...states that owing to the gravitational effects we observe in the universe there must be a lot of matter we can't measure...
That is exactly right. IF, and that's the rub, if gravity is assumed to be the ONLY force involved. However if cosmologists were WILLING to consider that the 10^36 times stronger electrical force might ALSO play a role, then the need for any mysterious dark of anything evaporates.
However, as soon as it is admitted that electricity also plays a role in the operation of the large scale cosmos, many other parts of currently accepted dogma fall like dominoes. Negating a lifetime of work and all existing gravity only computer models and purely mathematically based theories will be and is being strenuously resisted by big government funded establishment science.
....The only thing that makes sense right now is dark matter and dark energy.....
Only if you postulate that the electric force does not come into play at all. Since it is 10^36 times greater than gravity, only a very tiny charge imbalance between the parts of a galaxy can have a large effect. Such a electrical effect can totally overwhelm gravity.
....This makes me wonder whether other objects currently labeled as "far away," "super-massive," "ultra-luminous," etc. are in fact closer than their currently estimated distances?...
They may also not be nearly as old or have taken nearly as long to form. Maybe the age of these objects also need to be revised drastically downwards.
That's also just a thought, bound to rather discomforting to those who believe in evolution and its attendant necessity of immense amounts of time.
....Are all these answers wrong because there is hidden hidden matter (and energy, woo hoo!), or is GR just not a good enough approximation at those scales?.....
Neither appears to be the case. Earthly matter we are familiar with is mostly electrically neutral We assume (without evidence) that this is the case of objects in the cosmos, such as galaxies, stars, planets and the intervening space. We know the sun emits large electrical currents. When these currents get particularly big, we see spectacular aurora displays and sometimes our electrical grids fail because of these powerful flows of electricity. The presence of immense galactic and intergalactic movement of charges, in response to electric potential is borne out by many modern observations.
We observe powerful sources of X-rays, for example. How do we make these here on earth every day? Oh yea, with high voltage electricity! So are these x-rays from space evidence for immense electric fields accelerating charges over great distances, which then collide with matter or are forced into non-linear paths by the magnetic fields generated by these huge electric currents?
If these electrical forces are admitted, then the need for dark anything, including black holes, quasars and other postulated exotica in present cosmology disappears. If electricity is admitted as a major factor, in concert with gravity, in the operation of the universe, we are left with a rather ordinary cosmos with no weird never yet discovered forces, energies or matter. We can experiment in the lab with charges flowing through space. When we do, we see many of the same sort of weird and wonderful constructs and configuration that astronomers see in the distant reaches of the universe.
....it doesn't feel the electromagnetic force.....
If it can't "feel" the electromagnetic force, which is 36 orders of magnitude greater than gravity, how can it "feel" gravity? How can anyone answer that question unless he/she knows what gravity is in the first place. We know that gravity is indistinguishable from acceleration, but nobody has a clue as to what property of matter, dark or "normal" makes it create this force we have named "gravity".
How can it be, that modern, supposedly educated, "mainstream" cosmologists ignore the much powerful force of electricity in the operation of the universe? How can it be that modern cosmology tries to explain the operation of the entire universe by the operation of the weakest force of nature?
If electricity WERE taken into by these so called "scientists" would that demolish some long held, sacred, pet theories? Maybe that is the core of the problem as to why the electric force and the mechanism of plasmas is studiously ignored. Maybe that is the reason why those who attempt to explain the latest space data in terms of electric phenomena are not only ignored, but heaped with scorn and ridicule by the government funded scientific establishment.
....that they only decode analog signals and over the air HD.....
The Eye TV 250 plus we have will receive HDTV (ATSC) over the air or QAM cable (unencrypted) through its Antenna input. It will also process analog signals through its S-Video or composite inputs. This latter is the method we use to record the satellite programs. The audio connects to the stereo amplifier. We do not yet have a true hi-def signal source, such as a blu-ray, to take advantage of the full 1080P capability of the LCD monitor. The picture from the mini-250 combination and from the mini's DVD player is excellent. We have regular a regular DVD-VHS combo player we use most of the time for watching movies.
The mini does however display its screen and appropriate still pictures in that maximum resolution, either via the computer monitor or HDMI connection. We use the monitor connection, because for some reason, the mini cannot always detect the HDMI setup properly upon waking up. We use OSX10.5.2
The 250 processes these inputs in its own hardware into MPEG format and sends this live to the mini via a USB connection for it to display or record them on its disk. A one hour TV show from our satellite receiver needs about 1.5GB of disk space. It will export the recordings to iTunes/iPod format. The mini will also stream the recorded video over our network to other Macs.
...I'm still waiting on TiVo like functionality before I get an Apple TV....
We took our older G4 mini to the living room and stuffed it into the cabinet the new 47" LCD sits on. Then we added an eye TV 250. We connected it to the satellite receiver. The mini also has a wireless keyboard and mouse from Logitech. The TV functions as a huge monitor at full resolution.
