The other day in a thread on Facebook, a friend of a friend asked why I use the Mac if it's so much trouble to go through an upgrade. My first response to the guy, who I know is a Linux user, is "That's easy for you to say."

Then I thought about it some more, and realized there are weird things about his life too. He has a great job, but he works for an organization that does a lot of awful things. I wouldn't ask why he accepts what must be a moral dilemma. But it's a similar question to the one he asked. Yes Apple sucks, and they fuck over their users regularly, but what's the alternative? (Before you answer, read the whole story.)

I use Macs for the same reason I use Facebook (and so does this guy, btw). In a perfect world all our work would be distributed, and it would all come together in a variety of forms, allowing freedoms we don't have with a centralized system. But we don't live in that world, and you know what -- that world might not even work. It's like the people in Republican states, always voting for "less government." If they really got their wish (don't worry the people who promise it don't really mean it) their lives would be miserable. Probably a lot of them would die. We accept a lot of compromise just to exist on our planet in 2014. The planet couldn't support so many people any other way. Hey it can't even really support all the people, even with all the compromising we do.

My friend's friend is an academic. I was in academia too, and it's easy to gloss over the contradictions in academic life, and look outside the bubble you live in and think of everyone else as flawed. An old wise teacher once said it's easy to find inner peace living at the top of a mountain, with nothing to bug you, but most of us don't live that way, nor would we likely want to.

I wanted to say to this friend of a friend, and now am doing so through my blog, we all make compromises. I use Macs because I want to make software that's relevant to Mac users. I could achieve PC nirvana, because I write software I actually have the ability that few people do, but my work would be relevant to far fewer people. I've made sacrifices over the years so my work can be relevant. I can't make good software working outside the world my users work in. I have to experience it as they do. That's why I use Macs, and why I use Facebook -- because they exist.

PS: I use Linux too, btw. And Windows.

PPS: I realize it's the same reason I love and use Central Park. It's a place of beauty that belongs to everyone. Without the people it would just be some land. It wouldn't be a millionth as interesting.

PPPS: Accepting moral compromise is like submission.