This is definitely a change for the industry, both good and bad.
I'm a music fan and love going to the music store. I've discovered a lot of bands that way. But, as late many stores in my area have cut back on inventory, the wall of "new" CDs on promotion, albums to listen to in-store (from about 30 down to 9 now) , etc. have all effected my decisions not to purchase any significant amount of albums in a store. I've since turned to on-line resellers, several of which are more friendly to up and coming artists (where I usually find meaningful, well put together albums). I think the Net has made it easier to find new artists on some levels but the sheer amount of information is also difficult to sort though.
I do hope that this means the demise of the RIAA. I just hope that talented producers, "back-up" band musicians (some of the guitarists and drummers are awesome) don't find themselves unemployed.
I don't know if this is good or bad. I won't pretend that I can hear the difference between a really good MP3 and a CD at any time and I won't miss CD jackets. But are we ending up buying a lower quality recording for the same amount of money? And of more concern, will CD/DVD rotting become a concern. I have 10-year old data CDs I've burned and some DVDs (on good, brand name media... I checked it all out) which won't play anymore. If all my CD collection turns to legitimately burned downloads, will I be able to access the recordings 10 years from now? I certainly don't have that problem with commercially pressed CDs.
I wanted to ask a question related to this, and yours is the perfect response!;)
I've looked at the Ruby syntax through a couple of books in the bookstore and from what I saw, I liked it a lot. For most stuff I want to do, Reg Ex, SQL Database search/output and Unix shell stuff, Ruby seems like a substantially easier language as you mention. I think C or C++ would be more complex than what I need and I never quite wrapped my head around why Perl is written the way it is. I haven't looked much at Python or similar languages.
As it sounds like you're doing some (or all) the things in Ruby that I'll ever need and are not using Rails, is Ruby the "best" alternative, or is there another language all-purpose I should look into? Please bear in mind as I ask this that I'm not an I.T. worker and don't have a comp-sci degree. I'm just looking for some efficient ways of automating some tasks I need to do or do everyday and would rather use a program than a GUI.:)
Opps, my fault, I did not mention I have a Rev. "B" iMac. I know there were serious problems with the first iteration of the iMac G5s with faiing components and Apple had to replace them as was your situation. My Rev. B iMac has been without a problem in the last 2.5 years (give or take) that I've owned it. I've only had to upgrade the hard drive and must say the 500 GB Segate w. 16 MB cache drive is noticeably faster.
My comment was not only to the quality but also Apple's lack of response to options. Their utter secrecy on future products casts doubt in my mind of when/if I should upgrade. And, given the iMac only comes in the glossy screens and the lack of a matte display the glare where my monitor is located makes glossy not an option. And I'm not willing to go the iMac route again and cannot afford and would not want to spend the money on a Mac Pro.
At least hardware wise, Apple is likely to lose out on my future business.
This touches on a much larger problem for Apple... they make throw-away gadgets and computers of increasingly lesser quality as they build up a user-base. They are in some ways becoming Dell by decreasing quality (for increased profit) as their sales volume increases.
I think the quality of the iMac systems have gone down since the switch-over to Intel. I'm not tempted to buy one and would rather continue to use my G5 (not an option much longer) or buy a PC. I have to buy a whole lot of extra junk and throw it away after using it because Apple couldn't/wouldn't make a more affordable and expandable desktop. I'd like a better video card. I'd like a second hard-drive inside the system, ditto a better DVD burner. So when I replace the iMac with a PC, I don't need the HDD and burner enclosure. My LCD monitor (on the iMac), if I decide not to keep the iMac is utterly useless to me as I can't change it from computer to LCD monitor (there is a way, I'm not tempted or skilled enough to try).
The iPod market is very much dependent on a throw-away society. My 5th Gen iPod's battery is supposed to last around 12 to 20 hours (can't remember the marketing lingo) but it has only ever lasted around 6 hours. I've replaced the battery myself with a higher life brand-name battery. Still same result. The shuffle, nano and the iPhone build on this idea of throw-away. I don't like the idea of having to send-in a cell-phone and not have access to it for a few days for Apple to change the battery. Hello?! for some people its their only phone. Calling 911, at the least, is going to be impossible!
There's a much easier solution to this whole mess: the "Plane Sitting Nazi" (adopted from Seinfeld, of course):
Get the wrong seat. No flight for you - ever. Seated, but have to get up before take-off - No flight for you.
Now there might be opponents. There are a lot of other soup kitchens too. If people want the faster, more efficient service, let us use the airline that offers this service.
