Comment by tomc1985
7 years ago
I feel like the only computer user in the world who wants his computers to act like computers and mobile devices to act like mobile devices and to maintain a firm line in the sand between them.
"Convergence" is a pipe dream because of the differing and mutually exclusive expectations of those different user types, and "one size fits all" programming ends up underserving both segments. The only thing I would change is that mobile needs to do more to expose users to internals (things like access to the proper file manager), rather than hiding and abstracting away every detail that might confuse grandma.
You are not the only user who feels that way. Apply very explicitly said they do not think their users want iOS and macOS convergence. This needs to be taken in the context of apple recently providing tools for devs to port iOS apps to macOS. Here is the full quote from Tim Cook:
"We don't believe in sort of watering down one for the other. Both [The Mac and iPad] are incredible. One of the reasons that both of them are incredible is because we pushed them to do what they do well. And if you begin to merge the two ... you begin to make trade offs and compromises.
"So maybe the company would be more efficient at the end of the day. But that's not what it's about. You know it's about giving people things that they can then use to help them change the world or express their passion or express their creativity. So this merger thing that some folks are fixated on, I don't think that's what users want."
https://www.smh.com.au/technology/users-don-t-want-ios-to-me...
Yeah, having a good interface for that different devices seems hard to impossible and probably not worth the effort, as shown again and again. Btw, who at MS thought having to select numbers to set a timer via mouse is acceptable on a windows desktop?
On the other hand, I like the idea of at least being able to run software on all devices and them at least being usable, even with a shitty interface (like having to scroll through numbers on a desktop, Microsoft). This way I can still use familiar tools for non-recurring tasks. Like RDP on a phone might not be fun, but gets the job done.
> "one size fits all" programming ends up underserving both segments
citation needed. The majority of applications I need would work just fine on a powerful smartphone.
Apps YOU use. I wouldn't be complaining if I felt the same way with the stuff I use.