PowerBook, Because Lives Are On The Line

WCityMike writes "Major Shawn Weed, an intelligence planner with the Third Infantry Division, eschewed his Panasonic Toughbook because it wasn't fast enough in processing giant satellite and reconnaissance images. He put in a requisition for and received a PowerBook G4, the only Apple currently being used in the entire Middle East theater. 'Frankly, lives are in the balance here, so the quicker I can get stuff done accurately, the better,' Weed says."

Comments

Macintosh faggots

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, right. Mac Oh-Ess-Echhhhs is good for playing with iPhoto, not for killing towel-heads.

Re:Macintosh faggots

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh yeah, "frist p0st" you fucking Macintosh butt-buddies. Go manipulate your three-inch vienna franks that you call penises until you jizz all over your beloved iScreens.

Re:Macintosh faggots

[Anonymous Coward]

I think this sums it up

Bullet Proof

[Anonymous Coward]

AND you can stop bullets with the case!

Re:Bullet Proof

[jcr]

Umm, I don't think we guarantee that..

-jcr

You think Apple's prices are high?

[Nipsy356]

If the military can pay thousands for a toilet seat, imagine what they paid for a PowerBook.

Re:You think Apple's prices are high?

[rampant mac]

"If the military can pay thousands for a toilet seat, imagine what they paid for a PowerBook."

Oddly, I'm going to attempt to explain this...

Most of the equipment that the Armed Services pay "too much" for aren't your run-of-the-mill items. It's not like they can run out to Home Depot and pick up a crapper capper.

We have tie hooks that are rated at 2 or 3 thousand pounds, yet are made of titanium, to keep weight down as much as possible.

Imagine designing that same item in your garage. How much would it cost if you had to make such item from scratch, with a guarantee that the item would work as intended, under such extreme circumstances? Factor in the engineering, labor work, logistics, and planning and see how much a "simple" item like a titanium tie-down hook (with a 2k weight rating & MTBF rate of 1000 flight hours) would cost.

Re:You think Apple's prices are high?

[eht]

only 1000 flight hours? at 8 hours a day, thats only 125 days, about a third of a year, and i expect some of the stuff sees a lot more than 8 hour days

Re:You think Apple's prices are high?

[Nipsy356]

I can understand inflated prices on aircraft parts. I can understand inflated prices on boomers. I can understand inflated prices in missile control silos.

However, aside from the fact that the initial post was intended to be humorous, the military spending is still out of control, and full of pork.

From: Price Trends for Defense Logistics Agency's Weapon System (GAO November 2000), which found that between 1997, and 1998, prices of 2,993 different spare parts purchased by the military increased over one thousand percent, and 14 percent of the total spare parts ordered from defense contractors increased at least 50 percent in price in that one year. Contractors have been underbidding the prices, then jacking up the prices upon time for billing. Parts like a bolt, initially quoted at $40, ended up being $1,887, or a self-locking nut, quoted at $2.69, ended up costing $2, 185. These are not nearly the worst examples of cost increases . . . A linear microcircuit, original 1997 price $0.11 cents, cost $5,788.76, thermal insulation that really cost $1, ended up costing $3,390, or the boss nipple, costing $1, cost the US military $1,498.48.

Re:You think Apple's prices are high?

[The AtomicPunk]

So those $700 hammers were super light weight titanium? :)

Re:You think Apple's prices are high?

[nettdata]

Also, there are SOME projects that don't even have a budget so they don't show up on the radar screen, if you know what I mean.

The costs for these "other" projects are absorbed and hidden by other purchases in some cases.

This means that when they're paying $1,000 for a $20 hammer, they're only paying $20 for the hammer, and the rest is being used elsewhere.

Re:You think Apple's prices are high?

[rjamestaylor]

That's where (1) the mfg'ers losses from other projects are repaid and where (2) the payment for secret "skunk-works" projects are made. It's not the titanium tie downs; it's much simpler.

Re:You think Apple's prices are high?

[jcr]

Also, there are SOME projects that don't even have a budget so they don't show up on the radar screen, if you know what I mean

You mean at the Pentagon, or at Apple? ;-)

-jcr

Re:You think Apple's prices are high?

[Anonymous Coward]

This means that when they're paying $1,000 for a $20 hammer, they're only paying $20 for the hammer, and the rest is being used elsewhere.

Oh, you saw Independence Day too, huh? ;)

Re:You think Apple's prices are high?

[Gorbag]

The funny thing is, as Dave Barry once remarked, is that they already have an in-house solution for this. When the bill comes in different from the original quote, don't pay them. I mean, they have tanks, right?

Re:You think Apple's prices are high?

[Anonymous Coward]

What is the bias on this source?

"2,993 different spare parts purchased by the military"
"14 percent of the total spare parts ordered"

Mixing absolute measurements and percents without even mentioning the totals is a classic technique for manipulating stupid people.

I'm not necessarily arguing with the conclusions, but the presentation makes it clear that the source is not being 100% upfront.

Re:You think Apple's prices are high?

[Gortbusters.org]

About 3,299 for the 17" version? ;)

Re:You think Apple's prices are high?

[ethanms]

so the toilet seat is made of titanium?

Re:You think Apple's prices are high?

[CAIMLAS]

Please do not take run-of-the mill quotes from horrible movies as fact.

It's not ruggedized.

[More Karma Than God]

The article says it's been fine so far, but sooner or later the lack of military-grade durability is going to be a factor.

Re:It's not ruggedized.

[eht]

agreed, then lives really will be on the line, that and "I can't open your Word document"

Re:It's not ruggedized.

[C0LDFusion]

Perhaps you guys missed the demonstration where the Powerbook G4 was run over by an 18-wheeler, then it backed up (over the powerbook) and ran over it again...then someone walked up, picked it up and started it up fine? I've seen it done, and I've never met anyone who has had physical damage disable a powerbook, except when the LCD was directly struck (while it was open).

Re:It's not ruggedized.

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm gonna have to raise the BULLCRAP flag proud and high on this one. Please provide a source if you care about your credibility just a shred. Thx.

Re:It's not ruggedized.

[DetrimentalFiend]

Yes, but remember that Iraq is a desert. Do you want your military equipment to end up like this? Baked Apple

Re:It's not ruggedized.

[Tumbleweed]

It depends on what kind of environment the guy's using it in as to whether it even needs to be ruggedized. If he's in a nice C&C type area, there's precious little need for a ruggedized computer. I'd say the guy probably knows his needs better than anyone on Slashdot does. As mentioned in the article, the military buys computers in bulk, rather than specific to individual needs, so I'd bet a great many of those ruggedized machines aren't needed in a ruggedized form factor. Which also means they could save some money if they used a bit more fine-grained needs analysis. But hey, that's the military for ya. Sure, the regular machine may only be a PIII-800MHz, but it'll stop a bullet! :)

Re:It's not ruggedized.

[chigaze]

I've seen one disabled. It was in a head on car crash at highway speeds. The whole frame of the Tibook was twisted into a funky curve. I believe HD was recovered. Both people in car survived after long stays in the hospital.

Re:It's not ruggedized.

[usr122122121]

Yes, but remember that Iraq is a desert. Do you want your military equipment to end up like this? Baked Apple

Considering it still booted just fine after being stuck in a 400 oven for 20 minutes, I think it can withstand desert temperatures for longer...

then again, who knows.

Re:It's not ruggedized.

[jericho4.0]

In the desert, it's not about heat (although that is a problem) it's about sand.

Sand and dust gets into every single nook and cranny. The non-moving parts might last a long time, but his DVD drive will be toast if he uses it too much. Same with the hinge of the screen.

Re:It's not ruggedized.

[syrinx]

Anyone else find amusement in the parent complaining about credibility, while posting anonymously?

Log in if you want people to take what you say seriously, or even care about what you say at all.

Re:It's not ruggedized.

[C0LDFusion]

his DVD drive will be toast if he uses it too much.

New Army officers directive: Do not watch pr0n during sandstorms?

Re:It's not ruggedized.

[Anonymous Coward]

Because after all, logging into Slashdot automatically adds 15 years of experience to whatever you have to say!

Grow up, moron. Facts are facts, and logging in only adds weight to them in the mind of a weak person.

Could you even stomach having to make posts without the +1 karma-whore bonus logging in gives you? If you had to post AC, all the time, you'd probably fall over and die for having nothing useful to say that can get you modded up.

