Given that portables are more likely to be used in environments where the supply comes from inverters and small generators, it'd be great if the adapters would be slightly more well-behaved in such environments. I guess there are trade-offs though...
Thanks for a good explanation of why my inverter basically sees the PowerBook adapter as noise!:-)
Simply because there is other equipment in the location that also needs 220 volt from the inverter, so it is kinda easier to put one drain on the battery/solar panels.
I also do have a DC-DC converter for use in a car/plane.
I don't know how dangerous Apple's adapters are, but they sure put a rather nasty load on the two inverters I regularly use my PowerBook on.
Both inverters will only start if only the Apple adapter is putting load on them. One of the inverters will crash and reboot if you put additional load on it together with the Apple adapter (1 kW inverter producing 220 volts from a 305 Ah battery.) I have never seen this behavior with any other load I have put on those inverters.
I have posted a summary of Apple's response to the Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman's complaint filing on Apple's terms and conditions in iTunes, where they also are asked to defend their position on DRM protected content. The response is a 20 page letter of which parts have been blocked for view by the public on request from Apple. I have also provided a link to the response letter which is in Norwegian.
If Microsoft don't pay up and comply with the ruling, in addition to confiscating assets and all the normal legal stuff in each of the EU member states, the EU Commission could make it mandatory to use ODF for all document processing and storage in Government within the Union.
That'd basically pull the feet out under MS Office.
We understand what the Norwegian Ombudsman and his department is saying, but in reality his is acting as a Microsoft shill. His department has never lifted a finger to make sure Microsoft DRM protected material is available to non-Microsoft customers in Norway.
Best example of this is the government, (mandatory) license financed "Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation" (public TV and radio) that publish all their video content in Microsoft DRM protected format. The Ombudsman has done nothing to ensure that this material truely is available to the public; only to Microsoft customers. There are other public institutions in Norway as well that publish Microsoft DRM protected content only.
If the ombudsman is eager to enforce Norwegian legislation in this area, he should first make sure the very government institutions and structure his department is a part of is in compliance with the law, before starting to go after one private company.
ooops, some information fell out of the posting above:
The most interesting part of the Norwegian legislation is the definition of the term "relevant equipment" where the lawmakers have allowed consumers to break copy protection mechanisms to enable playback of content on relevant equipment. More information here
Apple has been picked to test the waters of the Norwegian legislation due to iTMS's popularity, but the original filing also includes Microsoft and its DRM which will be challenged against the 2005 Marketing Control Act.
The most interesting part of this legislation is the definition of the term "relevant equipment". See above link for more.
PowerPoint on the Mac has problems with ANY PowerPoint presentation created on Windows on first run because it keeps converting all graphics from some Windows graphics format into typical Mac formats. There may also be font issues.
It has been this way for years; Rosetta does not make it any better.
It'd probably be easier to re-write MS Office on the Mac to Office 12, than try to port the current Office 2004 to Intel. Microsoft continued to maintain their own development tools that Mac Office is partly written in, and these tools have not even been ported to Intel yet.
They need to redo everything in Xcode to be able to take advantage of building universal binaries automatically. Microsoft will have to provide versions for both PowerPC and Intel for a number of years to come.
A switch is doable depending on...perhaps mostly a combination of patience and skills.
Switching from Windows to Mac OS X is easier than the Linux switch partly because there is MS Office on the Mac in addition to some of the must have Adobe apps. But even that can be a real pain, particularly if you try to switch a small business.
In a number of countries there are maybe only one commercial financial system for SMEs running on Mac and Linux, the rest are Windows only. Meaning you have to run them under Windows in a partition or on a separate machine....which becomes a pain in the a** and most businesses don't see the point in switching.
Having localized versions of these systems are crucial for anyone running a business since they always contain legislation and tax rules spesific to each country. So taking a generic F/OSS system off the net is of little use as you have to apply and validate all those rules - something that can be a major and costly undertaking.
...people might want something (like Photoshop) that's only available on Windows...
Suggest you take a good look at what software is available on Mac OS. Many Linux people seem to be rather ignorant about this, assuming Windows is the only alternative. Combine this with the large catalog of F/OSS software running on OS X.
