Not likely, there's no WMA 9 support for OS X, or any OS but Windows. And WMP for OS X is now out for 15 months without one update, and boy does it need some updates!
I'd heard a while back that Apple was selling refurbished 5GB iPods for about $199. Sounds like a good deal to me; I bought mine last June for an Amazon.com special price of about $380. And now I'm up to 5.58 GB of music, so it doesn't all fit anymore.
Yeah, I've heard that when you guys get unanounced equipment, it comes in unmarked boxes that say "Don't open this until xx/xx/xx, on pain of losing your job", or something like that. So you can open it during MacWorld, and go, "Gee, it's what Steve just announced!".
I use my Mac mainly because it's pleasant to use. I prefer the interface of MacOS 9 or X to any version of Windows I've ever used, which usually does something to make me grit my teeth several times a day. Granted, I've not used Win2k or WinXP, but what I've seen of the latter looks like a change of colors more than any meaningful change in the UI.
Macs also tend to remain useful longer. My iMac DV is over three years old, and cannot run most recent 3D games, but I've got the very latest version of the OS, 10.2.5, and I've upgraded it in the past with standard memory and a standard IDE hard drive. I'd like a newer system for gaming purposes, but it's definitely an option rather than a need. I've also got DSL, which under OS X needs NO third party software to work perfectly. My ISP, SBC keeps bugging me about "upgrading" to SBC/Yahoo! DSL, but I see no reason to, and the site still says the Mac software is coming. I recently helped a blind man install, then remove the software from his Win98 machine, so I don't think I'll upgrade.
Less retail software? True, but a lot of what we don't get is junk. I've heard that some people can put out crappy Windows software just because enough people will buy it by accident to recoup the development costs. Plus, many popular Mac software developers are strictly shareware, or electronic distribution-only companies. These companies offer great products at low prices, and often offer free upgrades to new versions for life. Not to mention all the freeware that's been coming out for OS X lately. Just look at versiontracker.com some time.
There's also the Mac community, and MUGs. Mac users really do look out for each other, and make friends with new people just because they are also Mac users. It may sound silly to some people, but this should not be overlooked.
Top of the line Mac hardware does lag behind the fastest PC CPU's and motherboards, I won't deny that. But no home/consumer user has any real use for such power, and Macs have far less compatibility problems and conflicts with video cards and such. Heck, my iMac had less problems than the upgradable PowerMacs, with regards to games refusing to work. Because, in the words of Steve Jobs, "Apple makes the whole widget". Because Microsoft makes the OS, and the box makers build the hardware with commodity parts, neither has the freedom to innovate that Apple does, and try new things, whether or not they work. Most box makers can't afford R&D, especially after Dell came along.
True, they can do that there. Most retail stores don't, and some used to not maintain them at all. At the Apple Store, they do a complete restore on every Mac in the store, every night.
Hopefully, they don't stick extra commercial software on their demo machines anymore, which they shouldn't have done in the first place. Who the heck put $500 copies of MS-Office on the Macs to steal?
Back in '98 or so, when I was working at OfficeMax and they still sold Performas, I put the shareware screen saver Eclipse on the main Performa, and had it display screen captures of Maelstrom, Aperion, Escape Velocity, Warcraft II, and established a password. This showed off some of the fun games you could play, while keeping the customers off the machine so they wouldn't mess anything up. I think more retail stores should try something like that.
If you have old, high end peripherals with legacy ports, it can be a problem. SCSI, ADB, those old round serial ports. Some can be worked around with USB adapters, but those are rarely problem-free.
I'll second the recommendation of Terminus. It's VERY immersive and feels quite realistic, but gets rather dull sometimes. It's also multiplayer oriented, but not really optimized for Internet-type lag, so I'd love to try a LAN game someday. Windows, MacOS(9), and Linux versions are all on the same CD in the same box; I heard a rumor of an MacOS X version in development.
Because it is designed with multiplayer in mind, the game is always in real time, and is controlling dozens of AI pilots throughout the entire solar system at all times, so it's a bit CPU intensive for games of its age.(300 Mhz or better) Some things about it feel a bit unpolished, though, giving it almost a shareware feel. It's still worth a look if you want to try realistic space travel and combat in the solar system, save for the Vortex Gates that allow teleporting and keeps the travel times down.
Why yes, it is. The program sucks, doesn't support many of the codices that the other versions do, and uses more CPU power than the competition, but it's available.
