Windows or iOS?

[JohnGC]

Good point well made - although I don't recall you mentioning that it was the engineering sector previously. Perhaps I missed it? I also wonder how many of the engineering sector actually need or use the app(s) that you are referring to? I suspect that its not all of them by a long chalk, but its all irrelevant as I'm not into point scoring either. I do find myself bemused by the hardline attitude some people have taken up against Apple. Some of it is just irrational. However I am also bemused by the MS haters and Bill Gates haters, so I'm equally bemused either way.

Thank you.

I mentioned "engineering" earlier in the thread, post 25.

The problem in the UK with the words "engineering" and "engineer" is that we use them very loosely and can mean the person who comes to fix your home heating and IK Brunel. It is true that a small sub-set of those working in the engineering sector will use software intended for design such as CAD. Very many more will use automated systems for test and production, many of which are Windows based and some of which I have contributed.

This story is rather old now and things at Apple have changed since but it serves to illustrate a point. National Instruments is a large US company who manufacture test and measurement equipment hardware and software. Their best known product is called LabView. This is a graphical compiler, you drag and drop symbols for data acquisition, analysis, loops, reporting on to a screen and join them up with lines. It interfaces very easily with their hardware. It has a long history and was largely enabled by the first Mac GUIs. Around 2000 I was told that the official policy at National Instruments regarding the Mac version was to wait until there was only one user left then ask them if they would mind changing to Windows. That hasn't happend yet and I suspect there has been a bit of a renaissance; since then Apple became popular with audio, video and graphics editors.

John

 

[maby]

Good point well made - although I don't recall you mentioning that it was the engineering sector previously. Perhaps I missed it? I also wonder how many of the engineering sector actually need or use the app(s) that you are referring to? I suspect that its not all of them by a long chalk, but its all irrelevant as I'm not into point scoring either. I do find myself bemused by the hardline attitude some people have taken up against Apple. Some of it is just irrational. However I am also bemused by the MS haters and Bill Gates haters, so I'm equally bemused either way.

Well, I think the "hardline attitude" that some people have taken up against Apple is driven by its smugness that creeps through on occasions - "It just works!" - it just works, my foot! I have had Apple products that didn't work - and Apple made no serious attempt at ever making them work.

 

[john_morris_uk]

Well, I think the "hardline attitude" that some people have taken up against Apple is driven by its smugness that creeps through on occasions - "It just works!" - it just works, my foot! I have had Apple products that didn't work - and Apple made no serious attempt at ever making them work.

I'm surprised that Apple didn't attempt to make it work. Their Genius bar and online support is some of the best that I've experienced. (Including work based IT support in various institutions) I can only speak as I've found though and for us, it has always 'Just worked". No smugness intended.

 

[maby]

I'm surprised that Apple didn't attempt to make it work. Their Genius bar and online support is some of the best that I've experienced. (Including work based IT support in various institutions) I can only speak as I've found though and for us, it has always 'Just worked". No smugness intended.

Apple had a long running problem with their keyboards on MacBooks - they dropped characters. On the Apple hosted forum you would get long threads started by owners with titles like "elp m kybrd drps charctrs!" - the thread would run for a week or so, then the forum moderators quietly deleted it - the problem was never fixed. My expensive Airport WiFI hub kicked devices - including Macs - off at random - again the subject of long threads on the Apple forum which were just periodically deleted.

The joke on the forum at the time was

"How on earth did this get to market, didn't they test it?"
"Of course they tested it - it is white, isn't it?"

 

[john_morris_uk]

Apple had a long running problem with their keyboards on MacBooks - they dropped characters. On the Apple hosted forum you would get long threads started by owners with titles like "elp m kybrd drps charctrs!" - the thread would run for a week or so, then the forum moderators quietly deleted it - the problem was never fixed. My expensive Airport WiFI hub kicked devices - including Macs - off at random - again the subject of long threads on the Apple forum which were just periodically deleted.

The joke on the forum at the time was

"How on earth did this get to market, didn't they test it?"
"Of course they tested it - it is white, isn't it?"

Ouch - point taken. We seem to have been lucky not to have experienced such issues.