know how to run Apple's business lately? One analyst says get out of the hardware business, completely ignoring the majority of Apple's income is based on hardware. This guy says no one will want an iPhone, yet most analyst seem pretty sure people want a combo device? So Apple "might" be poised to launch just that device, a device that works with the most popular "legal" download service, and now no one will care?
Apparently the qualifications for analyst are fairly low...
When you graduate from college any move out of the dorms you may find that your time actually has some value, at which point you may see why OS X is the better choice for desktop *nix. But until then, enjoy your delusions.
Rating this post a 5: Informative just proves the moderation system here is still broken. You have decided you don't like the iPod and have built a huge pile of reasoning behind it, but you clearly don't speak for the majority.
Having owned a 1st gen Mac mini G4 1.42 and now a Core Duo 1.66 w/SuperDrive I think I can address some of this.
-The difference in hard drive speed is really not noticable for most task, day to day computing it really has zero impact.
-Lack of Core2 Duo is likely temporary and again not a big issue for the vast majority of task.
-For the intended audience 2GB of RAM is more than adequate.
-For not having a video card the Core Duo mini support all Core Video and HD playback functions, neither of which the original mini with it's "real video card" could do.
The Mac mini Core Duo is more than adequate for it's intended purpose, supporting basic day to day computing and iLife apps, and does a far better job of providing a solid computing experience that the previous mini and comparable small form factor PCs fro HP (S7500y) and Dell (XPS 200).
I do a lot of web surfing/chatting/email/video chatting, a little coding/scripting for work and a fair amount of iLife (mostly iTunes/iPhoto/iWeb and a little iMovie) and the mini Core Duo exceeds at all of these task. The mini is cheap enough (and used minis hold enough value on eBay) that I can update every 12-18 months without breaking the bank and handle my dispaly and speakers any way I want. Should my ACD start to fail at the same time as a mini refresh is due I would consider an iMac, but in my current situation (and judging from what I read at a lot of Mac mini enthusiast web sites) the mini is filling a niche that Apple needs in a way that doesn't canabalize the iMac business and still makes money.
I read a lot of negative comments about the Mac mini, but it truly does fulfill it's intended purpose.
Yea, the whole debate really had no where to go until DFB came up with that challenge, no Johnny just looks like so much weak sauce (I think the community digs it when I get down verbally)...
on a KeyNote presentation, it will be relevant for some users but the vast majority will likely ignore it. I honestly thought I would install BC when my new mini Core Duo showed up, but I have yet to bother, I would rather use OS X and support OS X developers. I don't think I am in the minority on this topic, I work with several other enthusiastic Mac users and we all view BootCamp as reduction in barriers to switching for some people, nothing more. I've read a lot of comments lately about how "Apple better do this" or else I won't switch, but those people will always find a reason not to buy a Mac so I don't think Apple should expend too much effort to attract them.
Switching to Intel closed the price, performance and (with BootCamp or Paralells) the application compatability gaps; advantage Cupertino. Apple reported their best hardware sales quarters ever just recently, and I have read some speculation that they sold 50% more MacBooks than they expected this quarter (not sure how true that is but the delays in shipping make it plausible). My local Apple Store is literally jammed all day long, including week days and the wait at the Genius Bar is upwards of an hour most days. I seriously doubt all that bustle is for XP install on BootCamp???
The only category that might truly suffer from BootCamp existing is game development, porting is expensive and this is the kind of easy way out the big game publishers love.
On second thought I might install BootCamp with Leopard... if it will let me run Ubuntu?!
it is just another sign that sales and marketing are now in complete control. Glad I finally made a full effort to switch, my Mac and my Ubuntu box fulfill all I need.
Normally Apple can do no wrong at/., next to Google they are the most favored corporation on this site. That is until someone says that they threaten the eventual domination of Linux; now they are MS and RedHat rolled into one evil corporate giant.
After RTFA I can say I don't agree with everything this guy says, but if it should come to pass I would rather have to live in a world with OS X as a dominant player than not.
With the popularity of iTunes I doubt they will grab much of the iPods marketshare, but I feel sorry for Creative, Sandisk.etc... The confusion and inconsistent interfaces/policies/available artist in the "Plays for Sure" camp won't help anyone but MS, who will rally behind one player/storefront and make them the focus of their promotional efforts (and featured in Media Player's front page, and linked off of MSN, etc...). But you are right, they will attempt to employ the same methods they did with the Xbox, but by comparison (technology wise, design wise) they have a lot of catching up to do this time.
Honestly, I sell with the exact same approach and that vast majority of my items end with Buy It Now. I typically take the same approach the rare times I buy stuff, check the average and do a BIN on the guy who comes in a few bucks under. I also don't believe it really lowers prices overall as the "Power Seller" crowd tends to be pretty inflexible (as noted in above article) and will simply relist the same items over and over until eventually they sell.
The only fool is the person who tries to fulfill an immediate need by using eBay, if you need something in a couple of business days you are probably going to be very disapointed in eBay and should go to the store or use a major retailer like Amazon.
