Long ago, when Apple's retail channel partners were much more important than they are now (what with the Apple retail stores and online store being so successful), there was concern among them that Apple would be able to buy upgrade parts in bulk, get lower prices, and undercut the pricing that the resellers offered, thus negatively impacting the resllers' business.
Apple made an agreement not to compete with its resellers on pricing of these upgrade items. This agreement is still in place, which is why the pricing on upgrades purchased directly from Apple are so high. The same is true of service parts; replacement hard drives and RAM are wildly expensive when purchased through Apple for repair purposes.
I am fairly certain this agreement affected other parts such as video cards, logic boards, and power supplies, which is why getting Macs repaired can be so bloody expensive -- Apple is the only real source for all of these proprietary parts.
I know all this because I work at an Apple reseller, as a technician. I deal with this every day.
Yeah, I noticed the same thing. He's writing for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which is the same outfit that recently made those TV commercials saying global warming is fake. Check out CEI here:
Amazing, kdawson. You found the AP article, read that it mentioned Bush's failed attempt to ride it, and even took the time to write a little note about it before posting it here on Slashdot's front page. But OF COURSE the AP story doesn't speculate whether the cause was the software glitch behind the current recall:
The most famous tumble from a Segway came in 2003, when President Bush tried one out at his family's estate in Maine. The device went down on his first attempt, but Bush stayed on his feet with an awkward hop over the scooter. However, that incident had a different cause: Bush had not turned on the Segway.
You were so close! If you'd just read that one last sentence, I wouldn't have had to waste my time writing a post that will probably never even be read by anyone. Better luck next time.
PS: Bush is still a moron for not making sure the Segway was on first.
The TiVo interface? It's impressive for a consumer electronics product, but nothing special by Apple standards. Presumably, Apple would want to roll their own, as they did for iPod.
Apple didn't roll the iPod interface entirely on their own. The first iPods had, in the About section, a mention of a company called Pixo. Pixo was developing an OS for mobile phones or some such thing, and Apple came along and had them retool it for use on the iPod. Since then Apple has brought iPod OS development in-house, but it's important to remember where it started.
That being said, Apple didn't consume Pixo, just one of their products and some of their employees. And TiVo is much, much bigger than Pixo in terms of company size and brand recognition.
One of my friends recently moved into a brand-new, massive condo development. The condos themselves are pretty big, but everything is really crammed in. In the first days of moving in, he set up his WAP with the SSID of "parking sucks". A few days later, another network popped up called "NO_KIDDING".
I was there at the 2004 San Diego ComicCon when they showed the original trailer/preview and had the panel discussion about it. To be honest, the only reason I went to see it was because Jessica Alba was going to be there in person. I had never heard of Frank Miller or Sin City. But what I saw in the original trailer blew me away. I have been waiting and waiting since then (so for about 7 months) and am really excited that a trailer has been released for all the world to see. Even more exciting is that a release date has been announced (4/1/05)! WOO WOO!
I went to the Comic-Con today for the sole purpose of seeing the Sin City panel... for the sole purpose of seeing Jessica Alba in person. (Hey, can you really blame me? =)
Anyway, the Sin City panel was to take place immediately after the Star Wars thing (in the same hall). So I went in early and sat in on the last half hour of the Star Wars bit. This turned out to be just in time to see them show some preview stuff, and announce the name. Then Hayden came out, and there were questions from the audience. It was a very cool thing to be there for.
On another note, Sin City (based on the graphic novels by Frank Miller) looks as though it is going to be one of THE BEST movies of next year. Director Robert Rodriguez insisted on doing a translation of the stories (instead of an adaptation), and the preview they showed was amazing (it should be released online in about 3 weeks).
And yes, Jessica Alba was unbelievably stunning, drop-dead gorgeous, and every other synonym for beautiful that there is. I don't care what anyone says, she is the most perfect female specimen possible. =D
I know that 10.1 and Jaguar had the Dorfmeister remix of Sofa Rockers, by the Sofa Surfers, from the K&D Sessions album. Now I can finally find out what the music is that plays after Panther installs and it goes to the registration screen!
