->Interesting. I see more and more developers switching to Mac and taking it seriously. My last office switched completely from Ubuntu to Mac.
"OS updates are fast and furious— a lot of hype but little of real value..."
->The real value is stability. I don't care for a 100% revamped UI every 4 years like Microsoft pushes. I like a familiar platform that is steadily improved.
"Core operating system quality is declining as resources are diverted to software development in more profitable lines"
->The core OS is Unix. Unix has had decades to get it right and I doubt Apple is somehow ruining it in the last few years. Yes, Apple focuses attention to the consumer appliances, but I feel that's mostly because investors and press are obsessed with that so that's just what it appears to us. I suspect they fund Mac OS pretty well.
"We begin to tread in dangerous territory: potential data loss"
->I agree here 100%. I've seen too many Time Machine problems.
"Developers are forced without recourse (by API changes and Apple Store requirements) into costly and arbitrary updates which themselves carry the risk of new bugs."
->I wouldn't know. The great thing about Mac is that it's a good OS for webapp development which I focus on. So I encounter none of these issues.
"Useful functionality is prohibited in the name of security."
->Have you been around in that last 20 years? Do you like ActiveX and Applet plugins in browsers too?
"Outright removal of an API in a minor release."
->Well, if you know that, isn't that half the battle? Pay attention to minor releases then. Maybe since they can't really upgrade beyond the major version of 10...
"Apple’s iron hand over what constitutes a 'right and proper' application leaves no room for disagreement."
->Agreed this is a step backwards. But the blame is partly on users for accepting this.
"Hardware for professional use is released in 3-6 year cycles (Mac Pro), or is dropped entirely (XServe and related)."
->All the professionals I know like the MacBook Airs increasingly. Hardware has stagnated overall in the industry. Apple has pushed forward with thinner cases, NAND drives, and Retina displays: much more innovation than competitors.
"The trend to a new breed of 'shallow' features: those useful only for beginners and entertainment"
->Bells and whistles sell. So sue them. They got the core, essential features done on the first OSX release.
"The general dumbing-down of features in every Apple OS X program."
->I like this. The default OS X software is more about managing your life. I don't need a fancy shortcut to sync my camera to iPhoto (no idea if this exists). I need shortcuts for development where it actually saves time since I rebuild 50 times a day, and Xcode for instance has configurable shortcuts.
"The general trend to introducing stupidly inappropriate iOS-isms into OS X (e.g., Mission Control)."
->Really?
"The OS X donkey cart is getting loaded with ribbons and flyers and decorations and marching band"
->Did you run out of ideas for the article at this point?
"So-called OS X 'upgrades' now consist largely of ill-conceived dilettante eye-candy features that reduce usability, clutter the user interface and introduce scads of new bugs."
->Apple QA could improve. But I think their UI's have steadily improved which is important. Look at the first release of OSX to now: much better.
"The real talent at Apple has probably been diverted away from OS X to iP* development"
->[citation needed]