This is where our hero Microsoft comes in. They wil make slower OS that gobbles up more CPU and RAM so that these fast Intel and AMD processors will sell.
Well the AMD 600 Machine I built for my dad nearly 3 years for $650 works just fine too, running Linux and windows XP. There is no advantage for Apple as far as aging hardware is concerned. Good luck running osx on that G3 imac.
Good luck installing a USB/Firewire card on the Athlon and doing DV editing as fast as a 600Mhz iMac...
All it takes is an OS app manufacturer ready to make the switch. I don't see MS doing it, I hope Apple does (since they need to make a switch anyway).
Why? Apple's rip CD/DVD, do SETI@home, RC5, etc. as fast or faster than most P.C.'s! Why go to a slower architecture that needs microwave-level megahertz to perform well? Not to mention the fact that they are both in Microsoft's DRM-pocket? No thank you.
The difference is that Apple want to sell me yesterday's performance at today's price. If Apple would sell me a 800 MHz G4 for what it costs to build a low-end P4/Athlon system with a budget GeForce 4 card, I might be interested.
Although most P.C.-users seem to understand how an Athlon can be faster than a P4 at higher megahertz, or that a different architechture like the Itanium can be faster than either of them at a lower megahertz, no-one seems to be able to afford this kind of understanding to the PowerPC... despite the evidence. Oh well...
So yes I think we could move right now to Itanium 2 configurations (and IMHO this would be a great move for Apple given their CPU problems but that's another thread).
<Megahertz-n-Processor Fan-Boy Mode>
But the Itanium only runs 1200Mhz! That's even slower than the G4! The 2.8Ghz P4 R000LZ! </Megahertz-n-Processor Fan-Boy Mode>
"You have the Right to use your computer however you want, but you have the responsibility to let "us" know exactly what you are doing at all times!" -- Official DRM Creed
and on a related note:
"You're not doing anything illegal, are you? What do you have to fear?"
Makes you wonder which personality you're dealing with at any given moment....
Easy... the money-making personality. No mistaking it.
Why else would Microsoft allow Apple to get ahead in making consumers "content providers" while they work on software to put consumers at the mercy of Hollywood's content providers. They're after the big-money of licking corporate boot, not making a better product for customers.
and you want to do it on the cheap (but not too cheap), you should get on older/used G4 DP "dualie." See Everymac's G4 List for the low-down on the various G4 systems Apple has produced.
In practice, I wouldn't buy any lower than a 7410-G4 (the 466Mhz model), and ideally I would have a DP 7450-based oldster.
... and multi-gigahertz, micro-wave transmitting CPU's, Intel is going to fry the nards of every nerd alive within the next 10 years. Where will the next generation nerd come from?
Wow, I can't believe all the wacky, tinfoil hat-wearing conspiracy theories I've heard just with this story ALONE. I guess there's a reason why Slashdot readers have the reputation they do. You conspiracy theory nuts sound like ten year old kids rambling on about all sorts of off-the-wall implications arising from Palladium and DRM:
Forgive us if we don't "ooo" and "ahhh" about the shiny new digital shackles they have forged for us... or taken cold comfort in the fact that we get to "choose" whether or not we wear them. The fact that they have been created is chilling, like a KKK member showing up to a black church's picnic with a noose saying: "Don't worry, you don't have to wear this unless you want to."
Also, how is it that the one company that is the least secure and has the worst record screwing up application installs/uninstalls is running the intallation/uninstallation of our Digital Rights?
Turning "Palladium" completely off includes turning it off in hardware, which prevents any software from turning it back on. Users have the ultimate control over their systems and their information; "Palladium" does not entail any global requirements.
Kind of like how making Netscape my default browser never gets reset?
is how a company that can't be trusted to make an OS that can install/uninstall applications correctly can be trusted to "install"/"uninstall" your trusted digital rights.
No need to wait and have someone build it for you, if you are comfortable with Terminal.app. Directions on how to do it are HERE.
