It was sooo easy to connect through my wireless router here at home and being completey free makes it that much better.
Having to blow up the balloons in the Battle Mode is loads of fun; I'm iust glad I don't have asthma.
Nintendo innovated the kart-racer and always delivers on each new release. I've tried some of the "clones" on other consoles and they were horrid-atrocites that only show that most other developers really don't have a clue about what makes a game fun.
Of course not in "all" areas, and the same is true when compared to a G4.
This chip has allot of potentional. It will be a downgrade for anything that requires heavy use of a SIMD, but overall it will be a nice upgrade, especially because of the possibility of an extra core.
I'm still waiting for Intel to produce something that's worthy of a desktop replacement though. I figure by 2007 they'll finally have something.
GarageBand and iTunes might look different, but they operate fundementaly the same and were designed on set standards, as do "all" of the iLife apps.
Apple also has some set standards for Widget design, but they're not going to stop a developer from releasing a poorly designed one.
I'm surprised you didn't comment on their pro apps, because they have a completely different look and feel from the consumer apps. Of course this is because they're "pro-apps," and they're consistent with each other.
Apple sticks to their standards. GB although visual different, still functions like an Apple app. Very easy-to-use and intuitive. Once you've learned how to use iTunes as an example, you can just as easily use iDVD or any other iLife app. This also goes for their pro-apps.
I have one still. My biggest gripe was the headache.:) Cool concept, but maybe a different color instead of red, and maybe if they had waited a bit longer for tech to catch up, so that the unit could've been smaller might have made all of the difference. I can carry it around in its huge plastic case, but it's not what I would consider portable.:)
Nintendo is currently the only one still making a profit. But yet "ignorance" dictates other wise. Zonk obviously has fallen victim to this ignorance and hasn't bothered to do his research
MS still looses money on every console sold, and has lost almost a billion so far. Unlike Sony and Nintendo, they bought their market share, and as you pretty much stated, if their new "media center" doesn't do well, they'll be gone the way of the Dremcast. Kind of fitting since the Xbox is essentially a DC2. Everyone I know that does own an XBox has had it modded, and since that time most of them have stopped buying games. Developers state that when they look on XBox Live to see how many peeps are playing their games, that there are more out there than games sold. So not only is MS loosing money, but so are the developers because of the XBox's rampant piracy.
Nintendo has a solid business plan, they'll always be profitable, and I'm gratefull for that since they're currently the only company that is more intersted in making things fun again.
Anywasy, my DS is the first system since the 16-bit era that has had me exited. Now I see this new controller and it has my mind racing about the possibilites. I'm sick of all of these "dumbed' down games that plague most systems now days. Games that the lack all sophisictation and fun, and only have second rate PC graphics going for them.
I tried the Sony and Creative route also, they are both truly horrid. SonicStage was enough to make me want to kill.:)
I've been using an iPod now for a couple of years, and it is everything a digital-audio player should be. I personally really like iTunes, because it works great, is very easy to use, and very intuitive. I use it to rip and playback all of my music, and of course dump it on my iPod which also fits the above descriptions.
BTW, I haven't bought any songs from the iTunes Store. I've only used it to browse for music, and then gone out and bought the CDs. Apple did a phenominal job with its overall user design.
You can download iTunes for free. You should try it out and if you like it, then the iPod will be good purchase, since it integrates into it like butter.:)
See I've never had any downtime on my OS X Macintoshes, besides the time spent to install Panther and Tiger of course. You definitely had a lemon, and that sucks. Apple is to blaim, no buts about it.
I'm a "tard," I misread the statement about the Dothon's SIMD. They were saying it didn't include SSE3, where as SSE2 is present. Still a rather weak SIMD when compared to AlitiVec though. But over all the PM definitely has some punch. It will be nice for the one game I play on my PB; Warcraft 3. Just not as good for video in its current form. Anyways it wil be a nice upgrade now that some of my ignorance has been washed away. I was worried about loosing a SIMD.:)
True, Apple does do some Sony type things, like intentionaly disabling features. My G5 is an example of their meddling; It shipped with a Pioneer 108a DL burner, but Apple flashed it with their own firmware and labeled it a 107(something) if I recall, and disabled support for higher burn speeds, and DL burning. I figured that they would unlock it when Tiger was released, since it would finally offer support for DL burning from the desktop. They have offered firmware updates for past SuperDrives that added extra speed as an example. I guess that since the G5 didn't reach the speeds they were hoping for, the only thing they could really add when they released the DP 2.7 was DL burnning support. (Woooo hoo, big upgrade.) Anyways, they did not offer a firmware update to unlock my drive. The FW update they did release actually would've crippled it further. (Thanks Apple!!!) Anyways, I flashed my burner with an app some peeps wrote, and now it's running wtih all of its features.
I have my gripes about Apple, but since my OS X Macs have always worked so well, I'm willing to forgive these wrongful annoyances.