IMO, people shouldn't be allowed to take huge "carry-on luggage" anyways. If its bigger than a purse, its not carry-on. Leave it behind or pay the extra cost. I haven't flown much, but there's always someone delaying a flight 10 - 15 min, even on a short 2-hour flight that will always annoy everyone and demand that their carry-on goes in the bin overhead. The airlines won't kick them off, even a 1 minute delay costs them a lot more than what they paid for the ticket. And with a few people causing a delay, it would have been faster (and cheaper) to drive.
Side comment to your post. I thought it interesting that you noted the problem with typing papers on the C64. Its interesting now that computers are considerably faster that too much data, graphics and charts are added to papers that don't need to be there. I think the C64 would be a welcome regression for some professions!
AOL yes and no. The AOL portal site, as I recall, with all the keyword sites might have worked if the Internet either became the AOL model or everyone subscribed to AOL. Neither happened.
AOLTimeWarner is a totally different story. Here the company, is the Telco, and could be the destination (look and see everything TW owns). I think the AOLTW bosses have realized that their poor implementation didn't get them far. With them being a giant media company and all, I would have thought they would have gotten it right.
Anyhow, the Internet is what it is today. We can't all be the next TV or movie giant company and dominate Hollywood. But we all have the ability to code up a YouTube or Google type site. The telcos don't like it (lose control) and Sun doesn't like it because they loose out on selling their really pricey equipment to one company that can afford it.
I don't think McNealy's vision will come about. People want (or will want) customized websites / content and its something I don't think one company will ever be able to offer.
I see it as a way for MS to avoid more trouble with the EU and lower the price tag of existing lawsuits. I don't think its a sudden 'embrace' of openness or transparency.
Re:I inadvertently switched to Intel...
on
Is AMD Dead Yet?
·
· Score: 1
I was about to bring up Apple because of the IBM connection. Since IBM is making (granted all different) CPUs for the PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii, IBM will now have a very large install base. Since the Power 6 is being sold now but mostly to server markets, does this mean IBM is coming back to the CPU market? And what would happen if AMD went out of business? Would Intel not have a competitor?
I agree. But I'd say first and foremost, Microsoft's problem is Microsoft. The Ford motto was (is?) "Quality is Job #1". Instead of spending billions acquiring companies, spend it on better quality software development.
In this case, spending billions to acquire another company just cause you're sitting on billions makes no sense. They're going to waste billions more after the purchase to figure out how to transform SAP, Yahoo or whatever into Microsoft. There's a lot of companies that have succeeded doing this but few are as big, complicated and perhaps in as competitive marketplace as Microsoft.
This isn't about Vista sales. This is about 5, 10 or 20 years down the road. If Microsoft doesn't pick up the slack, someone else is. And wasting those years restructuring an SAP, Yahoo or whatever behemoth they want to buy and integrate is not going to save their company.
I would agree. So little of the overall cost and price at the cast register of a movie or music recording on DVD or CD pays for the actual disc. Even if the media were slightly more expensive, it should not add to the cost at the cash. I think it would therefore be much better to buy a Read-only Flash or cartridge based system so long as the life-span and durability of the product are the same, with no DRM so that I can copy on my computer and music players.
I think this is quite fair. And if the RIAA and MPAA *really* want consumers to support their members, doing so to upgrade to the "next" medium. I have 300 CD's and I'll guarantee no matter what "enhanced" quality they're going to sell, I'm not buying them all over again for $10 or $15 / pop each. This is where I'm concerned with a collusion of ownership with Sony. They manufacture electronics which play products from their music, game and movie studios. It creates an obvious profit incentive to not serve their customers with cheap next-gen media upgrades.
I'm doubly concerned with all the junk this latest movie format war has produced. Its bad enough we "threw" out a bunch of Beta tapes before recycling plastic caught on. Now that recycling has caught on, and environmentalism is popular, we're just going to throw out brand-new top of the line $1000 home entrainment products and accompanying media because one "format" was somehow deemed better than the other?
As for the other comment on video games, I remember Sierra used to have a really great exchange policy - as did most other software companies - back when floppy disks were used. And if memory strikes me, even cartridge based NES games were easy to exchange. Considering the cartridges were substantially more expensive to make, I was all the more grateful.
I think the answer, for me anyways, on the defining game for the PS3 is Metal Gear Solid 4. Personally, I'm waiting to get a PS3 for MGS4. I don't particularly care for, nor have the time to play games. I've grown fond of MGS series and want to see how it ends.
