Then we'll have live performances of books by the authors. Smaller authors will open for the bigger ones. Soon enough all the authors will become hopelessly addicted to drugs to deal with the stress of being on the road so often. Publishing companies will have to make most of their money off of young teen authors whose work is written for them by someone else.
Of course the other big news is that the eMac is now available to everyone, not just education customers. The price isn't that bad - really good for a G4 system actually.
I still wish it was possible to get a geforce4 MX and a DVD drive (read: not a combo drive) but otherwise the eMac is exactly what I want. I think I'll be getting one too, and soon.
My favorite part is the "About Xabre"... legend. Is this even marketing? Some of the best parts:
"For 500 years, demons tyrannized the world of human vision with omnipresent control. The demons competed among themselves, and the winner set the rules for domineering the world of human vision while human beings paid a high price for their enjoyment."
500 years? Very creative description of the current (and fairly recent) video card market. Then the story borrows heavily from the sword in the stone myth:
"Xabre entered the forest of visual fantasy bordering the land of the demons, where he discovered the 8X8 twin sword."
Those screenshot are weird, but this story of a graphics processor that is a 500-year old mysterious night is truly bizarre.
From what I gather, politicians don't like to say anything broad, unless they're trying to get out of a sticky situation.
True. In my experience, this means politicians tend to give very broad answers. See nearly any answers by G W Bush. Usually when a specific answer is given it doesn't answer the question asked at all.
Also, don't insult the man.
Yes, it makes the questioner look ignorant. Also if he gives a poor answer the insult becomes the excuse.
I have no doubt that my MS Natural keyboards have saved my wrists. I can no longer use a non-ergonomic keyboard without quickly getting sore wrists. After about 15 minutes of average programming I'll start to feel soreness in my wrists. If I continue my fingers begin to feel weak. With an ergo keyboard I can go all day without feeling any discomfort, however I still do take regular breaks and stretch.
For this reason I own three MS keyboards, two Elites and one Pro. I use my own keyboard at work and have a spare in case I ever need to do serious typing somewhere else. There is no question the Natural Pro is superior - the keys have better response, they feel layed out better and the arrow keys are in the proper T formation.
I'm a mac user and am continually saddened that Apple no longer offers ergonomic keyboards. I can't imagine any serious programmer using Apple's supplied keyboards, no matter how nice they look.
You should probably read this comment by John C himself. I know you're not getting a 2x polygon improvement, but maybe you'll settle for 15x?
Re:wonderful, *IF* you've got a Radeon or GF2...
on
Quartz Extreme Demo Movie
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
Quartz extreme is *not* meant for everyone. It is lucky that Apple is releasing it this early at all; Microsoft's fully accellerated GUI is more than a year away, likely more than two. Unaccellerated Quartz is still very fast and very advanced - still unlike anything any other OS has.
Also doing text on GL has always been a bit weird - lining up pixels and so on is kind of awkward. Unaccellerated Quartz will always be there, and always be reliable. It's not like Apple is suddenly making OS X only work on these video cards.
You're not going to expect Doom III to work on these machines as well, are you?
I don't know if you realize this, but MS loses at least $200 per unit that they sell. So, porting say, Linux to it and use it as a desktop, you just cost MS $200.
This has been said before, but it needs repeating. While it may cost Microsoft $200 when you buy an Xbox it costs them $400 when you don't.
Yeah, just like the great pyramids! Good thing we're all smart enough to stay away from those... things 'cause nobody wants the wrath of those dead pharoes coming down on them!
Good point. In 10,000 years it is possible or even likely that radiation poisoning will be easily curable. At that point the site will be dug up to see how primitive and inefficient our nuclear reactors were.
This is the exact thing that the disappeared societies in Calculating God did. I won't reveal what was burried there but they were not only trying to keep out their own future generations, but any other intelligent life that happened to wonder by. Arguably something we should consider as well - I mean in 10,000 years anything could happen.
Another thing that Calculating God mentioned was that burying nuclear waste is preferable to sending it into space. In the earth the waste will slowly be subducted by Earth's molten core effectively disposing of it. However launching it into space runs the risk of the rocket blowing up and contaminating the entire planet.
