Just a few quick points that seem to escape you (I have very little time or I would quite enjoy piercing every single comment you made with mere logic and fact). The Earth is 4.5 billion years old. This time-frame is impossible for the majority of humans to grasp. Instant and spontaneous species generation would be impossible to witness. Thankfully, there are libraries filled with evidence to guide us. Yes, you were taught wrong. Science is not about truths as stated (P.S. Gravity has not been "proven" as you suggest either. Not one piece of evidence, nada, zilch, etc... Science still does not know gravity's origin or mechanisms, just like evolution).
Most of your arguments are spastic drivel with nary a spot of logic. You seem to know nearly nothing about the ways of discovery. None. Just realize this, we do not know the truth about most things, but we do leave the door open to discovery. In other words, I leave the space open to have the blanks filled in via science, whereas other seem to want to plug them in with "magical creatures" such as a "maker", because it's easy to do (see all throughout history, and religion's losing battle with science). It's the difference between having the answers spoon fed to me and eating it with a heavy dose of indoctrinated "faith", or realizing that millions of years of human discovery and understanding about this Universe we live in has been the only guiding light with regard to discovery. The choice is clearly simple for me...
You might call a man evil, I may call him extraordinarily indifferent to other beings. I think they can be explained by mere psychological and physiological differences, circumstance, and perspective.
"This is the kind of vague, uncited, unsourced "information" that gives the Web a bad name."
It should give all sorts of things a "bad name". Too many believe all that they are told, from talking heads on TV to politicians in front of a microphone. It's a complete lack of critical thought by the majority of the masses (at least here in the U.S.) that is the problem. If critical thought were to be taught as a norm, as it should be, this stuff wouldn't fly. Although, neither would most of the stuff many of us consider wrong with the way things are going these days...
"1. No beach ball of death. Man I hate that beach ball."
Don't see that very often if ever on my Quad G5, 4 GB RAM... what machine are you using? What OS version?
"2. Right-dragging. Use it all the time, miss the hell out of it in Finder."
Hold down option when dragging in OS X.
"3. Directories with thousands of files. Simply faster in Explorer in my experience."
I agree, but hardly noticed on their best machines.
"4. Cutting and pasting files. Again, use it all the time in Windows, miss the hell out of it in Finder."
You can do that in OS X, I do it all the time. Try it... highlight a file, Apple-C, move to new directory, then Apple-V. Easy.
"5. Shift+arrows to highlight. In Explorer, it's intuitive. If you highlight 21 files holding shift and the arrow, and go one too far, you can just hit back arrow and deselect. In Finder, if you hit back arrow for the same operation, it goes to the beginning of the list and highlights the previous file. Has irritated me on more than one occasion."
I agree.
"6. At least on my G4 Macs, Finder is a dog. Explorer is snappy dapply."
I've had the opposite experience, even on my Dual 1.42 G4 desktop Finder is snappier then Explorer. Meh.
"7. This one, I concede is utterly subjective, but I prefer Explorer's dialogs to Finder's. But both suck and are outdated, IMO."
Subjectiveness noted, I find Explorer's dialogues, and their use to be far less intuitive. But as noted, IMO.
"8. Resizing windows from any side, not just the bottom right.:P"
It's a minor thing when you realize the many many ways of resizing, moving, uncluttering the desktop (Expose, etc...) can be in OS X. I do, however, think it would be very handy.
"9. True maximizing of apps. Again, this is subjective but I like using my computer for one thing at a time, and don't like a cluttered looking desktop full of windows."
Again, I agree. That one seems to boggle many switchers, but remember, on a Mac the top bar is used for the open app and never moves, it's always on the top. Windows are always just that, windows. They are never the entire application like they are in Windows. When you close the last window but didn't want to close the app, you have to relaunch the app again, I do not like that. So, you will never see a Mac window maximise to the entire screen (for the better IMO), but clicking the green button to "truly" maximize (from bottom of top menu bar to top of Dock, full side to side) and then have the second click return to the previous size would be a great addition. Totally agree.
Anyway, good list. I will however say that my list for grievances with Explorer would be quite long (the reason I will save it for another day), it's always good to have competition, to see what works, how to make it better, etc...
"If you're a pro user with a need for native Adobe & Macromedia apps then I'd wait for the universal binaries that are expected late this year or 2008."