Truth be told, I could care less for getting a PS3. But I will as a catalyst to upgrading slowly towards HDTV and stereo system. I'll need to do the TV and DVD player anyways as I'm still on a TV and second gen DVD player.... sooner basic cable and renting movies, I think, will be impossible without an HDTV. At least the PS3 is standardized... I think I still have to be careful to get a good quality fairly standards compliant, expandable HDTV without having to spill major coin.
I was thinking the same thing. It might be a service that makes or breaks Yahoo, and I guess Yang is looking at it to make MS uneager to buy Yahoo. If Yahoo offers the service and then MS cuts it off, Yahoo does't stay popular anymore and would be a total write-off for MS. And they still wouldn't be further ahead against Google.
They can be wrong as much as they want with the public. It doesn't count and it certainly doesn't matter. Its evident many members of the public already dislike the groups like the RIAA/MPAA.
All these groups need is one politician to listen to them. That's all that counts. Get their attention and they politicians will try to reform laws in the RIAA/MPAA's favor. Hey, its already worked and continued to work.
I'm hoping this process is eventually used against the RIAA/MPAA which will put them out of operation.
I've always seen Yahoo as a bit of a "joke" search engine. There were always engines with better results like Altavista and HotBot in the early WWW days. I still can't understand how Yahoo has managed to succeed and thrive. I have only ever used them for the Directory and even that is horribly out of date. MS really screwed up with the MSN search engined. I don't know if buying Yahoo will help.
The only current -remotely popular- desktop app Yahoo has is their widget stuff which Mac users already have and Vista users (if they existed;) ) would have. The e-mail service is more popular and they've taken over, under contract, some ISPs e-mail services. They have Messenger which MS will likely kill. But I've not seen anything about Yahoo having a Web-Office presence, FCC spectrum bid, or Operating System. These are 3 key areas that Google has over Yahoo and areas where MS could use.
I think it would be really interesting, if Google turned around and bought Microsoft. They don't have the cash. I wonder what kind of posts we'd have on that thread on Slashdot? Would MS become less evil or Google even more?
Ballmer like Yahoo because, unlike the current MSN site, Yahoo's directory service, it helps him as a busy CEOs make easier. An easy to read lists such as the following example, helps answer the question to What Chair do you Want to Throw Today?
I haven't used Vista so I don't know if its great or really bad. I would say that in the time I've used XP (since its release date) and the few times I've used Windows Server 2003, I would say 2003 is a massive improvement on XP - less resources used, faster boot time, seems faster overall. If a fix is needed for Vista, MS should just release a SOHO Windows 2003 (w/o all the server stuff) for OEM distribution for the same price as XP and Vista are selling right now.
I thought the same thing but for a different reason. I think its very rare (can't emphasize that enough) that the CIA ever "confirms or denys" any questions asked to it by the media let alone releases a comment to the media.
If the breach is the result, though, of remote IP software installed on the power grid for persons to administer the electrical grid, I think this is gross negligence, stupidity and downright dangerous. It seems with the amount of capital and revenue power companies have and the fact the entire economy depends on the power grid, the smart thing to do would be to hire extra staff to supervise the equipment at *all hours*.
Let me add my name to the -already- long list. I have an iMac G5. I was a first-time Mac buyer 3 years ago. The value OS X has added to my computing compared to Windows is immeasurable. No viruses, no registry, spyware, 150 files to update in Windows updates to worry about. Automator, 'Nix console are icing on the cake. But I will probably have to go back to using Windows in the next 4 to 6 months. I'm keeping my iMac its paid off and its hassle free. But, hardware wise there are too many limitations to the iMac. The Mac Pro + (any LCD, never mind Apple LCD prices are too high)- especially after adding 3 year Apple care, is just to bloody expensive.
And that's another thing. What's up with the Apple monitor prices? $599 for a 20" Cinema display??!! I can buy 2 great name brand 24" monitors for the same price!
I'm sure I'm not alone in this belief. And a lot of first time Mac buyers - of all technical levels - bought the "new" iMac design because it was that or the then Power Mac G5. The Power Mac G5 was an expensive purchase and at least a "loss" on the iMac wouldn't have been a big a blow. But the desktop hardware is really lacking for those of us who want to expand the computer internally and upgrade the video card, at the least to be able to play HD video as better cards are released.
Slashdot Mirror
This is definitely a change for the industry, both good and bad.
... I checked it all out) which won't play anymore. If all my CD collection turns to legitimately burned downloads, will I be able to access the recordings 10 years from now? I certainly don't have that problem with commercially pressed CDs.
