Just running out and finding the cheapest Dell computer and comparing it to the cheapest Apple computer while completely ignoring the DVD burner in the Mac, the Firewire and USB ports, the DVI connector, the iLife suite, and so on is just anti-Apple FUD.
Why? The Dell costs $249. The Mac Mini costs $499. Those are facts. Sure, the Mac Mini comes with a bunch of stuff the Dell doesn't. But if you don't want or need that stuff, then it's just extra crap you have to buy. The Dell is perfectly capable of cruising the internet, playing MP3's, sending emails, storing and viewing digital photos, typing up letters, and playing solitiare, which is covers what 90% of home users want anyway.
And don't forget the stuff the Dell comes with that the Mini doesn't.
Their catalog sales for artists like David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, etc. are a HUGE money maker.
Especially since the costs of producing the music have long since passed, and there is little need to promote those artists heavily either. Other than the royalties and the costs of making the discs, the rest is just money in their pockets.
So - is there anyone who is for OS X on generic PC hardware *and* for the GPL?
Well, the OSX on generic hardware is actually about EULA's, as that is where Apple tries to stick in the "You can only run this software on an Apple Macintosh" clause. And from what I have seen from this site, there are many people here who disagree with EULA's, as they are an attempt to make you agree to give away fair use rights amonst other things after a sale has been made. Many people here feel that this isn't fair, and that the EULA lacks certain things to make it a binding, legal contract. If the EULA is not a binding, legal contract, the whole "You can only run this on a Mac" clause has no teeth.
On the other hand, the GPL does the opposite of a EULA. It grants you rights that you would not normally have under copyright law, and takes no rights away that you would normally have under copyright law. With GPL software, you can basically do whatever the hell you want with it unless you decide to redistribute changes you make to others (you can only do this legally under the GPL if you follow certain rules). Most people don't have a problem with this, unless they work for SCO.
Re:Hackers are irrelevant, OS X on a PC a novelty
on
OSx86 Cracked Again
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· Score: 1
It will be a somewhat unreliable machine, unavailable for days at a time while hackers reverse engineer and workaround the latest software update.
Unless Apple starts creating Microsoft-sized security holes in their software, you could just not update the machine once you have it working. Or more likely, do a big update every few months when you have some time to spare and there is some new feature you've just got to have is released.
I don't see how that would be an issue, unless they specifically lock out the Intel P4's with the 64bit extensions. Otherwise, it just looks like a cheap way to generate hype over the 64bit buzzword.
Its called innovation, its called competition. They were just better at it than the rest and now they've got their just rewards. Get over it.
That's not what the parent was getting at. It's true that Apple built a vertical market for themselves, mostly by being hip and having a good product. But they also throw their weight around to keep it that way. They want your iTunes purchased music to be mostly useless if you buy another brand of music player, so that when you are in the market for your next MP3 player you'll buy an iPod rather than deal with the hassle of repurchasing/breaking the DRM on the music you have. Whether or not that is monopolistic is now the question at stake.
I'll be happy to read your arguments as to why it is not a distinct market, and who might be the other players.
Maybe the market isn't "x86 machines", but instead is "Home/Office computers"? In which case you have Apple competing in the market, and back in the 1990's others like OS/2 and BeOS. Besides, by your logic, Apple would have a monopoly in the "distinct market" of "PPC-based computers".
When you license something, how is it yours? When you lease a car, it isn't yours. When you rent a tool, it isn't yours.
And if I rent a tool, and the tool breaks for some reason (that's not my fault), the rental place will replace the tool. So if I am licensing the content, and the CD rots or the tape wears out, I should get a replacement for free (or a mininaml fee that would cover shipping/printing cost). I shoudn't have to go to the store and buy new license. The media cartel can't have it both ways.
Good god do I hope that point 'B' starts happening. Right now my office computer is running a 2.8Ghz P4 with a 6 year old 32MB video card... Don't understand how OEM's (Read: Dell) can get away with that crap.
Hey, it's a Dell. Consider yourself lucky that you don't have a Intel integrated chipset with shared memory. Compared to that, even a crappy 6 year old video card is a huge upgrade.
Before you try to say macs aren't upgradable, my wife's powermac has a retail ati 9800 in it and it shipped with a geforce 4 mx 32mb AGP card.
Well, the video in the PowerMac G5 (starting at $1999) is upgradable, but any Mac below that is not. So for most people, "Macs aren't upgradable" is pretty much true, because the Macs that are upgradeable cost more than most people are going to spend.
Another dumb move by Apple (in my opinion) is intentionally crippling the dual head capabilities of all but their high end computers, despite installing video chipsets that are more than capable of it. Of course, you can't do anything about it because those systems are also non-upgradeable. Crap like that is what really turns me off of Apple.