We can record programs from the satellite, play iTunes movies, and stream video over the network from a roomy HD connected to the Airport Extreme. It's a good use for an otherwise somewhat obsolete computer. Check e-bay prices.
They are already in it. There are at least 2 VM systems out there that will run on Apple hardware under OSX. I happen to use Parallels running Windows XP. I also have a VM running VISTA, mainly to learn about it so when clients ask about it, I can give good answers. I tried to installed Linux (Ubuntu version) and it worked also. I did not keep that VM actively available on the main HD.
Apple can just tell customers: "Yes, our hardware can run *any* and all software under OSX or on the bare metal right now".
....now I've got a pile of crap that should be in my computer spread out all over my desk....
You can look at negatively that way if you wish. The mini is very small and nobody neither sees it nor hears it in operation. Normally, only the eye TV remote is visible in the living room, right there with the other remotes for TV and satellite receiver.
Separate units and power supplies have the advantage that these can be easily connected to another computer without first cracking open the box and then extracting some internal card or drive. Also, these accessories don't use any power at all when not plugged in and in actual use. An internal HD is always on, using power and subject to wear. An external drive also doesn't have to be ON your desk, taking up work space. It is usually possible to find space under on even in the desk.
Our main workstation in the den/office with our G5 tower has a hutch above the cinema display. That hutch contains a Bose radio for iTunes playback, a 750GB HD and a DVD player/recorder. That big HD contains all our media files. The desired ones can be either streamed or copied to the mini, for watching on the big TV in the living room. Apple's screen sharing allows the mini to be operated from the den, to set up a recorded movie to watch in the living room. That old mini does in effect everything and then some of what Apple TV is supposed to do. I can sit in the living room and order a show from iTunes and then watch it.
...VMs are killing any sort of legality of hardware/software binding license issues....
True. Still Apple can choose NOT to sell OSX on the open market, but only supply it with a Mac. That's in fact how things stood before OS10.5 came out. OS10.4 for Intel was not for sale on its own. There are no laws against that. Apple can choose to sell upgrades to OSX only to their customers. There is no law against that either. Anyone not an Apple customer cannot buy a legal copy of OSX.
MS cannot do this, since their whole product is sold on the open market right now, under their own brand. Apple's OSX is only a part of their whole product, sort of like the engine of a car is only a part of a whole car. Even MS could get around all their monopoly troubles by simply ceasing to sell their OS under their brand, but only supplying it to all the OEM's. The OEM's could then sell their hardware with Windows installed, but not separately identified, but simply as a Dell Computer, HP Computer etc. Anyone wanting an upgrade could not get one from MS directly, but would have to get it from the maker of their hardware. Whether this would make business sense for MS is an entirely different kettle of fish.
Neither Apple nor car makers are obligated to sell their parts to all comers, but only to whom they wish, such as their customers. Others can make spare parts and accessories for cars and sell them to all car makers and the public. Others can also make a computer OS and sell it to all computer owners. Nobody is obligated to sell anything to anyone in particular. Of course installing a Honda engine in a Chevy is not easily doable because of technology, whereas, apparently, it is much easier to install a major Apple part, in this case OSX in a different computer. If Apple stops selling OSX on the open market, the folks that want to install OSX in a PC are out of luck, without legal recourse.
....Apple is this would probably fall foul of E.U. law on illegal product tying....
Apple might be able to get around that by not selling OSX apart from their hardware any longer. They can make a valid claim that their OS is an integral part of their computers, iPods and iPhones. Apple can sell OS upgrades as improved replacement parts only to registered owners of their products. All applications are accessories, some sold by Apple, some by others.
After all, car makers don't sell the engines to their cars separately either. Whether Honda decides to sell their engines to Chevy owners or not has nothing to do with monopoly laws. Their engines are not sold as separate products on the open market.
With Microsoft, their entire product, Windows, is sold on the open market to end users and PC makers. With Apple their OS is only a part of a complete computer. That is a big difference.
Just as governments cannot take Honda to task for not selling their engines to Chevy owners or other car makers, so governments cannot take Apple to task for not selling their OS or PC owners or PC makers.
....A lot of people yes. But the whole media center thing is catching on...
We did it the other way round. We connected an older G4 Mini to our new 47" LCD TV as its monitor. The mini has an eye TV gadget attached via USB and a wireless keyboard and mouse. With the included Software and the remote control of eye TV the mini becomes a programmable TIVO like device for our normal already existing Satellite receiver. We can also download recorded program files from the mini to our other Macs an then watch them in other parts of the house.
The diminutive mini and all its connections are conveniently out of sight in the back of the cabinet the TV sits on. A big, ugly, clunky tower would be very much out of place, if room could be found for it at all.
We can also download and view iTunes video and stream video files from other Macs over the network and watch them in the living room. That old, by some considered obsolete mini, has in effect been turned into rather spiffy media center in conjunction with our new TV/monitor. Someday, when prices come down, we may get a blu-ray player, which of course will plug directly into the TVs HDMI connector.
