If you can't wait for a Fork, there's a nice package called Textpattern that I used to use. It's kinda like WordPress. I liked it. Give it a spin and see if it works for you.:D (End shameless plug for favorite php app).
Just where did the GP post mention Macs? I don't believe they did.
He said "Apple products". A Mac is most certainly an Apple product. Having re-read the post, the original poster may have not been talking about Macs directly, but "Apple products" implies anything Apple makes. Anyway, it's a moot point. Let's get to the good part:
Also, you're living with your head in the sand if you think everything Apple makes is designed to do what users want. Think iPod.
While some programs lack advanced features for the sake of simplicity, by in large I do not have a problem with 80% of Apple's products. My iPod works as it was intended thanks. On the other hand, I don't use iPhoto, because I like to manage my archive of photos manually, and I use GIMP to manipulate them.
My girlfriend's sister had one; and you know what frustrated her the most? She couldn't copy her mp3s off the damned thing! Sure, she could try, but who can tell what 348y2bdfmgb78b.mp3 really is?? It would be a simple thing for Apple to create a file mapping hashcodes to file names so that the original file names could be preserved, but clearly that's contrary to their goals (which are NOT in the users' interest in this case).
But you're not supposed to get those files back off your iPod, or didn't you know that? Apple was trying to please the MPAA/RIAA with DRM and part of that is making it hard for you to copy those DRM'ed files back off your iPod. In reality, there are a couple programs out there (at least on MacOS) that you can download that will recover the files from your iPod. In fact, I used one that also handily removed the DRM from the files as well. I don't remember the name of it, but I found it with a Google search.
For many people, the attraction to Apple ends when they find out that they can't easily do something that's important to them.
Hard? Since when is a Mac hard to use? If you've been doing it the Microsoft Way for years then I can see where things might seem backwards to you at first. I've been using MS products since DOS 4.0. So when I "switched" to MacOS X there were a few things that I thought were strange. Looking back on it now I actually prefer the Apple way of doing most things. I keep a PC around to run MS products on though (of course I have to, my job is supporting the MS Windows). So I haven't completely switched, I just prefer to do things on my Mac.
This isn't to say I have always agreed with Apple's products. While the interface of MacOS has always intrigued me, the underpinnings of the OS were lackluster in the Classic OS. That was one of the things to keep me from switching for a long time. MacOS X changed that (for the better) for me. I get a UNIX layer underneath a very usable GUI, and plenty of software at my disposal.
Right now I have a image of people rushing over to a smoking server as it seems the site has gone down. I didn't get to finish reading the article either.:(
ALSO Aero seemed to offer no real actual benefits to usability, sadly I have to admit after using Mac OSX that the whole expose thing is surprisingly awesome and convienient, that operating system truely makes a mouse user damn near as powerful as a good keyboarder (wow!)
Aero's flip 3D however was ridiculously bad at actually saving you time and effort.
Expose is an excellent example of useful eye candy. And I can't wait for Leopard and spaces. Finally, I get my multiple desktops like *NIX but on MacOS X and it comes with added Apple style. (And a really easy way to move apps from one space to another. Drag & Drop!)
The widget thing / bar on the right was stupid, it should be like Mac OS - it's there, when you need it, hidden and very easily accessable, NOT a bar stuck on the side (auto hide or not, Mac OS wins that)
Another of my favorite functional eye candy examples. Dashboard kicks the crap out of the Windows side^H^H^H^Hlame bar.
Eek! I'm sounding like a Mac Fanboy. But, the fact is that since I bought a Mac back in April it's been nothing but a pleasure to use. My PCs now run Linux, and I do all multimedia and work on MacOS X. The only Windows computer in the house is the corporate supplied Dell laptop, because my day job happens to be supporting Windows environments (it pays the bills).
My MacPro (quad 2.66GHz) used to boot pretty quick until I installed Boot Camp on it.:/
It's not a huge deal, but kinda annoys me. Then again, Boot Camp is beta for Tiger anyhow. The real Boot Camp won't be along until Leopard (very very soon now!).
OK, considering how much the iPhone costs, I think the "loaner" should be free. I've had free loaner vehicles when taking my car in for service. Come'on!
Well, I can't speak for the parent poster, but the reason I will be upgrading my only Windows PC to Vista is so that I can be familiar with it. My day job is working help desk (people outsource their support needs to us). We already have a few clients that upgraded to Vista, and it's tough to do support for a product that you took a look at while it was in beta and haven't touched it since last summer.
Now, the other (old) PC in the house runs Linux, and for my everyday use I have a MacPro (I switched). I do not plan to use Vista daily (didn't like it even in my brief time with it). I've thought about just buying Vista and using boot camp, but putting Vista on my Mac seems like cruel punishment [for the Mac].
