How is that "insightful" - really? It does not take ANY "insight" to form an opinion, about a keyboard...
But I actually *prefer* laptop keyboards. The shorter keystroke and closer keys is much nicer to me, and I type faster and my hands get less tired. To each his own I guess.... And if the 17inch powerbooks had larger keyboards, you'd pay even more because then Apple would have to have a completely new keyboard manufactured just for that model. As it currently stands they can share between that model and the 15inch... I would imagine that the same assembly line could be used for all the Powerbook keyboards - just different parts for the backlit... But if you change the dimensions, a whole new assembly line would be required. That's why the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon are 95% the same vehicle... Cheaper to make on one assembly line....
But then where do we get power for the daytime? This is all too confusing... Lets just invade Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, and Norway and be done with it...
They have links to other stuff as well, and also the Apple headers - so you could develop your own too... But this is good stuff for looking at Wireless links...
I don't work for Apple, and I only "switched" to Apple in the last couple years (OSX).. I don't own Apple stock, and really the only incentive I have for Apple to do better is so that there is more Apple support in the general marketplace.
having said that, and noting that I *like* my Apple products - I have to cry foul in some of your comments.
FireWire hard drives self destruct This was more a FW800 firmware issue than an Apple issue. The actual problem requires two rare conditions to exist, and in a laboratory was extremely hard to duplicate - in fact, one drive manufacturer could not do so. But the bridge manufacturers had to make updated firmware to fix their problems. There are too many discussions on this already, so I won't go into it too much - but this was not strictly an Apple issue, just sadly hit Apple square in the nuts...(Roshambo ya for it...)
Minimal 3rd party video card support How on earth is this Apple's fault? I have TONS of third party accessories from my PC days that will NEVER be supported on the Mac, and I have many that will not even be supported on any version of windows made in the last 5 years or years to come! The vendors are responsible for that support, not Apple. Even Microsoft has this problem...
Other misc networking problems That is too vague and inspecific. All computers can suffer from "misc networking problems". This just doesn't belong unless you can be specific.
Dozens of less debilitating problems, unusable features, and long-standing unfixed bugs. Again vague and inspecific. Name one computer platform that doesn't have long-standing unfixed bugs. Heck, I am a developer and I have systems in production that have long-standing well documented bugs. What "unusable features" are you talking about? And unusable to whom? I would wager that "dozens" of problems existing in millions of lines of code being used by millions of people is a pretty good ratio. Have YOU developed anything with ZERO bugs or ZERO problems, and then made it work on an infinite combination of configurations?
10.2.8 Initial release:
Complete fiasco -- update pulled This was NOT a Complete fiasco. It simply caused problems on an extremely small number of Apple's machines. Could the quality control have been a bit better? Perhaps. But for the extreme vast majority the update was smooth and problem free. Apple promptly recognized the problem and made the requisite repairs. How is that a "complete fiasco"?
iTunes for Windows:
Doesn't work with 1st generation iPods Should it? I am not so sure. Times move on. Weren't the original iPods supposed to be Mac only anyway? When did the Windows iPod debut? My CAR has a warranty that EXPIRES - why should Apple support their products indefinitely? If my car has a defect outside of the warranty period, I either have to live with it or pay for the repairs (except in the rare case where the manufacturer was found by a court to be negligent or fraudulent - but Apple is held to the same standard anyway, see the OSX on G3 case recently). GET OVER IT PEOPLE, at some point in time your technology will become obsolete and you will either have to continue to use it as originally specified - or buy new stuff. My VCR doesn't work with DVDs, should I complain? My old Nintendo RF-Out doesn't work with my new HDTV without a third party adapter, should Nintendo replace it?
For crying out loud. Apple is a business. They are human just like anyone else. They have to make money just like any other business. They can't support every whiny user forever. At some point in time, they have to move on. I don't claim to know what a good cutoff time is - but don't think Apple loves you like your mother - because they don't. They just want you to buy a computer and iPod or two.. That's all.
But their stuff is better than most, and I like it. If you think Apple is hard on customers - try cellular phone companies. Now THEY suck.... Hehe, or Cable TV... Don't even get me started down THAT path...