If you want to be taken seriously, you post anonymously, and you provide links to facts that aren't generally known. If you want to look like a whiny five year old, angry because an AC got modded up to the same level you post at, just continue to do what you've been doing.

Re:It's not ruggedized.

[lightflyer]

I have had a Ti G4 for about 8 months. It has not stood up to travel and mobile use at all well. It has had the CD unit replaced (under warranty); currently it does not charge the battery and that will be fixed when I get back to somewhere that has a Mac repair facility; it did not do at all well to operating in high temps; the case is malformed, the paintwork does not stand up to normal use and the hinges are fragile, plus the screen ripples (despite being carried inside its own protective case inside a large carry-on and always carried with me). Overall, it is a good looking but quite fragile piece of kit.

On the other hand I had a G3 Wallstreet for 5 years and it looked and operated as good as new at the end when I passed it on. I wish sometimes that I still had it with me.

Apple puts out lovely stuff but sometimes design flair and form is not sacrificed to necessary function. I will have to think very hard before I spend so much money again on a Mac beauty. And don''t get me started on function versus form of the iPod. I'll wait until a degree of everyday ruggedness is built in again for my next Mac laptop.

I wish the US military all the best and hope they go with Mac. But . . .

Re:It's not ruggedized.

[Anonymous Coward]

Stuck in a 400 degree oven that was turned off for 20 minutes, you mean. Tin/lead solder used in the vast majority of microelectronics melts before 400 degrees. Hopefully I don't need to explain what this would do to a powerbook (or any other piece of microelectronics).

Re:It's not ruggedized.

[usr122122121]

Stuck in a 400 degree oven that was turned off for 20 minutes, you mean.

RTFA. The oven was on.

Re:It's not ruggedized.

[Wyatt Earp]

Iraq is a desert, so is Arizona.

If a TiBook will work in Arizona or Israel or Egypt or the middle of Australia, it'll work in Iraq.

Besides, right now it's not bad in the KTO, my Widget for Kuwait City says it's 68 there right.

Re:It's not ruggedized.

[Wyatt Earp]

I've had TiBooks for two years (a 400 and a 550) and they've both stood up fine in travel and mobile use.

In fact after 1 year of using the 400 everyday at home and work and transporting it back and forth, and taking it back and forth across 1,500 miles in MR-2s and United Airlines 737s the person I sold it too thought it was brand new.

I've always used either a Burton DJ bag - http://www.burton.com/gear/pr_bags.asp?productID=6 51

Or an Oakley Computer Bag - http://www.oakley.com/ostore/apparel/spring_02_com puter_bag/

I also use a piece of foam between the keyboard and screen.

After two years my laptops have gotten a few little scratches.

Re:It's not ruggedized.

[superflippy]

This is true. My sister-in-law took her TiBook to the Salt Flats a couple of years ago. She put it on the back seat of a car so it wouldn't be exposed to the elements, and some idiot left the car door open and let the computer get covered with salt and sand. It still worked after that, but not very well. The salt particularly damaged the case. She ended up getting the data backed up and the machine replaced.

Re:It's not ruggedized.

[Anonymous Coward]

Sorry to ruin your mac lovefest, but this is more of a stunt than an actual test of durability. An empty trailer doesn't weigh that much, and with the weight dispersed over all the wheels, the forces involved aren't that great.

Re:It's not ruggedized.

[Kalak]

I have to chime in on this. I know 3 out of the 5 TiBooks that I know of at work, have had at least one major problem due to hardware failure. This includes mine that has been back 3 times itself. Once for a cracked case that was causing a short somewhere, with crashes everytime it was moved at all, even a fraction of an inch. The other two times (screen problems) would be surviveable (pun only slightly intended) in a military situation, but the crashing due to a cracking computer would not. A coworker had his start to smoke on his lap! There is the common crack in the CD/DVD drive and other cracks in the titanium many have had. Just google cracked titanium powerbook and you'll find stories of this. Also there is the fact that if you take the bottom case off (say to put an AirPort card in), the titanium is glued on to plastic, and so the titanium easily comes loose on the bottom.

Spare the marketing for Apple. I love my TiBook, but it doesn't have any of the ruggedness that my old Wallstreet did (going well until this last year when the hinge gave up-and I was lucky on that from what I've heard).

Re:It's not ruggedized.

[C0LDFusion]

I'm just wondering if any of you spend more than $5 on cases for these laptops, or do you carry them around in grocery bags?

The only mac laptop I've ever had fail on me was a Duo 280c (which wasn't designed anywhere near the stuff I put it through) which cracked its LCD when I was driving through Baltimore (more details on this city at my website) and it slammed against the back of the passenger side seat. The data was recoverable and everything worked fine, except the display. I now carry all my laptops in nice bags (About $20) rather than a bookbag or a "My-Arm" bag.

Re:It's not ruggedized.

[Kalak]

$100 computer bag supplied with every notebook in the department. PCs and Macs do still break though the TiBook has gained a bad rep as a result of its problems. Hope later revisions are fixing these issues (we'll see see when the new models are 6 months old).

Re:It's not ruggedized.

[Greedo]

his DVD drive will be toast if he uses it too much

So it's toast if he uses Toast?

Re:It's not ruggedized.

[kalidasa]

Buy the iBook. They're much sturdier, in my opinion, than the TiBook was, and they're no slower than your Wallstreet.

Re:It's not ruggedized.

[be-fan]

Um, it doesn't matter either way. A 400 degree oven is a 400 degree oven, of or on. *How* they got it to 400 degrees, without turning it on, is another issue entirely...

Re:It's not ruggedized.

[gig]

My PowerBook has went in for repair twice, and it took about three days each time. Other than that, I've had over a year of great operation from it, very, very reliable. It was a video problem both times, and they replaced the graphics adapter the first time, and then the display the second time when there was still some weirdness (it never crashed or stopped working or anything). Apple support apologized to me for the two trips in and I quite honestly told them that it's the most reliable system I've used. I don't really mind two three-day breaks in over a year of me just opening up the lid and it awakes instantly and then use it like hell (video, graphics, multitrack audio recording, hot-plugging all the time, moving between wireless networks effortlessly, etcetera) and then close the lid again and do the same thing tomorrow. I would buy this system again in a heartbeat, and the next generation of it is already out.

Also, it is clear that this soldier had a good reason beyond brand loyalty or better UI or better stability/security to have a PowerBook, because he's working with big high-resolution images. The PowerPC CPU itself was designed with image manipulation in mind, because Apple was famous at the time for being the only computer with a graphical interface and also for being a great platform for artists. Rotating a huge image (and many other common image-manipulation functions) on a G4 takes a very short time compared to Intel chips. If you ever see a "Photoshop bake-off" between a Mac and Intel system, watch for the first image rotation ... the Mac will go flip-flip and it's rotated, and the Intel machine will sit for over a minute "thinking" before the image rotates while the Mac has moved on to the next steps in the Photoshop script. It's the point where you first will see the Mac moving clearly ahead instead of being a little ahead. The PC never ends up catching up from being so slow on image rotations and resizing and some other common functions. The idea of doing graphics on a Panasonic Toughbook ... ha ha. It's so army to get a lot of toughbooks and use them as a generic computer. No security, closed-source core running all the time like a black box, license agreements for the OS that force you to agree to Microsoft cracking it "whenever" and not to mention the IT staff you have to have just to network them.

Re:It's not ruggedized.

[Anonymous Coward]

Are you sure that wasn't a Kanga? The Wallstreet never had any widespread hinge problems that I've ever heard of. The Kanga, OTOH, was just a G3 in a 3400's case. The older PowerBooks are notorious for having bad hinges.

I have a Lombard, myself, and it hasn't ever shown any signs of breaking. The only problems I've had with it in 4 years are a single B-Tree corruption and those pesky screen scratches from the keyboard. The Lombard/Pismo design is just a thinner version of the Wallstreet.

To tell the difference:

Kanga = 233, 250, 292MHz G3
Wallstreet = 233, 266, 300MHz G3
Lombard = 333, 400MHz G3
Pismo = 400, 500MHz G3

Re:It's not ruggedized.

[xombo]

Just wondering, but is it the older version or the newer one? PBG4's have been out for a while, but they tend to change over time. I have one and it seems to be pretty sturdy.

