The Mac version is the same way. It changes a setting on the iPod. I changed mine to manual syncing when I first hooked it up. I have since hooked it up to 3 or 4 other machines and have never had it ask to wipe the iPod since (including new machines with default iTunes loads).
You can also play music off the iPod while it's connected to the computer through iTunes. I have my main library playing straight through and the iPod playing in ramdom order. ITunes recognizes that the iPod is set to random mode.
It depends on the program and what it needs to install. Most programs are merely copied into an appropriate directory (/Applications, for example). If permissions are set correctly, you need some type of admin priv to copy the file there. If you install it in your ~/Applications dir, then you can use it there...(of course that would be deleted with the rest of the home dir). Other installers may write into the system dirs like/Library, and that will definitely pop up a required admin dialog.
With some installers put in disk image format, the author can pop up an EULA that you agree to even before the image is mounted on the system. You don't agree, you don't even see the installer.
Rebates can be tricky, or easy as pie, depending on how the company wants to do it.
I purchased a hard drive from Circuit City a few months ago. The drive deal had two rebates totalling $50 (why 2 rebates instead of one is a question left for the student to answer).
When I paid for the drive, the sales guy printed out 3 copies of the receipt, then put the side of the box on a photocopier sitting next to the cash register, made a copy of the UPC code, and then handed me the receipts.
In addition, each receipt was annotated with the instructions for the requisite rebate (one required the original UPC, the other a copy). He then stapled the UPC copy to the receipt that needed it, and pointed out the instructions for each one. He also rechecked each receipt to ensure that everything was correctly annotated for the rebate, and pointed out the website to track the rebate requests.
All I had to do was fill out my address info (which would have been printed on the receipt if I was in their database), and drop each one into an envelope. It doesn't get much easier than that!
Did they have to do all that? No. Did I need the handholding to go through the rebate process? No. Did it impress me as a customer that they made getting a rebate that easy? Hell yes! (as well as getting the rebate checks back in 2 weeks as opposed to the 8-10 weeks listed on the receipts)
Best damn customer service I have received in a long time. You can bet I'll give them some more business.
Half-life2 for the Mac? Sure...2 years after the release on the PC (which will be...never to toolate?), then the port will be cancelled 2 days before release and never see the light of day again.
I would think it's OSX's ability to generate simple PDFs directly that kills some sales of Acrobat. Mind you, the PDF generator doesn't compress graphics, or do lots of little tricks that Acrobat does, but generating a basic PDF covers a lot of people and their reasoning in buying Acrobat.
Plus, it's kind of hard to share files on Kazaa from your trusty OSX box when Kazaa doesn't make a client for OSX (and Neo can't share files out). So, even if they were DRM-less, Kazaa is right out. (Gnutella and Napster-clone clients work fine, though)
I think the userid info is stored similarly to the ID3 tag in an MP3, rather than woven into the file.
Yeah, funny that Haliburton has a lot of the initial contracts for putting out oil field fires (although there aren't that many companies that do this), and the lead contract for rebuilding the Iraqui infrastructure after the war...
(For those who don't know, Dick Cheney is the former head (CEO, IIRC) of Haliburton.)
No kidding! When it came out the first time, there were NO TELEVISION ADS, NO THEATRE PREVIEWS, NOTHING!
The only preview I saw was a quicktime preview on Apple's QT Movie page.
It was amazing that there was a movie poster by the box office!
I ended up seeing it in Vancouver BC whwn I traveled there on a business trip since San Antonio (1 theater for 2 weeks) or Austin (I think 1 theater for a month or so) didn't get a copy until much later in the run.
I'd say I would hold my breath for the TV ads, but I don't expect to see any, much less any other part of the Disney PR Hypemobile being rolled out for the movie...
Damn, this looks like something from Crazy Apple Rumors Site (a wicked parody site for all things Apple...) They have a nice article on the site as well. http://www.crazyapplerumors.com
For those customers who don't have broadband running into their house, burn software updates and demos for free. Not having to download a 76MB combo updater for OSX 10.2, a 90MB game demo, and a few other things like that would probably sell a lot more machines and software.