And the other great part of using Linux, a user community full of elitist wannabes whoe think they can argue down anyone who disagrees with them. I'd be far better off with outmoded shit audio hardware, odds are good ALSA would support it. You are an F'ing riot if you pretend ALSA has drivers for recent hardware, I'm still waiting for them to actually get SigmatelSTAC drivers right for the very common Intel HDA stuff on recent 945 series boards (one first party board and one Dell laptop with no sound). Sorry I didn't keep my SoundBlaster Live around, but sometimes hardware dies of old age. And just because it can put out margianl 2D sound doesn't mean it is a good experience. The facts are clear, the media experience on Linux still sucks, and if you really want a full and rich media experience you are better off on Windows or a Mac. Put aside your zealotry and do an honest side by side comparison
And please don't pretend that Amarok is some model of interface design, it has gotten better, but mostly by trying to mimic the best parts of iTunes and WMP.
there is a pretty wide gap between any media app on Linux and iTunes, QuickTime or even Windows Media Player. The whole media experience is inferior on my Ubuntu box as compared to my Mac mini, there is just no argument. On Linux I watch video in a small, usually non-resizable window with questionable if not absolutely bad sound. Amarok is a step in the right direction but far from the overall experience I get with iTunes, they do a nice job of copyiing the library functions and basic functions are the same, but it isn't nearly as intuitive to use. We could go on all day with these comparisons, but there isn't much to debate, for a rich meida experience Linux is not the best choice.
always show how many people have never used a Mac, and the few that have obviously haven't done so recently. The whole platform has become something outstanding, easy to use, easy to maintain and with very little digging can be tweaked to satisfy the hardcore amongst us. And the gaming argument is weak at best, with the vast majority of that market now belonging to consoles it really isn't a negative. OS X is a great way to get you *nix on and there are far better devices to game on, end of story.
In regard to the actual headline, cheap people will continue to suffer but those who will shell out an extra $200 for a Mac mini will get such a better experience and so fewer hassles I just don't see how the market can't grow. Of course there are a certain number of people out there who put no value on their time and stopped learning the day they left school, but those people deserve Vista and it's very likely poor user experience on their $399 Dell.
Sure do, but I also know that BETA was an attempt at being feature complete and even if I ignore performance I saw no real reason to like Vista. I spend 8-11 hours per day managing a variety of Windows boxes, a handful of Linux servers and assorted network devices/gadgets, whatnot... OS X is always a pleasant diversion and at this point appears to be a much more interesting platform than Vista.
I hope you're prepared for disappointment, unless you primarily play sports games.
It really can't be any worse than the onslaught of FPS and action-RPG games on the PC, there aren't many great PC games and the genres get more narrow every day. I'll take my chances, but point taken, a move to console gaming won't be a utopian experience, but I also don't think you could call it anything worse than the current state of PC gaming...
and knowing my hardware isn't up to snuff and much of my software needs replacing, I bought a Mac. I mean, if I have to replace all that stuff anyway, why not get something truly "new" by comparison? Now my current XP box will become an Ubuntu file and print server in the next few months and I'll move my gaming to consoles. My last Mac still felt fast for about 2-3 years by my standards so I figure I'll grab something new around 2008-09 unless something really earth shattering gets released in the interim.
I suspect this will happen to a number of us who have been at this a while and even some casual home users will opt out of the MS patch cycle. I wonder if anyone at MS feels this way, or if they just assume their current dominance is pre-destined?
I thought the Mac Pro was a pretty big deal, and especially for a room full of developers who have been screamig for performance. I thought clear acknowledgment that the move to Intel was a huge success, that sales are great and that they now feel strong enough to make direct comparisons to MS products was pretty cool. Never mind that repeatedly Steve stated that the best parts of Leopard were still under wraps until closer to release to prevent any "me too" features in Vista. And ignore some of those useful new features that might not appeal to cynical tech reporters but are welcome additions to actual Mac users. And forget about the fact that this conference with a couple thousand developers is about break out sessions and hands on with the new hardware, coding tools and Leopard previews.
Where a totally useful system feature is painted as evil. Honestly, I know part of the member agreement at/. is to bash MS, but can't we stick to the legitimate issues instead of trying to villify every thing they do.
Stop crying, Live Messenger is by far the best video chat I have ever used, has had few technical issues since version 7 and has more useful features than any other IM. I know you are obligated to knock all things MS, but they have actually been doing this project correctly and taken lots of feedback from the BETA community.
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Apparently the qualifications for analyst are fairly low...
Maybe I should hit refresh, surely this is Score 4 Funny???
When you graduate from college any move out of the dorms you may find that your time actually has some value, at which point you may see why OS X is the better choice for desktop *nix. But until then, enjoy your delusions.
Rating this post a 5: Informative just proves the moderation system here is still broken. You have decided you don't like the iPod and have built a huge pile of reasoning behind it, but you clearly don't speak for the majority.
You are that guy at work everyone avoids, aren't ya'?
-The difference in hard drive speed is really not noticable for most task, day to day computing it really has zero impact.
-Lack of Core2 Duo is likely temporary and again not a big issue for the vast majority of task.
-For the intended audience 2GB of RAM is more than adequate.