Anyone else notice that if you buy the hamster case, you get 3.14159 ThinkGeek points? Or negative points for the PC EZ-Bake 5.25" thingamajig?
Actually, I'm going to answer that. Yes, someone noticed that, and they probably already posted it, but I'm too damned lazy to read all the preceding comments and find it. So there.
Apparently, every XBox 2 will have a tiny human inside. This will give the X2 far superior natural language handling capabilities. As an even greater benefit, millions of lonely dorks all over the country will finally be able to strike up friendships with their game console!
Robonaut + Segway = Really, really cool! And in response to the question I know will be asked (what's with those huge braces in all the photos), the reason those are there is this: just in case, for some reason, the thing falls down, they don't want it to hit the ground. The Segway RMP part is worth about $5000, but the Robonaut torso is worth either $250,000 or $750,000 (I can't remember which), and it banging into the ground would be a very bad thing.
I have family photos with him back from the early 80s. I was just a tot when he and aunt Barb divorced, so I don't remember him. My mom has told me that I called him Uncle A-O (since my name is also Adam).
But a few of my extended family members still have Osborne 1s in their basements/attics/garages. I played with one last year at a family reunion. The article is correct, it's almost exactly like a portable sewing machine.
A few years ago, I was working in a dinky little Mac repair shop. I was diagnosing a Power Mac 7600 and determined that it needed a power supply. Customer approved it, we ordered it, I installed it. Pushed power, nothing happened.
Note: Most power supplies in desktop Macs are switchable between 115 and 230 volts. For some unknown reason, Apple *always* shipped out power supplies preset to 230.
So to make a long story short, I forgot to switch it to 115 before trying to power it on. You'd think that it would just not work, and after switching it to 115 the machine would work fine, but not the case. It was hosed, and needed a new logic board.
At the time, everyone at my work was really into Myth 2. Anyone who has played Myth 2 knows about the journeymen, and how they always have long, odd names. From that day forth, my name was no longer Adam. It was "Six Board Logic Frying."
Or if you don't want to build a plywood case, you can always go for one of these things:
http://www.crywolfstore.com/cms/?action=BrowseCa te gory&category=Silencer
"The CoolMac Silencer uses heat pipe and air flow technologies to provide silent cooling while eliminating the need for external fans. The CoolMac Silencer reduces the noise of a Power Mac G4 from 65 dB to 37 dB. For comparative purposes, an empty 70 square-foot office with a computer, heat or air conditioning, and lights on typically emits 40 dB. What's more, the cabinet is airtight to prevent dust and dirt from contaminating the components."
There are several different models, including some that have built-in racks for Xserves (but you could put any rackable item in there).
They work really well. We have an Xserve in one and I didn't realize it was on until I sat on it and felt the vibration. =P
First of all, every Cube came with either a Rage 128 Pro (standard) or a Radeon (build-to-order only) AGP video card. They all have both VGA and ADC, although you can only use one at a time.
Included with every Cube was a VGA-VGA, M-F extension cable with one end bent at 90 degrees. Since the VGA port on the video card is pointed straight down (and is only about 3 inches from the surface of the table), and most standard VGA cables aren't hinged, they'd have to be bent at a wicked angle or they would keep the cube tipped forward. Hence, the VGA-VGA extension cable with a 90 degree bend in near one end. On ADC displays the connector can bend to 90 degrees, so no adapter is necessary.
Also, the 17" iMac isn't the only one to offer a DVD-R drive. There are three configurations of 15" flat-panel iMacs, and the high-end one has a DVD-R drive.
Also, a child's sense of time is really out of whack - remember how long summer seemed to be?
As I have gotten older, I have noticed that days, weeks and months all seem shorter and shorter. However, I don't think it's "out of whack" at all. I have a theory about this (and I'm pretty sure I didn't just hear it somewhere.) It's all about frame of reference:
Assume you were born at the very end of summer. When you turn 1, your first summer has just ended. That summer was 25% of your total life up to that point. When you turn 10, another summer has just ended. That summer was 2.5% of your life. When you turn 20, the preceding summer was only 1.25% of your life. When you turn 40, the summer that just ended was only 0.75% of your whole life up to that point.
