Why would it be easier to build streaming video applications in Flash? I'm sorry but I don't understand this really. The application that people use to watch the streaming video, as I see it, is the media player itself i.e. QuickTime or WMP or RealOne. In Flash, making a streaming video application involves embedding the video in a Flash Movie and then setting up action scripted controls for it (I'm not an expert, and I suppose it's not really that difficult, but time consuming in any case). In QT etc, one would make the movie in some video application and the finished product would already be ready to be streamed (Cleaner6 etc) without having to do anything extra such as embedding.
The original suite(sp?) was because Apple was terrified that FlashMX producers would use it it to make video using the Sorenson spark codec. The fear is justified because just about everybody has the Flash plug-in and far fewer have the QuickTime plug-In.
My opinion is that Apple is sometimes just plain dumb. If they had just bothered to include the Spark codec in the QuickTime6 engine then everything would have been fine: Video makers and web developers will not go to the extra lengths of having to embed the video in a Flash movie (Time is money!) gladly and would have just made Quicktime movies as per usual. However, it seems Apple didn't think about picking up the phone and calling a few web agencies to ask about the workflow there.
Sometimes they deserve a little slap around the face to wake them up and point them to the world again.
We all ask ourselves this question repeatedly: Why is Linux not successful in the business world? I don't mean as a server. I mean as a platform for either server based or client business applications. We often offer our opinions that the Desktop should look better, it should offer games etc. Browsing, Office suites and Mail are now normal and easy on Linux with OpenOffice and Mozilla.
So what's the problem? Detractors of Linux will say, "It's the software stupid". And they'll be right, I think. Every time I look at Freshmeat or Sourceforge I never see any big action around ERM,CRM or small business accounting packages that are compatible with banks as Quicken is. Navision, one of the larger and more successful ERM,CRM companies (that was bought up by Microsoft recently) has no Linux client. Yet it is applications like these (Tuned, corporate DB's that one can easily script and turn into applications by combining tables with relevant data visually) that would make Linux a real contender in corporations and even small businesses. In other words, where are the visual database apps?
I don't know if Blender is GPL but the specialist CAD market also has no Linux applications and Blender might make a good basis for one. Likewise in other specialist areas. We are so proud of ourselves and our whizzkid technical knowledge, yet it sometime seems to me that/. people are more interested in wireless gimmicks and games than the specialist markets such as medical or legal or even cash register software. These are apps that make up the backbone of the market. Most companies running specialist software don't even have high hardware requirements, and often still run their customer and accont lists in Access95 on Win95.
Am I wrong here totally or are there atempts to write for these markets?
I always had more respect (well, a little more for Apple than Microsoft) as they seemed to value the user community a bit: Open Source Core, Excellent Unix type OS, Amazing GUI system, good high quality hardware.
But I've been evaluating the options recently, and I realised that with a good quality x86 system- I have never had bad experiences or heard of many with IBM- I get a lot more performance for a lot less money. Not only this but the software options are much bigger.
In spite of this I wanted a TiPB. But Apple's Microsoft kind of action with the $100.Mac fiasco day before yesterday finally tipped me. I'll be buying a Thinkpad A31 with Win2000 and RedHat.
It just provides me with greater value, as I see it, although I'll still be pining for a TIPB and OSX.
Didn't OSX server 10.1 have an unlimited client licence only? According to Apple's online store, the XServe server comes with 10.1 (at the moment until August 24) with Software:"Mac OS X Server Unlimited-Client License"...
Since the new version has a price for 10 and unlimited clients it looks like Apple is trying to get more money here as well.
and getting a Thinkpad. I was saddened to see that IBM doesn't directly support Linux on a laptop anymore. I don't think this market is very popular in general, even though the possible hardware variations are far smaller than in desktops and there fore easier to support.
I truly do. If it isn't vapourware then I will eventually get one. If this actually establishes itself inspite of it's pig ugly design (army meal trays look similar) it has the specs to beat the iPod (same Toshiba drive), iPaq (much better processor and a full OS), and all the PDA's out there in later iteractions. Good on them. The screen alone is amazing in having 200 dpi. What's more Linux will run without any problems on it, and application designers will not have to make specialised PDA versions anymore.
