Actually the dictionary widget in OS X lists polyvalent as having a figurative meaning of "having many different functions". So yes, "having a valence of three or more" is an incorrect usage here, but there is nothing wrong with the figurative use in this case either.
Other than Microsoft Office, I haven't bought software for any of my Macs in the past 7 years. I hear this argument a lot, and it makes no sense. For 99% of home users, all they need is an office suite, email, a browser and some sort of media management. All of this comes with Mac (exception, Office suite) or is available for free online. Even the stuff I have considered buying (Parallels, for example) is a download/activation anyway. Who buys software off the shelves anymore?
Ok, so not everyone is as miserly as me, and may actual need software for their home computing needs (I still don't believe it, examples please). Still, what software do people need that isn't available on for OS X? Tax software? Small business? Investment? In the past 15 years, I can remember ONE individual need for Truck Driving Dispatch software, that I couldn't easily find a Mac alternative. Everything else is usually the second or third google hit. Otherwise, the only specific need that a Mac can't fill is when a company (like my dumb company) decides to standardize on a specific application that is PC only (a dying breed, but still out there). I for one take enough crap from my work that I'm not going to let them keep me down and make me conform to their little world in the privacy of my own home. But, with Intel Macs, that's all water under the bridge now...(not that I'm going to break my own "no work at home" rule).
Strong Apple brand loyalty has existed well before the iPod. People call it "fanboism", "drinking the kool-aid", etc., but it had to come from somewhere. In my 20+ years of experience, this certain somewhere is providing highish-end products (often at premium price) for discerning customers who put quality and performance ahead of values and (meaningless) features. People who don't understand why a BMW is the ultimate driving machine aren't going to like a Bimmer, but to a driving afficianado, who can appreciate the engineering that goes into a Bimmer, they EXPECT nothing less. Apple customers are kind of the same way. Unfortunately, we've added the Coco Channel/Ralph Lauren crowd as of late, but that doesn't diminish the quality of the brand.
Nah..you just ran into one of those new converts who are trying to feel good about finally growing a sack and making the switch to Mac. I hate new Mac users. They tell me how great their Macs are, then I tell them I bought my first Mac in the mid 80s and have owned probably 20-25 since that time. After they tell me their one or two "tricks" (usually wrong ones at that), I gently correct their ignorance (sorry no HD-DVD for you!) and then give them about 100 more tips to work on by the next time I see them.
I have a 6+ year old G4 tower. That didn't stop me from buying two Intel Macs;-) Although I don't really use my G4 anymore, everything still runs and it is reliably on my home network. It makes for good back up...
I can speak as an "evangelist" (your words, not mine). I don't think Mac users differentiate as much between desktop and laptop models as PC users do, because most Mac users don't care about all the specs. They just want it to work. There is an inperceivable performance difference between MacBook Pros and desktop computers, which makes the choice (as a Mac users) to buy a laptop a no-brainer, whereas a PC user is more used to expecting a mobile computer to have serious performance issues compared to equivalent desktop specs. PC users new to the Mac might think twice about getting a laptop, given their PC experiences, but when the see/use MacBook Pros, they see a computer that works as well as a desktop. I think this is the key to the MacBook Pro's success (combined with the safety blanket of running Windows). I find it amusing (and confusing) that people will rip iMacs to death, yet heap praise on the MacBook Pro (when they are virtually the same computer in different form factors).
And what really confuses PC types is that somebody like my wife would LOVE her inferior spec'd MacBook over a new MacBook Pro. I told her I'd get her a new MBP but she won't give up the MacBook....period.
As I'm typing this, yet another Apple commercial is on TV, which reminds of another element of the Apple success. I recently moved back to the US after living in England for two years. The only advertising I see in prime time and in NON-tech magazines is for Apple products. You know, advertise your product to the millions of people (who aren't tech geeks) in places they hang out, as opposed to page after page of ads in PC World and Wired magazines? Non-computer people need computers too (as silly as that sounds), so why not start advertising during the Late Show (just like the iMac commercial they just played)? I don't think I've ever seen a tv commercial for a Dell computer, or if I have, they aren't memorable.
Well, I think your response is not in the right thread, but I'll still offer my comments.
For the LAST freakin' time people, you don't have to CTR+click to invoke right clicking on a MacBook. You simply hold one finger on the track pad, and then tap with your second finger...it is the same thing as right clicking a mouse button.
If you are playing a game on a laptop and need the right mouse button, then please tell me why in the world aren't you using an external mouse???
