I have an old Mac color classic from 1993 running 24/7 as answering/fax machine that has never missed a beat, including the original hard drive.The only thing that no longer works is the internal clock battery is dead. Leaving a computer running doesn't seem to affect its life.
...you never saw the agreement, so how could you have ever agreed to it...
Indeed, an agreement always means there are at least two unambiguously identifyable parties who are legally able to agree to something. If neither of the parties can be proven in court to be part of an alleged agreement, there is no agreement, no matter what ten-thousand lawyers or millions of click licenses may say in wishful thinking. That is why all click licenses are bogus. It cannot be unambiguously proven exactly WHO did the clicking and whether the alleged clicker was even legally qualified to enter into a binding legal agreement. A ten year old can click a mouse, but is not able to enter into a legally binding agreement of any sort.
...have software that they can just go to a store and pickup...
I have PC's as well as Macs and I can't remember the last time I bought *any* software at a store for either computers. Why anyone would want to get usually outdated software at a store is beyond me. I just download what I want and burn the file to a CD after I install. Usually, the prices are way better also. This works just fine, especially since even most software in stores does not come with much of a printed manual any longer but the docs are on the disk.
Mac works out of the box with most standard USB and Firewire devices as well as memory cards. My TI powerbook reads the memory cards from my NIKON camera just fine with no software installs needed. My digital video camera connects to the Mac and just works without added software, like almost everything that you can think of plugging into a Mac. I got an Epson printer which I plugged in and the Mac immediately recognized its model number and asked me if I want to use this printer as the default. I think you have never gotten within ten feet of a Mac, let alone used one for a while.
Is not to allow unsavy users to run as an admin. Then they have to forego installing all that crap until they can get someone with admin privs to do it. Macs that I have set up for family and friends are set up such that every day users do not know or are not allowed to use the admin password. If they need to make a change, they call me and I do it. That way they cannot install crap I have not looked at first and they appreciate the fact that they have someone who helps keep their computer safe. They do have the password, but are told that their free computer support from me ceases the minute they use the password to install ANYTHING! So far this has worked marvelously well!
...If you're installing a program that includes spyware, how would the OS know...
It would not know, but unlike Windows, Mac programs can be gotten rid of easily by just dragging them into the trash. End of spyware. Also, there is no registry corruption possible to screw up the whole computer.
...I guess you think AutoCAD and ArcGIS are "silly apps."...
Just unplug the PC these apps run on from the Internet and everything will be just fine. Then use the Mini for all the other Internet and media stuff. Get a KVM and put the Mini on top of your Windows box. Just think only $500 to be forever free from all malware.
Give that Widows PC to the kids to play games on or throw it in the trash and get a Mac. Up 'til now a reasonable excuse was that Macs are too expensive, but that no longer applies with the new Mini.
If they have a Mac, I set them up as a standard user without admin priv and tell them also that if ever a window pops up asking for the admin password, not to give it before calling me, if they want my continued support.
...the only reason it isn't as cluttered up with crap as the average PC is because of OS X's miniscule market share...
Not so! On the Mac you don't need to have admin privs to run programs, whereas on Windows most stuff won't run unless the user does have admin status. Also OSX doesn't have that crap thing called a registry which still causes endless grief for Windows users. On OSX you need admin privs only to install software and make system changes, which an ordinary user needs to do only occasionally. Running as a standard user on OSX is light years more secure than any, even super patched, anti-virus protected Windows box.
Hackers LOVE challenges and have tried and are still trying desperately to mess up Macs the same way they have done for years on Windows, but they are still quite unsuccessful at breaching the Mac. Even old OS9 is still far more secure than any flavor of Windows even pretends to be.
Apple also advertises this, but unlike the others, it is true. Anyone or anyone's uncle can just get a Mac out of its box, plug it into the Internet. No warnings or caveats are needed, although a firewall is a good thing and the Mac comes with one built in.
Don't come with the old saw about Mac small market share etc. What difference does it make WHY there is no malware? What difference does it make that my house does not get broken into? Is it because I have better locks, or the thieves think there is nothing worth stealing in there? It doesn't really matter WHY, the fact is that the stuff in my house is safer.
Anyone who buys the cheapest computer crap, such as a Dell DESERVES to get what they pay for. Dell does not put all that crap on their machines out of the goodness of their heart, but they get paid by someone to do it. Conequently they can sell their computers cheaply to the suckers who only look at the initial price tag.
