I’m Not a Mac #4–Control Issues: Why Apple Doesn’t Want You to Use Linux
(Photo: “Where are those happy days, they seem so hard to find…”)
This post is part of my “I’m Not a Mac” series, chronicling my controversial migration away from Apple Computer after 15 years as a Mac user. Find other entries in the “I’m Not a Mac” series archive.
[Welcome to new readers from Free Software Daily, LinuxToday, Tuxmachines.org, and other places. Thank you for clicking through.]
Boy, what a tempest I discovered when I posted last week about my disillusionment with Apple Computer and my ongoing migration from OS X to the new and well-reviewed Windows 7. Last time I checked in, I had jailbroken my iPhone to install the unofficial Google Voice mobile app. (You can find all my updates in my Migration from Mac OS X post category.) This week I’ve been taking a closer look at Linux–and discovered yet another Apple tentacle wrapped around my right to choose my own OS: iTunes, and Apple’s ongoing refusal to port it to Linux.
I dove into Linux at the suggestion of several commenters who urged me to take a look at the open-source end of the OS world before deciding to go over to the Microsoft “dark side.” Why not? I figured. One-half of my goal is never again to have to pay several hundred extra dollars for specially branded hardware just to run my OS of choice, and the other half is to remove myself from Steve Jobs’ heavy-handed control of the applications I choose to install there.
Now, Linux is to Apple the way that Protestantism is to Catholicism: there’s little secretive mysticism, and lots of free choice. Most surprising to newbies like me, there is no single “official” version of the OS. Instead, dozens of freely available, mostly open-source distributions of the software exist, each aiming to satisfy a different set of users, and most installable on almost any machine.
I started out playing with popular “distros” Ubuntu and Kubuntu, but found both a bit clunky (Ubuntu seemed pretty plain to look at, and Kubuntu’s interface was needlessly confusing.) I like an OS that’s pretty but unobtrusive, and apparently I’m also a “home user tinkerer who likes my multimedia files to play out of the box.” (I took this test to find that out.) So yesterday I started exploring Linux Mint, an OS based on Ubuntu designed to be minimalist yet snazzy.
At first glance, the crisp-looking interface backs up Mint’s slogan, “From freedom came elegance.” I won’t tell you I installed the thing, because the version of Mint I explored (there are others) includes proprietary drivers that conflict with U.S. copyright law. Unlike other OSes, in Linux, programs cost nothing, are downloaded from safe, virus-free central repositories, and work across multiple OS versions.
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for hardware compatibility. A browse through the Ubuntu and Mint forums told me that late-model Mac users have had problems getting basic hardware components to work with Linux, including critical things like Wifi cards. The reason? Use of proprietary drivers by Apple that don’t have direct workarounds. It’s the same reason that you can’t play mp3s and DVDs out of the box with most versions of Linux–you have to download and perhaps pay to use the drivers that give you the “right” to access your own media.
Even with the that problem solved in the don’t-use-me-in-the-U.S. version of Linux Mint, there still remains one big hurdle to my ability to consider Linux a potential new OS: iTunes. It’s 2009 and Apple still refuses to port the world’s leading media player and online media distribution channel to Linux. That leaves no native way for Linux users to sync iPods and iPhones.
The Linux user forums suggest that Apple likes it this way. Linux is open source, its users prefer to control their own software and rights decisions. Even without DRM on iTunes Store music any longer, Apple could never hope to control how people chose to use a Linux port of the media player. Thus, no iTunes.
Even worse, although there have been workarounds developed over the years, including running iTunes via Windows virtualization (WINE software) and using third-party apps to at least get music and photos onto the phone manually, in the latest iPhone OS release (3.0+), Apple deliberately altered the phone’s file structure to render it incompatible with Linux workarounds.
These are the same control-freaky shenanigans on the part of Apple that have me wanting to part ways with the company and its computing solutions in the first place. Think about that–Apple thumbing its nose at a community of millions of alternate OS users simply because it can’t control how they use their own computers.
If I wanted to switch to Linux and keep my iPhone, I would either have to also keep a backup computer running Mac OS X to sync my phone (not an optimal option), delay my switch until Linux developers came up with another workaround…or simply migrate directly to Windows 7, where iTunes already exists. It’s amazing that a decision by Apple might force me directly into the Microsoft camp, bypassing the equally Microsoft-unfriendly, open-source community that, if Apple had any sense, would be seen as an ally in its competition with the Windows world rather than an afterthought.
I guess if you’re leaving the fold, Steve Jobs would rather you stay somewhere he and his company can keep tabs on you (and remotely brick your iPhone for being naughty, if desired.) This recent PC World article [Editor's Note: link fixed] talks about Apple’s deliberate strategy of locking Mac users into proprietary software and hardware that make it difficult to migrate to another operating system if ever they decided to do so. After all, a highly captive user base means a guaranteed income stream from future iPod and MacBook purchases. The magazine’s top two Apple “gotchas”? iTunes and iPods/iPhones.
