Your forgetting about all the OS visual elements that are of fixed size. Win/Mac OS have vectored graphics and scaled fonts, but its *NOT* pervasive. Until we have an OS that uses vector graphics for EVERY UI element, your 1200 dpi screen is going to have menu bars that are 1/65" tall, and desktop files with 1/130" text. Yes, we'd all love your 1200 dpi screen, but we as long as we predominately run Win/Mac OS, there's still a lot of development to be done first.
Is this some sort of RAID setup? And if so, does it boast better read/write than single external drives? And if so, what kind of powers does it have? Does it use its powers for good, or for awesome?
I want some of those beefy drives they've got in there for my own RAIDing...
Well said. A "cosmetically" similar product to the XServe is something like the Penguin Computing Altus. Its got fatty dual 64-bit processors, dual gig ethernet, lots of ECC ram, dual HD's on independant IDE channels, PCI-X, 1U enclosure, etc. etc. and guess what? Its cost is very similar to an XServe for similar configurations. Its a stigma they'll probably never live down (that they even offer a computer at $2999, when you can get "some sort" of PC for under $1000 ((ignoring the fact that Dell, Gateway, etc. also have systems that run that high)) ), but price/performance on apple stuff isn't that bad anymore.
Microsoft started their project knowing that they were going to lose money on each console sale, and only make it back on games. Their own model didn't have them making a profit for 3-4 years, and that was with much better sales than they've been realizing. They had billions of dollars of cash they were willing to sink into it, just to get a foothold in the console market. They spent like $450 million on advertising the first year alone. How exactly is apex and via supposed to compete with that, particularly if lots of their customers buy the box as a HW project? They're basically trying to build some soupped up version of the xbox (PC hardware in a nice box with really small WinXP type OS). Does anyone really think they can beat M$ at their own game? (i.e. a game that 1) microsoft made up in the first place, and 2) can't even win themselves?)
I'd read they did something like this in italy, where the cellphone/minutes are free, but whenever you dial someone, you first listen to a ~30 second ad before it connects you.
This works much better, since if ppl called me, then our conversation was interrupted by an ad, I'd just hang up and stop talking to that person via phone.
It runs under Linux, WinXP, and MacOS, it handles ALL the MS files we've run into, and gives us a solid office package for free. Ok, so we're a 3 person company, with only two "office" machines, but our company is 50% MacOSX;), and we run OpenOffice for productivity. For the cost of one copy of MSOffice, we can get an entire PC workstation, with an overpriced copy of WinXP, and OO.
...but our Windows machines still manage to break something about twice a month due to windows updates. The amount of time we spend "fixing" after updates is quite the PITA. All we run on our machines is half a dozen games (its a LAN center, not like we install new SW every day or anything). WinXP has given us the "stability" to run for days at a time, we just can't run stuff we want to every time an update hits. Our center has 9 Windows machines (8 gaming machines, and a CD server) and 2 macs (web server, and cash register). The only times our macs have been restarted is after power outtages. The PC's are an entirely different matter
This doesn't work. At least not in WinXP using a Lite-On DVD drive. At our LAN center, it was essential that autorun not initiate, so our virtual drive system would function properly. We found three different ways to disable it (including the one you mentioned) that didn't work for every disc. After enough disc switching, all the autorun features were back on anyways. We eventually pulled a minor reg hack that shut down the autorun for good, but none of "checkboxes" and menu's actually disable autorun, as far as we could see.
Re:honestly think granma has a wireless Lan setup?
on
RIAA Sues the Wrong Person
·
· Score: 4, Informative
Apple's WiFi solution (airport) is "falling-off-a-log" easy. If you've already got a cable modem/broadband setup, you pretty much just plug it in. The software included walks you through configuring the network. Its much easier than installing a home based router, for instance. Since every mac since the original iBook (in 1999) has had built-in wi-fi options, its not unusual for her to be running a wireless network.
As the owner of a LAN center, it pains me to read more and more articles about "video game induced crime" or what have you. Thankfully, we've never had to deal with angry parents complaining about violence in the games we carry (i.e. counterstrike, UT2k3, battlefield, etc.), but its an every day concern for us. We've concentrated on licensing titles that have a lot of strategy, teamwork, and strong multiplay options. We considered carrying GTA, but it didn't fit the criterion.