You mean you've never hear of inexpensive USB hubs? You've never heard of USB TV recorders such as the Eye TV? Our eye TV works great with an old G4 mini connected to our 47" LCD TV. I suppose there are no Bluray units or external hard drives with a USB output either. You can get a 500GB USB hard drive for $125-$130 if your multimedia files get too voluminous.
...EULA's are largely flawed and usually unenforceable...
for a simple reason. There is no way to determine whether a person clicking a mouse is of age or mentally competent to enter into a legally binding agreement. Apple would be spending large sums of money on lawyers for an uncertain result.
If Apple really wanted to stop this, they probably would have already. They could stop selling OSX on the open market. Anyone who wanted OSX would have to buy it directly from Apple after showing acceptable evidence that they were indeed the owners of a genuine Mac capable of being upgraded to that version of OSX.
Mac serial numbers are already registered with Apple. Someone wanting to upgrade their older Mac would simply supply their serial number to Apple. If that serial number had already been upgraded or was one already sold with the current version of OSX, there would be no sale. That would make legal versions of OSX in very short supply. Anyone who wanted to install OSX on a clone would have to resort to piracy. To get updates, Apple could also check for the serial number of the user's Mac, before allowing the download to happen. The owner of a clone would no have a valid serial number to offer.
There are a number of things that Apple could do if they really want to stop this, other than a years long, expensive legal battle.
I know that even if I had money to burn, I'd not invest a penny in an outfit selling Mac clones.
....Then once Psystar gets the right to build Mac clones.....
They compete directly with Apple in the hardware business and are using Apple's software.
Apple Macs can install and run any version of Windows in a VM. What if someone made a VM program that ran under Linux that could install and run Mac OSX? Could Apple stop that in court? They might be able to do technological measures to stop it. Even that would be hard because a VM could emulate in software whatever codes or other defensive measures Apple instituted. Maybe, in future Macs they could install some sort of encryption chip that would be hard to beat. Another tactic Apple could use to thwart clones and VMs is to require anyone who wants to buy a genuine copy of OSX prove that they are the owner of a genuine Mac that will run OSX.
For a hardware maker to go to all the trouble to allow a PC to run Mac OS, must mean that OSX really IS so much better than anything out there. That seems hard to believe. Why would someone want to do this?
Anyone wishing to use OSX would still have to pay Apple full retail for a legal copy of OSX. It would seem that if MS can make money on their OS, Apple could also make money selling a few extra million copies of OSX. Unlike Windows, they would not have any support costs. Anyone running OSX on any computer other than a real Mac gets told politely by Apple where they can go with that.
...the cell phone that doesn't come with the cell phone service...
Interestingly, Apple's phone does come with service that you have to pay to connect to. My Olympus camera did come with a memory card and a USB cable. The gas grill I bought years ago did come with an empty propane tank. I think that emptiness has to do with laws. The reason batteries don't always come with a product is that ordinary batteries have a finite shelf life. When the customer puts a meanwhile gone dead battery into a new product, the maker of it will get likely get an angry complaint call.
If you buy a Mac from some places, they'll include a cheap printer. Some printer manufacturers don't charge a store for such a bundle or give the consumer a rebate. They make up for that later by expensive ink cartridges.
When I mentioned integrated, I mean made to work together as a unit by the manufacturer. When air conditioners in cars first became popular, years ago, you could get one installed by the dealer or a third party. The MS product for PCs is a general purpose, one size fits all affair, similar to a dealer installed air-conditioner, not especially tailored to a particular hardware. That's the biggest reason why Windows is such a kluge. It has to work reasonably well with a zillion different hardware configurations. It does that, to MS credit reasonably OK. Reasonably OK is still not the same as an excellent fit. Store bought suits are reasonable fits, but cannot be compared to a custom tailored suit made to your exact measurements. Apple custom tailors their OS to their hardware. Both are developed from the ground up by the same company.
All that Dell, HP and the rest can do is to modify the software here and there, as MS lets them.
As a result Apple will ALWAYS have a superior product, until the day that Dell or HP develop their own OS, custom tailored to their hardware, so they too can make a complete integrated computer.
Maybe if MS went into the hardware business, that could happen also, although their track record with the X-BOX and the Zune leaves that open to a lot of doubt.
...Unless you like spending time setting up a system exactly how you want it...
In a sense, geeks with money can buy a Mac and have their cake and eat it too, at least when it comes to software. With software like Parallels or Fusion, you can install and run every OS MS has ever made, from DOS on up. You can install any number versions of Linux. OSX itself has a *NIX core that will compile and run most UNIX software. A good geek can muck around in the software innards until the system is exactly to their liking.
Now if you're a hardware geek, or poor, better get or build yourself a PC box with just exactly the bits and pieces you want and then have fun with the software as well. Booting multiple OS on a normal PC is tricker, with more chance of something going awry, than simply running any number of OS on a Mac under a VM. Of course VM software works on a regular PC also. Geeks can even run OSX on a regular non-Mac PC.