Or, you would just use on of those apps at a time. Running more than one under Rosetta is when you would see any significant slowdown, otherwise they run well. The Universal Binary versions will come out when they come out, and at that point you can be free to run them all at the same time if you need.
"Apple's warranty service left me with a broken $2000 PowerBook within 3 weeks of purchase because they refused to believe that the crack in the LCD was not user-inflicted. (For the record, it wasn't. I used to repair Toshiba and Compaq laptops for a living; I know how to handle notebooks.)"
Funny, I've never seen an LCD crack by itself, ever, unless "damaged". So, you were with in 100% of it's life? Never mis-handled? No kids, travelling, pets, etc...
Look, you "may" have been that one in a million chance where your LCD spontaneously cracked, but how in the world can you not expect Apple, or any other company to just replace it for you with those odds? By your argument, I could bend and crack my LCD, and Apple should replace it for me. All I have to do is say, "I didn't do it".
"The "genius" (what a bad name for low-level tech support. I cringe anytime I have to say it) kept it in the store for a while so he could witness it happen. When he did notice it turned itself off he sent it off to get a new power supply and motherboard. That seemed to fix the issue."
Lead a horse to water? From your "story", you had a problem, the Genius confirmed an issue by witnessing the problem and then fixed it. How, exactly, did you "lead him to water" again? If you for one second are suggesting that the Genii working to bar should just take every users word for it, no matter the issue and just start replacing parts based on that users words only, then you sir are insane.
", because it USUALLY ONLY SHOW UP AFTER THE COMPUTER HAS BEEN IN USE FOR A WHILE"
And he should have and is trained to do so. But, there's always an idiot among every group I suppose. The Genii that have hung out with (about 7 of them hang out at a bar near here) are some of the brightes Mac guys I have ever met and will cringe when I tell them this story, no doubt. Intermittent issues must be witnessed, and to do so it gets checked in and observed. This is commonplace at an Apple Store. Not sure why you had a bad expreince...
Now, those guys at the Microsoft store offering free support face to face, with my machine, were wonderful... oh wait... but, now those guys at the Dell store offering free support, they were... um... now wait a minute. Why the fuck was I complaining again?
If you would have called AppleCare back and told them about the experience you had, they would have not only sent a box out to you, but probably paid for the shipping.
What kind of upgrades did you have to include to get to $4000?! Taking a look at the product page, it seems you would have had to:
1. Upgrade to the 2.16 GHz model
2. Upped RAM to 2 GB
3. Upgrade to 100 GB 7200 RPM HD
4. Added iWork, pre-installed
5. Added a modem
6. and last option (outside of an Apple Cinema Disaply) that you could have possibly included from Apple was the two year extended warranty (AppleCare) and it still comes to $3676. Of course that's after the standard fare it begins with. 15.4" screen, 1 inch thick... runs OS X.
So, question is this... even after tax you would have enouth left over to treat yourself to a nice night on the town: does your boss know about this? or, did he really need the $4000 *ahem*model?
Re:You say you want a revolution?
on
On Apple vs Apple
·
· Score: 0, Offtopic
"For the record, I don't like Apple. "
I am an Apple user, but I still don't "hate" Microsoft. I simply realize that their OS (and bundled apps) is inferior. Such stong feelings for a company isn't natural... strange indeed.
BTW, as others have already stated, the inability to retrieve songs off the iPod as a built in feature was part of the agreement from Apple to the RIAA. The only reason that feature would exist would be to easily distribute music, illegally. If you can't figure out how to get your garage band recordings (that were obviously digitized at some point) onto your iPod to share, then there is a problem. So, let's revise your faux situation: "A bunch of guys in a garage recording their 'own' music digitally, then put that music on their iPods using the same computer (different accounts?)... in the same garage now all look at their iPods and say "Shit! how do we all get each other's music?" This is a joke, right? It's obvious you were wondering how to illegally share the music you have with others, easily. Well guess what... you have to *sigh* download an app, and click "extract". Jeez, sorry...
"The problem I described (a bunch of people in a room, with iPods and a computer, wondering how to pool the mp3s) is not solved by any of your methods."
