Ain't It Cool News hasn't been cool in years .....
on
Inside Look at Pixar HQ
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· Score: 5, Informative
I remember a time, 4 or 5 years ago, when they used to get all of the scoops. It was really the only site you had to go to get the latest news and spoilers about all kinds of cool movies. Today they are a joke. They are the last to report on most stories, if they report on them at all, and I can't remeber the last time they had a really interesting exclusive about any of the movies I really care about. You haven't been able to register for the talkback for almost a year. McWeeny's latest X-Men 3 "scoop" was something to the effect of "I know who will direct X-Men 3 but I can't tell you". It's nothing like it used to be, which is a shame, because I used to love that site.
Let's say they are right and Linux is both insecure and unscalable. If you put an unpatched Windows PC (any version) on the Internet, within 5 minutes your system is completely unusable. I'd take an insecure and unscalable Linux over completely unusable Windows in a heartbeat. Nothing more to see here, move along.
I've been a Wintel user my whole life (well not exactly, my last two PC's have had AMD processors, but you get the point) and I recently made the switch to the Mac Mini. I still keep my other PC for gaming purposes, but I absolutely love my Mac Mini and use it for everything else. Let's face the facts, for everything other than gaming, Mac OS X is superior to Windows (and from my prospective, to Linux as well from an ease of use standpoint). Then there's the included iLife '05 bundle which totally rocks! AppleWorks is there for basic word processing and spreadsheets and it also includes Quicken 2005 for money management. That's a heck of a lot of value for around $550.00 (if you upgrade to 512 MB of RAM.. and you'd be crazy not to). I doubt any of the PC clones we're likely to see will be able to provide that kind of value (in terms of both hardware and software, easy of use and security) for that price.
A Wintel box would have Windows installed, so in addition to the OS you need antivirus software (that will cost you yearly to keep up to date) and some kind of additional third party firewall (Windows Firewall in XP SP2 just doesn't cut it). You'd need to buy several additional applications to get functionality similar to what you get with iLife.
All in all, the Mac Mini is a much better value than a Wintel Mac Mini close is ever going to be.
It only helps open source and alternative platforms (like Macs). MS can spout on all day long about how secure their products are, meanwhile the average user who is stuck using their products is having an entirely different experience. Sooner or later, people will begin to ask, isn't there a better way?
This reminds me of an old Styx tune ....
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iPod Shuffle RAID
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· Score: 1
This reminds me of an old Styx tune... sing it with me now....
If you want a 4 day work week you need a union not bullshit "studies".
Or you could start your own business. Of course, you'd go out of business rather quickly, since your competitors would have an extra day up on you every week.
And I would not accept at face value that the Federal government is more inept than the state government at running programs. Show some proof on this
Have you taken a look at the national debt lately? How about the underlying federal budgeting process? The vast majority of the states do it a heck of a lot better than federal goverment ever has.
This would be the best move ever... for open source that is. The minute my friends can no longer rip their CD's to mp3's, they'll ditch Windows and move on to something else. I'm serious. None of my friends are techies. They use their systems to browse the web, write email and the occasional word processing document and to manage their music and photo collections. If Microsoft ever were to cripple their OS in such a manner, they'd jump ship in a heartbeat. Especially if the alternative OS and supporting software is free and can be installed on their current systems.
With this promotion, I need 3 bottles at about $1.20 a pop for a reasonable chance at one song. That's 60 ounces of soda and maybe a song for $3.60. No, thanks.
Nah, you don't have to waste any money. Back when they ran this promotion the last time, several people posted a way to see if you've got a winner without opening the bottle by tipping it at a certain angle. It worked well for me. Just find a store with the drinks in the back so you don't look like a complete tool when your doing it. Probably best two buy a few bottles and practice first.
When I first read this article I saw this as a really stupid decision by Microsoft. It didn't seem to make any business sense at all. Then I saw it for what it really is. It's phase one in Microsoft's overall strategy to turn Office into a subscription service.
Little by little, piece by piece, you'll see various Office applications offered as a service, with the ultimate goal of making users pay the Microsoft tax once a year.
Gates isn't an idiot. He's seeing the ever increasing upgrade cycle. Let's face the facts, Office 2003 offers very few new useful features to your typical Office user than was there in Office 2000. Some would argue that all the way back to Office 98. He would love to get users into a subscription model. If you don't pay the yearly tax, your cut off, just like that.
My suspicion is that we will not see a "mini-killer" from the PC world for about six months to a year
There's only one issue: the Mini killer would probably run Windows. The entire point of the Mini is to produce a more affordable Mac to appeal to those who want to try a Mac but used to bulk at the price. If a user was totally happy with his or her Windows based PC, they probably wouldn't be considering a Mac in the first place.