I'm a music fan and love going to the music store. I've discovered a lot of bands that way. But, as late many stores in my area have cut back on inventory, the wall of "new" CDs on promotion, albums to listen to in-store (from about 30 down to 9 now) , etc. have all effected my decisions not to purchase any significant amount of albums in a store. I've since turned to on-line resellers, several of which are more friendly to up and coming artists (where I usually find meaningful, well put together albums). I think the Net has made it easier to find new artists on some levels but the sheer amount of information is also difficult to sort though.
I do hope that this means the demise of the RIAA. I just hope that talented producers, "back-up" band musicians (some of the guitarists and drummers are awesome) don't find themselves unemployed.
I don't know if this is good or bad. I won't pretend that I can hear the difference between a really good MP3 and a CD at any time and I won't miss CD jackets. But are we ending up buying a lower quality recording for the same amount of money? And of more concern, will CD/DVD rotting become a concern. I have 10-year old data CDs I've burned and some DVDs (on good, brand name media
I wanted to ask a question related to this, and yours is the perfect response! ;)
:)
I've looked at the Ruby syntax through a couple of books in the bookstore and from what I saw, I liked it a lot. For most stuff I want to do, Reg Ex, SQL Database search/output and Unix shell stuff, Ruby seems like a substantially easier language as you mention. I think C or C++ would be more complex than what I need and I never quite wrapped my head around why Perl is written the way it is. I haven't looked much at Python or similar languages.
As it sounds like you're doing some (or all) the things in Ruby that I'll ever need and are not using Rails, is Ruby the "best" alternative, or is there another language all-purpose I should look into? Please bear in mind as I ask this that I'm not an I.T. worker and don't have a comp-sci degree. I'm just looking for some efficient ways of automating some tasks I need to do or do everyday and would rather use a program than a GUI.
Opps, my fault, I did not mention I have a Rev. "B" iMac. I know there were serious problems with the first iteration of the iMac G5s with faiing components and Apple had to replace them as was your situation. My Rev. B iMac has been without a problem in the last 2.5 years (give or take) that I've owned it. I've only had to upgrade the hard drive and must say the 500 GB Segate w. 16 MB cache drive is noticeably faster.
My comment was not only to the quality but also Apple's lack of response to options. Their utter secrecy on future products casts doubt in my mind of when/if I should upgrade. And, given the iMac only comes in the glossy screens and the lack of a matte display the glare where my monitor is located makes glossy not an option. And I'm not willing to go the iMac route again and cannot afford and would not want to spend the money on a Mac Pro.
At least hardware wise, Apple is likely to lose out on my future business.
Market Expansion: They should combine the two businesses together and pay people to vote.
This touches on a much larger problem for Apple ... they make throw-away gadgets and computers of increasingly lesser quality as they build up a user-base. They are in some ways becoming Dell by decreasing quality (for increased profit) as their sales volume increases.
I think the quality of the iMac systems have gone down since the switch-over to Intel. I'm not tempted to buy one and would rather continue to use my G5 (not an option much longer) or buy a PC. I have to buy a whole lot of extra junk and throw it away after using it because Apple couldn't/wouldn't make a more affordable and expandable desktop. I'd like a better video card. I'd like a second hard-drive inside the system, ditto a better DVD burner. So when I replace the iMac with a PC, I don't need the HDD and burner enclosure. My LCD monitor (on the iMac), if I decide not to keep the iMac is utterly useless to me as I can't change it from computer to LCD monitor (there is a way, I'm not tempted or skilled enough to try).
The iPod market is very much dependent on a throw-away society. My 5th Gen iPod's battery is supposed to last around 12 to 20 hours (can't remember the marketing lingo) but it has only ever lasted around 6 hours. I've replaced the battery myself with a higher life brand-name battery. Still same result. The shuffle, nano and the iPhone build on this idea of throw-away. I don't like the idea of having to send-in a cell-phone and not have access to it for a few days for Apple to change the battery. Hello?! for some people its their only phone. Calling 911, at the least, is going to be impossible!
There's a much easier solution to this whole mess: the "Plane Sitting Nazi" (adopted from Seinfeld, of course):
Get the wrong seat. No flight for you - ever. Seated, but have to get up before take-off - No flight for you.
Now there might be opponents. There are a lot of other soup kitchens too. If people want the faster, more efficient service, let us use the airline that offers this service.