Why would you need to bring down the server to add a user? The "single user mode" would only be used to FIX SERIOUS PROBLEMS. Once fixed, everything should work as advertised. Right?
Wow, I had this exact same problem! I have a regular home network, that I have 3 Macs (all now running 10.3.1) and two x86s running windows 2k.
A relative comes to visit, plugs in their shiny new $2500 Dell with Windows XP, and it won't connect to the network at all. It has an internal 802.11b card that won't connect to my 802.11b network - no matter what I try. So I give up, disable the wireless and try hardwired to the internal Ethernet port. Nope, still won't see the network. It took almost three hours and several reboots to get XP working.
By contrast, when we recieved our new AlBook, we turned it on and the airport Extreme saw our wireless connection, and started working. No hassles. I have also plugged it in wired to the network - still works just fine.
Now all of you guys are probably going to call me an Apple fanboy or addict or something like that. So what about the Win2k boxes I mentioned? They are both laptops and they both work fine with our wired AND wireless networks.
Of course the firmware update was unnecessary because it was all Apple's fault, right?
Apparantly there was a problem with the firmware in those drives as well - and the actual problem required TWO things to be exactly right. A certain condition in Panther had to exist at the same time as a certain condition in the firewire.
The simple fact of the matter is that no one party is at fault. Things like this happen, and it is impossible to protect against every possible variable that can exist!
As is true with any system - if you have important data that you can't afford to lose - keep it backed up during an upgrade. Backed up to a media that is safe, something like tape or DVD or something like that.
Firewire hard disks are still hard disks and are subject to the same risks as the disks inside the computer...
I was stupid and didn't move some stuff correctly which caused me to do some extra work to get it back after my upgrade... But that was my fault.. Live and learn, eh?
Digital photography is reaching resolutions and quality that is higher than the human eye can percieve, and much higher than film photography. I would challenge you to find the difference between an image created on the 10MP Foveon X3 camera (Sigma 10?) and an image taken with a similar lense on a 35mm camera. You'll probably think the digital is better, and think it was the film one.
Even the non X3 cameras from Canon and such are passing film rapidly.
Of course - it is easy to tell the difference if you look at the price tags of the cameras...
Actually it does. It tastes like McDonalds. Think about it... A McDonalds cheeseburger does not taste like a cheeseburger. It doesn't taste like beef, bread, pickles, ketchup, or anything you would associate with a cheeseburger. But it *does* taste like a *McDonalds Cheeseburger* which is a taste most people know.
strange... And of course the Fries taste like beef. grin.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy no longer requires that all its hardware be hardened against nuclear electromagnetic pulses. It deemed that maintaining those standards was too costly and slowed down the integration of new technology. The presumption was that after the Cold War, nobody would be using nuclear bombs, says the Lexington Institute's Thompson. "Whenever I ask the admirals, 'Well, what if someone did use a nuclear bomb?,' I just get this kind of blank I-don't-have-an-answer-for-that sort of look."
I get that same response when I ask managers why we are not defending against some attack... "Because the likelyhood of that kind of attack is very low." "But what if it DID happen?" - blank stare -.
Console multiplayer requires people to *gasp* be in the same room, which requires actually knowing and liking people, and vice versa... PC games allow multi-player without having to shower or have any friends.
Of course the GameCube is a steal at it's new price point (Metroid Prime anyone?).
I swear this is one of the best games ever made. I have played most of them too, and I probably own close to half of them... Metroid Prime is OUTSTANDING.
Except you are forgetting one thing. A PS2 or Nintendo or any game console is ONE piece of hardware, with ONE configuration (multiple revs maybe). So it is far simpler to develop reliably for. But PCs - there is millions of possible configurations, and not all of them will work - thus requiring patches and such...
Go to Goodwill and buy an old 286, then network it? Heck you can network a Commodore 64... The 286 should be easy. Or you could go to an Oregon Public School - they are likely still using 286s...;)
Slashdot Mirror
How is that "insightful" - really? It does not take ANY "insight" to form an opinion, about a keyboard...
