| Thoughts on Apple |
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I've written quite a lot of scientific data acquisition and analysis software, some of which - like Datacan and ExpeData - are in use in many laboratories around the world. I'm often asked: Why don't you write software for Apple computers rather than PCs? There's a reason, or maybe a couple of them, and here they are. Picture the scene: Los Angeles, specifically UCLA, in 1987. For three years I'd wanted to write data acquisition software for Macs, but it was functionally impossible to add the necessary interfaces to them because of their closed architecture. Then, in 1987, Apple announced that it was demoing their brand new Macintosh II on-campus, so I rushed to the event. I was blown away (well, maybe infatuated, because the machine did crash a lot, but hey, it was gorgeous). Best of all, here, finally, was a Mac that could be interfaced to laboratory instruments because it had a card slot with which I could connect analog to digital converters and other lovely things. The demo was being run by a Mac nerd with a thin, weasely voice who reacted very negatively when I asked whether the Mac II's card slot was documented and open for use. "No", he said, "it's proprietary." "Surely you're encouraging people to use it?", I asked, to which he replied, "It's for our products. If we catch anyone else trying to reverse engineer it, let alone use it, we'll sue them." And I'm sure he meant it. I thought, fuck you very much, too, and walked away. From that time on I avoided using Apple computers or software. Until recently, when I succumbed to technolust and bought an Apple iPod Touch. Heck, I thought, with integrated wi-fi, I can listen to streaming audio, such as NPR and my favorite, Radio Paradise. So I bought one. Oh you fool, Lighton. First, though the touch interface is gorgeous, iTunes sucks rocks. It is among the most awful, kludgy pieces of software I've ever used. Nothing is intuitive, and to make things worse, you have to use it or you can't transfer anything to your iPod Touch. Awful. Stupid. And creepy. But even worse than this, the iPod's lame Safari browser does not allow for streaming audio. Thus, no Internet radio. The reason? Obviously TPOD (The Prince of Darkness, aka Steve J) thinks that allowing his serfs to surf to sources of music other than those he controls, notably the unspeakable iTunes, may slightly reduce his profits. Now the 'net is awash with stories about kill switches that will remotely electrocute any iPhone applications that TPOD chooses as he cackles away in his dark lair. The masochistic relationship between Apple and its fans is something I've finally begun to understand. There's something both fascinating and unhealthy about it. For the second time I've chosen to walk away. Linux, thank God, is offering a viable alternative to the big bland blah of Microsoft and the creepy S&M lair of Apple, and open source devices are starting to gain hold. And as for Apple and scientific data acquisition? Though as a graduate student I was threatened with a lawsuit if I tried to use a Mac II for that purpose, that didn't stop Apple from cutting deals with big companies such as National instruments (of LabView fame). It all fits together in a strange way. Fortunately my software runs on new Macs in PC emulation mode, so those locked into an unhealthy relationship with TPOD can use it if they wish to. |
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| Last Updated ( Monday, 11 August 2008 16:52 ) |