A bit screwed up that your employer can't ask whether you are pregnant or not - it certainly has a real effect on the work you'll be able to do for them over the next couple of years
Really?
Are you pregnant? Do you have any plans to start a family in the next 5-10 years? Are you gay? Do you know any gay people? Do you use drugs? Do you know any drug users? Do you smoke? How many cigarettes do you smoke in a week? Do you drink? How much alcohol do you drink in a week? Are you overweight? What's your BMI? Does your family have any history of medical conditions, such as cancer or diabetes? Have you ever been refused a medical insurance claim? Do you know anyone from ? Are you a follower of ? How often do you worship? Do you own a gun? Have you ever been charged with any misdemeanour, or received a parking ticket? Are you a member of ?
Those are all illegal questions to ask in a job interview in Australia. You can make a good case that they all directly or indirectly affect the worker, or the worker's output over a time period, but that's secondary to the employee's right to privacy. Some issues, such as pregnancy, are relatively rare cases as most good workplace relations systems require a minimum time employed in a workplace before getting any benefits from parental leave.
I can create a set of questions that will exclude any person from a job. We're not talking special interest groups here, we're talking every single person on the face of the planet. It's not hard, and it's not fair and it's not reasonable to ask them in an interview.
Better translation: Apple top management have a system in place to identify people who leak news in violation of their NDA, and will take appropriate action.
But anyway, what's wrong with it? This is internal information, not for dissemination, and it pinpoints the bozos that need to be sacked.
Hell, the exact method was suggested on Slashdot a few years back as infinitely better than suing that blogger site.
Clearly you've never met a Mac user. Have a look at some Mac forums sometime, and you'll see a lot of bitching over Apple's software and hardware. As a Mac user since '92, I reckon I've seen (and made) a fair share of complaints about Apple in that time.
When something doesn't work, Mac users are generally pretty damn vocal about it. That doesn't match your generalism, but then neither does the reality of Windows users versus the mature, pragmatic and creative group you seem to think they are.
Oh my god! Put on the wrong bus. The horror. As if the driver, when he/she got to the end of the route, wouldn't have noticed "hey, I've made all my stops and there is STILL a child on the bus. Perhaps I should do something about it".
No, they get to keep any kids left on the bus at the end of the route.
They don't get many perks in that job, and the extra help around the house is very welcome, I hear.
If MS offers everything the iPod does in terms of 3rd party tools like car integration, boomboxes and stereo systems, etc... then I don't see why it can't be a hit also. People don't buy iPods only because they are from Apple, but because they can plug it into their car, or because they can plug it into a stereo dock, or whatever.
People buy iPods because of all the accessories and adaptors, and the accessories and adaptors are so prolific because people buy iPods.
The starting point in that circle was the success of the iPod on its own merits. Some people love it, some people hate it, but the great majority find it does the job pretty well and the flaws are outweighed by the good stuff.
Microsoft cannot provide the add-ons that exist for the iPod. That ecosystem arises naturally from a relatively open interface and a highly successful or ubiquitous product. Currently the Zune is neither highly successful nor ubiquitous, so few add-on companies will chance a product.
Being a competitor, the Zune has to do more than just catch up. To have any hope of surviving it has to be an amazing product, dragging the weight of opinion towards it. Competition is always a good thing, but the Zune is merely a good product and that's just not enough.
Oh, the memories. I lost a few files due to viruses, but there was that great little anti-virus app that cleaned them all up.
I can't remember its name, but the 'About' box played the Monty Python theme, as a foot came down to squash the virus names. The author stopped updating it after a while as no new Mac viruses were appearing.
Still, I never lost more files than I did to Apple. There was a problem on the 5500/250 for which the only solution was to reformat and reinstall. That taught me to back up my files!
Apple design their hardware, inside and out, down to the motherboard and chip placement. They outsource the manufacturing, but the actual system builder isn't just sticking an Apple badge on a generic piece of hardware.
These aren't just Intel reference boards being stuck into Macs.
Doctor: "Tell me what the ink stains show you, Mr Rorschach." Rorschach: "A happy man."
Cut to Rorschach's eyes Cut to ink-blot test Image fades into Hamburglar's face, split with an axe, blood pooling underneath and flies crawling in the dead eyes.
(Sorry for the brevity, but every time I've looked at both on eBay, the Mac stuff commands high prices years after release while the PC stuff is virtually given away. Personal experience, your milage may vary, contents may have settled in transit.)