Dell just makes it a pain in the arse to install a secondary video card with their "cheap" consumer comps. This is a problem I ran into at my friend's office. He spent all day on it before calling me, an artist for help. I got it working after 2 hours. Never before have I ever had that issue with any comp. On all my PCs, it was a simple plug-in, boot-up, install any necessary drivers, and eveyrthing was happy. And there's also that Dell Axim I bought, it's the worst PDA I've owned.
Just an obervation about Dell products in general; They must use the cheapest plastic to cut cost. Have you ever noticed that most o their product make an egg breaking noise when moved? Other plastic products make a slight noise, but not as bad as the Dells I've checked.
Apple should probably consider selling a consumer tower for games and peeps like you when they switch to Intel. Not everyone needs a $2000 entry level workstation.
Hey, "if" you ever buy another Macintosh, trust me when I say they're not the crap that was that G3 iBook. I highly doubt that you would tread down that path again though. PCs are better for Linux anyways.:)
I've seen it on sites like Macslash and Ars Technica, with plenty of people posting to say they've experienced it. That's not a large study, but it's common enough for relatively small sites like that to get people chiming in.
Apple should do the right thing and fix their issues. I saw 480 names on that petition, a small percentage compared to the overall PB owners, but still enough to warrent a fix. This is just me, but since Macs do come at a cost, I always buy the Apple Care. $300(Or it was $350) extra is a small price to pay, when each of my PB's cost $3200 at the time. Besides my wifes brokent hinges, I've never need to use it, but It's a safety net I would recommend to anyone, so if they did experience a problem like the one above it would be fixed no questions asked.
I wonder if those peeps have dont things like unplugged all the RAM, reset the PMU manually and reset the OpenFirmWare? Generally these things will fix anything but a true hardware issue.
I would consider a "major bug" to be one that prevents me from doing what I need to do. If the guy had to use a Linux machine to finish the post, it prevented him from doing what he needed to do.
Well put and this is why I can rely on my Macintoshes, they've never got in my way with critical bugs. My friends have reliable PCs also, but the main difference between their reliablity any mine, is that there's takes effort and lots of know how.
That's true. But Debian-stable will do many times better than OS X.
But will it run Photoshop.;) I have no doubt that a Linux peeps that know their system in and out can produce a rock solid system, but that would not be me. So OS X in its later builds is the best choice for someone like me.
That's not true. Pentium Ms and Athlon64s are faster by a factor of 2 at integer performance at the same clock speed, and their FP performance advantage is also substantial.
I stand corrected on the Pentium Ms, I had forgot about the newer Dothan chips. The earlier PM's(From last year and earlier.) were slugs across the board. But the big issue I have with Pentium Ms, and I'm hoping will be resolved when the Dual-Cores are released, is their lack of a SIMD. When Altivec is in play, a G4 can easily beat out the best Pentium M currently available. OS X uses Altivec to help accelerate the GUI, and it provides a massive advantage for things like video encoding. Basically all multimedia is accelerated by it. Certainly a Dual-core or Single-Core PM with a SIMD will be faster in all aspects, but until they're available, a G4 portable, still offers a clear performance advantage for peeps like me.
I didn't know they were making A64 notebooks. Are they like my friends "desktop replacement" 17" Alienware? A notebook that's so huge, that I literally thought it was a flatbed scanner. He gets less than an hour on one charge. And the part that made me laugh, was that this barely-portable-beast-of-a-machine, didn't include built-in wi-fi. He had to buy a PCMCIA card for that option. I just found one, lots of bang for the buck, but too huge for my taste and it's plastic.:p
PC laptops now have battery lives in excess of 7 hours thanks to Pentium M, and they get better performance on top of that.
Yep, tis just another reason why Apple is switching, great battery life. But 2.5 years ago, no PC notebook was available that could get 5 hours.:) But as usual things change. And just a rant I have about the Centrinos that offer greater than 7 hours of life; I'm not sure if this is normal, but my friend's work gave him an IBM Centrino, and the batttery was sooo huge, that it was sticking out the back of the computer.
Given the tendency of Apple users to express satisfaction with performance that would cause dissatisfaction with others, I don't consider a voluntary survey to be a reliable indicator. For example, the Macintouch reliability survey had p
The flawed computers were sold for more than two years, so I can conclude that Apple either did it knowingly or they don't pay much attention to failure rates. Either is cause for concern, IMO.
Apple replaced the logic-boards no questions asked, and as I already stated, the later G4 iBooks work great. If this were Sony as an example, good luck on getting a replacement. I'm also one of their customers, or "was" I should say, because unlike Apple they don't fix the problems they create.
Other Apple computers have had problems recently, including the PowerBook you propose.
Now I've never heard of this. Both Titanium Powerbooks here have not had that problem and none of my friends with Powerbooks have encountered this either, and I know quite a few since I work with these types of peeps. Like I stated, my Powerbook(s) works great and the past 2.5 years of solid reliable use can attest to that fact.
Apple's a big company, they sell millions of computers, now if they didn't have a hand full of issues here an there, that would make them Gods amongst all hardware companies.