On that note, I wonder if someone would get in trouble for coming out with a VM on a PC that ran a legally bought copy of OSX as guest OS under say Linux as the host. Maybe something like that already exists. It seems that would be a more elegant solution than the Pystar hack. If users can run a legally obtained copy of Windows in a VM on a Mac, it ought to be OK for someone to run a legal copy of OSX under Linux or even Windows.
Does Apple's EULA or any EULA for that matter have the force of a legally binding agreement? If there is no violation of law, such as copyright law, there may not be much that Apple can do about such a scenario.
In a sense it is lamentable that most products, even fairly expensive ones, come, or should come with the label: "No User Serviceable Parts Inside". Even cars, which used to be easy for a backyard mechanic to work on, are best left to professional care these days.
I have a working older iBook also. It is still useful though cramped for space. I put all my space hog media files on an inexpensive, 500GB, external Firewire drive. That drive will boot the G4, my wife's G5 iMac and my G5 tower. As such it is also a useful backup in case any one of these gets a glitched HD that prevents them from booting.
I did the same thing for my Macbook, using a small 250G drive with a Firewire 800 box that I can put it in the laptop bag along with a short FW800 cable. Drives are cheap enough these days to be able to afford a few extra ones.
Tiger sells a $20 universal USB adaptor that will connect naked ATA or SATA of 2.5" and 3.5" sizes to a Mac or PC. A cheap, naked drive or two kept carefully in a drawer will conveniently store lots of less often used archival data. Since these disks are not used much, they should not be subject to appreciable wear. Connecting up such an archive HD and copying a needed file is less trouble than finding a CD or DVD in a stored collection of dozens or even hundreds, and copying the needed files from them.
...The hard drive should be considered a replaceable part, like the battery.....
My Macbook has a replaceable battery. I did replace a HD in a Mac Titanium computer once. It does have a lot of torx screws. But one I go the case off, the HD replace without much trouble.
...They need to feel superior, stylish and trendy...
So what's wrong with that? That's why BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar, Ferrari and other such brands stay in business. If you can't afford to be trendy, buy a Ford or Chevy. If there are trendy, stylish cars, what's wrong with someone, such as Apple, making stylish trendy computers? You don't HAVE to buy one, even if you could afford one. I wouldn't mind having one of the trendy, stylish products of one of the above mentioned car makers. However, all I can afford is a Honda.
Apparently though, there are quite a few people, especially outside of the/. crowd, that are spending extra to get such a trendy, stylish computers from Apple. Maybe, a large number of/.ers are too poverty stricken to afford such luxury. That's good for the likes of Dell and HP.
...but Apple really blew it with the procedure to replace the hard drive....
Yes, I too had a heck of a time replacing the engine in my Mercedes. Next time I'll pay someone. Replacing the HD in a laptop is not much different than replacing the engine in an automobile. Both are really built into the heart of their respective products with a lot of screws.
Really? Did Steve Jobs come by your house and hold a gun to your head and bark: "Buy a Mac or else?" No? Boy are you lucky. Buy some Apple stock and get some of that profit back in YOUR pocket.
....Apple is selling exactly the same hardware....
No they are not. Apple sells systems, complete systems. Our Prius has lots of software, but nobody thinks of its software as a separate component. The hardware and software of it are inseparable parts of the WHOLE car. Nobody gets the notion to load Prius software into their Honda to make a better performing car. Hondas have their own software, suited to that vehicle's characteristics. What makes you think that if you manage to kludge Apple's software into your Dell or HP, you'll have a better computer?
Apple is the only computer maker that takes the "build an integrated system" approach. Apparently, outside of the/. crowd, there a plenty of people who are willing to pay quite a bit extra for that.
....Apple's big selling point is it's software.....
Wrong! Apple's big selling point is a whole, not half of a computer. Apple sells an integrated system the sum of which is greater than it parts. When you buy a car, you get a whole vehicle. You don't pay extra for the engine or the brakes. When you buy a toaster, the cord for it comes with it. All products EXCEPT computers, other than Apple's, come as a completed whole working device, where the user doesn't have to spend extra money, such as PC users have to do. Mac users don't have to waste money on extra security software, for example.
People are willing to spend money to get a complete working system. In the end that is cheaper than having to waste valuable time to periodically have to clean crapware off the system, after having already spent time to clean up the initial, performance robbing garbage, put on the box by the likes of Dell or HP, before the customer even turns it on. MS and the PC makers seem to feel that the users time is not worth much if anything at all. There are a lot of folks who do value their time to do productive work or have fun. They don't want to spend that precious time futzing with a balky computer.
....law enforcement does require permission from a judge to tap your cell phone.....
Does than apply if they don't want to listen to the conversations, but only want to know your whereabouts? After all the could just have someone tail you. AFAIK, putting a tail on someone doesn't require the permission of a judge. With a cell phone, a suspect has the tail with them in their pocket as long as the phone is powered up. The cops may even be able to power it up remotely, but it does have to be powered on.
Slashdot Mirror
...states that owing to the gravitational effects we observe in the universe there must be a lot of matter we can't measure...