One factor that makes this day and age unique from previous times is that we have a giant music cartel that has a huge influence over what is considered popular. Luckily, it seems that their power is dwindling.
A woman was kidnapped from a Boston suburb 2 or 3 years ago, killed and her body driven to a remote site in NH and dumped. No evidence at the scene pointed to who did it, how or where they'e taken her. But her cellphone was still on. The time of the crime and roughly the route taken in its perpetration were established. The body, then the car and finally the cultprit were all found. You win some, you lose something. take your choice.
I guess it's nice that they caught the criminals, but despite the tracking, the woman still ended up dead.
Then when are they going to "delist" Experts exchange, a site that often comes up for technical questions, but does not allow the answer to be seen without a subscription.
Actually, you can view the responses to atleast some of the questions on Expert Exchange. Just keep scrolling down past the several pages of ads and other crap. I still don't like the site though.
The iPod Shuffle really isn't any different. The end of life for most Shuffles is probably going to be when its built in battery finally gives up the ghost.
Re:Market Opportunity for Macs and Linux
on
Buy Vista or Else
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· Score: 1
but Apple has always been known as "cool, sleek, well designed, pretty" among us old school Mac users
What are you talking about? I remember the Macs from 10 years ago. They were TERRIBLE machines. Even Windows 95 was cool, sleek, pretty, and well designed in comparison.
Actually, this may be one of the cases where the fragmentation in the PC world could be a good thing. If an exploit exists for some model of PC, how many other computers would be affected? Could an exploit designed for a Dell running a P4 damage my Socket A system running some off brand board from Newegg? I doubt it.
On the other hand, I would guess that if you managed to find some way to attack the firmware on one Apple model, chances are you could use the same technique to attack many different models.
A lazy person could just set the jumper to allow writing and leave it set like that. I don't see how that would affect anything, though they lose their BIOS protection against viruses. To take it one step further, the manufacturer could ship the board with the jumper set, and the paranoid can remove it if they want the protection.
Slashdot Mirror
Stop spreading FUD
It's a joke. Lighten up.
Just running out and finding the cheapest Dell computer and comparing it to the cheapest Apple computer while completely ignoring the DVD burner in the Mac, the Firewire and USB ports, the DVI connector, the iLife suite, and so on is just anti-Apple FUD.
Why? The Dell costs $249. The Mac Mini costs $499. Those are facts. Sure, the Mac Mini comes with a bunch of stuff the Dell doesn't. But if you don't want or need that stuff, then it's just extra crap you have to buy. The Dell is perfectly capable of cruising the internet, playing MP3's, sending emails, storing and viewing digital photos, typing up letters, and playing solitiare, which is covers what 90% of home users want anyway.
And don't forget the stuff the Dell comes with that the Mini doesn't.
I forget the other "fault" that was noted when the iPod debuted. ;)
That it was available only to Mac users?
Their catalog sales for artists like David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, etc. are a HUGE money maker.
Especially since the costs of producing the music have long since passed, and there is little need to promote those artists heavily either. Other than the royalties and the costs of making the discs, the rest is just money in their pockets.
Really? How do you account then for sites getting slashdotted?
People clicking on the links to look at the pictures, duh.
So - is there anyone who is for OS X on generic PC hardware *and* for the GPL?
Well, the OSX on generic hardware is actually about EULA's, as that is where Apple tries to stick in the "You can only run this software on an Apple Macintosh" clause. And from what I have seen from this site, there are many people here who disagree with EULA's, as they are an attempt to make you agree to give away fair use rights amonst other things after a sale has been made. Many people here feel that this isn't fair, and that the EULA lacks certain things to make it a binding, legal contract. If the EULA is not a binding, legal contract, the whole "You can only run this on a Mac" clause has no teeth.
On the other hand, the GPL does the opposite of a EULA. It grants you rights that you would not normally have under copyright law, and takes no rights away that you would normally have under copyright law. With GPL software, you can basically do whatever the hell you want with it unless you decide to redistribute changes you make to others (you can only do this legally under the GPL if you follow certain rules). Most people don't have a problem with this, unless they work for SCO.
It will be a somewhat unreliable machine, unavailable for days at a time while hackers reverse engineer and workaround the latest software update.
Unless Apple starts creating Microsoft-sized security holes in their software, you could just not update the machine once you have it working. Or more likely, do a big update every few months when you have some time to spare and there is some new feature you've just got to have is released.
I don't see how that would be an issue, unless they specifically lock out the Intel P4's with the 64bit extensions. Otherwise, it just looks like a cheap way to generate hype over the 64bit buzzword.
Its called innovation, its called competition. They were just better at it than the rest and now they've got their just rewards. Get over it.