There are entire DAYS I don't even touch the mouse button below the track pad. Why does everyone clamor so much for this unwanted/unneeded function of two physical button???
You say the 15" MacBook Pro was £1000 more than the Dell? That's $2000 (US). Ironically, that's the cost of a new 15" MacBook Pro here in the States. Man, I'm so glad I don't live in the UK anymore.
I find all these "but my PC never crashes" comments to be disingenuos. Actually, the Mac claims to the same are too, but lets not kid ourselves: recovering from a hung program in OS X (force quit) works so much better than the task manager in Windows. If I have to ctl+alt+del (and at work, I do several times a week), I can only cross my fingers that invoking task manager doesn't cause task manager to stop responding (come on, you know what I'm talking about, it happens to everyone). With OS X, cmd+opt+esc, force quit the offending program and carry on. I think people on the PC side are only counting "crashes" as BSOD or similar severe problems. Hell, I can't even get WinXP to boot up (on my Mac) anymore, because I'm missing some.dll and I don't have the install cd's on me.
Here's something to think about...if PCs never crash, then why do you hear all the stories about people getting fed up with their PCs acting up, so they switch to Mac. Yet, at the same time, you NEVER hear anybody complaining about how their Macs act up so badly that they switch to Windows.
I personally hate the mac interface... I can't find anything.
Classic. For the last time: Mac OS X is (thankfully) NOT Windows. Just because you can't figure it out and just because it isn't Windows doesn't mean it sucks. We Mac users complain that Windows sucks, not because we can't figure anything out, or it doesn't look like a Mac. No, we complain about Windows, just like Windows users complain about Windows, because Windows just sucks. All PC users can come up with is that Macs are slow, they crash and there is no software (all false, obviously). Once you spend some time and get used to something NOT Windows, you might actually see why simple things (like command+Q) Quits a program, and why that is 1000 times better and more intuative than alt+f4 ever will be.
Macs, if you use them heavily, need regular maintenance to keep them running smoothly.
You must be a new Mac user...
Seriously, what maintenance nonesense are you speaking of? "Regular maintenance" for me, on the three OS X Macs I've owned (all the way back to day 1) have required zero maintenance. I'm going to assume you mean OS maintenance, since you are saying OS X is so flawed, so please feel free to let us all know what maintenance I haven't been doing that I should have been? If I've been missing something, then I'd like to know, because frankly, I don't do jack, other than sit down/use/get up....for the past 6 years....with no problems...ever.
Maybe you are refering to the Apple updates? The ones where you click "ok" and then it does a bunch of stuff in the background, and sometimes actually might require a restart? Well, if that is the case, I prefer that to the alternatives. You also have the option of not installing the updates and turning them off altogether (probably not advisable).
Mooohahahahaha. You got jobbed. The Apple stores in Austin and San Antonio all three have every 15" configuration available in multiples (more than 100 at one store). The only MBP shortages I've even heard about before your post is trying to find the 17" ones with the 1900+ resolution screens. But even those are in stock in San Antonio (not in Austin, as of last month).
Meanwhile, as the PC world flocks to the new-fangled MacBook Pro, I'm already bored with mine and can't wait for the next generation. I knew Apple since before they were famous.
100 million Macs is still a lot of business, regardless if there are over 1 billion computers overall. Car manufacturers mostly all have about 3-5% market share. Toyota, for example, would LOVE to have 17% market share in one style (say, for example, 2-door hatchbacks). This is what Apple has essentially done: they've gotten a large foothold in one segment of a the overall larger market.
I think we've moved beyond the point of thinking that broadband is a lifestyle choice and it is clear that it is an economic must-have. How are rural areas going to provide something simple like a good job, when no companies want to come there?
I'm with you though on the sushi. My solution is I choose to live in a big city so that it isn't a problem.
Oh I'm a niche customer for sure. I've owned probably 15 Macs over the past 20 years, and enjoy the benefits of higher quality in our niche. My wishes for a full-fledged office sweet from Apple are because I can't stand the mediocrity of Microsoft's offerings. Anything that makes my computing life better is welcomed. Anything that makes the industry try harder is also welcomed. I also think the lack of a professional grade office suite (tightly integrated into Mac OS X by Apple) is the only thing keeping Apple a niche company. If they WANTED to, they could do it. I just dont' think they want to;-)
Does it have an APA template? It blows my mind that Microsoft hasn't included a FULL APA style as a default choice...a page that opens with double spacing, Times New Roman size 12, title page formatting, header and page number, and most importantly, hanging indents for reference page. As many times as I setup my Word documents with theses settings, Word gets its usual amnesia and forgets nearly all the settings I made (or worse yet, applies its own settings to what it THINKS I want). I only have 3 classes left and my Thesis, but I'm thinking this might be worth the cost just for writing my thesis.