I would like to tell a little story about myself and why Apple is losing me as a customer and why I will be informing as many people as possible of my decision. It is up to you to read this, but if you attempt to suppress it, I will only try harder to inform as many people of my decision and the underlying reasons.
I have been a Mac user for many years now. Since 1991 in fact. I have been a solid supporter of Apple through all of the bad years. I bought the Public Beta of OSX and a copy of OSX when it came out. I was amazed as the supple beauty, power and simplicity of OSX. I love the Aqua GUI and the unix underpinnings. I found the integration of iDisk on the Desktop seamless. I defended Apple's high prices against questions from interested x86 users who were wondering why exactly Apple hardware was so expensive. They also pointed out that there is not exactly a multitude of Software available for Mac OSX. I pointed out certain added value items you get when you own a Mac, such as 20MB free online storage with iDisk, an email address that works, a free homepage and desktop integration of the iDisk.
But..
Today I read that Apple will be charging $100 a year for this service, and has added functionality to it in an attempt to sell it to the Mac public. Let us look at what Apple claims. Apple claims that it costs too much to provide iTools as is. I noticed yesterday that Apple is profitable. Apple certainly has not lost any customers due to iTools. Apple claims that the various services cost: Anti-virus: $50 * Backup: $40 * 100MB of online storage: $60 * 15MB of email storage, forwarding and POP/IMAP access: $40+ * Home page creation and hosting: $60
I have had my own remotely hosted domain (in the USA) in the recent past where I had: *100MB of file storage *10MB of email storage *15 email addresses using IMAP *My own top level domain *Full Linux functionality i.e. PHP,Perl,MySQL *SFTP access *SSH access. *Vastly improved transfer speeds compared to homepage.mac.com or iDisk
I had all of this for less than $80/year.
I am not very well off, but have been saving to buy a new Powerbook G4 and software. I had the feeling that Apple was worth it as they seemed to provide me with more value for my money, especially in times when the economy is as bad as it is.
Microsoft has been criticized heavily for it's subscription plans and Apple seemed to not want to try to abuse it's customer base. With the fact that x86 machines are much cheaper than Apple's and the choice in software much greater on Windows there now comes this final straw, it seems, that makes Apple as much an abusive company as Microsoft ever was.
If this plan stays as is within the next two weeks when I purchase my new computer I will buy an x86 machine and stop worrying about Apple's feeble chances in the software market.
It is simply a new face to the same story. Microsoft will not admit that it is absolutely incapable of using accepted standards without modifying it to make it incompatible with anything else and ONLY for that reason.
They will dig themselves a hole in the ground because their obsessive desire to control everything gets on everybodies nerves, including most of their "partners". And it is to these "partners" that this message is addressed. Microsoft is very worried that those companies have started using Linux in a big way and are very irritated with Microsoft's FUD because it goes against what they are experiencing in the practical day to day implementations, where Linux is stable, cheap, powerful and flexible.
However I still don't think that this will save MS' ass in the data center. The economy is bad and no one has extra money for MS games.
"I have a more detailed OS experience at a cash machine."
I'm a regular reader of a lot of Mac boards, being a Mac user myself. I also read/. and some other *nix sites as well. In *MY* experience, the command line use forces or at least encourages (I'm not too sure about this but it seems this way to me) one to a) know how the computer/os works, and b) think in a manner that encourages one to build a model of what one wants to do in one's mind.
This has nothing to do with elitism, and is simply an observation. Another thing I have observed is that many people who do *not* understand the shell will critisize it as being too difficult or primitive. Difficulty flexes the brain IMO just like physical sport flexes the body.
As someone on the varbusiness site noted, Microsoft is *NEVER* friendly nor admits to FUD or mistakes *UNLESS* they are preparing some sort of new attack on their competition. I would watch that space for upcoming announcements with regard to new Microsoft licencing restrictions (Trying to make it illegal to use Win on the same computer as Linux??) or something else.
I think your chances of actually learning to think with a computer are much better with a Shell command line than with a GUI that does everything for you.