Yes this does seem all fine and predictable given that Steve Jobs is CEO/iCEO of both. But really the interesting part is how long it took.
I hate to keep bringing up Microsoft, I really do, but remember when hotmail was bought by MS? Right away MS forced them to convert their Sun servers to NT. And, remember all the problems that resulted?
What is really impressive then about Pixar switching to Mac OS X is that Steve J let them wait until OS X could do everything Pixar needed.
In this case, you could make open sourcing the program part of the development contract. Just squeeze it in there inconspicuously. Much like so many EULA's we've seen.
Or say that the custom app will be based on your own technologies so that you can open source say the main engine, and not give out proprietary stuff, such as database data.
PS I'll hear nothing about how many buttons the mouse has...that's been done to death!
Fine then, I'll present what I think is a unique idea. Why doesn't Apple make a "Pro" mouse? I understand and accept that a one button mouse is easier, but everyone seems to agree that professional/power users can make much use of more mouse buttons.
Perhaps Apple could design a $99 three button mouse and sell it as an accessory?
Yes, I think that is still my point. If there isn't a suitable standard (there wasn't, unless a seven year wait for USB2 was acceptable) then design one and release it.
Hardware is Apple's salvation. Where it works for them and didn't work for NeXT is their target customers. Undoubtedly Steve Jobs is skilled at having great hardware made. However NeXT was trying to sell to high-end server and workstation buyers, unlike Apple who is (until next week (NeXT week?)) selling to consumers and business professionals.
Also Steve has learned some lessons from his experience with NeXT. Perhaps the most important is to accept standards: USB, IEEE1394, DVI, etc. Not that he doesn't stray from his proprietary tendancies (ADC) but on the whole Apple is much more flexible than it ever was.
As usual slashdot couldn't resist posting this before getting all the facts straight - or getting all the facts at all. Here are two other portions of the still-live announcement that would have been worth waiting for:
"Rendezvous. Dynamic IP discovery. Lets computers "dynamically discover each other and share them." Proposing as a new industry standard. Jobs cited example of multiple Macs working at home sharing MP3 files with iTunes between multiple computers. Demonstrated example of MP3 files streaming over AirPort. Works with any IP-ready device; built into Jaguar and will also be offered as an open industry standard that can be built into specific devices."
and
"Quartz Extreme: Takes the compositing engine in Quartz, and accelerates it in graphics cards. Combines 2D, 3D and video in one hardware pipeline via OpenGL. "Everything on the screen is being drawn in hardware by OpenGL." Requires AGP 2x and 32MB of video RAM."
I had a small bit of success on mp3.com two years ago and it helped fund my home studio. With having friends working at the local shops I was able to get a new guitar, small behringer mixer (they're great!) several mics and stands. The only problem I have now is deciding on software.
I used to use Cool Edit Pro on PC exclusively. That software has to be seen to be believed - especially its noise reduction which is probably the best in the business. I can't decide on a good Mac replacement, especially since I'm dying to do my audio on OS X.
As a mac fan I find CRT vs LCD comparisons very interesting since Apple now only ships LCD-equipped machines. Personally I think this is a bad idea, and my current Mac runs with the slick looking clear CRT apple made last. It will be used on my primary machine for the next 5 years at least. I'm planning on going dual head soon and have already begun looking for a good deal on another one.
However I still have to wonder if LCD really is the future. I'd love a new iMac at home but can't imagine I'd get very good FPS at 1024 x 768 with a Geforce 2MX. If the iMac still had a CRT then I could play the game at something more reasonable.
For now I have to trust that Mr. Jobs and Apple know what they are doing. They have enough past successes forcasting - Newton, NeXT, FireWire, etc - that despite my reservations I have to acknowledge that they might be right.
Slashdot Mirror
Then we'll have live performances of books by the authors. Smaller authors will open for the bigger ones. Soon enough all the authors will become hopelessly addicted to drugs to deal with the stress of being on the road so often. Publishing companies will have to make most of their money off of young teen authors whose work is written for them by someone else.