Because, in general, Mac users have a much more refined expectation from computers/software/electronics/life. The reason we are Mac users in the first place is because we don't choose to be stuck with mediocre and crash prone products that are so prevalent in the Windows world. As the Mac gets more popular, more of this mediocrity starts creeping into the Mac world. Think of a Mercedes owner who is expected to buy his floor mats at Wal-Mart....not gonna happen.
Chances are the "no good reason" is simply something you either don't understand, or just don't care about. We have high standards and we care about things working correctly and well, not kind of working and/or works with tweaking. Our high standards ensure continuing high quality products. Deal with it.
Pages is more of a layout program than a word processor. Considering Word is a horrible layout alternative, Pages is good for people who need to make brochures, pamphlets, flyers AND have the need to type a fancy letter. Pages is more of a competition to Microsoft Publisher, not Word. And in that endeavor, it kills Publisher...twice....then craps on the remains....
In all seriousness though, I wish Apple would make a real office suite, instead of this very nice design-oriented suite. This is why OS X will always remain a "niche" product and I'm not sure I can say Apple really cares to be anything but.
business as usual with a new face....just like the next President, and the one after that, and the one after that. I wish people would give up on trying to pin Bush down as the ONLY President to ever put his friends in high positions because they ALL do it.
Oh yeah, the old DRM-bashing bandwagon. I could care less. It doesn't cause my audio to skip (on a Mac) so the Windows apologists can't really use that as an excuse. There are plenty of other reasons to dislike DRM, but performance issues is not one with any credibility. This whole thing is classic Microsoft deflection away from the root problem (their poor track record of OS performance with multimedia and graphics over the past 10 years).
Actually, what is really bullshit is the fact that Microsoft is selling a modern OS that still stutters with something as simple as an audio file. I dunno, but I gave up stuttering playback in about 1994 when I bought my first Mac with a CD player built-in. What about audio technology has changed so much in 17 years that is bogging Microsoft audio playback down again?
Actually I just left, but yeah, I was US Federal and Intel. Maybe that's why I thought the way I did. We simply weren't allowed to unionize. It wasn't told to us, rather we signed agreements...all part of the non-disclosure stuff I believe.
Let's see. This is too easy to pick apart, so I'll just stick to the main points.
My first political involvement was in the '70s, so that would make you pretty damned old. Too bad you really don't know much about me (as evident by your misguided post).
I never said Iraqi's attacked us. I said (paraphrasing) Arab, Muslim, Extremists attacked us on 9/11. If you check, all Iraqi's are Arabs, and most of them are Muslim. Many of those are extreme. (Kurds are not Arabs, and they are not Iraqis either). But I'll take the bait and just let you know that there were so many ties to terrorism in the Saddam Regime that I could have spent the rest of my career working just one cell. Thank you for your taxes, because we need them to keep picking them up and setting them down.
I'm glad you know the difference, and that you are so comfortable knowing that the next terrorist attack was NEVER going to come from Iraq (fool). I'm glad you can sleep at night knowing that any 1 of the 20 million Arab Muslims living in Iraq would NEVER have been a terrorist threat to America, before Bush had to go and muck that all up by poking a big stick in the otherwise peaceful Iraqi people's eye...yeah, right...
I don't love the Republicans and they are not MY Republicans. I believe my last political post was something like, "dude, who stole my party", referring to the fact that I haven't been happy with the Republican party for two decades now. If you would read what I write and leave your inferrences out of it, you might actually be credible. Instead, you are just wrong.
So what if it is good for business? I'm in the business and have been for years. War or no war, I always have a job. This war has only highlighted how wrong those of you who aren't in the business are. It's a good thing we don't allow for armchair quarterbacks like yourself to run policy, because frankly, your hypersensitive criticism abou that which you don't understand kills your credibility. Stooping to name calling and inferrences about my political affiliation (incorrectly) only weakens your point more. Plus, you gain no favor with vets everywhere in mocking my service. Might I ask what campaigns YOU served in?
Now if you don't mind, I've got some more oo filthy blood money to earn.
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Actually the dictionary widget in OS X lists polyvalent as having a figurative meaning of "having many different functions". So yes, "having a valence of three or more" is an incorrect usage here, but there is nothing wrong with the figurative use in this case either.