I have an idea, looking at the screenshots of the XP media center, that a few Photoshop'ed images of a copy of the XP start screen (with no yellow ducky for good luck this time around), with some highlighted buttons are not a product. This is just usual Microsoft "try to capture the market before it exists" FUD, much the same as Hailstorm and.Net were vapourware for an enourmous period of time before something actually materialised. Microsoft, by their own admission as of yesterday, is very worried that upstart Apple could have 8% marketshare instead of the 3 to 4% it now has.
As for Peru, $500 000 is somewhat less than the $150 million that Microsoft gave to the South African government a while ago. I wonder if that reflects on the level of Cash that Microsoft eventually expects to get back from the 50% of South Africa's population that is actually employed, usually at wages of around $350/month? Or is it because Microsoft feels that they have a better chance of owning South African politicians?
Your beloved president made an outcry about the state of human rights and oppression of the people in Iran last week and demanded more freedom for them. Meanwhile back at the ranch, corporate executives can now go to jail for a whole, shocking 10 years after having robbed and cheated tens of thousands of people out of their jobs and the life savings, and some lonely, socially ostracised teenager can go to jail for life for mucking with Bill's personal pr0n server.
If things carry on like this, what is the rest of the world going to do with all those political refugees from the USA?
It would be oh so perfect and the timing would be so sweet. Personally I think Jobs won't go for this but it would be Apple's road to finally overcoming some of the biggest hurdles against a larger marketshare.
Think of it: Microsoft announces Palladium in an attempt to lock up the x86 platform. Jobs/Apple announce Mac OSX on x86 and Apple suddenly has fast processors like the rest of the world AND cheap hardware with good designs. Of course the other side of the coin is that Apple would suddenly no longer control the hardware and would have to compete against other PC manufacturers.
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Why would it be easier to build streaming video applications in Flash? I'm sorry but I don't understand this really. The application that people use to watch the streaming video, as I see it, is the media player itself i.e. QuickTime or WMP or RealOne. In Flash, making a streaming video application involves embedding the video in a Flash Movie and then setting up action scripted controls for it (I'm not an expert, and I suppose it's not really that difficult, but time consuming in any case). In QT etc, one would make the movie in some video application and the finished product would already be ready to be streamed (Cleaner6 etc) without having to do anything extra such as embedding.
The original suite(sp?) was because Apple was terrified that FlashMX producers would use it it to make video using the Sorenson spark codec. The fear is justified because just about everybody has the Flash plug-in and far fewer have the QuickTime plug-In.
My opinion is that Apple is sometimes just plain dumb. If they had just bothered to include the Spark codec in the QuickTime6 engine then everything would have been fine: Video makers and web developers will not go to the extra lengths of having to embed the video in a Flash movie (Time is money!) gladly and would have just made Quicktime movies as per usual. However, it seems Apple didn't think about picking up the phone and calling a few web agencies to ask about the workflow there.
Sometimes they deserve a little slap around the face to wake them up and point them to the world again.
We all ask ourselves this question repeatedly: Why is Linux not successful in the business world? I don't mean as a server. I mean as a platform for either server based or client business applications. We often offer our opinions that the Desktop should look better, it should offer games etc. Browsing, Office suites and Mail are now normal and easy on Linux with OpenOffice and Mozilla.
/. people are more interested in wireless gimmicks and games than the specialist markets such as medical or legal or even cash register software. These are apps that make up the backbone of the market. Most companies running specialist software don't even have high hardware requirements, and often still run their customer and accont lists in Access95 on Win95.
So what's the problem? Detractors of Linux will say, "It's the software stupid". And they'll be right, I think. Every time I look at Freshmeat or Sourceforge I never see any big action around ERM,CRM or small business accounting packages that are compatible with banks as Quicken is. Navision, one of the larger and more successful ERM,CRM companies (that was bought up by Microsoft recently) has no Linux client. Yet it is applications like these (Tuned, corporate DB's that one can easily script and turn into applications by combining tables with relevant data visually) that would make Linux a real contender in corporations and even small businesses. In other words, where are the visual database apps?
I don't know if Blender is GPL but the specialist CAD market also has no Linux applications and Blender might make a good basis for one. Likewise in other specialist areas. We are so proud of ourselves and our whizzkid technical knowledge, yet it sometime seems to me that
Am I wrong here totally or are there atempts to write for these markets?