Our LAN customers are mainly between 15-18 yrs old, but some are significantly younger, like 10-12 yrs. The parents we've had in our store have mostly either recognized the games, and been o.k. with it, or specifically told their children not to play certain ones. I think the parents we've run into recognize that raising their kids *is* their responsibility, and they have to keep track of what they do in their free time.
Just a couple miles away in the neighboring town, there's an ordinance stating that patrons under 16 years of age need parental consent to play anything at a gaming center. I don't know if anyone actually follows these ordinances, but its the kind of laws that ppl could pass that makes running a LAN center (what I consider to be the "modern" arcade) a royal PITA.
its sitting in my toolbox right now (my little electronics toolbox, doesn't have space for the whole roll). And yeah, 18"? What the hell can you do with that?
In a slightly related subject, I *used* to carry a duct tape wallet around in highschool (a dual fold with space for 6 credit cards), and even made about a dozen for friends and family. But nowadays I've switched to Manco's neon gaff tape. It holds up about 4x as long, doesn't get nearly as sticky, and its neon bright orange! I've also switched to a tri-fold model that holds 9+ credit cards.
We had something like this at my college. It was a grain based plastic-like material for disposable flatware (forks, spoons, knives). The material was billed as a replacement to plastic utensils and would fully biodegrade in landfills within 30-45 days. The material was also very bitter, overly flexy/soft, and became limp when heated to the temperature of hot food. Hopefully, this material is entirely different
I listened to a QT audio broadcast of an interview with TerraSofts's prez, as he talked about their choice of hardware for the boxer boxen. He couldn't really give concrete reasons that a 600Mhz G3 should carry droolfactor. He said stuff like "our webserver is a 350Mhz G3 running YDL. It handles all our traffic without any problems" and "I think people will be impressed at how well a G3 performs running YLD compared to faster machines. Its just that efficient."
I even asked Terrasoft how they expected to compete with the 2nd hand mac market, and their response was as follows:
As a long time mac/PPC user, and linux hobbyist, I'm very interested in buildling a custom atx PPC box. You guys are really spearheading this market, so I guess all my requests should go to you:).
Thank you, and yes.
Originally, the announced specs for just mobo+cpu was something like $495 for a 600Mhz G3, and atx board. I realize that you're probably positioning this as affordably as possible to grow the platform. My concern is that there's no way I could pay that when I can get either a 600Mhz iMac or 500Mhz B&W tower for just $100 more. Is the component price expected to come down any time soon?
It is an issue of volume of production. When volume of production
goes up, price comes down. We are not able to reduce the price at
this point in time. As for iMac and B&W, it is not appropriate to
compare a 4-yr old computer from eBay to a new computer with
Warranty.
Will there be options for faster G3 chips, or multiprocessor configurations? You probably can't discuss most of this, what is the expected price range for the G4 based teron board? Do you have any benchmarks for a teron based linux system vs. a comparable Macintosh offering (to show off the architectural advantages of the Mai system, if any)?
We will be shipping an 800 MHz G4 CPU at approximately $650. The demand for the G3s was limited in comparison to the G4s.
We do not at this time have benchmarks, but will in the near future.
Sincerely, Amanda
------------
so basically, it was inappropriate to compare a teron board to "older systems" with similar hardware specs, and they had no benchmarks. I drafted a fairly inflamatory response outlining their extreme arrogance, which I havn't sent, but I'm pretty sure they got the message without me.
For most companies, testing and finding out on a per monitor basis would fracture the pricing scheme too much. Many companies already have very complicated replacement policies, such as, 5 stuck red pixels, or 3 green pixels, since green is more stimulating to human vision. You have to keep in mind that pixels can be completely dead (black), or fail to show a particular RGB color, or fail to turn off a particular color. Companies make all sorts of distinctions because a particular color stuck on or off will not interfere with displaying certain colors. Also, some companies will replace a screen with less pixels bad if they are in the middle of the display, and some have policies regarding the closeness of the pixels to each other, as in two bad pixels in the area of a quarter will get you a replacement. Any company would rather make a complicated return policy than a complicated pricing scheme.