IMO, people shouldn't be allowed to take huge "carry-on luggage" anyways. If its bigger than a purse, its not carry-on. Leave it behind or pay the extra cost. I haven't flown much, but there's always someone delaying a flight 10 - 15 min, even on a short 2-hour flight that will always annoy everyone and demand that their carry-on goes in the bin overhead. The airlines won't kick them off, even a 1 minute delay costs them a lot more than what they paid for the ticket. And with a few people causing a delay, it would have been faster (and cheaper) to drive.
Side comment to your post. I thought it interesting that you noted the problem with typing papers on the C64. Its interesting now that computers are considerably faster that too much data, graphics and charts are added to papers that don't need to be there. I think the C64 would be a welcome regression for some professions!
AOL yes and no. The AOL portal site, as I recall, with all the keyword sites might have worked if the Internet either became the AOL model or everyone subscribed to AOL. Neither happened.
AOLTimeWarner is a totally different story. Here the company, is the Telco, and could be the destination (look and see everything TW owns). I think the AOLTW bosses have realized that their poor implementation didn't get them far. With them being a giant media company and all, I would have thought they would have gotten it right.
Anyhow, the Internet is what it is today. We can't all be the next TV or movie giant company and dominate Hollywood. But we all have the ability to code up a YouTube or Google type site. The telcos don't like it (lose control) and Sun doesn't like it because they loose out on selling their really pricey equipment to one company that can afford it.
I don't think McNealy's vision will come about. People want (or will want) customized websites / content and its something I don't think one company will ever be able to offer.
Why isn't anyone mining Uranus for diamonds, then? Seem that this would be the cheapest (and most profitable) space exploration possible!
I see it as a way for MS to avoid more trouble with the EU and lower the price tag of existing lawsuits. I don't think its a sudden 'embrace' of openness or transparency.
I was about to bring up Apple because of the IBM connection. Since IBM is making (granted all different) CPUs for the PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii, IBM will now have a very large install base. Since the Power 6 is being sold now but mostly to server markets, does this mean IBM is coming back to the CPU market? And what would happen if AMD went out of business? Would Intel not have a competitor?
I agree. But I'd say first and foremost, Microsoft's problem is Microsoft. The Ford motto was (is?) "Quality is Job #1". Instead of spending billions acquiring companies, spend it on better quality software development.
In this case, spending billions to acquire another company just cause you're sitting on billions makes no sense. They're going to waste billions more after the purchase to figure out how to transform SAP, Yahoo or whatever into Microsoft. There's a lot of companies that have succeeded doing this but few are as big, complicated and perhaps in as competitive marketplace as Microsoft.
This isn't about Vista sales. This is about 5, 10 or 20 years down the road. If Microsoft doesn't pick up the slack, someone else is. And wasting those years restructuring an SAP, Yahoo or whatever behemoth they want to buy and integrate is not going to save their company.
I would agree. So little of the overall cost and price at the cast register of a movie or music recording on DVD or CD pays for the actual disc. Even if the media were slightly more expensive, it should not add to the cost at the cash. I think it would therefore be much better to buy a Read-only Flash or cartridge based system so long as the life-span and durability of the product are the same, with no DRM so that I can copy on my computer and music players.
I think this is quite fair. And if the RIAA and MPAA *really* want consumers to support their members, doing so to upgrade to the "next" medium. I have 300 CD's and I'll guarantee no matter what "enhanced" quality they're going to sell, I'm not buying them all over again for $10 or $15 / pop each. This is where I'm concerned with a collusion of ownership with Sony. They manufacture electronics which play products from their music, game and movie studios. It creates an obvious profit incentive to not serve their customers with cheap next-gen media upgrades.
I'm doubly concerned with all the junk this latest movie format war has produced. Its bad enough we "threw" out a bunch of Beta tapes before recycling plastic caught on. Now that recycling has caught on, and environmentalism is popular, we're just going to throw out brand-new top of the line $1000 home entrainment products and accompanying media because one "format" was somehow deemed better than the other?
As for the other comment on video games, I remember Sierra used to have a really great exchange policy - as did most other software companies - back when floppy disks were used. And if memory strikes me, even cartridge based NES games were easy to exchange. Considering the cartridges were substantially more expensive to make, I was all the more grateful.
I think the answer, for me anyways, on the defining game for the PS3 is Metal Gear Solid 4. Personally, I'm waiting to get a PS3 for MGS4. I don't particularly care for, nor have the time to play games. I've grown fond of MGS series and want to see how it ends.
.... sooner basic cable and renting movies, I think, will be impossible without an HDTV. At least the PS3 is standardized ... I think I still have to be careful to get a good quality fairly standards compliant, expandable HDTV without having to spill major coin.