It's going to be fun watching Jon Katz's brain melt when he reads this article.
Again? I'm pretty sure it melted already, long ago.
Of course the other big news is that the eMac is now available to everyone, not just education customers. The price isn't that bad - really good for a G4 system actually.
I still wish it was possible to get a geforce4 MX and a DVD drive (read: not a combo drive) but otherwise the eMac is exactly what I want. I think I'll be getting one too, and soon.
No no, it probably does.
guess which division of HP made more money than the other four combined?
Compaq?
My favorite part is the "About Xabre"... legend. Is this even marketing? Some of the best parts:
"For 500 years, demons tyrannized the world of human vision with omnipresent control. The demons competed among themselves, and the winner set the rules for domineering the world of human vision while human beings paid a high price for their enjoyment."
500 years? Very creative description of the current (and fairly recent) video card market. Then the story borrows heavily from the sword in the stone myth:
"Xabre entered the forest of visual fantasy bordering the land of the demons, where he discovered the 8X8 twin sword."
Those screenshot are weird, but this story of a graphics processor that is a 500-year old mysterious night is truly bizarre.
From what I gather, politicians don't like to say anything broad, unless they're trying to get out of a sticky situation.
True. In my experience, this means politicians tend to give very broad answers. See nearly any answers by G W Bush. Usually when a specific answer is given it doesn't answer the question asked at all.
Also, don't insult the man.
Yes, it makes the questioner look ignorant. Also if he gives a poor answer the insult becomes the excuse.
I have no doubt that my MS Natural keyboards have saved my wrists. I can no longer use a non-ergonomic keyboard without quickly getting sore wrists. After about 15 minutes of average programming I'll start to feel soreness in my wrists. If I continue my fingers begin to feel weak. With an ergo keyboard I can go all day without feeling any discomfort, however I still do take regular breaks and stretch.
For this reason I own three MS keyboards, two Elites and one Pro. I use my own keyboard at work and have a spare in case I ever need to do serious typing somewhere else. There is no question the Natural Pro is superior - the keys have better response, they feel layed out better and the arrow keys are in the proper T formation.
I'm a mac user and am continually saddened that Apple no longer offers ergonomic keyboards. I can't imagine any serious programmer using Apple's supplied keyboards, no matter how nice they look.
You should probably read this comment by John C himself. I know you're not getting a 2x polygon improvement, but maybe you'll settle for 15x?
Quartz extreme is *not* meant for everyone. It is lucky that Apple is releasing it this early at all; Microsoft's fully accellerated GUI is more than a year away, likely more than two. Unaccellerated Quartz is still very fast and very advanced - still unlike anything any other OS has.
Also doing text on GL has always been a bit weird - lining up pixels and so on is kind of awkward. Unaccellerated Quartz will always be there, and always be reliable. It's not like Apple is suddenly making OS X only work on these video cards.
You're not going to expect Doom III to work on these machines as well, are you?
I don't know if you realize this, but MS loses at least $200 per unit that they sell. So, porting say, Linux to it and use it as a desktop, you just cost MS $200.
This has been said before, but it needs repeating. While it may cost Microsoft $200 when you buy an Xbox it costs them $400 when you don't.
Yeah, just like the great pyramids! Good thing we're all smart enough to stay away from those... things 'cause nobody wants the wrath of those dead pharoes coming down on them!
Good point. In 10,000 years it is possible or even likely that radiation poisoning will be easily curable. At that point the site will be dug up to see how primitive and inefficient our nuclear reactors were.
This is the exact thing that the disappeared societies in Calculating God did. I won't reveal what was burried there but they were not only trying to keep out their own future generations, but any other intelligent life that happened to wonder by. Arguably something we should consider as well - I mean in 10,000 years anything could happen.
Another thing that Calculating God mentioned was that burying nuclear waste is preferable to sending it into space. In the earth the waste will slowly be subducted by Earth's molten core effectively disposing of it. However launching it into space runs the risk of the rocket blowing up and contaminating the entire planet.
