60-70 percent of Apple's computer sales are laptops: Macbook and MacBook Pro machines. I know this because I work for a major reseller. The rest is Mac Pros and iMacs.
So Mac Minis make up 0 percent? You know this because you work for a major reseller? Lemme guess, you wear a blue shirt with a yellow Best Buy logo? Apple disagrees with you on your figures as well, but what would they know?
And for the record, it hasn't been "years" since Apple has had an affordable mid-range tower. They were discontinued in August of 2006 (with the introduction of the Intel Mac line). I doubt Apple will ever make another consumer level tower, because Apple has a long history of expediating the obsolescence of outdated computer stuff (5 1/2" floppy, 3.25" floppy, the serial bus, for example). Everytime Apple does something like that people say "Apple is CRAZY! What are they doing!?" Then a year later, everyone is doing the same thing as Apple. I'm not saying the tower is going away, because there are a lot of tinkerer's out there. But it probably IS going away from the Mac market, because there AREN'T a lot of tinkerers out there.
most people feel tied into windows either because they don't want to learn something new or because
Yeah. How hard is it to learn Mac OS X after using XP or vice versa? I would say making ice is harder.
they have software that ties them in or both.
Its been what, two years now since all Macs have shipped with Intel chips, yet the slashdot crowd STILL doesn't realize you can run Windows on a Mac?
Apple's range of desktop hardware is also terrible
And pretty much every professional review would tell you how wrong that statement is. For once, I'll drop my anecdotal evidence and let the computer publications speak for me on this one.
Sure there is the odd mac arround but nothing to make the person who went in shopping for a PC think about getting one instead.
Which is the exact behavior the post above is pointing out.
When I bought my Porsche 914 and realized it was a piece of crap suped-up Volkswagen, I demanded that Porsche give me the previous year's 911 Turbo instead.
I don't disagree with the first half of your post at all (except it was her daughter, not her son). In fact, I've even said that this isn't about Vista being "bad" in another post already. The title of my post, "Why I'm a Mac/Linux/Whatever User" stems simply from the fact that Microsoft is driving users away with their business practices, as evident by Ballmer's insistence on stressing the stupid "value" line to this mom. Microsoft doesn't make products we want or value, they make products that make Microsoft a lot of money. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with this, as this is what the majority of companies in the world do. Microsoft, however, has such a keen focus on the bottom line that they frequently use their illegal monopoly to disregard the consumer altogether. This story exemplifies that behavior perfectly. The primary difference with your analogy of installig Linux instead would be that if this woman had installed Linux for her daughter instead of Vista, she wouldn't have had to listen to some blowhard executive bullshit her about value. The longer Ballmer talks, the more I like Bill Gates.
I read this article on Computerworld.com long before it was posted here on slashdot. Granted, a lot of people just wanted it posted on slashdot to bash Microsoft (something else I've ALREADY said in this thread). The slashdot community reaction to the story doesn't change the facts of the story, however.
Now let's get to the issue of being biased. I believe my posts have been fairly objective, although I'm a home Mac user and a work UNIX and XP user. Your post, however, reeks of bias in that you attack something that is irrelevant to the original post (Mac OS) and in those attacks, you are simply wrong. So you don't think you can upgrade a Mac's video card to the latest/greatest? Not only is that just wrong, I've actually used video cards I purchased for my PC in a Mac, because the stupid thing wouldn't work with the PC. The MacPro accepts FOUR video cards from such no-name brands as NVidia and ATI. You can buy those from the Apple Store, or if you are smart, you can buy them from Best Buy for 1/2 the cost and install them yourself in about 5 minutes. Please don't tell me you think that installing a video card and driver is easier or faster in XP (or Vista) than it is on a MacPro? It'll take you longer to longer to disable the current graphics drivers before you can even begin to install the new ones. I shudder at the thought of how many restarts it will take as well. The last time I upgraded my PCs video card (last summer), I think I had 5 restarts, and it still didn't remember my resolution settings without having to download the latest driver. I put the same card (a Radeon 8000something) in my 7 year old G4 Macintosh, and it worked with one reboot (after the driver install). Perhaps PCI-express has changed that (my PC is AGP), but I highly doubt it. Every time I hope Windows has changed, it hasn't.
