BARRY COLLINS
Don’t fall into the flytraps that come bundled with every operating system: fly free with cross-platform software and services instead
Don’t fall into the flytraps that come bundled with every operating system: fly free with cross-platform software and services instead.
What is an operating system? Relax, this isn’t some Will Self-style navel gazing that ends up with me concluding that they’re actually a digital reflection of Marx’s Gattungswesen; that’s Dick Pountain’s job. But release the grip on your phone for one second and consider the real role of Windows or macOS or Android.
I’ve spent the past few years trying to detach myself from OSes, making myself as platform agnostic as possible. I bought a MacBook Pro because it was the hardware that best suited my needs at the time, but I run both macOS and Windows on the laptop. I don’t use Safari or Apple
Mail or iCloud backup or any of the other gubbins that come with macOS, because I don’t want to be locked into the platform. If it’s a Windows 11 laptop that catches my eye when it’s time for my next hardware refresh, it won’t be difficult to extricate myself – almost all of the desktop software I use is cross-platform.
The same goes with my mobile setup. I have an Android phone and an iPad. Yes, it would probably make more sense to switch to an iPhone and benefit from the cross-device harmony you get when everything is on the same platform (think features such as AirDrop or shared clipboards), but there isn’t an iPhone that can get close to the battery life on my Samsung Galaxy M31. At least not without spending silly money on extra battery packs. And it’s not a massive hassle to live in a mixed mobile environment: if an app doesn’t support Android and iPadOS, or can’t sync data between devices on two competing platforms, I don’t use it.
But I’m sure this isn’t true of the vast bulk of the general computing public. Like most of you, I’m the person who friends and family ring when something’s gone wonky on their computer or mobile devices. If I ask which browser or email software they’re using to help diagnose the latest disaster to befall their system, most don’t know. “I click on the email icon” is a common response. They’re using what shipped with the OS. Why wouldn’t they?
This correlation is particularly strong on mobile. If I take a look at that stats for my website
bigtechquestion.com in the first half of this year, I see that 88% of visitors running iOS were using Safari
(almost all of the remainder were on Chrome). On Android, 82% of users rocked up via the Chrome browser. What is bundled with the OS matters as much now on phones as it did on PCs when Microsoft was fighting court battles at the turn of the century to defend bunging in Internet Explorer with Windows.
This brings us neatly to Windows 11 and the apps that Microsoft has decided to bundle with its refreshed OS. Out goes yesterday’s brand Skype, in come Teams and an app dedicated to Microsoft’s cloud gaming service. The OS update becomes the vehicle for whatever its maker wants to push next, whether that be a new browser, email client or now collaboration software.
So, back to my original question: what is an OS? In many ways it feels like a loss leader, shining the spotlight on those products and services that its owner wants to promote. It’s no act of generosity for Apple and Microsoft to drop upgrade fees as they try to keep shovelling users towards the latest version of their OSes.
Don’t imagine that Android users are immune. It’s only three years since Google was fined £3.6 billion for forcing mobile network operators to install Chrome and other Google apps on Android phones. The Big Three all make money from bundled apps and services in some way.
It’s not as if the competition authorities haven’t tried to do anything about it. I’ve lost count of the times that Microsoft and Google have been spanked by the competition authorities, but they’re both still doing it, as is Apple. Bundling is commonplace, expected even. The fines are merely the costs of doing business.
Should there be an outright ban on bundling? Force consumers to pick from a range of browsers, email clients and so forth as part of the installation process, like the infamous Windows browser ballot? Considering that scheme’s lack of success, I’m far from convinced.
However, it’s hard to escape the feeling that Windows, macOS, Android and the rest are increasingly becoming flytraps, helping to glue customers to the various platforms. I shall continue to resist the bundled apps. Come fly with me, let’s fly, let’s fly away…
I’ve spent the past few years trying to detach myself from OSes, making myself as platform agnostic as possible
It’s hard to escape the feeling that Windows, macOS, Android and the rest are becoming flytraps, helping to glue customers to the platforms