Military Intelligence

[Kalak]

Major Shawn Weed, an intelligence planner with the Third Infantry Division

So he's in military intel? Isn't this among the most famous oxymorons in existence? The jokes are too numerous to mention, all with Apple or the Army as the brunt of the jokes.

I can see the switch ads now...My name is Shawn Weed and I find Iraqis in the desert.

btw, I'm not trolling. I'm writing this from a TiBook using an Airport, behind a Linux server.

Re:Military Intelligence

[apple-marc]

So he's in military intel? Isn't this among the most famous oxymorons in existence?

With "Microsoft Works" coming a close second...

Re:Military Intelligence

[Andy Social]

Yeah, and he's a really good guy too. I worked for him back in 1994/5 for a while. Surprised he's only a Major but maybe he'll get LtCol after the war.

Re:Macintosh breeders

[Anonymous Coward]

Nice to know the 8 year olds are keeping up on current events. Tell me, do you re-enact the battles you see on CNN with your G.I. Joes?

Is this a good idea...

[cuyler]

Although I'm an avid mac fac I always thought the glowing apple on the back of the LCD screen would be a bad thing in the field.

Re:Is this a good idea...

[dhovis]

Two words....

Duct Tape!

Re:Is this a good idea...

[doooras]

funny thing about duct tape... this is from an article i read last week in either the NY Times, WSJ or USA Today, don't remember which.

Duct tape was originally developed for military use to keep water out of ammo cases, and it was called "duck tape"

It wasn't called "duct tape" until the 70's when some company advertised it as such, and it stuck.

Re:Is this a good idea...

[quintessent]

Don't worry. They replaced the apple with a glowing camouflage design.

Re:Is this a good idea...

[Anonymous Coward]

*cough*urbanlegend*cough*

Tank Different.

[gnudutch]

big mac attack?

Heh, Weed

[Satan's Minion 666]

Would you trust an intelligence officer named 'Weed?' Heh, no wonder he wants an Apple product.

Re:Heh, Weed

[bjpirt]

surely the dude would get a dell

Re:Heh, Weed

[Have Blue]

He should really get a Dell, then.

whoa

[Anonymous Coward]

A gushy pro-Apple article in Wired of all places? What's the world coming to?

I sure hope he's using MacBibbie...

[Anonymous Coward]

'Cause we all know that an Alienware LAPTOP can beat out a G4 Tower (post) in almost every single image processing task, so
unless those satellite photos are all RAW format, it only further shows the truth of the hackneyed joke about military intelligence being a juxtaposition.

Re:I sure hope he's using MacBibbie...

[crhalpin]

Oh yes, and we also all know that benchmarks are the be all and end all of performance evaluation. Especially those benchmarks that conform to no known standard, and aren't terribly well documented.

Please, spare me.

Benchmarks can give you a general idea of how performande might compare if you used exactly the same programs, input files, OS configuration, network load, other running processes, etc...

What are the chances that the military uses Photoshop for their image processing? I'd think not very high (unless there's a series of photoshop plugins I am unaware of that will process an image looking for convoys of trucks, bunkers, and other such things that the military cares about satellite images for). If he is not using photoshop, then the benchmarks you're getting so excited about are meaningless.

MacBibble has shown us that a Macintosh can perform quite well on image processing, if you run optimized code.

Benchmarks are just that, benchmarks. If this guy finds that for his application a Macintosh is faster, then let him use a Macintosh.

Army vs. Navy

[MrWa]

This quote definitely makes me regret my decision to join the Navy over a dozen years ago:

"The problem with computers in the Army is they are bought by the gross and not necessarily purchased to accomplish certain functions. The Army doles out laptops in the same way we dole out boots, tents or any other class of supply."

In the Navy, the only they doled out were annoying uniforms and silly hats.

Re:Army vs. Navy

[Anonymous Coward]

Dont' forget dicks

Navy is full of fags and dick suckers and ass packers

With my luck...

[(H)elix1]

I'll be the one pulling the laptop out from underneath the Major's corpse trying to figure out where the heck is the second mouse button went. Faster/better/different is great until you have to take over someones job unexpectedly. More of an occupational hazard in his area... though the Valley is not much safer (job wise).

Re:With my luck...

[Anonymous Coward]

Fortunately, Macs are damn near infinitely easier to figure out how to operate than PC's. Seriously, the chance that a rear eschelon intelligence officer is killed and some random soldier without the wits to launch Photoshop will take over for him is pretty slim. In the mean time, he's going to get his work done quickly enough to save lives (US soldiers and Iraqi innocents.) Any replacement qualified to interpret satallite imagry has their own equipment. In a pinch, anyone qualified to interpret satallite imagry is a little more capable with a computer than your average potato peeler. As a former US Army Ranger and RATT rig operator, I'm not comforted that your platform bigotry extends so far that it has you placing more importance on some tired two button mouse arguement than on people's lives.

Re:With my luck...

[befletch]

OT, but...

I'll be the one pulling the laptop out from underneath the Major's corpse trying to figure out where the heck is the second mouse button went.

Then just plug in a standard USB two button mouse and be done with it. I'd recommend a scroll mouse, personally.

I'm using a Logitech optical scroll mouse right now on my iMac. No drivers to install or anything. The right button brings up context menus on just about anything, and AppleWorks is the only program I have that doesn't respond to the scroll wheel.

I love the look and feel of the Apple 'Pro Mouse', and I'd pay Apple $50 for a two button scroll wheel version, but I'm perfectly happy to put up with this one piece of ugly beige plastic to get its superior functionality.

Re:With my luck...

[Twirlip of the Mists]

I'm pretty sure if you don't already know how to use a Mac and the relevant software, the best thing you're going to be able to do with that PowerBook is brain the nearest enemy soldier with it.

In which case, yes, the Panasonic would have been a better choice, being that it's both bigger and heavier than the PowerBook. But you've gotta make some compromises, you know?

Re:With my luck...

[(H)elix1]

I really do feel lost when I get on one of those things. Perhaps that is why my bride wants one... to keep my grubby hands off it. Spending more than a couple minutes at a demo machine would probably fix that. Someday.

Anyhow, I'll be popping over to your side of the pond next week to finish/fix some code that someone dumped without warning. I spend most of my time on the J2EE side of the fence, so nothing like a crash course in MSSOAP and VBScript with a hard deadline approaching. Guess I'm still a little bitter about someone doing their own thing. Still beats camping in the desert however...

Re:With my luck...

[ealar dlanvuli]

Mods are smot pokin again.

Re:With my luck...

[(H)elix1]

Fortunately, Macs are damn near infinitely easier to figure out how to operate than PC's.

That was not the point I was trying to make - for Photoshop on a laptop, it is easier and faster than most of the alternatives - but it is different - menu behavior specifically. I traveled with a Tadpole (sparc based laptop running Solaris) for a while. We all ran the same app server / ldap / database, but most of the SE's were lost trying to start things up as soon as they saw it was not Windows (or Linux for that matter). With gobs of RAM I was able to get more work done than the others who had to drag around multiple standard issue Dells that had a physical limit of 512M RAM at the time. When I got pulled into another project leaving my environment (which was a fair mimic of the production system), chaos ensued. Solaris was just enough of a curve ball to miss the deadline. It is not like they were not qualified, the tools were just a bit different.

In the mean time, he's going to get his work done quickly enough to save lives (US soldiers and Iraqi innocents.)

This is a bit of a straw man, but I'll bite. The reality is the US Forces have a limited budget. More lives could be saved by having better satellite uplinks, better lenses on the recon equipment, tanks that went faster on less fuel, more powerful targeting lasers... the list goes on and on. Every standardization is a compromise somewhere down the line. You are a former RATT operator, so why did they not hand everyone an updated set rather than tuning both the old and new series so they could co-operate? Budget would be my guess. I suspect your CO would also have you peeling potatoes if you swapped personal equipment for older gear 'because it would save lives'.

I'm not comforted that your platform bigotry extends so far that it has you placing more importance on some tired two button mouse arguement than on people's lives.

Again - this is not about mac's sux, bill rulz! In an environment where you have to work with a fluid team, you cannot always select what you consider the perfect tool for the job.

Damn mods smoking crack again...

Re:With my luck...

[2nd Post!]

As you say, you cannot always select what you consider the perfect tool for the job.

This case, however, is an exception, one of the times where Weed *could* select what he considered the perfect tool for his job.