Since you had to be so specific to wiggle your way out of it, I can only respond by saying that the scenario you give would be quite a rare one unless someone in the room had just announced to all of the others that you may want to share your music. They would have to be pretty dumb people mind you to not have this idea previously, because if they had, they could have just put the music on the iPod as data (not using iTunes, just using the disk mode feature which simply turns your iPod into an external HD). And if downloading a piece of software (assuming the "situation" you described) to then press the "extract" button to get all of the songs is hard, then none of you guys should touch another computer anyway.
"If you have a problem with one of their systems or an iPod (like I did) you can damn well forget it unless the problem becomes widespread enough to hit popular tech pages."
This is a joke, right? You have just described every "other" computer/software company in the world. Now, with Apple, you can go get help for free *gasp!* yes, for free at a genius bar near you for any little thing your heart desires (iPod, Software, Hardware, etc...). Do that at your local Dell mall kiosk and watch me in the corner laughing. If you do not live near an Apple store (if not, just wait a bit...), give Apple Care a call and they will either help you over the phone, or send out a box next day air to pick up your in-warranty machine/ipod/whatever...
Of course they want the money. Apple, or any other company, wouldn't exist if it were different. It's everything else they do that others do not that make them different. In fact, it's the entire reason for this story.
"But try doing it using iTunes - its on the verge of impossible (in fact most ipod owners are afraid to plug their ipod in to someone's computer in case all the files are delete)."
You should be modded down, because this is user error... on your part. You will be prompted by iTunes which will say (paraphrased), "This iPod is synched with a different iTunes, would you like to erase this iPod and use this new iTunes to synch with?" You then have the option to click "No". If you want to grab music from othe people's iTunes, just set your iPod to manually update, and you can grab music from 100 different iTunes. If you wish to give your friends your music, just plop the actual mp3's onto your iPod as data and give it to them. Your entire beef is due to you not knowing how to use your iPod.
A hardware company (Apple) to ditch the reason why people buy that hardware (OS X) would be like Microsoft dumping Windows to develop applications for the Mac. It's both stupid and silly.
It shows. iWork runs circles around Word and Powerpoint for 95% of what an end user wants those apps for.
"on the other hand I think Office for Windows is great (I like the OS integration there)"
Which shows you really haven't used iWork to any degree, because the integration of iWork with iPhoto, iTunes, iMovie, etc... are completely seemless. And as always, they are infinitely easier to use than Word or Powerpoint. You have far more power with a much shorter learning curve, but Apple has always done this. I suggest you use both apps before commenting because you really miss the mark on this one. Just imagine Word and Powerpoint, minus the bloat, add very tight integration with iLife, minus the learning curve, add good looking templates (I swear developers design Word's templates...) and you've got iWork. The fact that Apple hasn't come out with a "good" spreadsheet (no, AppleWorks doesn't cut it) might say more for Excel than anything else, but I left PowerPoint and Word in the dust a few months ago and have been very very pleased. My stuff looks infinitely better, and it took far less time.
"It's your own stupid fault now. And the world knows it. What America does now, the ordinary American people can be directly and personally blamed for."
We (they?) are just very very good at breeding consent through means of public manipulation. A shitload has been learned over many decades on how to manipulate public thought. Now, I'm not talking about intellectuals, or even/. readers (ahem), they merely need to convince 51% of the masses of their lies/misconceptions. They can and do, end of story.
And remember, Bush won by only a few percentage points. The "rest" of us were so completely stunned, that therapy and Canadian visa applications were headline stories. If you feel you must blame somone, blame the ill-informed and the reasons for their inability to become informed. Our media is a laughing stock. Our workforce has barely the time to watch American Idol, let alone watch meaningful discourse (no car crashes? forget it...). Half of our country merely doesn't realize that there is anything wrong. They are convinced that power equals safety, and that gaining as much power as possible at any cost is worth it. What they don't realize, is that this very thinking is what we as Americans used to despise. In fact, that train of thought was thought to be a precursor for war by those same ill-informed masses. What a change has been made... kudos to the greedy. They've won hook line and sinker, and it's coming to a country near you!
For what 90% of the computer using market wants/needs/enjoys using a computer for a Mac is a far better choice, so having Windows not boot on it is a good thing. My wife is a designer, and I'm a writer/gamer/researcher. I have wanted only one thing that the Windows side offers. Half-Life. That's it. Now, where's iLife on the Windows side? iWork? (no, not Word and PowerlessPoint).