-For not having a video card the Core Duo mini support all Core Video and HD playback functions, neither of which the original mini with it's "real video card" could do.
The Mac mini Core Duo is more than adequate for it's intended purpose, supporting basic day to day computing and iLife apps, and does a far better job of providing a solid computing experience that the previous mini and comparable small form factor PCs fro HP (S7500y) and Dell (XPS 200).
I do a lot of web surfing/chatting/email/video chatting, a little coding/scripting for work and a fair amount of iLife (mostly iTunes/iPhoto/iWeb and a little iMovie) and the mini Core Duo exceeds at all of these task. The mini is cheap enough (and used minis hold enough value on eBay) that I can update every 12-18 months without breaking the bank and handle my dispaly and speakers any way I want. Should my ACD start to fail at the same time as a mini refresh is due I would consider an iMac, but in my current situation (and judging from what I read at a lot of Mac mini enthusiast web sites) the mini is filling a niche that Apple needs in a way that doesn't canabalize the iMac business and still makes money.
I read a lot of negative comments about the Mac mini, but it truly does fulfill it's intended purpose.
This has to be an attemtped troll, doesn't it?
Your mother sews license plates into your underwear? How do you sit?
You are correct sir, and for next feat I shall pount a nail through a board with my penis.
Yea, the whole debate really had no where to go until DFB came up with that challenge, no Johnny just looks like so much weak sauce (I think the community digs it when I get down verbally)...
Switching to Intel closed the price, performance and (with BootCamp or Paralells) the application compatability gaps; advantage Cupertino. Apple reported their best hardware sales quarters ever just recently, and I have read some speculation that they sold 50% more MacBooks than they expected this quarter (not sure how true that is but the delays in shipping make it plausible). My local Apple Store is literally jammed all day long, including week days and the wait at the Genius Bar is upwards of an hour most days. I seriously doubt all that bustle is for XP install on BootCamp???
The only category that might truly suffer from BootCamp existing is game development, porting is expensive and this is the kind of easy way out the big game publishers love.
On second thought I might install BootCamp with Leopard... if it will let me run Ubuntu?!
So Intel backed down on predatory pricing and now Dell is selling slower CPUs? This does seem to really benefit the consumer ::insert eye roll here::
it is just another sign that sales and marketing are now in complete control. Glad I finally made a full effort to switch, my Mac and my Ubuntu box fulfill all I need.
After RTFA I can say I don't agree with everything this guy says, but if it should come to pass I would rather have to live in a world with OS X as a dominant player than not.
With the popularity of iTunes I doubt they will grab much of the iPods marketshare, but I feel sorry for Creative, Sandisk.etc... The confusion and inconsistent interfaces/policies/available artist in the "Plays for Sure" camp won't help anyone but MS, who will rally behind one player/storefront and make them the focus of their promotional efforts (and featured in Media Player's front page, and linked off of MSN, etc...). But you are right, they will attempt to employ the same methods they did with the Xbox, but by comparison (technology wise, design wise) they have a lot of catching up to do this time.
The only fool is the person who tries to fulfill an immediate need by using eBay, if you need something in a couple of business days you are probably going to be very disapointed in eBay and should go to the store or use a major retailer like Amazon.
And please don't pretend that Amarok is some model of interface design, it has gotten better, but mostly by trying to mimic the best parts of iTunes and WMP.
there is a pretty wide gap between any media app on Linux and iTunes, QuickTime or even Windows Media Player. The whole media experience is inferior on my Ubuntu box as compared to my Mac mini, there is just no argument. On Linux I watch video in a small, usually non-resizable window with questionable if not absolutely bad sound. Amarok is a step in the right direction but far from the overall experience I get with iTunes, they do a nice job of copyiing the library functions and basic functions are the same, but it isn't nearly as intuitive to use. We could go on all day with these comparisons, but there isn't much to debate, for a rich meida experience Linux is not the best choice.
In regard to the actual headline, cheap people will continue to suffer but those who will shell out an extra $200 for a Mac mini will get such a better experience and so fewer hassles I just don't see how the market can't grow. Of course there are a certain number of people out there who put no value on their time and stopped learning the day they left school, but those people deserve Vista and it's very likely poor user experience on their $399 Dell.
Sure do, but I also know that BETA was an attempt at being feature complete and even if I ignore performance I saw no real reason to like Vista. I spend 8-11 hours per day managing a variety of Windows boxes, a handful of Linux servers and assorted network devices/gadgets, whatnot... OS X is always a pleasant diversion and at this point appears to be a much more interesting platform than Vista.
I suspect this will happen to a number of us who have been at this a while and even some casual home users will opt out of the MS patch cycle. I wonder if anyone at MS feels this way, or if they just assume their current dominance is pre-destined?
I wish MS could "bore" me like this...
Where a totally useful system feature is painted as evil. Honestly, I know part of the member agreement at /. is to bash MS, but can't we stick to the legitimate issues instead of trying to villify every thing they do.
Stop crying, Live Messenger is by far the best video chat I have ever used, has had few technical issues since version 7 and has more useful features than any other IM. I know you are obligated to knock all things MS, but they have actually been doing this project correctly and taken lots of feedback from the BETA community.