You have to trust his judgement, since he's the one out in the desert doing his photo-manip stuff (probably), and as such, if his need for a PowerBook will let us win, and the military agrees, it's really out of our hands other than to backseat drive.

The issue here is that we're comparing a 1.8GHz (max) P4 to a 1.0GHz G4, where the speed delta is small enough that cache, ram, Altivec, and code optimization might make a difference. I mean, we don't know how fast the Toughbooks they can get, they may possibly get 1.3GHz P4s, or 1.2GHz P3s, in which case the performance/benefit analysis is much different than if they could get 3.0GHz P4s.

Also note, I think there's ram limitations; a G4 can get 1.0GB, I don't think the Toughbooks can. And a Toughbook actually costs more, to the public, than a G4.

Now, could he have gotten a Dell instead? Sure. However, he is also most comfortable with a Mac; he *knows* he can get his job done with the PowerBook-at this point then, we have to trust him that he is performing his soldierly duties, and performing them well.

Re:With my luck...

[Binky The Oracle]

I'm assuming that the two-button mouse thing is just a tongue-in-cheek jab - it's easy enough to get a two-button mouse and plug it in. The Mac OS has recognized two-button mice for a while now, but Steve still believes that Ma and Pa Kettle are going to get confused, so you don't get one in the box. Personally, I couldn't live without my IntelliMouse Explorer - 5 buttons and a wheel, baby!

More interesting to me, however, is that the Mac might be a better fit and a lot more useful to the military than it would appear at first blush. With its Unix underpinnings, it lends itself nicely to mission-critical applications when needed, and a lot of the Unix geeks I know really like the PowerPC chips. I'm sure the military has been recruiting a lot more Windows programmers over the last 10 years or so, but its foundations lie in the older "big iron" OSs. There are probably a lot of soldiers that would feel comfortable knowing that a Unix shell is just a click away.

Not that I know that for sure... but it seems logical to me.

Re:With my luck...

[Anonymous Coward]

is defined as: The author attacks an argument which is different from, and usually weaker than, the opposition's best argument.

Solaris was just enough of a curve ball to miss the deadline. It is not like they were not qualified, the tools were just a bit different.

Talking about straw men, you are equating the ease of use of a Macintosh with the ease of use of a Solaris. My 74 yo, life-time housewife mother-in-law bought an iMac because she wanted to see what this internet thing was all about. She had it up and running without any help. I wonder how she'd do with a Solaris. You are also comparing the ease of operating the same program (Photoshop) on two different platforems with the ease of manipulating the same database on two platforms. What client did you use on both platforms? Was it the same? Was it command line? If so, do you believe that comparing Photoshop with Photoshop is the same as comparing the command line environments of unix with that of NT?

Photoshop on a laptop, it is easier and faster than most of the alternatives ? but it is different ? menu behavior specifically

If you extend this logic, this means that if the entire army is not on the same version of Excel a replacement who is use to Excel 2000 on NT won't be able to do his job on Excel XP on a faster computer. Back to the software at hand, I am sure the amount of time it would take to find the Adjust Levels menu item on a Mac when you are used to finding the command on a PC will be negated by the speed difference. In the past, I have had no difficulty using PC versions of Mac software when it's required. I'm reasonably certain that professional users of PC technology can make the transition.

I suspect your CO would also have you peeling potatoes if you swapped personal equipment for older gear 'because it would save lives'.

Ummm...no. He would have had me do extra duty if I made modifications he didn't allow. We are talking about a rear echelon office analyst who has traded a chair in some Brigade or Division headquarters for a stool in a tent with a little more sand around it. You honestly think this Major snuck the Powerbook overseas? At that level, things are much more flexible than at the infantry squad level. Hell even our Batallion Admin office was a mixed platform environment. BTW There was a healthy mix of technology at all levels of RATT operations from Batallion level all the way up to Command level. We were expected to know how to use all of it. Some units still used Korean war era technology with Vietnam era encryption. The problem is, you are thinking about this as if you knew what you were talking about, and you don't.

In an environment where you have to work with a fluid team, you cannot always select what you consider the perfect tool for the job.

But he did, and his superiors let him because they saw merit in his logic, and the people who work with him are not as dumb as you think. You are acting like he's using Filemaker while everyone else is using Foxpro, when he's actually using two versions of the same program, a situation you can easily find on identical hardware.

Re:With my luck...

[Anonymous Coward]

If you can't figure out how to use a machine without a right-click, you don't belong in the army... OR on /.

and, btw, the right-click has always been there, so please put this old saw to rest.

Re:With my luck...

[gig]

This guy is not on the Internet pontificating about spec sheets he just read.

He said flat-out that the Panasonic machines would "slow to a crawl" when he tried to do his work on them, so he ordered a PowerBook G4.

Why would you even want to bring MHz or GHz into it? This is a real-world case where a guy traded in his Pentium for a Mac so he could get his graphically-rich work done. For Mac vs PC discussion (ugh) it is not that great. If he got it for encryption then Mac fans could high-five, because it is also faster for that and that's not well-known. The fact that a Mac is a better choice for graphics is, like, duh. You boot a Mac and the first thing you see is a graphical screen with an Apple logo on it, then a boot-up progress bar that's totally graphical, then an OS that's totally graphical to operate. It's no secret that Macs do graphics.

Re:With my luck...

[gig]

Every time Apple asks their customers about mouse buttons they get like 75% saying they still use the one-button mouse and just love it. What are you going to do? You can't argue with success. The whole UI only asks you to use one mouse button, and you NEVER even have to double-click, that is just a short-cut (some people cannot double-click, I have trained people and they just can't do it, especially older people). To open a file or application, you can always go "File > Open" instead of double-clicking. In Windows there are a bunch of things where you HAVE to double-click, and where you HAVE to right-click. If you grew up with a mouse in your hand, have some sympathy for those who didn't and have enough humility to think that a 25 million user platform knows what the fuck it is doing after over 20 years of graphical computing.

Mac OS supports pretty much any USB mouse you can find just by plugging it in, no matter how many mouse buttons (I think the actual upper limit is 32), so nobody is denied their $9.99 right to a two-button scrolling mouse. The single-button optical mouse you get standard with your system goes for $30-40 on eBay, so it even pays for a high-quality, third-party mouse.

It does make some sense...

[Anonymous Coward]

...to have at least one of the computers different from the others. When a virus written by some 9th grader wipes out the Windows boxes at least the PowerBook will be up and running.

Or vice versa...

It also kinda goes with the whole "Power of One" ad campaign the Army has going on.

Used to be SSG Nichols

Hey, it still worked.

[Hanji]

I think you may have just proved yourself wrong ... The Baked Apple still worked after being baked, so the PowerBook should be able to easily stand up the much lower temperatures of the desert.

It takes a Mac...

[Anonymous Coward]

...to process the image of every soldier's asshole getting lager as they get ass raped by COLIN (suspiciously close to colon) Powell.

Macslash is great, I mean Slashdot

[Anonymous Coward]

So, how about /. actually finding some of their own material for a change in the apple section? How many stories have been exact repeats of shit I've read on Mac slash two days before?

If you can't find any original material don't fucking post anything at all.

Re:Macslash is great, I mean Slashdot

[Alex Thorpe]

Well, since I almost never read MacSlash, posting it here saves me the trouble of looking elsewhere. Though I did read this store elsewhere today, Mac Central, I think. Or perhaps yesterday.

Re:Macslash is great, I mean Slashdot

[Anonymous Coward]

You mean this isn't macslash?

Sure the hardware's good...

[quantax]

The system itself is fine, but I personally would not want literally mission critical apps running on OS X, nor would I want them on Windows. I would say that *nix (not apple's version) is a better solution as far as operating systems go. Ive seen OS X dump programs, become unresponsive temporarily, etc on powerbooks before and it happens a bit too much I think to actually perform extremely time-critical tasks on; atleast, without a backup.

Re:Sure the hardware's good...

[Anonymous Coward]

yes, it MUST run on linux if it's mission critical.

Re:Sure the hardware's good...

[gig]

Continue trying to convince yourself that you really are better off without Mac OS X. Pretend it is "just as bad as Windows". Pretend that there aren't millions of users out there who forget where their Mac's reset button is. Pretend that they have computer viruses, and that they don't trust their system's security. You'll feel better.

