Why does Apple suck so bad?

[C64_Critic]

<rant on>
CASE#1: I've famously avoided Apple products for most of my life, but unfortunately my wife long ago fell victim to their colorful hipster commercials that promised to make you look cool while glossing over just how horrible their products really are.

She couldn't figure out the other day why her device wouldn't display a .pdf file she had downloaded to her iPad. After much fiddling around, I finally asked her if she actually had Adobe Reader (or some other .pdf compatible application) installed - maybe the real issue was simply that the iPad didn't know what to do with a file that has a .pdf extension? On any *other* device you'd get a pop up saying "Sorry, I don't know what to do with .xxx" if you tried to launch something with an unknown file extension, but the iPad gives you zero feedback... "it just doesn't work".

After finally hitting on that idea she goes to the Apple app store, where she believes she locates Adobe Reader (it's actually called something slightly different, "Adobe Reader: Edit", but I can't actually blame that on Apple I guess). She attempts to download and install it but BZZZZT, wrong answer! The application lets her know that her OS version is out of date and will need to be updated before she can install Reader.

She goes to update the OS to the latest version and it appears to download, says "verifying download", then throws an error message saying "Unable to install update". Great. No additional information given; can't tell if it's because there's a problem with the file hash, or her device is out of space, or there's a network issue or what, just that it can't update. I've seen more clear communication from a paraplegic mime.

I finally roll my eyes and start really diving in (again, not an Apple guy so I'm having to learn as I go to figure out what I need to figure out) and eventually see that, yes indeed, the update is 4+GB in size and she has only about 2GB in free space. Any other company on the planet would display a message telling you that you can't update the OS because you don't have enough space, why couldn't Apple be bothered to do so?

CASE#2: I have an old iPod Shuffle I won in a raffle eons ago, the only Apple product I personally own, that I recently dusted off so I could listen to tunes while exercising. I vaguely recall fighting with it back when I won it in order to get a few tracks on it, but got through the process so yay for me. Having 29 songs from the mid-oughts', though, isn't cutting it for me today so I though huh, I should go ahead and copy over a few more tunes so I have a bit more variety. On any other digital audio device I've ever owned, this has always been as easy as connecting said device to my computer and dragging/dropping the songs I want into the device. But this is Apple! Nothing, not even something so ridiculously trivial as this, can be easy or intuitive.

After being forced to download and install iTunes, several reboots and updates passed by before it would actually recognize that, yes, I have my Shuffle connected to my PC. I can even seem my list of songs! Perfect, now I'll just drag and drop a fresh cut over to it... BZZZZZT, wrong answer! I get this obtuse message:

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Can any of you who have somehow been able to stomach Apple's steaming pile of products and apps thus far tell me what this means functionally? will this replace the entire list of songs currently on my Shuffle with the single song I'm trying to add, or vice versa, or something I'm not even considering it may end up doing? As far as I know, I only have a single "iTunes Library", the playlist on my Shuffle. I'm just trying to add a song to it.
<rant off>

*Edit - I got my answer. The piece of crap removed all 29 existing songs from my iPod and replaced it with the one single track I was trying to add. Just unreal. I am currently slowly fighting to rebuild the list of 29 songs previously on the iPod into a new 'Library' (or Playlist, Apple seems to use the terms interchangeably yet inconsistently within the same app) so I can get back to where I was beforehand. Somehow it's not as easy as drag-and-drop, or even just 'add to playlist'. I apparently have to add them somewhere else, then move them from THERE to the iPod. What a nightmare.

*2nd Edit - After removing and putting the Shuffle back on the dock, it appears that my previous copying of new songs did not 'take', and only 3 of them are showing. I tried to copy some back but I'm getting weird errors about it being unable to sync because a required folder cannot be found (not sure what is missing since it doesn't specify), or other various 'unknown' errors.

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AppleBlows3.PNG (8.57 KiB) Viewed 798 times

AppleBlows4.PNG (63.9 KiB) Viewed 798 times

This is seriously the most horrid, frustrating POS bit of software I've ever had to deal with, and I used to game with DOS.

[VideoGameCritic]

You need to cut them a little slack Scott. They're only the richest company in the world.

[C64_Critic]

You need to cut them a little slack Scott. They're only the richest company in the world.

Yeah, thank GOD for child labor in third world countries. And for all those suckers that've been foretold to be born every minute.

[mbd36]

I feel with Apple you're paying more for the brand name. I always go with cheaper alternatives.

[ASalvaro]

i bought my 1st Apple product a couple years back an IPAD Pro and it fell apart on me..not kidding! 1st the home button fell out and then the top of IPAD cracked open....never again

[Matchstick]

I made a post about a month back about how much I adore my vintage iMac, and got zero replies.

Meanwhile, this Apple hate thread gets 100+ views and several replies in less than a day.

I guess people would rather post about how much they hate something than talk about things that they actually like. But hey, that's the Internet for you!

On topic, I can really only recommend Apple desktops. Our home computer is a "Late 2014" Mac Mini that has worked flawlessly as an everyday computer ever since we got it in 2017. It has a SSD, and boots to the login screen in about four seconds after powering on. It rarely has to update, and it never seems to lag.

My wife uses a more-recent iMac (2020 or so?) as her studio computer, and has had no issues with it whatsoever. Not bad, considering we got it secondhand for around $250.

Then, of course, my aforementioned iMac from 1999 is still up-and-running.

As someone who is pretty mobile-ignorant, I can't say anything about any sort of "iDevice." I have no interest in an iPhone or an iPad, and I can't say I've ever enjoyed using one in a professional setting. Really, I just don't like touchscreens. I also just feel like I'm always going to drop and break the damn thing.

I'm of the mindset that all modern Big Tech sucks. But it is nice when I can buy a modern electronic device and actually have it work, and hold up over time. To that end, yes, I will vouch for Apple desktops.

Yeah, thank GOD for child labor in third world countries.

Yep, that's Big Tech, all right. Where do you think all of our precious modern gaming devices are made...?

[Voor]

We’ve had 4-5 apple products and have been pleased with all of them. No complaints here.

[icepeople]

1) As someone who repairs/troubleshoots a lot of Apple stuff I might be able to walk you through the problems you're having. But I'm not sure if you'll ultimately feel like it's worth it because of item #2 (but PM me if you're interested).

2) You've pretty much described my experiences every time I try to cope with a Windows/Android device (at the moment being unable to get a mobile hotspot to work despite plenty of seeming know-how)...as in I can't understand how/why on Earth anyone puts up with such devices. Like finicky cars, toilet flushing levers and ovens, people tend to learn and overcome nuisances (and Apple has plenty of them on an always-growing list) until they sort of become second nature.

[HawgWyld]

Wow. We've converted to Macs at my law office (no big deal -- two computers) and everyone in my family carries iPhones (except for my son who has a Samsung Galaxy whatever-is-newest). I've had trouble with every Apple product I've owned to an extent, but more problems with Android and Windows. To each his own, of course.

On a related note, why is it that when someone brings up an issue with an Android phone, the answer is invariably "well, you're not using the *right* Android?"