Ground Rules for the Windows vs. Mac War

FreshlyShornBalls writes "The New York Times is running a story that I think needs to be seen by everyone on both sides of the on-going Macintosh vs. Windows debate (i.e. just about everyone who posts on Slashdot): Some ground rules for the Windows vs. Mac War." From the article: "Last week, I wrote about some of the changes Microsoft has in store for the next version of Windows, which is slated for the end of 2006. Interestingly, very few of you responded to that column, probably because so much may change in the next 19 months. But a few of you fired off diatribes about how I'm either a Microsoft 'shill' or an Apple 'apologist' (or maybe it was the other way around). It's not just me, either; it's a running sardonic joke among tech columnists that you can't even USE the word 'Apple' or 'Microsoft' without getting hate mail from somebody or other."

Comments

firstus postus

[FrostedChaos]

the firstest post... with the mostest.

Thanks for giving me 5 seconds of your life.

Rule #1

[DavidNWelton]

The winner is Linux

Rule #2

The winner is Linux ... ok, so it's silly, but... Linux is really taking giant strides towards being a very usable operating system, even for grandma.

Last week I bought an mp3 (and ogg!) player for my fiancee`. We took it home, plugged it into the USB port, and up popped a window. She clicked and dragged a few ogg files into it and they were available on the player. The 'grip' program was equally easy to set up, even if it did have a lot of sub-sub-options to configure. I've been using Linux for nearly 10 years, and... I have to say I was impressed! It's one thing for me to be able to make it do what I want, but another when it "just works" for someone who isn't a computer person.

Oh, and no, I didn't read the article:-)

Re:Rule #1

[DavidNWelton]

It's a Samsung YP-MT6V:

http://product.samsung.com/cgi-bin/nabc/product/b2 c_product_detail.jsp?eUser=&prod_id=YP-MT6V%2FXAA

I got it because it does ogg in addition to mp3.

I'm sorry, this is stupid.

[mcc]

And this NYT columnist trying to address it formally is even stupider.

Apple Keyboards r0X0r!!!

[B747SP]

Apple keyboards r0x0r! I just bought a pair of Apple M9034LL/A keyboards, and I love 'em.

Went into an apple reseller yesterday and picked up a keyboard. Asked a salesdroid "What are my chances of getting this to work on a PC?" (I already knew the answer to that, was just trolling!). Salesdroid said "Zero - there's no drivers for it". (Clearly doesn't know about USB HIDs!). I said "Mind if I try it?".

Whipped out Dell laptop and fired it up. Windows XP detected an "Apple Extended Keyboard" and a "Generic USB Hub", realised that the keyboard was a regular Human Interface Device (HID) and just worked. Apple key == Windows Key. Everything else works. F13-F16 has no function (need to remap some of them to Print Screen and Pause/Break at some point), and even the volume up/down/mute keys work out of the box.

Fired up Gentoo Linux with a 2.6 kernel, it detected it as a "Mitsumi Electric Apple Extended USB Keyboard" and again, just worked.

So yeah... I really really like the slimline minimalist style of this keyboard. Sure, it isn't an IBM/PCKeyboard.com style buckling spring keyboard, but its a very nice alternative. I think I'll be trying more Apple hardware as the mood strikes.

Re:Bollocks

[carou]

Irony: you're currently modded insightful.

(Now, anyone who mods me offtopic, don't - it's redundant ;))