Why is it that I don't get *any* malware on my Mac? Sure it cost a bit more (at least until the Mac Mini came out) but it is well worth it for the peace of mind and ease of use. Nothing executeable can install or run the first time unless I give a password. Also, just like in the physical world, I stay out of bad neighborhoods on the Internet.
As for spam, I have three e-mail accounts, one of them on AOL. That is the one that has the least spam by far. AOL is looked down the nose by many/.ers, but they seem to have a quite effective anti-spam system, including some well paid lawyers going after spammers.
A G4 Mac will outperform any Dell computer of the same clock frequency because the G4 is more efficient. I have an el cheapo 1.4Ghz Wintel (actually AMD) box and it is SLOW compared to my 550Mhz Powerbook. I cannot get DSL or cable here and that PC serves as a NAT box for several Macs and another somewhat faster (and more expensive) AMD box on a slow dial up.
Linux is a fine OS, but mostly for the/. types like you who know a lot about computers. Anyone who doesn't have expertise or know someone who does and that someone is willing to do free support for Linux is basically stuck with Windows or a Mac. I remember reading predictions about Linux on the average desktop years ago, but that has not happened and will not in the forseeable future.
Perhaps you could post the specs on the $500 box you have in mind, including its software so a comparison can be done.
Yes, you CAN get a cheap Dell or whatever, but you'll still be saddled with a malware prone Windows box where you'd have to spend a bunch of cash to buy anti-virus/spyware programs and spend a lot of time installing that, as well as countless forever continuing "updates" from MS. After all that, you need to buy second rate apps to awkwardly try to replace the cool, integrated iLife programs that come with the Mini. So if your time is worth nothing, then get a "cheaper" Dell. Specs mean nothing if the computer misbehaves because of bugs and malware, like Windows often does.
The Mac mini is intended for ordinary people who HAVE a cheap Dell or whatever and want to trash that and use the keyboard and monitor from it with a secure, integrated computer that won't keep them subject to the next virus or spyware infection because their anti-malware programs did not get updated in time.
Almost all Windows users that get a Mac will never go back. This means that Mr. Gates will not sell them the latest and greatest version of Windows, nor will they sell Windows to the PC maker who also has lost a customer.
MS of course will still make $$$ from the Mac version of office, which by the way is very nice. MS monopoly postion will be diminished, but so will their revenues. With the Mac Mini, the age old excuse that Macs cost too much will finally go away.
I did not know that the MP3 or MOV format could have any kind of DRM. I have never encountered an MP3 file that was in any way encumbered, at least not on iTunes or Quicktime.
...expecting their computer to be reasonably secure by default...
And why NOT? We expect our cars and toys for children to be reasonably safe by default! If Apple can make a computer reasonably secure by default, why can't the largest software company? Simple; they think they can sell more upgrades for 'security' if the users are worried about security. Is the latest XP with all its patches really all that more secure than an out of the box windows 95? Maybe some, but not much.
I think consumers, and that includes computer users have a RIGHT to expect that the product they buy will not cause them harm. If the computer technology businesses were held to the same product liability standards as say car or toy makers, maybe we'd get safer computers. As long as our society allows software makers to legally protect themselves with those lame EULA disclaimers, true computer security will remain a dream. If a software maker (including Microsoft) could be sued under the same liabilty standards as most other manufacturers, we would have VERY secure computers in a short time.
...I'm a bit tired getting screwed and seeing Americans eat all those free lunches...
Send a protest to your government for imposing all those duties and taxes (GST, VAT etc.), most of which are included in your purchase price. Our lunches are not free either, but they are prepared with fewer bitter taxes in them and therefore taste better
This computer is not made for the/. hardware hacker, such as you, but for the average Joe Consumer who has a Wintel box and maybe an ipod and has often wondered about the Mac, but not enough to spend a bunch of cash on. Joe consumer would not care to open this computer any more than his TV or DVD player nor upgrade any of his electronic boxes. When enough Joe Consumers find out that their Mac just works and doesn't get all the malware that Wintel users can be plagued by, Apple may sell a lot of these little boxes. None of the Apple products is all that much fun for a/. hardware enthusiast.
...I don't know of any keyboard intended for PC compatible machines I've seen at electronics stores that uses a USB connection to the computer....
