If I'm going to dual-boot Windows on my Mac, it's because I've got some very specific purpose for it. E.g. I used to have Virtual PC set up for a single application (electronic tax filing SW). Why on earth would I want to install 'cool stuff' in Windows?
I do most of my work in OS X, so that's where my cool stuff goes. Windows is just a compromise I'm not planning to spend more time in than absolutely necessary.
Linux has one advantage: many of its developers work for free. Apple would have to pay an army of developers to replicate this effort (mainly to write and test drivers for every piece of obscure hardware under the sun). This'll cost a boatload of money, and will require a Microsoft-sized organisation. Apple simply isn't big enough to pull this off.
Also, Apple will have to do this *before* they start selling the OS to the 'generic PC' market. People will expect OSX Generic to 'just work' like it does on Apple's own computers.
As far as accuracy is concerned I doubt these small devices can provide accurate voice instructions.
They certainly can. I've got TomTom on a Palm TX, and the accuracy of its instructions is limited only by GPS resolution and map accuracy, not 'limitations of a small device'. Plus, I can use a dash mount to position the screen in my field of view. Try that with a laptop and any vehicle that's not an HGV.
Re:Not everyone can afford multiple monitors
on
How Bill Gates Works
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· Score: 1
But are virtual desktops the solution? I use a dual-monitor setup (21" plus 14") because I want to see multiple windows all at once, instead of having to switch between them. Certainly with the way MS Windows is set up, switching to a different virtual desktop offers no advantages over switching to a different application.
And, it's yet another abstraction to master. Where (which virtual desktop) did my application go?
I've got a Mac and a Windows machine on my desktop, with a KVM switch. I use a Mac keyboard (Extended Keyboard II, of course), which has some interesting consequences on Windows: the Ctrl key is mapped to Windows Ctrl, the Option key is mapped to Alt, and the Command key is mapped to the Windows key (the one that opens the Start menu). This makes the keyboard rather counterintuitive: on the Mac, Cmd is the most common modifier key (Cmd-O for Open, etc.), and it's next to the spacebar. When I use Windows, the same functions are mapped to a different place on the keyboard (Ctrl). The result is that I keep having the Start menu pop up when I want to use a modifier. I haven't found a good solution for this (the only keymapping program I could find for Windows required me to install the.NET framework???)
I wonder if such a mapping option (or a keyboard driver with sane mappings) is present in Bootcamp.
Beta is a wonderful example. Higher quality aside, it had the advantage of compatbility with professional gear. Indeed Beta won the pro wars and Betacam SP is STILL the standard to which things are compared
Uh, no. The only thing Betamax and Betacam have in common is the design of the cassette. Betacam tape runs at a higher speed (something like 6x that of Betamax), and the video signal is recorded in a different format, so you can't play back a Betacam tape on a Betamax deck or v.v. Betacam SP has been overtaken left and right by other formats, from D1 to digital Betacam developments.
1. Buy second-hand/refurb I've done this for years with computers. The Mac Mini I bought last year was my first new computer in 10 years. In 2001, I was using a Mac IIci (yes, a 1990 design). Good thing Apple builds their computers to last. 2. Buy good stuff When you do buy equipment, don't skimp. If it's well-built, it'll last. 2 of the loudspeakers in my HT setup are 18 years old - they still sound good, so why replace them? 3. Prioritize To avoid spending more than you can afford, try to set a budget and stick to it. Can't afford product X now? Wait 3 months, the price will go down eventually.
FTA: And since the Windows Media Center Edition operating system used by all Viiv-enabled machines is virtually identical to Windows XP when it's not in media centre mode, you can go about your regular office-related tasks -- word processing, web browsing, etc -- while others are seamlessly streaming content in the lounge. Such multi-tasking makes dual-core processors a necessity...
From my experience, it's not the processor that's the bottleneck. Windows sucks at doing 2 or more disk-intensive tasks at once. My laptop (Dell D600) can't play a video file without hiccups while a second file is written to its disk. So to make this feasible, Windows needs better scheduling for disk access.
I tried, it won, so I uninstalled it. Hah! Argue that, Notes!
Re:Will this make anyone look at OpenOffice.org?
on
Office Delayed, Too
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· Score: 2, Insightful
Will the delay make anyone look at OpenOffice? Probably not. I can't imagine anyone being so desperate to upgrade Office that they'll switch to OO instead [1] In fact, I haven't sen any compelling new features in the past few versions of Office, the only reason people upgrade is to keep up with the Joneses.