There are also major bugs and issues with updates that proper testing would have caught.
10.4.3 is on the way, so hopefully it will help out with that peeps issues. And I say that peeps issues, since I have not encountered them. Tigers is still a new OS and like any major update, It takes time to iron out all of the bugs. The minor issues I've encountered have mainly been software related. With Tiger I did encounter a few OS related quirks with the first release, which I knew would be present, but after 10.4.1, my reliability shot back up to pretty much where it was with later builds of Panther.
The bugs that peeps described are odd, and if they were "major bugs," I would have encountered them on at least one of my Macs. I work between 12 and 16 hours everyday. I'm self employed, and my business isn't big enough to hire other artists at this time, so I'm doing all of the work. Anyways, I can trust my Macs. A major bug for me, would be a complete system crash every-time I tried to run one of my Apps.
Now if only there were a company that truly had "proper testing." Now be honest, can you name any major update for any system that has been bug free? The answer is no of course.
Apple has been much better in the past, so I interpret these to be evidence of a declining commitment to quality and I am unwilling to risk another Apple purchase
This is no longer true, but it's your choice. I bought my G5 end of 04 and it is the best computer I've used
to date. Works like a champ.
I'm also unwilling to even consider them because of the poor specs. minis are too slow, iMacs can't do dual displays and can't be substantially upgraded, and PowerMacs would be great if they had a single-CPU version that cost half as much. If I ignore the reliability problems and the slow CPU in the laptops, there's still the crapper screens (resolution, contrast ratio, etc), the slower hard drives (4200 with 5400 rpm for premium instead of 5400 and 7200 rpm), the shorter battery life, etc. These crappy specs have nothing to do with the CPU so I don't hold out much hope for an improvement post-Intel switch.
Slow depends on what you're using it for. Believe it or not, that Mini can easily womp most PCs when it comes to video encoding. They're great multimedia machines across the board. iMacs are consumer Macintoshes, the computer is the screen, If you need another display, or more upgrade options then buy a tower. The iMac wasn't designed for your needs. Apple did have a single configuration of the G5, but as the cost dropped on the proc, they simply offered a dual configuration in the same price bracket. G5 Towers are also workstations, so they cost more.
The Powerbooks do need a major upgrade, hence Apple is moving to Intel, The G4 hit its roof. The G4 is slow in relation to what is out there now
Unfortuantely you bought when Apple had just switched to Asus for their iBook's logic boards. Their first revs were complete crap. This is a problem that is related mainly to the G3s. The later G4 iBooks are very reliable, even though they're still using Asus boards. I set my parents up with one, and now they don't call for help like they had prior with their various PCs.
It's a bummer that you ended up with a lemon, if you would've spent a bit more for a Powerbook(They do not use Asus boards.), or bought later on when the G4 iBook were released, chances are that you would've bought a machine that is truly reliable. I've had my PB for 2.5 years now and after the first year I stopped shuting it down. I just sleep it now. The only time I restart is during an update. The last time I powered down was to install Tiger. Overall, my Macs are 99.99% reliable, the 2 PCs(One is a workstation) I have in my office for Rendering, are only about 60% reliable.
Apple will replace all iBook logic boards free of charge. The time I had to call Apple for support, was when my wives Powerbook's screen hinges were busted by accident, they sent a box the very next day, and when we finally got around to sending it back, the fixed Powerbook showed up a day later. I've never had any serious issues with my desktops that warranted an on-site call, so I'm not sure what Apple's turn around is? Macs in general require very little maintenance, but like any other hardware manufacture, like Dell, they're bound to ship a few lemons; Like my Dell Axim.
I have a couple of friends that "were" hardcore Linux PC peeps, they're on Powerbooks now and haven't looked back. I'm an artist, so besides the early dos days, I've always relied primarily on Macs, and only used PCs for support and games. No complaints here, Apple machines are simply more reliable on average than all the PCs I've owned and used.
So you're saying that features like; An ovehauled graphics engine, which provided a noticable boost on "all" Macintoshes, especially in the OGL area via Core
Faster boot times for "all" Macintoshes.
An improved version of Mail
A faster, more reliable and more compatible version of Safari
And more importantly, finall 64-bit memory access for "all" apps, not just the sytem.
Didn't impress you?
These are just a few features, along with only the "two" that you're stuck on, which work great on my old PB with 1Gig of RAM. Dashboard alone was worth the upgrade. Having instant access to a calculator and note pad that doesn't require an app switch, which in turn would gernerally wipe the info I needed to reference, has been great. Dashboard has its initial load, but after that it works instantly, and unless you're running a Flash widget, Dashboard does not take up CPU cylces when idle.
Spotlight is way faster than any other desktop search out there. You're complaining about 8 seconds, especially on "a slower notebook HD", when my PCs with SATA drives, which I use for rendering will take that long just to search a 1 Meg HD. Slight exasteration of course, but searching is uber slow on PCs when compared to Macs, and this was even before Spotlight. Macs have always been speed kings in this area, and you're complaining aobut 8 seconds. Freak, what Quauntum computer have you been using?
