This episode starkly highlights one of the biggest flaws with Nintendo's concept for the Wii (even bigger than the name), namely that if you base your console heavily on the controller, you're screwed if reasonable equivalents of said controller turns out to be available for your competitors' machines.
Except that it's not a reasonable equivalent. It's a joke.
Nintendo has utterly nothing to worry about. They must have laughed all the way to the bank after Sony's presentation. What a letdown.
I don't know any people who accepts any crap being thrown at them. Be it hardware issues or software. I don't really know what you're trying to say with this point.
I'll try to explain what I'm trying to say: In my experience, PC users will simply put up with and accept most problems their computer have, while Mac users will whine about every little imperfection.
I mentioned some examples of this. Somebody I know has a IBM laptop whose escape key fell off after less than a year. He didn't do anything about it, after all, it still works. At my workplace, somebody's Dell bluescreened regularly about twice a week. He didn't do anything about it for half a year, then replaced a few hardware parts and when that didn't help, he simply had a new Dell ordered to replace the crashing machine. A former girlfriend of mine simply did not start her PC for a few months after she caught a virus and didn't know what to do about it. A friend's dad has three external CD burners at home, none of them connected to his PC. He tried to install them, and when one didn't work, he simply bought the next one. He has wireless internet, but when he couldn't get it to work with a Nintendo DS, he simply bought one of Nintendo's USB thingies instead. Another former girlfriend has an IBM laptop whose battery only lasted for about ten minutes after half a year of usage. Did she complain to IBM? Nah, she simply doesn't use it unplugged anymore. She bought a bluetooth USB stick, and when it didn't work after a few tries, she put it in a drawer never to be seen again. I had to install her wifi card after she wasn't able to do it for a few months and finally simply stopped trying. Most PC users don't actually seem to expect their stuff to work, and they aren't surprised or annoyed if it doesn't.
Of course, this is just my own experience. I'm simply saying that in my experience, most PC users would be better off if they expected a little more of their computers. Reading online blogs about Macs doesn't really give you a good impression of the quality of Apple's products because Mac users will complain about every little imperfection.
So does that mean flickering LCDs (should be fixed in revision D), whining (should be fixed in revision D too), overheating (was reported to be fixed in revision D -- however people still reported issues) and airport wi-fi issues (which also were reported to be fixed in revision D -- However some people still report issues) and the battery life in most cases doesn't reach more than 2 hours and 30 minutes in my expirence
This is precisely what I'm talking about. I have no flickering, no whining, no overheating, no airport issues and it runs definitely more than 150 minutes on battery power. Yet, judging by the Internet buzz, you'd expect my MacBook to have blown up by now. I've owned Apple Powerbooks since the Pismo. During these years, I've owned about 6 Powerbooks, at least half of them "first versions". I've never had a problem with any one of them. Many of my friends have Macs. Only two had ever had to send theirs in. Both destroyed them while skateboarding and falling on their bags.
It's like I said: Mac users expect perfection, and if they don't get it, they whine. No Apple notebook has ever "burst into flames", yet Apple still gets flack for their battery problem. Dell had much more serious issues with actual batteries starting to burn, yet nobody even talks about it.
Apple gets a bad rap on the Internet, and it's not because the products are bad. It's because the customers expect perfection. I'm not blaming them either, they have every right to expect it and I'm surprised that PC users accept all the crap that's thrown at them. I'm just pointing this out.
I enjoy the fact that OSX has (...) BASH (...) although I hate their pricing and closed machine mentality--though that may change with x86 architecture.
If you mean that their pricing could change with the switch to Intel-Chips: Yeah, it has changed. Since the Intel chips cost about twice as much as the G4s, the Mac mini and MacBook Pro prices have effectively gone up. Still competitive with comparable PC makers, though.
If you mean that the "closed machine mentality" could change: Uhm, what closed-machine mentality? Have you used a pro-level Mac made during the last decade?
I'm a Mac user. I've hardly ever been 100% happy with a PowerBook I bought. Sometimes the hinge feels too soft. Sometimes I don't like the touch of the keys. Sometimes it makes whiny sounds.
I used to think that Macs were not really well built, but I bought them anyway because I prefer Mac OS to Windows.
However, I've had to work with several different PC notebooks (IBM (when they still had a PC business), Dell, Sony and others), and I've figured something out: They're way worse than Macs. It's just that PC users don't care. The hinge on your notebook isn't properly attached to the screen? Well, it works, right? A key constantly falls off? Well, you can put it back on, right?
I've yet to see a PC notebook which is made as well as my MacBook Pro.
So the problem is not that Apple's computers are crappy. PCs are even crappier, it's just that Mac users are whiny bitches (and I'm one of them, too, so don't flame me for that) while PC users simply don't care and don't expect any better.
media attention can be good if it's positive. but not if it's negative
Wrong. Bad media attention is better than no media attention. People will sooner trust a brand with a bad reputation than a brand they know nothing about.
Not that it matters. The media isn't reporting badly on the Wii. Most reports on the Wii have either been positive or funny. Only hardcore gamers seem to be genuinely upset. And they're not Nintendo's core audience anyway.
the fact that they have to "defend" the name and spend time explaining the meaning behind it shows that the name is bad.