1: I mean, there are valid reasons for moving to OO, but MS delaying Office 2007 isn't one of them.
No, we don't. What we need is less focus on MHz and more fundamental research on what to do with all those cycles. Most software companies seem dedicated to redoing their current product with more eye candy every few years. They do take advantage of the extra power by adding new functions, but these are mostly logical extensions to current functionality that have become feasible because of processing power increase. The exceptions are tiny startup companies and lone developers, plus a few companies like Google (with their 'every employee can do whatever he wants for x% of his company time' policy).
Apple used to have a Human Interface Group that thought about things like the Macintosh GUI on a fundamental level, doing usability tests etc. That group has been disbanded, along with the rest of Apple's fundamental research efforts. Xerox PARC has been awfully quiet the last 25 years.
This kind of research isn't popular, perhaps because it poses a risk, and can't guarantee to contribute to a company's bottom line within a year. With companies increasingly focusing on quarterly results at the expense of all else (including future profits), we can't expect much from them in the future.
What we need is a fresh look at the concept of computing itself. Is the current way of doing things really the best we can achieve? I think not.
Compare the state of computing in 1990 with that of today. Yes, computers are immensely faster than they were 15 years ago, but have things changed on a fundamental level? Have computers become more *intelligent*, rather than just faster? I, for one, am disappointed.
An example: handling contact and scheduling information. In 1993, Apple showed how it should be done with the Newton. 13 years on, the most popular application (Outlook) still doesn't have that level of functionality.
Computers were supposed to make things easier for us. Instead, they all too often complicate things needlessly.
Yes, thanks to better hardware, more tasks have become feasible to do on a computer. Video playback, massive networks like the internet are very nice.
But while new functions are being added, existing software stagnates. Mac OS X is nice and robust, but UI improvements over Mac System 7 are tiny to nonexistent. Windows shows a similar lack of progress. Word processing is not fundamentally different from 1984.
Staggered release schedules made sense when theaters showed the movie off an (expensive, so limited numbers were available) analog film reel. Now that digital distribution is becoming common, there's no need to stagger the schedule. A global release, taking maximum advantage of the publicity generated in the US (premiere, talkshow tie-ins) would have advantages for the producer.
The blurb says 'no chance' the MPAA will get rid of region coding for movies, but if the gaming industry sees a solid business case (as in, they end up with more money), then maybe the MPAA will see the light as well. After all, greed is eternal.
The average Mac user made a conscious choice to use a Mac rather than Windows. One popular argument to choose a Mac is because it's easier to use than Windows, so 'getting addicted to Windows' is not very likely for a Mac user.
Shortages are never permanent and require no government intervention in the form of H-1B workers or illegal aliens.
Alleviating the shortage via the 'free market' (mainly by convincing students to switch majors) takes years. Immigration allows the shortage to be alleviated faster, which is good for the economy. Which is why the government is interested in going this route.
In the labor market, a shortage of labor is a power force that boosts wages and improves working conditions. Eventually, wages rise sufficiently high that new workers enter a particular labor market (e.g. the market of computer programmers).
For IT jobs, this mechanism is breaking down. Instead of increasing wages, companies turn to outsourcing. IOW, the mechanism only works if the pool of workers is limited to a single economy [1].
1: 'economy' being loosely used here as 'a region in which salaries are roughly equal'
read speeds more than twice that of a normal hard drive
and FTA: According to Samsung, the SSD will read and write data at 57 MB/s and 32 MB/s, respectively... the Flash disk would be about twice as fast as the latest 1.8" hard drive generation, which was measured at a read speed of 24 MB/s by the engineers of Tom's Hardware.
57 MB/s is in the ballpark for the read speed of a 3,5" 7200 rpm drive like the Seagate Barracuda 7200.8.
Being used to RAM access times being mesaured in ns, this is rather underwhelming.
Slashdot Mirror
You forgot 'and replace the coil springs with rubber bands'.
If I'm going to dual-boot Windows on my Mac, it's because I've got some very specific purpose for it. E.g. I used to have Virtual PC set up for a single application (electronic tax filing SW). Why on earth would I want to install 'cool stuff' in Windows?