Photoshop and Excel started out on the Mac and are indeed available on this plattform still. Granted, the most professional users of PhotoShop do their work on Apple's dual-core dual processor G5 workstations.
The article states that the plugin supports every version of Microsoft
Office back to...., but there seem to be a total disregard for the fact that
Microsoft Office also have lived on the Mac for as long as there has been such
a product. (MS Excel 1.0 in 1986 on the Mac Plus and Word 1.05 even earlier.)
The concept of open format gets a pretty strange ring to it, if the openness is
just available for Windows and Linux users. In my estimates there must be 25
+ million Mac Office users out there with documents that could benefit from
this plugin.
Only funky USB mouse I have seen causing an OS X kernel panic had the word Microsoft on it....and it required a driver written by same company. Coincidence?
The biggest problem with MS Office seen from Apple's perspective is not that Mac Office could disappear, but rather that Microsoft has spun a web of solutions and offerings around Office for Windows that they don't offer to their Mac Office customers. This is a problem that Apple cannot write themselves out of.
This is also the reason why it is virtually impossible to replace corporate or government solutions involving Win Office with an equivalent Mac Office solution - or an OpenOffice solution for that sake.
The only force that can help break this vicious circle is government forcing mandatory use of open standards in communication between government and the public.
I see. And you fully trust Microsoft to honor that agreement if it does not suit them?
Yes, for antitrust reasons and for reasons that goes back to what happened when Microsoft stole code from QuickTime, which was the basis for the original "technology" agreement between the two companies.
Microsoft dropping IE was both in Microsoft's and Apple's interest. Neither party wanted it any more. Office is different. Both parties wants it, and Microsoft has most to benefit from keeping Mac Office around.
Cringely in the same article goes on about Apple replacing Microsoft Office stating "In case Mac Office is withdrawn"??
If Cringely had done a minimum of research, he might remember that Apple and Microsoft just signed a new agreement to keep Office for Mac around for a minimum of 5 new years. He might also remember that Apple is supporting Microsofts new, open XML file formats.
Apple is not going to be so stupid as to let Mac users have to rely on reverse engineering MS Office file formats, when they per date have full access to those formats and hence Office documents.
My take is that Apple will not challenge MS office until ECMA has approved the proposed MS Office XML formats as an open standard and implemented them (at least) in the Windows version of Office. Then the ground is open for Apple to rewrite Office - Apple style, but use Microsoft's open XML file formats for data storage.
So no, there is absolutely NO point (for Apple) in challenging Microsoft on Office right now. For governments though....
Microsoft has an ongoing issue with the EU where Microsoft is unable (unwilling) to produce documentation on their APIs to a standard that anyone can sensibly write code that interfaces with it. If the state of affairs are as shoddy as Microsoft gives the impression of, even Steve Jobs's RDS cannot reliably help Apple engineers re-implement the full Windows API.
The EU is treathening to fine Microsoft $2,7 mill a day for the inability to produce said documentation.
With the IBM logo on the TP, as a corporate customer, you could walk into an IBM office in any country in the world and hold your IBM sales rep and services organization responsible if the quality of your TPs was not up to standard. Where did you say your Lenovo sales or services office was again? -- Tought so.
My bet is these corporate customers will take a good look at Apple's MacBook Pro.
Perhaps you'd care to have a look at this then:
Consider the simple fact, drawn from the official temperature records of the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, that for the years 1998-2005 global average temperature did not increase (there was actually a slight decrease, though not at a rate that differs significantly from zero).
For Mac OS X users trying out the commands in the article, you need to type the following to get the list of processes as shown in the article:
ps -ax -o pid,state,nice,command | less -5
Also, on a standard Mac OS X system, the updatedb command to update the locate database is run by cron from the 500.weekly script located in/etc/periodic/weekly/.
Slashdot Mirror
The real translation for "...But over the next few months I think you're going to start hearing more and more." is:
We really don't have a clue what to add yet, but as soon as Mac OS X 10.5 is out we will get you the list.