You have one Macintosh, you buy a single license copy instead of the 5 license family pack. It's called volume licensing.
Apple also offers other licensing options (10, 25, 50, 100, 250, etc) for people that maintain larger installations. They're just not offered in the retail section.
But then again, I don't expect to be able to walk into a Best Buy and purchase a 50 client license pack for Windows 2000/XP (although I can do that for various Linux distros since the installation license does not even mention how many machines you can install...).
Anyone notice that there was no Photoshop bakeoff this time around with the new machines? Granted, the new laptops aren't that much faster (faster memory and bus speed in the 17 inch notebook, but otherwise the same), but it's telling just the same.
Apple is very unhappy with the lack of processor upgrades from Motorola, which is why they are turning to IBM for the PPC970. IBM, unlike Motorola, (a) actually knows how to do research in processor design, (b) can actually build a good processor and has the chip fabs to back it up, and (c) can actually back up their promised delivery date, if not beat it.
And now... my Dennis Miller impersonation.
The first person who mentions OSX for X86 can answer one question: Where will the applications come from?
My guess as to events when/if this occurs: 10:00 AM - Apple announces OSX for X86. 10:00:00.01 AM - MS pushes new EULA to all of the MSDN outlawing the development of any code that could possibly run on anything other than MS Windows. (Don't believe me? Look at the EULA now for just looking at any of their source code, which disallows use of any code tied to "Open Source" (read Linux, GNU, etc.)).
10:00:00.011 AM: MS cancels development and support of MS Office, MSN Messenger, Outlook Express (sorry, that's been done), Internet Explorer, and Windows Media Player for the MacOS and OSX.
10:00:00.0111 AM: Using hidden code in above mentioned products, MS deactivates all copies of these products.
10:00:00.02 AM: OSX based systems will mysteriously no longer be able to connect to Windows systems. (So much for SMB/CIFS shares)
10:00:01 AM: Adobe and Macromedia announce that they will no longer support Mac OSX due to the high cost of converting their code to the new OS. (For the most part, their MacOS ports are Carbon, not Cocoa, so a simple recompile won't do the trick.) Other developers follow suit.
This leaves us with Cocoa applications and ported Linux applications. Granted there are still a lot of good apps in this arena, but most of your corporate and home buyers will never see them.
Well, there was another episode where the conversation went something like:
Doctor: How do you do, I'm the Doctor. Character: Who? Doctor: Exactly!
Along those lines, in another episode (the one where K-9 is introduced), the Doctor is coming on board a space station:
Security Guard: I need your name and date of birth. Doctor: Well, I'm the Doctor. Security Guard: Date of Birth? Doctor: I don't know, sometime soon...
It's entirely possible that they are using the m68k ABI to allow really old Classic applications (pre PowerPC) to continue to run in Classic... I still run into the occasional program that was built for 680X0 machines, even though Apple switched to the PowerPC back in 1995.
Some of the educational software that a lot of schools use is still built with MS-DOS 5 and Apple System 7.5 in mind. Until you can get some of these developers to move to something a little more modern, you will still have a lot of excess baggage to carry in your OS. Perhaps that is why Apple is moving to systems that won't boot MacOS 9 in January 2003.
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The Mac version is the same way. It changes a setting on the iPod. I changed mine to manual syncing when I first hooked it up. I have since hooked it up to 3 or 4 other machines and have never had it ask to wipe the iPod since (including new machines with default iTunes loads).
You can also play music off the iPod while it's connected to the computer through iTunes. I have my main library playing straight through and the iPod playing in ramdom order. ITunes recognizes that the iPod is set to random mode.
It depends on the program and what it needs to install. Most programs are merely copied into an appropriate directory (/Applications, for example). If permissions are set correctly, you need some type of admin priv to copy the file there. If you install it in your ~/Applications dir, then you can use it there...(of course that would be deleted with the rest of the home dir). Other installers may write into the system dirs like /Library, and that will definitely pop up a required admin dialog.