I have never had Verizon service but have heard they disable any file transfer capabilities to force you to pay for their services (wallpaper, ringtone, applications) which is probably why you can't do file transfers (if Verizon was selling the iPhone it would most likely also suffer from this "feature").
What you've heard is quite true. I am not a fan of Verizon so far, but it's what my company chose to go with long before I was here. I can tell you that not more than three miles away from downtown in Columbus, OH I could not get *any* data service, and even calls were getting dropped frequently. So much for that "network" they like to tout!
A stupid email toy like the BlackBerry isn't anywhere near the same class as a PDA/Smartphone. You might as well be comparing the iPhone to a pocket calculator. When you start comparing the iPhone to phones in its own class, those shortcomings are glaring.
"Smart" functionality includes any additional interface including a miniature QWERTY keyboard, a touch screen, or even just secure access to company mail, such as is provided by a BlackBerry.[Emphasis mine.]
What's that you say? A Blackberry is considered a Smartphone. As is the iPhone. There is a wide range of capabilities in the Smartphone category to be sure. Not all phones have every feature possible. And a Blackberry is more than an email toy. I have google maps (not the web page, a google written installable app) installed on my blackberry. I *could* install Yahoo IM on it if I chose to (but I don't). There's a whole slew of 3rd party apps for Blackberries.
You are an american jackass buying a beautiful, lusty phone, but that doesn't have lots of standard features people expect on phones, such as:
I'm not trying to be an Apple apologist in this reply - in fact we're going to compare to my company issued 7130e Blackberry from Verizon...
No filesystem access: which means you can't download stuff with the browser, no attaching files in mail
No flash or java in safari
Crippled bluetooth: not even file transfer
You can't use the phone as a modem
No usb mass storage support
While I can save pictures to my BB (wow - pretty backgrounds!) there's not much else I can do with it.
My BB runs on Java, but I've yet to see any java/flash content work. In fact browsing is pretty shitty on my 7130e.
Ditto on the bluetooth: There's no file transfer on Verizon Blackberry phones - or at least on my 7130e.:(
I can use my phone as a modem, if my company would pay for that feature.
Pretty sure my BB doesn't do this either.
And yet Blackberries are quite standard in the corporate world simply because they can integrate with Exchange. Honestly, I hate mine.
And even some of the features are badly implemented:
No copy and paste
No landscape mode outside safari
No junk mail filter
No IM
No GPS, a bummer on google maps
Your first two points are valid, but the junk mail filters I've setup in Outlook do not work for my Blackberry - despite that expensive piece of software sitting on our server (Blackberry Enterprise Server). For the IM comment, I don't use that on my phone anyway. I hate "texting". I won't even send an email from my BB unless I have to. As for your last point, I will agree that with so many phones including GPS these days that it should start to become standard. However, that's yet another feature my 7130e seems to not have. I've found an option to enable GPS services, yet it has had no effect on anything I use - including Google Maps for Blackberry.
Well, it only affects two models of the Core 2 Duos, which is the only processor that Apple uses for all its Intel Macs except the Xserve (Xeon) and the Mac mini (first-generation Core Duo, which is not affected).
Well, I am sure I won't be the only person to point this out, but Apple does not use the Core 2 Duos in the MacPro towers, either. They use Xeons.
From my understanding, the MacPro suffers from increased latency if you fill all the memory slots. So 8GB of RAM would be the balance between the most RAM and keeping latency down. The performance review I read, which unfortunately I cannot remember which site I read it on, stated that using only 4 memory slots was best if you wanted to keep down latency. For me that's the only knock on the MacPro is that it uses FB-DIMMs (expensive RAM and more latency). Other than that I really like this machine.
My 22" widescreen has the same vertical resolution as a standard 4:3 19" monitor. Most people don't need more vertical than that. OTOH, I work with annoyingly-wide spreadsheets on a regular basis at work, so having a widescreen both at home and at work is very nice.:D
I,too, am interested in stacks. And Spaces. I always made use of multiple virtual desktops on my Linux boxes. Oh and since I am bad about doing backups any more regularly than twice a year, I'll probably use Time Machine as well.
Core Animation is sweet. As is 64 bit from top to bottom.
Oh and what's the deal with the blazin' speed of Steve's demo machine that was at WWDC07? I've got quad-core 2.66GHz MacPro that just doesn't have the snappiness of the MacPro Steve demo'ed. Is there that much of a difference between mine and a 3.0GHz (quad or 8 core) in running regular apps? I just don't see it....