Apple’s brand of one-way trip marketing sounds a lot like a cult to me. Or that scary fish from Finding Nemo where you’re attracted to the shining light, only to be devoured upon coming too close the the shadow-shrouded jaws. Perhaps even the bits and bytes version of a roach motel. Yes, I’m that over Cupertino at this point.
Ultimately, I couldn’t care less about iTunes in and of itself. I’ll eventually own an Android phone and there are third-party syncing solutions for Google’s phone platform on all three major OSes. But for right now, I’m annoyed. Apple’s ongoing attempt to control the OS choice of former users by trying to steer them clear of Linux is mean-spirited. Every time I encounter another such element of Apple’s deeply entrenched strategy to control its own users–and apparently, its former users, too–all it does is stiffen my resolve to get the heck off this computing platform once and for all after a decade and a half of use.
And perhaps scrub myself with a robust loofa to get rid of the stench of the Jobs years while I’m at it.
Other posts you might like from Chicago Carless:
Last week, I replaced my Apple iPhone 3G with a Google Android phone. Here's why I did it, why I think Android is the better smartphone platform, and a look at what I did with my former 3G. Think: hammer...
Many of them have expressed shock, anger, and in the case of the AngryMacBastards podcast, a desire to 'put a bullet' in my head for writing publicly about my disillusionment with Apple Computer.
Back from the Christmas break, and happy to have not spent too much money during the holidays, when what has to go and happen? Apple iCEO Steve Jobs has to release sweet, new, formerly 'The Enemy' Intel Core Duo processor-based media-center iMacs, to replace the now-aging G4 and G5 IBM/Motorola processors that essentially ...
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- Mad Genius (madgenius) 's status on Friday, 13-Nov-09 01:05:01 UTC - Identi.ca
- Dan Dart (dandart) 's status on Friday, 13-Nov-09 16:06:23 UTC - Identi.ca
- Apple Keeps Losing to GNU/Linux Because of Draconian Attitude | Boycott Novell
- I’m Not a Mac #6–OS X Elements I’d Like to Take With Me
- I’m Not a Mac #9–Why I Walked Away from Apple for Windows 7 | CHICAGO CARLESS
- Comments and Trust « dssstrkl
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Mike Doyle, I beg to differ. Jonah has a nicely written response to nearly everything you said. Not only did he logically answer all of your complaints; he did it astoundingly well. The only thing you had to offer in response was a personal attack, consisting of the following;
“So you can feel free to keep being Steve Jobs’ money slave. I’ll take my money, and my right to choose, elsewhere.”
1. Money slave? That is an unjustified attack. he clearly pointed out, and answered everything for you. Name calling is not a show of defiance, or intellect. it only demonstrates your emotional ability to handle something like this.
2. Apple never forced you to buy their products. Microsoft never forced you to buy their products. If you want to use linux, you can, on any x86 computer. There are many methods. First of all, you can create a partition for linux, and install linux that way. Of course, bootcamp does not naturally support linux, and requires hacking. I however, expect that anyone who knows how to operate linux should be able to follow simple internet instructions on how to use linux on a bootcamp setup.
In addition, you can also use parallels and vmware to virtualize linux, without any hacking or code modification on your part.
There is a conflict with what you have stated, regarding linux, and apple’s purported hate towards linux. If apple “hated” linux, why would apple, a company bent on utter control and dominance allow companies like vmware and fusion to run these operating systems.
In addition, apple has made changes to their hardware for reasons other than “preventing linux users from installing linux on apple hardware”. Specifically, apple has made special changes to their internal hardware to prevent OSX from being installed on computers not made by apple. Having special hardware allows OSX to recognize an apple computer over a non-apple one.
This may bring up another potential question; “Why does apple force OSX to run on their own hardware?”. It is unfortunate, and even I as a mac user will admit this. I believe that OSX is a superior operating system to windows 7 and linux, and I would absolutely enjoy using it on non-apple branded hardware. There are however, points to consider.
1. Apple came from a technological age where computer makers also made their own operating systems. 3rd party OEMs did not come into being until microsoft in the late 80’s. Computer companies (such as apple and IBM) are following this business today.
2. Apple wants to service their own computers. Having to service unknown hardware can be confusing to both the end user, and a service provider. By having exclusive hardware, it allows a company to service a computer quickly, efficiently, and with assurance.
I am not attacking your choice, and neither would I want to shoot you in the head for this choice. It is your own choice, and noone has the right to threaten your life with something as silly as your differing opinion on what computers you use. Just realize however, that I am also threatened by many PC users about my choice of using macs, as are many other computer users about their choice of operating system or computer vendor. It is incredibly stupid, but stupid people will remain stupid, and we must ignore that.
Just realize that despite all of these threats, noone forced you to use an apple computer, or to buy their expensive hardware. Buying a computer is not like smoking, you shouldn’t become an addict to a particular vendor. I use macs, but I also use windows. I have an iMac, but I also have an alienware m15x for gaming. Apple may prefer that you use mac computers, but they aren’t going to chase after you by choosing to use windows. You are free to do as you please, so please, do not claim that a company like apple is controlling you, because they are not.