Commodore SX-64!

[Anonymous Coward]

...running LUnix!

Probably the best platform they could use, at least until Jeri Ellsworth's Commodore One laptop hits the shelves...

*One* fucking Mac?

[Profane Motherfucker]

People, this isn't a ringing endorsement of Apple. It's nice how the marketing whips this fucking situation into a foamy fucking froth of fuzzy Apple lust, but the fact remains: IT'S THE ONLY MAC IN THE ENTIRE THEATER.

I can see it now. . .

[noewun]

the world's most bitching Switch ad.

Re:I can see it now. . .

[Arctic Fox]

Oh yeah.... these guys should produce it! http://www.grouchymedia.com/bomb_saddam_download.c fm

Mac fanatics take over the military!

[Smack]

"In a room full of ugly, ruggedized Panasonic Toughbooks running Windows 2000," he said, "the glowing white Apple against the titanium skin of the G4's lid draws looks from everywhere, and acts as a magnet for the closet Mac addicts serving with the Third Infantry Division."

Re:Mac fanatics take over the military!

[Anonymous Coward]

"acts as a magnet for the closet Mac addicts"

Everything comes from a closet to these people. military officials have issues....ROTFLMAO!!!

Re:Mac fanatics take over the military!

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow, isn't this a violation of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy on OS preference in the military? I would think they'd only want mindless Windows-using sheep, who accept what they are told and follow orders to reboot/reinstall without question. The armed forces have no use for free-thinking Mac users!

Re:Mac fanatics take over the military!

[Anonymous Coward]

Are you talking about the free-thinking Mac users that just bash Windows users, and spew Apple propaganda on Slashdot, just so they can seem cool amongst their Mac loving buddies?

Ok serious question

[Holi]

If the military is using intel equipped notebooks running windows 2000, then changing from his too slow but rugged notebook to a powerbook I would tend to think he is using some off the shefl commercial app. Why? because I really doubt the military would spend the time or effort to redevelop some custom app for processing satellite images just so one Major can run non-standard equipment. Infact it is rare that the military will let anyone use non-standard equipment in a critical position. So I tend to think this guy is probably not in a critcal position and may actually be in some PR department in the army where he may be using Photoshop or the like to touch up images for dispersal to various news organizations.

Re:Ok serious question

[2nd Post!]

There's no reason he couldn't be doing imagine manipulation, enhancement, and analysis using Photoshop; so long as the image is in a standard image format (and why not?), it's just pixels and filters.

I mean, even if it's just simple stuff:
Overlays of two images taken in different spectrums (IR and visible)
Time-lapse animation (multiple layers transformed into an animation, not unlike an animated GIF)
Edge detection/feature enhancement
Cropping to remove useless data
Rotation, perspective, and skewing to transform poorly captured or framed images into more easily understood images
Overlay of before/after shots (perhaps using difference blending)
Comparison of two different photos with an identical feature (perhaps identifing buildings, known vs unknown, performed again with overlays and blends)
Scaling of a photo so a comparison to a similar photo, taken with different settings, can be accomplished
Enhancement of a photo to compensate for low light levels (levels, etc)
Normalization of a photo (perspective, levels, colors, scale) so comparisons between two different photos can be accomplished

All of those are trivial with Photoshop.

Re:Ok serious question

[Anonymous Coward]

Or maybe he's using the gimp...

Try that on a Windoze box.

Re:Ok serious question

[Toraz Chryx]

*ahem* Gimp for Windows

Re:Ok serious question

[nettdata]

There's no reason he couldn't be doing imagine manipulation, enhancement, and analysis using Photoshop; so long as the image is in a standard image format (and why not?), it's just pixels and filters.

True... I'm just wondering if they ARE in standard image formats.

I know that some of the GPS work/fun (fishing and hunting trips) that I do involves non-standard (as in non-photoshop-compatable) formats, and requires the use of some software like Fugawi, so I can only imagine what format some military satelite images might be in.

It would be interesting to see what kind of formats the images really are in...

Re:Ok serious question

[nettdata]

And of course, I just thought of something...

It'd be interesting to see what software he's using since he can do the same job on both the Winows 2000 and the OS X platform... I wonder if it IS photoshop that they're using, of if it's some internal military app?

If it was some internal, special app, maybe it's been ported to both Unix and Windows, meaning the OSX box just had to recompile it.

Maybe all he did was install Fink and then recompile the thing, and now it works. Wouldn't THAT be a story!

In a way it'd be kind of boring to think that all he did was use Photoshop. *sigh*

Re:Ok serious question

[BWJones]

I'll answer this for you.

You certainly *can* use Photoshop for many of these functions and I know/have used it for these purposes. Photoshop is one of the most powerful applications in the history of computing for its intended purpose. In addition, there is other software that performs specific GIS functionality (image classification, image registration etc...) on OS X. Some of it written *by* folks in the U.S. Army, the NRO and NIMA.

Re:Ok serious question

[gig]

Just because you use apps that create weird graphics formats, why would you assume the military would?

You can take a Mac out of its box and start it for the first time and it already knows how to read every common graphics format and many that are only common to professionals.

This article only says "Macs are better for graphics". Everybody already know that, and so it's weird to see PC bigots being so outright bigoted about it. He isn't running Microsoft Access; he's working with HUGE graphics. That's what Macs are used for. Go to LucasArts and you will see Macs doing still graphics; go anywhere. If you can't accept that a Mac is better for graphics, you have some issues of your own that you might want to check into psychologically. You might be buying the wrong system for the job if you can't even choose a Mac for graphics.

Photoshop is to graphics what UNIX is to moving files around. QuickTime is to rich-media what Apache is to spitting out Web pages. If you don't know this, or can't accept it, then you are really just hurting yourself. You're the guy running IIS and complaining that he can't switch to Apache because open source is un-American. When you know better, you can't help but wonder why that guy would punish himself with Windows. Kids are playing in the Apple Store at iMacs while their parents buy some serious tools. It is not a hard platform to approach and try for yourself and dispell the multitude of a) myths, and b) old information.

Re:Ok serious question

[nettdata]

Wow...

Where did that come from?

Firstly, I've got over 7 years graphic design experience using Photoshop on a Mac.

I've done Oracle Spatial based GIS implementations for the Canadian and US governments.

I'm writing this on a PowerBook as we speak.

When it comes to graphics formats, some GIS based images are NOT your run-of-the-mill Photoshop-ready images. It wouldn't be THAT far of a stretch to think that satelite images might be similarly encoded.

Try using _some_ marine electronic charts, for instance... I've got 4 formats off hand that I can't open in Photoshop, and wouldn't expect to be able to because it has specialty information embedded in it. Fugawi, on the other hand, deals with them with no problem.

Also, Fugawi is used by the military. Check out this link for information on their second generation targeting-navigational system.

My point was it would be interesting to see what apps and file formats they WERE using.

Man... take a pill and grab a clue.

benchmarks are a metric, not a be all end all

[Anonymous Coward]

It's more than mere benchmarks.

The only reason that Mac's enjoy this positive-stigma of being the best in terms of image processing is because up until a few years ago, hands down they were. However, RISC architechture in the form of motorola's version of the PPC has not kept up in terms of innovation and advancement that the x86 has. Sure, you can spout the, my such and such a mac is equivalent to this and this a pc... based on what? The benchmarks don't back it up, perception doesn't back it up, experience doesn't back it up.

Plain and simple, it's nostalgia and brand loyalty. But I guess if you prefer to be ignorant so long as you're waving your favorite coloured flag, then thats alright then... bah.

Personally, I would prefer hard data and statistics for choosing the better system rather than what 'this guy finds that for his application ... is faster'. Let him use a Mac, lets put lives on the line because of personal preference of having an apple brand computer.

Please, spare me from your blind fanaticism and your blatant ignorance.

Re:benchmarks are a metric, not a be all end all

[noewun]

Actually it's ColorSync, but you have to be a real pre-press nerd to know and care about that.

Fortunately for Apple, the printing field is chock full of pre-press nerds.

Re:benchmarks are a metric, not a be all end all

[Anonymous Coward]

how about your blind fanaticism and blatant ignorance. I use a mac because I like it. I could give a fuck about you windows/linux machine on a 8ghz intel. It's really not all about how fucking fast the machine is. Spare me the 'macs' are slower argument. Benchmarks mean nothing to me. Fuck off. :)

actually, its a moot point

[Anonymous Coward]

As per this comment, it's not like he's actually going to be doing anything important on it. Otherwise the supply office would just have laughed at his requestion for the pretty toy and given him a real laptop.