Based upon this, we can see that summer when you're 10 seems four times longer than summer when you're 40.
As time goes by and you get older and older, any given period of time is a smaller percentage of your life (to that point) than any equal-length period of time that came before it. Your frame of reference is the only tool you have to judge how long a summer should be, how long it should "feel". Therefore, as you age, summers seem shorter, days go faster, etc.
I don't know if I explained it very well, but it makes sense to me.
Will we have massive Star War fans calling in sick everyday in attempts to become a jedi?
A massive Star Wars fan doesn't have to call in sick. He already "works from home" and is, in all probability, a shut-in.
Homer: "Vent radioactive gas?" [types] Y E S.
"Sound alertness horn?" Y E S. [it sounds in the distance]
"Decalcify calcium ducts?" Well, give me a Y, give me a...Hey!
All I have to type is Y. [to Marge] Hey, Miss Doesn't-find-me-
attractive-sexually-anymore: I just tripled my productivity! Marge: Good. Good for you. Homer: Y. Y. Let's see, so many letters to choose from. I'll pick Y!
Y. Y. [sees SLH] Wha -- what the heck are you doing over there?
[Pushes SLH down to the floor.]
There, you found the floor. SLH: Arf! Homer: Y, Y, Y. Y. Y. Marge: I'm going out, I run errands during the day. Homer: Could you pick me up a lemonade and a beer?
[The door slams.]
Slashdot Mirror
Long ago, when Apple's retail channel partners were much more important than they are now (what with the Apple retail stores and online store being so successful), there was concern among them that Apple would be able to buy upgrade parts in bulk, get lower prices, and undercut the pricing that the resellers offered, thus negatively impacting the resllers' business.
Apple made an agreement not to compete with its resellers on pricing of these upgrade items. This agreement is still in place, which is why the pricing on upgrades purchased directly from Apple are so high. The same is true of service parts; replacement hard drives and RAM are wildly expensive when purchased through Apple for repair purposes.
I am fairly certain this agreement affected other parts such as video cards, logic boards, and power supplies, which is why getting Macs repaired can be so bloody expensive -- Apple is the only real source for all of these proprietary parts.
I know all this because I work at an Apple reseller, as a technician. I deal with this every day.
Yeah, I noticed the same thing. He's writing for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which is the same outfit that recently made those TV commercials saying global warming is fake. Check out CEI here:
s e_Institute
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competitive_Enterpri
Mr. Spleen
You were so close! If you'd just read that one last sentence, I wouldn't have had to waste my time writing a post that will probably never even be read by anyone. Better luck next time.
PS: Bush is still a moron for not making sure the Segway was on first.
Apple didn't roll the iPod interface entirely on their own. The first iPods had, in the About section, a mention of a company called Pixo. Pixo was developing an OS for mobile phones or some such thing, and Apple came along and had them retool it for use on the iPod. Since then Apple has brought iPod OS development in-house, but it's important to remember where it started.
That being said, Apple didn't consume Pixo, just one of their products and some of their employees. And TiVo is much, much bigger than Pixo in terms of company size and brand recognition.
Here's where I go some of the info for this post: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004
Mr. Spleen
From the article: ... My girlfriend probably didn't want a call at midnight just so I could ask her "Guess what I'm calling from?"
Girlfriend? No way. Definitely a hoax.
Mr. Spleen
One of my friends recently moved into a brand-new, massive condo development. The condos themselves are pretty big, but everything is really crammed in. In the first days of moving in, he set up his WAP with the SSID of "parking sucks". A few days later, another network popped up called "NO_KIDDING".
Mr. Spleen
I was there at the 2004 San Diego ComicCon when they showed the original trailer/preview and had the panel discussion about it. To be honest, the only reason I went to see it was because Jessica Alba was going to be there in person. I had never heard of Frank Miller or Sin City. But what I saw in the original trailer blew me away. I have been waiting and waiting since then (so for about 7 months) and am really excited that a trailer has been released for all the world to see. Even more exciting is that a release date has been announced (4/1/05)! WOO WOO!