In case you don't know what EMACS is, it's the great-grand-daddy text editor for programmers and propellerheads. It does everything but your laundry and makes BBedit/Pepper/Jedit/etc. look wimpy in comparison...
The x86 architecture is where old proprietary operating systems go to die... OS/2, BeOS, Novell, NeXT, etc.
Nevermind the illusion of "openness," the proprietary-by-way-of-monopoly-power P.C. standards (and OEM's) are all controlled by Microsoft, so anything that isn't given away free (e.g. Linux), will be squished like a bug in that space.
They produce much more pollution per watt. The end result, an electric car just moves the pollution it creates from the car to the power plant, and the power plant is very very dirty.
But there aren't 300 million power plants out there...
But forces all the hardware vendors to only sell Windows anyway... through restrictive liscensing agreements... nice.
That is beside the point, I am criticizing Apple, not defending every aspect of Microsoft's business practices.
Nevertheless, selling proprietary SW on proprietary HW is a lot more ethical than monopolizing a supposedly "open" standard. So your critique rings hollow when over 90% of the market is having to deal with a much more serious problem.
What started the P.C. revolution was cheap P.C.'s. Emphasis on cheap. Both in quality and price...
Exactly, and why were they cheap? Because people had a choice as to who they purchase their hardware from - exactly what Apple seek to prevent.
Wrong. They were cheap because that's the way IBM designed them. If you knew any computer history, you would know IBM was very late to the microcomputer market, and when it finally showed up with it's IBM P.C., it had to make sure it could reach market quickly with the cheapest and most plentiful parts and architectures -- not the best. It's been one kludge after another since then.
Both in quality and price... just like the early software like DOS and Windows 3.X/9X.
Ah, so more expensive=better? So by your reasoning Windows is clearly better than Linux, and I'll bet you have a fine collection of Gap clothing too.
Actually, the fact that Windows is more expensive than Linux in no way influences the fact that it is indeed "cheaper" than Linux -- in quality.
The great thing about everyone being on proprietary hardware is the emphasis is then on open standards and formats... like the web for instance.
Wow! That is like saying "The best thing about the Gulf War was that US soldiers got to have some effective training". What a dumb comment.
Wow. Argument by non sequitur! Good job!
So while hammerheads like you are kicking up dust about Apple owning their HW platform, Microsoft can quietly check-off some more "open" standards in their bid to own everything!:
[X] "Open" P.C. platform HW specifications, rewritten as Microsoft specifications (WinHEC). [X] "Open" P.C. platform SW denied to competing OS's (DOJ Trial). [] Open internet specifications rewritten as proprietary, Microsoft-controlled circus (Palladium,Hailstorm,Passport,.NET,etc.)
At least Microsoft allows people to decide what hardware they will use Windows with,
But forces all the hardware vendors to only sell Windows anyway... through restrictive liscensing agreements... nice.
in many ways, this is what started the PC revolution,
What started the P.C. revolution was cheap P.C.'s. Emphasis on cheap. Both in quality and price... just like the early software like DOS and Windows 3.X/9X.
however Apple would have return to the bad-old-days when user-communities were fragmented into Atari users, Amiga users, Apple users, etc etc, by operating systems which were tied to a specific manufacturer's hardware.
The great thing about everyone being on proprietary hardware is the emphasis is then on open standards and formats... like the web for instance.
If Microsoft had its way, everyone would have the P.C. of their choice, but people would be locked out of from the full net experience without M$ browsers/servers/e-mail/Passport... uhhh... waitasecond...
Apple has managed to resurrect this hobgoblin with iTunes (on OSX) by making their mp3 player use a significant chunk of CPU time on any reasonably powered Mac - even when not playing mp3-encoded audio! (I'm not talking about dual CPU machines here - that really ought to be rediculous overkill to play mp3s and use a web browser at the same time)
I think the problem here is that Macintoshes do not have sound cards... at all... it all goes through the CPU. Kind of a dumb idea, I admit.
