Why It Is Okay To Be Tech Agnostic: The Common Roots Of Apple And Google/Android

Apple’s OS X, the Android OS, and even the Chrome OS have one major thing in common, actually: The bedrock of Unix. Unix was an operating system developed in the 1970s by the Bell Labs for AT&T. Bell Labs licensed the code and the philosophy behind it in the late 1970s. Since then, Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, 386BSD, FreeBSD, and SunOS have mushroomed.

Apple’s OS X is based on a Unix core, with a proprietary GUI on top. On the other hand, both Android and the Chrome OS are based on Linux with their own modifications. In short, the two competing tech giants actually have a common philosophy: Programming their software based on the Unix architecture.

For those who missed it as well, Google’s founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin actually count Steve Jobs as one of the tech icons they look up to. In spite of the fact that their companies now compete against each other, especially in the mobile arena, Steve Jobs’ influence on them is something they were vocal about.

And yet, for most of America, and in some other parts of the world, the mobile arena now exists in two major camps: The Android fanatics (Fandroids?), and the Apple Fanboys (and Fangirls).

Having discussed the two companies’ common roots, it is interesting that the mobile devices’ faithfuls have divided themselves into two camps. Maybe it is the marketing. Maybe it is the competition. Either way, some people have chosen either of two sides, and the displays of loyalty certainly get fierce. In fact, some mudslinging DOES go on.

However, given the fact that both camps actually strive for the same thing, programming and manufacturing excellence, and given the fact that they have common roots, let us say it out loud: It is okay to be Tech Agnostic.

Meaning, it is okay to not be fanatically loyal to one “camp.” If you like your Androids sitting beside your iDevices, it is okay. Enjoy it all anyway.

Sure, the existing Tech Agnostics already know that: It is okay to use different-branded devices, with an assortment of platforms. It is just nice to be reminded that it is okay to relax and not be bothered with being “loyal” to either camp.

As for the Tech Agnostics, you know them: They are the ones who do not mind using an Android as their work device, and an iPhone for their personal use. They are the ones who are fine with using Windows 10 ultraportables, since their employers issued them with the laptops anyway. But in their satchels, you can find an iPad mini, a Macbook Air 11”, while they keep an Asus ZenPad on a coffee table by the TV, and a Chromebook beside their beds.

Sure, the above is an extreme example, but you know the drill. It is not so bad to own and actually like, even love, all the platforms around.

And with Satya Nadella at the helm of Microsoft, go ahead, add MS to the list of devices/platforms you appreciate.

Stephen Shankland of CNet says it best: “To me, the iPhone feels like something of a gateway drug to the increasingly broad collection of Apple products. There are a lot of customers who'll be fine living in an Apple world -- heck, I'm generally happy with the MacBook Pro and iPad I use daily -- but I also want to be part of the Google world, the Amazon world, the Microsoft world and whatever else comes along that proves compelling.”

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Read more of Stephen Shankland’s treatise, “The iPhone 6S siren call: How a curious Android user resists switching,” on CNet: https://www.cnet.com/au/news/an-android-user-resists-the-iphone-6s-siren-song/