I want to talk about this because of a conversation I had with a colleague on a lunch break a few days ago. I am a doctor, and I was talking to him about how angry I was (and still am) about the fact that the COVID vaccines, when they were first invented, were not made public, but instead were patented and sold. This basic fact made millions of people around the world suffer. I was rambling about how scientific information should always be free. How we should be able to use the internet as the greatest library our ancestors could have only dreamt of, instead of putting information behind paywalls. Even back in med school I was an avid user of sci-hub and I wasn’t ashamed of it one bit. I still use sci-hub to keep up with new researches so I can treat/inform my patients better. And I hate how some of my colleagues think that I am stealing others’ work.
Anyways, so I was rambling on and on. I sometimes do that. And my friend said something so strange and unrelated (in my eyes) to the conversation. He said “Look at you, defending open access to medical information for everyone, yet you only use Apple products.” I was like, “What? What do you mean?” He explained, “Man, all the things you use are made by Apple. Your laptop, tablet, phone, watch, earbuds or whatever, made by the company that is one of the main adversaries when it comes to right-to-repair and open source software.” So you need to see here, I’m not a tech guy. It’s just not my field. My job only requires me to read textbooks and keep up with new researches in my field, which any device can do. So I was like, “I… I don’t think I follow.” So he briefly explained what open-source software is, and how it’s related to my idea of free and open access to information for everyone, but this time it’s not in our field but programmers’. And when I almost reflexively said “Well we’re not programmers” he said “I mean, when it comes to software, it’s the programmers’ and developers’ thing. But free and open source is an idea. It applies to everything. And I think you’re supporting a company that opposes your views by buying their products.”
We didn’t have much time left so that was the end of that conversation. And I have been thinking about it since. When buying tech products I mainly care about if they are integrated with each other or not. Like if I turn on Do not Disturb on my watch, I want my phone, tablet and laptop to go quiet as well. Or I like being able to answer a phone call on my laptop. And I love the aesthetics of Apple products, at least more than what other companies have to offer.
Every evening since that conversation I’ve been looking up stuff related to open source software. Linux, distros, the philosophy behind it all, Linus Torvalds, Steve Wozniak, Arch, “read the wiki”, terminal, GUI, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA my brain is filled with so many things at this point that I don’t understand anything at all.
So, TLDR; I’d love to hear your opinions about Apple. Most people (myself included) buy Apple devices because of the ecosystem, the design, privacy (?), consistent updates (especially on mobile), or for you might say, a lack of knowledge in the field of tech. Do you support Apple or are you against them, or are you indifferent? Do you think people who are not in the tech field as well should look into and use open source software? Leave your thoughts below! ^^
I fully agree with everything you said. Unfortunately I’m stuck in the Adobe world for now because one of my clients require it, not that Avid is much better when it comes to expensive barriers to entry. I do need to learn how to edit in resolve because I’ve heard some great things about the process, though the thought of rewiring my brain for new keyboard shortcuts seems like a massive ordeal.
Mega corporations exist on massive stilts, propped up off the work of very talented people who aren’t paid nearly enough for what they do. One tiny silver lining of having design language pushed so hard by a company who uses it to sell more products is that good design language can be copied and implemented into FOSS options with enough work. Of course, I don’t know anything about how strong apple goes after their design language patents, but before the iphone, no phone to my knowledge looked like a black glass rectangle (for better and for worse). I won’t be buying apple’s recently announced VR option, but I am excited to see what their design language does for the VR landscape as a whole (even if I don’t buy any of those either).
All this being said, I think there’s a couple good things, but there’s also a lot of bad things about apple as a whole. I figure most companies I’ve heard about are contributing toward the world becoming a worse place, but at the same time, I have to exist in this world, and being more comfortable while being stuck here is pretty important to me personally. I’ll just continue to try to seek out people to vote for who are vocally (and historically take actions) against monopolies, anti-consumerism, and promote strong regulations.