"Has anyone compared the browsers on 500-MHz, 384MB-RAM PC laptops?"
I don't have a machine that old to test it on, but after playing around with it for a day, I've found Safari's memory usage to be on par with IE7. In other words, it uses a lot more RAM than Opera and a lot less RAM than Firefox (with many extensions installed).
I think the events of the 20th century were also a factor; the first and second World Wars and the Cold War massively advanced our technological development, but only temporarily.
And the lesson is to use mobile and integrated components, in laptop form or not. Here is a review of the power consumption of an Apple iMac, but you could easily build a computer with a laptop CPU/GPU etc.
An added benefit of mobile components is that they don't need much cooling, so you get a quiet computer, too.
It says right in the paper that Google buys whatever drives it can get the best bulk deals on, and that this changes from one manufacturer to another over time.
They were careful to repeat that no single manufacturer had a statistically significant problem, but it still sucks that they didn't break down their results by make and model.
The shortcoming is the interface. Without a normal size keyboard, normal people can't type (I'm a writer, I am NOT using my thumbs and a tiny onscreen keyboard to type). That leaves touch, voice, and handwriting, and the latter two are still unacceptably poor quality for widespread use. I'm sure Apple could make an 8" multitouch display, but that doesn't solve the problem of how to write a letter.
Politicians are almost uniformly "technology stupid." (tube joke redacted) Their opinions of different technologies (and everything else) are based entirely on what lobbyists and the party platform tell them to support. Why would anyone think the two parties differ in this regard?
Is there a fair-sized market for mid-tower Macs? I don't know, but I know that is the key, because Apple won't build it unless they believe there to be a large enough market for it.
I think there's a market for it, based on the number of people on the internet clamoring for one (not exactly a scientific poll, I realize). Regardless, there has to be a bigger market for it than for the Mac Pro (since a $2500 computer isn't even an option for most people). The chief argument I hear against this machine is that it would cannibalize iMac sales, but profit is profit no matter what. Other companies have dozens of products that overlap in capability.
If the speech recognition on my MacBook Pro is any indication, Apple isn't even close to being able to pull this off. Furthermore, the market may be too small to attract their interest (as with the mid-tower).
Based on what I've seen of tablet PC's, they have a long way to go before they're useful enough for a company like Apple to care about them.
I've never used speech recognition on a Mac, so I can't comment on that. Supposedly Apple's Inkwell handwriting-recognition is good, though I've never used it, either.
Regardless, I have used a Tablet PC before, for work. While I'm sure it isn't for everyone, once I got used to it, I really loved it. Walking around with a computer cradled in your arm, writing on it like a notepad, is really cool. It isn't quite there yet, but I think Apple could do a tablet right if they tried.
I can only assume the compression schemes will keep improving. Also, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD movies are unlikely to completely fill disks- they'll probably continue to be movie on layer 1, extras on layer 2, etc. I'm too lazy to look that up right now.
As for the audio- if you encode it yourself, good programs will let you choose how to format the audio, or just leave it as AC3.
Yes, but who keeps their ripped DVDs in their original format? Most people use XVID or similar compression to get them down to 700-800MB (or, I should say, most P2P downloads are that size and format).
A dual-layer HD-DVD is 30GB, similar compression would get that down to about 5GB. That's $2 worth of hard drive space.
Slashdot Mirror
"A lot of Windows users downloaded iTunes"
iTunes actually behaves itself on Windows. I can resize its window, and its text doesn't look blurry as hell.
"Has anyone compared the browsers on 500-MHz, 384MB-RAM PC laptops?"
I don't have a machine that old to test it on, but after playing around with it for a day, I've found Safari's memory usage to be on par with IE7. In other words, it uses a lot more RAM than Opera and a lot less RAM than Firefox (with many extensions installed).
The first bootable release of ZFS (not "BUILD," but "RELEASE") isn't even due until the Fall.
OSX 10.5 ain't due 'til Fall, either.
*to pay* /preview
Because we're not willing several thousand dollars for a processor.
Indeed. Microsoft has fans, people who love their products and defend them online.