Drivers for PC not Microsoft's fault? How come the same device works with much more consistency on a Mac? You do realize that Macs use the same third party hardware such as video cards, printers, routers, TV CAPTURE cards, wireless adpaters, etc. as PCs don't you? You also realize that Macs use drivers for these devices? Maybe you should go out and look at a Mac before you say things about them that aren't true.
They are comparable to the extent that they are both viable (and in most cases, superior) alternative to Windows. I make no such claim that Linux and Mac OS X are the same thing.
Your constitutional rights? Your Canadian constitutional rights? Is the US legally obliged to preserve your Canadian constitutional rights? Personally, I could care less if N. Korea wanted that info on me, but I also understand there are people who don't want to give up that information. In either case, it is completely irrelevant to this conversation about signals that pass through US switches.
Where did I say I trusted the government? I merely stated they follow the laws that are pointed out in US Signal's Intelligence oversight directives. So you don't like the directives, I get that, but you can't blame somebody for breaking a law when they aren't breaking any laws. You can disagree with the law, but that doesn't make it unlawful. Get it changed if you don't like it.
I'm not a right-wing shill. The closest right I get is slightly left of center. I'm not going to fall for your "why should we believe you" game, because if I did post my credentials, you'd dismiss it as an Appeal for Authority. I'll stand comfortably behind the fact that there isn't one US Congressman who has more years of experience dealing with Signals Intelligence than I do. Dammit, you tricked me...
I'm not making any allegations, I'm merely pointing out the existing laws as they are currently written. I like calling out the cynics when they are wrong, because it is fun to call out people who "talk out of their asses" to make their logic fit. There is no allegation, nor any bias behind my claims, as they are easy to vet via multiple sources on the Internet. Reality is a bitch.
it relates to gathering of intelligence on friendly countries which you said the US doesn't do.
I most certainly said no such thing, as that is not true. I said we follow the rules of oversight that are in place. We can collect on friendly countries. Doing so, however, would be a monumental waste of manpower, when we don't have enough intelligence professionals to collect on the current list of enemies. We just CAN'T collect on friendly foreign countries if they are hosting us within their borders (USSID 9). American forces in the UK are not prohibited from collecting signals intelligence on Germany, for example, but are explicitly denied from doing so against UK citizens. Now move those forces to Germany, and suddenly the UK is fair game (but Germany is off-limits). I'm not saying that's right, but them's the rules.
Way to take my comment out of context. My comment is completely surrounded by the context of the United States Signals Intelligence Directives 9 and 18. If you knew anything about USSID 18, you would understand that there are provisions for authorized wire-tapping, the primary one being all you need is a warrant issued by the Attorney General. Good luck in getting that. Wiretapping and IP interception is LAWFULLY occuring in the US on FOREIGN citizens. When a US Person (defined as a citizen or a US corporation) is involved in a particular conversation or data transfer, ALL specific references to the identity of that person are removed and replaced with "US PERSON". If you people would spend half as much time researching the oversight that already exists as you do making up half-truths about the Patriot Act, you would have much less of a reason to hate.
Well that's a lot of nice fancy figures you got there. Now go to El Paso, Texas, and climb one of the surrounding hills. Make sure you get a good view of Ciudad Juarez across the river. Now tell me, which country is doing the better job of balancing energy consumption needs and environmental protection? You are a fool if you said "Mexico".
Personally, I take offense at your judgment that US energy consumption is "way too high". Who died and made you King? I've lived in Germany and the UK, and for the most part, both have the same energy consumption habits as Americans.
I also fail to see how this is George Bush's problem, as the leader of the Executive branch. With your logic, isn't Al Gore partially to blame then too, since he was vice (or every other President since the industrial revolution)?
Care to support your claim that the sun's output hasn't changed in 30 years? I was under the impression the sun's output changes every milisecond, as it is an extremely unstable star that is slowly imploding on itself.
So just because the judge agreed with the end result, the faulty means shouldn't discredit Al Gore's argument just a wee bit? I mean, if say, 15 out of 20 "facts" turn out to be fabrications or just incorrect, the end conclusion is still valid? I don't think so.