Mr. Spleen
...(2) creating obstacles on a public roadway,...
Snake: [chuckling] Huh ho! Okay! Baldy-boy hits wire, head comes off, Li'l Bandit rolls to a gentle stop. Everybody wins! [twangs wire]
http://www.snpp.com/episodes/scg-9.txt
Mr. Spleen
I went to the Comic-Con today for the sole purpose of seeing the Sin City panel... for the sole purpose of seeing Jessica Alba in person. (Hey, can you really blame me? =)
Anyway, the Sin City panel was to take place immediately after the Star Wars thing (in the same hall). So I went in early and sat in on the last half hour of the Star Wars bit. This turned out to be just in time to see them show some preview stuff, and announce the name. Then Hayden came out, and there were questions from the audience. It was a very cool thing to be there for.
On another note, Sin City (based on the graphic novels by Frank Miller) looks as though it is going to be one of THE BEST movies of next year. Director Robert Rodriguez insisted on doing a translation of the stories (instead of an adaptation), and the preview they showed was amazing (it should be released online in about 3 weeks).
And yes, Jessica Alba was unbelievably stunning, drop-dead gorgeous, and every other synonym for beautiful that there is. I don't care what anyone says, she is the most perfect female specimen possible. =D
Mr. Spleen
Hmm... Apple sells 16 times more music than OD2, and the iPod Mini holds 16 times more music than 256MB flash players.
Coincidence? I thi...eh, probably. I forget where I was going with that.
I know that 10.1 and Jaguar had the Dorfmeister remix of Sofa Rockers, by the Sofa Surfers, from the K&D Sessions album. Now I can finally find out what the music is that plays after Panther installs and it goes to the registration screen!
Oh, wait, who cares.
Mr. Spleen
Anyone else notice that if you buy the hamster case, you get 3.14159 ThinkGeek points? Or negative points for the PC EZ-Bake 5.25" thingamajig?
Actually, I'm going to answer that. Yes, someone noticed that, and they probably already posted it, but I'm too damned lazy to read all the preceding comments and find it. So there.
Mr. Spleen
Apparently, every XBox 2 will have a tiny human inside. This will give the X2 far superior natural language handling capabilities. As an even greater benefit, millions of lonely dorks all over the country will finally be able to strike up friendships with their game console!
I know I can hardly wait!
Mr. Spleen
As I've said before, this is all part of DARPA's Segway RMP project, which is very cool.
http://www.darpa.mil/ipto/programs/mars/rmp.htm
Mr. Spleen
http://robonaut.jsc.nasa.gov/status/Sep_Robonaut_S tatus_03.htm
Robonaut + Segway = Really, really cool! And in response to the question I know will be asked (what's with those huge braces in all the photos), the reason those are there is this: just in case, for some reason, the thing falls down, they don't want it to hit the ground. The Segway RMP part is worth about $5000, but the Robonaut torso is worth either $250,000 or $750,000 (I can't remember which), and it banging into the ground would be a very bad thing.
Mr. Spleen
http://www.darpa.mil/ipto/programs/mars/rmp.htm
Mr. Spleen
Yep! I also noticed that the lawyer interviewed during the video is also credited for "additional lyrics."
I think that must take some sort of cake.
Mr. Spleen
I have family photos with him back from the early 80s. I was just a tot when he and aunt Barb divorced, so I don't remember him. My mom has told me that I called him Uncle A-O (since my name is also Adam).
But a few of my extended family members still have Osborne 1s in their basements/attics/garages. I played with one last year at a family reunion. The article is correct, it's almost exactly like a portable sewing machine.
So long, Uncle A-O!
A few years ago, I was working in a dinky little Mac repair shop. I was diagnosing a Power Mac 7600 and determined that it needed a power supply. Customer approved it, we ordered it, I installed it. Pushed power, nothing happened.
Note: Most power supplies in desktop Macs are switchable between 115 and 230 volts. For some unknown reason, Apple *always* shipped out power supplies preset to 230.
So to make a long story short, I forgot to switch it to 115 before trying to power it on. You'd think that it would just not work, and after switching it to 115 the machine would work fine, but not the case. It was hosed, and needed a new logic board.