With some installers put in disk image format, the author can pop up an EULA that you agree to even before the image is mounted on the system. You don't agree, you don't even see the installer.
Rebates can be tricky, or easy as pie, depending on how the company wants to do it.
I purchased a hard drive from Circuit City a few months ago. The drive deal had two rebates totalling $50 (why 2 rebates instead of one is a question left for the student to answer).
When I paid for the drive, the sales guy printed out 3 copies of the receipt, then put the side of the box on a photocopier sitting next to the cash register, made a copy of the UPC code, and then handed me the receipts.
In addition, each receipt was annotated with the instructions for the requisite rebate (one required the original UPC, the other a copy). He then stapled the UPC copy to the receipt that needed it, and pointed out the instructions for each one. He also rechecked each receipt to ensure that everything was correctly annotated for the rebate, and pointed out the website to track the rebate requests.
All I had to do was fill out my address info (which would have been printed on the receipt if I was in their database), and drop each one into an envelope. It doesn't get much easier than that!
Did they have to do all that? No. Did I need the handholding to go through the rebate process? No. Did it impress me as a customer that they made getting a rebate that easy? Hell yes! (as well as getting the rebate checks back in 2 weeks as opposed to the 8-10 weeks listed on the receipts)
Best damn customer service I have received in a long time. You can bet I'll give them some more business.
Half-life2 for the Mac? Sure...2 years after the release on the PC (which will be...never to toolate?), then the port will be cancelled 2 days before release and never see the light of day again.
http://www.ragtime-online.com/
No Linux version (yet), but it's got a lot of capabilities.
I would think it's OSX's ability to generate simple PDFs directly that kills some sales of Acrobat. Mind you, the PDF generator doesn't compress graphics, or do lots of little tricks that Acrobat does, but generating a basic PDF covers a lot of people and their reasoning in buying Acrobat.
Besides, most people would look for an eject button on the CD drive. The last Mac that I saw that had that was a Beige G3.
(For the humor impaired, it's supposed to be a joke)
Just don't drop by the Exchange...
Hey, is that from the same group that made "Hannah Does Her Sisters"?
Actually, this sounds like the perfect antidote to having that nasty email trail ratting you out to the auditors, courts, etc.
Probably their top priority after the anti-trust trial...
Not much DRM on the CDs so far...at least here in the States. It's still coming.
If you want to hear high quality music unenbumbered by DRM, the best thing to do is to listen to some good old-fashioned analog live music.
Throw a dollar in the tip jar if you like what you hear.
Plus, it's kind of hard to share files on Kazaa from your trusty OSX box when Kazaa doesn't make a client for OSX (and Neo can't share files out). So, even if they were DRM-less, Kazaa is right out. (Gnutella and Napster-clone clients work fine, though)
I think the userid info is stored similarly to the ID3 tag in an MP3, rather than woven into the file.
"...Just think, a check box that says "Go ahead, take this directory full of AAC files, transform them to mp3s, and share them..."
This sounds like a job for AppleScript! (btw, iTunes is fully AppleScriptable)
Yeah, funny that Haliburton has a lot of the initial contracts for putting out oil field fires (although there aren't that many companies that do this), and the lead contract for rebuilding the Iraqui infrastructure after the war...
(For those who don't know, Dick Cheney is the former head (CEO, IIRC) of Haliburton.)
No kidding! When it came out the first time, there were NO TELEVISION ADS, NO THEATRE PREVIEWS, NOTHING!
The only preview I saw was a quicktime preview on Apple's QT Movie page.
It was amazing that there was a movie poster by the box office!
I ended up seeing it in Vancouver BC whwn I traveled there on a business trip since San Antonio (1 theater for 2 weeks) or Austin (I think 1 theater for a month or so) didn't get a copy until much later in the run.
I'd say I would hold my breath for the TV ads, but I don't expect to see any, much less any other part of the Disney PR Hypemobile being rolled out for the movie...
My wife and I will see it again, regardless.
