A company that targets a niche market may have less opportunities to make lots of money than one that targets the mass market. Obviously this is not always true. However, it is going to be a serious consideration for some companies when choosing a platform/market/whatever.
Disclaimer: I use a Mac daily and certainly appreciate niche markets. But the fact remains that a product catering to a niche may not always be as profitable.
OK, so I use Linux on a PC desktop but I don't actually run it on my Mac. That said, I'm glad support for AirPort Extreme has finally come. It has long been impractical to run Linux on Mac laptops without an extra wireless USB dongle for 802.11 due to the lack of driver for that Broadcom chipset. This update is a huge deal for anyone interested in running Linux on a Mac made in the last few years.
Point take, but BitTorrenting a copy of OS X and getting it installed on unsupported hardware is not a task that the average Mac user (or Windows user, for that matter) can handle.:) In addition, there is no assurance that future versions of Mac OS X will still work with your equipment as they improve their anti-hacking measures. So if you want that PC as a Mac you have to live with the possibility that the current version of OS X may well be the last version that can be made to work on it.
Some people pay more for a top-of-the-line video card. Some pay more for reliability because they're putting a server together. But others pay more for the ability to run the OS they want. I'm sure your $599 Dell is nice, but it's not a good deal for someone who wants a Mac.
True, but since they're separate programs, *Apple* could write a new file browser, or application switcher/launcher/taskbar, without rocking the rest of the boat too badly. And that separation is worth something even if you and I can't take advantage of it as easily. It makes the system as a whole easier to adapt to future needs.
I believe this is roughly how it works....
A.B.C.D
A: The major version.
B: The minor version.
C: Bug fixes that change stuff (API's, I guess) for extension developers.
D: Bug fixes that should *not* break extensions.
While you said it should be Windows-based, I wanted to make sure you are aware that you *can* have a Linux/BSD/Mac server filter spam and keep your Exchange server. It would just be a gateway that receives your mail, runs filters, and then sends the messages along to your Exchange server. Just something to think about. It would also mean your filters would not break as you upgrade your software, since it would be a separate machine from the one that runs Exchange.
That being said, I'd imagine that the eventual response will be for the studios to release hybrid discs - DVD on one side, HD-DVD on the other.
Interesting idea. It might be a good stopgap solution before we find out which format will win. But in the long-term why should we replace one standard with two? I'm sorry, but I want one to win and the other to lose. I don't care which one. But it benefits noone to have two competing but equivalent (to the consumer) standards that require two different players to play yet exist on the same disc.
Sure, I guess it depends on how you look at it. iTunes does not limit how you use music obtained from sources other than its music store. But it supports DRM in that it is capable of playing the iTunes Music Store' Protected AAC files. It does also limit the number of times a specific playlist of said music can be burned before you have to alter it, and limits the number of users that can connect to your shared music each day.
Exactly. I know a few people who have been on the fence about getting a Mac before but were wary of jumping in feet first and giving up Windows. Now that new Macs will be able to dual-boot, at least a couple of these users are very close to getting a Mac. I see this as a very good thing for Apple and a way to ease the pain of people who are unsure about whether they should switch. After all, in the worst case outcome the computer is still perfectly useful. If they changed their mind they can just wipe out OS X completely and have a plain old Windows PC that happens to be made by Apple.
Camino actually does not benefit from inline spell checking. While the text boxes look move native than in Firefox, they are still drawn by Gecko and are not the standard form elements seen in other Mac OS X applications. I believe the developers are in the process of making the text boxes (more) native, but unfortunately the current release of Camino is lacking this feature.
Check out Now Up-to-Date and Contact. It's not exactly my favorite program, but it does the job. There's also a Windows version in case you have and PCs that need to connect. http://www.nowsoftware.com/
I agree completely. Some people eschew iTunes because of its DRM, but they probably don't realize that iTunes can be used without ever visiting its music store. In fact, there is even a preference to turn it off. I must admit that I have a few purchased songs from it, but the vast majority of my music library (ripped right in iTunes, by the way) is composed of standard MP3 and AAC files that can be used by any free (including OSS) player that supports those formats.