Well, it may be simplistic thinking, but still...If all the experts keep falling flat with their projections (17 major hurricanes in 2005, yet none materialized, Al Gore giving a speech about Global Warming on a record cold day in KY..or TN, or wherever) then how much longer can we consider them to be "experts"? I really see this issue from a slightly disinterested, objective view, and I can understand the cynicism prevalent with the average non-scientist. "Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining" comes to mind.
I don't disagree with your post, but what is the solution, short of global population control? You don't honestly think that one single person purchasing a Hybrid vehicle can counter the billion tons of toxic fumes put into the air by international industry? The other option is for us to completely change our way of life (about as realistic as population control).
Ok, mod me off-topic, but I have to correct the phonebook sized bill bit. My first bill (September) came after they fixed their system and removed all the data access pages. The bill was something like 4-5 pages. Since then, I've gone to the paperless bill from the AT&T website.
For some sneaky suspicion, I think my son's zeal to earn a video iPod will wane, once he realizes he has to work at it EVERYDAY and can't just cram the last week. Although I'd love to have to spend the money for his accomplishments, I think my $250 will be save for another term.
Nice analogies, but... You can return any TV to Best Buy for any reason. As a matter of fact, you can return ANY of the items you described. You cannot, however, return an opened box of software except if the disk is damaged.
And what the iPhone has to do with any of this is a mystery and only shows your personal biases interfere with your credibility. For what it's worth, had I not liked my iPhone, I could have returned it for a refund. I don't believe hype. I believe going to the Apple Store and checking the iPhone out for yourself instead of hanging on every word of every slashdot anti-mac zealot. Replace iPhone and Apple Store with Vista and Best Buy if you must, but the concept is the same.
Slashdot Mirror
Well maybe slashdot fools will mark you as a troll but you didn't do any trolling in your post. Well stated.
And for the record, it hasn't been "years" since Apple has had an affordable mid-range tower. They were discontinued in August of 2006 (with the introduction of the Intel Mac line). I doubt Apple will ever make another consumer level tower, because Apple has a long history of expediating the obsolescence of outdated computer stuff (5 1/2" floppy, 3.25" floppy, the serial bus, for example). Everytime Apple does something like that people say "Apple is CRAZY! What are they doing!?" Then a year later, everyone is doing the same thing as Apple. I'm not saying the tower is going away, because there are a lot of tinkerer's out there. But it probably IS going away from the Mac market, because there AREN'T a lot of tinkerers out there.
When I bought my Porsche 914 and realized it was a piece of crap suped-up Volkswagen, I demanded that Porsche give me the previous year's 911 Turbo instead.
I read this article on Computerworld.com long before it was posted here on slashdot. Granted, a lot of people just wanted it posted on slashdot to bash Microsoft (something else I've ALREADY said in this thread). The slashdot community reaction to the story doesn't change the facts of the story, however.
Now let's get to the issue of being biased. I believe my posts have been fairly objective, although I'm a home Mac user and a work UNIX and XP user. Your post, however, reeks of bias in that you attack something that is irrelevant to the original post (Mac OS) and in those attacks, you are simply wrong. So you don't think you can upgrade a Mac's video card to the latest/greatest? Not only is that just wrong, I've actually used video cards I purchased for my PC in a Mac, because the stupid thing wouldn't work with the PC. The MacPro accepts FOUR video cards from such no-name brands as NVidia and ATI. You can buy those from the Apple Store, or if you are smart, you can buy them from Best Buy for 1/2 the cost and install them yourself in about 5 minutes. Please don't tell me you think that installing a video card and driver is easier or faster in XP (or Vista) than it is on a MacPro? It'll take you longer to longer to disable the current graphics drivers before you can even begin to install the new ones. I shudder at the thought of how many restarts it will take as well. The last time I upgraded my PCs video card (last summer), I think I had 5 restarts, and it still didn't remember my resolution settings without having to download the latest driver. I put the same card (a Radeon 8000something) in my 7 year old G4 Macintosh, and it worked with one reboot (after the driver install). Perhaps PCI-express has changed that (my PC is AGP), but I highly doubt it. Every time I hope Windows has changed, it hasn't.
Drivers for PC not Microsoft's fault? How come the same device works with much more consistency on a Mac? You do realize that Macs use the same third party hardware such as video cards, printers, routers, TV CAPTURE cards, wireless adpaters, etc. as PCs don't you? You also realize that Macs use drivers for these devices? Maybe you should go out and look at a Mac before you say things about them that aren't true.