But one company is sorta doing what you suggest: Formac has their Oxygen line of displays, which are very attractively priced LCD's. A 17.1" for $500, and a 20.1" for $999. These things have amazing contrast ratio's super bright elements, fast refresh, and outstanding viewing angles. Their priced about 40% lower than their Platinum counterparts even though they perform identically. Their difference is their dead pixel policy is more lenient. Oxygen's have a 1 yr warranty, and a 7 dead pixel policy. Platinum's have a 3 year warranty and 2 dead pixel policy.
So its kinda cool if you don't mind a few bad dots here and there.
Ok, I worked at a computer store, so I've really been around a few hundred LCD's. I've seen dead pixels, stuck pixels, etc. of pretty much every variety. Probably about a dozen instances in the past year. I know half a dozen ppl with LCDs with pixel anomalies (my sister being one).
It happens. mfr's don't cover it, and a healthy LCD can develop bad pixels over time, even the fancy $3000 ones.
If our kids* were going to grow up and live in the past, you're argument would be fine and dandy.
I don't want our kids to have what I had in school. I want them to have access to more technology, more computers, more educational tools. When we were in school, laptops cost 4-10x as much, and didn't do a whole lot (and they weren't laptops, lapcrushers maybe). Nowadays, they're more than comfortable in the consumer computer market, and are hovering around 30% market share among new computer purchases. We are in the dawn of ubiquitous computing. It's the world our kids are going to live in. I think it makes sense to prepare them for it.
If you want to change the way education takes place, really revolutionize the educational process, you have to do things that have never been done before. Maybe the Maine laptops aren't the ultimate solution, but they're a step towards positive change.
People need to forget about what was "Good Enough" or "Just Fine." We need to ask, "what's better?", "what's best?", and "how do we get there?"
Apple's commitment in this program is manyfold. They didn't just hand them 25k iBooks and walk away. They're involved in the hardware, software, techsupport, education, networking, maintenance, and replacement processes. Its all included with the laptops. The TCO for the entire program is $37. They worked with the state of Maine to design a program that was educational, affordable, sustainable and productive. No other company provided a complete bid like this, and its doubtful any other company could.
SO, you've been yacking off without knowing a spit about what your talking about.. but thanks for playing.
* I don't have kids, but I do pay taxes in Maine. So I'm REALLY putting my $$$ where my mouth is.
Well, I don't really believe that the 933Mhz C3 is going to show up the 700Mhz G3. But besides that, I didn't really explain myself well.
My preference stems from the fact that I'm a long time mac user and "productivity" for me means office applications ("Office" compatibility), Adobe suite, DTP, etc. I can attach all sorts of devices and make them work, and work around grahics, video, sound, etc.
In linux, I can get my distro installed, get a few apps, [barely] configure my desktop, and get wireless browsing and email up and working. I've never gotten beyond that since I always revert back to mac after I can't get some firewire device to work, or whatever.
It really boils down to me not being good at the things linux is good for (development, servers, being an ultrageek), and needing the things linux is traditionally weak in (Office suite, multimedia, userfriendly). For the extra $200, I can do a lot more of the things I do than with the Lindows eBook. But like I said, I'd like something lighter than my [comparatively] large 5.4 lb. TiBook for relaxing with on the couch (in the ideal fantasy world, where I can get another laptop just because its lighter than mine!).
I'd love to have a > 3 lb. tiny subnote for browsing and veggin' on the couch... but for a real productivity machine, the iBooks still wins out for me. Still, wouldn't mind playing around with one!
OS 7.1, 7.6, 8.1, 8.6, 9.1, 9.2 were free, but OS 7.5, and 8.5 were paid upgrades as well. Given that they worked on 10.2 for a year, cycle-wise 10.2 was the equivalent of a x.5, but they like the MacOSX branding so much, they want to stick with it much longer than their traditional numbering scheme. And 10.4 will probably be their idea of "MacOS11".
The whole "paying for point updates" is pretty durn invalid from a dev/feature standpoint. There are plenty of better gripes one could make regarding The Jag.