Truth be told, I could care less for getting a PS3. But I will as a catalyst to upgrading slowly towards HDTV and stereo system. I'll need to do the TV and DVD player anyways as I'm still on a TV and second gen DVD player
I can't confirm or deny if you're telling the truth. ;)
I was thinking the same thing. It might be a service that makes or breaks Yahoo, and I guess Yang is looking at it to make MS uneager to buy Yahoo. If Yahoo offers the service and then MS cuts it off, Yahoo does't stay popular anymore and would be a total write-off for MS. And they still wouldn't be further ahead against Google.
They can be wrong as much as they want with the public. It doesn't count and it certainly doesn't matter. Its evident many members of the public already dislike the groups like the RIAA/MPAA.
All these groups need is one politician to listen to them. That's all that counts. Get their attention and they politicians will try to reform laws in the RIAA/MPAA's favor. Hey, its already worked and continued to work.
I'm hoping this process is eventually used against the RIAA/MPAA which will put them out of operation.
I've always seen Yahoo as a bit of a "joke" search engine. There were always engines with better results like Altavista and HotBot in the early WWW days. I still can't understand how Yahoo has managed to succeed and thrive. I have only ever used them for the Directory and even that is horribly out of date. MS really screwed up with the MSN search engined. I don't know if buying Yahoo will help.
;) ) would have. The e-mail service is more popular and they've taken over, under contract, some ISPs e-mail services. They have Messenger which MS will likely kill. But I've not seen anything about Yahoo having a Web-Office presence, FCC spectrum bid, or Operating System. These are 3 key areas that Google has over Yahoo and areas where MS could use.
The only current -remotely popular- desktop app Yahoo has is their widget stuff which Mac users already have and Vista users (if they existed
I think it would be really interesting, if Google turned around and bought Microsoft. They don't have the cash. I wonder what kind of posts we'd have on that thread on Slashdot? Would MS become less evil or Google even more?
Ballmer like Yahoo because, unlike the current MSN site, Yahoo's directory service, it helps him as a busy CEOs make easier. An easy to read lists such as the following example, helps answer the question to What Chair do you Want to Throw Today?
My IS fil ers my o -bound pac ets to many we ites. Ju t make it har er to re d wh t I wri e. I'm a re ly a go d spell er trust me.
I haven't used Vista so I don't know if its great or really bad. I would say that in the time I've used XP (since its release date) and the few times I've used Windows Server 2003, I would say 2003 is a massive improvement on XP - less resources used, faster boot time, seems faster overall. If a fix is needed for Vista, MS should just release a SOHO Windows 2003 (w/o all the server stuff) for OEM distribution for the same price as XP and Vista are selling right now.
I thought the same thing but for a different reason. I think its very rare (can't emphasize that enough) that the CIA ever "confirms or denys" any questions asked to it by the media let alone releases a comment to the media.
If the breach is the result, though, of remote IP software installed on the power grid for persons to administer the electrical grid, I think this is gross negligence, stupidity and downright dangerous. It seems with the amount of capital and revenue power companies have and the fact the entire economy depends on the power grid, the smart thing to do would be to hire extra staff to supervise the equipment at *all hours*.
If they are working on "The Fear", then "The Pain", "The Sorrow" "The Fury" and "The End" can't be too far behind?
Let me add my name to the -already- long list. I have an iMac G5. I was a first-time Mac buyer 3 years ago. The value OS X has added to my computing compared to Windows is immeasurable. No viruses, no registry, spyware, 150 files to update in Windows updates to worry about. Automator, 'Nix console are icing on the cake. But I will probably have to go back to using Windows in the next 4 to 6 months. I'm keeping my iMac its paid off and its hassle free. But, hardware wise there are too many limitations to the iMac. The Mac Pro + (any LCD, never mind Apple LCD prices are too high)- especially after adding 3 year Apple care, is just to bloody expensive.
And that's another thing. What's up with the Apple monitor prices? $599 for a 20" Cinema display??!! I can buy 2 great name brand 24" monitors for the same price!
I'm sure I'm not alone in this belief. And a lot of first time Mac buyers - of all technical levels - bought the "new" iMac design because it was that or the then Power Mac G5. The Power Mac G5 was an expensive purchase and at least a "loss" on the iMac wouldn't have been a big a blow. But the desktop hardware is really lacking for those of us who want to expand the computer internally and upgrade the video card, at the least to be able to play HD video as better cards are released.