Apple has locked me in the same cage Microsoft's built for Windows 10 users

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Alternative OSes and Devices

  • Several comments highlight Linux-based phones/tablets (Librem 5/11, Pinephone, Raspberry Pi 5 tablet, Framework laptops in tablet-ish setups) as escapes from Apple/Google/Microsoft, but:
    • Performance, price, and reliability are widely criticized; $800–$1000 “freedom devices” compared unfavorably to midrange Androids or iPads that are 4–10x faster.
    • Lack of 5G, weaker carrier support, and missing mainstream apps/banking/wallet features are seen as major tradeoffs.
  • Others argue supporting these alternatives matters to counter the mobile duopoly, even if they’re inconvenient.
  • ChromeOS with Crostini and Android+Termux or new Android Linux VMs are cited as partial middle-ground solutions, though privacy concerns and “once I need a VM, the OS has lost” sentiments appear.

Tablet vs Laptop Paradigms

  • Broad agreement: iPadOS is great as an appliance and weak as a general-purpose laptop replacement; Windows is the inverse on tablets.
  • Some insist the author simply bought the wrong product: iPad is an appliance, MacBook is the computer.
  • Others counter that Apple’s own marketing (“what’s a computer?”, keyboards/trackpads, “pro” branding) deliberately blurs that line, so frustration is reasonable.
  • Hardware is praised (M-series performance, display, pencil, portability); the limitations are seen as almost entirely policy/OS choices (no root, no real VMs, constrained filesystem).

Real-World Use Cases for Tablets

  • Many commenters dismiss iPads as “content consumption toys,” but others list substantial “real work”:
    • Drawing, music production, live sound mixing, sheet music, note-taking, business operations, field work, construction, pastors/politicians reading/speaking.
  • Consensus emerges that tablets are excellent in specific domains (pen-based, highly mobile, single-app workflows) but poor for heavy multitasking, programming, or complex file-centric workflows.

Lock-In, Monopolies, and Ownership

  • Comparison between Apple and Microsoft:
    • Microsoft’s Windows 11 cut-off is framed as ending support for older but still-open PCs, pushing users toward Linux or new hardware.
    • Apple’s iPad is framed as powerful hardware intentionally locked into a gated OS with no escape route.
  • Heated debate over root/admin:
    • One side: owners should be able to gain full control or at least hand devices to someone who can; lack of such options is “a cage”.
    • Other side: most users neither want nor can safely handle root; strong guardrails protect them from a hostile Internet; appliances are legitimate choices.
  • Worries that every category (phones, consoles, even PCs) is trending toward closed platforms with rent-seeking, anti-repair, and e-waste incentives.

Linux and the Desktop “Choice of Two”

  • Disagreement with the article’s implication that only two desktop OSes are suitable:
    • Some say Linux is the “least terrible” option and fully viable if you don’t depend on specific proprietary apps.
    • Others note missing or weaker equivalents for Office, Adobe, high-end media, CAD, etc., and strong inertia around workflows and keystrokes.
    • Workarounds like Windows VMs on Linux are common.

Reaction to the Article Itself

  • Many see it as an unoriginal “I tried to replace my laptop with an iPad and failed” rant.
  • Others defend it as useful advocacy: documenting how marketing, lock-in, and artificial constraints make powerful hardware unnecessarily limited and push the whole market toward cages.