Ok, so not everyone is as miserly as me, and may actual need software for their home computing needs (I still don't believe it, examples please). Still, what software do people need that isn't available on for OS X? Tax software? Small business? Investment? In the past 15 years, I can remember ONE individual need for Truck Driving Dispatch software, that I couldn't easily find a Mac alternative. Everything else is usually the second or third google hit. Otherwise, the only specific need that a Mac can't fill is when a company (like my dumb company) decides to standardize on a specific application that is PC only (a dying breed, but still out there). I for one take enough crap from my work that I'm not going to let them keep me down and make me conform to their little world in the privacy of my own home. But, with Intel Macs, that's all water under the bridge now...(not that I'm going to break my own "no work at home" rule).
Strong Apple brand loyalty has existed well before the iPod. People call it "fanboism", "drinking the kool-aid", etc., but it had to come from somewhere. In my 20+ years of experience, this certain somewhere is providing highish-end products (often at premium price) for discerning customers who put quality and performance ahead of values and (meaningless) features. People who don't understand why a BMW is the ultimate driving machine aren't going to like a Bimmer, but to a driving afficianado, who can appreciate the engineering that goes into a Bimmer, they EXPECT nothing less. Apple customers are kind of the same way. Unfortunately, we've added the Coco Channel/Ralph Lauren crowd as of late, but that doesn't diminish the quality of the brand.
I have a 6+ year old G4 tower. That didn't stop me from buying two Intel Macs ;-) Although I don't really use my G4 anymore, everything still runs and it is reliably on my home network. It makes for good back up...
And what really confuses PC types is that somebody like my wife would LOVE her inferior spec'd MacBook over a new MacBook Pro. I told her I'd get her a new MBP but she won't give up the MacBook....period.
As I'm typing this, yet another Apple commercial is on TV, which reminds of another element of the Apple success. I recently moved back to the US after living in England for two years. The only advertising I see in prime time and in NON-tech magazines is for Apple products. You know, advertise your product to the millions of people (who aren't tech geeks) in places they hang out, as opposed to page after page of ads in PC World and Wired magazines? Non-computer people need computers too (as silly as that sounds), so why not start advertising during the Late Show (just like the iMac commercial they just played)? I don't think I've ever seen a tv commercial for a Dell computer, or if I have, they aren't memorable.
For the LAST freakin' time people, you don't have to CTR+click to invoke right clicking on a MacBook. You simply hold one finger on the track pad, and then tap with your second finger...it is the same thing as right clicking a mouse button.
If you are playing a game on a laptop and need the right mouse button, then please tell me why in the world aren't you using an external mouse???
There are entire DAYS I don't even touch the mouse button below the track pad. Why does everyone clamor so much for this unwanted/unneeded function of two physical button???
You say the 15" MacBook Pro was £1000 more than the Dell? That's $2000 (US). Ironically, that's the cost of a new 15" MacBook Pro here in the States. Man, I'm so glad I don't live in the UK anymore.
Here's something to think about...if PCs never crash, then why do you hear all the stories about people getting fed up with their PCs acting up, so they switch to Mac. Yet, at the same time, you NEVER hear anybody complaining about how their Macs act up so badly that they switch to Windows.
Seriously, what maintenance nonesense are you speaking of? "Regular maintenance" for me, on the three OS X Macs I've owned (all the way back to day 1) have required zero maintenance. I'm going to assume you mean OS maintenance, since you are saying OS X is so flawed, so please feel free to let us all know what maintenance I haven't been doing that I should have been? If I've been missing something, then I'd like to know, because frankly, I don't do jack, other than sit down/use/get up....for the past 6 years....with no problems...ever.
Maybe you are refering to the Apple updates? The ones where you click "ok" and then it does a bunch of stuff in the background, and sometimes actually might require a restart? Well, if that is the case, I prefer that to the alternatives. You also have the option of not installing the updates and turning them off altogether (probably not advisable).
Mooohahahahaha. You got jobbed. The Apple stores in Austin and San Antonio all three have every 15" configuration available in multiples (more than 100 at one store). The only MBP shortages I've even heard about before your post is trying to find the 17" ones with the 1900+ resolution screens. But even those are in stock in San Antonio (not in Austin, as of last month).
Meanwhile, as the PC world flocks to the new-fangled MacBook Pro, I'm already bored with mine and can't wait for the next generation. I knew Apple since before they were famous.
100 million Macs is still a lot of business, regardless if there are over 1 billion computers overall. Car manufacturers mostly all have about 3-5% market share. Toyota, for example, would LOVE to have 17% market share in one style (say, for example, 2-door hatchbacks). This is what Apple has essentially done: they've gotten a large foothold in one segment of a the overall larger market.