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Why? Apple's rip CD/DVD, do SETI@home, RC5, etc. as fast or faster than most P.C.'s! Why go to a slower architecture that needs microwave-level megahertz to perform well? Not to mention the fact that they are both in Microsoft's DRM-pocket? No thank you.
The difference is that Apple want to sell me yesterday's performance at today's price. If Apple would sell me a 800 MHz G4 for what it costs to build a low-end P4/Athlon system with a budget GeForce 4 card, I might be interested.
Interesting how "yesterday's performance" stacks up to "today's performance in this comparison of P4/G4 in consumer computers.
Although most P.C.-users seem to understand how an Athlon can be faster than a P4 at higher megahertz, or that a different architechture like the Itanium can be faster than either of them at a lower megahertz, no-one seems to be able to afford this kind of understanding to the PowerPC... despite the evidence. Oh well...
So yes I think we could move right now to Itanium 2 configurations (and IMHO this would be a great move for Apple given their CPU problems but that's another thread).
<Megahertz-n-Processor Fan-Boy Mode> But the Itanium only runs 1200Mhz! That's even slower than the G4! The 2.8Ghz P4 R000LZ! </Megahertz-n-Processor Fan-Boy Mode>
"You have the Right to use your computer however you want, but you have the responsibility to let "us" know exactly what you are doing at all times!" -- Official DRM Creed
and on a related note:
"You're not doing anything illegal, are you? What do you have to fear?"
Easy... the money-making personality. No mistaking it.
Why else would Microsoft allow Apple to get ahead in making consumers "content providers" while they work on software to put consumers at the mercy of Hollywood's content providers. They're after the big-money of licking corporate boot, not making a better product for customers.
"It's just an option! It's just a checkbox! I'm really in control! M$ is spending all this money to help me!"
and you want to do it on the cheap (but not too cheap), you should get on older/used G4 DP "dualie." See Everymac's G4 List for the low-down on the various G4 systems Apple has produced.
In practice, I wouldn't buy any lower than a 7410-G4 (the 466Mhz model), and ideally I would have a DP 7450-based oldster.
Hmmm... professional camera that shoots at 11Mp... must have a Firewire port on it...
<M$ Shill Mode> "... and that's why everyone needs to move to
Also, how is it that the one company that is the least secure and has the worst record screwing up application installs/uninstalls is running the intallation/uninstallation of our Digital Rights?
Yeah... don't let the DReaM worry you, you can opt out later and it will all just have been a terrible DReaM! Somebody pinch me! ;c)
I'm all tore up inside about this.
Oops! So much for a "cheap," "open," "non-proprietary," architecture! Enjoy your digital chains, suckers! What will Linux people do?
No need to wait and have someone build it for you, if you are comfortable with Terminal.app. Directions on how to do it are HERE. In case you don't know what EMACS is, it's the great-grand-daddy text editor for programmers and propellerheads. It does everything but your laundry and makes BBedit/Pepper/Jedit/etc. look wimpy in comparison...
The x86 architecture is where old proprietary operating systems go to die... OS/2, BeOS, Novell, NeXT, etc.
Nevermind the illusion of "openness," the proprietary-by-way-of-monopoly-power P.C. standards (and OEM's) are all controlled by Microsoft, so anything that isn't given away free (e.g. Linux), will be squished like a bug in that space.
With one button: the power button.
So while hammerheads like you are kicking up dust about Apple owning their HW platform, Microsoft can quietly check-off some more "open" standards in their bid to own everything!:
[X] "Open" P.C. platform HW specifications, rewritten as Microsoft specifications (WinHEC).
[X] "Open" P.C. platform SW denied to competing OS's (DOJ Trial).
[] Open internet specifications rewritten as proprietary, Microsoft-controlled circus (Palladium,Hailstorm,Passport,.NET,etc.)