I don’t mean that sarcastically. I was a jerk to someone, and I bet a burned a bridge. It was an acquaintance that I had briefly worked with years ago. They posted something that I don’t disagree with, but I thoroughly dislike how it was presented. I felt it was out of context. I then was a jerk, and made things worse.
What bugged me about the whole thing was how information was presented. I see it increasingly, and I admit I’m guilty of it too. I can’t understand how often information is spread when it represents such a narrow range of the entire subject and yet people can accept it without critical thinking being applied. I routinely hear, and something I admit I was did a lot, is the ongoing flame-war between Apple/Windows/Google. The “My Mac is so much more secure!” argument gets tired. I rarely hear of a time when someone takes all reasonable security measures, keeps their software up-to-date, practices safe methods for being on-line, and still gets a virus. I would bet that the majority of people who get some sort of malware do not keep things updated, download programs/scripts from unknown or untrusted sources and run them without thinking. “My iPhone doesn’t get malware!” doesn’t take into account that the number of malware ridden apps on Android’s market consist of 3rd-party markets being the host. Yes, a few apps have been found on the official market, but they are usually immediately removed. I am not surprised things get through, Android’s entire idea is based around open source. You can get the source for Android itself, modify it and install it to your phone. I’ve done it routinely with each Android phone I have ever owned. I do this because I get tired of the vendor sponsored crapware that is installed by Verizon or the phone manufacturer.
That all said, I think that when people perpetuate ideas that are incomplete, it feels to me like they are just trying to justify their opinion. People like Apple’s products because they make good things. They are solid, perform great, and serve their purposes very well. However, if your goals don’t align properly with their ideals, you can’t do too much with them. Yes, you can develop things to get what you want, but I mean in general. The average user can’t do that, or simply won’t even if they have the ability to learn to do it. I don’t like the way Apple handles their ecosystem, I like the ability and freedom to do whatever I feel like with what I buy. I don’t expect to be supported in this, supporting a million different variations can’t be done by big companies. I understand that, and I accept the responsibility for my own actions. Not that others don’t, it’s just that some people like to have a lot of things taken care of for them. That is fine, I accept that others are happy with that.
What I want is for others to be able to accept that I like to tinker with what I have. Rebooting my system once a day doesn’t bother me. Dealing with a dozen config files isn’t any trouble for me. Being given a very generic base and being expected to make it by myself if I want it to be special is what I like. It’s why I use Linux (Fedora) for my personal computers. Accept that what you think isn’t a good approach may be perfect for me, and be secure in what you like.