On top of the food chain are ret paladins, DKs, and rogues
You mis-spelled "Holy Paladins." It's a common mistake, caused by the failure to notice that the guy in plate has 16K mana and spends all his time healing the other guy. You're probably distracted by the scary-looking guy in plate who keeps smashing your face in though, so it's understandable.
Ret Paladins have around 3% representation across arenas, which is as close to balanced as any spec can be.
It could be Apple charging more, or it could be the labels acting together to weaken Apple by setting lower prices on other retail outlets. The goal being to ensure that the power to control pricing remains with the labels, not with Apple.
Based on past performance, I'm inclined to believe the labels are making a power play rather than Apple making a cheap profit.
... and oddly enough the conservative Liberal Party then gave taxpayer money (20% subsidies) to the private health insurers, while rubber-stamping one price rise after another (as customers started using their health insurance for frivolous things).
On top of that, taxpayers who don't want to join are actively punished by a rising penalty on their taxes.
The Libs screwed health insurance in this country and every year the taxpayers still pay off a bunch of companies who make great profits but somehow can't manage to survive on their own.
My local Walmart is advertising a laptop for $300, and Staples has one for $400. Show me a Macbook that I can buy for just $400.
Why bother? Apple do not target that end of the market.
You can disagree with that business model all you like, but it doesn't change the fact that Apple are doing pretty well at the moment. The model works for them.
Why would you assume that they should try to compete at the bottom end of the market?
Ah yes, anyone with the temerity to disagree must be a corporate shill. It couldn't just be that your absolute certainties and statements of irrevocable fact are not so accurate, could it?
My wife gave me an iPod Touch for my birthday last year, and I love it *except* for the two things you mentioned. The first is just inexplicable to me, but the second was overcome with a pair of better headphones that included a remote control.
Finally I can move back and forth through songs, or just pause them, without having to get the Touch out of my jacket pocket and unlock it. On top of that, the headphones are better quality and don't fall out of my ears.
It's galling to pay for functionality that really should come with the device, but at least it does exist.
No, Apple are definitely involved in the design and construction of their hardware. They outsource the manufacturing, but that's not the only step in the process. There's R&D, testing, prototyping and a lot of other work that goes on before the final specs and designs are delivered to the manufacturer for production.
Hell, go and watch the video Apple hosts on the new processes they designed for tooling the MacBook case and the new battery design. Nothing ground-breaking, but it shows they're definitely doing everything short of the large-scale manufacturing process.
I won't comment on Microsoft, because I don't know anything about their hardware sources.
It is demonstrably true that the vast majority of the personal computer market does not own a Mac, but that does not translate to the more nebulous concept of 'interest' in a Mac. Are they interested? Who knows? I don't, and you don't either.
On the other hand, it is also demonstrably true that the vast majority of the market own an iPod. Are they interested in iPods and iPhones? Well, there are good indications in the media hype, but again, that's hard to pin down to this concept of 'interest.'
So when you talk about "Apple hardware" you need to focus your point a little more.
Apple is a hardware company, which makes an OS to sell the computers (and now iPhones). Added to the hardware business is now a media business based in iTunes, which reinforces the hardware business (through selling iPods).
Microsoft is a software company, with a tiny smattering of peripherals (keyboards, mice).
While Microsoft and Apple compete for attention, they're in different markets. Microsoft doesn't make PCs and Apple doesn't sell OS X for any PC.
The *engine* is integrated into the OS, but the *browser* is a simple application that can be deleted with no further effects.
Any developer can build their own broswer on top of the WebKit engine, and Apple will do nothing at all to hinder them.
If Apple do, then you can start looking at the lawyer thing, providing you can make an anti-trust case or something. That'll be hard with Apple at 5% of the market.
That's why most MS apps don't make it on. Apple doesn't allow it. Same goes for a host of others.
List the MS apps that Apple rejected, please, or retract your point.
Apart from a few, the vast majority of apps make it through. I'd be happy for Apple to be more rigourous with the free apps, but just about anything gets through.
There are even some web browsers, competing directly with Safari, and a few mail apps.
Slashdot Mirror
A bit screwed up that your employer can't ask whether you are pregnant or not - it certainly has a real effect on the work you'll be able to do for them over the next couple of years
Really?
Are you pregnant?
Do you have any plans to start a family in the next 5-10 years?
Are you gay? Do you know any gay people?
Do you use drugs? Do you know any drug users?
Do you smoke? How many cigarettes do you smoke in a week?
