After reading the article, I realised that the frontside bus was shared. I didn't expect that. It seems to be a transitory solution in order to have the "first dual-core" CPUs on the market. When AMD releases theirs I expect them to have a superior solution.
My main point was that anybody who has used SMP systems knows that they perform better in a multithreaded and/or multitasking environment. I have an AMD Athlon MP system as my main system. The CPU's aren't the newest ones (about two years old), but I have used AMD Athlon XP systems that are faster (accoring to their rating) but feel less responsive. My system is probably slower overall (266Mhz FSB isn't helping there), but it feels faster. Subjective? Probably...
Well, first of all: you can't get small business actions if you're not a business (in Europe you need a VAT number). Second: if you're not a business you have to pay VAT (sales tax) which augments price (all prices on the Euro site are excl VAT). Apple (euro site) shows prices inclusive VAT, wich makes shopping much easier.
Anyways: I found a similar offer. 328,49 Euro , but that's without a monitor. Add, a 17" flatpanel and we're at the price of 661,19 Euro. A Mac mini indeed. Still, the question is more: does this Dell offer as much value as a Mac mini? That's something one can only tell when one knows what the end-user wants.
Personally, I would like neither machine: 256Meg RAM doesn't cut it. One needs at least 512Meg for WinXP and also for OS X.
Let's take the Euro Dell offer: Upping the RAM to 512Meg is +60,00 Euro. I also need a DVD/CD-RW Combo in order to make it equivalent to the Mac Mini (+50,00 Euro), I also need Firewire (+29,00REuro) for Mac Mini equivalence, and finally internal modem (+10,00 Euro) for mac Mini equivalence. After adding VAT, the configuration for the Dell becomes: 841,48 Euro.
Of course, the Mac Mini, needs to get some stuff too. Let's be fair and shop as much as possible in the Apple store (Europe) as I did for Dell. Upping the RAM +80,00 Euro, Mouse and Keyboard [Wired version] +56,00 Euro. Including VAT this comes up to: 647,00 Euro. We need a monitor. I can't get a 17" LCD monitor at Apple, so I need to shop somewhere else: A store 10 minutes away from here, has a 17" LCD for 205.95 Euro . Total for Mac Mini config: 852,95 Euro.
The Mac is a grand total of 11,44 Euro more expensive. You know as well as I do that I could have skimmed on the keyboard/mouse and buy something cheaper. What does this mean: Apple does compete with Dell in the very-low-price range.
Still, it's a sweet deal to get a machine as cheap as the Dell if you've got parts lying around. Slap a good OS on it (OpenBSD for example) and we get it rolling as a good server. Especially that OpenBSD will be perfectly happy with the base 256Meg RAM;-)
Have you got a pointer? Alone for the LCD monitor it would be worth it. An extra server plus a new monitor for me. For only 350$ (since I pay in Euro, it should be about 270Euro)
I never opened XBattery before.... I'm confused. Can you be more clear? So a file that has never been opened before is more dangerous that a freshly downloaded binary?
Okay, okay... I'm typing this on a Mac (iBook G3 to be precise, and very happy. Thank you very much). This machine is runnning 10.3.8 and yesterday I ran software called XBattery (My battery was behaving strangely). Did it ask me anything? No... Sorry, it didn't... At least I don't remember. So either the warning is very weak or there is no warning at all.
So, while many of your point are right... the OS doesn't ask anything... It executes.
Perhaps people that think that Microsoft makes good products? Managers, business people, the common housewife. Yeah, they all don't have a clue because they don't know that Microsoft is "teh suck". There is a world beyond slashdot, and in that world Microsoft is a household name and a respected company. Those people, the ones that are not on slashdot, outnumber us. They are the market, we are not.
When I met my girlfriend I showed her my iBook (amongst other things, but we're talking technology here), and she likes it. What did she have? A spyware infested Fujitsu Siemens with Windows XP. She wasn't very happy with her machine, even though it had cost over 2000€. I asked her: "Why didn't you buy a Mac?". The reply was simple: "I didn't know that they existed. All adverts here are for Windows machines, so I thought it was the right thing to do". That's how it is: Microsoft is well known, Apple less well known. On the MP3-player market that is less true, but Microsoft just wants to use it's brand name in its own advantage...
