Well said @Jessica.

@jbcohen, I consider the iOS on bigger lock down than Mac OS X. I recently returned to using a Mac after nearly a two decade period in which I used only Windows PCs. That was partly due to my work and partly due to the overly high cost of Mac computers and partly because I never liked the Power PC chips (or whatever they were called). I bought a Mac Mini earlier this year and so far absolutely love it. But now a days Macs use Intel chips and they play nice with non-Apple peripherals. For example, my mouse is a Logitech model made for PCs and my monitor is a Samsung. As far as software, Apple does not force you to only install apps through their Mac OS X app store. You can download software from 3rd party sources and directly install it, unlike the iOS app store which is mandatory for iOS devices. So to me it indeed seems like iOS devices are more locked down than Mac OS X devices.

What do I think about the iOS lock down? Well I tried several Android devices including the Kindle Fire original and 2, other tablets, and my phone is a Motorola Atrix. I hate them all because of the Android slop that is called software. They all eat battery life, and so many of the Android apps are just total crap. It is true that Android is much more configurable, but its openness has generated apps that do nasty things and/or that just don't work that well. I like the idea of the openness, but in reality, at least as far as Android goes, it means suckier apps than those for iOS. The iOS apps just seem better overall, more intuitive, they work, and they look terrific. With Android you never know what quality you will get nor how intuitive it will be to operate the app. Long story short, I have gotten rid of all the Android crap with the exception of my phone. I keep the phone only because it is locked in to my AT&T contract for a few more months. As soon as it turns 2 years old it is going to be replaced with an iPhone.

As far as Mac computers, I'm completely happy with them. I keep an older Windows 7 laptop for things I need to do that are easier done on a Windows PC. Mac OS X has very few amateur radio apps so I use Windows to program my radios. But otherwise the PC now collects dust on a shelf.

EDIT: Another reason I stayed away from Macs was my investment in photography software bought for the PCs. I own the latest versions of Photoshop and Lightroom. Then I discovered that Adobe allows you to transfer licensing from the Windows platform to the Mac, and they don't charge for that either. I just called them and they made the switch in licensing and rendered the PC versions inoperable. That was the last hold out, so I then switched over to Macs.