Do you drink? How much alcohol do you drink in a week?
Are you overweight? What's your BMI?
Does your family have any history of medical conditions, such as cancer or diabetes?
Have you ever been refused a medical insurance claim?
Do you know anyone from ?
Are you a follower of ? How often do you worship?
Do you own a gun?
Have you ever been charged with any misdemeanour, or received a parking ticket?
Are you a member of ?
Those are all illegal questions to ask in a job interview in Australia. You can make a good case that they all directly or indirectly affect the worker, or the worker's output over a time period, but that's secondary to the employee's right to privacy. Some issues, such as pregnancy, are relatively rare cases as most good workplace relations systems require a minimum time employed in a workplace before getting any benefits from parental leave.
I can create a set of questions that will exclude any person from a job. We're not talking special interest groups here, we're talking every single person on the face of the planet. It's not hard, and it's not fair and it's not reasonable to ask them in an interview.
And they do.
Steve Jobs was running it, then stepped down for health reasons and nominated another to take his place.
What's the your problem here?
Better translation: Apple top management have a system in place to identify people who leak news in violation of their NDA, and will take appropriate action.
But anyway, what's wrong with it? This is internal information, not for dissemination, and it pinpoints the bozos that need to be sacked.
Hell, the exact method was suggested on Slashdot a few years back as infinitely better than suing that blogger site.
Probably before your time, I guess.
Clearly you've never met a Mac user. Have a look at some Mac forums sometime, and you'll see a lot of bitching over Apple's software and hardware. As a Mac user since '92, I reckon I've seen (and made) a fair share of complaints about Apple in that time.
When something doesn't work, Mac users are generally pretty damn vocal about it. That doesn't match your generalism, but then neither does the reality of Windows users versus the mature, pragmatic and creative group you seem to think they are.
Oh my god! Put on the wrong bus. The horror. As if the driver, when he/she got to the end of the route, wouldn't have noticed "hey, I've made all my stops and there is STILL a child on the bus. Perhaps I should do something about it".
No, they get to keep any kids left on the bus at the end of the route.
They don't get many perks in that job, and the extra help around the house is very welcome, I hear.
Research that doesn't pay off is being cut back these days. Cinco de Fire-o and all that (see Mini Microsoft).
If MS offers everything the iPod does in terms of 3rd party tools like car integration, boomboxes and stereo systems, etc... then I don't see why it can't be a hit also. People don't buy iPods only because they are from Apple, but because they can plug it into their car, or because they can plug it into a stereo dock, or whatever.
People buy iPods because of all the accessories and adaptors, and the accessories and adaptors are so prolific because people buy iPods.
The starting point in that circle was the success of the iPod on its own merits. Some people love it, some people hate it, but the great majority find it does the job pretty well and the flaws are outweighed by the good stuff.
Microsoft cannot provide the add-ons that exist for the iPod. That ecosystem arises naturally from a relatively open interface and a highly successful or ubiquitous product. Currently the Zune is neither highly successful nor ubiquitous, so few add-on companies will chance a product.
Being a competitor, the Zune has to do more than just catch up. To have any hope of surviving it has to be an amazing product, dragging the weight of opinion towards it. Competition is always a good thing, but the Zune is merely a good product and that's just not enough.
Huh? MS owns zero Apple shares these days, having sold off their little 'show of faith' investment years ago. At a good profit, I believe.
Oh, the memories. I lost a few files due to viruses, but there was that great little anti-virus app that cleaned them all up.
I can't remember its name, but the 'About' box played the Monty Python theme, as a foot came down to squash the virus names. The author stopped updating it after a while as no new Mac viruses were appearing.
Still, I never lost more files than I did to Apple. There was a problem on the 5500/250 for which the only solution was to reformat and reinstall. That taught me to back up my files!
Sorry... woolgathering...
Don't mistake "build" for "design."
Apple design their hardware, inside and out, down to the motherboard and chip placement. They outsource the manufacturing, but the actual system builder isn't just sticking an Apple badge on a generic piece of hardware.
These aren't just Intel reference boards being stuck into Macs.
That's why it's crucial to use the Gom Jabbar on them as early as possible.
Doctor: "Tell me what the ink stains show you, Mr Rorschach."
Rorschach: "A happy man."