That is exactly right. IF, and that's the rub, if gravity is assumed to be the ONLY force involved. However if cosmologists were WILLING to consider that the 10^36 times stronger electrical force might ALSO play a role, then the need for any mysterious dark of anything evaporates.
However, as soon as it is admitted that electricity also plays a role in the operation of the large scale cosmos, many other parts of currently accepted dogma fall like dominoes. Negating a lifetime of work and all existing gravity only computer models and purely mathematically based theories will be and is being strenuously resisted by big government funded establishment science.
....The only thing that makes sense right now is dark matter and dark energy. ....
Only if you postulate that the electric force does not come into play at all. Since it is 10^36 times greater than gravity, only a very tiny charge imbalance between the parts of a galaxy can have a large effect. Such a electrical effect can totally overwhelm gravity.
....This makes me wonder whether other objects currently labeled as "far away," "super-massive," "ultra-luminous," etc. are in fact closer than their currently estimated distances?...
They may also not be nearly as old or have taken nearly as long to form. Maybe the age of these objects also need to be revised drastically downwards.
That's also just a thought, bound to rather discomforting to those who believe in evolution and its attendant necessity of immense amounts of time.
....Are all these answers wrong because there is hidden hidden matter (and energy, woo hoo!), or is GR just not a good enough approximation at those scales? .....
Neither appears to be the case. Earthly matter we are familiar with is mostly electrically neutral We assume (without evidence) that this is the case of objects in the cosmos, such as galaxies, stars, planets and the intervening space. We know the sun emits large electrical currents. When these currents get particularly big, we see spectacular aurora displays and sometimes our electrical grids fail because of these powerful flows of electricity. The presence of immense galactic and intergalactic movement of charges, in response to electric potential is borne out by many modern observations.
We observe powerful sources of X-rays, for example. How do we make these here on earth every day? Oh yea, with high voltage electricity! So are these x-rays from space evidence for immense electric fields accelerating charges over great distances, which then collide with matter or are forced into non-linear paths by the magnetic fields generated by these huge electric currents?
If these electrical forces are admitted, then the need for dark anything, including black holes, quasars and other postulated exotica in present cosmology disappears. If electricity is admitted as a major factor, in concert with gravity, in the operation of the universe, we are left with a rather ordinary cosmos with no weird never yet discovered forces, energies or matter. We can experiment in the lab with charges flowing through space. When we do, we see many of the same sort of weird and wonderful constructs and configuration that astronomers see in the distant reaches of the universe.
....it doesn't feel the electromagnetic force.....
If it can't "feel" the electromagnetic force, which is 36 orders of magnitude greater than gravity, how can it "feel" gravity? How can anyone answer that question unless he/she knows what gravity is in the first place. We know that gravity is indistinguishable from acceleration, but nobody has a clue as to what property of matter, dark or "normal" makes it create this force we have named "gravity".
How can it be, that modern, supposedly educated, "mainstream" cosmologists ignore the much powerful force of electricity in the operation of the universe? How can it be that modern cosmology tries to explain the operation of the entire universe by the operation of the weakest force of nature?
If electricity WERE taken into by these so called "scientists" would that demolish some long held, sacred, pet theories? Maybe that is the core of the problem as to why the electric force and the mechanism of plasmas is studiously ignored. Maybe that is the reason why those who attempt to explain the latest space data in terms of electric phenomena are not only ignored, but heaped with scorn and ridicule by the government funded scientific establishment.
....that they only decode analog signals and over the air HD.....
The Eye TV 250 plus we have will receive HDTV (ATSC) over the air or QAM cable (unencrypted) through its Antenna input. It will also process analog signals through its S-Video or composite inputs. This latter is the method we use to record the satellite programs. The audio connects to the stereo amplifier. We do not yet have a true hi-def signal source, such as a blu-ray, to take advantage of the full 1080P capability of the LCD monitor. The picture from the mini-250 combination and from the mini's DVD player is excellent. We have regular a regular DVD-VHS combo player we use most of the time for watching movies.
The mini does however display its screen and appropriate still pictures in that maximum resolution, either via the computer monitor or HDMI connection. We use the monitor connection, because for some reason, the mini cannot always detect the HDMI setup properly upon waking up. We use OSX10.5.2
The 250 processes these inputs in its own hardware into MPEG format and sends this live to the mini via a USB connection for it to display or record them on its disk. A one hour TV show from our satellite receiver needs about 1.5GB of disk space. It will export the recordings to iTunes/iPod format. The mini will also stream the recorded video over our network to other Macs.
...I'm still waiting on TiVo like functionality before I get an Apple TV....
We took our older G4 mini to the living room and stuffed it into the cabinet the new 47" LCD sits on. Then we added an eye TV 250. We connected it to the satellite receiver. The mini also has a wireless keyboard and mouse from Logitech. The TV functions as a huge monitor at full resolution.
We can record programs from the satellite, play iTunes movies, and stream video over the network from a roomy HD connected to the Airport Extreme. It's a good use for an otherwise somewhat obsolete computer. Check e-bay prices.
