This is a little off topic, but why are PS/2 and other old standards still included on PCs? By including these ancient standards all PC manufactureers are doing is taking away room for USB and Firewire. Think about it - a stock motherboard could have 8 or 10 USB/Firewire ports built in if it wasn't for all the legacy stuff.
Mac would have become one of the greatest gaming platform with a powerful processor and huge amounts of bandwidth... until now. MS is fucking everybody again - with profits from its illegal monopoly.
If the mobile phone companies start using standards how are they going to be able to force you to buy a new data cable, cigarette charger, hands free kits, and the like?
Oh, and God forbid that they have to stop charging $30 for a cheap as hell car charger and $50 for a data cable for the phones.
I don't buy games because of bugs. I steal them and if I really like them and play them for more than an hour I buy them.
Buggy software pisses me off. How many car companies could sell a car whos door falls off when you drive off the lot? Even if it does, you can take the car back for warranty service and it is free to get fixed.
Try buying a game from Best Buy and trying to take it back because of bugs - they will laugh you out of the store.
I have to use DV editing software and DVD playing software that don't come with the distribution of my choice (Mandrake) and they don't look like they fit. Also, the fonts in the web browser don't look like the fonts in Open Office don't look like the fonts on the desktop. This is where the lack of integration really shows.
It isn't just the desktop that needs polishing. Each app in Linux just doesn't look polished and integrated well with the rest of the system. I think more care needs to be taken to standardize the look of the OS and the apps that people use. I use Linux on my desktop at home but I am thinking of moving back to Windows not because Linux doesn't do something but because Linux is still ugly.
I was going to reply but you hit the nail on the head. There are a couple of things I would like to add.
High school students are going to be a LOT tougher on equipment than students at university, so in terms of hardware longevity a comparison between the two is invalid on its face.
Even if they are tougher the comparison is still valid. If two people beat equipment the same way the poorer equipment is still going to fail first. That is the reason we saw 2 year turnover for our PCs and 6 year turnover on the Macs. We still have a Mac from 1984 running as a server to collect weather data from accross the state. It hasn't been rebooted since the last tech took over. That was two years ago. Another reason is that Apple works hard to make sure their software is backward compatible. We could run Macs for 6 years because the software would work seamlessly with the newest Macs.
There is talk of another round of budget crunching and we may have to merge the two labs. There isn't enough space for all the computers and the decision has already been made to get rid of the extra PCs and keep all the Macs. First because they are so much cheaper in the long run and second because of such high demand from both the students and the teachers. Not only that but our Xserve and Linux servers play nicely with the Macs and we don't have to worry about a service pack breaking everything with an undocumented change.
I did a study at my university because the Science department had to eliminate a lab. We had two Windows PC labs and a Mac lab. Part of this study was to find TCO for each lab. In short we found that the Macs were significantly cheaper in the long run. This was for a couple of reasons (there were more but these were the most significant: 1. Longer lifespan for both hardware and software for Macs 2. Administration costs were lower (hours of tech needed for each lab 3. Licensing was cheaper
We found that once we purchased the Macs the actual cost to maintain the Mac lab was almost nothing. A single tech could take care of the unix servers and the mac lab while each of the other labs needed two techs a piece.
I think they would be careful considering those are 112,000 PAYING customers. I doublt they would sacrafice that much revenue without being pretty damn sure.
Maybe, but due to the multi-user design of linux it is much harder for a program to obtain "root" privaleges. This alone will make worms and viruses much less harmful.
They should make an XBox that you could carry around with you and it should have an LCD display attached. You should also be able to hook up to your TV when you are at home. They could call it a "laptop." It would rock.
Sorry for replying to my own post but as a little added information - the top 15 people that MS wanted all knew eachother from their old hacking days and got together and decided as a group to turn MS down. None of them wanted to work for, as my friend put it, "the beast."
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When you mute your machine does it do the gong thing at boot anyway? That is getting on my damn nerves.
I am noticing a speed difference... but it might be in my head.
This is a little off topic, but why are PS/2 and other old standards still included on PCs? By including these ancient standards all PC manufactureers are doing is taking away room for USB and Firewire. Think about it - a stock motherboard could have 8 or 10 USB/Firewire ports built in if it wasn't for all the legacy stuff.
Just my 2 cents.
Does this affect OS X's implementation of SSHD? So far Apple has not released a patch.