Tiger has a ton of great new features, the performance gains alone are worth the ugprade. Your complaints are valid, but in relation to the bigger pciture, they're superficial.
You're making very general assumptions about a system that still has great potential. Overall everything you've stated in your post is quite general and can easily be applied to any console.
Comparing a DS to a Virtual Boy is completely off in so many ways. The two systems are barely in the same category. The virtualy boy didn't do well, because of its "red" screen, ( Which caused seizures for some peeps by the way. ) and the fact it was very awkward to play. The price was also a bit high at the time. The DS shares none of thes traits, and for larger hands like mine is a nice break from the cramped controls of other portables.
And pretty much any portable has been more succesfull than the VB. The DS just happens to be the top selling portable right now and its initial sells were even better than the SP. So it has proven very successful for Nintendo and continues to do well.
I don't agree with you at all about the Metroid comment. The stylus is the second best thing next to a mouse for a FPS in my opinion, and really makes these types of games enjoyable on a handheld and worth playing. I bought Golden Eye DS, a game I would "never" buy on any of the newer consoles, because I new it would have great controls, and I wasn't dissapointed. The game concept itself is nothing new, and one of the big reasons I'm so burned out on most console games. But the controls as mentioned, and the multiplayer are new for a portable game system. The DS added a spice of life to a genre I had given up on.
I'm perfectly fine with a second screen for stats, or interactive control, because it "works." The games I personally like can greatly benifiet from this type of setup; RPGs, strategies, adventures. And of course the games I'm so so on like FPS.
Anyways, I preorderd Nintendogs, a game concept that is not new, but has been well executed because of the DS's setup. So unless you can "innovate" a better portable game machine than a DS, I'll personally stick with Nintendo. They make games that I enjoy and consoles that are a fresh of breath air in this sea of the same.
I was worried about this since my friend's G3 900 has had 2 logic board replacements now. But I went ahead and set my parents up with a 1Ghz iBook last year and they haven't had any problems. They were even in the clear from the battery recall that happened recently. Im hoping Asus got it right with these newer mobos, from what I understand, only the first rev G4 iBooks had problems.
Are you saying that they're marketing towards you? Don't flatter your self.
If you had a Mac with OS X, you could press "control+command+d" and roll over the word "ignorance" to get its definition. Here's the definition; "Lack of knowledge or information." This applies to most peeps that are higly critical about the Mac, believe that they're expensive, and that people only buy them for show. Look up the words "productivity," "quality," and "reliability." Also look into the phrase, "you get what you pay for." This should give you a better understanding of the Macintosh, and why people invest in them.
BTW. My parents are not yuppies, nor are they wealthy, but yet they own an iBook. Gee, there goes your whole theory. I'm just going to assume you would rather linger in your own ignorance, then knowing the truth.
Why don't you register, or is "laziness" also a trate you share with ignorance?
Powerbooks support dual screens, ship with higher quality LCDs, higher ram capacity, FW 800, Gigabit ethernet, and better video cards. (The 9200 found in an iBook is an updated 8500.) PCMCIA is also only available on the PB if you need it.
I personally don't concider those minor differences, but for most consumers like my parents, that stuff is not important.
You can buy an untatinted Treo from Palum and use it with T-Mobile, or any ohter GSM provider. And since the provider hasn't loaded it with their crap, these unloccked Treos are very reliable in general I wouldn't use Cingular GSM though, they're crooks..
The peeps I know that have a T650 swear by it and have had a great experience. The latest updates from Sprint and Palm fix several issues for the unlucky peeps that did experience true problems.
If you read through Treocentral to get a basic understanding, things should go smoothly. I've notice that the peeps that had the most problems did things like not charging the phone when it was first opened. A requirment for all devices of this type. Or they loaded it up with tons of old Palm apps from the begining, apps that didn't plaly nicely with the new hardware. For the most part, user error.
Besides the fact this news is "quite" old, Palm has always sold "unlocked" GSM T650s.
This has nothing to do with Palm, and everything to do with the providers. Cingular and Sprint offered CDMA Treos at a nice discount, but intentionally crippled the DUN. Tis why a hack was made almost a year ago. Sprint's latest firmware update also unlocks DUN. Now it's just Cingular and Verizon.
MS didn't beat Palm to this, and if you had years of experience with both platforms like me, you probably wouldn't be using your PocketPC. Anyways, If I were to buy a PPC phone, I would personally go with the 3615. Talk time is important, and 3.5 hours on a 6600 is poor. Even the GSM Treos gets about 6.5 hours.
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It was sooo easy to connect through my wireless router here at home and being completey free makes it that much better.
Having to blow up the balloons in the Battle Mode is loads of fun; I'm iust glad I don't have asthma.
Nintendo innovated the kart-racer and always delivers on each new release. I've tried some of the "clones" on other consoles and they were horrid-atrocites that only show that most other developers really don't have a clue about what makes a game fun.
