When will hardware companies learn that OS X and Linux are real world OSes that people who buy their products use?
Check out the "System Requirements":
System Requirements:
* Windows® 98 Second Edition, Me, 2000 Professional, XP Home, XP Professional
* Pentium® II 400 MHz with or faster
(Pentium III 500 MHz recommended)
* 96MB RAM minimum (256 MB or more recommended for Windows XP)
How is a Linux or OS X user supposed to interpret this info? "Dont' buy this product, it won't work" or "Don't buy this product, you are not an important demographic to Sony"?
While my experience with LimeWire on OS X has been less than favorable, the latest itteration of their WAY TOO OFTEN UPDATED software is very good. Although it is frustrating that a new version comes out every two or three days, Limewire supports excellent queueing of downloads as well as resuming when your host goes off line and comes back.
I have heard Kazaa is making an OS X client, but then again, I have also heard things about Kazaa "spyware" etc. Don't know if either rumor is true.
Currently, I can't use my Powerbook as a firewall because I don't have two NIC cards.
By connecting my ethernet card to my cable modem, and my firewire port to my server, my laptop now becomes a FireWireWall:)
Smile, it tastes good
Very surprised at this article
on
More on Longhorn
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· Score: 2, Insightful
A few of my observations: (1) No "Subscription" model
Wasn't it MS who pushed the failed ASP (application service provider) concept so many dot-bombs followed? With even game makers like Electronic Arts drooling of $10 monthly service fees for the Sims Online, I can't believe there is no mention of what MS is up to
(2) Forget TCO, how about ROI
When I used to put in my two-cents on new product development and build vs. buy decisions, TCO was only an ingredient in the formula all were interested in, Return On Investment. I see fewer and fewer compelling reasons to move to the latest for MS - so many small businesses run on Win98 or some other 'ancient' flavor of windows becuase the HW/SW is paid for and gets the job done. Convince someone running point of sale for their small business that they should upgrade. Now flip the coin and convince a mega corp that they should spend millions on new software, TRAINING, and now, new hardware. Do the math...at a generous $2,500 per seat for HW/SW/Training, a company must spend $1 Million for every 400 employees. And those companies will want more than a wink from Bill for their money.
(3) Way to embrace the market
The presense of 3rd party apps is a mega plus for MS. By integrating all aspects of desktop publishing - presentation, documents, web sites, flow charts, e-mail, etc - there is no room to pick and choose what works best for you - there is ONLY the MS way.
(4) What MS could do
MS's only viable option, to me, is to focus on server technology and make very rich servers with high license fees for connections that will have to exist. Make the client so thin it doesn't matter what they use - old hardware, old OS, etc - because they are making recurring revenue off the license to connection to the server which is where they could add value and fight with ROI.
Am I the only one who noticed the expression on everyone's faces in the flash product demo?
From the "Everyday" scene of a woman eating lunch, presumably listening to an MP3, to the "Down to Business" scene of, (another woman curriously), in a meeting with her Axim, EVERYONE IS SMILING THEIR A$$E$ OFF.
Is Dell innocently, yet subliminally pushing the merits of the Vibrating Notification feature, or is something more sinister afoot?
After updating my Ti Powerbook and heading to bed, all was well, but I awoke to a different story.
Powering up this morning, to my horror, my screen remained black, while the HD cranked and I even heard the familiar sounds of iChat automatically going on-line. After half a dozen reboots, and removing the battery and going solo with the power cable, I am back up just as quickly as the even began, but I am worried to try to shut down or even go to sleep.
I know/. is known for representing teh mainstream non-techs who respond to "Dude, you're getting a Dell" commercials, so when I read about average consumers, I think of my 50-somthing uncle who hates computers and uses them every day.
I ask myself, would my uncle (and thus, the populous) buy this thing? The answer is no. I conclude this by the following: * A pen is faster When my Uncle needs to write something, he isn't going to always be near his table PC and it isn't going to always be on and ready to write on. Plus, he can leave pens all over his home/car/office. * A pen is cheaper There is no WAY he will shell out thousands to write on a computer. He wouldn't even shell out $99 for a Palm Zire. * If he drops a pen, I doesn't break A pen goes in his pocket, it can be sat on, it can be lent out and kept and no big deal. * A pen allows for expression He can underline, write really big or in all caps or circle stuff with a pen. He can make a note adn stick it somewhere. *A pen gives feedback With a pen you "feel" what you are writing, slow, fast, pressing hard or lightly, etc. With (given, CE or PalmOS aren't the same) the tablet PC, there is no such feedback.