I always had more respect (well, a little more for Apple than Microsoft) as they seemed to value the user community a bit: Open Source Core, Excellent Unix type OS, Amazing GUI system, good high quality hardware.
.Mac fiasco day before yesterday finally tipped me. I'll be buying a Thinkpad A31 with Win2000 and RedHat.
But I've been evaluating the options recently, and I realised that with a good quality x86 system- I have never had bad experiences or heard of many with IBM- I get a lot more performance for a lot less money. Not only this but the software options are much bigger.
In spite of this I wanted a TiPB. But Apple's Microsoft kind of action with the $100
It just provides me with greater value, as I see it, although I'll still be pining for a TIPB and OSX.
I appreciate the answer.
Didn't OSX server 10.1 have an unlimited client licence only? According to Apple's online store, the XServe server comes with 10.1 (at the moment until August 24) with Software:"Mac OS X Server
Unlimited-Client License"...
Since the new version has a price for 10 and unlimited clients it looks like Apple is trying to get more money here as well.
over to a Thinkpad A31 from my present Mac. Hasta luego, Apple!
and getting a Thinkpad. I was saddened to see that IBM doesn't directly support Linux on a laptop anymore. I don't think this market is very popular in general, even though the possible hardware variations are far smaller than in desktops and there fore easier to support.
Has anyone run any distro on a Thinkpad A31?
I truly do. If it isn't vapourware then I will eventually get one. If this actually establishes itself inspite of it's pig ugly design (army meal trays look similar) it has the specs to beat the iPod (same Toshiba drive), iPaq (much better processor and a full OS), and all the PDA's out there in later iteractions. Good on them. The screen alone is amazing in having 200 dpi. What's more Linux will run without any problems on it, and application designers will not have to make specialised PDA versions anymore.
And the size is just right.
More likely because of the announcements.
I would like to tell a little story about myself and why Apple is losing me as a customer and why I will be informing as many people as possible of my decision. It is up to you to read this, but if you attempt to suppress it, I will only try harder to inform as many people of my decision and the underlying reasons.
I have been a Mac user for many years now. Since 1991 in fact. I have been a solid supporter of Apple through all of the bad years. I bought the Public Beta of OSX and a copy of OSX when it came out. I was amazed as the supple beauty, power and simplicity of OSX. I love the Aqua GUI and the unix underpinnings. I found the integration of iDisk on the Desktop seamless. I defended Apple's high prices against questions from interested x86 users who were wondering why exactly Apple hardware was so expensive. They also pointed out that there is not exactly a multitude of Software available for Mac OSX. I pointed out certain added value items you get when you own a Mac, such as 20MB free online storage with iDisk, an email address that works, a free homepage and desktop integration of the iDisk.
But..
Today I read that Apple will be charging $100 a year for this service, and has added functionality to it in an attempt to sell it to the Mac public. Let us look at what Apple claims. Apple claims that it costs too much to provide iTools as is. I noticed yesterday that Apple is profitable. Apple certainly has not lost any customers due to iTools. Apple claims that the various services cost:
Anti-virus: $50
* Backup: $40
* 100MB of online storage: $60
* 15MB of email storage, forwarding and POP/IMAP access: $40+
* Home page creation and hosting: $60
I have had my own remotely hosted domain (in the USA) in the recent past where I had:
*100MB of file storage
*10MB of email storage
*15 email addresses using IMAP
*My own top level domain
*Full Linux functionality i.e. PHP,Perl,MySQL
*SFTP access
*SSH access.
*Vastly improved transfer speeds compared to homepage.mac.com or iDisk
I had all of this for less than $80/year.
I am not very well off, but have been saving to buy a new Powerbook G4 and software. I had the feeling that Apple was worth it as they seemed to provide me with more value for my money, especially in times when the economy is as bad as it is.
Microsoft has been criticized heavily for it's subscription plans and Apple seemed to not want to try to abuse it's customer base. With the fact that x86 machines are much cheaper than Apple's and the choice in software much greater on Windows there now comes this final straw, it seems, that makes Apple as much an abusive company as Microsoft ever was.
