One of the major arguments made against Google is that, to them, you are the product. That means they expect you to endure frequent ads and perhaps click on a few (maybe buy something) to generate cash. That’s a price for a free online service, because someone has to pay the bills. So the bills are paid by advertisers who want to reach you with their products or services.

Some sites put ads in your face when you are simply trying to read an article. Notable offenders include CNN and USA Today, which start playing multimedia ads within seconds after clicking on a story; you have to click Stop to halt this nonsense. Other sites throw up an interstitial ad, one that covers the grayed-out content, until you click an “X” to get rid of it.

Unfortunately, such intrusions make you want to avoid those sites, or web ads altogether, even though they are often crucial to the survival of a site. That explains why many people choose ad blockers to conceal that stuff, and I wouldn’t blame them. Well, except for the fact that we depend on those ads for part of our income.

In all this, however, the ads are run by third parties, and thus they do not intrude on your privacy unless you visit their sites, or use their apps. But what about the OS itself?

About the closest Apple comes to selling you stuff is when you click on an app that’s devoted to selling you stuff, such as the App Store for iOS and macOS or iTunes. You can also expand iCloud Drive storage from the OS, but it takes digging deep through multiple menus to find an order screen.

But what if the OS placed ads in the Dock, or its rough equivalent in Windows, the Task Bar. Should you be forced to see ads to buy OneDrive subscriptions when you use third-party browsers in Windows 10? Well, it appears you are.

Talk about nagging.

There’s also a published report, with screenshot confirmation, indicating how Microsoft also inserts similar ads into the File Explorer, the Windows equivalent of the Finder. The OneDrive ad I saw touts an Office 365 plan that includes Office and 1TB storage for prices that start at $6.99 per month. Honestly, it’s not a bad deal, but I do not want to be reminded of it during the course of selecting and opening files on a personal computer.

Microsoft’s excuse?

In response to an inquiry from AppleInsider, Microsoft released this statement: “The new tips notifications within the File Explorer in Windows 10 were designed to help Windows 10 customers by providing quick, easy information to enhance the experience relative to storage and cloud file management. That said, with Windows 10 customers can easily opt out of receiving these notifications if they choose.”

Easy, to Microsoft, requires a six-step process, according to AppleInsider. Clearly Microsoft remains clueless about what simple means, and the extent to which forcing you to do extra chores intrudes on your digital life. Worse, it appears the setting will revert itself when you apply an OS patch.

I wonder why Microsoft is so desperate to sell Office and cloud storage subscriptions.

Then again, consider how Microsoft attempted to put Windows 10 in your face during its first year, when it was a free download to consumers. In some cases, it would be automatically downloaded to your PC whether you could spare a few gigabytes for the file or not. Worse, the installer would sometimes do its stuff without your approval. In one notorious case, an under-the-radar interface change allowed the setup process to begin when you clicked “X” to leave a Windows 10 prompt. That was the reverse of the standard process.

I recall one instance in which a radio talk show host complained, during an on-the-air segment, how Windows 10 had begun to install on a PC they used to manage listener call-ins. At the time, he vowed to switch to a Mac or, at the urging of one listener, maybe consider a go with Linux.

Now it is true that Apple has been known to download a full OS install in the background on your Mac. You can easily turn off background OS downloads in System Preferences, under App Store. Even then, you still have to actually click on an installer app to begin the setup process. You might argue that a major upgrade is not just an “update,” which implies a maintenance fix, but at least you aren’t going to have to endure an installation you don’t want.

Apple might want you to install the latest and greatest macOS (and iOS), but it is doing so in a far less intrusive way than Microsoft. At the same time, aside from that year of freebies, Microsoft is still exacting high prices if you want to acquire an OS upgrade.

Now the exposure of Microsoft’s ongoing efforts to sell products and services may not mean much for Windows users who may be accustomed to such nonsense by now. Don’t forget all the junkware supplied on new PCs. But maybe it would make more sense if Microsoft ended the practice of charging you for new versions of Windows, and relied strictly on OEM sales and support contracts. That way, you might forgive their efforts to sell you stuff. But not after you’ve already paid for a retail product.

There’s a story in a certain blog, which has a curious ability to constantly get things wrong about Apple, that suggests that Samsung is mostly in the clear about the aftereffects of the tragic failure of the Galaxy Note 7 phablet. As most of you know, Samsung had to discontinue the product because an unusually high number of units overheated or flamed out due to defective battery designs.