The rest of Apple's nickel & dime'ing is definitely getting on my nerves. After 18 years and no less than 2 dozen Apple Computers, I'm not likely to switch any time soon (although I do own a pair of Athlon boxes, so "switching" for me doesn't mean a whole lot), but I'm considerably less excited over it.
You seam to be forgetting that Quicktime Pro has hundreds of features that Media Player doesn't. QTPro isn't just a player. It arranges/edits/layers various forms of time-based media, and allows encoding and preparing of media clips in about 20-30 different audio and video formats for a variety of applications, such as streaming applications or DVD authoring. It has support for sprites, links, vector based animation for building interactive multimedia projects. Can your Media Player do this?
Your claim that a 800Mhz Cyrix is going to "run circles" around a 800Mhz G4 is beyond absurd. Benchmarks from half a dozen sites have clearly shown that the 800Mhz cyrix can't compete with 500-600Mhz celeron's. Those processors in turn are MURDERED by even equivalent speed G4's.
So the iBook wasn't for you. That's OK. Take a prozac. But if you can't figure out that for some users, macs are a great choice, you're doing them a great disservice in recommending something else.
For some computer users (i.e. the mass majority of computer owning consumers), its not the act of hacking away at their boxes that they derive satisfaction from, but the finished product they get from it that interests them. They don't admin networks or write cgi scripts, they make greeting cards and mix CD's for friends. Apple makes great consumer applications, and a lot of people buy them and have a good time. You shouldn't have giant bleeding ulcer's over it.
I appologize on behalf of Apple Computers that they had the gaul to release products that don't appeal to you. I might as well extend that to every other company on the planet who's goods or services you don't patronize.
My vcr has no time read out whatsoever. It still knows what time it is (reads it from the cable signal, so you don't have to set it even), and records shows just fine. At least, it would if it weren't in a box, thanks to ReplayTV;)
The thing about PVR's is that both Tivo's and Replays are very well engineered devices. Any/.'er who time shifts broadcast television who hasn't tried one yet is SHOOTING themselves in the foot. With all the enthusiasm over cool time-saving gadgets, and good (humane) user interfaces, it amazes me that in all these PVR stories, tons of/.'ers talk about how they set their two VCR's to pick up shows during the week. PVR's offer 10x the functionality and are a lot easier to use. The magic of PVR's is the transparency of the technology. It doesn't require a tape every week, no rewinding, and it manages content dynamically based on a set of user-defined rules.
Besides a lack of archiving function (ok, my roommate has a pretty good method that involves streaming MPEG2 off the box over TCP/IP to a G4, then scrubbing the video etc.. but that's besides the point) PVR's bring television watching to a new level.
Amen to that. I recall in korea that the pay phone calls were 10W (I think 1100W=$1, so its like pennies per call), and the phones would "save up" the credit from one person to the next. I don't know if they were subsidized, or even if they're still there (haven't been in 10 years, and EVERYONE carries a cell phone now). But if payphones were like $0.10 for local, and $0.05/min long distance, they might actually get used
Then again, if Apple came out with one I'm sure reviewers would be falling all over themselves to praise it
But even if they have a good product with good reviews, when market adoption is slow, the doomsayers will all point to it and say "look, they just spent x $100 million on this thing, and it's not doing well, I predict they go out of business in 18 months.. yadda yadda"
Personally, I'd love an apple tablet, since slouching in the couch with my tibook is just a bit awkward. But another computer, just for *slouching*?
You DO know that MacOS no longer uses a hardware bootrom, right? And that you CAN copy the bootROM off of any MacOSX install.
MacOnLinux actually comes with documentation telling you how to do this, since some people can have trouble getting to bootrom to load off the OSX partition, so they copy it to their linux partition, then tell MOL to load it from there.
Slashdot Mirror
Your forgetting about all the OS visual elements that are of fixed size. Win/Mac OS have vectored graphics and scaled fonts, but its *NOT* pervasive. Until we have an OS that uses vector graphics for EVERY UI element, your 1200 dpi screen is going to have menu bars that are 1/65" tall, and desktop files with 1/130" text. Yes, we'd all love your 1200 dpi screen, but we as long as we predominately run Win/Mac OS, there's still a lot of development to be done first.
Is this some sort of RAID setup? And if so, does it boast better read/write than single external drives? And if so, what kind of powers does it have? Does it use its powers for good, or for awesome?