Waffles, they smell good and tast great.
Of course not in "all" areas, and the same is true when compared to a G4.
This chip has allot of potentional. It will be a downgrade for anything that requires heavy use of a SIMD, but overall it will be a nice upgrade, especially because of the possibility of an extra core.
I'm still waiting for Intel to produce something that's worthy of a desktop replacement though. I figure by 2007 they'll finally have something.
It looks sometwhat like the Dell GX270.
HL2 is not even close to what's on EQ's box, but it is an improvement over previous games.
GarageBand and iTunes might look different, but they operate fundementaly the same and were designed on set standards, as do "all" of the iLife apps.
Apple also has some set standards for Widget design, but they're not going to stop a developer from releasing a poorly designed one.
I'm surprised you didn't comment on their pro apps, because they have a completely different look and feel from the consumer apps. Of course this is because they're "pro-apps," and they're consistent with each other.
Apple sticks to their standards. GB although visual different, still functions like an Apple app. Very easy-to-use and intuitive. Once you've learned how to use iTunes as an example, you can just as easily use iDVD or any other iLife app. This also goes for their pro-apps.
I have one still. My biggest gripe was the headache. :) Cool concept, but maybe a different color instead of red, and maybe if they had waited a bit longer for tech to catch up, so that the unit could've been smaller might have made all of the difference. I can carry it around in its huge plastic case, but it's not what I would consider portable. :)
Nintendo is currently the only one still making a profit. But yet "ignorance" dictates other wise. Zonk obviously has fallen victim to this ignorance and hasn't bothered to do his research
MS still looses money on every console sold, and has lost almost a billion so far. Unlike Sony and Nintendo, they bought their market share, and as you pretty much stated, if their new "media center" doesn't do well, they'll be gone the way of the Dremcast. Kind of fitting since the Xbox is essentially a DC2. Everyone I know that does own an XBox has had it modded, and since that time most of them have stopped buying games. Developers state that when they look on XBox Live to see how many peeps are playing their games, that there are more out there than games sold. So not only is MS loosing money, but so are the developers because of the XBox's rampant piracy.
Nintendo has a solid business plan, they'll always be profitable, and I'm gratefull for that since they're currently the only company that is more intersted in making things fun again.
Anywasy, my DS is the first system since the 16-bit era that has had me exited. Now I see this new controller and it has my mind racing about the possibilites. I'm sick of all of these "dumbed' down games that plague most systems now days. Games that the lack all sophisictation and fun, and only have second rate PC graphics going for them.
I tried the Sony and Creative route also, they are both truly horrid. SonicStage was enough to make me want to kill. :)
:)
I've been using an iPod now for a couple of years, and it is everything a digital-audio player should be. I personally really like iTunes, because it works great, is very easy to use, and very intuitive. I use it to rip and playback all of my music, and of course dump it on my iPod which also fits the above descriptions.
BTW, I haven't bought any songs from the iTunes Store. I've only used it to browse for music, and then gone out and bought the CDs. Apple did a phenominal job with its overall user design.
You can download iTunes for free. You should try it out and if you like it, then the iPod will be good purchase, since it integrates into it like butter.
http://www.apple.com/itunes/
See I've never had any downtime on my OS X Macintoshes, besides the time spent to install Panther and Tiger of course. You definitely had a lemon, and that sucks. Apple is to blaim, no buts about it.
:)
:)
I'm a "tard," I misread the statement about the Dothon's SIMD. They were saying it didn't include SSE3, where as SSE2 is present. Still a rather weak SIMD when compared to AlitiVec though. But over all the PM definitely has some punch. It will be nice for the one game I play on my PB; Warcraft 3. Just not as good for video in its current form. Anyways it wil be a nice upgrade now that some of my ignorance has been washed away. I was worried about loosing a SIMD.
True, Apple does do some Sony type things, like intentionaly disabling features. My G5 is an example of their meddling; It shipped with a Pioneer 108a DL burner, but Apple flashed it with their own firmware and labeled it a 107(something) if I recall, and disabled support for higher burn speeds, and DL burning. I figured that they would unlock it when Tiger was released, since it would finally offer support for DL burning from the desktop. They have offered firmware updates for past SuperDrives that added extra speed as an example. I guess that since the G5 didn't reach the speeds they were hoping for, the only thing they could really add when they released the DP 2.7 was DL burnning support. (Woooo hoo, big upgrade.) Anyways, they did not offer a firmware update to unlock my drive. The FW update they did release actually would've crippled it further. (Thanks Apple!!!) Anyways, I flashed my burner with an app some peeps wrote, and now it's running wtih all of its features.
I have my gripes about Apple, but since my OS X Macs have always worked so well, I'm willing to forgive these wrongful annoyances.
