How often is faster+cheaper+larger available from someone else? Not very (for Core2Duo processors at least)? As of recently, the MBP seems to be the first mainstream product to bring the latest iteration of Intel chip to market.
Yeah, but a few posts up the guy makes a good point about the Dell XPS being $400 less than a MBP. Granted, my brother just bought the last of the last version of MBP for $1699, instead of $1999, but that's no longer an option.
Why do I want multiple Firewire ports standard? I don't have a single thing that uses Firewire. If I did (and one port weren't sufficient), I can buy a PCI(e) or PCMCIA card.
I didn't get the gripe either. I DO have more than one item that uses Firewire (Digital Video Camera and audio recording gear..used to have three when the iPods were Firewire too). I have an 8 year old G4 iMac that has two firewire ports (I think? Man it's been a long time since I've even used it) and I've added multiple firewire cards to both of my PCs with no problem (less than $30, less than 5 minutes of my time).
You're in a minority. Speaking of being in the minority, you said:
In my experience Apple Care and tech support isn't all that great. In light of the recent Consumer Reports poll
(and years and years of evidence prior to this putting Apple firmly in the #1 spot for tech support), I'd say that YOU are in the minority. Perhaps Apple support "isn't all that great" but considering it gets an 83 to Lenovo's 66, Dell's 60, Toshiba's 54 and Gateway's 51, I'd say there's nothing better.
Contrast the MacBook Pro light sensor with this Dell one I use at work (Latitude D630). It makes the screen too dark under normal office lighting conditions, and actually WASHES OUT the pixels by becoming too bright in dimly lit conference rooms. The brightest setting on a MacBook Pro display never washes out the image, regardless of the ambient lighting.
17% of that 30% discount comes right from the stupid Value Added Tax (In England, at least when I lived there last year). The other % points come from a weak dollar to the pound.
Uh, why has this guy been marked informative just because he is regurgitating old cliches about Macs being too expensive? Have people not been paying attention the past two years? Haven't I read at least 10 reviews about how equivalent PCs might even actually cost $100 more or so when equally equipped?
The ONLY merit in the discussion of Macs being expensive is in the fact that there is no real bottom-line budget Mac offering. But for EVERY model Apple offers, the price is lock-step with the industry, ESPECIALLY with equal configurations. Let's not confuse $800 rebates-if-you-buy-this-crappy-printer-and-two-years-of-crappy-web-service on No Name PCs as automatically making PCs way cheaper than Macs.
Well, that's what happens when you don't show up to court. The other side usually gets whatever they ask for. So THAT'S why Brittney Spears didn't bother showing up at her child custody hearings...she actually WANTED to lose custody of her children. And here I thought she was just dumb...
Google ads don't bother me either, but that's not my point. The point is, that no matter how anti-ad we are or how concerned we are about our privacy, how is it that Google gets a pass on slashdot (no, I'm not new here, but yes, I must be new here), but Charter is "spying" on us.
You missed my point entirely. The original article, consisting of REAL journalists, avoid the provocative term "spying" because they are professional. Slashdot is sensational. You give me a nice list of definitions there, but maybe you should continue searching reference.com for deeper meanings. Besides, I have a 15+ year career in Intelligence, so I think I know a little bit about the subtleties relating to spying.
If you don't like the site you visit using Google Ads, tell them that. When they come back and tell you that they're paying for the site with Google Ads, see if that helps clarify the difference between Google Ads and Charter Ads. That's a perfectly valid statement, but I go back to the first point somebody made saying I have the option NOT to use Google. Well, I don't, yet I still get the ads...not really an option.
(1) I don't enter that kind of data over an unencrypted link. So you've never given your name and address over the telephone, or while standing in line at the bank?
You can choose not to use Google. You know up front, before you use their site, what Google does. I would argue differently. Most people think Google is a search engine and have no idea that their primary function is ad-based revenue production. Also, I don't use Google, yet they seem to have no problem inundating my web experience with ads. What I guess I'm saying is, I understand (but most people don't) they are an ad agency but I don't understand HOW their technology works since I chose not to use it, yet still get targeted.
