a graduate degree is completely worthless and a waste of time.
Wow...so wrong in so many ways. I got a $13,000/year raise doing the exact same job as soon as I finished my Masters. Not only that, I know qualify for a myriad of higher paying jobs.
I mean with the tmobile 'total internet' package (for $19.95 a month), I can use the tmobile hotspot in my local starbucks, for speeds faster then EDGE.... A greater convinence in my mind.
Or you can use any OTHER wifi hotspot on an iPhone that DOESN'T cost a ridiculous $19.95 a month and get speeds far faster than EDGE on your iPHone. So what if EDGE is slow, when you can use the stupid T-mobile hotspot (if you want to pay for something that is generally free everywhere else) anyway? It's not like the T-mobile hotspots don't work on an iPhone, afterall
I don't deserve it because I didn't hack it. You make it sound like just buying the phone makes us deserve to be iBricked, which is an overt bias on your behalf.
Please tell me you aren't inferring that Photoshop doesn't work on Mac? If it weren't for Macs, there'd be no Photoshop. I have a version 1.0 license from back in 1990/91 (can't really remember the exact time, but long before the Windows version ever came out).
You do realize that Macs can run WinXP natively, don't you? How then is it that a Mac "doesn't work"?
Well, in all fairness, I have had little compatibility problems with MS Office from version to version and PC to Mac, as long as you get the.doc part right. Until Office 2007, that is.
Do NOT get a Dell Latitude. I've been using mine from work for the past month and it is the biggest hunk-of-junk I've ever used. Too many problems to detail here.
I would agree that the MacBook Pro is the best Windows XP laptop for the money on the market. You do know about right clicking the track pad, don't you? BTW, what the hell is Input Remapper? I have a MacBook (not a pro) and have no idea what this is.
Let me get this straight. So if you buy a watered down version of Office that is bit cheaper, with fewer features, then try to add upgrades to it later, they make you buy the FULL version of Office that you skimped on the first go around? This has to be illegal! I take back my "What's the problem" comment then, because this IS a huge problem.
I agree with the notion of getting paid for your efforts, but it should NEVER be at the expense of usability. If it causes problems during legitimate use, then it is too invasive. Microsoft lets usability suffer (when they don't have much room to start with in that arena) by trying to stop pirating. There surely must be better ways, but they probably cost more money (something Microsoft doesn't like to let go of), or require creativity(something Microsoft isn't very good at).
but if you have complex needs, or you need certain applications, you can still be forced into using it.
Which is why it bewilders me that anyone would ever use Windows for their home personal computer...Who really has complex business compatibility at their house (other than those who work at/from home)? The problem with Windows is that everyone THINKS they need it, when frankly, a very small percentage actually do (speaking of using it at home for personal use). The Internet has pretty much rendered Microsoft an after-thought for me at home, with the exception of the short sighted developers who still develop with MS Windows/Internet Explorer requirements.
This happened to me recently. A student on my team kept submitting her work as.docx, and none of us could open it. At first she yammered on about how the problem was my Mac (but knew better, having cross platform compatibility with Mac/PC Office for well over 10 years now), then the others couldn't open it either. Seems the culprit was she was the only one using Office 2007.
I agree it's too soon for judging Vista/blockquote
It is never too soon to judge a product that has already shipped. If you put it to market, it should be judged. This is the same pass that we've been giving Microsoft for too many years now. "Oh, they'll fix that in the next service pack".
Mac OS X IS better because it is harder to break (your words). Windows is chock full of problematic quirks that produce unexpected behaviors. A few small examples:
In Windows, if you have a file open, you cannot rename that file. You must close the file. This is "sheer idiocy". (The sheerest o all the Windows flaws, in my opinion. What were they thinking...oh yeah, nobody would EVER want to rename a file while it is open...except that Mac using stewbacca guy on slashdot).
In Windows, you cannot move a file if it is open. Because while working on a project, nobody EVER decides that the Word document they are working on should go in "revenue" instead of "invoice"? Sheer idiocy.
In Windows, when you rename a file, it goes to the bottom of the list view, and the user must hit F5 to refresh the list. Sheer idiocy.
In MS Word, if you try to save changes to a read-only file, it doesn't tell you anything, it merely opens a save window, expecting you to realize it is a read-only file and you must give it a different name...not too stupid, except when you compare it to MS PowerPoint, which tells you in a lengthy dialogue window that you must give it a different name first. Excel's behavior is different yet. The same company using it's own OS can't standardize the same behavior across three programs that are part of an "integrated" suite? Sheer idiocy.
