Week 48
Joensuu, Finland

For over a decade I’ve been using Apple computers blindly. One of the reasons of my loyalty has been: I can focus on what I need to do instead to invest valuable time on fixing the computer in order to do what I want to do. I subscribe myself to the philosophy: plug & run 🙂 

When the operating system OS X came out in 2001. It was a time of glory!  It was possible to increase the potentiality of the Apple machines making them even more interesting.

Then apple’s “branding” has been growing stronger over the last years. Myself I keep married with the principles that make me adopt apple long before: I want a reliable machine with a plug and run philosophy. I am not patient to solve unexpected problems. However those principles that made me adopt Apple computers are slowly being blurred by an uncritical attitude of the actual brand philosophy.

Let me give vent to my actual frustrations with this brand.

1. What type of  globalisation is promoted by Apple?

Perhaps the globalisation is on the hardware, because one can get the same machine in most of the countries that have the buying power. But I have questions about the applications.

My apple account is from my home country, Mexico, and I want to keep it like that. I have my personal reasons to support my decision.  Because it is a Mexican account, when I search for software at the Apple Store I only get the offers available for the Mexican market.  I have no visibility of what other countries offer unless I get into those markets. So, I created an account for the USA, German and Finnish market, and I can tell you there are differences.

Is Apple building a bubble of information in a market that by nature should be global? at least to my understanding. Additionally, to have access to other markets today implies to put an effort and of course to posses several credit cards!

 

2. Does Apple Inc. want to bridge the digital divide?

Some publicity might say yes. Apple is interested in education and schools. On practice, I have my doubts.  I think the educational market is a very profitable market. But I do not see the intention of bridging the digital divide in practice.

For example: if one wants to update the operating system to Mountain Lion (10.8) it must be done via Apple Store. I really search to avoid this approach, but there was not other option at least here in Joensuu unless I go to an authorize distributor and pay extra money to update my machine. So, let’s assume all apple owners  posses a credit card, because you MUST have one to buy on the apple store and you download OS 10.8

Now Apple Inc. might think that all owners of an Apple computers have good Internet connection. Of course we are paying a considerable amount of money for be in the apple world, so it might be natural to assume that all these consumers have all the state-of-the-art infrastructure  Well, the assumption is wrong. One could read the thread of discussion in apple, some people needed to spend even days updating the operating system.

If people have to pay per minute the Internet, this is a fortune!

3. Does Apple Inc. keep supporting plug and run applications?

Hmmmm….. for its authorized software yes.

The company wants control, perhaps always wanted that, but now I am able to see it and it is sad for me.

I downloaded software that is not on the apple store. Then, I needed to do different things in order to run it, as the machine directly told me:

 

Besides that, I need to re-find the library folder, which is a powerful folder and in OS 10.8 is hidden.  *** AGHR***

I admit these were not HUGE problems. It took me some time to find out, and now it works. Well, at least most of the things, and I regret that I update my machine.  But what bothers me is why these changes? which one is apple’s vision?

Summarizing: the three facts I describe in this post I live them while updating my MacBook Pro and they trigger my frustration and disappointment. The question that I have now is:  What is the price I am willing to pay for a computer that offers selective plug & run possibilities? What is the actual value?

Perhaps nowadays for me the cost is not only on money, but it is stepping on my principles. The “value” is getting a bit too high I confess….

Time will tell….