Currently playing: StarWars Lego, World of Warcraft, Civ III Complete.
Holy bullshit batman. The vast majority of research advances come from funded University programs, not from coorporations. But, take heart, your fallacy is widespread with most people. Read my sig...
The advances in tech from the space program alone is staggering.
"I like having a seperate receiver, cd player, dvd player, vcr, and the like. Apple doesn't produce anything in that form factor."
That's correct, and it's because that's what Apple does. They develop and create to sell a complete solution, while also providing support for those products. That's what it does. It doesn't sell parts for a techy to frankenstein into whatever he wishes. For the 1% of you that are like this, there are other options for you, just not from Apple.
First of all, it's $350, and second of all, you obviously haven't heard one yet. I was at an Apple store this afternoon and blasted Yellow by ColdPlay (sorry) and it was incredible. I had doubts about a $350 set of speakers for your iPod, but instead found a portable (runs on batteries too), analog 3.5 mm stereo minijack or S/PDIF optical digital miniplug speakers that sound unbelievable.
Crappy, for the den, $300. You were wrong on every account.
"Apple is using a proprietary DRM system - both bad words on slashdot - and the small companies are having trouble competing because of it. Why aren't we complaining? Oh yes... because no matter what the situation, Apple is always right and MS is always wrong. I forgot."
Wrong. We aren't complaing because we wouldn't have downloaded a billion songs, legally, from the internet if it hadn't been done in exactly the way Apple did it. You see, they came up with a very tricky compromise between sane DRM and the music industry allowing this business model. How is this missed by you? The DRM is fairly light (burn CDs, authorize 5 machines, and you could RIP that CD you just burned of your purchased music and *poof*, no DRM), you own the music you purchase (music renting services will never work IMO), it's a very well done application, and it's easy.
This is bad? Interesting... I suppose you would suggest we should still be stealing music because the RIAA is barely being held in check by iTunes, merely due to it's size. I like that.
Slashdot Mirror
You all are forgetting to mention that the MacBook Pro will run WinXP and OS X natively without using any sort of third party product.
Your logic is ill-conceived.
Just a few quick points that seem to escape you (I have very little time or I would quite enjoy piercing every single comment you made with mere logic and fact). The Earth is 4.5 billion years old. This time-frame is impossible for the majority of humans to grasp. Instant and spontaneous species generation would be impossible to witness. Thankfully, there are libraries filled with evidence to guide us. Yes, you were taught wrong. Science is not about truths as stated (P.S. Gravity has not been "proven" as you suggest either. Not one piece of evidence, nada, zilch, etc... Science still does not know gravity's origin or mechanisms, just like evolution).
Most of your arguments are spastic drivel with nary a spot of logic. You seem to know nearly nothing about the ways of discovery. None. Just realize this, we do not know the truth about most things, but we do leave the door open to discovery. In other words, I leave the space open to have the blanks filled in via science, whereas other seem to want to plug them in with "magical creatures" such as a "maker", because it's easy to do (see all throughout history, and religion's losing battle with science). It's the difference between having the answers spoon fed to me and eating it with a heavy dose of indoctrinated "faith", or realizing that millions of years of human discovery and understanding about this Universe we live in has been the only guiding light with regard to discovery. The choice is clearly simple for me...
I should get that checked out....
You might call a man evil, I may call him extraordinarily indifferent to other beings. I think they can be explained by mere psychological and physiological differences, circumstance, and perspective.
Scientific American gives 15 Answers to Creationist Nonsense.
Memorize them for your next party
"This is the kind of vague, uncited, unsourced "information" that gives the Web a bad name."
It should give all sorts of things a "bad name". Too many believe all that they are told, from talking heads on TV to politicians in front of a microphone. It's a complete lack of critical thought by the majority of the masses (at least here in the U.S.) that is the problem. If critical thought were to be taught as a norm, as it should be, this stuff wouldn't fly. Although, neither would most of the stuff many of us consider wrong with the way things are going these days...
"1. No beach ball of death. Man I hate that beach ball."
:P"
Don't see that very often if ever on my Quad G5, 4 GB RAM... what machine are you using? What OS version?
"2. Right-dragging. Use it all the time, miss the hell out of it in Finder."
Hold down option when dragging in OS X.