I want some of those beefy drives they've got in there for my own RAIDing...
Well said. A "cosmetically" similar product to the XServe is something like the Penguin Computing Altus. Its got fatty dual 64-bit processors, dual gig ethernet, lots of ECC ram, dual HD's on independant IDE channels, PCI-X, 1U enclosure, etc. etc. and guess what? Its cost is very similar to an XServe for similar configurations. Its a stigma they'll probably never live down (that they even offer a computer at $2999, when you can get "some sort" of PC for under $1000 ((ignoring the fact that Dell, Gateway, etc. also have systems that run that high)) ), but price/performance on apple stuff isn't that bad anymore.
Microsoft started their project knowing that they were going to lose money on each console sale, and only make it back on games. Their own model didn't have them making a profit for 3-4 years, and that was with much better sales than they've been realizing. They had billions of dollars of cash they were willing to sink into it, just to get a foothold in the console market. They spent like $450 million on advertising the first year alone. How exactly is apex and via supposed to compete with that, particularly if lots of their customers buy the box as a HW project? They're basically trying to build some soupped up version of the xbox (PC hardware in a nice box with really small WinXP type OS). Does anyone really think they can beat M$ at their own game? (i.e. a game that 1) microsoft made up in the first place, and 2) can't even win themselves?)
I'd read they did something like this in italy, where the cellphone/minutes are free, but whenever you dial someone, you first listen to a ~30 second ad before it connects you.
This works much better, since if ppl called me, then our conversation was interrupted by an ad, I'd just hang up and stop talking to that person via phone.
It runs under Linux, WinXP, and MacOS, it handles ALL the MS files we've run into, and gives us a solid office package for free. Ok, so we're a 3 person company, with only two "office" machines, but our company is 50% MacOSX ;), and we run OpenOffice for productivity. For the cost of one copy of MSOffice, we can get an entire PC workstation, with an overpriced copy of WinXP, and OO.
...but our Windows machines still manage to break something about twice a month due to windows updates. The amount of time we spend "fixing" after updates is quite the PITA. All we run on our machines is half a dozen games (its a LAN center, not like we install new SW every day or anything). WinXP has given us the "stability" to run for days at a time, we just can't run stuff we want to every time an update hits. Our center has 9 Windows machines (8 gaming machines, and a CD server) and 2 macs (web server, and cash register). The only times our macs have been restarted is after power outtages. The PC's are an entirely different matter
This doesn't work. At least not in WinXP using a Lite-On DVD drive. At our LAN center, it was essential that autorun not initiate, so our virtual drive system would function properly. We found three different ways to disable it (including the one you mentioned) that didn't work for every disc. After enough disc switching, all the autorun features were back on anyways. We eventually pulled a minor reg hack that shut down the autorun for good, but none of "checkboxes" and menu's actually disable autorun, as far as we could see.
Apple's WiFi solution (airport) is "falling-off-a-log" easy. If you've already got a cable modem/broadband setup, you pretty much just plug it in. The software included walks you through configuring the network. Its much easier than installing a home based router, for instance. Since every mac since the original iBook (in 1999) has had built-in wi-fi options, its not unusual for her to be running a wireless network.
As the owner of a LAN center, it pains me to read more and more articles about "video game induced crime" or what have you. Thankfully, we've never had to deal with angry parents complaining about violence in the games we carry (i.e. counterstrike, UT2k3, battlefield, etc.), but its an every day concern for us. We've concentrated on licensing titles that have a lot of strategy, teamwork, and strong multiplay options. We considered carrying GTA, but it didn't fit the criterion.
Our LAN customers are mainly between 15-18 yrs old, but some are significantly younger, like 10-12 yrs. The parents we've had in our store have mostly either recognized the games, and been o.k. with it, or specifically told their children not to play certain ones. I think the parents we've run into recognize that raising their kids *is* their responsibility, and they have to keep track of what they do in their free time.
Just a couple miles away in the neighboring town, there's an ordinance stating that patrons under 16 years of age need parental consent to play anything at a gaming center. I don't know if anyone actually follows these ordinances, but its the kind of laws that ppl could pass that makes running a LAN center (what I consider to be the "modern" arcade) a royal PITA.
its sitting in my toolbox right now (my little electronics toolbox, doesn't have space for the whole roll). And yeah, 18"? What the hell can you do with that?