I have bought several Logitech keyboards and they came with a PS2 to USB adaptor. This allows the PS2 keyboard or mouse to work with a Mac. Such adaptors are cheap and commonly available.
...But these new low-cost Macs are intended for relatively sophisticated users...
I suspect that these new low cost Macs are intended for ordinary Wintel users who have bought an iPod and want to try out a Mac as a second machine. When they realize that with a Mac they no longer have to worry about viruses, spyware and all the other windows problems, they will relegate their PC to the kids to play games on. They will, in most cases be able to use their existing keyboard, monitor and mouse with their cheap Mac and then buy these items new later and return the old ones to the PC system. This new Mac may be a bigger threat to Mr. Gates than most people realize.
...Grab data from a RX-320 short wave radio control system...
There is an instrumentation control and aquisitistion program/system that can aquire and process data from almost every conceivable source, both analog an digital. It is called LABVIEW and runs eqaully on Macs and Wintel boxes. I used this system already way back in 1988 on a Mac SE.
You have mentioned a very specific registry error as not causing a hosed computer, but other kinds of registry corruptions caused by bugs or malware have killed and still do kill countless windows machines every day. Often a skilled user can fix the error, but for most non-geek users it means a re-install or a call to some expert helper who may (usually for a fee) be able to get the system going again. I'd be interested to know which applications on OSX you had trouble getting rid of.
...There are plenty of niche applications that have no equivalent on the Mac....
Could you please name me ONE job or job category on Wintel (not a particular program) that a Mac cannot do? Besides, I was talking about what 99% of CONSUMERS generally use a computer for, not some esoteric discipline that one out of a thousand computer users might be in.
Only true with non-copy protected CDs. You can load any common non-copy protected file onto an iPod and it will work. It is only the asinine DRM stuff that is causing all the compatibility headaches. This is even more true for the Microsoft DRM crap.
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...a hard drive last more than a year...
I have an old Mac color classic from 1993 running 24/7 as answering/fax machine that has never missed a beat, including the original hard drive.The only thing that no longer works is the internal clock battery is dead. Leaving a computer running doesn't seem to affect its life.
...you never saw the agreement, so how could you have ever agreed to it...
Indeed, an agreement always means there are at least two unambiguously identifyable parties who are legally able to agree to something. If neither of the parties can be proven in court to be part of an alleged agreement, there is no agreement, no matter what ten-thousand lawyers or millions of click licenses may say in wishful thinking. That is why all click licenses are bogus. It cannot be unambiguously proven exactly WHO did the clicking and whether the alleged clicker was even legally qualified to enter into a binding legal agreement. A ten year old can click a mouse, but is not able to enter into a legally binding agreement of any sort.
...have software that they can just go to a store and pickup...
I have PC's as well as Macs and I can't remember the last time I bought *any* software at a store for either computers. Why anyone would want to get usually outdated software at a store is beyond me. I just download what I want and burn the file to a CD after I install. Usually, the prices are way better also. This works just fine, especially since even most software in stores does not come with much of a printed manual any longer but the docs are on the disk.
Mac works out of the box with most standard USB and Firewire devices as well as memory cards. My TI powerbook reads the memory cards from my NIKON camera just fine with no software installs needed. My digital video camera connects to the Mac and just works without added software, like almost everything that you can think of plugging into a Mac. I got an Epson printer which I plugged in and the Mac immediately recognized its model number and asked me if I want to use this printer as the default. I think you have never gotten within ten feet of a Mac, let alone used one for a while.
...the cure for spyware ...
Is not to allow unsavy users to run as an admin. Then they have to forego installing all that crap until they can get someone with admin privs to do it. Macs that I have set up for family and friends are set up such that every day users do not know or are not allowed to use the admin password. If they need to make a change, they call me and I do it. That way they cannot install crap I have not looked at first and they appreciate the fact that they have someone who helps keep their computer safe. They do have the password, but are told that their free computer support from me ceases the minute they use the password to install ANYTHING! So far this has worked marvelously well!
...If you're installing a program that includes spyware, how would the OS know...
It would not know, but unlike Windows, Mac programs can be gotten rid of easily by just dragging them into the trash. End of spyware. Also, there is no registry corruption possible to screw up the whole computer.
...I guess you think AutoCAD and ArcGIS are "silly apps."...