Re:actually, its a moot point

[2nd Post!]

Um... well, the fastest Toughbooks out there are like 1.8GHz P4s.

If he's utilizing Altivec optimized code (quite possible), it's quite possible that his 1GHz PowerBook can outperform a 1.8GHz P4.

Which tasks are Altivec optimized? Photoshop, for one. Certain encryption/decryption tasks are another. Certain video tasks, as well.

It's certainly within the realm of likely possibility, given the description that "Weed declined to specify what he does exactly, but said he works with giant satellite and reconnaissance images,"

Sure, a P4 is fast but when you're talking about a 800MHz difference, the other things (like cache, registers, Altivec, pipeline depth, etc) make more of a difference.

Now, if they were talking about 2.4GHz P4Ms or 3.0GHz P4 (desktops), that would be different. However, Toughbooks don't scale that fast (yet).

As a former US Army Ranger and RATT rig op...

[Anonymous Coward]

Im not comforted that your platform bigotry and ignorance of how mac's have fallen behind x86's in terms of image processing capabilities would have you ignoring the actual risk to peoples lives and safety just because your preference is prettier and easier to figure out.

Re:As a former US Army Ranger and RATT rig op...

[Anonymous Coward]

...would have you ignoring the actual risk to peoples lives and safety just because your preference is prettier and easier to figure out.

Huh? Coherent responses only please.

Re:As a former US Army Ranger and RATT rig op...

[Anonymous Coward]

That was coherent to someone who is not retarded.

Re:As a former US Army Ranger and RATT rig op...

[gig]

Macs are well-known to be widely-used graphics workstations, and the whole system is optimized towards that. I have a PowerBook that's about a half as fast as the one this guy is using and it runs Photoshop like a charm.

The guy did not say he wanted a "prettier interface". He said the Toughbook "slowed to a crawl" when he worked on it and the PowerBook actually works. You don't need to do a bake-off to compare "slowed to a crawl" with "actually works". Get over yourselves.

What's the guys address?

[krray]

Poor lonely guy in the field. I'd be more than happy to send him a Disney covered DVD with prOn. He'll work late every night too!

Durability, then vs. now?

[JMZorko]

A couple of years ago, my brother called me up and said "do you want an iBook?" I said "Sure, what's up?" His story was that a friend of his got it when he enlisted in the Army, he was discharged early for some reason and got to keep it, and he needed $$$ so he sold it to my brother, who gave it to me. I don't know if this story is true, but the iBook had OS9, 96MB RAM and the Airport card. This was the original tangerine 300mhz model.

So I pose, if this is true, and the Army buys computers in bulk for general-purpose use without regard to what applications they might be used for, a.) why they chose the iBook then, and b.) why they didn't this time. Are the old iBooks somehow more durable than the new (they're definitely a lot heavier)?

Regards,

John

Re:Durability, then vs. now?

[splateagle]

no idea if this has anything to do with military use, (or if the military ever issued tangerine iBooks to recruits...) but I work in what is arguably the next toughest user-environment: secondary education, and can tell you first hand that the old iBooks are *way* tougher than the new ones.

Re:Durability, then vs. now?

[gobbo]

I'm typing this on one of those purse-looking iBooks (aka the "toilet seat" laptop) and it has rubberized round edges, a metal handle, tough flexible plastic, no little doors, and typical Apple tightly engineered construction inside. I took it apart to upgrade the HD and wow, nicely designed. I've dropped it, stepped on it, and feel like I could toss it if I had to. It's the toughest non-specialized laptop I've seen.

One of the mac magazines awhile back tortured one of these to death to see when it would quit, which involve spilling on the keyboard, playing frisbee, dropping it, smashing with a hammer etc. It finally wouldn't boot after the blowtorch treatment.

Not the only...

[Dak RIT]

Actually it's not the *only* PowerBook G4 being used here right now. I've got an 867MHz PowerBook G4 I bought back in July 2002 that I am using while stationed in Camp Va, Kuwait. I use it for very similar reasons to Major Weed, although I had to purchase mine myself.

Re:Not the only...

[mcwetboy]

I've got an 867MHz PowerBook G4 I bought back in July 2002

Very interesting, since the first 867-MHz PowerBooks were released in November 2002. Or did you mean 800 MHz? (Hate to nitpick, but you did mention these details.)

Re:Not the only...

[2nd Post!]

Unless the military has special connections :P

Who knows? Perhaps they get them first?

The New iPod Fatigues

[Cheesewhiz]

This is what I've been telling people all along -- Apples save lives.

We've got to get our troops as many of these new uniforms as we can. Do it for little Jimmy American on the front lines, darnit!

(Nothing like a little ruthless self-promotion to get a day started right!)

Re:The New iPod Fatigues

[josepha48]

yup.. an apple a day keeps the doctor away ;-) (LOL)

No kidding though, my roommate got an apple and now I don't have any of the computer issues I have when he uses windows. Hell I don't hear him complain at all except that the wireless conneciton is slow, and I tell him to use the lan cause it is much faster ;-).

Site navigation...

[paploo]

Man. I tried the link to look at the ToughBook, and it was absolutely miserable. It is really hard to find specs on their computers. It is kind of like they assume you already know all the models and what they are. Even finding the prices was very awkward. You'd think that a company like Panasonic would work a little harder on their web pages?

-Jeff

Dear Apple

[Anonymous Coward]

Dear Apple,

I am a homosexual. I bought an Apple computer because of its well earned reputation for being "the" gay computer. Since I have become an Apple owner, I have been exposed to a whole new world of gay friends. It is really a pleasure to meet and compute with other homos such as myself. I plan on using my new Apple computer as a way to entice and recruit young schoolboys into the homosexual lifestyle; it would be so helpful if you could produce more software which would appeal to young boys. Thanks in advance.

with much gayness,

Father Randy "Pudge" O'Day, S.J.

Dear Father O'Day

[Anonymous Coward]

Dear Father O'Day:

Thanks for your letter. Being Catholic myself, I know exactly what you're talking about! It has always been our plan here at Apple Computer Inc to revolutionize personal computing with our high-quality and highly gay products.

I'm happy to answer your letter by letting you know that YES we will be releasing an entire hLife ("homo-life") software line. You'll be able to recognize it in stores by the small stylized logo depicting a large cock entering a tight anus with an Apple logo on it. ("Suddenly it all comes together" indeed!).

Anyway, I hope you and other members of our community will join us on our mission, and purchase the exciting new hLife boxed set. Only the boxed set comes with translucent cock rings!

Sincerely,

Harry Rodman
Vice-president
Homosexual Liaison Services
Apple Computer, Inc.

matched set...best choice

[djupedal]

I think what you've 'seen' is anecdotal.

Since we don't know exactly what his 'mission critical' tasks are, exactly, we have to take his word for why he chose a G4. It sounds like this guy already has reason to trust his choice. After all, it's not just the hardware nor just the software...it's the combination, and in this case, they are strictly made for each other. I know of no other examples that come close...

Re:matched set...best choice

[ealar dlanvuli]

Heard of sun solaris? There are laptops for that (they cost about 6k I believe).

Lives are at stake?

[Frantactical Fruke]

I'm a bit unclear on this.

Does he mean that the faster he can process those satellite images,

the more lives they can bomb to pieces,

or

the less lives will be lost to friendly fire as the pilots shoot at everything that moves while they're waiting for targeting data?

Apple makes it easy for the govt to buy

[daveschroeder]

Q: If the military can pay thousands for a toilet seat, imagine what they paid for a PowerBook.

A: About the same as Apple's academic discounts!

Apple Federal Home Page

How to buy for federal agencies and miltary - Includes:

Using a GSA SmartPay purchasing card

Apple Federal Store (for SmartPay) or Apple Retail stores

Federal Employee Purchase Program, via Apple Federal Employee Purchase Store or Apple Retail stores at Tyson's Corner, Clarendon, VA, or Towson, MD

Any number of various federal, GSA, and military contract resellers

Major Weed / Mac

[BobWeiner]

Cool that he's using a Mac. If Saddam's forces defect over to our side, will that make them switchers? :)

Bob

Re:Major Weed / Mac

[Trurl's Machine]

Cool that he's using a Mac. If Saddam's forces defect over to our side, will that make them switchers? :)

The muezzin, he sounded like weep, weep, weep. I wanted a drink and I couldn't have one. Islam is a dry religion. It was kind of bummer. Now I respect the American Way Of Life. And I have better drinks. My name is Osama and I am a logistics consultant.