But I actually *prefer* laptop keyboards. The shorter keystroke and closer keys is much nicer to me, and I type faster and my hands get less tired. To each his own I guess.... And if the 17inch powerbooks had larger keyboards, you'd pay even more because then Apple would have to have a completely new keyboard manufactured just for that model. As it currently stands they can share between that model and the 15inch... I would imagine that the same assembly line could be used for all the Powerbook keyboards - just different parts for the backlit... But if you change the dimensions, a whole new assembly line would be required. That's why the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon are 95% the same vehicle... Cheaper to make on one assembly line....
They do this with motorcycles, they always list weights "dry" - cause so many people use their motorcycles with no oil or fuel in them...
But then where do we get power for the daytime? This is all too confusing... Lets just invade Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, and Norway and be done with it...
But where do we get our power at night?
If you have an Apple, check out AP grapher for OSX
They have links to other stuff as well, and also the Apple headers - so you could develop your own too... But this is good stuff for looking at Wireless links...
Microsoft.
I don't work for Apple, and I only "switched" to Apple in the last couple years (OSX).. I don't own Apple stock, and really the only incentive I have for Apple to do better is so that there is more Apple support in the general marketplace.
having said that, and noting that I *like* my Apple products - I have to cry foul in some of your comments.
FireWire hard drives self destruct
This was more a FW800 firmware issue than an Apple issue. The actual problem requires two rare conditions to exist, and in a laboratory was extremely hard to duplicate - in fact, one drive manufacturer could not do so. But the bridge manufacturers had to make updated firmware to fix their problems. There are too many discussions on this already, so I won't go into it too much - but this was not strictly an Apple issue, just sadly hit Apple square in the nuts...(Roshambo ya for it...)
Minimal 3rd party video card support
How on earth is this Apple's fault? I have TONS of third party accessories from my PC days that will NEVER be supported on the Mac, and I have many that will not even be supported on any version of windows made in the last 5 years or years to come! The vendors are responsible for that support, not Apple. Even Microsoft has this problem...
Other misc networking problems
That is too vague and inspecific. All computers can suffer from "misc networking problems". This just doesn't belong unless you can be specific.
Dozens of less debilitating problems, unusable features, and long-standing unfixed bugs.
Again vague and inspecific. Name one computer platform that doesn't have long-standing unfixed bugs. Heck, I am a developer and I have systems in production that have long-standing well documented bugs. What "unusable features" are you talking about? And unusable to whom? I would wager that "dozens" of problems existing in millions of lines of code being used by millions of people is a pretty good ratio. Have YOU developed anything with ZERO bugs or ZERO problems, and then made it work on an infinite combination of configurations?
10.2.8 Initial release: Complete fiasco -- update pulled
This was NOT a Complete fiasco. It simply caused problems on an extremely small number of Apple's machines. Could the quality control have been a bit better? Perhaps. But for the extreme vast majority the update was smooth and problem free. Apple promptly recognized the problem and made the requisite repairs. How is that a "complete fiasco"?
iTunes for Windows: Doesn't work with 1st generation iPods
Should it? I am not so sure. Times move on. Weren't the original iPods supposed to be Mac only anyway? When did the Windows iPod debut? My CAR has a warranty that EXPIRES - why should Apple support their products indefinitely? If my car has a defect outside of the warranty period, I either have to live with it or pay for the repairs (except in the rare case where the manufacturer was found by a court to be negligent or fraudulent - but Apple is held to the same standard anyway, see the OSX on G3 case recently). GET OVER IT PEOPLE, at some point in time your technology will become obsolete and you will either have to continue to use it as originally specified - or buy new stuff. My VCR doesn't work with DVDs, should I complain? My old Nintendo RF-Out doesn't work with my new HDTV without a third party adapter, should Nintendo replace it?
For crying out loud. Apple is a business. They are human just like anyone else. They have to make money just like any other business. They can't support every whiny user forever. At some point in time, they have to move on. I don't claim to know what a good cutoff time is - but don't think Apple loves you like your mother - because they don't. They just want you to buy a computer and iPod or two.. That's all.
But their stuff is better than most, and I like it. If you think Apple is hard on customers - try cellular phone companies. Now THEY suck.... Hehe, or Cable TV... Don't even get me started down THAT path...
