bill for me for the best quality and the best usability.
Like most of these haters, I also value my security and privacy… Haters repeatedly claim Apple is evil and they are not secure, they do not protect your privacy, they sell your data, etc., etc. Trust me, nothing for me is fully 100% secure. Even your banking is not secure. Nothing. All you can do is give hackers more difficulty and the runaround before they successfully hack you.
Privacy? Does that even exist these days? Everyone is being tracked and that is just the sad truth. Even you, Apple hater, is being tracked right now by owning a smart phone. Hell, even a flip dumb phone can be tracked.
My personal solution: limit the tracking to apps/companies you can trust and use the tracking for your own advantage. To be honest, it is hard to find an app or company you can trust. They all have some kind of evil selfish agenda… but that’s just how business runs. I just simply find the least evil of these companies, and I just happen to choose Apple. Tracking is useful when online shopping for something (which I do a lot), for entertainment - since most streaming services now want to know where you are connected from, my banking - they want to make sure I am connected from where I should be connected from and not from some random country across the globe.
Social media – LOL. No social media is secure and private. Do you seriously think by using Mastodon your data and privacy is protected? Think again. Big evil company may not be involved but the admins of the instance has access to your data and privacy… and worse, if that instance is hacked, then you are out of luck.
Also, very important point: computers are meant for you to do tasks easier and complete at the shortest amount of time and not to spend endless and painful amount of time Googling how to make your random devices work together and sync seamlessly, or to complete a task… and most of the time in the end, you end up using all kinds of random apps just to make things work for you… this happens a lot for free software/opensource die hards… mind you, I am a big fan of free software and opensource software too – I use them on my Mac because they are free and they work for me! This problem is completely eliminated when you’re in the Apple ecosystem… and I am willing to pay the premium for these benefits. It’s really a personal preference and what you are willing to sacrifice really.
Free and/or opensource software I use extensively:
- jekyll (it’s what I use to create this site!)
- vim (I am literally typing this blog with vim!)
- BUTT (I use this to stream my aNONradio show)
- ezstream (I use this for my automated robo DJ streams over at Tilderadio)
- GnuCash (I would be broke without this program)
- Gimp (all the graphics you see on this site have been edited with this program)
- Audacity (I use this program to edit audio recordings of my Internet radio shows if necessary)
I do know how to protect my data and privacy. Just because I am using Apple products does not mean I am dumb. I pick and choose what is allowed to go out in public and what’s not… again, balance… and I do use the “BSD/UNIX-like” components of my Mac quite extensively – in fact, probably a quarter of the stuff I do on my Mac is done on the commandline interface or CLI (and yes, including the site you are on right now!!).
Why not use Linux or BSD-like OS? I would love to use them! I have owned computers running Linux and BSD in the past, but what’s important for me is the full device integration. I want all of my devices in sync and working together. I just can’t accomplish this with any other OS other than macOS. I can, but it would cause me more time and effort to keep them in-sync (refer to my computers are meant for you to do tasks easier argument earlier). Also, one very important thing: macOS is BSD-like… and I have the benefits of both worlds – BSD-like OS that can be used in both GUI and CLI… so that just eliminates Windows.. and even with Powershell, sorry, for me, that is still not BSD-like. I use a program called Rekordbox DJ software which is fully compatible with my DJ hardware equipment (Pioneer CDJ-350Ws). Free and opensource software alternative Mixxx is just quite not there yet and does not work with my DJ hardware. It runs on both macOS and Windows, and that’s it. That eliminates Linux. Only a Mac can do all of the things I use regularly. Yes, I can use a Windows PC but I do not want to use Windows for personal use.
So… Stop being paranoid and find some kind of balance. Find something that works for you and mind your own business.
Some readings from the WWW I have found so far about Apple users complaining of the abuse they have been receiving from Apple haters:
Too many people hate Apple for no reason
What can I say to all the Apple haters who mock me for having multiple Apple devices?
Why do people hate apple so much online/in tech communities?