If this plan stays as is within the next two weeks when I purchase my new computer I will buy an x86 machine and stop worrying about Apple's feeble chances in the software market.
It is simply a new face to the same story. Microsoft will not admit that it is absolutely incapable of using accepted standards without modifying it to make it incompatible with anything else and ONLY for that reason.
They will dig themselves a hole in the ground because their obsessive desire to control everything gets on everybodies nerves, including most of their "partners". And it is to these "partners" that this message is addressed. Microsoft is very worried that those companies have started using Linux in a big way and are very irritated with Microsoft's FUD because it goes against what they are experiencing in the practical day to day implementations, where Linux is stable, cheap, powerful and flexible.
However I still don't think that this will save MS' ass in the data center. The economy is bad and no one has extra money for MS games.
Give me a -1 if you will, but the parent deserves a better mention.
"I have a more detailed OS experience at a cash machine."
/. and some other *nix sites as well. In *MY* experience, the command line use forces or at least encourages (I'm not too sure about this but it seems this way to me) one to a) know how the computer/os works, and b) think in a manner that encourages one to build a model of what one wants to do in one's mind.
I'm a regular reader of a lot of Mac boards, being a Mac user myself. I also read
This has nothing to do with elitism, and is simply an observation. Another thing I have observed is that many people who do *not* understand the shell will critisize it as being too difficult or primitive. Difficulty flexes the brain IMO just like physical sport flexes the body.
As someone on the varbusiness site noted, Microsoft is *NEVER* friendly nor admits to FUD or mistakes *UNLESS* they are preparing some sort of new attack on their competition. I would watch that space for upcoming announcements with regard to new Microsoft licencing restrictions (Trying to make it illegal to use Win on the same computer as Linux??) or something else.
I think your chances of actually learning to think with a computer are much better with a Shell command line than with a GUI that does everything for you.
I have an idea, looking at the screenshots of the XP media center, that a few Photoshop'ed images of a copy of the XP start screen (with no yellow ducky for good luck this time around), with some highlighted buttons are not a product. This is just usual Microsoft "try to capture the market before it exists" FUD, much the same as Hailstorm and .Net were vapourware for an enourmous period of time before something actually materialised. Microsoft, by their own admission as of yesterday, is very worried that upstart Apple could have 8% marketshare instead of the 3 to 4% it now has.
As for Peru, $500 000 is somewhat less than the $150 million that Microsoft gave to the South African government a while ago. I wonder if that reflects on the level of Cash that Microsoft eventually expects to get back from the 50% of South Africa's population that is actually employed, usually at wages of around $350/month? Or is it because Microsoft feels that they have a better chance of owning South African politicians?
Your beloved president made an outcry about the state of human rights and oppression of the people in Iran last week and demanded more freedom for them. Meanwhile back at the ranch, corporate executives can now go to jail for a whole, shocking 10 years after having robbed and cheated tens of thousands of people out of their jobs and the life savings, and some lonely, socially ostracised teenager can go to jail for life for mucking with Bill's personal pr0n server.
If things carry on like this, what is the rest of the world going to do with all those political refugees from the USA?
No DRM, no Microsoft! What could be nicer? Now when will the PAL version be coming?
What's wrong with man perl?
Here's to a Microsoft free Europe!
It would be oh so perfect and the timing would be so sweet. Personally I think Jobs won't go for this but it would be Apple's road to finally overcoming some of the biggest hurdles against a larger marketshare.
Think of it: Microsoft announces Palladium in an attempt to lock up the x86 platform. Jobs/Apple announce Mac OSX on x86 and Apple suddenly has fast processors like the rest of the world AND cheap hardware with good designs. Of course the other side of the coin is that Apple would suddenly no longer control the hardware and would have to compete against other PC manufacturers.
I've been waffling whether to buy a PC laptop (speed, loads of software etc) or go for a Mac Powerbook with OSX. I'm going for OSX.
I didn't make any assertions as to who was doing the posting, just on the reactions to content.
The U.S. Army did this stuff back in the late 60's, only it was at 75-100K.
That was at 75 000 to 100 000 feet. This is to be done at 41 000 meters. There are just over three feet in a meter. Do the rest yourself.