Mod parent down. ;)
Why would you need to bring down the server to add a user? The "single user mode" would only be used to FIX SERIOUS PROBLEMS. Once fixed, everything should work as advertised. Right?
Wow, I had this exact same problem! I have a regular home network, that I have 3 Macs (all now running 10.3.1) and two x86s running windows 2k.
A relative comes to visit, plugs in their shiny new $2500 Dell with Windows XP, and it won't connect to the network at all. It has an internal 802.11b card that won't connect to my 802.11b network - no matter what I try. So I give up, disable the wireless and try hardwired to the internal Ethernet port. Nope, still won't see the network. It took almost three hours and several reboots to get XP working.
By contrast, when we recieved our new AlBook, we turned it on and the airport Extreme saw our wireless connection, and started working. No hassles. I have also plugged it in wired to the network - still works just fine.
Now all of you guys are probably going to call me an Apple fanboy or addict or something like that. So what about the Win2k boxes I mentioned? They are both laptops and they both work fine with our wired AND wireless networks.
But the XP was a nightmare.
Of course the firmware update was unnecessary because it was all Apple's fault, right?
Apparantly there was a problem with the firmware in those drives as well - and the actual problem required TWO things to be exactly right. A certain condition in Panther had to exist at the same time as a certain condition in the firewire.
The simple fact of the matter is that no one party is at fault. Things like this happen, and it is impossible to protect against every possible variable that can exist!
As is true with any system - if you have important data that you can't afford to lose - keep it backed up during an upgrade. Backed up to a media that is safe, something like tape or DVD or something like that.
Firewire hard disks are still hard disks and are subject to the same risks as the disks inside the computer...
I was stupid and didn't move some stuff correctly which caused me to do some extra work to get it back after my upgrade... But that was my fault.. Live and learn, eh?
Digital photography is reaching resolutions and quality that is higher than the human eye can percieve, and much higher than film photography. I would challenge you to find the difference between an image created on the 10MP Foveon X3 camera (Sigma 10?) and an image taken with a similar lense on a 35mm camera. You'll probably think the digital is better, and think it was the film one.
Even the non X3 cameras from Canon and such are passing film rapidly.
Of course - it is easy to tell the difference if you look at the price tags of the cameras...
Actually it does. It tastes like McDonalds. Think about it... A McDonalds cheeseburger does not taste like a cheeseburger. It doesn't taste like beef, bread, pickles, ketchup, or anything you would associate with a cheeseburger. But it *does* taste like a *McDonalds Cheeseburger* which is a taste most people know.
strange... And of course the Fries taste like beef. grin.
its target audience is too stupid to understand how it works
Isn't that true of maybe 75% of ALL computers?
Now normally this should be modded down. But it is so funny, it is almost sad!
So which is is? "full" or "stupid liberals"?
Why does the EMP device cause the roof of the van to explode?
Unless the people building the "destroy" device also have the contract to "rebuild". Then it makes perfect sense!
I get that same response when I ask managers why we are not defending against some attack... "Because the likelyhood of that kind of attack is very low." "But what if it DID happen?" - blank stare -.
Console multiplayer requires people to *gasp* be in the same room, which requires actually knowing and liking people, and vice versa... PC games allow multi-player without having to shower or have any friends.
There are obvious pluses and minuses to each...
Of course the GameCube is a steal at it's new price point (Metroid Prime anyone?).
I swear this is one of the best games ever made. I have played most of them too, and I probably own close to half of them... Metroid Prime is OUTSTANDING.
the nodes available for parallelized word
Does it make Word's performance acceptable?
Except you are forgetting one thing. A PS2 or Nintendo or any game console is ONE piece of hardware, with ONE configuration (multiple revs maybe). So it is far simpler to develop reliably for. But PCs - there is millions of possible configurations, and not all of them will work - thus requiring patches and such...
But how long did it take you to copy that 17MB file?
Go to Goodwill and buy an old 286, then network it? Heck you can network a Commodore 64... The 286 should be easy. Or you could go to an Oregon Public School - they are likely still using 286s... ;)
Upgrade coupons are invalid. Only if you bought a new PowerBook, or G5 can you upgrade for $20. The rest pay full price.