Just unplug the PC these apps run on from the Internet and everything will be just fine. Then use the Mini for all the other Internet and media stuff. Get a KVM and put the Mini on top of your Windows box. Just think only $500 to be forever free from all malware.
...just like a bicycle is fine for most roads...
Using Windows on the Internet is like riding a bicycle in the center lane of an LA freeway.
...I endlessly seem to tell people:...
Give that Widows PC to the kids to play games on or throw it in the trash and get a Mac. Up 'til now a reasonable excuse was that Macs are too expensive, but that no longer applies with the new Mini.
If they have a Mac, I set them up as a standard user without admin priv and tell them also that if ever a window pops up asking for the admin password, not to give it before calling me, if they want my continued support.
...the only reason it isn't as cluttered up with crap as the average PC is because of OS X's miniscule market share...
Not so! On the Mac you don't need to have admin privs to run programs, whereas on Windows most stuff won't run unless the user does have admin status. Also OSX doesn't have that crap thing called a registry which still causes endless grief for Windows users. On OSX you need admin privs only to install software and make system changes, which an ordinary user needs to do only occasionally. Running as a standard user on OSX is light years more secure than any, even super patched, anti-virus protected Windows box.
Hackers LOVE challenges and have tried and are still trying desperately to mess up Macs the same way they have done for years on Windows, but they are still quite unsuccessful at breaching the Mac. Even old OS9 is still far more secure than any flavor of Windows even pretends to be.
...Just plug it in and it works!...
Apple also advertises this, but unlike the others, it is true. Anyone or anyone's uncle can just get a Mac out of its box, plug it into the Internet. No warnings or caveats are needed, although a firewall is a good thing and the Mac comes with one built in.
Don't come with the old saw about Mac small market share etc. What difference does it make WHY there is no malware? What difference does it make that my house does not get broken into? Is it because I have better locks, or the thieves think there is nothing worth stealing in there? It doesn't really matter WHY, the fact is that the stuff in my house is safer.
...when after all, 'it came from dell!...
/.ers, but they seem to have a quite effective anti-spam system, including some well paid lawyers going after spammers.
Anyone who buys the cheapest computer crap, such as a Dell DESERVES to get what they pay for. Dell does not put all that crap on their machines out of the goodness of their heart, but they get paid by someone to do it. Conequently they can sell their computers cheaply to the suckers who only look at the initial price tag.
Why is it that I don't get *any* malware on my Mac? Sure it cost a bit more (at least until the Mac Mini came out) but it is well worth it for the peace of mind and ease of use. Nothing executeable can install or run the first time unless I give a password. Also, just like in the physical world, I stay out of bad neighborhoods on the Internet.
As for spam, I have three e-mail accounts, one of them on AOL. That is the one that has the least spam by far. AOL is looked down the nose by many
...they are selling underperforming hardware...
A G4 Mac will outperform any Dell computer of the same clock frequency because the G4 is more efficient. I have an el cheapo 1.4Ghz Wintel (actually AMD) box and it is SLOW compared to my 550Mhz Powerbook. I cannot get DSL or cable here and that PC serves as a NAT box for several Macs and another somewhat faster (and more expensive) AMD box on a slow dial up.
Linux is a fine OS, but mostly for the/. types like you who know a lot about computers. Anyone who doesn't have expertise or know someone who does and that someone is willing to do free support for Linux is basically stuck with Windows or a Mac. I remember reading predictions about Linux on the average desktop years ago, but that has not happened and will not in the forseeable future.
Perhaps you could post the specs on the $500 box you have in mind, including its software so a comparison can be done.
...At $499 it is a rip....
Yes, you CAN get a cheap Dell or whatever, but you'll still be saddled with a malware prone Windows box where you'd have to spend a bunch of cash to buy anti-virus/spyware programs and spend a lot of time installing that, as well as countless forever continuing "updates" from MS. After all that, you need to buy second rate apps to awkwardly try to replace the cool, integrated iLife programs that come with the Mini. So if your time is worth nothing, then get a "cheaper" Dell. Specs mean nothing if the computer misbehaves because of bugs and malware, like Windows often does.
The Mac mini is intended for ordinary people who HAVE a cheap Dell or whatever and want to trash that and use the keyboard and monitor from it with a secure, integrated computer that won't keep them subject to the next virus or spyware infection because their anti-malware programs did not get updated in time.
...a problem for Bill Gates...