It takes every Windows PC I've ever used a minute or two to shut down, log-off, switch users, or wake-up. Mac OS X does all these things in a second or two. As a matter of fact, in the time it takes my work laptop (less than one year old Dell Latitude) just to shut-down, I can power on my MacBook, log in, check my email, shut down my computer, power back on and log back in.
I could go on and on, but that has been well documented since 1995. Mac OS X has it's share of quirks too, but these are mostly a design choice (not always good ones either, suck as the maximize button, and not allowing users to right-click cut and paste to move files), whereas Microsoft's problems seem to be rooted in technical inferiority or corporate apathy. The overall lack of QA done with the Windows user interface tells me Microsoft either has no clue, or doesn't care. My guess is a little of both.
Now I will agree with you about the ignorant users. I have a lot of friends who have switched to Macs and a couple of them are pretty irate because they can't figure anything out (well, they don't really try, but...). My one friend asked me how to copy and paste, so I told him right click, then choose copy. He didn't know that the mighty mouse had a right click button, because all he'd ever heard was that Macs don't right click. He pushed on the right side, and amazingly, got a contextual menu. Duh!
I think you misunderstood nearly every point I made, because your rebuttals, frankly, make no sense. Would you care to give me an example of database program that Access is better than? You can't, because most serios DB programs run circles around Access. If users are more productive with an easier interface, then how do you explain the 95% market share of MS OSes, when the Mac OS and most flavors of Linux trump Windows in that department by a mile. I agree with you, that it does make one more productive, but since most business use the least productive interface, that supports my argument that businesses don't care about the user experience. They care about checking the blocks and bottom lines.
I don't know what to make of your help desk comment either. I was simply stating that business don't care about the positive emotional attachments people make when having fun computing. Using any flavor of Windows is hardly ever described as fun. What does that have to do with a help desk?
I just played through Bioshock (which isn't coming to a Mac near you, BTW).
If I go buy Bioshock after work, I guarantee you I'll be playing it on my Mac by dinner time. Man, have you been sleeping under a tree for the past year?
It makes perfect sense, in two years, when you can no longer use XP, you'll be forced to buy a non-MS OS. Many of my lifelong Windows friends have made the preemptive strike and just went ahead and bought new Macs now (with XP installed for safety net) instead of waiting for MS to fix their current mistakes. In the words of one friend (who has a PhD in business), I've given MS a pass for too long now. They have no excuse for making such a bad OS for so long now, given their market position and revenue.
Mac? Apple is just as evil, if not more so, as Microsoft, they just don't have the same amount of money.
Yeah, you are right. They are worth approximately half of Microsoft, yet only have a 3% market share. They must be REALLY evil. Those bastards tricking me into my 3 Macs and that evil iPhone. The iPods go without mentioning, because according to statistics, every person in America owns like what, 4 or 5 of them?
I'm as big of an Mac fanboi as they come, but I can't agree with this:
With Mac OS X hot on its tail, Vista is simply not capable of competing at an OS level with some of the best software around.
See, business don't care if something is "the best" or even really good. How else do you explain the ubiquity of MS OSes, IE 7, MS Office, Outlook, and Access, when there are plenty of better and cheaper alternatives? It is because business don't care about the user experience, and are immune to the emotional aspects of computing that make plodding along with MS products as much joy as a double root canal with an anal probe thrown in for fun.
Yes, my beloved OS X is making great strides, but will always be a niche system, because most people don't realize quality when you smack them in the face with it. You can't be "the best" and the most popular because you have to make concessions somewhere (cough, sell-out, iPod, cough) somewhere down the line and start making business decisions that maximize profit, while sticking it the end user. I don't see Apple switching their primary focus from making great personal computers/small office computers, to being that of seeking corporate desktop domination. It's not in their corporate culture (at least not the OS X deparment, heh).
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What a horrible, patronizing, ignorant post.
I don't deserve it because I didn't hack it. You make it sound like just buying the phone makes us deserve to be iBricked, which is an overt bias on your behalf.
You do realize that Macs can run WinXP natively, don't you? How then is it that a Mac "doesn't work"?
Well, in all fairness, I have had little compatibility problems with MS Office from version to version and PC to Mac, as long as you get the .doc part right. Until Office 2007, that is.
If I were in a job that trapped me in conference rooms for 12 hours at a time, I'd just shoot myself and get it over.
Do NOT get a Dell Latitude. I've been using mine from work for the past month and it is the biggest hunk-of-junk I've ever used. Too many problems to detail here.
I would agree that the MacBook Pro is the best Windows XP laptop for the money on the market. You do know about right clicking the track pad, don't you? BTW, what the hell is Input Remapper? I have a MacBook (not a pro) and have no idea what this is.
