Since 2004 when I got my first iMac and iPod, I have been navigating inside the simple Apple ecosystem, convinced that I was in the safest, most efficient technological world possible. I was drinking the Apple Kool-Aid, and then around 2014 I bought my third iMac with i5 processor and 8 gigs of RAM, and it was always on the slow side, freezing up, and in general a buzzkill. Close to five and a half years later, it's slower than ever, especially with Word.
Meanwhile, my work got me a Dell laptop with i7, 16 gigs of RAM, and 512 SSD, and it smokes. Apple is using similar specs on their higher priced models, but do I spend $2,200 on a new iMac with similar specs or do I spend about $1,200 on a Lenovo Yoga 720 with the same specs and touchscreen? I'm leaning toward the latter.
I already bought my second smartphone yesterday, a Samsung Galaxy S9, and I forced myself to learn how to listen to podcasts on two apps: the very polished looking Pocket Casts and the less snazzy looking Pod Bean. However, Pocket Casts won't let me upload any more new podcasts without giving me an error message. Pod Bean seems to work better for now. I also have Google Podcasts, but they don't appear to play continuously, which is a feature I need since I sleep with podcasts running all night due to a particular type of neurosis and insomnia I must endure. I find "ocean sounds" and other white noise horrifying in a claustrophobic kind of way. I need to hear human voices to get through the nights.
The point is I have had to learn the new way of listening to podcasts: on a smartphone, as opposed to the way I've been doing it for several years: Using an iPod to download from iTunes. Getting out of the Apple ecosystem has been a source of anxiety since I fear change.
But sleep is a big deal, and knowing my tech companions are at the ready means a lot to me. I'm leaving Apple Momma, at least for now.
Will I come crying back for Momma? Or will I learn to adapt to technologies outside my comfort zone? I hope I don't come back to Apple. As an engineering friend said to me, "When you pay extra for Apple, you're paying for easy."
Is Apple really that more easy than the alternatives out there? We shall see.