That's simply not true. If you want names that are self-explanatory, you end up with crap like "Microsoft". Almost no company or brand names are self-explanatory. iPod? Walkman? Centrino? Xbox? International Business Machines actually changed their name to something less obvious and doesn't use the obvious, non-abbreviated version of their name. Apple ain't very obvious, either.
Besides, Wii gave Nintendo huge amounts of media presence where they can make the case for their new console. Seems like so far, the new name is working out spectacularly well for them.
Your advice (don't get first versions of new hardware) is sound, but I don't hear any kind of whine from my MacBook. I got my MacBook Pro last week, and so far, I'm extremely happy with it. The only thing slightly annoying is that some applications have crashed on me once or twice, probably because they're fresh ports to the Intel chip.
Dvorak is at least able to turn his idiocy into articles, however stupid they end up being. macosrumors doesn't even do that. They simply print made-up lies.
I see tons of posts (actually, just about all of them) explaining what a stupid name "Wii" is. You're right, it is stupid, but it's perfect for what Nintendo intends to do. Remember, this is supposed to be the console that everyone can play. Your mom probably doesn't want to play with an "Xbox" or a "PlayStation" or a "Megadrive" or whatever other hardcore gamer name the two remaining console manufacturers come up.
But they will play with a "We".
It's a name that has no real meaning. Nintendo can fill it with whatever meaning they want to. It's just like the iPod. "iPod" is a really, really stupid name, but Apple was able to give it meaning, and now it stands for something. Soon, Wii will stand for something, too, and it won't be "hardcore teenie fanboy weapon pr0n".
And it's the amoral, reletivistic beliefs of people like you who screw this world up. You are one really sick fuck
Sure, and you're the shining example we all should be following. That's why you aren't trolling./, swearing at people you've never seen simply because they have an opinion different from yours.
"I must respect a man who kidnaps young girls, rapes them, beats them, and then kills them for sport because he is in a minority."
Actually, no, it is nothing at all like this. If a homosexual fucks his homosexual friend, there's no victim. If a man rapes a girl, there is. If you can't see that difference, you're just weird.
That is most certainly not how modern democracies like Switzerland (which actually has public votes on issues and not only elections) interpret the word.
A democracy is only a "tyranny of the majority" if you interpret a democracy to be nothing else but governing by voting. There is absolutly no democracy which behaves like that.
Slashdot Mirror
yes.
On a PowerMac, it's about as easy as on any given PC. Same components, too.
Evil isn't a superlative :-P
Except that it's not a reasonable equivalent. It's a joke.
Nintendo has utterly nothing to worry about. They must have laughed all the way to the bank after Sony's presentation. What a letdown.
I'll try to explain what I'm trying to say: In my experience, PC users will simply put up with and accept most problems their computer have, while Mac users will whine about every little imperfection.
I mentioned some examples of this. Somebody I know has a IBM laptop whose escape key fell off after less than a year. He didn't do anything about it, after all, it still works. At my workplace, somebody's Dell bluescreened regularly about twice a week. He didn't do anything about it for half a year, then replaced a few hardware parts and when that didn't help, he simply had a new Dell ordered to replace the crashing machine. A former girlfriend of mine simply did not start her PC for a few months after she caught a virus and didn't know what to do about it. A friend's dad has three external CD burners at home, none of them connected to his PC. He tried to install them, and when one didn't work, he simply bought the next one. He has wireless internet, but when he couldn't get it to work with a Nintendo DS, he simply bought one of Nintendo's USB thingies instead. Another former girlfriend has an IBM laptop whose battery only lasted for about ten minutes after half a year of usage. Did she complain to IBM? Nah, she simply doesn't use it unplugged anymore. She bought a bluetooth USB stick, and when it didn't work after a few tries, she put it in a drawer never to be seen again. I had to install her wifi card after she wasn't able to do it for a few months and finally simply stopped trying. Most PC users don't actually seem to expect their stuff to work, and they aren't surprised or annoyed if it doesn't.
Mac users, on the other hand, write pages upon pages of blog entries because their Macs make an almost inaudible sound when the energy consumption of their Macs changes, they scream bloody murder if their tranparent Cubes aren't perfectly clear and they generally whine about whatever little problem they can find.
Of course, this is just my own experience. I'm simply saying that in my experience, most PC users would be better off if they expected a little more of their computers. Reading online blogs about Macs doesn't really give you a good impression of the quality of Apple's products because Mac users will complain about every little imperfection.
This is precisely what I'm talking about. I have no flickering, no whining, no overheating, no airport issues and it runs definitely more than 150 minutes on battery power. Yet, judging by the Internet buzz, you'd expect my MacBook to have blown up by now. I've owned Apple Powerbooks since the Pismo. During these years, I've owned about 6 Powerbooks, at least half of them "first versions". I've never had a problem with any one of them. Many of my friends have Macs. Only two had ever had to send theirs in. Both destroyed them while skateboarding and falling on their bags.
It's like I said: Mac users expect perfection, and if they don't get it, they whine. No Apple notebook has ever "burst into flames", yet Apple still gets flack for their battery problem. Dell had much more serious issues with actual batteries starting to burn, yet nobody even talks about it.