The only Macs in the Middle East?

[DeeKay]

Wrong.

Now if that only meant something to be proud of...

Beauty of the Mac...

[MacAndrew]

If you used it to brain your enemy, it would STILL work AND would be simple enough for the debrained enemy to operate.

So there. :)

I'm most impressed not that this guy wanted a Mac, but that he actully got one. The military is rightly known for a plodding mentality, and what's he going to do if he needs an extra battery? Steal it from CNN? Of course, had the guy simply called Apple to say, hey, I'd like to place the first Mac in the field, they would have sent over ten gratis.

Clicking away on my deweaponized iBook...

Not the only one by far

[Alcimedes]

i wonder if it's a mapping thing. i know someone else who's stationed in the Middle East right now doing similar work who's also using a Mac to do it, although he had to purchase it himself.

there's a Mac presence within the Army, which can't be a bad thing.

"now, drop the little bomb icon on the little tank icon and they blow up"

Re:Not the only one by far

[matthew.thompson]

Actually using Mac OS X I've not seen the bomb icon.

M@t :o)

Lives are "on the line"?

[Zhe Mappel]

Excuse me?

Most of the planet is up in arms about this invasion of Iraq and the declared intent by Washington to make no part of Baghdad safe (at the inevitable expense of untold numbers of citizens). And this trained killer says lives are "on the line"?

Correction: lives are about to be wasted, made trash, disposed of, terminated. Let's at least be honest about that much.

Re:Lives are "on the line"?

[kalidasa]

Don't blame the intel guy for the decisions made by the CIC.

Re:Lives are "on the line"?

[WillAdams]

Wasted lives are the Kurds whom Saddam Hussein gassed:
http://www.phrusa.org/research/chemical_w eapons/ch emiraqgas2.html

Wasted lives are the Kuwaiti civilians killed during Iraq's invasion of Kuwait:
http://www.meforum.org/article/238

On the other hand, people who offer up their lives in the hope that another will have a life of liberty is what I'd call a noble sacrifice---here's hoping there won't be many in this conflict if it comes to that.

Note that many Iraqis have already so lost their lives---look up struggles for the city of Kirkuk since the Gulf War, and note especially how Saddam Hussein has attempted to stack the deck there by moving in people loyal to him.

William

Re:Lives are "on the line"?

[neric]

Lives will be made better

Re:Lives are "on the line"?

[Anonymous Coward]

Shut the fuck up, you dirty hippie.

-Cartman

Applogize now

[Anonymous Coward]

If Saddam has the stuff the government says he has -- and I don't doubt that for a minute -- then we need to take him out NOW! So don't go raving that most of the planet is against the war. The principle opponents are France and Russia -- both of which are making proffit ($$$) from selling materials to Iraq. The other opponents are those who want peace at any price -- and history will tell you hom well that has worked in the past.

I am extreamly offended that you would refer to a member of the US Military as a "trained killer. " You should appologize now for your rudeness.

Wallstreet

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, my wallstreet has battery that disconnects when you touch it, a useless hinge, a busted audio out jack, and black rubber scraped off all over the place. I used it primarily as a desktop machine.

The reliability of machines like these seems to vary widely, but none are really designed to last longer than about 3 years these days, it's the unfortunate truth.

Where's the headline?

[bcforrest]

No one seems to have used the obvious headline... "Apple Computer scores some Major Weed" :-)

Dave Schroeder is a fucking CUNT asshole Tsarkon

[Anonymous Coward]

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s`cccccccc|ccccccccccccc|cccccccc\|ccccccc| cccccs
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*ccc\cccccc\_-~cccccccccccccccccccc~-_\c ccc|cccc*
gcccc\_ccccc\cccccccc_.--------.______\ |ccc|ccccg
occcccc\ccccc\______//c_c___c_c(_(__>c c\ccc|ccc co
accccccc\ccc.ccCc___)cc______c(_(____>cc|cc/cc c ca
tccccccc/\c|cccCc____)/dave c\c(_____>cc|_/ccccct
scccccc/c/\|cccC_____)fucks c|cc(___>ccc/cc\ccccs
eccccc|ccc(ccc_C_____)\_ASS __/cc//c_/c/ccccc\ccce
xccccc|cccc\cc|__ccc\\____ _____//c(__/ccccccc|ccx
*cccc|c\cccc\____)ccc`--- -ccc--'ccccccccccccc|cc*
gcccc|cc\_cccccccccc___\ ccccccc/_cccccccccc_/c|cg
occc|cccccccccccccc/ccc c|ccccc|cc\cccccccccccc|co
accc|ccccccccccccc|ccc c/ccccccc\cc\ccccccccccc|ca
tccc|cccccccccc/c/ccc c|ccccccccc|cc\ccccccccccc|t
sccc|ccccccccc/c/ccc ccc\__/\___/cccc|cccccccccc|s
ecc|ccccccccccc/ccc ccccc|cccc|ccccccc|ccccccccc|e
xcc|cccccccccc|ccc cccccc|cccc|ccccccc|ccccccccc|x
* g o a t s e x * g o a t s e x * g o a t s e x *

The purpose of this letter is to outline a plan to expand people's understanding of Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder's insolent bons mots. To begin at the beginning, if Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder were as bright as he thinks he is, he'd know that not only does he take a condescending cheap shot at a person that most disorganized, sinister windbags will never be in a position to condescend to, but he then commands his henchmen, "Go, and do thou likewise." Make special note of that point, because I find that some of his choices of words in his ideologies would not have been mine. For example, I would have substituted "witless" for "parthenogenetic" and "inconsiderate" for "incontrovertibleness." Every time Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder tells his minions that his intimations are our final line of defense against tyrrany, their eyes roll into the backs of their heads as they become mindless receptacles of unsubstantiated information, which they accept without question. We can never return to the past. And if we are ever to move forward to the future, we sincerely have to hold out the prospect of societal peace, prosperity, and a return to sane values and certainties.

Time has only reinforced that conviction. And that's where we are right now. So don't tell me that the grossly fallacious reasoning behind Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder's expositions can be confirmed by some simple fact-checking just because Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder must think that the world has no memory. By framing the question in this way, we see that many people respond to his pugnacious excuses in much the same way that they respond to television dramas. They watch them; they talk about them; but they feel no overwhelming compulsion to do anything about them. That's why I insist we express our concerns about his malignant, uppity practices. I will not say what is right and what is wrong when it comes to his cock-and-bull stories. But I will say one thing: In his harangues, emotionalism is witting and unremitting, squalid and repressive. He revels in it, rolls in it, and uses it to manipulate public understanding of obstructionism.

I am familiar with Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder's goals, I understand how he operates, I have long recognized his tactics, and I know just about where Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder now stands on the ladder to total power. I can therefore say that, decidedly, his muddleheaded bromides are in full flower, and their poisonous petals of absolutism are blooming all around us. He maintains that his epithets prevent smallpox. This is hardly the case. Rather, there is growing evidence that says, to the contrary, that if you think that this is humorous or exaggerated, you're wrong. This is equivalent to saying that Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder coins polysyllabic neologisms to make his actions sound like they're actually important. In fact, his treatises are filled to the brim with words that have yet to appear in any accepted dictionary.

Essentially, I can no longer get very excited about any revelation of his hypocrisy or crookedness. It's what I've come to expect by now. Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder's catch-phrases are a mere cavil, a mere scarecrow, one of the last shifts of a desperate and dying cause. Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder's theories have nothing to do with freedom and honor but everything to do with gangsterism. Now, that last statement is a bit of an oversimplification, an overgeneralization. But it is nevertheless substantially true.