In a slightly related subject, I *used* to carry a duct tape wallet around in highschool (a dual fold with space for 6 credit cards), and even made about a dozen for friends and family. But nowadays I've switched to Manco's neon gaff tape. It holds up about 4x as long, doesn't get nearly as sticky, and its neon bright orange! I've also switched to a tri-fold model that holds 9+ credit cards.
We had something like this at my college. It was a grain based plastic-like material for disposable flatware (forks, spoons, knives). The material was billed as a replacement to plastic utensils and would fully biodegrade in landfills within 30-45 days. The material was also very bitter, overly flexy/soft, and became limp when heated to the temperature of hot food. Hopefully, this material is entirely different
I listened to a QT audio broadcast of an interview with TerraSofts's prez, as he talked about their choice of hardware for the boxer boxen. He couldn't really give concrete reasons that a 600Mhz G3 should carry droolfactor. He said stuff like "our webserver is a 350Mhz G3 running YDL. It handles all our traffic without any problems" and "I think people will be impressed at how well a G3 performs running YLD compared to faster machines. Its just that efficient."
:).
I even asked Terrasoft how they expected to compete with the 2nd hand mac market, and their response was as follows:
As a long time mac/PPC user, and linux hobbyist, I'm very
interested in buildling a custom atx PPC box. You guys are really
spearheading this market, so I guess all my requests should go to
you
Thank you, and yes.
Originally, the announced specs for just mobo+cpu was something
like $495 for a 600Mhz G3, and atx board. I realize that you're
probably positioning this as affordably as possible to grow the
platform. My concern is that there's no way I could pay that when I
can get either a 600Mhz iMac or 500Mhz B&W tower for just $100
more. Is the component price expected to come down any time soon?
It is an issue of volume of production. When volume of production
goes up, price comes down. We are not able to reduce the price at
this point in time. As for iMac and B&W, it is not appropriate to
compare a 4-yr old computer from eBay to a new computer with
Warranty.
Will there be options for faster G3 chips, or multiprocessor
configurations? You probably can't discuss most of this, what is
the expected price range for the G4 based teron board? Do you have
any benchmarks for a teron based linux system vs. a comparable
Macintosh offering (to show off the architectural advantages of the
Mai system, if any)?
We will be shipping an 800 MHz G4 CPU at approximately $650. The
demand for the G3s was limited in comparison to the G4s.
We do not at this time have benchmarks, but will in the near future.
Sincerely,
Amanda
------------
so basically, it was inappropriate to compare a teron board to "older systems" with similar hardware specs, and they had no benchmarks. I drafted a fairly inflamatory response outlining their extreme arrogance, which I havn't sent, but I'm pretty sure they got the message without me.
For most companies, testing and finding out on a per monitor basis would fracture the pricing scheme too much. Many companies already have very complicated replacement policies, such as, 5 stuck red pixels, or 3 green pixels, since green is more stimulating to human vision. You have to keep in mind that pixels can be completely dead (black), or fail to show a particular RGB color, or fail to turn off a particular color. Companies make all sorts of distinctions because a particular color stuck on or off will not interfere with displaying certain colors. Also, some companies will replace a screen with less pixels bad if they are in the middle of the display, and some have policies regarding the closeness of the pixels to each other, as in two bad pixels in the area of a quarter will get you a replacement. Any company would rather make a complicated return policy than a complicated pricing scheme.
But one company is sorta doing what you suggest: Formac has their Oxygen line of displays, which are very attractively priced LCD's. A 17.1" for $500, and a 20.1" for $999. These things have amazing contrast ratio's super bright elements, fast refresh, and outstanding viewing angles. Their priced about 40% lower than their Platinum counterparts even though they perform identically. Their difference is their dead pixel policy is more lenient. Oxygen's have a 1 yr warranty, and a 7 dead pixel policy. Platinum's have a 3 year warranty and 2 dead pixel policy.
So its kinda cool if you don't mind a few bad dots here and there.