I do most of my work in OS X, so that's where my cool stuff goes. Windows is just a compromise I'm not planning to spend more time in than absolutely necessary.
Are you referring to the OSX version? It's labeled 'beta' for a reason.
Linux has one advantage: many of its developers work for free. Apple would have to pay an army of developers to replicate this effort (mainly to write and test drivers for every piece of obscure hardware under the sun). This'll cost a boatload of money, and will require a Microsoft-sized organisation. Apple simply isn't big enough to pull this off.
Also, Apple will have to do this *before* they start selling the OS to the 'generic PC' market. People will expect OSX Generic to 'just work' like it does on Apple's own computers.
It's already happened. Parallels has a beta out right now.
As far as accuracy is concerned I doubt these small devices can provide accurate voice instructions.
They certainly can. I've got TomTom on a Palm TX, and the accuracy of its instructions is limited only by GPS resolution and map accuracy, not 'limitations of a small device'. Plus, I can use a dash mount to position the screen in my field of view. Try that with a laptop and any vehicle that's not an HGV.
But are virtual desktops the solution? I use a dual-monitor setup (21" plus 14") because I want to see multiple windows all at once, instead of having to switch between them.
Certainly with the way MS Windows is set up, switching to a different virtual desktop offers no advantages over switching to a different application.
And, it's yet another abstraction to master. Where (which virtual desktop) did my application go?
I've got a Mac and a Windows machine on my desktop, with a KVM switch. I use a Mac keyboard (Extended Keyboard II, of course), which has some interesting consequences on Windows: the Ctrl key is mapped to Windows Ctrl, the Option key is mapped to Alt, and the Command key is mapped to the Windows key (the one that opens the Start menu). .NET framework???)
This makes the keyboard rather counterintuitive: on the Mac, Cmd is the most common modifier key (Cmd-O for Open, etc.), and it's next to the spacebar.
When I use Windows, the same functions are mapped to a different place on the keyboard (Ctrl). The result is that I keep having the Start menu pop up when I want to use a modifier.
I haven't found a good solution for this (the only keymapping program I could find for Windows required me to install the
I wonder if such a mapping option (or a keyboard driver with sane mappings) is present in Bootcamp.
Beta is a wonderful example. Higher quality aside, it had the advantage of compatbility with professional gear. Indeed Beta won the pro wars and Betacam SP is STILL the standard to which things are compared
Uh, no. The only thing Betamax and Betacam have in common is the design of the cassette. Betacam tape runs at a higher speed (something like 6x that of Betamax), and the video signal is recorded in a different format, so you can't play back a Betacam tape on a Betamax deck or v.v.
Betacam SP has been overtaken left and right by other formats, from D1 to digital Betacam developments.
1. Buy second-hand/refurb
I've done this for years with computers. The Mac Mini I bought last year was my first new computer in 10 years. In 2001, I was using a Mac IIci (yes, a 1990 design). Good thing Apple builds their computers to last.
2. Buy good stuff
When you do buy equipment, don't skimp. If it's well-built, it'll last. 2 of the loudspeakers in my HT setup are 18 years old - they still sound good, so why replace them?
3. Prioritize
To avoid spending more than you can afford, try to set a budget and stick to it. Can't afford product X now? Wait 3 months, the price will go down eventually.
FTA: And since the Windows Media Center Edition operating system used by all Viiv-enabled machines is virtually identical to Windows XP when it's not in media centre mode, you can go about your regular office-related tasks -- word processing, web browsing, etc -- while others are seamlessly streaming content in the lounge. Such multi-tasking makes dual-core processors a necessity...
From my experience, it's not the processor that's the bottleneck. Windows sucks at doing 2 or more disk-intensive tasks at once. My laptop (Dell D600) can't play a video file without hiccups while a second file is written to its disk. So to make this feasible, Windows needs better scheduling for disk access.
Gives a whole new meaning to the old Mastercard saw...
Cover from an old FORTRAN manual - $ 1
some rubber tubing - $ 0.50
and a chewing gum wrapper - $0.98 with a rebate
Lunar base to support 50-100 people for 6-8 months - priceless [1]
1: ever seen NASA's budget?
Try to argue with ... Lotus Notes
I tried, it won, so I uninstalled it. Hah! Argue that, Notes!