While Samsung apologized for this tragic misstep, it took a clumsy route to that destination. The product had to be recalled twice, the second time because a promised fix failed to actually eliminate the problem. Only after a second round of failures did Samsung throw in the towel.

It may be that the Galaxy Note 7 was rushed to market to beat the iPhone 7. It appears the manufacturer didn’t take enough care in designing and testing the batteries, thus resulting in those frequent failures. You’d think a company with Samsung’s experience would understand the downsides of lithium-ion technology, and the need to take extra care in designing and manufacturing such parts.

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As many of you know, growth in the cable and satellite industry has slowed considerably. A host of alternatives have arisen to supplement or replace the traditional offerings of broadcast and cable-only channels. So Netflix is a significant example, expanding from basic DVD rentals, to a major provider of original — and often award-winning — streaming content.

With judicious selection, some people are able to supplement or replace traditional cable/satellite fare and perhaps save some money in the process. Sometimes it’s just returning to broadcast-only TV, assuming you are close enough to transmitters to get a decent signal via an old fashioned antenna. Indeed, cable TV started as a way to deliver satisfactory broadcast reception in outlying or difficult-to-reach areas.

In addition to Netflix and broadcast, other services have arisen that offer different selections of content. You can rent or buy digital versions of movies from Apple iTunes and other providers. In addition to Netflix, there’s original content from such places as Amazon, and even the traditional networks have gotten into the act. So CBS All Access isn’t just an alternative source for shows from the network, but some original fare. A notable example is “The Good Fight,” a spin-off from “The Good Wife,” and “Star Trek: Discovery” is poised to debut later this year; it’s been delayed several times, however. In both cases, the shows were scheduled to debut for one episode only on the networks’ broadcast outlet to attract new customers, then switch exclusively to the streaming service.

All Access comes in two versions: With limited commercials at $5.99 per month and a no commercials version costs $9.99 per month.

In order to compete with some of the alternatives, both Dish Network (Sling TV) and DirecTV (DirecTV NOW) have debuted services that offer subsets of their standard satellite fare, which is streamed to set-top boxes from Apple, Amazon, Google and Roku. Right now, however, broadcast stations aren’t available in all cities, and you can’t time-shift, so you don’t have DVR capability to store shows for later viewing and commercial skipping. At best, you have on-demand. But it’s possible such features will come later. For now, DVR functions appear to be limited to Sony’s PlayStation Vue.

However, Hulu is now promising a cloud-based DVR feature, and real-time alerts. They are even inviting people to beta test the service at some uncertain time in the future at a special web site. One hopes that Hulu’s expanded service will influence the competition to deliver the goods. Indeed, one of the factors that may have derailed Apple’s efforts to set up a subscription service was the alleged need to establish a cloud-based DVR scheme. But that has not been officially confirmed.

As far as I’m concerned, I wonder why the cable and satellite services aren’t experimenting with some sort of cloud-based or network-based DVR now on their regular systems. You might argue that it would impact bandwidth to some degree, but bear in mind that you are already watching shows from the network, and there’d be no need to actually record anything. You could just put a digital identifier on the shows you want to “record,” and play them back at your convenience. At least that’s how it appears to me.

Or maybe they don’t want to lose all that money they earn from renting physical DVRs with old fashioned hard drives.

Now before I go on, I really cannot understand the reasoning behind Dish and DirecTV streaming services, unless you live in a place where you cannot set up a working satellite dish or get a proper cable connection. In such a situation, though, you’d only need a decent broadband hookup and, one hopes, a liberal enough amount of bandwidth not to exceed the limits if your TV is picking up streaming fare for hours each day.

I suppose it’s still possible that Apple will find a way to sign deals with the networks. On the other hand, with so many alternatives, maybe it’s too late to enter this business. Do we need yet another streaming service?

To put this in perspective, I live in a development that offers basic broadband and a free mid-level Dish Network package to all residents. The rentals aren’t expensive and many residents are snowbirds, often retirees, who only visit Arizona during the fall and winter months, and thus are looking for convenience.

What it means, however, is that I am not able to order a different cable or satellite service, and I cannot switch to another ISP. When it comes to TV programming, I can use what’s here, get an antenna (I’m not that far from the TV stations in Phoenix), or find something in a streaming package to meet my needs. At least the ISP isn’t bugging me about bandwidth.