At the time, everyone at my work was really into Myth 2. Anyone who has played Myth 2 knows about the journeymen, and how they always have long, odd names. From that day forth, my name was no longer Adam. It was "Six Board Logic Frying."
Does it also involve your bent wookie?
*ducks*
Or if you don't want to build a plywood case, you can always go for one of these things:
a te gory&category=Silencer
http://www.crywolfstore.com/cms/?action=BrowseC
"The CoolMac Silencer uses heat pipe and air flow technologies to provide silent cooling while eliminating the need for external fans. The CoolMac Silencer reduces the noise of a Power Mac G4 from 65 dB to 37 dB. For comparative purposes, an empty 70 square-foot office with a computer, heat or air conditioning, and lights on typically emits 40 dB. What's more, the cabinet is airtight to prevent dust and dirt from contaminating the components."
There are several different models, including some that have built-in racks for Xserves (but you could put any rackable item in there).
They work really well. We have an Xserve in one and I didn't realize it was on until I sat on it and felt the vibration. =P
Different, special TCP service! What am I talking about? TCP stands for "Total Control Protocol" of course!
So no, I guess that's the same TCP they've been using all along. =(
Mr. Spleen
Wow, people are really having problems with this.
First of all, every Cube came with either a Rage 128 Pro (standard) or a Radeon (build-to-order only) AGP video card. They all have both VGA and ADC, although you can only use one at a time.
Included with every Cube was a VGA-VGA, M-F extension cable with one end bent at 90 degrees. Since the VGA port on the video card is pointed straight down (and is only about 3 inches from the surface of the table), and most standard VGA cables aren't hinged, they'd have to be bent at a wicked angle or they would keep the cube tipped forward. Hence, the VGA-VGA extension cable with a 90 degree bend in near one end. On ADC displays the connector can bend to 90 degrees, so no adapter is necessary.
Also, the 17" iMac isn't the only one to offer a DVD-R drive. There are three configurations of 15" flat-panel iMacs, and the high-end one has a DVD-R drive.
Also, a child's sense of time is really out of whack - remember how long summer seemed to be?
As I have gotten older, I have noticed that days, weeks and months all seem shorter and shorter. However, I don't think it's "out of whack" at all. I have a theory about this (and I'm pretty sure I didn't just hear it somewhere.) It's all about frame of reference:
Assume you were born at the very end of summer. When you turn 1, your first summer has just ended. That summer was 25% of your total life up to that point. When you turn 10, another summer has just ended. That summer was 2.5% of your life. When you turn 20, the preceding summer was only 1.25% of your life. When you turn 40, the summer that just ended was only 0.75% of your whole life up to that point.
Based upon this, we can see that summer when you're 10 seems four times longer than summer when you're 40.
As time goes by and you get older and older, any given period of time is a smaller percentage of your life (to that point) than any equal-length period of time that came before it. Your frame of reference is the only tool you have to judge how long a summer should be, how long it should "feel". Therefore, as you age, summers seem shorter, days go faster, etc.
I don't know if I explained it very well, but it makes sense to me.
Mr. Spleen
Will we have massive Star War fans calling in sick everyday in attempts to become a jedi?
A massive Star Wars fan doesn't have to call in sick. He already "works from home" and is, in all probability, a shut-in.
Homer: "Vent radioactive gas?" [types] Y E S.
"Sound alertness horn?" Y E S. [it sounds in the distance]
"Decalcify calcium ducts?" Well, give me a Y, give me a...Hey!
All I have to type is Y. [to Marge] Hey, Miss Doesn't-find-me-
attractive-sexually-anymore: I just tripled my productivity!
Marge: Good. Good for you.
Homer: Y. Y. Let's see, so many letters to choose from. I'll pick Y!
Y. Y. [sees SLH] Wha -- what the heck are you doing over there?
[Pushes SLH down to the floor.]
There, you found the floor.
SLH: Arf!
Homer: Y, Y, Y. Y. Y.
Marge: I'm going out, I run errands during the day.
Homer: Could you pick me up a lemonade and a beer?
[The door slams.]