Let me get this straight. So if you buy a watered down version of Office that is bit cheaper, with fewer features, then try to add upgrades to it later, they make you buy the FULL version of Office that you skimped on the first go around? This has to be illegal! I take back my "What's the problem" comment then, because this IS a huge problem.
I agree with the notion of getting paid for your efforts, but it should NEVER be at the expense of usability. If it causes problems during legitimate use, then it is too invasive. Microsoft lets usability suffer (when they don't have much room to start with in that arena) by trying to stop pirating. There surely must be better ways, but they probably cost more money (something Microsoft doesn't like to let go of), or require creativity(something Microsoft isn't very good at).
This happened to me recently. A student on my team kept submitting her work as .docx, and none of us could open it. At first she yammered on about how the problem was my Mac (but knew better, having cross platform compatibility with Mac/PC Office for well over 10 years now), then the others couldn't open it either. Seems the culprit was she was the only one using Office 2007.
I'm no Microsoft fan, but why doesn't this guy just activate Visio. Problem fixed, no?
In Windows, if you have a file open, you cannot rename that file. You must close the file. This is "sheer idiocy". (The sheerest o all the Windows flaws, in my opinion. What were they thinking...oh yeah, nobody would EVER want to rename a file while it is open...except that Mac using stewbacca guy on slashdot). In Windows, you cannot move a file if it is open. Because while working on a project, nobody EVER decides that the Word document they are working on should go in "revenue" instead of "invoice"? Sheer idiocy.
In Windows, when you rename a file, it goes to the bottom of the list view, and the user must hit F5 to refresh the list. Sheer idiocy.
In MS Word, if you try to save changes to a read-only file, it doesn't tell you anything, it merely opens a save window, expecting you to realize it is a read-only file and you must give it a different name...not too stupid, except when you compare it to MS PowerPoint, which tells you in a lengthy dialogue window that you must give it a different name first. Excel's behavior is different yet. The same company using it's own OS can't standardize the same behavior across three programs that are part of an "integrated" suite? Sheer idiocy.
It takes every Windows PC I've ever used a minute or two to shut down, log-off, switch users, or wake-up. Mac OS X does all these things in a second or two. As a matter of fact, in the time it takes my work laptop (less than one year old Dell Latitude) just to shut-down, I can power on my MacBook, log in, check my email, shut down my computer, power back on and log back in.
I could go on and on, but that has been well documented since 1995. Mac OS X has it's share of quirks too, but these are mostly a design choice (not always good ones either, suck as the maximize button, and not allowing users to right-click cut and paste to move files), whereas Microsoft's problems seem to be rooted in technical inferiority or corporate apathy. The overall lack of QA done with the Windows user interface tells me Microsoft either has no clue, or doesn't care. My guess is a little of both.
Now I will agree with you about the ignorant users. I have a lot of friends who have switched to Macs and a couple of them are pretty irate because they can't figure anything out (well, they don't really try, but...). My one friend asked me how to copy and paste, so I told him right click, then choose copy. He didn't know that the mighty mouse had a right click button, because all he'd ever heard was that Macs don't right click. He pushed on the right side, and amazingly, got a contextual menu. Duh!
Well that's a first! You've actually managed to blame Clinton for Bush's failures. Interesting.
I don't know what to make of your help desk comment either. I was simply stating that business don't care about the positive emotional attachments people make when having fun computing. Using any flavor of Windows is hardly ever described as fun. What does that have to do with a help desk?
It makes perfect sense, in two years, when you can no longer use XP, you'll be forced to buy a non-MS OS. Many of my lifelong Windows friends have made the preemptive strike and just went ahead and bought new Macs now (with XP installed for safety net) instead of waiting for MS to fix their current mistakes. In the words of one friend (who has a PhD in business), I've given MS a pass for too long now. They have no excuse for making such a bad OS for so long now, given their market position and revenue.
That's strange, most of the complaints from that 2001 article still hold true today about XP, service packs be damned.
See, business don't care if something is "the best" or even really good. How else do you explain the ubiquity of MS OSes, IE 7, MS Office, Outlook, and Access, when there are plenty of better and cheaper alternatives? It is because business don't care about the user experience, and are immune to the emotional aspects of computing that make plodding along with MS products as much joy as a double root canal with an anal probe thrown in for fun.
Yes, my beloved OS X is making great strides, but will always be a niche system, because most people don't realize quality when you smack them in the face with it. You can't be "the best" and the most popular because you have to make concessions somewhere (cough, sell-out, iPod, cough) somewhere down the line and start making business decisions that maximize profit, while sticking it the end user. I don't see Apple switching their primary focus from making great personal computers/small office computers, to being that of seeking corporate desktop domination. It's not in their corporate culture (at least not the OS X deparment, heh).