...Even Apple will not want to miss it....
They are already in it. There are at least 2 VM systems out there that will run on Apple hardware under OSX. I happen to use Parallels running Windows XP. I also have a VM running VISTA, mainly to learn about it so when clients ask about it, I can give good answers. I tried to installed Linux (Ubuntu version) and it worked also. I did not keep that VM actively available on the main HD.
Apple can just tell customers: "Yes, our hardware can run *any* and all software under OSX or on the bare metal right now".
....now I've got a pile of crap that should be in my computer spread out all over my desk....
You can look at negatively that way if you wish. The mini is very small and nobody neither sees it nor hears it in operation. Normally, only the eye TV remote is visible in the living room, right there with the other remotes for TV and satellite receiver.
Separate units and power supplies have the advantage that these can be easily connected to another computer without first cracking open the box and then extracting some internal card or drive. Also, these accessories don't use any power at all when not plugged in and in actual use. An internal HD is always on, using power and subject to wear. An external drive also doesn't have to be ON your desk, taking up work space. It is usually possible to find space under on even in the desk.
Our main workstation in the den/office with our G5 tower has a hutch above the cinema display. That hutch contains a Bose radio for iTunes playback, a 750GB HD and a DVD player/recorder. That big HD contains all our media files. The desired ones can be either streamed or copied to the mini, for watching on the big TV in the living room. Apple's screen sharing allows the mini to be operated from the den, to set up a recorded movie to watch in the living room. That old mini does in effect everything and then some of what Apple TV is supposed to do. I can sit in the living room and order a show from iTunes and then watch it.
...VMs are killing any sort of legality of hardware/software binding license issues....
True. Still Apple can choose NOT to sell OSX on the open market, but only supply it with a Mac. That's in fact how things stood before OS10.5 came out. OS10.4 for Intel was not for sale on its own. There are no laws against that. Apple can choose to sell upgrades to OSX only to their customers. There is no law against that either. Anyone not an Apple customer cannot buy a legal copy of OSX.
MS cannot do this, since their whole product is sold on the open market right now, under their own brand. Apple's OSX is only a part of their whole product, sort of like the engine of a car is only a part of a whole car. Even MS could get around all their monopoly troubles by simply ceasing to sell their OS under their brand, but only supplying it to all the OEM's. The OEM's could then sell their hardware with Windows installed, but not separately identified, but simply as a Dell Computer, HP Computer etc. Anyone wanting an upgrade could not get one from MS directly, but would have to get it from the maker of their hardware. Whether this would make business sense for MS is an entirely different kettle of fish.
Neither Apple nor car makers are obligated to sell their parts to all comers, but only to whom they wish, such as their customers. Others can make spare parts and accessories for cars and sell them to all car makers and the public. Others can also make a computer OS and sell it to all computer owners. Nobody is obligated to sell anything to anyone in particular. Of course installing a Honda engine in a Chevy is not easily doable because of technology, whereas, apparently, it is much easier to install a major Apple part, in this case OSX in a different computer. If Apple stops selling OSX on the open market, the folks that want to install OSX in a PC are out of luck, without legal recourse.
....Apple is this would probably fall foul of E.U. law on illegal product tying....
Apple might be able to get around that by not selling OSX apart from their hardware any longer. They can make a valid claim that their OS is an integral part of their computers, iPods and iPhones. Apple can sell OS upgrades as improved replacement parts only to registered owners of their products. All applications are accessories, some sold by Apple, some by others.
After all, car makers don't sell the engines to their cars separately either. Whether Honda decides to sell their engines to Chevy owners or not has nothing to do with monopoly laws. Their engines are not sold as separate products on the open market.
With Microsoft, their entire product, Windows, is sold on the open market to end users and PC makers. With Apple their OS is only a part of a complete computer. That is a big difference.
Just as governments cannot take Honda to task for not selling their engines to Chevy owners or other car makers, so governments cannot take Apple to task for not selling their OS or PC owners or PC makers.
....A lot of people yes. But the whole media center thing is catching on...
We did it the other way round. We connected an older G4 Mini to our new 47" LCD TV as its monitor. The mini has an eye TV gadget attached via USB and a wireless keyboard and mouse. With the included Software and the remote control of eye TV the mini becomes a programmable TIVO like device for our normal already existing Satellite receiver. We can also download recorded program files from the mini to our other Macs an then watch them in other parts of the house.
The diminutive mini and all its connections are conveniently out of sight in the back of the cabinet the TV sits on. A big, ugly, clunky tower would be very much out of place, if room could be found for it at all.
We can also download and view iTunes video and stream video files from other Macs over the network and watch them in the living room. That old, by some considered obsolete mini, has in effect been turned into rather spiffy media center in conjunction with our new TV/monitor. Someday, when prices come down, we may get a blu-ray player, which of course will plug directly into the TVs HDMI connector.
...Want more? Tough...