I still have mine...:-) Problem is: the flat cable between the screen and the unit broke and, while it still boots up there is no way to see what it does:-( Sad, I still can't throw it away...
I consider it more to be a PDA than a portable computer though.
Re:two things...
on
PSPCasting
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· Score: 2, Interesting
Well, it is a niche. A small one: people that produce their music aren't that common. Besides, people that produce music try to get professional grade stuff and MiniDisc is consumer grade. It's that simple. MiniDisc was thought as a backup for Audio CD's or mixing stuff. More convenient format (before MP3).
Besides, if my friend would have used a normal Data CD, like anyone would have, I could have copied it to MiniDisc without problems. Copying a MiniDisc itself has not much sense for music professionals, because it's not a master. I found that the DRM restrictions on MiniDisc were actually reasonable: one digtal copy. More than enough for *personal* use.
I don't care about Britney and Co. Other music gernes still produce CD's that I can write to MiniDisc.
My sister studies Audio-engineering. They are required to use MiniDisc for one reason: the DRM that comes with it. They are not allowed to use the recording material for their own uses, and thus the only way to take home their works is by MiniDisc. Listen: yes... copy no... Very reasonable.
What you describe is quite a niche problem. I have used MiniDisc for years and the *only* time it bit me was when a musician friend gave me a Audio-CD-R with a performance of his. I wanted to listen to it on my portable MiniDisc player since I didn't have a portable CD player anymore. Of course, it didn't want to copy such a Audio-CD-R to MiniDisc. (Allowing only "one digital copy") Apart from that: I only used MiniDisc to make mixes and to have a convenient format to carry my CD's around. (This was before portable MP3 players).
It just did exactly that... with the additional advantage of it being usable to record stuff on the go. (Which I never did, but I do know some people that used it to record lectures)
First, Theo and the other developers, although making good points, are being quite rude to employees.
Rude? After 4 months of waiting? I'd sure hell be rude too. Look, I once had the powersupply of an LCD monitor break after 2 weeks of usage. I returned it to the shop. I called them form time to time to hear if the powersupply was there yet (technically they should call me, but after a month you get suspicious). They always told me the same "Hasn't returned from Sony Brussels yet". After *six* months of waiting (I still can't believe I waited that long), I went to the shop, slammed my fist on the counter and yelled out loud that they are *NOW* going to give me my powersupply back because I was waiting for *SIX MONTHS*. Guess, how fast they were to give me a replacement powersupply by opening another box of an identical model LCD-screen. Oh, and I can assure you that I must have added some "Fucks" and "Shits" left and right in my rant.
Note that this was back in the day that a 15" LCD screen cost about 1200€. To this day, I can't understand why I waited *six months* before complaining loudly. The LCD screen is still in use on my primary desktop.
So, rudeness becomes very relative if you consider the time waited.
It's more like buying a Ferrari versus buying a Porsche. The Ferrari will outperform a Porsche of the same price. Difference is: maintenance costs of a Ferrari are insanely high and you're not sure the thing will start the day you need it. A Porsche on the other hand is a dependable machine that will start every day and do what you ask from it.
The mini is something like a Porsche: at least it will work when the latest Windows exploit ravages the x86 population (Ferraris)
Same price: different quality.
(Note to Ferrari fans: Ferrari quality may have changed by now. I'm just using the classic prejudices against the brand)
New? With warranty and an OS that works out of the box? After all, we don't want to spend much time to make an old machine run - it pushes up the price. It's only free if your time is free. The link describes my misadventures of installing Linux on a modern-day machine.
If the Mini had been out, I would have bought a Mini for that guy (machine in above link was not for me). Alas, I already had ordered the parts.
With an Apple you also have to consider the whole package. Just comparing the hardware (which in quality is much better than Dell, HP, etc...) is being blind to the software side of things.
Depends how you look at it. Considering you get a quality OS instead of a carp one, it might even be under-priced.
As for power: do you really need it for Joe User functions? I can assure you that my mom nor my girlfriend need a P-IV 3.0GHz with Hyperthreading. The equivalent of a P-III is going to be more than enough for them.
