[phillipamann]

I started to contemplate this too. I love Apple products and I use a 13" 2017 tbMBP at work and a 15" 2017 tbMBP at home. I, of course, have an iPhone. I have my complaints like everyone else about these products and the decisions made for software and hardware but I recently had my first moment of doubt when Apple removed Freedom from the App Store [1]. It bothered me greatly that I wasn't free to install software that I wanted to on my iPhone that I purchased unlocked and paid quite a great deal of money for. Of course, this is exactly the sort of argument that Richard Stallman makes and has been making for years. Of course, he is more extreme than me but I now understand his point well.

It was the first time that I decided to look at Ubuntu again but I just can't go back to this. I like to use my Mac for more than programming and the Mac just excels at everything else. The iPhone is so much better of an experience to me compared to an Android device as well.

However, despite all of the complaints and issues, there really isn't a computer that does everything as well as the Mac can. If all I did with my computer was programming, it wouldn't be a big deal to go Linux but then of course my iPhone wouldn't have as nice as an experience so I'd likely have to go Android too.

Unfortunately, in this new age of monopolies, I doubt I'll see a new provider arise to challenge Apple, Microsoft, or Google with either a new operating system, hardware, and software. We have to chose the system that will work the best for us individually including the possible flaws that will come with the system.

I personally think the macOS will become more and more closed as time goes and it will resemble iOS further and further. I wonder what that will mean for developers and programmers who do more than use Xcode for our own development and need a nice full featured shell...

[1] https://freedom.to/blog/freedom-has-been-temporarily-removed...