OP was a joke, referencing Michael Dell's 1997 comment about how he would fix Apple at the time. His response: "Close it down and give the money back to the shareholders"
If their stock keeps tanking, that may be a good option in 2014, too...
Oh, yeah; because at $457/share (at the time of this post), AAPL is JUST like DELL, at $13.48/share.
Right.
AAPL didn't "tank". That was a correction. DELL is tanking.
Autodesk has never made the Macintosh one of their main platforms. Perhaps they are having some fun putting out little applets for iOS, but the CAD scene has never been strong on the Mac platform.
Historically Autocad was a DOS and then Windows platform. Real CAD historically was a UNIX workstation thing.
You need to look recently. Other than Inventor (which the still haven't ported for some unknown reason), AutoDesk has made a very STRONG commitment to OS X, and particularly with AutoCAD. And even Inventor (as well as others) are fully supported under Windows virtualization on the Mac.
And if you want a full Unix-Style OS X compatible World-Class CAD/CAM/CAE environment, look no farther than Siemens, who has ported their Unigraphics UG/NX PLM Suite to several platforms, including, as of 2009, to OS X. And I do believe that this package SMOKES that nasty AutoCAD, because even VectorWorks does that, quite handily. And VectorWorks has existed on Macs since at least 1989.
Well, since there are over 1 billion cars (let alone trucks, etc.) in the world, that still means 10,000,000 batteries are getting into landfills. In fact, it was recently estimated hat 40,000,000 Metric TONS of Lead from Lead-Acid Batteries ALONE goes into landfills EVERY YEAR. This is probably more than the lead in the solder of every single lead-based electronic product, 1,000,000 times over.
So, think about it when you say that "99%" of a number that large; because that remaining 1% is STILL a HUGE number. And speaking of which, the same article cited above says it's only 97% of batteries that get recycled, making my 10,000,000 batteries-getting-into-landfills now more like 30,000,000.
I wouldn't consider having to buy a special third party lock because apple didn't think to design in a simple padlock hole to be "easilly LOCKED".
to prevent theft AND OPENING. So NOW who's got the responsibility?
The company who supplied it in a state where it could be opened without a tool.
r
You're about an ILLITERATE fuck, aren't you?
Did you NOT see the latch detail where it clearly shows that you can put any $2 padlock in the little "loop". So, they DID "think to design in a simple padlock hole".
I can't tell if you are being sarcastic; but for an unfamiliar procedure, that isn't out of line.
I have worked as an electronics repair tech in a few other lifetimes, and I can tell you that isn't bad.
Someone who has done more than the ZERO I had before could accomplish the same using power screwdrives (I didn't) in about 15 minutes.
And as I said previously, I was being extra careful, with the owner of the iMac standing over my shoulder... I was also having to stop to verify every step with the online "guide" I had printed-out. Someone familiar with iMac repair wouldn't have any of that.
As a comparison, replace your car's starter in under 45 minutes. I'll wait...
Yep. PowerPoint was also first on the Mac. Word for Mac also happened in the mid-80s. Granted, calling it "Office " happened much later, but there wasn't much more to it than bundling the individual apps.
Visual BASIC (although not an "office" app) was ALSO developed as "Microsoft BASIC for Macintosh" for THREE versions before they inexplicably did NOT port it to System 7. Here is the only screenshot I can find.
Then, the very next year, Visual BASIC for Windows (only) came out. Mac developers recognized it as their "denied" Mac BASIC.
Same thing with Access: Both MS Access AND FileMaker started from "Microsoft File", which was a Mac-Only database (unfortunately, I can't find even a single screenshot, but trust me, anyone who has developed in, or used Access or FileMaker would recognize it immediately). I still have a 3.5" floppy with the application on it. Then it simply "went away" on MacOS. Curious that MS has NEVER seen fit to release an "Access" for Macs, though.
So, you might say that Microsoft owes NEARLY EVERY SINGLE MAJOR "OFFICE" APPLICATION they sell (except the Exchange Suite) to the development work that was ORIGINALLY MAC-ONLY.
Why do we need app stores that make software 40%+ more expensive (assuming a 30% cut, to make $10 you must charge $14.29)? Can't people sell their own software like on Windows and OS X today?
How much is 40% of FREE? For example, here's a list of (almost all FREE. Not one more than US$5) Autodesk apps for iOS. How much do you think Apple "makes" from them? How much more expensive did the Apple App Store make this software?
And where did you pull 40% from? All 3 of the major "App" Stores take the same 30%
And if it could be done cheaper in a reasonable fashion, don't you think that at least one of those would be doing it?
Oh, excuse me: Microsoft (sort of) is, but only on high-volume sales. For the vast majority of "people" who "sell their own software", it's 30% accross the board.
also why other pro apps will not be in other app stores.
adobe CS 30% cut is way to high and sand boxing.
autocad 30% is to high as well.