Mac would have become one of the greatest gaming platform with a powerful processor and huge amounts of bandwidth... until now. MS is fucking everybody again - with profits from its illegal monopoly.
Thanks Bush admin for laying off of MS.
Watch? The US would fully participate in that war.
It's free and when you find out it sucks you delete it. Try taking back a CD that sucks.
If the mobile phone companies start using standards how are they going to be able to force you to buy a new data cable, cigarette charger, hands free kits, and the like?
Oh, and God forbid that they have to stop charging $30 for a cheap as hell car charger and $50 for a data cable for the phones.
That is their aim, but all they are going to do is force file-traders into small encrypted networks. It won't take long.
So you can patch a console game, huh? That is news to me.
I don't buy games because of bugs. I steal them and if I really like them and play them for more than an hour I buy them.
Buggy software pisses me off. How many car companies could sell a car whos door falls off when you drive off the lot? Even if it does, you can take the car back for warranty service and it is free to get fixed.
Try buying a game from Best Buy and trying to take it back because of bugs - they will laugh you out of the store.
I have to use DV editing software and DVD playing software that don't come with the distribution of my choice (Mandrake) and they don't look like they fit. Also, the fonts in the web browser don't look like the fonts in Open Office don't look like the fonts on the desktop. This is where the lack of integration really shows.
It isn't just the desktop that needs polishing. Each app in Linux just doesn't look polished and integrated well with the rest of the system. I think more care needs to be taken to standardize the look of the OS and the apps that people use. I use Linux on my desktop at home but I am thinking of moving back to Windows not because Linux doesn't do something but because Linux is still ugly.
Opera reports as IE by default. Now THAT is stupid.
But if I do, it will corrupt my wife and make her an evil wench that will bitch at me about money!
The one box set will corrupt those that carry it. Include the ones around them.
It is soooo hard to wait for the trillogy to come out in a single box set special edition. I want each one! Must... wait...
One box set to rule them all, one box set to bind them.
You try telling a clueless administrator what Linux is. They would be like, "Loonics? Is that some type of pirate stuff?" :)
I was going to reply but you hit the nail on the head. There are a couple of things I would like to add.
High school students are going to be a LOT tougher on equipment than students at university, so in terms of hardware longevity a comparison between the two is invalid on its face.
Even if they are tougher the comparison is still valid. If two people beat equipment the same way the poorer equipment is still going to fail first. That is the reason we saw 2 year turnover for our PCs and 6 year turnover on the Macs. We still have a Mac from 1984 running as a server to collect weather data from accross the state. It hasn't been rebooted since the last tech took over. That was two years ago. Another reason is that Apple works hard to make sure their software is backward compatible. We could run Macs for 6 years because the software would work seamlessly with the newest Macs.
There is talk of another round of budget crunching and we may have to merge the two labs. There isn't enough space for all the computers and the decision has already been made to get rid of the extra PCs and keep all the Macs. First because they are so much cheaper in the long run and second because of such high demand from both the students and the teachers. Not only that but our Xserve and Linux servers play nicely with the Macs and we don't have to worry about a service pack breaking everything with an undocumented change.
I did a study at my university because the Science department had to eliminate a lab. We had two Windows PC labs and a Mac lab. Part of this study was to find TCO for each lab. In short we found that the Macs were significantly cheaper in the long run. This was for a couple of reasons (there were more but these were the most significant:
1. Longer lifespan for both hardware and software for Macs
2. Administration costs were lower (hours of tech needed for each lab
3. Licensing was cheaper
We found that once we purchased the Macs the actual cost to maintain the Mac lab was almost nothing. A single tech could take care of the unix servers and the mac lab while each of the other labs needed two techs a piece.
They got rid of a PC lab.
I think they would be careful considering those are 112,000 PAYING customers. I doublt they would sacrafice that much revenue without being pretty damn sure.
Good because cheaters ruin games.
Maybe, but due to the multi-user design of linux it is much harder for a program to obtain "root" privaleges. This alone will make worms and viruses much less harmful.
They should make an XBox that you could carry around with you and it should have an LCD display attached. You should also be able to hook up to your TV when you are at home. They could call it a "laptop." It would rock.
Email me and I will tell you the one that I know.
Sorry for replying to my own post but as a little added information - the top 15 people that MS wanted all knew eachother from their old hacking days and got together and decided as a group to turn MS down. None of them wanted to work for, as my friend put it, "the beast."
-John