So, tell me, how exactly is reading my packets that much different from "spying" on me? I couldn't help notice that the linked article doesn't use the word "spying" at all, but slashdot doesn't seem to mind upping the rhetorical ante in that regard. I'm not saying it ISN'T spying; I'm just saying the language is argumentative on purpose.
First, much like ANY transaction in any medium, the article claims your name and address is required. Why are we willing to give our name and address out for nearly any transaction, yet as soon as an online transaction calls for it, we freak out? I'm pretty sure when you signed up for Charter service, you probably gave them your name, address, phone number, checking account number, debit card, etc. etc. You probably gave them a deposit and they probably looked up your credit using, gasp, your social security number.
Second, how is this any different than Google? They track my online activity then target me with ads that I might find interesting. Am I even given the option to opt out of Google ads? (serious questions, not flame-baiting)
So if I blog something, and title it a 'call to arms', am I suddenly relevant too? No, you first have to include incendiary slashdot summaries like Company X to SPY on YOU!
Stop judging a nation's people by it's government's actions and the world will make a lot more sense. Funny, that rule doesn't seem to apply when bitching about Americans on slashdot...
Um, isn't the NSA part of the DoD? And now we begin to see why most attacks against the NSA/CSS on slashdot are completely without merit. The NSA is part of the Intelligence Community and not the DoD. The CSS portion of the NSA is staffed by military folks, however, the NSA part is staffed by civil servants.
I see it is easy enough to be confused with the facts that are open to the public; no wonder you guys can't get the more secretive bits right...
"Legal limitations were a surprising obstacle to a realistic exercise....But only the NSA, with its arsenal of waivers, loopholes, special authorizations (and heaven knows what else) is allowed to take down a U.S. network."
Which is it? Legal limitations or NSA not affected because of 'arsenal of waivers...'? I hate summaries like this with such an overt bias against anything the NSA does. Either they were legally limited, or they had a bunch of waivers...which is it? The sad thing is that this could have been a much more effective exercise without the unnecessary complexity introduced by the 1984-inspired Kooks amongst us.
[Doubletake] You actually thought you'd run across an MS fan in the Gym? Yeah, good point. I just thought, considering nearly EVERYONE at the gym is using a digital music player of some sort, I might just see one or two Zunes (but I haven't...ever). Best Buy only has the fake cardboard versions too, so I REALLY have never seen a Zune.
Is slashdot linking stories with accurate summaries anymore, or is it just en vogue to post legitimate news stories with a slashdot-biased, flamebait (and usually inaccurate) summary?
You called out social features that you don't even know about. Ever heard of Last.fm...oh yes, music is totally to shut people out. Maybe the fact you keep harping on social features that evidently nobody wants is the same reason nobody is buying Zunes. I think most people want a music player to, I dunno, play music?
Get out of the house and go to a concert LOL, why don't YOU get out of the house and come to one of my shows? Maybe you missed Rush and the Raconteurs in Austin the past few weeks, with ZZ Top and Steve Miller w/ Joe Cocker coming up? You telling me (a real live performing artist living in Austin, TX , the live music Capital of the World) to go to a concert is just a bit laughable to me.
I can tell by your post that you're lying through your finger tips otherwise you wouldn't have added "(even if, like in my case, they are all made by Apple)" What's so unbelievable about me using iPods, an iPhone and two Macs at home? Even more dubious is why would I feel the need to lie about that? Again, that says way more about your own issues than it does anything about me.
What a joke, I can't believe some clown modded you up, like I said; "circle jerk" "Circle Jerk" again eh? Is that all you got? Who's the five year old again? I guess you are just jealous because you can't find two other Zune users to form your own Circle Jerk. Hmm, that must be one of those Social Features you so desire.
Frankly, I give one rat's ass what people think about me based on my phone, mp3 player, and operating system of choice (even if, like in my case, they are all made by Apple). What I do care about is calling out the stupidity of "social" features in devices that aren't used for social purposes. Most people use mp3 players to shut other people OUT, not to invite them in.
