As a computer professional for the past 35 years, I’ve worked with a number of computers and operating systems.\u00a0 That I prefer Apple Macintoshes for my personal use does not mean that I find Apple completely flawless.\u00a0 Still, Apple and its variety of OSes (Mac, iOS, WatchOS, tvOS, etc.) seem to do their work well.\u00a0 Most of the time.<\/p>\n
A few years ago I purchased a Google Nexus 7 tablet.\u00a0 I did so because I wanted the experience of Android OS.\u00a0 If I’m going to comment or criticize something, I should at least be familiar with it, no?\u00a0 So, yes, it was an impulse buy; nothing I needed for work.<\/p>\n
But what a disaster it’s been.\u00a0 Shipping with version 4.3 (Jelly Bean), I have upgraded the Nexus as OS versions and updates were released.\u00a0 It is currently running 5.1.1 (Lollipop).\u00a0 And I think the Nexus does not support anything newer, which means I’m stuck in the past, with an unsupported OS just four years after buying.\u00a0 Contrast that with my Macbook Air, which I bought in 2012, and is humming along on MacOS Sierra (10.12.1), the latest.<\/p>\n
I wouldn’t complain about the Nexus being obsolete if it only worked.\u00a0 But it doesn’t, and that’s the problem.\u00a0 For the past couple of years I have found that every application and system process freezes, crashes, and renders the device unusable.\u00a0 I might want to check the weather, and the weather app locks up.\u00a0 I might want to check my Gmail and the Inbox crashes.\u00a0 I’ve pretty much decided it’s not usable for anything except playing a game or two.<\/p>\n
Strike that.\u00a0 It doesn’t even play games without crashing.\u00a0 Candy Crush Soda Saga and Bejeweled Blitz are the only two games that I waste time playing, and even they don’t run well.\u00a0 Did I say “run?”\u00a0 When they work (and that’s a big WHEN), they often crawl, become unresponsive, and crash.<\/p>\n
I don’t think I got a fluke.\u00a0 And, since the device is out of warranty and not updateable, about the only future I see for it is as a range target for one day when I want to take my .45 out for some practice.\u00a0 The mental image of my glass-and-plastic device exploding into shrapnel continues to give me pleasure.<\/p>\n
Some day.\u00a0 And after that day, Android will never exist within my sphere of computerdom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As a computer professional for the past 35 years, I’ve worked with a number of computers and operating systems.\u00a0 That I prefer Apple Macintoshes for my personal use does not mean that I find Apple completely flawless.\u00a0 Still, Apple and … Continue reading