Apple gets a bad rap on the Internet, and it's not because the products are bad. It's because the customers expect perfection. I'm not blaming them either, they have every right to expect it and I'm surprised that PC users accept all the crap that's thrown at them. I'm just pointing this out.
...whereas most PC users are stupid enough to think that using a complicated computer somehow makes you the smart ones, huh? :-)
This is not really on topic, but anway...
If you mean that their pricing could change with the switch to Intel-Chips: Yeah, it has changed. Since the Intel chips cost about twice as much as the G4s, the Mac mini and MacBook Pro prices have effectively gone up. Still competitive with comparable PC makers, though.
If you mean that the "closed machine mentality" could change: Uhm, what closed-machine mentality? Have you used a pro-level Mac made during the last decade?
Neither do I. But then again, my personal computer is a MacBook Pro.
No laptop is "like armor." Not even special rugged ones. When designing a laptop, you always have to make some kinds of compromises.
I'm a Mac user. I've hardly ever been 100% happy with a PowerBook I bought. Sometimes the hinge feels too soft. Sometimes I don't like the touch of the keys. Sometimes it makes whiny sounds.
I used to think that Macs were not really well built, but I bought them anyway because I prefer Mac OS to Windows.
However, I've had to work with several different PC notebooks (IBM (when they still had a PC business), Dell, Sony and others), and I've figured something out: They're way worse than Macs. It's just that PC users don't care. The hinge on your notebook isn't properly attached to the screen? Well, it works, right? A key constantly falls off? Well, you can put it back on, right?
I've yet to see a PC notebook which is made as well as my MacBook Pro.
So the problem is not that Apple's computers are crappy. PCs are even crappier, it's just that Mac users are whiny bitches (and I'm one of them, too, so don't flame me for that) while PC users simply don't care and don't expect any better.
Uhm, did you read my post? It was about whether you had to explain the name. Not whether it had negative connotations.
"western connotations"? Do you realize that not all "western countries" are english speaking?
And even in english countries most people don't associate "we" with piss.
Wrong. Bad media attention is better than no media attention. People will sooner trust a brand with a bad reputation than a brand they know nothing about.
Not that it matters. The media isn't reporting badly on the Wii. Most reports on the Wii have either been positive or funny. Only hardcore gamers seem to be genuinely upset. And they're not Nintendo's core audience anyway.
That's simply not true. If you want names that are self-explanatory, you end up with crap like "Microsoft". Almost no company or brand names are self-explanatory. iPod? Walkman? Centrino? Xbox? International Business Machines actually changed their name to something less obvious and doesn't use the obvious, non-abbreviated version of their name. Apple ain't very obvious, either.
Besides, Wii gave Nintendo huge amounts of media presence where they can make the case for their new console. Seems like so far, the new name is working out spectacularly well for them.
This may surprise you, but people in other countries actually learn and regularly speak languages other than their own, especially english. :-)
I'd buy a DS Lite even if it cost twice as much as the PSP. It's quite simply the better console, all things considered.
Your advice (don't get first versions of new hardware) is sound, but I don't hear any kind of whine from my MacBook. I got my MacBook Pro last week, and so far, I'm extremely happy with it. The only thing slightly annoying is that some applications have crashed on me once or twice, probably because they're fresh ports to the Intel chip.
Dvorak is at least able to turn his idiocy into articles, however stupid they end up being. macosrumors doesn't even do that. They simply print made-up lies.
He's just making up crap. The site is only right by accident. Why the hell does /. link to that?
Considering the english spelling inconsistencies, that's pretty hard anyway if you don't use existing words :-)
It's pronounced "We".
I see tons of posts (actually, just about all of them) explaining what a stupid name "Wii" is. You're right, it is stupid, but it's perfect for what Nintendo intends to do. Remember, this is supposed to be the console that everyone can play. Your mom probably doesn't want to play with an "Xbox" or a "PlayStation" or a "Megadrive" or whatever other hardcore gamer name the two remaining console manufacturers come up.
But they will play with a "We".
It's a name that has no real meaning. Nintendo can fill it with whatever meaning they want to. It's just like the iPod. "iPod" is a really, really stupid name, but Apple was able to give it meaning, and now it stands for something. Soon, Wii will stand for something, too, and it won't be "hardcore teenie fanboy weapon pr0n".
Really, do I have to explain to you how studies and control groups work? Is this a serious question or are you just baiting me?
Sure, and you're the shining example we all should be following. That's why you aren't trolling ./, swearing at people you've never seen simply because they have an opinion different from yours.
As long as you don't harm anyone, you can be a pedophile all day long, thank you very much.
Actually, no, it is nothing at all like this. If a homosexual fucks his homosexual friend, there's no victim. If a man rapes a girl, there is. If you can't see that difference, you're just weird.
That is most certainly not how modern democracies like Switzerland (which actually has public votes on issues and not only elections) interpret the word.
A democracy is only a "tyranny of the majority" if you interpret a democracy to be nothing else but governing by voting. There is absolutly no democracy which behaves like that.