Given that portables are more likely to be used in environments where the supply comes from inverters and small generators, it'd be great if the adapters would be slightly more well-behaved in such environments. I guess there are trade-offs though...
:-)
Thanks for a good explanation of why my inverter basically sees the PowerBook adapter as noise!
Simply because there is other equipment in the location that also needs 220 volt from the inverter, so it is kinda easier to put one drain on the battery/solar panels.
I also do have a DC-DC converter for use in a car/plane.
I don't know how dangerous Apple's adapters are, but they sure put a rather nasty load on the two inverters I regularly use my PowerBook on.
Both inverters will only start if only the Apple adapter is putting load on them. One of the inverters will crash and reboot if you put additional load on it together with the Apple adapter (1 kW inverter producing 220 volts from a 305 Ah battery.) I have never seen this behavior with any other load I have put on those inverters.
I have posted a summary of Apple's response to the Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman's complaint filing on Apple's terms and conditions in iTunes, where they also are asked to defend their position on DRM protected content. The response is a 20 page letter of which parts have been blocked for view by the public on request from Apple. I have also provided a link to the response letter which is in Norwegian.
If Microsoft don't pay up and comply with the ruling, in addition to confiscating assets and all the normal legal stuff in each of the EU member states, the EU Commission could make it mandatory to use ODF for all document processing and storage in Government within the Union.
That'd basically pull the feet out under MS Office.
We understand what the Norwegian Ombudsman and his department is saying, but in reality his is acting as a Microsoft shill. His department has never lifted a finger to make sure Microsoft DRM protected material is available to non-Microsoft customers in Norway.
Best example of this is the government, (mandatory) license financed "Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation" (public TV and radio) that publish all their video content in Microsoft DRM protected format. The Ombudsman has done nothing to ensure that this material truely is available to the public; only to Microsoft customers. There are other public institutions in Norway as well that publish Microsoft DRM protected content only.
If the ombudsman is eager to enforce Norwegian legislation in this area, he should first make sure the very government institutions and structure his department is a part of is in compliance with the law, before starting to go after one private company.
ooops, some information fell out of the posting above:
The most interesting part of the Norwegian legislation is the definition of the term "relevant equipment" where the lawmakers have allowed consumers to break copy protection mechanisms to enable playback of content on relevant equipment. More information here
Apple has been picked to test the waters of the Norwegian legislation due to iTMS's popularity, but the original filing also includes Microsoft and its DRM which will be challenged against the 2005 Marketing Control Act.
The most interesting part of this legislation is the definition of the term "relevant equipment". See above link for more.
PowerPoint on the Mac has problems with ANY PowerPoint presentation created on Windows on first run because it keeps converting all graphics from some Windows graphics format into typical Mac formats. There may also be font issues.
It has been this way for years; Rosetta does not make it any better.
It'd probably be easier to re-write MS Office on the Mac to Office 12, than try to port the current Office 2004 to Intel. Microsoft continued to maintain their own development tools that Mac Office is partly written in, and these tools have not even been ported to Intel yet.
They need to redo everything in Xcode to be able to take advantage of building universal binaries automatically. Microsoft will have to provide versions for both PowerPC and Intel for a number of years to come.
If Microsoft thinks it is to slow they are free to contribute to make it faster.
It is an open spec. Anyone can contribute.
The open source Nokia browser could mean trouble admits Opera's marketing manager in a comment in this article.
A switch is doable depending on ...perhaps mostly a combination of patience and skills.
...which becomes a pain in the a** and most businesses don't see the point in switching.
Switching from Windows to Mac OS X is easier than the Linux switch partly because there is MS Office on the Mac in addition to some of the must have Adobe apps. But even that can be a real pain, particularly if you try to switch a small business.
In a number of countries there are maybe only one commercial financial system for SMEs running on Mac and Linux, the rest are Windows only. Meaning you have to run them under Windows in a partition or on a separate machine.
Having localized versions of these systems are crucial for anyone running a business since they always contain legislation and tax rules spesific to each country. So taking a generic F/OSS system off the net is of little use as you have to apply and validate all those rules - something that can be a major and costly undertaking.