Uhm... A consumer PC goes between 800€ and 1000€ here. That's with monitor and keyboard/mouse. A Mac mini costs about 500€, a keyboard 12€ and a mouse 25€. A 17" Acer TFT costs 260€. Total is: 797€... not much difference between that and a normal x86 consumer PC.
Yeah, indeed a G4 probably can't keep up with a P-IV or an AMD64... *but* to the normal consumer power doesn't matter anymore.
Interesting? No.... Logical, yes. Multinational companies would just use accounting tricks to divert all revenue to other divisons, making the revenue of the European divsion zero. 5% of zero is... Yup, you got it.
That's the reason: avoid accounting tricks...
before or after they pay US tazes?
Doesn't matter: I don't think Microsoft even pays taxes in the US, but that's other accounting tactics that are at play.
I already donate yearly... Every november I buy the latest CD and substract the price from 100Euro. That part is simply donated. It's not much, I know, but I'm just an individual. Yes, and ever for such small amounts you make it to the donation page. Cool, eh? (This also means your name is printed on the sleeve of the CD)
I'll make an exceptional donation... I use OpenBSD on so many systems (now even on a SMP systen... yay!) that I owe Theo and Co.
Slashdot Mirror
Lucky you: my current finances don't allow it. Besides, for now I'm happy with my current SMP system. I'll only be screwed when 32-bit OSes die.
You will notice that I didn't claim that. Overall, what you explain is what I remeber from my classes too.
My main point was that anybody who has used SMP systems knows that they perform better in a multithreaded and/or multitasking environment. I have an AMD Athlon MP system as my main system. The CPU's aren't the newest ones (about two years old), but I have used AMD Athlon XP systems that are faster (accoring to their rating) but feel less responsive. My system is probably slower overall (266Mhz FSB isn't helping there), but it feels faster. Subjective? Probably...
(Dual core is the same as an SMP system, except the cores can communicate a bit faster with each other)
Anyways: I found a similar offer. 328,49 Euro , but that's without a monitor. Add, a 17" flatpanel and we're at the price of 661,19 Euro. A Mac mini indeed. Still, the question is more: does this Dell offer as much value as a Mac mini? That's something one can only tell when one knows what the end-user wants.
Personally, I would like neither machine: 256Meg RAM doesn't cut it. One needs at least 512Meg for WinXP and also for OS X.
Let's take the Euro Dell offer: Upping the RAM to 512Meg is +60,00 Euro. I also need a DVD/CD-RW Combo in order to make it equivalent to the Mac Mini (+50,00 Euro), I also need Firewire (+29,00REuro) for Mac Mini equivalence, and finally internal modem (+10,00 Euro) for mac Mini equivalence. After adding VAT, the configuration for the Dell becomes: 841,48 Euro.
Of course, the Mac Mini, needs to get some stuff too. Let's be fair and shop as much as possible in the Apple store (Europe) as I did for Dell. Upping the RAM +80,00 Euro, Mouse and Keyboard [Wired version] +56,00 Euro. Including VAT this comes up to: 647,00 Euro. We need a monitor. I can't get a 17" LCD monitor at Apple, so I need to shop somewhere else: A store 10 minutes away from here, has a 17" LCD for 205.95 Euro . Total for Mac Mini config: 852,95 Euro.
The Mac is a grand total of 11,44 Euro more expensive. You know as well as I do that I could have skimmed on the keyboard/mouse and buy something cheaper. What does this mean: Apple does compete with Dell in the very-low-price range.
Still, it's a sweet deal to get a machine as cheap as the Dell if you've got parts lying around. Slap a good OS on it (OpenBSD for example) and we get it rolling as a good server. Especially that OpenBSD will be perfectly happy with the base 256Meg RAM ;-)
Have you got a pointer? Alone for the LCD monitor it would be worth it. An extra server plus a new monitor for me. For only 350$ (since I pay in Euro, it should be about 270Euro)
Shouldn't that be a coldspot, then?
I never opened XBattery before.... I'm confused. Can you be more clear? So a file that has never been opened before is more dangerous that a freshly downloaded binary?
Bah... Just download NeoOffice and say no to Microsoft. (Not affiliated, just a happy "customer")
So, while many of your point are right... the OS doesn't ask anything... It executes.