That's not what the parent was getting at. It's true that Apple built a vertical market for themselves, mostly by being hip and having a good product. But they also throw their weight around to keep it that way. They want your iTunes purchased music to be mostly useless if you buy another brand of music player, so that when you are in the market for your next MP3 player you'll buy an iPod rather than deal with the hassle of repurchasing/breaking the DRM on the music you have. Whether or not that is monopolistic is now the question at stake.
I'll be happy to read your arguments as to why it is not a distinct market, and who might be the other players.
Maybe the market isn't "x86 machines", but instead is "Home/Office computers"? In which case you have Apple competing in the market, and back in the 1990's others like OS/2 and BeOS. Besides, by your logic, Apple would have a monopoly in the "distinct market" of "PPC-based computers".
When you license something, how is it yours? When you lease a car, it isn't yours. When you rent a tool, it isn't yours.
And if I rent a tool, and the tool breaks for some reason (that's not my fault), the rental place will replace the tool. So if I am licensing the content, and the CD rots or the tape wears out, I should get a replacement for free (or a mininaml fee that would cover shipping/printing cost). I shoudn't have to go to the store and buy new license. The media cartel can't have it both ways.
Good god do I hope that point 'B' starts happening. Right now my office computer is running a 2.8Ghz P4 with a 6 year old 32MB video card... Don't understand how OEM's (Read: Dell) can get away with that crap.
Hey, it's a Dell. Consider yourself lucky that you don't have a Intel integrated chipset with shared memory. Compared to that, even a crappy 6 year old video card is a huge upgrade.
Before you try to say macs aren't upgradable, my wife's powermac has a retail ati 9800 in it and it shipped with a geforce 4 mx 32mb AGP card.
Well, the video in the PowerMac G5 (starting at $1999) is upgradable, but any Mac below that is not. So for most people, "Macs aren't upgradable" is pretty much true, because the Macs that are upgradeable cost more than most people are going to spend.
Another dumb move by Apple (in my opinion) is intentionally crippling the dual head capabilities of all but their high end computers, despite installing video chipsets that are more than capable of it. Of course, you can't do anything about it because those systems are also non-upgradeable. Crap like that is what really turns me off of Apple.
You can get a machine for half the price that runs OS X?
You sure can.
wow what a troll.
The only troll here is you. (unless you actually have some proof of your outlandish claims, in which case show it)
One factor that makes this day and age unique from previous times is that we have a giant music cartel that has a huge influence over what is considered popular. Luckily, it seems that their power is dwindling.
A woman was kidnapped from a Boston suburb 2 or 3 years ago, killed and her body driven to a remote site in NH and dumped. No evidence at the scene pointed to who did it, how or where they'e taken her. But her cellphone was still on. The time of the crime and roughly the route taken in its perpetration were established. The body, then the car and finally the cultprit were all found. You win some, you lose something. take your choice.
I guess it's nice that they caught the criminals, but despite the tracking, the woman still ended up dead.
Strange... I get failuremag.com and failurecomics.com as the first two results, whether I click on that link or search from Google's main page.
Hmm... do you have safe search on?
Then when are they going to "delist" Experts exchange, a site that often comes up for technical questions, but does not allow the answer to be seen without a subscription.
Actually, you can view the responses to atleast some of the questions on Expert Exchange. Just keep scrolling down past the several pages of ads and other crap. I still don't like the site though.
but Macs have been impervious to every big, newsworthy Windows virus in the past five years.
Well, of course they are. That's why they are called Windows viruses.
Wait! This just in: Windows is impervious to Linux rootkits.
The iPod Shuffle really isn't any different. The end of life for most Shuffles is probably going to be when its built in battery finally gives up the ghost.
but Apple has always been known as "cool, sleek, well designed, pretty" among us old school Mac users
What are you talking about? I remember the Macs from 10 years ago. They were TERRIBLE machines. Even Windows 95 was cool, sleek, pretty, and well designed in comparison.
Actually, this may be one of the cases where the fragmentation in the PC world could be a good thing. If an exploit exists for some model of PC, how many other computers would be affected? Could an exploit designed for a Dell running a P4 damage my Socket A system running some off brand board from Newegg? I doubt it.
On the other hand, I would guess that if you managed to find some way to attack the firmware on one Apple model, chances are you could use the same technique to attack many different models.
A lazy person could just set the jumper to allow writing and leave it set like that. I don't see how that would affect anything, though they lose their BIOS protection against viruses. To take it one step further, the manufacturer could ship the board with the jumper set, and the paranoid can remove it if they want the protection.
I've been waiting for an alternative for iTunes for a while now
What are you talking about? There are lots of alternatives for iTunes, and they have been around for a long time.