You mean you've never hear of inexpensive USB hubs? You've never heard of USB TV recorders such as the Eye TV? Our eye TV works great with an old G4 mini connected to our 47" LCD TV. I suppose there are no Bluray units or external hard drives with a USB output either. You can get a 500GB USB hard drive for $125-$130 if your multimedia files get too voluminous.
...EULA's are largely flawed and usually unenforceable...
for a simple reason. There is no way to determine whether a person clicking a mouse is of age or mentally competent to enter into a legally binding agreement. Apple would be spending large sums of money on lawyers for an uncertain result.
If Apple really wanted to stop this, they probably would have already. They could stop selling OSX on the open market. Anyone who wanted OSX would have to buy it directly from Apple after showing acceptable evidence that they were indeed the owners of a genuine Mac capable of being upgraded to that version of OSX.
Mac serial numbers are already registered with Apple. Someone wanting to upgrade their older Mac would simply supply their serial number to Apple. If that serial number had already been upgraded or was one already sold with the current version of OSX, there would be no sale. That would make legal versions of OSX in very short supply. Anyone who wanted to install OSX on a clone would have to resort to piracy. To get updates, Apple could also check for the serial number of the user's Mac, before allowing the download to happen. The owner of a clone would no have a valid serial number to offer.
There are a number of things that Apple could do if they really want to stop this, other than a years long, expensive legal battle.
I know that even if I had money to burn, I'd not invest a penny in an outfit selling Mac clones.
....Then once Psystar gets the right to build Mac clones .....
They compete directly with Apple in the hardware business and are using Apple's software.
Apple Macs can install and run any version of Windows in a VM. What if someone made a VM program that ran under Linux that could install and run Mac OSX? Could Apple stop that in court? They might be able to do technological measures to stop it. Even that would be hard because a VM could emulate in software whatever codes or other defensive measures Apple instituted. Maybe, in future Macs they could install some sort of encryption chip that would be hard to beat. Another tactic Apple could use to thwart clones and VMs is to require anyone who wants to buy a genuine copy of OSX prove that they are the owner of a genuine Mac that will run OSX.
For a hardware maker to go to all the trouble to allow a PC to run Mac OS, must mean that OSX really IS so much better than anything out there. That seems hard to believe. Why would someone want to do this?
Anyone wishing to use OSX would still have to pay Apple full retail for a legal copy of OSX. It would seem that if MS can make money on their OS, Apple could also make money selling a few extra million copies of OSX. Unlike Windows, they would not have any support costs. Anyone running OSX on any computer other than a real Mac gets told politely by Apple where they can go with that.
...the cell phone that doesn't come with the cell phone service...
Interestingly, Apple's phone does come with service that you have to pay to connect to. My Olympus camera did come with a memory card and a USB cable. The gas grill I bought years ago did come with an empty propane tank. I think that emptiness has to do with laws. The reason batteries don't always come with a product is that ordinary batteries have a finite shelf life. When the customer puts a meanwhile gone dead battery into a new product, the maker of it will get likely get an angry complaint call.
If you buy a Mac from some places, they'll include a cheap printer. Some printer manufacturers don't charge a store for such a bundle or give the consumer a rebate. They make up for that later by expensive ink cartridges.
When I mentioned integrated, I mean made to work together as a unit by the manufacturer. When air conditioners in cars first became popular, years ago, you could get one installed by the dealer or a third party. The MS product for PCs is a general purpose, one size fits all affair, similar to a dealer installed air-conditioner, not especially tailored to a particular hardware. That's the biggest reason why Windows is such a kluge. It has to work reasonably well with a zillion different hardware configurations. It does that, to MS credit reasonably OK. Reasonably OK is still not the same as an excellent fit. Store bought suits are reasonable fits, but cannot be compared to a custom tailored suit made to your exact measurements. Apple custom tailors their OS to their hardware. Both are developed from the ground up by the same company.
All that Dell, HP and the rest can do is to modify the software here and there, as MS lets them.
As a result Apple will ALWAYS have a superior product, until the day that Dell or HP develop their own OS, custom tailored to their hardware, so they too can make a complete integrated computer.
Maybe if MS went into the hardware business, that could happen also, although their track record with the X-BOX and the Zune leaves that open to a lot of doubt.
...Unless you like spending time setting up a system exactly how you want it...
In a sense, geeks with money can buy a Mac and have their cake and eat it too, at least when it comes to software. With software like Parallels or Fusion, you can install and run every OS MS has ever made, from DOS on up. You can install any number versions of Linux. OSX itself has a *NIX core that will compile and run most UNIX software. A good geek can muck around in the software innards until the system is exactly to their liking.
Now if you're a hardware geek, or poor, better get or build yourself a PC box with just exactly the bits and pieces you want and then have fun with the software as well. Booting multiple OS on a normal PC is tricker, with more chance of something going awry, than simply running any number of OS on a Mac under a VM. Of course VM software works on a regular PC also. Geeks can even run OSX on a regular non-Mac PC.