Will the delay make anyone look at OpenOffice? Probably not. I can't imagine anyone being so desperate to upgrade Office that they'll switch to OO instead [1]
In fact, I haven't sen any compelling new features in the past few versions of Office, the only reason people upgrade is to keep up with the Joneses.
1: I mean, there are valid reasons for moving to OO, but MS delaying Office 2007 isn't one of them.
No, we don't. What we need is less focus on MHz and more fundamental research on what to do with all those cycles. Most software companies seem dedicated to redoing their current product with more eye candy every few years. They do take advantage of the extra power by adding new functions, but these are mostly logical extensions to current functionality that have become feasible because of processing power increase.
The exceptions are tiny startup companies and lone developers, plus a few companies like Google (with their 'every employee can do whatever he wants for x% of his company time' policy).
Apple used to have a Human Interface Group that thought about things like the Macintosh GUI on a fundamental level, doing usability tests etc. That group has been disbanded, along with the rest of Apple's fundamental research efforts. Xerox PARC has been awfully quiet the last 25 years.
This kind of research isn't popular, perhaps because it poses a risk, and can't guarantee to contribute to a company's bottom line within a year. With companies increasingly focusing on quarterly results at the expense of all else (including future profits), we can't expect much from them in the future.
What we need is a fresh look at the concept of computing itself. Is the current way of doing things really the best we can achieve? I think not.
Compare the state of computing in 1990 with that of today. Yes, computers are immensely faster than they were 15 years ago, but have things changed on a fundamental level? Have computers become more *intelligent*, rather than just faster? I, for one, am disappointed.
An example: handling contact and scheduling information. In 1993, Apple showed how it should be done with the Newton. 13 years on, the most popular application (Outlook) still doesn't have that level of functionality.
Computers were supposed to make things easier for us. Instead, they all too often complicate things needlessly.
Yes, thanks to better hardware, more tasks have become feasible to do on a computer. Video playback, massive networks like the internet are very nice.
But while new functions are being added, existing software stagnates. Mac OS X is nice and robust, but UI improvements over Mac System 7 are tiny to nonexistent. Windows shows a similar lack of progress. Word processing is not fundamentally different from 1984.
Staggered release schedules made sense when theaters showed the movie off an (expensive, so limited numbers were available) analog film reel. Now that digital distribution is becoming common, there's no need to stagger the schedule. A global release, taking maximum advantage of the publicity generated in the US (premiere, talkshow tie-ins) would have advantages for the producer.
The blurb says 'no chance' the MPAA will get rid of region coding for movies, but if the gaming industry sees a solid business case (as in, they end up with more money), then maybe the MPAA will see the light as well. After all, greed is eternal.
Ehh, some people like dry, fake-math based jokes and some people don't...
So there really are just 10 types of people....
The average Mac user made a conscious choice to use a Mac rather than Windows. One popular argument to choose a Mac is because it's easier to use than Windows, so 'getting addicted to Windows' is not very likely for a Mac user.
Shortages are never permanent and require no government intervention in the form of H-1B workers or illegal aliens.
Alleviating the shortage via the 'free market' (mainly by convincing students to switch majors) takes years. Immigration allows the shortage to be alleviated faster, which is good for the economy. Which is why the government is interested in going this route.
In the labor market, a shortage of labor is a power force that boosts wages and improves working conditions. Eventually, wages rise sufficiently high that new workers enter a particular labor market (e.g. the market of computer programmers).
For IT jobs, this mechanism is breaking down. Instead of increasing wages, companies turn to outsourcing. IOW, the mechanism only works if the pool of workers is limited to a single economy [1].
1: 'economy' being loosely used here as 'a region in which salaries are roughly equal'
read speeds more than twice that of a normal hard drive
and FTA:
According to Samsung, the SSD will read and write data at 57 MB/s and 32 MB/s, respectively...
the Flash disk would be about twice as fast as the latest 1.8" hard drive generation, which was measured at a read speed of 24 MB/s by the engineers of Tom's Hardware.
57 MB/s is in the ballpark for the read speed of a 3,5" 7200 rpm drive like the Seagate Barracuda 7200.8.
Being used to RAM access times being mesaured in ns, this is rather underwhelming.
Back in my day we were happy with a ball of aluminium foil and a pizza box.
Playing Pong in the back yard?
Those obnoxious stock symbol links (AAPL) everywhere in Google News stories, then in all search results?