Cut to Rorschach's eyes
Cut to ink-blot test
Image fades into Hamburglar's face, split with an axe, blood pooling underneath and flies crawling in the dead eyes.
www.ebay.com
(Sorry for the brevity, but every time I've looked at both on eBay, the Mac stuff commands high prices years after release while the PC stuff is virtually given away. Personal experience, your milage may vary, contents may have settled in transit.)
On top of the food chain are ret paladins, DKs, and rogues
You mis-spelled "Holy Paladins." It's a common mistake, caused by the failure to notice that the guy in plate has 16K mana and spends all his time healing the other guy. You're probably distracted by the scary-looking guy in plate who keeps smashing your face in though, so it's understandable.
Ret Paladins have around 3% representation across arenas, which is as close to balanced as any spec can be.
It could be Apple charging more, or it could be the labels acting together to weaken Apple by setting lower prices on other retail outlets. The goal being to ensure that the power to control pricing remains with the labels, not with Apple.
Based on past performance, I'm inclined to believe the labels are making a power play rather than Apple making a cheap profit.
... and oddly enough the conservative Liberal Party then gave taxpayer money (20% subsidies) to the private health insurers, while rubber-stamping one price rise after another (as customers started using their health insurance for frivolous things).
On top of that, taxpayers who don't want to join are actively punished by a rising penalty on their taxes.
The Libs screwed health insurance in this country and every year the taxpayers still pay off a bunch of companies who make great profits but somehow can't manage to survive on their own.
Didn't Telstra put forward a junk bid that failed to address several critical points and was only a few pages long?
I don't think they were excluded. They chose not to participate in any meaningful way.
My local Walmart is advertising a laptop for $300, and Staples has one for $400. Show me a Macbook that I can buy for just $400.
Why bother? Apple do not target that end of the market.
You can disagree with that business model all you like, but it doesn't change the fact that Apple are doing pretty well at the moment. The model works for them.
Why would you assume that they should try to compete at the bottom end of the market?
Ah yes, anyone with the temerity to disagree must be a corporate shill. It couldn't just be that your absolute certainties and statements of irrevocable fact are not so accurate, could it?
My wife gave me an iPod Touch for my birthday last year, and I love it *except* for the two things you mentioned. The first is just inexplicable to me, but the second was overcome with a pair of better headphones that included a remote control.
Finally I can move back and forth through songs, or just pause them, without having to get the Touch out of my jacket pocket and unlock it. On top of that, the headphones are better quality and don't fall out of my ears.
It's galling to pay for functionality that really should come with the device, but at least it does exist.
No, Apple are definitely involved in the design and construction of their hardware. They outsource the manufacturing, but that's not the only step in the process. There's R&D, testing, prototyping and a lot of other work that goes on before the final specs and designs are delivered to the manufacturer for production.
Hell, go and watch the video Apple hosts on the new processes they designed for tooling the MacBook case and the new battery design. Nothing ground-breaking, but it shows they're definitely doing everything short of the large-scale manufacturing process.
I won't comment on Microsoft, because I don't know anything about their hardware sources.
You may want to review your own comments.
It is demonstrably true that the vast majority of the personal computer market does not own a Mac, but that does not translate to the more nebulous concept of 'interest' in a Mac. Are they interested? Who knows? I don't, and you don't either.
On the other hand, it is also demonstrably true that the vast majority of the market own an iPod. Are they interested in iPods and iPhones? Well, there are good indications in the media hype, but again, that's hard to pin down to this concept of 'interest.'
So when you talk about "Apple hardware" you need to focus your point a little more.
Apple is a hardware company, which makes an OS to sell the computers (and now iPhones). Added to the hardware business is now a media business based in iTunes, which reinforces the hardware business (through selling iPods).
Microsoft is a software company, with a tiny smattering of peripherals (keyboards, mice).
While Microsoft and Apple compete for attention, they're in different markets. Microsoft doesn't make PCs and Apple doesn't sell OS X for any PC.
The *engine* is integrated into the OS, but the *browser* is a simple application that can be deleted with no further effects.
Any developer can build their own broswer on top of the WebKit engine, and Apple will do nothing at all to hinder them.
If Apple do, then you can start looking at the lawyer thing, providing you can make an anti-trust case or something. That'll be hard with Apple at 5% of the market.
That's why most MS apps don't make it on. Apple doesn't allow it. Same goes for a host of others.
List the MS apps that Apple rejected, please, or retract your point.
Apart from a few, the vast majority of apps make it through. I'd be happy for Apple to be more rigourous with the free apps, but just about anything gets through.
There are even some web browsers, competing directly with Safari, and a few mail apps.