Dell just makes it a pain in the arse to install a secondary video card with their "cheap" consumer comps. This is a problem I ran into at my friend's office. He spent all day on it before calling me, an artist for help. I got it working after 2 hours. Never before have I ever had that issue with any comp. On all my PCs, it was a simple plug-in, boot-up, install any necessary drivers, and eveyrthing was happy. And there's also that Dell Axim I bought, it's the worst PDA I've owned.
Just an obervation about Dell products in general; They must use the cheapest plastic to cut cost. Have you ever noticed that most o their product make an egg breaking noise when moved? Other plastic products make a slight noise, but not as bad as the Dells I've checked.
Apple should probably consider selling a consumer tower for games and peeps like you when they switch to Intel. Not everyone needs a $2000 entry level workstation.
Hey, "if" you ever buy another Macintosh, trust me when I say they're not the crap that was that G3 iBook. I highly doubt that you would tread down that path again though. PCs are better for Linux anyways.
I've seen it on sites like Macslash and Ars Technica, with plenty of people posting to say they've experienced it. That's not a large study, but it's common enough for relatively small sites like that to get people chiming in.
;) I have no doubt that a Linux peeps that know their system in and out can produce a rock solid system, but that would not be me. So OS X in its later builds is the best choice for someone like me.
:p
:) But as usual things change. And just a rant I have about the Centrinos that offer greater than 7 hours of life; I'm not sure if this is normal, but my friend's work gave him an IBM Centrino, and the batttery was sooo huge, that it was sticking out the back of the computer.
Apple should do the right thing and fix their issues. I saw 480 names on that petition, a small percentage compared to the overall PB owners, but still enough to warrent a fix. This is just me, but since Macs do come at a cost, I always buy the Apple Care. $300(Or it was $350) extra is a small price to pay, when each of my PB's cost $3200 at the time. Besides my wifes brokent hinges, I've never need to use it, but It's a safety net I would recommend to anyone, so if they did experience a problem like the one above it would be fixed no questions asked.
I wonder if those peeps have dont things like unplugged all the RAM, reset the PMU manually and reset the OpenFirmWare? Generally these things will fix anything but a true hardware issue.
I would consider a "major bug" to be one that prevents me from doing what I need to do. If the guy had to use a Linux machine to finish the post, it prevented him from doing what he needed to do.
Well put and this is why I can rely on my Macintoshes, they've never got in my way with critical bugs. My friends have reliable PCs also, but the main difference between their reliablity any mine, is that there's takes effort and lots of know how.
That's true. But Debian-stable will do many times better than OS X.
But will it run Photoshop.
That's not true. Pentium Ms and Athlon64s are faster by a factor of 2 at integer performance at the same clock speed, and their FP performance advantage is also substantial.
I stand corrected on the Pentium Ms, I had forgot about the newer Dothan chips. The earlier PM's(From last year and earlier.) were slugs across the board. But the big issue I have with Pentium Ms, and I'm hoping will be resolved when the Dual-Cores are released, is their lack of a SIMD. When Altivec is in play, a G4 can easily beat out the best Pentium M currently available. OS X uses Altivec to help accelerate the GUI, and it provides a massive advantage for things like video encoding. Basically all multimedia is accelerated by it. Certainly a Dual-core or Single-Core PM with a SIMD will be faster in all aspects, but until they're available, a G4 portable, still offers a clear performance advantage for peeps like me.
I didn't know they were making A64 notebooks. Are they like my friends "desktop replacement" 17" Alienware? A notebook that's so huge, that I literally thought it was a flatbed scanner. He gets less than an hour on one charge. And the part that made me laugh, was that this barely-portable-beast-of-a-machine, didn't include built-in wi-fi. He had to buy a PCMCIA card for that option. I just found one, lots of bang for the buck, but too huge for my taste and it's plastic.
PC laptops now have battery lives in excess of 7 hours thanks to Pentium M, and they get better performance on top of that.
Yep, tis just another reason why Apple is switching, great battery life. But 2.5 years ago, no PC notebook was available that could get 5 hours.
Given the tendency of Apple users to express satisfaction with performance that would cause dissatisfaction with others, I don't consider a voluntary survey to be a reliable indicator. For example, the Macintouch reliability survey had p
The flawed computers were sold for more than two years, so I can conclude that Apple either did it knowingly or they don't pay much attention to failure rates. Either is cause for concern, IMO.
Apple replaced the logic-boards no questions asked, and as I already stated, the later G4 iBooks work great. If this were Sony as an example, good luck on getting a replacement. I'm also one of their customers, or "was" I should say, because unlike Apple they don't fix the problems they create.
Other Apple computers have had problems recently, including the PowerBook you propose.
Now I've never heard of this. Both Titanium Powerbooks here have not had that problem and none of my friends with Powerbooks have encountered this either, and I know quite a few since I work with these types of peeps. Like I stated, my Powerbook(s) works great and the past 2.5 years of solid reliable use can attest to that fact.
Apple's a big company, they sell millions of computers, now if they didn't have a hand full of issues here an there, that would make them Gods amongst all hardware companies.
There are also major bugs and issues with updates that proper testing would have caught.