It is interesting that Stephen Hawking's voice is based on his as well. That voice is also featured on Pink Floyd's song, "Keep Talking", from The Division Bell.
MacGamer has some much better stories today, though you might not get some of them if you don't follow the Mac gaming industry, or are at least somewhat familiar with the companies involved.
Yeah, I can't use it with my iMac if it's only USB2. I've got a spare Firewire port, though, even with my iPod plugged in. What's the point of naming it iGrill if it won't plug into any Mac?
I think my previous restart was due to the new version of Java, though I was having some serious freezing problems in Diablo II for a while. I'm not completely certain why they stopped, but I did switch from Meteorologist to WeatherPop about that time...
A very good question! The answer is probably related to the reason Apple doesn't try licencing clone vendors again. People want the MacOS as cheap, or free, as possible, but Apple wouldn't survive either going software-only or with clone vendors.
I'm also sure that OS X on x86 would mean FAR more tech support people at Apple than there are now.
I remember one he did where he talked about Congress imposing censorship on free speech on the Internet, and made the congressmen he quoted seem particularly clueless. It was an April Fools column, but not obviously so, being published in early March, and I'm sure there were plenty of others besides me who emailed someone in Washington with our opinions on the matter. I was literally so angry that my hands were shaking.
Ironically, that Communications Decency Act came out about a year or two later and made it true.
I agree with most of your history, save that the clone makers made better products. They had lower prices and faster processors, which admittedly seems to mean better to many PC users, but were cheaply made, relying on Apple to do all the R&D. They nearly drove Apple out of business, yet couldn't survive without Apple.
Even today, Apple couldn't survive another round of licenced clones, as any licencee would have a much lower overhead than Apple, be able to make much cheaper units, and probably still wouldn't attract too many Windows users.
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Not likely, there's no WMA 9 support for OS X, or any OS but Windows. And WMP for OS X is now out for 15 months without one update, and boy does it need some updates!
I'd heard a while back that Apple was selling refurbished 5GB iPods for about $199. Sounds like a good deal to me; I bought mine last June for an Amazon.com special price of about $380. And now I'm up to 5.58 GB of music, so it doesn't all fit anymore.
Yeah, I've heard that when you guys get unanounced equipment, it comes in unmarked boxes that say "Don't open this until xx/xx/xx, on pain of losing your job", or something like that. So you can open it during MacWorld, and go, "Gee, it's what Steve just announced!".
I use my Mac mainly because it's pleasant to use. I prefer the interface of MacOS 9 or X to any version of Windows I've ever used, which usually does something to make me grit my teeth several times a day. Granted, I've not used Win2k or WinXP, but what I've seen of the latter looks like a change of colors more than any meaningful change in the UI.
Macs also tend to remain useful longer. My iMac DV is over three years old, and cannot run most recent 3D games, but I've got the very latest version of the OS, 10.2.5, and I've upgraded it in the past with standard memory and a standard IDE hard drive. I'd like a newer system for gaming purposes, but it's definitely an option rather than a need. I've also got DSL, which under OS X needs NO third party software to work perfectly. My ISP, SBC keeps bugging me about "upgrading" to SBC/Yahoo! DSL, but I see no reason to, and the site still says the Mac software is coming. I recently helped a blind man install, then remove the software from his Win98 machine, so I don't think I'll upgrade.
Less retail software? True, but a lot of what we don't get is junk. I've heard that some people can put out crappy Windows software just because enough people will buy it by accident to recoup the development costs. Plus, many popular Mac software developers are strictly shareware, or electronic distribution-only companies. These companies offer great products at low prices, and often offer free upgrades to new versions for life. Not to mention all the freeware that's been coming out for OS X lately. Just look at versiontracker.com some time.
There's also the Mac community, and MUGs. Mac users really do look out for each other, and make friends with new people just because they are also Mac users. It may sound silly to some people, but this should not be overlooked.
Top of the line Mac hardware does lag behind the fastest PC CPU's and motherboards, I won't deny that. But no home/consumer user has any real use for such power, and Macs have far less compatibility problems and conflicts with video cards and such. Heck, my iMac had less problems than the upgradable PowerMacs, with regards to games refusing to work. Because, in the words of Steve Jobs, "Apple makes the whole widget". Because Microsoft makes the OS, and the box makers build the hardware with commodity parts, neither has the freedom to innovate that Apple does, and try new things, whether or not they work. Most box makers can't afford R&D, especially after Dell came along.
True, they can do that there. Most retail stores don't, and some used to not maintain them at all. At the Apple Store, they do a complete restore on every Mac in the store, every night.