Think about it. Often, the lure of an articulate new pundit, a well-financed attention-getting program, an effective audience generator, hot new "inside" information, or a professionally produced exposé is irresistible to feeble-minded vigilantes who want to destroy the natural beauty of our parks and forests. If Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder is going to talk about higher standards, then he needs to live by those higher standards. What a cunning coup on the part of his cronies, who set out to mortgage away our future and got as far as they did without anyone raising an eyebrow. Ghastly survivalists may possess a mass of "knowledge", but their brains are unable to organize and register the material they have taken in. Accompanying this recognition of the indeterminateness of verifiability with regard to an external, objective reality has been a crisis regarding our ability to know that it has been said that Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder's solutions are based on prejudices and preconceived notions. I, in turn, believe that Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder just reported that I'm too postmodernist to offer a framework for discussion so that we can more quickly reach a consensus. Do you think that that's merely sloppy reporting on Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder's part? I don't. I think that it's a deliberate attempt to keep us hypnotized so we don't lay out some ideas and interpretations that hold the potential for insight.

His comments are pockmarked with bumptious feudalism and other assorted ills. No joke. Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder's antics symbolize lawlessness, violence, and misguided rebellion -- extreme liberty for a few, even if the rest of us lose more than a little freedom. This much is clear: Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder once told his sycophants, "Hey, let's all go out and rally for a cause that is completely void of moral, ethical, or legal validity!" (or words to that effect). Let me try to explain what I mean by that in a single sentence: Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder is unquestionably up to something. I don't know exactly what, but his double standards are a perfect example of overgeneralization and blatant antipluralism. In view of that, it is not surprising that he and his helpers are grungy hoodlums. This is not set down in complaint against them, but merely as analysis.

For those of you out there who don't know what I'm talking about, let me give you a quick explanation: Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder's beliefs (as I would certainly not call them logically reasoned arguments) are counterproductive to society. Let me recap that for you, because it really is extraordinarily important: Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder shouldn't yield this country to the forces of darkness, oppression, and tyranny. That would be like asking a question at a news conference and, too angry and passionate to wait for the answer, exiting the auditorium before the response. Both of those actions reinforce the concept of collective guilt that is the root of all prejudice. Whereas he claims that genocide, slavery, racism, and the systematic oppression, degradation, and exploitation of most of the world's people are all entirely justified, I claim that honor means nothing to him. Principles mean nothing to him. All he cares about is how to sensationalize all of the issues. If I withheld my feelings on this matter, I'd be no less prurient than Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder. If I try really, really hard, I can almost see why he would want to convict me without trial, jury, or reading one complete paragraph of this letter. There are some simple truths in this world. First, creating needed understanding is best achieved in a calm, rational environment. Second, I am proud that I'm not among the number of tactless suborners of perjury of this world. And finally, you should never forget the three most important facets of Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder's musings, namely their jaded origins, their internal contradictions, and their tendentious nature.

We find among narrow and uneducated minds the belief that things have never been better. This belief is due to a basic confusion, which can be cleared up simply by stating that Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder's perceptions use a philosophical device of asking one question, answering a completely different question, and then applying that answer to the original question. That conclusion is not based on some sort of self-aggrandizing philosophy or on Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder-style mental masturbation, but on widely known and proven principles of science. These principles explain that if you're not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem. All of Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder's treatises are paralogistic. Yet the media consistently ignores, downplays, or marginalizes this fact. Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder believes that he can walk on water. The real damage that this belief causes actually has nothing to do with the belief itself, but with psychology, human nature, and the skillful psychological manipulation of that nature by Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder and his money-grubbing, demented supporters.

As a parenthetical note, his histrionics are not our only concern. To state the matter in a few words, I recently received some mail in which the writer stated, "My message has always been that if stated outright, Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder's notions would be manifestly unpopular." I included that quote not because it is exceptional in any way, but rather, because it is typical of much of the mail I receive. I included it to show you that I'm not the only one who thinks that Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder thinks we want him to construct the spectre of a terrible armed threat. Excuse me, but maybe if you are not smart enough to realize this, then you become the victim of your own ignorance. Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder recently stated that the health effects of secondhand smoke are negligible. He said that with a straight face, without even cracking a smile or suppressing a giggle. He said it as if he meant it. That's scary, because a great many of us don't want him to relabel millions of people as "batty". But we feel a prodigious societal pressure to smile, to be nice, and not to object to his violent refrains.

He is not only immoral, but amoral. Even giving Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder the benefit of the doubt, he pompously claims that all major world powers are controlled by a covert group of "insiders". That sort of nonsense impresses many people, unfortunately. He has commented that his canards are good for the environment, human rights, and baby seals. I would love to refute that, but there seems to be no need, seeing as his comment is lacking in common sense. The encroachment of crazy epigrams into the social fabric of our politics, our institutions, and our laws would give credence to my claim that Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder feels no guilt for any of the harm he's caused. Sounds pretty raving, doesn't it? But is it any more so than Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder's incompetent zingers? And now, to end with a clever bit of doggerel: United we stand. Divided we fall. Dave "Assfuckig Cunt Asshole Ass Philanderer" Schroeder's stinking insinuations will destroy us all.

Apple Laptop Keyboards Unsuitable for Unix Users

[Anonymous Coward]

Apple laptops are effectively unusable for unix users.

I am a long-time Unix user. That means I need to have the Ctrl key to the left of the A key. This is a genuine need, not merely a want; it is based upon ergonomics. The Ctrl key is heavily used in unix, and it must be easily accessable. It cannot be off in the lower left corner of the keyboard where it is difficult to get at, and where it distorts the position of your left hand such that you can't easily type other keys while holding the Ctrl key down.

Apple desktop keyboards are now all USB. They are all OK. The CapsLock key can be re-mapped into a Ctrl key.

Unfortunately, even in this modern age, all Apple laptops have built-in ADB keyboards. The ADB keyboard is broken-by-design. It is, in general, not possible to remap the CapsLock key into a Ctrl key.

There are some exceptions, but they are horrible kludges. They are horrible kludges because the original design of the ADB keyboard was a horrible kludge. The correct solution would be for Apple to re-design their laptop motherboards to use built-in USB keyboards. This hasn't happened yet. If you run Linux, use Debian's solution. For Mac OS X users, uControl works. There are no solutions (that I know of) for either NetBSD or OpenBSD. Please note once again that the "solutions" above are in fact kludges, because of the original bad design of the ADB keyboard.

Apple provides a technical note on how to remap the keyboard, but provides no solution to the hardware problems caused by the design of the ADB keyboard. This tech note helps foreign language users, but does nothing for the CapsLock/Ctrl problem.

Apple is (currently) ignoring Unix users! This is not merely speculation on my part. In an on-going email exchange I am having with an Apple employee (whom I won't name) in their marketing department, the Apple marketing person directly stated to me that Apple was catering to their historic Mac customers, and is purposely ignoring the Unix market. He also claimed that Apple would soon start paying more attention to the Unix market. I won't hold my breath. Apple has been ignoring Unix users for more than 12 years. I expect that trend to continue.

Apple has now lost two opportunities to sell me hardware. I really wanted an Apple laptop for their superior battery life, and for the PowerPC with Altivec CPU. (The Altivec is vastly superior to the x86 line for DSP.) Because I can't live with the broken-by-design built-in ADB keyboard in all Apple laptops, Sony and IBM sold me laptops instead. If Apple fixes this problem, they will sell me a PowerBook next year; if they don't, I'll still be running OpenBSD on x86 hardware, and wishing I could use a Mac.

Imagery

[Andy Social]

Except that the military satellite system doesn't really use normal file types. Check out this tutorial on the image format that is used by NIMA (sat imagery folks).

Now, I knew Major Weed a number of years ago, and he is really in MI but he was a journalist when he was enlisted. He may be doing some work in Photoshop just because it's not an imagery analyst's task but is useful and he knows the program. Imagery analysts, by the way, are never officers.

Imagery

[Andy Social]

Except that the military satellite system doesn't really use normal file types. Check out this tutorial on the image format that is used by NIMA (sat imagery folks).

Now, I knew Major Weed a number of years ago, and he is really in MI but he was a journalist when he was enlisted. He may be doing some work in Photoshop just because it's not an imagery analyst's task but is useful and he knows the program. Imagery analysts, by the way, are never officers.

Applications

[Andy Social]

The Imagery Product Library can serve JPEG images via a Java-capable web browser to any machine on the network that is granted access. Cross-platform.

The actual analysis is done on Sun workstations, of course. Real mission-critical work is never trusted to anything but real machines.

Re:Applications

[nettdata]

Thanks... that looks pretty cool...

Duck Tape

[jellyfish_green]

It's still advertised as Duck Tape in my local hardware store in Ireland, although this may be a brand name.