Those folks just get lost in a sea of people who either don't care or actively dislike MS.
I think the events of the 20th century were also a factor; the first and second World Wars and the Cold War massively advanced our technological development, but only temporarily.
Sounds like a job for Ministry of Security Section 9.
Frank Conniff
Oh god...it's inhuman. That actually gave me a headache.
And the lesson is to use mobile and integrated components, in laptop form or not. Here is a review of the power consumption of an Apple iMac, but you could easily build a computer with a laptop CPU/GPU etc.
An added benefit of mobile components is that they don't need much cooling, so you get a quiet computer, too.
Notice it didn't say battery, it said "built in UPS" ;)
It says right in the paper that Google buys whatever drives it can get the best bulk deals on, and that this changes from one manufacturer to another over time.
They were careful to repeat that no single manufacturer had a statistically significant problem, but it still sucks that they didn't break down their results by make and model.
The shortcoming is the interface. Without a normal size keyboard, normal people can't type (I'm a writer, I am NOT using my thumbs and a tiny onscreen keyboard to type). That leaves touch, voice, and handwriting, and the latter two are still unacceptably poor quality for widespread use. I'm sure Apple could make an 8" multitouch display, but that doesn't solve the problem of how to write a letter.
Ah, another person Experiences the Wow. Cherish this moment.
No, it doesn't make sense. Neither does climbing a mountain.
Core 2 duo is derived from a Pentium D architecture
Pentium M, not Pentium D. Which I'm sure is what you meant, but I thought I'd correct it for any more dumbasses like the person you replied to.
Politicians are almost uniformly "technology stupid." (tube joke redacted) Their opinions of different technologies (and everything else) are based entirely on what lobbyists and the party platform tell them to support. Why would anyone think the two parties differ in this regard?
I think there's a market for it, based on the number of people on the internet clamoring for one (not exactly a scientific poll, I realize). Regardless, there has to be a bigger market for it than for the Mac Pro (since a $2500 computer isn't even an option for most people). The chief argument I hear against this machine is that it would cannibalize iMac sales, but profit is profit no matter what. Other companies have dozens of products that overlap in capability.
I've never used speech recognition on a Mac, so I can't comment on that. Supposedly Apple's Inkwell handwriting-recognition is good, though I've never used it, either.
Regardless, I have used a Tablet PC before, for work. While I'm sure it isn't for everyone, once I got used to it, I really loved it. Walking around with a computer cradled in your arm, writing on it like a notepad, is really cool. It isn't quite there yet, but I think Apple could do a tablet right if they tried.
I know nobody cares about my predictions, especially since they're about to end up at the bottom of the thread, but here are a few anyway:
Eight Core Mac Pro- just so Apple can advertise the most powerful personal computer EVAR
New Cinema Displays with built in iSight, IR sensor, HDCP. 23" becomes 24", firewire hub goes away. Maybe a smaller one
New keyboard, with USB2.0 ports built into it (three years too late)
.Mac will morph into some kind of social networking thing. Myspace for Mac users. It should, but won't, be free
Windows versions of Safari and iChat A/V, which no one will use because they both kinda suck
Apple needs a mid-tower computer between the mini and the Pro. The iMac doesn't cut it. Steve's cube fetish will resurface here
A tablet Macbook would be great, as long as the voice and handwriting recognition work better than anything before
I can only assume the compression schemes will keep improving. Also, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD movies are unlikely to completely fill disks- they'll probably continue to be movie on layer 1, extras on layer 2, etc. I'm too lazy to look that up right now.
As for the audio- if you encode it yourself, good programs will let you choose how to format the audio, or just leave it as AC3.
Yes, but who keeps their ripped DVDs in their original format? Most people use XVID or similar compression to get them down to 700-800MB (or, I should say, most P2P downloads are that size and format).
A dual-layer HD-DVD is 30GB, similar compression would get that down to about 5GB. That's $2 worth of hard drive space.
Older systems make Trusted Computing their bitch. Oh yeah.
The site's Farked, Digged, and everything else already, but here's the forum this was first posted to: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=119871
It contains a download link to the program.