So I think this tablet may have application for people who can't type but need to do data entry. But mostly, this is what people were clamoring for ten years ago, just being delivered today. Sorry...times have changed. I have no need for this device.
Oh look, a computer!
speed is partly measured by design
on
Is Mac OS X Slow?
·
· Score: 0
It is fair to argue: *** the design of the applications is just as important a "speed factor" as is the clock cycles.
My *400 Mhz* PowerBook Ti is very responsive but I get even MORE done because of the design of applications - things that Windows and Linux lack. Here is an example:
When using Mail, if someone sent you an e-mail and is in your address book and also has an AOL or.Mac account in your address book, Mail puts a little green dot beside their name in your In Box. So when you are reading mail and you need to send a response or ask a question, you can save time by clicking the person's green dot and launching an iChat session, which gets your conversation over with without waiting on e-mails back and forth that might pile up in the inbox they or you are ignoring.
That gets my work done faster because OS X and the applications that run on it are, for the most part, more thoughfully designed. Sure you COULD implement this on Linux or XP, but no one has. Apple DID...and continues to...and that makes the difference.
"Methusula" comes to mind when I think of how long these newest offerings will be realistic to work with. I have a 400 Mhz Ti PB and WITHOUT a graphics card that supports Quartz Extream, WITHOUT Gigabit Either, WITHOUT a huge Cache, and WITHOUT even a Combo, much less a SuperDrive, my system has served me well for nearly two years. It shows no signs of being over loaded and runs 10.2 great.
These newer systems, with the new cache, video cards/video ram, optical drives, faster processors, and if maxed out a 1GB RAM, I can see in service into the later part of the decade.
So expense the $3000 over six or more years and that's $500 a year for a killer laptop - WOW!!!
I'd like to report that this story has a headline Icon of "HP", though perhaps "Shadow Man" would be more acurate.
LINUX: It's cheaper than Water and half the calories
Reminds me of "Business at the Speed of Thought"
on
Car Digital Assistant
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
When reading's Gates' "Business at the Speed of Thought", one of the incorrect presumptions he makes is that Computers belong in cars adn that Windows CE will usher in the AutoPC, basically a PDA built into the car.
This is no more compelling that an hardwired "Car Phone" compared to today's pocket size Cell Phones.
I suggest this is simply technology for technology sake. What is the benefit of having e-mail and addresses built into your car? The benefit is having them WITH YOU, regardless of location. a cell phone with addresses, GPS, and navagation capabilities is helpful - it is independent of your car and can be used even if your transmission is out.
This technology is too little, nearly five years too late, and will sell no better than it did five years ago.
Not certain why this was moderated as a both a "Troll" and "Offtopic" - I suppose the moderators may think I was making this up, but it is TRUE, Will Ferrell (of Saturday Night Live) did make a Switch ad which played at the opening of Job's Keynote last MacWorld New York which my post linked to.
I am a switcher as of 2001 and I lived in NYC when MacWorld was there. I tell you, it was pretty much like crack for Apple nerds.
Not only was Jobs there but virtually every hardware and software maker was represented. People were giving out free stuff (from throwaway brochures to full software packages) and there was generally lots of excitement.
I don't think those things will change by moving it back to Boston, but what could is the image of the show. No matter what anyone says, New York is the capital of commerece in the western world. All major US media is based there, even the Daily Show. Apple should WANT to be there, regardless of it being more expensive. Everything is more expensive there. It's New York.
Sadly, With IDG signing on for three years in NYC, Apple has but two options - (1) Have their own AppleGalaxy in New York or (2) Give in, prehaps with other consessions, and go to Bean Town
What this says to me is that the laws of economics hold true at Gateway.
(1) Gateway is struggling to compete against the "Dudes at Dell" who lead in education and business as PC suppliers
(2) They are looking to sell a lower cost system with major functionality so they have to include SOME office suite
(3) They look to Corel for a lower cost licensing option and I feel certain Corel gave them a sweetheart of a deal
(4) SO WHAT'S NEXT? Well if you are already shipping systems with your lowest end hardware and a less expensive productivity suite, the next obvious place to look is your OS. By offering a Wal-Martesq Lindows or Dellesq Red Hat option, you can offer an even less expensive system AND reduce component configurations since Linux doesn't require as beefy a system as OSes from Redmond do.
Humm, add a coffee bar to those Gateway Country stores and in 2003 they'll be the hacker hangout in ever mid-sized town.
I don't know about this - It's a calendar program, not a news ticker. This smacks of iPods with calendaring too - it CAN be done but should it, and doesn't it dilute the PURPOSE of the application - forcing one day for the iCal team to have to add features (or be blamed later) that are out of scope from the start.