@Yelonde:
The reason why its hard to boot linux or Windows on a Mac is because Macs use EFI as a bootloader instead of BIOS. Windows doesn’t support booting from EFI at all, and support is still experimental in Linux. Both grub and LILO seem to be suffering from some severe bugs, so there’s a lot of work to do there. Both Boot Camp and the osx86 project enable multiple OS booting by making a virtual BIOS boot partition on top of EFI.
Early Intel Macs included something called a TPM chip that, if Apple wanted, would prevent anyone from booting a non-OS X operating system. Or Apple could have made OS X look for the TPM chip and refuse to boot without it. Apple not only hasn’t done that, but Macs haven’t shipped with a TPM chip at all. In addition, OS X ships with no encryption or authentication at all. It does look for certain hardware configurations, but that’s mainly because OS X is only licensed to run on Macs of a certain vintage (like how Snow Leopard won’t run on a PPC machine).
Mike and others are complaining because Apple doesn’t provide linux drivers for Mac hardware or ship a linux version of iTunes. Its the contention of myself and others that Apple is under no obligation to do so, and does nothing to stand in the way of anyone who wants to write their own. Its like saying that Microsoft is evil for not shipping a Mac version of IE or Zune, or a Linux version of Office.
Also, Mike’s lying about being threatened for leaving the Mac. http://twitter.com/angrymacbastard/status/5754620870
http://twitter.com/angrymacbastard/status/5754638896
Of course, he’s lying about a whole bunch of shit here and doesn’t like being called out on it, so anyone who does so is automatically dismissed as an Apple fanboy.
I’m glad your moving on from Mac OSX. I’m a Mac user myself, but that doesn’t mean the whole world has to be a Mac. If you haven’t already, give Ubuntu a whirl. I have used it and really like the interface. Unix based, so it’s fairly safe and stable. Good luck with your new OS home!! I’m anxious to hear how you like Windows 7. For the rest of the nutty computer world, Macs and PC’s have to co-exist. Thanks for being bold and taking the courage to share your experiences!
Actually, you’re wrong on that. Since Vista Service Pack 1, Windows has been able to boot from EFI.
(That quote was in response to Pall in comment 55, btw, I forgot to attribute it to him.)
@Wes
I should have specified Windows client doesn’t boot EFI, just as you probably should have specified that only Server does. Given the nature of the discussion and the fact that unless someone has *very* good reason to do so, pretty much no one runs Server on a laptop. That and Server 08 costs almost as much as a new Mac laptop up front…
Wrong again, Paul.
From the link, it specifically mentions Windows Vista SP1. The Server version is Windows Server 2008.
For those playing at home, the very title of the file I linked to above was “Installing Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista SP1 on UEFI Systems”
I had assumed for all of these years that Vista was the client OS, but maybe I was wrong. Though you can see how I could make that mistake. I’ve been the idiot that’s been running the server OS known as Vista on my laptop for a year or so.
@Wes
Yes, after actually reading the paper, I was wrong about Vista SP1+ not booting from EFI. Perhaps I should have not relied on 2 years old information…
Still doesn’t change my other points, though. Too bad others aren’t as willing to admit to mistakes.
From my long history with both Windows and Mac I can say with certainty that Apple is doing nothing new that they have not always done. Neither is Microsoft. Both companies have ALWAYS tried to keep their users in their fold. Both companies have used their software to break competing software on their OSs.
It’s not criminal, it’s business. Don’t look back at some rosy past of Macintosh without talking to someone burned by the Mac IIFX.
Or Windows 95 and IE.
I hope you find your nirvana of open source freedom but I doubt it exists. I use all three platforms and all have their pluses and minuses. I prefer the Mac user experience but that’s just me.
sudo “what the hell do we need a command line for?”
Zed, I responded to your latest comment here. You’re right, different strokes for different folks and no company is your close friend. More in my later response.
Is that last line Linux humor? Like:
“Make me a sandwich?”
No.
“Sudo, make me a sandwich.”
OK.
Well Paul (sorry for misspelling your name initially), note that that was my only criticism of your post. In fact, that was the first of only two comments I ever made in this blog (the second clarifying the first). I said nothing against any of your other points. I just wanted to correct the record. For that, you called me a “fanboi” on Twitter. This is the behavior that inflames these debates and causes people to throw up their hands at “Mac zealots” or whatever type of partisan that everyone decries. You probably got caught up in the heat of the argument. I can understand that. It can happen to all of us. But understand this — I don’t care about Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, etc. I used them all. Frequently. I survived. And I don’t have any more attachment to them than I do to the program that operates the DVR in my cable box. Don’t question my motives, without better evidence.
You keep carping on about leaving Apple behind yet you predicate all your options on compatibility with your precious iPhone and iPod. You just don’t make sense.