Damn, this looks like something from Crazy Apple Rumors Site (a wicked parody site for all things Apple...) They have a nice article on the site as well. http://www.crazyapplerumors.com
For those customers who don't have broadband running into their house, burn software updates and demos for free. Not having to download a 76MB combo updater for OSX 10.2, a 90MB game demo, and a few other things like that would probably sell a lot more machines and software.
You have one Macintosh, you buy a single license copy instead of the 5 license family pack. It's called volume licensing.
Apple also offers other licensing options (10, 25, 50, 100, 250, etc) for people that maintain larger installations. They're just not offered in the retail section.
But then again, I don't expect to be able to walk into a Best Buy and purchase a 50 client license pack for Windows 2000/XP (although I can do that for various Linux distros since the installation license does not even mention how many machines you can install...).
Oh, but I wanted a Grendel cluster of these...
(for those who aren't familiar with Beowulf, Grendel is the monster.)
Sorry, Larry Ellison is God... just ask him!
Anyone notice that there was no Photoshop bakeoff this time around with the new machines? Granted, the new laptops aren't that much faster (faster memory and bus speed in the 17 inch notebook, but otherwise the same), but it's telling just the same.
Apple is very unhappy with the lack of processor upgrades from Motorola, which is why they are turning to IBM for the PPC970. IBM, unlike Motorola, (a) actually knows how to do research in processor design, (b) can actually build a good processor and has the chip fabs to back it up, and (c) can actually back up their promised delivery date, if not beat it.
And now... my Dennis Miller impersonation.
The first person who mentions OSX for X86 can answer one question: Where will the applications come from?
My guess as to events when/if this occurs:
10:00 AM - Apple announces OSX for X86.
10:00:00.01 AM - MS pushes new EULA to all of the MSDN outlawing the development of any code that could possibly run on anything other than MS Windows. (Don't believe me? Look at the EULA now for just looking at any of their source code, which disallows use of any code tied to "Open Source" (read Linux, GNU, etc.)).
10:00:00.011 AM: MS cancels development and support of MS Office, MSN Messenger, Outlook Express (sorry, that's been done), Internet Explorer, and Windows Media Player for the MacOS and OSX.
10:00:00.0111 AM: Using hidden code in above mentioned products, MS deactivates all copies of these products.
10:00:00.02 AM: OSX based systems will mysteriously no longer be able to connect to Windows systems. (So much for SMB/CIFS shares)
10:00:01 AM: Adobe and Macromedia announce that they will no longer support Mac OSX due to the high cost of converting their code to the new OS. (For the most part, their MacOS ports are Carbon, not Cocoa, so a simple recompile won't do the trick.) Other developers follow suit.
This leaves us with Cocoa applications and ported Linux applications. Granted there are still a lot of good apps in this arena, but most of your corporate and home buyers will never see them.
This is, of course, my opinion, I could be wrong.
Yes, this is known as the ./ effect. Of course, this only works from your current location...
Well, there was another episode where the conversation went something like:
Doctor: How do you do, I'm the Doctor.
Character: Who?
Doctor: Exactly!
Along those lines, in another episode (the one where K-9 is introduced), the Doctor is coming on board a space station:
Security Guard: I need your name and date of birth.
Doctor: Well, I'm the Doctor.
Security Guard: Date of Birth?
Doctor: I don't know, sometime soon...
Which I guess goes with the Timelord territory!
It's entirely possible that they are using the m68k ABI to allow really old Classic applications (pre PowerPC) to continue to run in Classic... I still run into the occasional program that was built for 680X0 machines, even though Apple switched to the PowerPC back in 1995.
Some of the educational software that a lot of schools use is still built with MS-DOS 5 and Apple System 7.5 in mind. Until you can get some of these developers to move to something a little more modern, you will still have a lot of excess baggage to carry in your OS. Perhaps that is why Apple is moving to systems that won't boot MacOS 9 in January 2003.
Scroll wheel on a laptop? I don't think I have seen one. On a USB mouse? Yes... I have a nice Logitech that works great on my TiBook.