I recall hybrid Spring PCS cell phone/MP3 players and other such monsters. iCal is just getting started, I would hate to see it morph into a non-focused application.
With an Aqua version of Open Office soon available, and Open Office shipping as default install on Red Hat 8.0, are we seeing a dominant #2 player in the Office Suite market?
When I made the 'switch' I used a strategy not discussed here:
Top Product Line - Least expensive offering
Instead of buying a tricked out iBook, I bought the low end PowerBook G4. That way, I am in the product line with the most features, but I don't pay a significant percentage premium for Mhz, etc.
I used a car example to convince myself. (if you don't agree with the makes I choose, pretend I choose two you do like) I can buy a top of the line Honda with leather and such for about the same as a BMW 325i without talking navigation and expensive sports packages. For the money I would have wasted on so-so Japanese Leatherette, I could have German engineering under the hood. Get it?
It's the old 80/20 rule
As in many things in life, 20% of the work yeilds 80% of the results. In the same way, my Powerbook G4 has 2 FireWire ports, built in Airport dual head capability, IR port, and a much larger screen - all things you cann't add on to a "Top of the Line iBook" at about the same price point. I didn't pay 20% more for a faster processor, and I got 95% of the same stuff.
Does anyone know if they utilized the built-in airport antennas in the G4's handles?
I always thought of the Quicksilver case as the first case to become a peripheral device as well - until it was released, a case was (speaking of Macs anyway), just a good looking dust cover to me.
Read some C.S. Lewis. You'll thank yourself for it.
The next generation of Newton type devices will be a cellular phone/PDA that used Inkwell for input on the display. That way there is a nice easy interface to common data a la iPod, but no messy input requirements like Handspring's horendous chiclet key phone/pda.
Slashdot Mirror
All I wanted was a 747 with a friggin laser beam on it's head! Is that too much to ask?
Am I red/green color blind? How can one test for that? How could I possibly know if the color I call red is the same color as the one you call red?
Repeat this argument for 'green'
When will hardware companies learn that OS X and Linux are real world OSes that people who buy their products use?
Check out the "System Requirements":
System Requirements:
* Windows® 98 Second Edition, Me, 2000 Professional, XP Home, XP Professional
* Pentium® II 400 MHz with or faster (Pentium III 500 MHz recommended)
* 96MB RAM minimum (256 MB or more recommended for Windows XP)
How is a Linux or OS X user supposed to interpret this info? "Dont' buy this product, it won't work" or "Don't buy this product, you are not an important demographic to Sony"?
There is a better way
While my experience with LimeWire on OS X has been less than favorable, the latest itteration of their WAY TOO OFTEN UPDATED software is very good. Although it is frustrating that a new version comes out every two or three days, Limewire supports excellent queueing of downloads as well as resuming when your host goes off line and comes back.
I have heard Kazaa is making an OS X client, but then again, I have also heard things about Kazaa "spyware" etc. Don't know if either rumor is true.
Currently, I can't use my Powerbook as a firewall because I don't have two NIC cards.
:)
By connecting my ethernet card to my cable modem, and my firewire port to my server, my laptop now becomes a FireWireWall
Smile, it tastes good
A few of my observations:
(1) No "Subscription" model
Wasn't it MS who pushed the failed ASP (application service provider) concept so many dot-bombs followed? With even game makers like Electronic Arts drooling of $10 monthly service fees for the Sims Online, I can't believe there is no mention of what MS is up to
(2) Forget TCO, how about ROI
When I used to put in my two-cents on new product development and build vs. buy decisions, TCO was only an ingredient in the formula all were interested in, Return On Investment. I see fewer and fewer compelling reasons to move to the latest for MS - so many small businesses run on Win98 or some other 'ancient' flavor of windows becuase the HW/SW is paid for and gets the job done. Convince someone running point of sale for their small business that they should upgrade. Now flip the coin and convince a mega corp that they should spend millions on new software, TRAINING, and now, new hardware. Do the math...at a generous $2,500 per seat for HW/SW/Training, a company must spend $1 Million for every 400 employees. And those companies will want more than a wink from Bill for their money.
(3) Way to embrace the market
The presense of 3rd party apps is a mega plus for MS. By integrating all aspects of desktop publishing - presentation, documents, web sites, flow charts, e-mail, etc - there is no room to pick and choose what works best for you - there is ONLY the MS way.