Ok, I worked at a computer store, so I've really been around a few hundred LCD's. I've seen dead pixels, stuck pixels, etc. of pretty much every variety. Probably about a dozen instances in the past year. I know half a dozen ppl with LCDs with pixel anomalies (my sister being one).
It happens. mfr's don't cover it, and a healthy LCD can develop bad pixels over time, even the fancy $3000 ones.
If our kids* were going to grow up and live in the past, you're argument would be fine and dandy.
I don't want our kids to have what I had in school. I want them to have access to more technology, more computers, more educational tools. When we were in school, laptops cost 4-10x as much, and didn't do a whole lot (and they weren't laptops, lapcrushers maybe). Nowadays, they're more than comfortable in the consumer computer market, and are hovering around 30% market share among new computer purchases. We are in the dawn of ubiquitous computing. It's the world our kids are going to live in. I think it makes sense to prepare them for it.
If you want to change the way education takes place, really revolutionize the educational process, you have to do things that have never been done before. Maybe the Maine laptops aren't the ultimate solution, but they're a step towards positive change.
People need to forget about what was "Good Enough" or "Just Fine." We need to ask, "what's better?", "what's best?", and "how do we get there?"
Apple's commitment in this program is manyfold. They didn't just hand them 25k iBooks and walk away. They're involved in the hardware, software, techsupport, education, networking, maintenance, and replacement processes. Its all included with the laptops. The TCO for the entire program is $37. They worked with the state of Maine to design a program that was educational, affordable, sustainable and productive. No other company provided a complete bid like this, and its doubtful any other company could.
SO, you've been yacking off without knowing a spit about what your talking about.. but thanks for playing.
* I don't have kids, but I do pay taxes in Maine. So I'm REALLY putting my $$$ where my mouth is.
Well, I don't really believe that the 933Mhz C3 is going to show up the 700Mhz G3. But besides that, I didn't really explain myself well.
My preference stems from the fact that I'm a long time mac user and "productivity" for me means office applications ("Office" compatibility), Adobe suite, DTP, etc. I can attach all sorts of devices and make them work, and work around grahics, video, sound, etc.
In linux, I can get my distro installed, get a few apps, [barely] configure my desktop, and get wireless browsing and email up and working. I've never gotten beyond that since I always revert back to mac after I can't get some firewire device to work, or whatever.
It really boils down to me not being good at the things linux is good for (development, servers, being an ultrageek), and needing the things linux is traditionally weak in (Office suite, multimedia, userfriendly). For the extra $200, I can do a lot more of the things I do than with the Lindows eBook. But like I said, I'd like something lighter than my [comparatively] large 5.4 lb. TiBook for relaxing with on the couch (in the ideal fantasy world, where I can get another laptop just because its lighter than mine!).
Lindows MobilePC - Apple iBook
Price: $800 / $1000
Processor: 933Mhz C3 / 700Mhz G3
Memory: 256MB PC133 / 128MB PC100
(Max Mem, 768MB / 640MB)
HDD: 20GB / 20GB
(Max HD 40GB / 40GB)
Weight: 2.9 lbs / 4.9 lbs
Size: 0.91"x10.43"x8.66" / 1.35"x11.2"x9.06"
Optical Drive: external / internal CD-ROM
USB: 2xUSB 2.0 / 2xUSB 1.1
Firewire: 1 / 1
Graphics: Savage4 16MB shared/ Radeon 7500 16MB
Screen: both 12.1 TFT 1024x768 res
External Video: not specified / VGA output with optional composite
LAN: both 100BT
Modem: optional / 56k v.92
PCMCIA: yes / no
Integrated Wireless: no / yes (optional)
OS: Lindows 3.0 / MacOSX 10.2
Software: D'load free apps via Click-and-Run / Bundled AppleWorks 6, Quicken 2003, FAXstf, iApps, Browsers
Warranty: 2 years / 1 year (3 year optional)
I'd love to have a > 3 lb. tiny subnote for browsing and veggin' on the couch... but for a real productivity machine, the iBooks still wins out for me. Still, wouldn't mind playing around with one!