Since I’m on a budget, I limit my streaming fare to Netflix. And during the months when my favorite original shows aren’t available, I just suspend the membership. I’ve learned the best ways to do without. Indeed, with all these networks available, it’s very easy to load up on separates and find yourself paying the same or more than cable/satellite. Cord-cutting is possible, but it’s easy to go overboard. It’s also confusing, because, with potentially hundreds or thousands of available channels, you may end up more confused than ever trying to find the shows you want.

In response to recent columns about the iPad, some of yous have explained your priorities. You may find valuable uses for your iPads, but others can’t go past a Mac to get things done. It’s very clear you may have different priorities depending on what you need to accomplish, and your preferred methods to perform those tasks.

I’ve made it quite clear where my priorities lie, but the limits I see in the iPad are in large part due to Apple’s decisions about iOS features and App Store limits. So I cannot record and edit my radio shows on an iPad, because Apple’s sandboxing won’t permit one app to grab audio from another app, such as Skype, and an outboard hardware accessory. In my case, that’s a mic mixer. Switching among apps and managing assets present additional problems.

You’ve heard this before.

For now, my iMac can do it all. I use Rogue Amoeba’s Audio Hijack, Skype, and several editing apps to record and edit the shows. While I’m recording an episode, I’m also navigating between Safari and Mail and sometimes Word to look up information. The iPad cannot do that now, but there’s no reason why it wouldn’t work if Apple extended the limits of iOS sandboxing, expanded multitasking to manage several apps and documents, and provided better ways to manage files from different apps, and to upload them to their final destinations.

Years ago, Steve Jobs described the iPad as the car, the Mac as the truck. Perhaps you can mirror that in the real world, but it’s also true that car makers in the U.S. are actually having trouble moving cars. The public has decided to embrace vehicles that theoretically can handle wider hauling chores, such as trucks, SUVs, crossovers and vans.

It doesn’t matter that such vehicles are larger, heavier, more difficult to handle, and do not achieve the same fuel economy as “lesser” vehicles. In this country, gas is relatively inexpensive, so people are willing to put up with using more of it to get the vehicles they want.

In the computing world, I require a truck; the car can’t do it for me, and if you look at falling iPad sales, the public seems to agree.

In the automative world, however, I’ve only driven trucks a very few times in my life. Less than a dozen over the decades, and then only to haul stuff from one place to another that wouldn’t fit in my car. I suppose the comparable iPad would be a mainstream 9.7-inch model, since the cars I’ve owned in recent years are regarded as midsized.

Of course, the comparison is very superficial. But if Apple wants to take us “beyond” the PC, they need to deliver a product that can handle productivity tasks that would satisfy the needs of most PC users. After all, today’s iPad offers performance that is compatible to mainstream notebooks. The next iPads are rumored to have an even faster A-series processor, which will take them even closer to Mac desktops.

If you’re just watching Netflix, surfing with Safari and writing email, most of that power is going to waste. Some games might exploit the advanced graphics, but otherwise no. Yet there are hundreds of thousands of apps optimized for the iPad, and many of them are variations of productivity apps that have traditionally been offered on a Mac and PC.

So you have a version of Office for iOS, along with  graphics apps from Adobe and other companies. Many of the things you can do today in Excel and Word, and perhaps Photoshop, can be accomplished in a somewhat different ways on the iPad. But what do you give up to get there?

The Apple Pencil is a potentially powerful tool for artists and illustrators. Various accessory keyboards supposedly allow you to just sit back and type a blog or a novel on your iPad, but it’s all so clumsy.

I was hopeful about the 12.9-inch iPad Pro when Apple sent me one to review in late 2015. The editorial loan packet included a Smart Keyboard, which I used for one column before giving up. Rather than feel productive, I was handicapped by an especially mushy keyboard with a spacebar that, for me at least, resulted in missing word spaces. Curiously, the smaller Smart Keyboard available for a 9.7-inch iPad Pro offered a slightly better feel, but still not good enough.

One hopes third party iPad keyboards are better suited to actually typing something.

With my 27-inch iMac, I’m using an Apple Magic Keyboard. It doesn’t have the long travel and solid feel of one of those old fashioned mechanical keyboards, such as the Matias Tactile Pro. But it’s smooth, quiet, and I type as fast as I can on any keyboard. Apple knows how to design these things, so why did they go so wrong with the Smart Keyboard?

Apple may want to convince most of you that the iPad is the PC of the future, that it takes you “beyond the PC,” and that the Mac is destined to be consigned strictly to power user status. Maybe.

I’m happy to give up that truck and switch to a sedan. I made that choice long ago with the motor vehicles I’ve driven. But Apple has lots of work to do to show me a way to get there.