I think I fit into the target demographic for the Mini. I ordered mine the first day it became available. I've been using a Windows based PC for years, and to be honest, I'm tired of the hassle. I want something that just works. I've always heard great things about Macs, especially since OS X came out, but I didn't want to shell out over a $1000 to try out a new platform that I wasn't sure I would ultimately end up liking. I downloaded iTunes when it was first released for Windows because I had heard such great things about it and my music collection was becoming unmanageable. The ease of use of iTunes combined with the great things I had heard about the iPod convinced me to shell out the money to get a 40 GB iPod. Needless to say, I fell in love with the iPod, iTunes and the iTMS. That pushed me even more toward purchasing a Mac, but the price tag still held me back. Then the Mac Mini appeared and it was a no brainier.
If I enjoy the Mini as much as I think that I will, I'll start saving for a brand dual G5 system with a Cinema display. Not only that, but I'll whole heartedly recommend the Mini to friends and family who ask for my recommendation when looking to buy a new computer.
Not only is it tough to find a PC with comparable hardware at a comparable size with a comparable price, but you've also got to factor in the software. The Mac Mini comes loaded with OS X, iLife, AppleWorks 6, Quicken 2005 and two games.
There's actually a lot of value there for $499. If you're able to find comparably sized hardware at a comparable price, I'd be very surprised if it came with anything more than the OS already installed.
A Mac Mini would be perfect for someone like this. However, there are a lot more people out there who are fed up with it, but aren't ready to throw the PC out the Window. That is the real target audience for the Mac Mini. Trust me, there are literally millions out there who are sick and tired, and are looking for a soluiton. That's why I believe that, like the iPod, the Mac Mini will be the right solution at the right time.
I ordered one yesterday and I can't wait for it to arrive. It's my first Mac. I'll still keep my PC around for gaming. If I like it, I'll start saving for a dual PowerMac G5 with a cinema display. I'll probably wait until after Tiger is released, to avoid the upgrade fee.
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I remember a time, 4 or 5 years ago, when they used to get all of the scoops. It was really the only site you had to go to get the latest news and spoilers about all kinds of cool movies. Today they are a joke. They are the last to report on most stories, if they report on them at all, and I can't remeber the last time they had a really interesting exclusive about any of the movies I really care about. You haven't been able to register for the talkback for almost a year. McWeeny's latest X-Men 3 "scoop" was something to the effect of "I know who will direct X-Men 3 but I can't tell you". It's nothing like it used to be, which is a shame, because I used to love that site.
Nothing to see here, move along ...
Let's say they are right and Linux is both insecure and unscalable. If you put an unpatched Windows PC (any version) on the Internet, within 5 minutes your system is completely unusable. I'd take an insecure and unscalable Linux over completely unusable Windows in a heartbeat. Nothing more to see here, move along.
Yet another reason not to use Microsoft Search.
Tax, tax, tax .....
Spend, spend, spend,
Tax, tax, tax and spend
Last year the GDP growth rate was only 2.2%,
So let's tax and spend again
I've been a Wintel user my whole life (well not exactly, my last two PC's have had AMD processors, but you get the point) and I recently made the switch to the Mac Mini. I still keep my other PC for gaming purposes, but I absolutely love my Mac Mini and use it for everything else. Let's face the facts, for everything other than gaming, Mac OS X is superior to Windows (and from my prospective, to Linux as well from an ease of use standpoint). Then there's the included iLife '05 bundle which totally rocks! AppleWorks is there for basic word processing and spreadsheets and it also includes Quicken 2005 for money management. That's a heck of a lot of value for around $550.00 (if you upgrade to 512 MB of RAM .. and you'd be crazy not to). I doubt any of the PC clones we're likely to see will be able to provide that kind of value (in terms of both hardware and software, easy of use and security) for that price.
A Wintel box would have Windows installed, so in addition to the OS you need antivirus software (that will cost you yearly to keep up to date) and some kind of additional third party firewall (Windows Firewall in XP SP2 just doesn't cut it). You'd need to buy several additional applications to get functionality similar to what you get with iLife.
All in all, the Mac Mini is a much better value than a Wintel Mac Mini close is ever going to be.
And like every version 1.0, I bet it will work perfectly.
A bill being obscured by special interest groups? No ......
On the same day that we have a story about a Microsoft security chief spouting on about how Windows is safer than Linux. How fitting!