"3. Directories with thousands of files. Simply faster in Explorer in my experience."
I agree, but hardly noticed on their best machines.
"4. Cutting and pasting files. Again, use it all the time in Windows, miss the hell out of it in Finder."
You can do that in OS X, I do it all the time. Try it... highlight a file, Apple-C, move to new directory, then Apple-V. Easy.
"5. Shift+arrows to highlight. In Explorer, it's intuitive. If you highlight 21 files holding shift and the arrow, and go one too far, you can just hit back arrow and deselect. In Finder, if you hit back arrow for the same operation, it goes to the beginning of the list and highlights the previous file. Has irritated me on more than one occasion."
I agree.
"6. At least on my G4 Macs, Finder is a dog. Explorer is snappy dapply."
I've had the opposite experience, even on my Dual 1.42 G4 desktop Finder is snappier then Explorer. Meh.
"7. This one, I concede is utterly subjective, but I prefer Explorer's dialogs to Finder's. But both suck and are outdated, IMO."
Subjectiveness noted, I find Explorer's dialogues, and their use to be far less intuitive. But as noted, IMO.
"8. Resizing windows from any side, not just the bottom right.
It's a minor thing when you realize the many many ways of resizing, moving, uncluttering the desktop (Expose, etc...) can be in OS X. I do, however, think it would be very handy.
"9. True maximizing of apps. Again, this is subjective but I like using my computer for one thing at a time, and don't like a cluttered looking desktop full of windows."
Again, I agree. That one seems to boggle many switchers, but remember, on a Mac the top bar is used for the open app and never moves, it's always on the top. Windows are always just that, windows. They are never the entire application like they are in Windows. When you close the last window but didn't want to close the app, you have to relaunch the app again, I do not like that. So, you will never see a Mac window maximise to the entire screen (for the better IMO), but clicking the green button to "truly" maximize (from bottom of top menu bar to top of Dock, full side to side) and then have the second click return to the previous size would be a great addition. Totally agree.
Anyway, good list. I will however say that my list for grievances with Explorer would be quite long (the reason I will save it for another day), it's always good to have competition, to see what works, how to make it better, etc...
"If you're a pro user with a need for native Adobe & Macromedia apps then I'd wait for the universal binaries that are expected late this year or 2008."
Or, you would just use on of those apps at a time. Running more than one under Rosetta is when you would see any significant slowdown, otherwise they run well. The Universal Binary versions will come out when they come out, and at that point you can be free to run them all at the same time if you need.
"Apple's warranty service left me with a broken $2000 PowerBook within 3 weeks of purchase because they refused to believe that the crack in the LCD was not user-inflicted. (For the record, it wasn't. I used to repair Toshiba and Compaq laptops for a living; I know how to handle notebooks.)"
Funny, I've never seen an LCD crack by itself, ever, unless "damaged". So, you were with in 100% of it's life? Never mis-handled? No kids, travelling, pets, etc...
Look, you "may" have been that one in a million chance where your LCD spontaneously cracked, but how in the world can you not expect Apple, or any other company to just replace it for you with those odds? By your argument, I could bend and crack my LCD, and Apple should replace it for me. All I have to do is say, "I didn't do it".
Seriously, you can't be serious...
"The "genius" (what a bad name for low-level tech support. I cringe anytime I have to say it) kept it in the store for a while so he could witness it happen. When he did notice it turned itself off he sent it off to get a new power supply and motherboard. That seemed to fix the issue."
Lead a horse to water? From your "story", you had a problem, the Genius confirmed an issue by witnessing the problem and then fixed it. How, exactly, did you "lead him to water" again? If you for one second are suggesting that the Genii working to bar should just take every users word for it, no matter the issue and just start replacing parts based on that users words only, then you sir are insane.
", because it USUALLY ONLY SHOW UP AFTER THE COMPUTER HAS BEEN IN USE FOR A WHILE"
And he should have and is trained to do so. But, there's always an idiot among every group I suppose. The Genii that have hung out with (about 7 of them hang out at a bar near here) are some of the brightes Mac guys I have ever met and will cringe when I tell them this story, no doubt. Intermittent issues must be witnessed, and to do so it gets checked in and observed. This is commonplace at an Apple Store. Not sure why you had a bad expreince...