On that note, I wonder if someone would get in trouble for coming out with a VM on a PC that ran a legally bought copy of OSX as guest OS under say Linux as the host. Maybe something like that already exists. It seems that would be a more elegant solution than the Pystar hack. If users can run a legally obtained copy of Windows in a VM on a Mac, it ought to be OK for someone to run a legal copy of OSX under Linux or even Windows.
Does Apple's EULA or any EULA for that matter have the force of a legally binding agreement? If there is no violation of law, such as copyright law, there may not be much that Apple can do about such a scenario.
...It took me considerably longer.....
In a sense it is lamentable that most products, even fairly expensive ones, come, or should come with the label: "No User Serviceable Parts Inside". Even cars, which used to be easy for a backyard mechanic to work on, are best left to professional care these days.
I have a working older iBook also. It is still useful though cramped for space. I put all my space hog media files on an inexpensive, 500GB, external Firewire drive. That drive will boot the G4, my wife's G5 iMac and my G5 tower. As such it is also a useful backup in case any one of these gets a glitched HD that prevents them from booting.
I did the same thing for my Macbook, using a small 250G drive with a Firewire 800 box that I can put it in the laptop bag along with a short FW800 cable. Drives are cheap enough these days to be able to afford a few extra ones.
Tiger sells a $20 universal USB adaptor that will connect naked ATA or SATA of 2.5" and 3.5" sizes to a Mac or PC. A cheap, naked drive or two kept carefully in a drawer will conveniently store lots of less often used archival data. Since these disks are not used much, they should not be subject to appreciable wear. Connecting up such an archive HD and copying a needed file is less trouble than finding a CD or DVD in a stored collection of dozens or even hundreds, and copying the needed files from them.
...The hard drive should be considered a replaceable part, like the battery.....
My Macbook has a replaceable battery. I did replace a HD in a Mac Titanium computer once. It does have a lot of torx screws. But one I go the case off, the HD replace without much trouble.
...They need to feel superior, stylish and trendy...
/. crowd, that are spending extra to get such a trendy, stylish computers from Apple. Maybe, a large number of /.ers are too poverty stricken to afford such luxury. That's good for the likes of Dell and HP.
So what's wrong with that? That's why BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar, Ferrari and other such brands stay in business. If you can't afford to be trendy, buy a Ford or Chevy. If there are trendy, stylish cars, what's wrong with someone, such as Apple, making stylish trendy computers? You don't HAVE to buy one, even if you could afford one. I wouldn't mind having one of the trendy, stylish products of one of the above mentioned car makers. However, all I can afford is a Honda.
Apparently though, there are quite a few people, especially outside of the
...but Apple really blew it with the procedure to replace the hard drive....
Yes, I too had a heck of a time replacing the engine in my Mercedes. Next time I'll pay someone. Replacing the HD in a laptop is not much different than replacing the engine in an automobile. Both are really built into the heart of their respective products with a lot of screws.
...Apple forces you to buy things...
Really? Did Steve Jobs come by your house and hold a gun to your head and bark: "Buy a Mac or else?" No? Boy are you lucky. Buy some Apple stock and get some of that profit back in YOUR pocket.
....Apple is selling exactly the same hardware....
/. crowd, there a plenty of people who are willing to pay quite a bit extra for that.
No they are not. Apple sells systems, complete systems. Our Prius has lots of software, but nobody thinks of its software as a separate component. The hardware and software of it are inseparable parts of the WHOLE car. Nobody gets the notion to load Prius software into their Honda to make a better performing car. Hondas have their own software, suited to that vehicle's characteristics. What makes you think that if you manage to kludge Apple's software into your Dell or HP, you'll have a better computer?
Apple is the only computer maker that takes the "build an integrated system" approach. Apparently, outside of the
....Apple's big selling point is it's software.....
Wrong! Apple's big selling point is a whole, not half of a computer. Apple sells an integrated system the sum of which is greater than it parts. When you buy a car, you get a whole vehicle. You don't pay extra for the engine or the brakes. When you buy a toaster, the cord for it comes with it. All products EXCEPT computers, other than Apple's, come as a completed whole working device, where the user doesn't have to spend extra money, such as PC users have to do. Mac users don't have to waste money on extra security software, for example.
People are willing to spend money to get a complete working system. In the end that is cheaper than having to waste valuable time to periodically have to clean crapware off the system, after having already spent time to clean up the initial, performance robbing garbage, put on the box by the likes of Dell or HP, before the customer even turns it on. MS and the PC makers seem to feel that the users time is not worth much if anything at all. There are a lot of folks who do value their time to do productive work or have fun. They don't want to spend that precious time futzing with a balky computer.
....law enforcement does require permission from a judge to tap your cell phone.....
Does than apply if they don't want to listen to the conversations, but only want to know your whereabouts? After all the could just have someone tail you. AFAIK, putting a tail on someone doesn't require the permission of a judge. With a cell phone, a suspect has the tail with them in their pocket as long as the phone is powered up. The cops may even be able to power it up remotely, but it does have to be powered on.