Hopefully, they don't stick extra commercial software on their demo machines anymore, which they shouldn't have done in the first place. Who the heck put $500 copies of MS-Office on the Macs to steal?
Back in '98 or so, when I was working at OfficeMax and they still sold Performas, I put the shareware screen saver Eclipse on the main Performa, and had it display screen captures of Maelstrom, Aperion, Escape Velocity, Warcraft II, and established a password. This showed off some of the fun games you could play, while keeping the customers off the machine so they wouldn't mess anything up. I think more retail stores should try something like that.
SCSI is legacy because it used to be standard on all Macs from the Mac Plus on up to the Beige G3's, but is now only an option on the tower cases.
If you have old, high end peripherals with legacy ports, it can be a problem. SCSI, ADB, those old round serial ports. Some can be worked around with USB adapters, but those are rarely problem-free.
I'll second the recommendation of Terminus. It's VERY immersive and feels quite realistic, but gets rather dull sometimes. It's also multiplayer oriented, but not really optimized for Internet-type lag, so I'd love to try a LAN game someday. Windows, MacOS(9), and Linux versions are all on the same CD in the same box; I heard a rumor of an MacOS X version in development.
Because it is designed with multiplayer in mind, the game is always in real time, and is controlling dozens of AI pilots throughout the entire solar system at all times, so it's a bit CPU intensive for games of its age.(300 Mhz or better) Some things about it feel a bit unpolished, though, giving it almost a shareware feel. It's still worth a look if you want to try realistic space travel and combat in the solar system, save for the Vortex Gates that allow teleporting and keeps the travel times down.
In case that wasn't sarcasm, that's Rich Text Format.
Was that them? Well, I guess MS isn't COMPLETELY useless, then... ;-)
Why yes, it is. The program sucks, doesn't support many of the codices that the other versions do, and uses more CPU power than the competition, but it's available.
So let's hear about her!
It is interesting that Stephen Hawking's voice is based on his as well. That voice is also featured on Pink Floyd's song, "Keep Talking", from The Division Bell.
MacGamer has some much better stories today, though you might not get some of them if you don't follow the Mac gaming industry, or are at least somewhat familiar with the companies involved.
Good idea, it's shorts weather at the moment. Time to visit the park, stretch my legs, and if I'm real lucky, see a MILF with a baby stroller...
You think that's bad? Check www.insidemacgames.com today for their "Half-Life coming to Mac" story. Talk about an old joke!
Yeah, I can't use it with my iMac if it's only USB2. I've got a spare Firewire port, though, even with my iPod plugged in. What's the point of naming it iGrill if it won't plug into any Mac?
I think my previous restart was due to the new version of Java, though I was having some serious freezing problems in Diablo II for a while. I'm not completely certain why they stopped, but I did switch from Meteorologist to WeatherPop about that time...
There went my two weeks of uptime... ;-)
A very good question! The answer is probably related to the reason Apple doesn't try licencing clone vendors again. People want the MacOS as cheap, or free, as possible, but Apple wouldn't survive either going software-only or with clone vendors.
I'm also sure that OS X on x86 would mean FAR more tech support people at Apple than there are now.
I remember one he did where he talked about Congress imposing censorship on free speech on the Internet, and made the congressmen he quoted seem particularly clueless. It was an April Fools column, but not obviously so, being published in early March, and I'm sure there were plenty of others besides me who emailed someone in Washington with our opinions on the matter. I was literally so angry that my hands were shaking.
Ironically, that Communications Decency Act came out about a year or two later and made it true.
The far less knowledgable use IE and don't know it! They think it's just part of Windows, just as MS intended.
Fruityness? There hasn't been a fruit colored iMac for sale in years. The only new ones this past year have been 'Snow' colored.
Of course, I'm still using my Lime iMac from 11/99. It's quite underpowered for any new 3D games, but that's a luxury I can't afford anymore.
I agree with most of your history, save that the clone makers made better products. They had lower prices and faster processors, which admittedly seems to mean better to many PC users, but were cheaply made, relying on Apple to do all the R&D. They nearly drove Apple out of business, yet couldn't survive without Apple.
Even today, Apple couldn't survive another round of licenced clones, as any licencee would have a much lower overhead than Apple, be able to make much cheaper units, and probably still wouldn't attract too many Windows users.
As the Mac forums posters usually say, a Mac in the hand is worth two on a rumors site. It's usually better to go for it.