OS 7.1, 7.6, 8.1, 8.6, 9.1, 9.2 were free, but OS 7.5, and 8.5 were paid upgrades as well. Given that they worked on 10.2 for a year, cycle-wise 10.2 was the equivalent of a x.5, but they like the MacOSX branding so much, they want to stick with it much longer than their traditional numbering scheme. And 10.4 will probably be their idea of "MacOS11".
The whole "paying for point updates" is pretty durn invalid from a dev/feature standpoint. There are plenty of better gripes one could make regarding The Jag.
The rest of Apple's nickel & dime'ing is definitely getting on my nerves. After 18 years and no less than 2 dozen Apple Computers, I'm not likely to switch any time soon (although I do own a pair of Athlon boxes, so "switching" for me doesn't mean a whole lot), but I'm considerably less excited over it.
It would be like MS making you buy Media Player
You seam to be forgetting that Quicktime Pro has hundreds of features that Media Player doesn't. QTPro isn't just a player. It arranges/edits/layers various forms of time-based media, and allows encoding and preparing of media clips in about 20-30 different audio and video formats for a variety of applications, such as streaming applications or DVD authoring. It has support for sprites, links, vector based animation for building interactive multimedia projects. Can your Media Player do this?
Your claim that a 800Mhz Cyrix is going to "run circles" around a 800Mhz G4 is beyond absurd. Benchmarks from half a dozen sites have clearly shown that the 800Mhz cyrix can't compete with 500-600Mhz celeron's. Those processors in turn are MURDERED by even equivalent speed G4's.
So the iBook wasn't for you. That's OK. Take a prozac. But if you can't figure out that for some users, macs are a great choice, you're doing them a great disservice in recommending something else.
For some computer users (i.e. the mass majority of computer owning consumers), its not the act of hacking away at their boxes that they derive satisfaction from, but the finished product they get from it that interests them. They don't admin networks or write cgi scripts, they make greeting cards and mix CD's for friends. Apple makes great consumer applications, and a lot of people buy them and have a good time. You shouldn't have giant bleeding ulcer's over it.
I appologize on behalf of Apple Computers that they had the gaul to release products that don't appeal to you. I might as well extend that to every other company on the planet who's goods or services you don't patronize.
My vcr has no time read out whatsoever. It still knows what time it is (reads it from the cable signal, so you don't have to set it even), and records shows just fine. At least, it would if it weren't in a box, thanks to ReplayTV ;)
/.'er who time shifts broadcast television who hasn't tried one yet is SHOOTING themselves in the foot. With all the enthusiasm over cool time-saving gadgets, and good (humane) user interfaces, it amazes me that in all these PVR stories, tons of /.'ers talk about how they set their two VCR's to pick up shows during the week. PVR's offer 10x the functionality and are a lot easier to use. The magic of PVR's is the transparency of the technology. It doesn't require a tape every week, no rewinding, and it manages content dynamically based on a set of user-defined rules.
The thing about PVR's is that both Tivo's and Replays are very well engineered devices. Any
Besides a lack of archiving function (ok, my roommate has a pretty good method that involves streaming MPEG2 off the box over TCP/IP to a G4, then scrubbing the video etc.. but that's besides the point) PVR's bring television watching to a new level.
Amen to that. I recall in korea that the pay phone calls were 10W (I think 1100W=$1, so its like pennies per call), and the phones would "save up" the credit from one person to the next. I don't know if they were subsidized, or even if they're still there (haven't been in 10 years, and EVERYONE carries a cell phone now). But if payphones were like $0.10 for local, and $0.05/min long distance, they might actually get used
Then again, if Apple came out with one I'm sure reviewers would be falling all over themselves to praise it
But even if they have a good product with good reviews, when market adoption is slow, the doomsayers will all point to it and say "look, they just spent x $100 million on this thing, and it's not doing well, I predict they go out of business in 18 months.. yadda yadda"
Personally, I'd love an apple tablet, since slouching in the couch with my tibook is just a bit awkward. But another computer, just for *slouching*?
You DO know that MacOS no longer uses a hardware bootrom, right? And that you CAN copy the bootROM off of any MacOSX install.
MacOnLinux actually comes with documentation telling you how to do this, since some people can have trouble getting to bootrom to load off the OSX partition, so they copy it to their linux partition, then tell MOL to load it from there.