Oops! Meant to say "I think the point of the phrase in question was not necessarily that it's easy to solve Windows problems, just that it's easy to find people who will work on them.:)"
I think the point of the phrase in question was not necessarily that people it's easy to solve Windows problems, just that it's easy to find people who will work on them.:)
Agreed. I am a big fan of LCDs, and on modern displays ghosting doesn't even seem to be an issue. It seems ridiculous to bring back flicker to eliminate something that doesn't even seem to be a problem anymore.
You make a good point -- some people are comparing apples to oranges when looking at an LCD TV vs. an LCD monitor. Personally, between my home and work computers, I am using four LCDs and no CRTs. Whee! It makes a huge difference in the way I feel at the end of the day. No headaches (unless it's simply from lack of sleep!:))
But the TV is a whole different story. I spend far less time in front of it, and in a proximity nowhere near how close I sit to my computer(s). CRT TVs are not hard on the eyes while CRT monitors are, and it's because they are used in very different ways.
Yeah. It hasn't been that long since the announcement. I wouldn't start getting excited about Intel-based revisions for at least another 8+ months if things happen on schedule.
This is simply false. For example, there are bugs in IE 5 on the Mac that mean it can actually crash when viewing pages that are perfectly valid and work fine on other browsers. I'm not doing things wrong - it is well-established browser bugs.
I am not claiming that there aren't quirks in some aging browsers, I just mean that it should be possible to make the site modern and make it quite usable in old browsers at the same time. If a certain bit of code makes one browser or another crash, don't use it.
I'm sorry, but this is just wishful thinking. It might be so if you are designing simple pages, but companies now require that their websites are their shop windows. Websites can't look good on modern browsers and be just barely readable on older ones (which is what happens if you use modern CSS techniques).
I guess it depends on what you mean by barely readable. When designing a site I first write up the basic HTML as if I were targeting text-only browsers like lynx. Then I add the CSS. Maybe that's not good enough for business sites but then most business sites aren't worth visiting anyway IMHO.;)
Even when integrating the most modern CSS/JavaScript/etc., a site should work in any HTML viewer ever made. If all visitors can't still click the links on your site and view its content, submit any forms on it, etc., you're doing something wrong.
But that's the beauty of working with CSS and server-side scripting. You don't have to leave anyone behind, you just have to accept that it will not look and feel exactly the same for users of older browsers.
People in this discussion are using the same terms to mean different things.
"Upgrade" typically means that that particular copy requires you to have a previous version already installed. The $129 retail copy of Tiger does not have this requirement so it is not an upgrade version in that sense of the word.
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A company that targets a niche market may have less opportunities to make lots of money than one that targets the mass market. Obviously this is not always true. However, it is going to be a serious consideration for some companies when choosing a platform/market/whatever.
Disclaimer: I use a Mac daily and certainly appreciate niche markets. But the fact remains that a product catering to a niche may not always be as profitable.
OK, so I use Linux on a PC desktop but I don't actually run it on my Mac. That said, I'm glad support for AirPort Extreme has finally come. It has long been impractical to run Linux on Mac laptops without an extra wireless USB dongle for 802.11 due to the lack of driver for that Broadcom chipset. This update is a huge deal for anyone interested in running Linux on a Mac made in the last few years.
Point take, but BitTorrenting a copy of OS X and getting it installed on unsupported hardware is not a task that the average Mac user (or Windows user, for that matter) can handle. :) In addition, there is no assurance that future versions of Mac OS X will still work with your equipment as they improve their anti-hacking measures. So if you want that PC as a Mac you have to live with the possibility that the current version of OS X may well be the last version that can be made to work on it.
Some people pay more for a top-of-the-line video card. Some pay more for reliability because they're putting a server together. But others pay more for the ability to run the OS they want. I'm sure your $599 Dell is nice, but it's not a good deal for someone who wants a Mac.
I doubt they're about to start including OpenOffice when they have iWork (Pages and Keynote) which is the existing successor to AppleWorks.
True, but since they're separate programs, *Apple* could write a new file browser, or application switcher/launcher/taskbar, without rocking the rest of the boat too badly. And that separation is worth something even if you and I can't take advantage of it as easily. It makes the system as a whole easier to adapt to future needs.