It only helps open source and alternative platforms (like Macs). MS can spout on all day long about how secure their products are, meanwhile the average user who is stuck using their products is having an entirely different experience. Sooner or later, people will begin to ask, isn't there a better way?
This reminds me of an old Styx tune ... sing it with me now ....
"Too much time on my hands ...."
If Microsoft can't beat em, they'll buy em. Or at least, they'll try. That's been their MO for years now.
Or you could start your own business. Of course, you'd go out of business rather quickly, since your competitors would have an extra day up on you every week.
Have you taken a look at the national debt lately? How about the underlying federal budgeting process? The vast majority of the states do it a heck of a lot better than federal goverment ever has.
This would be the best move ever ... for open source that is. The minute my friends can no longer rip their CD's to mp3's, they'll ditch Windows and move on to something else. I'm serious. None of my friends are techies. They use their systems to browse the web, write email and the occasional word processing document and to manage their music and photo collections. If Microsoft ever were to cripple their OS in such a manner, they'd jump ship in a heartbeat. Especially if the alternative OS and supporting software is free and can be installed on their current systems.
I go ahead and correct you. We yanks use the word twat all the time :-) ...
Check out this hilarious Mac mini "review". It's tongue and cheek, written from the prospective of an MCSE. I couldn't stop laughing.
If you have to pay money then it's not free.
Nah, you don't have to waste any money. Back when they ran this promotion the last time, several people posted a way to see if you've got a winner without opening the bottle by tipping it at a certain angle. It worked well for me. Just find a store with the drinks in the back so you don't look like a complete tool when your doing it. Probably best two buy a few bottles and practice first.
When I first read this article I saw this as a really stupid decision by Microsoft. It didn't seem to make any business sense at all. Then I saw it for what it really is. It's phase one in Microsoft's overall strategy to turn Office into a subscription service.
Little by little, piece by piece, you'll see various Office applications offered as a service, with the ultimate goal of making users pay the Microsoft tax once a year.
Gates isn't an idiot. He's seeing the ever increasing upgrade cycle. Let's face the facts, Office 2003 offers very few new useful features to your typical Office user than was there in Office 2000. Some would argue that all the way back to Office 98. He would love to get users into a subscription model. If you don't pay the yearly tax, your cut off, just like that.
There's only one issue: the Mini killer would probably run Windows. The entire point of the Mini is to produce a more affordable Mac to appeal to those who want to try a Mac but used to bulk at the price. If a user was totally happy with his or her Windows based PC, they probably wouldn't be considering a Mac in the first place.
I think I fit into the target demographic for the Mini. I ordered mine the first day it became available. I've been using a Windows based PC for years, and to be honest, I'm tired of the hassle. I want something that just works. I've always heard great things about Macs, especially since OS X came out, but I didn't want to shell out over a $1000 to try out a new platform that I wasn't sure I would ultimately end up liking. I downloaded iTunes when it was first released for Windows because I had heard such great things about it and my music collection was becoming unmanageable. The ease of use of iTunes combined with the great things I had heard about the iPod convinced me to shell out the money to get a 40 GB iPod. Needless to say, I fell in love with the iPod, iTunes and the iTMS. That pushed me even more toward purchasing a Mac, but the price tag still held me back. Then the Mac Mini appeared and it was a no brainier.
If I enjoy the Mini as much as I think that I will, I'll start saving for a brand dual G5 system with a Cinema display. Not only that, but I'll whole heartedly recommend the Mini to friends and family who ask for my recommendation when looking to buy a new computer.
Not only is it tough to find a PC with comparable hardware at a comparable size with a comparable price, but you've also got to factor in the software. The Mac Mini comes loaded with OS X, iLife, AppleWorks 6, Quicken 2005 and two games.
There's actually a lot of value there for $499. If you're able to find comparably sized hardware at a comparable price, I'd be very surprised if it came with anything more than the OS already installed.
The people who were bitching about the price / preformance ratio of the Mac Mini are going to have a heart attack when they read this!
A Mac Mini would be perfect for someone like this. However, there are a lot more people out there who are fed up with it, but aren't ready to throw the PC out the Window. That is the real target audience for the Mac Mini. Trust me, there are literally millions out there who are sick and tired, and are looking for a soluiton. That's why I believe that, like the iPod, the Mac Mini will be the right solution at the right time.
I ordered one yesterday and I can't wait for it to arrive. It's my first Mac. I'll still keep my PC around for gaming. If I like it, I'll start saving for a dual PowerMac G5 with a cinema display. I'll probably wait until after Tiger is released, to avoid the upgrade fee.