They are comparable to the extent that they are both viable (and in most cases, superior) alternative to Windows. I make no such claim that Linux and Mac OS X are the same thing.
Your constitutional rights? Your Canadian constitutional rights? Is the US legally obliged to preserve your Canadian constitutional rights? Personally, I could care less if N. Korea wanted that info on me, but I also understand there are people who don't want to give up that information. In either case, it is completely irrelevant to this conversation about signals that pass through US switches.
Where did I say I trusted the government? I merely stated they follow the laws that are pointed out in US Signal's Intelligence oversight directives. So you don't like the directives, I get that, but you can't blame somebody for breaking a law when they aren't breaking any laws. You can disagree with the law, but that doesn't make it unlawful. Get it changed if you don't like it.
I'm not making any allegations, I'm merely pointing out the existing laws as they are currently written. I like calling out the cynics when they are wrong, because it is fun to call out people who "talk out of their asses" to make their logic fit. There is no allegation, nor any bias behind my claims, as they are easy to vet via multiple sources on the Internet. Reality is a bitch.
Way to take my comment out of context. My comment is completely surrounded by the context of the United States Signals Intelligence Directives 9 and 18. If you knew anything about USSID 18, you would understand that there are provisions for authorized wire-tapping, the primary one being all you need is a warrant issued by the Attorney General. Good luck in getting that. Wiretapping and IP interception is LAWFULLY occuring in the US on FOREIGN citizens. When a US Person (defined as a citizen or a US corporation) is involved in a particular conversation or data transfer, ALL specific references to the identity of that person are removed and replaced with "US PERSON". If you people would spend half as much time researching the oversight that already exists as you do making up half-truths about the Patriot Act, you would have much less of a reason to hate.
Personally, I take offense at your judgment that US energy consumption is "way too high". Who died and made you King? I've lived in Germany and the UK, and for the most part, both have the same energy consumption habits as Americans.
I also fail to see how this is George Bush's problem, as the leader of the Executive branch. With your logic, isn't Al Gore partially to blame then too, since he was vice (or every other President since the industrial revolution)?
Care to support your claim that the sun's output hasn't changed in 30 years? I was under the impression the sun's output changes every milisecond, as it is an extremely unstable star that is slowly imploding on itself.
So just because the judge agreed with the end result, the faulty means shouldn't discredit Al Gore's argument just a wee bit? I mean, if say, 15 out of 20 "facts" turn out to be fabrications or just incorrect, the end conclusion is still valid? I don't think so.
Actually, his work with his wife in saving my children from harmful song lyrics is by far his best work yet!
Well, it may be simplistic thinking, but still...If all the experts keep falling flat with their projections (17 major hurricanes in 2005, yet none materialized, Al Gore giving a speech about Global Warming on a record cold day in KY..or TN, or wherever) then how much longer can we consider them to be "experts"? I really see this issue from a slightly disinterested, objective view, and I can understand the cynicism prevalent with the average non-scientist. "Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining" comes to mind.
Maybe he flies around in his private jet to intercept impending asteroid collisions?
I don't disagree with your post, but what is the solution, short of global population control? You don't honestly think that one single person purchasing a Hybrid vehicle can counter the billion tons of toxic fumes put into the air by international industry? The other option is for us to completely change our way of life (about as realistic as population control).
He should have won for the best (only?) implementation of Apple's fine Keynote software. (keeping it in the tone of slashdot)
For some sneaky suspicion, I think my son's zeal to earn a video iPod will wane, once he realizes he has to work at it EVERYDAY and can't just cram the last week. Although I'd love to have to spend the money for his accomplishments, I think my $250 will be save for another term.
Handing over flight manifests has nothing to do with wire-tapping and signals intercept, which is what this article is about.
Hopefully it comes with a shift key and a spell checker.
And what the iPhone has to do with any of this is a mystery and only shows your personal biases interfere with your credibility. For what it's worth, had I not liked my iPhone, I could have returned it for a refund. I don't believe hype. I believe going to the Apple Store and checking the iPhone out for yourself instead of hanging on every word of every slashdot anti-mac zealot. Replace iPhone and Apple Store with Vista and Best Buy if you must, but the concept is the same.