No physical button, but you can right click with a second finger on the trackpad. I like it better than a button, but my wife hates it.
I'm with you though on the sushi. My solution is I choose to live in a big city so that it isn't a problem.
Oh I'm a niche customer for sure. I've owned probably 15 Macs over the past 20 years, and enjoy the benefits of higher quality in our niche. My wishes for a full-fledged office sweet from Apple are because I can't stand the mediocrity of Microsoft's offerings. Anything that makes my computing life better is welcomed. Anything that makes the industry try harder is also welcomed. I also think the lack of a professional grade office suite (tightly integrated into Mac OS X by Apple) is the only thing keeping Apple a niche company. If they WANTED to, they could do it. I just dont' think they want to ;-)
Does it have an APA template? It blows my mind that Microsoft hasn't included a FULL APA style as a default choice...a page that opens with double spacing, Times New Roman size 12, title page formatting, header and page number, and most importantly, hanging indents for reference page. As many times as I setup my Word documents with theses settings, Word gets its usual amnesia and forgets nearly all the settings I made (or worse yet, applies its own settings to what it THINKS I want). I only have 3 classes left and my Thesis, but I'm thinking this might be worth the cost just for writing my thesis.
Chances are the "no good reason" is simply something you either don't understand, or just don't care about. We have high standards and we care about things working correctly and well, not kind of working and/or works with tweaking. Our high standards ensure continuing high quality products. Deal with it.
In all seriousness though, I wish Apple would make a real office suite, instead of this very nice design-oriented suite. This is why OS X will always remain a "niche" product and I'm not sure I can say Apple really cares to be anything but.
business as usual with a new face....just like the next President, and the one after that, and the one after that. I wish people would give up on trying to pin Bush down as the ONLY President to ever put his friends in high positions because they ALL do it.
Oh yeah, the old DRM-bashing bandwagon. I could care less. It doesn't cause my audio to skip (on a Mac) so the Windows apologists can't really use that as an excuse. There are plenty of other reasons to dislike DRM, but performance issues is not one with any credibility. This whole thing is classic Microsoft deflection away from the root problem (their poor track record of OS performance with multimedia and graphics over the past 10 years).
Actually, what is really bullshit is the fact that Microsoft is selling a modern OS that still stutters with something as simple as an audio file. I dunno, but I gave up stuttering playback in about 1994 when I bought my first Mac with a CD player built-in. What about audio technology has changed so much in 17 years that is bogging Microsoft audio playback down again?
Actually I just left, but yeah, I was US Federal and Intel. Maybe that's why I thought the way I did. We simply weren't allowed to unionize. It wasn't told to us, rather we signed agreements...all part of the non-disclosure stuff I believe.
My first political involvement was in the '70s, so that would make you pretty damned old. Too bad you really don't know much about me (as evident by your misguided post).
I never said Iraqi's attacked us. I said (paraphrasing) Arab, Muslim, Extremists attacked us on 9/11. If you check, all Iraqi's are Arabs, and most of them are Muslim. Many of those are extreme. (Kurds are not Arabs, and they are not Iraqis either). But I'll take the bait and just let you know that there were so many ties to terrorism in the Saddam Regime that I could have spent the rest of my career working just one cell. Thank you for your taxes, because we need them to keep picking them up and setting them down.
I'm glad you know the difference, and that you are so comfortable knowing that the next terrorist attack was NEVER going to come from Iraq (fool). I'm glad you can sleep at night knowing that any 1 of the 20 million Arab Muslims living in Iraq would NEVER have been a terrorist threat to America, before Bush had to go and muck that all up by poking a big stick in the otherwise peaceful Iraqi people's eye...yeah, right...
I don't love the Republicans and they are not MY Republicans. I believe my last political post was something like, "dude, who stole my party", referring to the fact that I haven't been happy with the Republican party for two decades now. If you would read what I write and leave your inferrences out of it, you might actually be credible. Instead, you are just wrong.
So what if it is good for business? I'm in the business and have been for years. War or no war, I always have a job. This war has only highlighted how wrong those of you who aren't in the business are. It's a good thing we don't allow for armchair quarterbacks like yourself to run policy, because frankly, your hypersensitive criticism abou that which you don't understand kills your credibility. Stooping to name calling and inferrences about my political affiliation (incorrectly) only weakens your point more. Plus, you gain no favor with vets everywhere in mocking my service. Might I ask what campaigns YOU served in?
Now if you don't mind, I've got some more oo filthy blood money to earn.