Re:Please oh please oh please, DITCH STACKS!
on
The Roadmap to Leopard?
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· Score: -1, Redundant
Among the most criticized parts of the new user interface [are] the new menu bar and Dock."
OK, I watched the WWDC07 demos of Leopard and I thought the new Dock and menu bar looked good. What's the beef? I've not read any "reviews" yet. No matter what happens - come October this MacPro will be running Leopard.
At home, I've moved on. While I do Windows support for a living - I decided that at home I don't have to put up with it. So I bought a Mac.:D I've had it for two months now and I'm not regretting the switch.
The firewall existed before SP2, they just enabled it by default in SP2, and added a bit of better management for that firewall. The other two points are completely valid, and I think they were good improvements.
$129 is still cheap compared to $399 for Vista Ultimate, which is what we have to compare against since Apple has one version of OS X and not Home/Home Premium/etc....
Sweeeeeeet! As a recent Apple convert, that is great news. I sold off my PC gaming rig right after I bought my MacPro. I bought the Mac versions of what I could, the rest I still play using XP + bootcamp.
Slashdot Mirror
So I take it you've never been to Manassas, Virginia (Or Manassas Park)? It's as bad there as in Florida.
If you can't wait for a Fork, there's a nice package called Textpattern that I used to use. It's kinda like WordPress. I liked it. Give it a spin and see if it works for you. :D (End shameless plug for favorite php app).
Found a suitable program for you. It's called iPod rip. It doesn't remove the fairplay DRM, but it will recover the files for you.
iPod Rip for Windows:
http://www.thelittleappfactory.com/software/ipodripwin.php
iPod Rip for Mac:
http://www.thelittleappfactory.com/application.php?app=iPodRip
He said "Apple products". A Mac is most certainly an Apple product. Having re-read the post, the original poster may have not been talking about Macs directly, but "Apple products" implies anything Apple makes. Anyway, it's a moot point. Let's get to the good part:
While some programs lack advanced features for the sake of simplicity, by in large I do not have a problem with 80% of Apple's products. My iPod works as it was intended thanks. On the other hand, I don't use iPhoto, because I like to manage my archive of photos manually, and I use GIMP to manipulate them.
But you're not supposed to get those files back off your iPod, or didn't you know that? Apple was trying to please the MPAA/RIAA with DRM and part of that is making it hard for you to copy those DRM'ed files back off your iPod. In reality, there are a couple programs out there (at least on MacOS) that you can download that will recover the files from your iPod. In fact, I used one that also handily removed the DRM from the files as well. I don't remember the name of it, but I found it with a Google search.
Hard? Since when is a Mac hard to use? If you've been doing it the Microsoft Way for years then I can see where things might seem backwards to you at first. I've been using MS products since DOS 4.0. So when I "switched" to MacOS X there were a few things that I thought were strange. Looking back on it now I actually prefer the Apple way of doing most things. I keep a PC around to run MS products on though (of course I have to, my job is supporting the MS Windows). So I haven't completely switched, I just prefer to do things on my Mac.
This isn't to say I have always agreed with Apple's products. While the interface of MacOS has always intrigued me, the underpinnings of the OS were lackluster in the Classic OS. That was one of the things to keep me from switching for a long time. MacOS X changed that (for the better) for me. I get a UNIX layer underneath a very usable GUI, and plenty of software at my disposal.
Right now I have a image of people rushing over to a smoking server as it seems the site has gone down. I didn't get to finish reading the article either. :(
Expose is an excellent example of useful eye candy. And I can't wait for Leopard and spaces. Finally, I get my multiple desktops like *NIX but on MacOS X and it comes with added Apple style. (And a really easy way to move apps from one space to another. Drag & Drop!)
Another of my favorite functional eye candy examples. Dashboard kicks the crap out of the Windows side^H^H^H^Hlame bar.
Eek! I'm sounding like a Mac Fanboy. But, the fact is that since I bought a Mac back in April it's been nothing but a pleasure to use. My PCs now run Linux, and I do all multimedia and work on MacOS X. The only Windows computer in the house is the corporate supplied Dell laptop, because my day job happens to be supporting Windows environments (it pays the bills).
My MacPro (quad 2.66GHz) used to boot pretty quick until I installed Boot Camp on it. :/
It's not a huge deal, but kinda annoys me. Then again, Boot Camp is beta for Tiger anyhow. The real Boot Camp won't be along until Leopard (very very soon now!).
OK, considering how much the iPhone costs, I think the "loaner" should be free. I've had free loaner vehicles when taking my car in for service. Come'on!