(4) What MS could do
MS's only viable option, to me, is to focus on server technology and make very rich servers with high license fees for connections that will have to exist. Make the client so thin it doesn't matter what they use - old hardware, old OS, etc - because they are making recurring revenue off the license to connection to the server which is where they could add value and fight with ROI.
All your apps are belong to us
Am I the only one who noticed the expression on everyone's faces in the flash product demo?
From the "Everyday" scene of a woman eating lunch, presumably listening to an MP3, to the "Down to Business" scene of, (another woman curriously), in a meeting with her Axim, EVERYONE IS SMILING THEIR A$$E$ OFF.
Is Dell innocently, yet subliminally pushing the merits of the Vibrating Notification feature, or is something more sinister afoot?
After updating my Ti Powerbook and heading to bed, all was well, but I awoke to a different story.
Powering up this morning, to my horror, my screen remained black, while the HD cranked and I even heard the familiar sounds of iChat automatically going on-line. After half a dozen reboots, and removing the battery and going solo with the power cable, I am back up just as quickly as the even began, but I am worried to try to shut down or even go to sleep.
Any others experiencing this "feature"?
I know /. is known for representing teh mainstream non-techs who respond to "Dude, you're getting a Dell" commercials, so when I read about average consumers, I think of my 50-somthing uncle who hates computers and uses them every day.
I ask myself, would my uncle (and thus, the populous) buy this thing? The answer is no. I conclude this by the following:
* A pen is faster When my Uncle needs to write something, he isn't going to always be near his table PC and it isn't going to always be on and ready to write on. Plus, he can leave pens all over his home/car/office.
* A pen is cheaper There is no WAY he will shell out thousands to write on a computer. He wouldn't even shell out $99 for a Palm Zire.
* If he drops a pen, I doesn't break A pen goes in his pocket, it can be sat on, it can be lent out and kept and no big deal.
* A pen allows for expression He can underline, write really big or in all caps or circle stuff with a pen. He can make a note adn stick it somewhere.
*A pen gives feedback With a pen you "feel" what you are writing, slow, fast, pressing hard or lightly, etc. With (given, CE or PalmOS aren't the same) the tablet PC, there is no such feedback.
So I think this tablet may have application for people who can't type but need to do data entry. But mostly, this is what people were clamoring for ten years ago, just being delivered today. Sorry...times have changed. I have no need for this device.
Oh look, a computer!
It is fair to argue:
.Mac account in your address book, Mail puts a little green dot beside their name in your In Box. So when you are reading mail and you need to send a response or ask a question, you can save time by clicking the person's green dot and launching an iChat session, which gets your conversation over with without waiting on e-mails back and forth that might pile up in the inbox they or you are ignoring.
*** the design of the applications is just as important a "speed factor" as is the clock cycles.
My *400 Mhz* PowerBook Ti is very responsive but I get even MORE done because of the design of applications - things that Windows and Linux lack. Here is an example:
When using Mail, if someone sent you an e-mail and is in your address book and also has an AOL or
That gets my work done faster because OS X and the applications that run on it are, for the most part, more thoughfully designed. Sure you COULD implement this on Linux or XP, but no one has. Apple DID...and continues to...and that makes the difference.
Stop fighting it and switch
The install notes indicate that you will have to upgrade to Flash 6 Beta.
best of all, there is now an option to turn off JavaScript's Pop-up feature - Wehew!
"Methusula" comes to mind when I think of how long these newest offerings will be realistic to work with. I have a 400 Mhz Ti PB and WITHOUT a graphics card that supports Quartz Extream, WITHOUT Gigabit Either, WITHOUT a huge Cache, and WITHOUT even a Combo, much less a SuperDrive, my system has served me well for nearly two years. It shows no signs of being over loaded and runs 10.2 great.
These newer systems, with the new cache, video cards/video ram, optical drives, faster processors, and if maxed out a 1GB RAM, I can see in service into the later part of the decade.
So expense the $3000 over six or more years and that's $500 a year for a killer laptop - WOW!!!
I hope USCourts.gov isn't running on MS boxes, or else we may NEVER get a vertict!
Happy Haloween!
I'd like to report that this story has a headline Icon of "HP", though perhaps "Shadow Man" would be more acurate.
LINUX: It's cheaper than Water and half the calories
When reading's Gates' "Business at the Speed of Thought", one of the incorrect presumptions he makes is that Computers belong in cars adn that Windows CE will usher in the AutoPC, basically a PDA built into the car.
This is no more compelling that an hardwired "Car Phone" compared to today's pocket size Cell Phones.