Yes this does seem all fine and predictable given that Steve Jobs is CEO/iCEO of both. But really the interesting part is how long it took.
I hate to keep bringing up Microsoft, I really do, but remember when hotmail was bought by MS? Right away MS forced them to convert their Sun servers to NT. And, remember all the problems that resulted?
What is really impressive then about Pixar switching to Mac OS X is that Steve J let them wait until OS X could do everything Pixar needed.
In this case, you could make open sourcing the program part of the development contract. Just squeeze it in there inconspicuously. Much like so many EULA's we've seen.
Or say that the custom app will be based on your own technologies so that you can open source say the main engine, and not give out proprietary stuff, such as database data.
PS I'll hear nothing about how many buttons the mouse has...that's been done to death!
Fine then, I'll present what I think is a unique idea. Why doesn't Apple make a "Pro" mouse? I understand and accept that a one button mouse is easier, but everyone seems to agree that professional/power users can make much use of more mouse buttons. Perhaps Apple could design a $99 three button mouse and sell it as an accessory?
Yes, I think that is still my point. If there isn't a suitable standard (there wasn't, unless a seven year wait for USB2 was acceptable) then design one and release it.
Hardware is Apple's salvation. Where it works for them and didn't work for NeXT is their target customers. Undoubtedly Steve Jobs is skilled at having great hardware made. However NeXT was trying to sell to high-end server and workstation buyers, unlike Apple who is (until next week (NeXT week?)) selling to consumers and business professionals.
Also Steve has learned some lessons from his experience with NeXT. Perhaps the most important is to accept standards: USB, IEEE1394, DVI, etc. Not that he doesn't stray from his proprietary tendancies (ADC) but on the whole Apple is much more flexible than it ever was.
Like the bully it is slashdot has now ruined the fun for the rest of us. Maccentral has been slashdotted - no more live reporting for anyone.
Oh God, how I hate thee, Slashdot.
As usual slashdot couldn't resist posting this before getting all the facts straight - or getting all the facts at all. Here are two other portions of the still-live announcement that would have been worth waiting for:
"Rendezvous. Dynamic IP discovery. Lets computers "dynamically discover each other and share them." Proposing as a new industry standard. Jobs cited example of multiple Macs working at home sharing MP3 files with iTunes between multiple computers. Demonstrated example of MP3 files streaming over AirPort. Works with any IP-ready device; built into Jaguar and will also be offered as an open industry standard that can be built into specific devices."
and
"Quartz Extreme: Takes the compositing engine in Quartz, and accelerates it in graphics cards. Combines 2D, 3D and video in one hardware pipeline via OpenGL. "Everything on the screen is being drawn in hardware by OpenGL." Requires AGP 2x and 32MB of video RAM."
I had a small bit of success on mp3.com two years ago and it helped fund my home studio. With having friends working at the local shops I was able to get a new guitar, small behringer mixer (they're great!) several mics and stands. The only problem I have now is deciding on software.
I used to use Cool Edit Pro on PC exclusively. That software has to be seen to be believed - especially its noise reduction which is probably the best in the business. I can't decide on a good Mac replacement, especially since I'm dying to do my audio on OS X.
As a mac fan I find CRT vs LCD comparisons very interesting since Apple now only ships LCD-equipped machines. Personally I think this is a bad idea, and my current Mac runs with the slick looking clear CRT apple made last. It will be used on my primary machine for the next 5 years at least. I'm planning on going dual head soon and have already begun looking for a good deal on another one.
However I still have to wonder if LCD really is the future. I'd love a new iMac at home but can't imagine I'd get very good FPS at 1024 x 768 with a Geforce 2MX. If the iMac still had a CRT then I could play the game at something more reasonable.
For now I have to trust that Mr. Jobs and Apple know what they are doing. They have enough past successes forcasting - Newton, NeXT, FireWire, etc - that despite my reservations I have to acknowledge that they might be right.
Really, all that would happen is a startling number of web servers would have their dates set in the 1970s.
Me too =)
this has got to be the stupidest analogy I've ever seen. Cool.