Almost all Windows users that get a Mac will never go back. This means that Mr. Gates will not sell them the latest and greatest version of Windows, nor will they sell Windows to the PC maker who also has lost a customer.
MS of course will still make $$$ from the Mac version of office, which by the way is very nice. MS monopoly postion will be diminished, but so will their revenues. With the Mac Mini, the age old excuse that Macs cost too much will finally go away.
...MP3 with DRM enabled,...
I did not know that the MP3 or MOV format could have any kind of DRM. I have never encountered an MP3 file that was in any way encumbered, at least not on iTunes or Quicktime.
...expecting their computer to be reasonably secure by default...
And why NOT? We expect our cars and toys for children to be reasonably safe by default! If Apple can make a computer reasonably secure by default, why can't the largest software company? Simple; they think they can sell more upgrades for 'security' if the users are worried about security. Is the latest XP with all its patches really all that more secure than an out of the box windows 95? Maybe some, but not much.
I think consumers, and that includes computer users have a RIGHT to expect that the product they buy will not cause them harm. If the computer technology businesses were held to the same product liability standards as say car or toy makers, maybe we'd get safer computers. As long as our society allows software makers to legally protect themselves with those lame EULA disclaimers, true computer security will remain a dream. If a software maker (including Microsoft) could be sued under the same liabilty standards as most other manufacturers, we would have VERY secure computers in a short time.
...I'm a bit tired getting screwed and seeing Americans eat all those free lunches...
Send a protest to your government for imposing all those duties and taxes (GST, VAT etc.), most of which are included in your purchase price. Our lunches are not free either, but they are prepared with fewer bitter taxes in them and therefore taste better
...Somebody needs to make a cheap opening tool...
/. hardware hacker, such as you, but for the average Joe Consumer who has a Wintel box and maybe an ipod and has often wondered about the Mac, but not enough to spend a bunch of cash on. Joe consumer would not care to open this computer any more than his TV or DVD player nor upgrade any of his electronic boxes. When enough Joe Consumers find out that their Mac just works and doesn't get all the malware that Wintel users can be plagued by, Apple may sell a lot of these little boxes. None of the Apple products is all that much fun for a /. hardware enthusiast.
This computer is not made for the
...I don't know of any keyboard intended for PC compatible machines I've seen at electronics stores that uses a USB connection to the computer....
I have bought several Logitech keyboards and they came with a PS2 to USB adaptor. This allows the PS2 keyboard or mouse to work with a Mac. Such adaptors are cheap and commonly available.
...But these new low-cost Macs are intended for relatively sophisticated users...
I suspect that these new low cost Macs are intended for ordinary Wintel users who have bought an iPod and want to try out a Mac as a second machine. When they realize that with a Mac they no longer have to worry about viruses, spyware and all the other windows problems, they will relegate their PC to the kids to play games on. They will, in most cases be able to use their existing keyboard, monitor and mouse with their cheap Mac and then buy these items new later and return the old ones to the PC system. This new Mac may be a bigger threat to Mr. Gates than most people realize.
...Grab data from a RX-320 short wave radio control system...
There is an instrumentation control and aquisitistion program/system that can aquire and process data from almost every conceivable source, both analog an digital. It is called LABVIEW and runs eqaully on Macs and Wintel boxes. I used this system already way back in 1988 on a Mac SE.
You have mentioned a very specific registry error as not causing a hosed computer, but other kinds of registry corruptions caused by bugs or malware have killed and still do kill countless windows machines every day. Often a skilled user can fix the error, but for most non-geek users it means a re-install or a call to some expert helper who may (usually for a fee) be able to get the system going again. I'd be interested to know which applications on OSX you had trouble getting rid of.
...There are plenty of niche applications that have no equivalent on the Mac....
Could you please name me ONE job or job category on Wintel (not a particular program) that a Mac cannot do? Besides, I was talking about what 99% of CONSUMERS generally use a computer for, not some esoteric discipline that one out of a thousand computer users might be in.
...and it will work with EVERY CD player...
Only true with non-copy protected CDs. You can load any common non-copy protected file onto an iPod and it will work. It is only the asinine DRM stuff that is causing all the compatibility headaches. This is even more true for the Microsoft DRM crap.
...you almost have to have...
Almost only counts in horseshoes, but not in a court of law. Apple doesn't force anyone to buy either music nor an iPod from them.