Now, those guys at the Microsoft store offering free support face to face, with my machine, were wonderful... oh wait... but, now those guys at the Dell store offering free support, they were... um... now wait a minute. Why the fuck was I complaining again?
If you would have called AppleCare back and told them about the experience you had, they would have not only sent a box out to you, but probably paid for the shipping.
What kind of upgrades did you have to include to get to $4000?! Taking a look at the product page, it seems you would have had to:
1. Upgrade to the 2.16 GHz model
2. Upped RAM to 2 GB
3. Upgrade to 100 GB 7200 RPM HD
4. Added iWork, pre-installed
5. Added a modem
6. and last option (outside of an Apple Cinema Disaply) that you could have possibly included from Apple was the two year extended warranty (AppleCare) and it still comes to $3676. Of course that's after the standard fare it begins with. 15.4" screen, 1 inch thick... runs OS X.
So, question is this... even after tax you would have enouth left over to treat yourself to a nice night on the town: does your boss know about this? or, did he really need the $4000 *ahem*model?
"For the record, I don't like Apple. "
I am an Apple user, but I still don't "hate" Microsoft. I simply realize that their OS (and bundled apps) is inferior. Such stong feelings for a company isn't natural... strange indeed.
BTW, as others have already stated, the inability to retrieve songs off the iPod as a built in feature was part of the agreement from Apple to the RIAA. The only reason that feature would exist would be to easily distribute music, illegally. If you can't figure out how to get your garage band recordings (that were obviously digitized at some point) onto your iPod to share, then there is a problem.
So, let's revise your faux situation:
"A bunch of guys in a garage recording their 'own' music digitally, then put that music on their iPods using the same computer (different accounts?)... in the same garage now all look at their iPods and say "Shit! how do we all get each other's music?" This is a joke, right? It's obvious you were wondering how to illegally share the music you have with others, easily. Well guess what... you have to *sigh* download an app, and click "extract". Jeez, sorry...
"The problem I described (a bunch of people in a room, with iPods and a computer, wondering how to pool the mp3s) is not solved by any of your methods."
Since you had to be so specific to wiggle your way out of it, I can only respond by saying that the scenario you give would be quite a rare one unless someone in the room had just announced to all of the others that you may want to share your music. They would have to be pretty dumb people mind you to not have this idea previously, because if they had, they could have just put the music on the iPod as data (not using iTunes, just using the disk mode feature which simply turns your iPod into an external HD). And if downloading a piece of software (assuming the "situation" you described) to then press the "extract" button to get all of the songs is hard, then none of you guys should touch another computer anyway.
"If you have a problem with one of their systems or an iPod (like I did) you can damn well forget it unless the problem becomes widespread enough to hit popular tech pages."
This is a joke, right? You have just described every "other" computer/software company in the world. Now, with Apple, you can go get help for free *gasp!* yes, for free at a genius bar near you for any little thing your heart desires (iPod, Software, Hardware, etc...). Do that at your local Dell mall kiosk and watch me in the corner laughing. If you do not live near an Apple store (if not, just wait a bit...), give Apple Care a call and they will either help you over the phone, or send out a box next day air to pick up your in-warranty machine/ipod/whatever...
Of course they want the money. Apple, or any other company, wouldn't exist if it were different. It's everything else they do that others do not that make them different. In fact, it's the entire reason for this story.
Seriously, did I miss your joke or something?
"But try doing it using iTunes - its on the verge of impossible (in fact most ipod owners are afraid to plug their ipod in to someone's computer in case all the files are delete)."
You should be modded down, because this is user error... on your part. You will be prompted by iTunes which will say (paraphrased), "This iPod is synched with a different iTunes, would you like to erase this iPod and use this new iTunes to synch with?" You then have the option to click "No". If you want to grab music from othe people's iTunes, just set your iPod to manually update, and you can grab music from 100 different iTunes. If you wish to give your friends your music, just plop the actual mp3's onto your iPod as data and give it to them. Your entire beef is due to you not knowing how to use your iPod.
Mod him down, now...
A hardware company (Apple) to ditch the reason why people buy that hardware (OS X) would be like Microsoft dumping Windows to develop applications for the Mac. It's both stupid and silly.
" I've only played around with it..."
It shows. iWork runs circles around Word and Powerpoint for 95% of what an end user wants those apps for.