Sadly, your post says more about your own insecurity than it does anything about Apple product users.
- The repetitive gameplay (turn corner; monster jumps out of hiding; rinse & repeat) Isn't that how all 3d shooters work? (Replace 'monster' with 'evil agent' or 'German Soldier' if you must).
Slashdot Mirror
Yeah, but a few posts up the guy makes a good point about the Dell XPS being $400 less than a MBP. Granted, my brother just bought the last of the last version of MBP for $1699, instead of $1999, but that's no longer an option.
I didn't get the gripe either. I DO have more than one item that uses Firewire (Digital Video Camera and audio recording gear..used to have three when the iPods were Firewire too). I have an 8 year old G4 iMac that has two firewire ports (I think? Man it's been a long time since I've even used it) and I've added multiple firewire cards to both of my PCs with no problem (less than $30, less than 5 minutes of my time).http://www.macworld.com/article/133293/2008/05/consumer.html
(and years and years of evidence prior to this putting Apple firmly in the #1 spot for tech support), I'd say that YOU are in the minority. Perhaps Apple support "isn't all that great" but considering it gets an 83 to Lenovo's 66, Dell's 60, Toshiba's 54 and Gateway's 51, I'd say there's nothing better.
Contrast the MacBook Pro light sensor with this Dell one I use at work (Latitude D630). It makes the screen too dark under normal office lighting conditions, and actually WASHES OUT the pixels by becoming too bright in dimly lit conference rooms. The brightest setting on a MacBook Pro display never washes out the image, regardless of the ambient lighting.
17% of that 30% discount comes right from the stupid Value Added Tax (In England, at least when I lived there last year). The other % points come from a weak dollar to the pound.
The ONLY merit in the discussion of Macs being expensive is in the fact that there is no real bottom-line budget Mac offering. But for EVERY model Apple offers, the price is lock-step with the industry, ESPECIALLY with equal configurations. Let's not confuse $800 rebates-if-you-buy-this-crappy-printer-and-two-years-of-crappy-web-service on No Name PCs as automatically making PCs way cheaper than Macs.
Isn't all spam sent "willfully and knowingly"? I just figured that was included in the definition of spam.
Google ads don't bother me either, but that's not my point. The point is, that no matter how anti-ad we are or how concerned we are about our privacy, how is it that Google gets a pass on slashdot (no, I'm not new here, but yes, I must be new here), but Charter is "spying" on us.
You missed my point entirely. The original article, consisting of REAL journalists, avoid the provocative term "spying" because they are professional. Slashdot is sensational. You give me a nice list of definitions there, but maybe you should continue searching reference.com for deeper meanings. Besides, I have a 15+ year career in Intelligence, so I think I know a little bit about the subtleties relating to spying.
Second, how is this any different than Google? They track my online activity then target me with ads that I might find interesting. Am I even given the option to opt out of Google ads? (serious questions, not flame-baiting)
I see it is easy enough to be confused with the facts that are open to the public; no wonder you guys can't get the more secretive bits right...
Which is it? Legal limitations or NSA not affected because of 'arsenal of waivers...'? I hate summaries like this with such an overt bias against anything the NSA does. Either they were legally limited, or they had a bunch of waivers...which is it? The sad thing is that this could have been a much more effective exercise without the unnecessary complexity introduced by the 1984-inspired Kooks amongst us.
Is slashdot linking stories with accurate summaries anymore, or is it just en vogue to post legitimate news stories with a slashdot-biased, flamebait (and usually inaccurate) summary?
Frankly, I give one rat's ass what people think about me based on my phone, mp3 player, and operating system of choice (even if, like in my case, they are all made by Apple). What I do care about is calling out the stupidity of "social" features in devices that aren't used for social purposes. Most people use mp3 players to shut other people OUT, not to invite them in.
Sadly, your post says more about your own insecurity than it does anything about Apple product users.