I suggest this is simply technology for technology sake. What is the benefit of having e-mail and addresses built into your car? The benefit is having them WITH YOU, regardless of location. a cell phone with addresses, GPS, and navagation capabilities is helpful - it is independent of your car and can be used even if your transmission is out.
This technology is too little, nearly five years too late, and will sell no better than it did five years ago.
I stick to glue
Not certain why this was moderated as a both a "Troll" and "Offtopic" - I suppose the moderators may think I was making this up, but it is TRUE, Will Ferrell (of Saturday Night Live) did make a Switch ad which played at the opening of Job's Keynote last MacWorld New York which my post linked to.
Poor moderation me thinks
When Will Ferrell of Saturday Night Live fame made his switch ad, he midrepresented himself as a porn actor.
Apple's response was to get Lorne Michaels to cast him as Professor Klarvin (Lov'ah to Virginia).
See how easy it cleans up
I am a switcher as of 2001 and I lived in NYC when MacWorld was there. I tell you, it was pretty much like crack for Apple nerds.
Not only was Jobs there but virtually every hardware and software maker was represented. People were giving out free stuff (from throwaway brochures to full software packages) and there was generally lots of excitement.
I don't think those things will change by moving it back to Boston, but what could is the image of the show. No matter what anyone says, New York is the capital of commerece in the western world. All major US media is based there, even the Daily Show. Apple should WANT to be there, regardless of it being more expensive. Everything is more expensive there. It's New York.
Sadly, With IDG signing on for three years in NYC, Apple has but two options -
(1) Have their own AppleGalaxy in New York or
(2) Give in, prehaps with other consessions, and go to Bean Town
- The joystick driver had erroneous copies in obscure ioctl cases
Thanks, I now understand why we in the US should never have access to this sort of information.
I was expecting the secret hideout of Dick Cheney
What this says to me is that the laws of economics hold true at Gateway.
(1) Gateway is struggling to compete against the "Dudes at Dell" who lead in education and business as PC suppliers
(2) They are looking to sell a lower cost system with major functionality so they have to include SOME office suite
(3) They look to Corel for a lower cost licensing option and I feel certain Corel gave them a sweetheart of a deal
(4) SO WHAT'S NEXT? Well if you are already shipping systems with your lowest end hardware and a less expensive productivity suite, the next obvious place to look is your OS. By offering a Wal-Martesq Lindows or Dellesq Red Hat option, you can offer an even less expensive system AND reduce component configurations since Linux doesn't require as beefy a system as OSes from Redmond do.
Humm, add a coffee bar to those Gateway Country stores and in 2003 they'll be the hacker hangout in ever mid-sized town.
I don't know about this - It's a calendar program, not a news ticker. This smacks of iPods with calendaring too - it CAN be done but should it, and doesn't it dilute the PURPOSE of the application - forcing one day for the iCal team to have to add features (or be blamed later) that are out of scope from the start.
I recall hybrid Spring PCS cell phone/MP3 players and other such monsters. iCal is just getting started, I would hate to see it morph into a non-focused application.
With an Aqua version of Open Office soon available, and Open Office shipping as default install on Red Hat 8.0, are we seeing a dominant #2 player in the Office Suite market?
When I made the 'switch' I used a strategy not discussed here:
Top Product Line - Least expensive offering
Instead of buying a tricked out iBook, I bought the low end PowerBook G4. That way, I am in the product line with the most features, but I don't pay a significant percentage premium for Mhz, etc.
I used a car example to convince myself. (if you don't agree with the makes I choose, pretend I choose two you do like) I can buy a top of the line Honda with leather and such for about the same as a BMW 325i without talking navigation and expensive sports packages. For the money I would have wasted on so-so Japanese Leatherette, I could have German engineering under the hood. Get it?
It's the old 80/20 rule
As in many things in life, 20% of the work yeilds 80% of the results. In the same way, my Powerbook G4 has 2 FireWire ports, built in Airport dual head capability, IR port, and a much larger screen - all things you cann't add on to a "Top of the Line iBook" at about the same price point. I didn't pay 20% more for a faster processor, and I got 95% of the same stuff.
"Yeah Baby, you're really switched on!" - Austin Powers
Does anyone know if they utilized the built-in airport antennas in the G4's handles?
I always thought of the Quicksilver case as the first case to become a peripheral device as well - until it was released, a case was (speaking of Macs anyway), just a good looking dust cover to me.
Read some C.S. Lewis. You'll thank yourself for it.
The next generation of Newton type devices will be a cellular phone/PDA that used Inkwell for input on the display. That way there is a nice easy interface to common data a la iPod, but no messy input requirements like Handspring's horendous chiclet key phone/pda.