"on the other hand I think Office for Windows is great (I like the OS integration there)"
Which shows you really haven't used iWork to any degree, because the integration of iWork with iPhoto, iTunes, iMovie, etc... are completely seemless. And as always, they are infinitely easier to use than Word or Powerpoint. You have far more power with a much shorter learning curve, but Apple has always done this. I suggest you use both apps before commenting because you really miss the mark on this one. Just imagine Word and Powerpoint, minus the bloat, add very tight integration with iLife, minus the learning curve, add good looking templates (I swear developers design Word's templates...) and you've got iWork. The fact that Apple hasn't come out with a "good" spreadsheet (no, AppleWorks doesn't cut it) might say more for Excel than anything else, but I left PowerPoint and Word in the dust a few months ago and have been very very pleased. My stuff looks infinitely better, and it took far less time.
"It's your own stupid fault now. And the world knows it. What America does now, the ordinary American people can be directly and personally blamed for."
/. readers (ahem), they merely need to convince 51% of the masses of their lies/misconceptions. They can and do, end of story.
We (they?) are just very very good at breeding consent through means of public manipulation. A shitload has been learned over many decades on how to manipulate public thought. Now, I'm not talking about intellectuals, or even
And remember, Bush won by only a few percentage points. The "rest" of us were so completely stunned, that therapy and Canadian visa applications were headline stories. If you feel you must blame somone, blame the ill-informed and the reasons for their inability to become informed. Our media is a laughing stock. Our workforce has barely the time to watch American Idol, let alone watch meaningful discourse (no car crashes? forget it...). Half of our country merely doesn't realize that there is anything wrong. They are convinced that power equals safety, and that gaining as much power as possible at any cost is worth it. What they don't realize, is that this very thinking is what we as Americans used to despise. In fact, that train of thought was thought to be a precursor for war by those same ill-informed masses. What a change has been made... kudos to the greedy. They've won hook line and sinker, and it's coming to a country near you!
For what 90% of the computer using market wants/needs/enjoys using a computer for a Mac is a far better choice, so having Windows not boot on it is a good thing. My wife is a designer, and I'm a writer/gamer/researcher. I have wanted only one thing that the Windows side offers. Half-Life. That's it. Now, where's iLife on the Windows side? iWork? (no, not Word and PowerlessPoint).
Currently playing: StarWars Lego, World of Warcraft, Civ III Complete.
Holy bullshit batman. The vast majority of research advances come from funded University programs, not from coorporations. But, take heart, your fallacy is widespread with most people. Read my sig...
The advances in tech from the space program alone is staggering.
"I like having a seperate receiver, cd player, dvd player, vcr, and the like. Apple doesn't produce anything in that form factor."
That's correct, and it's because that's what Apple does. They develop and create to sell a complete solution, while also providing support for those products. That's what it does. It doesn't sell parts for a techy to frankenstein into whatever he wishes. For the 1% of you that are like this, there are other options for you, just not from Apple.
"Okay, and now a crappy $300 stereo for the den".
First of all, it's $350, and second of all, you obviously haven't heard one yet. I was at an Apple store this afternoon and blasted Yellow by ColdPlay (sorry) and it was incredible. I had doubts about a $350 set of speakers for your iPod, but instead found a portable (runs on batteries too), analog 3.5 mm stereo minijack or S/PDIF optical digital miniplug speakers that sound unbelievable.
Crappy, for the den, $300. You were wrong on every account.
"Apple is using a proprietary DRM system - both bad words on slashdot - and the small companies are having trouble competing because of it. Why aren't we complaining? Oh yes... because no matter what the situation, Apple is always right and MS is always wrong. I forgot."
Wrong. We aren't complaing because we wouldn't have downloaded a billion songs, legally, from the internet if it hadn't been done in exactly the way Apple did it. You see, they came up with a very tricky compromise between sane DRM and the music industry allowing this business model. How is this missed by you? The DRM is fairly light (burn CDs, authorize 5 machines, and you could RIP that CD you just burned of your purchased music and *poof*, no DRM), you own the music you purchase (music renting services will never work IMO), it's a very well done application, and it's easy.
This is bad? Interesting... I suppose you would suggest we should still be stealing music because the RIAA is barely being held in check by iTunes, merely due to it's size. I like that.