10.4.3 is on the way, so hopefully it will help out with that peeps issues. And I say that peeps issues, since I have not encountered them. Tigers is still a new OS and like any major update, It takes time to iron out all of the bugs. The minor issues I've encountered have mainly been software related. With Tiger I did encounter a few OS related quirks with the first release, which I knew would be present, but after 10.4.1, my reliability shot back up to pretty much where it was with later builds of Panther.
The bugs that peeps described are odd, and if they were "major bugs," I would have encountered them on at least one of my Macs. I work between 12 and 16 hours everyday. I'm self employed, and my business isn't big enough to hire other artists at this time, so I'm doing all of the work. Anyways, I can trust my Macs. A major bug for me, would be a complete system crash every-time I tried to run one of my Apps.
Now if only there were a company that truly had "proper testing." Now be honest, can you name any major update for any system that has been bug free? The answer is no of course.
Apple has been much better in the past, so I interpret these to be evidence of a declining commitment to quality and I am unwilling to risk another Apple purchase
This is no longer true, but it's your choice. I bought my G5 end of 04 and it is the best computer I've used to date. Works like a champ.
I'm also unwilling to even consider them because of the poor specs. minis are too slow, iMacs can't do dual displays and can't be substantially upgraded, and PowerMacs would be great if they had a single-CPU version that cost half as much. If I ignore the reliability problems and the slow CPU in the laptops, there's still the crapper screens (resolution, contrast ratio, etc), the slower hard drives (4200 with 5400 rpm for premium instead of 5400 and 7200 rpm), the shorter battery life, etc. These crappy specs have nothing to do with the CPU so I don't hold out much hope for an improvement post-Intel switch.
Slow depends on what you're using it for. Believe it or not, that Mini can easily womp most PCs when it comes to video encoding. They're great multimedia machines across the board. iMacs are consumer Macintoshes, the computer is the screen, If you need another display, or more upgrade options then buy a tower. The iMac wasn't designed for your needs. Apple did have a single configuration of the G5, but as the cost dropped on the proc, they simply offered a dual configuration in the same price bracket. G5 Towers are also workstations, so they cost more.
The Powerbooks do need a major upgrade, hence Apple is moving to Intel, The G4 hit its roof. The G4 is slow in relation to what is out there now
Unfortuantely you bought when Apple had just switched to Asus for their iBook's logic boards. Their first revs were complete crap. This is a problem that is related mainly to the G3s. The later G4 iBooks are very reliable, even though they're still using Asus boards. I set my parents up with one, and now they don't call for help like they had prior with their various PCs.
It's a bummer that you ended up with a lemon, if you would've spent a bit more for a Powerbook(They do not use Asus boards.), or bought later on when the G4 iBook were released, chances are that you would've bought a machine that is truly reliable. I've had my PB for 2.5 years now and after the first year I stopped shuting it down. I just sleep it now. The only time I restart is during an update. The last time I powered down was to install Tiger. Overall, my Macs are 99.99% reliable, the 2 PCs(One is a workstation) I have in my office for Rendering, are only about 60% reliable.
Apple will replace all iBook logic boards free of charge. The time I had to call Apple for support, was when my wives Powerbook's screen hinges were busted by accident, they sent a box the very next day, and when we finally got around to sending it back, the fixed Powerbook showed up a day later. I've never had any serious issues with my desktops that warranted an on-site call, so I'm not sure what Apple's turn around is? Macs in general require very little maintenance, but like any other hardware manufacture, like Dell, they're bound to ship a few lemons; Like my Dell Axim.
I have a couple of friends that "were" hardcore Linux PC peeps, they're on Powerbooks now and haven't looked back. I'm an artist, so besides the early dos days, I've always relied primarily on Macs, and only used PCs for support and games. No complaints here, Apple machines are simply more reliable on average than all the PCs I've owned and used.
So you're saying that features like;
An ovehauled graphics engine, which provided a noticable boost on "all" Macintoshes, especially in the OGL area via Core
Faster boot times for "all" Macintoshes.
An improved version of Mail
A faster, more reliable and more compatible version of Safari
And more importantly, finall 64-bit memory access for "all" apps, not just the sytem.
Didn't impress you?
These are just a few features, along with only the "two" that you're stuck on, which work great on my old PB with 1Gig of RAM. Dashboard alone was worth the upgrade. Having instant access to a calculator and note pad that doesn't require an app switch, which in turn would gernerally wipe the info I needed to reference, has been great. Dashboard has its initial load, but after that it works instantly, and unless you're running a Flash widget, Dashboard does not take up CPU cylces when idle.
Spotlight is way faster than any other desktop search out there. You're complaining about 8 seconds, especially on "a slower notebook HD", when my PCs with SATA drives, which I use for rendering will take that long just to search a 1 Meg HD. Slight exasteration of course, but searching is uber slow on PCs when compared to Macs, and this was even before Spotlight. Macs have always been speed kings in this area, and you're complaining aobut 8 seconds. Freak, what Quauntum computer have you been using?