Suggest you take a good look at what software is available on Mac OS. Many Linux people seem to be rather ignorant about this, assuming Windows is the only alternative. Combine this with the large catalog of F/OSS software running on OS X.
Photoshop and Excel started out on the Mac and are indeed available on this plattform still. Granted, the most professional users of PhotoShop do their work on Apple's dual-core dual processor G5 workstations.
The article states that the plugin supports every version of Microsoft Office back to...., but there seem to be a total disregard for the fact that Microsoft Office also have lived on the Mac for as long as there has been such a product. (MS Excel 1.0 in 1986 on the Mac Plus and Word 1.05 even earlier.)
The concept of open format gets a pretty strange ring to it, if the openness is just available for Windows and Linux users. In my estimates there must be 25 + million Mac Office users out there with documents that could benefit from this plugin.
But it does. To activate additional buttons on the Intellimouse Explorer. ...and it consistently caused OS X kernel panics.
Only funky USB mouse I have seen causing an OS X kernel panic had the word Microsoft on it. ...and it required a driver written by same company. Coincidence?
The biggest problem with MS Office seen from Apple's perspective is not that Mac Office could disappear, but rather that Microsoft has spun a web of solutions and offerings around Office for Windows that they don't offer to their Mac Office customers. This is a problem that Apple cannot write themselves out of.
This is also the reason why it is virtually impossible to replace corporate or government solutions involving Win Office with an equivalent Mac Office solution - or an OpenOffice solution for that sake.
The only force that can help break this vicious circle is government forcing mandatory use of open standards in communication between government and the public.
Or rather they prepare to take significantly higher expenses due to losses in litigation they have entangeled themselves in.
Yes, for antitrust reasons and for reasons that goes back to what happened when Microsoft stole code from QuickTime, which was the basis for the original "technology" agreement between the two companies.
Microsoft dropping IE was both in Microsoft's and Apple's interest. Neither party wanted it any more. Office is different. Both parties wants it, and Microsoft has most to benefit from keeping Mac Office around.
Cringely in the same article goes on about Apple replacing Microsoft Office stating "In case Mac Office is withdrawn"??
If Cringely had done a minimum of research, he might remember that Apple and Microsoft just signed a new agreement to keep Office for Mac around for a minimum of 5 new years. He might also remember that Apple is supporting Microsofts new, open XML file formats.
Apple is not going to be so stupid as to let Mac users have to rely on reverse engineering MS Office file formats, when they per date have full access to those formats and hence Office documents.
My take is that Apple will not challenge MS office until ECMA has approved the proposed MS Office XML formats as an open standard and implemented them (at least) in the Windows version of Office. Then the ground is open for Apple to rewrite Office - Apple style, but use Microsoft's open XML file formats for data storage.
So no, there is absolutely NO point (for Apple) in challenging Microsoft on Office right now.
For governments though....
Microsoft has an ongoing issue with the EU where Microsoft is unable (unwilling) to produce documentation on their APIs to a standard that anyone can sensibly write code that interfaces with it. If the state of affairs are as shoddy as Microsoft gives the impression of, even Steve Jobs's RDS cannot reliably help Apple engineers re-implement the full Windows API.
The EU is treathening to fine Microsoft $2,7 mill a day for the inability to produce said documentation.
With the IBM logo on the TP, as a corporate customer, you could walk into an IBM office in any country in the world and hold your IBM sales rep and services organization responsible if the quality of your TPs was not up to standard. Where did you say your Lenovo sales or services office was again? -- Tought so.
My bet is these corporate customers will take a good look at Apple's MacBook Pro.
Perhaps you'd care to have a look at this then:
Consider the simple fact, drawn from the official temperature records of the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, that for the years 1998-2005 global average temperature did not increase (there was actually a slight decrease, though not at a rate that differs significantly from zero).
Full story here There IS a problem with global warming... it stopped in 1998.
For Mac OS X users trying out the commands in the article, you need to type the following to get the list of processes as shown in the article:
ps -ax -o pid,state,nice,command | less -5Also, on a standard Mac OS X system, the updatedb command to update the locate database is run by cron from the 500.weekly script located in /etc/periodic/weekly/.