Well, I can't speak for the parent poster, but the reason I will be upgrading my only Windows PC to Vista is so that I can be familiar with it. My day job is working help desk (people outsource their support needs to us). We already have a few clients that upgraded to Vista, and it's tough to do support for a product that you took a look at while it was in beta and haven't touched it since last summer.
Now, the other (old) PC in the house runs Linux, and for my everyday use I have a MacPro (I switched). I do not plan to use Vista daily (didn't like it even in my brief time with it). I've thought about just buying Vista and using boot camp, but putting Vista on my Mac seems like cruel punishment [for the Mac].
What you've heard is quite true. I am not a fan of Verizon so far, but it's what my company chose to go with long before I was here. I can tell you that not more than three miles away from downtown in Columbus, OH I could not get *any* data service, and even calls were getting dropped frequently. So much for that "network" they like to tout!
I didn't comment on the iPhone's price. We were talking Smartphone features. I think $300 would be plenty for the iPhone. Apple thinks otherwise.
Let's visit the definition of a Smartphone shall we?
"Smart" functionality includes any additional interface including a miniature QWERTY keyboard, a touch screen, or even just secure access to company mail, such as is provided by a BlackBerry. [Emphasis mine.]
What's that you say? A Blackberry is considered a Smartphone. As is the iPhone. There is a wide range of capabilities in the Smartphone category to be sure. Not all phones have every feature possible. And a Blackberry is more than an email toy. I have google maps (not the web page, a google written installable app) installed on my blackberry. I *could* install Yahoo IM on it if I chose to (but I don't). There's a whole slew of 3rd party apps for Blackberries.
I'm not trying to be an Apple apologist in this reply - in fact we're going to compare to my company issued 7130e Blackberry from Verizon...
And yet Blackberries are quite standard in the corporate world simply because they can integrate with Exchange. Honestly, I hate mine.
Your first two points are valid, but the junk mail filters I've setup in Outlook do not work for my Blackberry - despite that expensive piece of software sitting on our server (Blackberry Enterprise Server). For the IM comment, I don't use that on my phone anyway. I hate "texting". I won't even send an email from my BB unless I have to. As for your last point, I will agree that with so many phones including GPS these days that it should start to become standard. However, that's yet another feature my 7130e seems to not have. I've found an option to enable GPS services, yet it has had no effect on anything I use - including Google Maps for Blackberry.
Well, I am sure I won't be the only person to point this out, but Apple does not use the Core 2 Duos in the MacPro towers, either. They use Xeons.
From my understanding, the MacPro suffers from increased latency if you fill all the memory slots. So 8GB of RAM would be the balance between the most RAM and keeping latency down. The performance review I read, which unfortunately I cannot remember which site I read it on, stated that using only 4 memory slots was best if you wanted to keep down latency. For me that's the only knock on the MacPro is that it uses FB-DIMMs (expensive RAM and more latency). Other than that I really like this machine.
My 22" widescreen has the same vertical resolution as a standard 4:3 19" monitor. Most people don't need more vertical than that. OTOH, I work with annoyingly-wide spreadsheets on a regular basis at work, so having a widescreen both at home and at work is very nice. :D
I keep my Dock on the bottom as well. I wanted more screen real estate, so I bought a Samsung 22" widescreen. Problem solved. Oh and I love DVI.
I,too, am interested in stacks. And Spaces. I always made use of multiple virtual desktops on my Linux boxes. Oh and since I am bad about doing backups any more regularly than twice a year, I'll probably use Time Machine as well.
Core Animation is sweet. As is 64 bit from top to bottom.
Oh and what's the deal with the blazin' speed of Steve's demo machine that was at WWDC07? I've got quad-core 2.66GHz MacPro that just doesn't have the snappiness of the MacPro Steve demo'ed. Is there that much of a difference between mine and a 3.0GHz (quad or 8 core) in running regular apps? I just don't see it....
Mod parent up!
OK, I watched the WWDC07 demos of Leopard and I thought the new Dock and menu bar looked good. What's the beef? I've not read any "reviews" yet. No matter what happens - come October this MacPro will be running Leopard.
At home, I've moved on. While I do Windows support for a living - I decided that at home I don't have to put up with it. So I bought a Mac. :D I've had it for two months now and I'm not regretting the switch.
The firewall existed before SP2, they just enabled it by default in SP2, and added a bit of better management for that firewall. The other two points are completely valid, and I think they were good improvements.
$129 is still cheap compared to $399 for Vista Ultimate, which is what we have to compare against since Apple has one version of OS X and not Home/Home Premium/etc....
Sweeeeeeet! As a recent Apple convert, that is great news. I sold off my PC gaming rig right after I bought my MacPro. I bought the Mac versions of what I could, the rest I still play using XP + bootcamp.