My birthday reminds me of the passing of Steve Jobs as they are a day apart. It's been four years since the co-founder of Apple Inc. passed away and with him Apple's successful philosophy of simplicity and elegance.
Like many, I have enjoyed the simplicity and ease of use of Apple software for many years, but the honeymoon is over. I often find myself talking to my iPhone in discontent asking "why?". I have found myself walking the isles at the Microsoft store, Best Buy, Sony, etc. seeking for a phone replacement, but Samsung's gorgeous displays and functionality are eclipsed by the Android's OS lack of uniformity and simplicity. There are too many versions, too many hacks, too many bugs which would simply add up to my already stressed American worker class life.
iTunes for example, has gone from being easy to use to unnecessarily complex due to the addition of features that I don't even care for. Before playing music on the iPhone was easy, I could do everything by tapping an icon, with one finger, without having to read the display much. Today, I have to read long lists of menus which are clutter that get in the way. I actually have friends still using the old iOS (from the iPhone 5) and they refuse to upgrade, because they take a peek at my phone and get stressed after a few minutes.
The only reason Apple devices are still popular is because there are no good contenders out there. Samsung has great hardware, but the Android OS is in essence like Linux. "Hey! making it work is half the fun!" - For kids probably, but I'm a young adult with a job that imposes an amount of stress only comparable to climbing Mount Everest, and I'm not alone. There are many friends and colleagues that have it worse than me and I hardly have a weekend off and my personal relationships, if any, are hanging by a spider web's thread and that's what our American society has turned to: a high percentage of jobless folks and the other employed ones are over stressed, suffering from a number of nervous system disarrays ranging from panic attacks to eating disorders and obesity. The root cause to this is disorganization and poor leadership at many different levels, but us, the working class contribute by not doing something about it.
On October 4th, my birthday will pass by once again finding me wiser, more knowledgeable, economically stable, without much free time, with less time to hang out with friends and loved ones, doing less fun activities than before, spending more money on things that help me relax (spas, gym, magazines, books, etc.).
And to end my ramblings, Apple will hopefully go back to basics and what their essence used to be, otherwise they may end up badly and Steve will not be there to save them again. A new company will emerge to challenge Apple one of these days.
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