Perhaps people that think that Microsoft makes good products? Managers, business people, the common housewife. Yeah, they all don't have a clue because they don't know that Microsoft is "teh suck". There is a world beyond slashdot, and in that world Microsoft is a household name and a respected company. Those people, the ones that are not on slashdot, outnumber us. They are the market, we are not.
When I met my girlfriend I showed her my iBook (amongst other things, but we're talking technology here), and she likes it. What did she have? A spyware infested Fujitsu Siemens with Windows XP. She wasn't very happy with her machine, even though it had cost over 2000€. I asked her: "Why didn't you buy a Mac?". The reply was simple: "I didn't know that they existed. All adverts here are for Windows machines, so I thought it was the right thing to do". That's how it is: Microsoft is well known, Apple less well known. On the MP3-player market that is less true, but Microsoft just wants to use it's brand name in its own advantage...
I consider it more to be a PDA than a portable computer though.
Of course I meant: "You're confusing that with Windows holes".
Anyways, good Apple joke... Liked it.
You're confusing that with Windows worms ;-))
Besides, if my friend would have used a normal Data CD, like anyone would have, I could have copied it to MiniDisc without problems. Copying a MiniDisc itself has not much sense for music professionals, because it's not a master. I found that the DRM restrictions on MiniDisc were actually reasonable: one digtal copy. More than enough for *personal* use.
I don't care about Britney and Co. Other music gernes still produce CD's that I can write to MiniDisc.
My sister studies Audio-engineering. They are required to use MiniDisc for one reason: the DRM that comes with it. They are not allowed to use the recording material for their own uses, and thus the only way to take home their works is by MiniDisc. Listen: yes... copy no... Very reasonable.
It just did exactly that... with the additional advantage of it being usable to record stuff on the go. (Which I never did, but I do know some people that used it to record lectures)
Rude? After 4 months of waiting? I'd sure hell be rude too. Look, I once had the powersupply of an LCD monitor break after 2 weeks of usage. I returned it to the shop. I called them form time to time to hear if the powersupply was there yet (technically they should call me, but after a month you get suspicious). They always told me the same "Hasn't returned from Sony Brussels yet". After *six* months of waiting (I still can't believe I waited that long), I went to the shop, slammed my fist on the counter and yelled out loud that they are *NOW* going to give me my powersupply back because I was waiting for *SIX MONTHS*. Guess, how fast they were to give me a replacement powersupply by opening another box of an identical model LCD-screen. Oh, and I can assure you that I must have added some "Fucks" and "Shits" left and right in my rant.
Note that this was back in the day that a 15" LCD screen cost about 1200€. To this day, I can't understand why I waited *six months* before complaining loudly. The LCD screen is still in use on my primary desktop.
So, rudeness becomes very relative if you consider the time waited.
The mini is something like a Porsche: at least it will work when the latest Windows exploit ravages the x86 population (Ferraris)
Same price: different quality.
(Note to Ferrari fans: Ferrari quality may have changed by now. I'm just using the classic prejudices against the brand)
If the Mini had been out, I would have bought a Mini for that guy (machine in above link was not for me). Alas, I already had ordered the parts.
With an Apple you also have to consider the whole package. Just comparing the hardware (which in quality is much better than Dell, HP, etc...) is being blind to the software side of things.
Depends how you look at it. Considering you get a quality OS instead of a carp one, it might even be under-priced.
As for power: do you really need it for Joe User functions? I can assure you that my mom nor my girlfriend need a P-IV 3.0GHz with Hyperthreading. The equivalent of a P-III is going to be more than enough for them.
Yeah, indeed a G4 probably can't keep up with a P-IV or an AMD64... *but* to the normal consumer power doesn't matter anymore.
That's the reason: avoid accounting tricks...
before or after they pay US tazes?
Doesn't matter: I don't think Microsoft even pays taxes in the US, but that's other accounting tactics that are at play.
Perhaps because it would have been a dupe? :-)
For a change the mysterious future worked!
I'll make an exceptional donation... I use OpenBSD on so many systems (now even on a SMP systen... yay!) that I owe Theo and Co.
Sorry, but they stopped making them in 2003.