I believe this is roughly how it works.... A.B.C.D A: The major version. B: The minor version. C: Bug fixes that change stuff (API's, I guess) for extension developers. D: Bug fixes that should *not* break extensions.
While you said it should be Windows-based, I wanted to make sure you are aware that you *can* have a Linux/BSD/Mac server filter spam and keep your Exchange server. It would just be a gateway that receives your mail, runs filters, and then sends the messages along to your Exchange server. Just something to think about. It would also mean your filters would not break as you upgrade your software, since it would be a separate machine from the one that runs Exchange.
You're right! Thanks for pointing that out. Sounds much better to me. :)
Sure, I guess it depends on how you look at it. iTunes does not limit how you use music obtained from sources other than its music store. But it supports DRM in that it is capable of playing the iTunes Music Store' Protected AAC files. It does also limit the number of times a specific playlist of said music can be burned before you have to alter it, and limits the number of users that can connect to your shared music each day.
It was probably a reference to the DRM in iTunes.
Exactly. I know a few people who have been on the fence about getting a Mac before but were wary of jumping in feet first and giving up Windows. Now that new Macs will be able to dual-boot, at least a couple of these users are very close to getting a Mac. I see this as a very good thing for Apple and a way to ease the pain of people who are unsure about whether they should switch. After all, in the worst case outcome the computer is still perfectly useful. If they changed their mind they can just wipe out OS X completely and have a plain old Windows PC that happens to be made by Apple.
Camino actually does not benefit from inline spell checking. While the text boxes look move native than in Firefox, they are still drawn by Gecko and are not the standard form elements seen in other Mac OS X applications. I believe the developers are in the process of making the text boxes (more) native, but unfortunately the current release of Camino is lacking this feature.
Check out Now Up-to-Date and Contact. It's not exactly my favorite program, but it does the job. There's also a Windows version in case you have and PCs that need to connect. http://www.nowsoftware.com/
I agree completely. Some people eschew iTunes because of its DRM, but they probably don't realize that iTunes can be used without ever visiting its music store. In fact, there is even a preference to turn it off. I must admit that I have a few purchased songs from it, but the vast majority of my music library (ripped right in iTunes, by the way) is composed of standard MP3 and AAC files that can be used by any free (including OSS) player that supports those formats.
Oops! Meant to say "I think the point of the phrase in question was not necessarily that it's easy to solve Windows problems, just that it's easy to find people who will work on them. :)"
I think the point of the phrase in question was not necessarily that people it's easy to solve Windows problems, just that it's easy to find people who will work on them. :)
I bet a Bluetooth version will show up sooner or later. After all, Apple's existing one-button mouse is available as both wired and wireless already.
Agreed. I am a big fan of LCDs, and on modern displays ghosting doesn't even seem to be an issue. It seems ridiculous to bring back flicker to eliminate something that doesn't even seem to be a problem anymore.
You make a good point -- some people are comparing apples to oranges when looking at an LCD TV vs. an LCD monitor. Personally, between my home and work computers, I am using four LCDs and no CRTs. Whee! It makes a huge difference in the way I feel at the end of the day. No headaches (unless it's simply from lack of sleep! :))
But the TV is a whole different story. I spend far less time in front of it, and in a proximity nowhere near how close I sit to my computer(s). CRT TVs are not hard on the eyes while CRT monitors are, and it's because they are used in very different ways.
Yeah. It hasn't been that long since the announcement. I wouldn't start getting excited about Intel-based revisions for at least another 8+ months if things happen on schedule.
Even when integrating the most modern CSS/JavaScript/etc., a site should work in any HTML viewer ever made. If all visitors can't still click the links on your site and view its content, submit any forms on it, etc., you're doing something wrong.
But that's the beauty of working with CSS and server-side scripting. You don't have to leave anyone behind, you just have to accept that it will not look and feel exactly the same for users of older browsers.
People in this discussion are using the same terms to mean different things. "Upgrade" typically means that that particular copy requires you to have a previous version already installed. The $129 retail copy of Tiger does not have this requirement so it is not an upgrade version in that sense of the word.