Tiger has a ton of great new features, the performance gains alone are worth the ugprade. Your complaints are valid, but in relation to the bigger pciture, they're superficial.
You're making very general assumptions about a system that still has great potential. Overall everything you've stated in your post is quite general and can easily be applied to any console.
Comparing a DS to a Virtual Boy is completely off in so many ways. The two systems are barely in the same category. The virtualy boy didn't do well, because of its "red" screen, ( Which caused seizures for some peeps by the way. ) and the fact it was very awkward to play. The price was also a bit high at the time. The DS shares none of thes traits, and for larger hands like mine is a nice break from the cramped controls of other portables.
And pretty much any portable has been more succesfull than the VB. The DS just happens to be the top selling portable right now and its initial sells were even better than the SP. So it has proven very successful for Nintendo and continues to do well.
I don't agree with you at all about the Metroid comment. The stylus is the second best thing next to a mouse for a FPS in my opinion, and really makes these types of games enjoyable on a handheld and worth playing. I bought Golden Eye DS, a game I would "never" buy on any of the newer consoles, because I new it would have great controls, and I wasn't dissapointed. The game concept itself is nothing new, and one of the big reasons I'm so burned out on most console games. But the controls as mentioned, and the multiplayer are new for a portable game system. The DS added a spice of life to a genre I had given up on.
I'm perfectly fine with a second screen for stats, or interactive control, because it "works." The games I personally like can greatly benifiet from this type of setup; RPGs, strategies, adventures. And of course the games I'm so so on like FPS.
Anyways, I preorderd Nintendogs, a game concept that is not new, but has been well executed because of the DS's setup. So unless you can "innovate" a better portable game machine than a DS, I'll personally stick with Nintendo. They make games that I enjoy and consoles that are a fresh of breath air in this sea of the same.
I was worried about this since my friend's G3 900 has had 2 logic board replacements now. But I went ahead and set my parents up with a 1Ghz iBook last year and they haven't had any problems. They were even in the clear from the battery recall that happened recently. Im hoping Asus got it right with these newer mobos, from what I understand, only the first rev G4 iBooks had problems.
I'm a tard, you're correct about the VGA out.
iBooks offer mini-DVI out, just like the 12" Powerbook.
Are you saying that they're marketing towards you? Don't flatter your self.
If you had a Mac with OS X, you could press "control+command+d" and roll over the word "ignorance" to get its definition. Here's the definition; "Lack of knowledge or information." This applies to most peeps that are higly critical about the Mac, believe that they're expensive, and that people only buy them for show. Look up the words "productivity," "quality," and "reliability." Also look into the phrase, "you get what you pay for." This should give you a better understanding of the Macintosh, and why people invest in them.
BTW. My parents are not yuppies, nor are they wealthy, but yet they own an iBook. Gee, there goes your whole theory. I'm just going to assume you would rather linger in your own ignorance, then knowing the truth.
Why don't you register, or is "laziness" also a trate you share with ignorance?
Powerbooks support dual screens, ship with higher quality LCDs, higher ram capacity, FW 800, Gigabit ethernet, and better video cards. (The 9200 found in an iBook is an updated 8500.) PCMCIA is also only available on the PB if you need it.
I personally don't concider those minor differences, but for most consumers like my parents, that stuff is not important.
Did Apple some how offend your ignorance?
You can buy an untatinted Treo from Palum and use it with T-Mobile, or any ohter GSM provider. And since the provider hasn't loaded it with their crap, these unloccked Treos are very reliable in general I wouldn't use Cingular GSM though, they're crooks..
Go here for all the scoop;p ?f=70
http://discussion.treocentral.com/forumdisplay.ph
The peeps I know that have a T650 swear by it and have had a great experience. The latest updates from Sprint and Palm fix several issues for the unlucky peeps that did experience true problems.
If you read through Treocentral to get a basic understanding, things should go smoothly. I've notice that the peeps that had the most problems did things like not charging the phone when it was first opened. A requirment for all devices of this type. Or they loaded it up with tons of old Palm apps from the begining, apps that didn't plaly nicely with the new hardware. For the most part, user error.
Do not go with Cingular.
Besides the fact this news is "quite" old, Palm has always sold "unlocked" GSM T650s.
This has nothing to do with Palm, and everything to do with the providers. Cingular and Sprint offered CDMA Treos at a nice discount, but intentionally crippled the DUN. Tis why a hack was made almost a year ago. Sprint's latest firmware update also unlocks DUN. Now it's just Cingular and Verizon.
MS didn't beat Palm to this, and if you had years of experience with both platforms like me, you probably wouldn't be using your PocketPC. Anyways, If I were to buy a PPC phone, I would personally go with the 3615. Talk time is important, and 3.5 hours on a 6600 is poor. Even the GSM Treos gets about 6.5 hours.
Nice consumer system, but it on has 2 memory slots, doesn't have Altivec, nor does it run OS X. Workstations cost more.
:)
But this looks like specs for next years iMacs.