So, that means they won't be in the Windows App Store, either, nor will they ever be in the Google Play Store.
Yes, the Windows App Store goes down to 20% after so much volume (which Apple would do, too, if there were actually any pressure to do so); but I'm pretty sure that won't be sufficient to both of those TRULY money-hungry publishers.
Interestingly enough, both of your example companies actually have plenty of touch applications.
In fact, speaking of Autodesk, the long-standing Mac-centric Architectural site, Architosh, in a review of the Autodesk app "Formit", said the following:
"We are getting deeply impressed by Autodesk’s commitment to Apple’s mobile iOS platform. No other CAD or 3D company has gone so far this fast in creating a stable of interesting “apps” for Apple’s platform–targeting both iPhone and the newer iPad."
So, not exactly sure where you're getting your "lack of interest", especially in regard to iOS, by these companies.
Office has been available for mac since 1989, before it was even available for Windows. Office on mac wasn't something that happened in reaction to antitrust investigations.
Nice try; but you are missing the point.
Although most of the MS Office suite WAS available on Macs long before they were on Windows, MS was threatening to STOP producing Office for Mac before that fateful (and widely booed) "promise" by Gates to "continue to develop Office for the Mac for the next 5 years".
The reason Bill Gates agreed to port Office to the Mac wasn't altruism. He was at the time trying to fight off the Justice Departments charges of abusing their monopoly. Porting Office was one way to show they weren't really a big bad evil that refused to play nice.
Thank you!!! Someone who actually REMEMBERS history...
It's not the turbulence. It's the pressure drag caused by something in the flow path. Turbulence increases mixing and actually improves heat transfer.
Wrong.
Turbulence on the HEAT SINK SURFACE increases cooling because purely "laminar" airflow actually doesn't cool all that well. HOWEVER, turbulence on the Fan Blades simply increases DRAG on the fan blades themselves, and thus CURRENT REQUIREMENT, thus DECREASING cooling for a given fan speed/size/blade-pitch.
Sorry. I've designed a few products with heat sinks in my time. If what you postulated was actually true; we'd see fan blades with funny "ripples" or "scales" on them. But we don't. Instead, we see HEAT SINKS with those features. Think about it? Ever seen ANY fan with other than COMPLETELY SMOOTH blades?
The Mac Pro case can be opened in a few seconds without any tools, you don't have to unscrew anything. If there are moving parts exposed inside the case, then this ruling seems perfectly sensible.
It can also be easily LOCKED to prevent theft AND OPENING. So NOW who's got the responsibility?
Oh, and before you complain about nearly $40 to secure that $2500+ computer (which someone will, no doubt), you can use just about ANY small lock that will fit through the little slot below the latch (see detailed drawing of the latch, showing the lock-loop about halfway down in this document).
So, in the case of the case of the Mac Pro, who is actually "negligent" if a child/mentally-challenged-adult opens a Mac Pro and sticks their widdle fingaws in it?
But sure, compare PCs to kitchen knifes, as everyone can see that they are so similar.
True. One is patently, plainly, deadly to anyone who comes in contact with it.
The other, you have to be astonishingly unlucky or just plain stupid to even get a LITTLE "hurt" with it.
Wanna guess which one is which?
And in the case (pun intended) of the Mac Pro, THAT isn't even POSSIBLE. Period.
Prove me wrong. Show me the diagram that would show how you could "access" a SPINNING fan blade with a HUMAN body part in the Mac Pro?
Quite frankly, if I were Apple, I would apply for an exemption, or at least argue that they are compliant. The only reason they aren't, IMHO, is that they are poised to offer their new (and likely "compliant") version of the product; but it won't be ready QUITE in time for this Directive.
So, does this Directive make the iMac, the Mac mini, and the Macbook Pro ALL "non-compliant"? Because, IF YOU DISASSEMBLE THEM, you will find "accessible fan blades" in ALL of those products (just like a ZILLION other products by a ZILLION other manufacturers)???
Their updates have been incremental at best. Fuck them. Their updates used to at least seem magical. we should hook up a generator to Job's grave. He's spinning so much we could power oakland at a minimum.
What you (and others that share your "The thrill is gone" sentiments simply don't understand Product Development cycles.
You think that just because you can generate a USB controlled flyswatter with a Raspberry Pi in a weekend, that that's how long ALL Products take to develop.
Every single thing that has come out of Apple since Jobs' death was WELL ALONG in its Development when Jobs hit the dirt.
Every. Single. Thing. Same with any company. Product development takes TIME.
At issue are the large fans within the Mac Pro. Since they are unprotected, it would be possible to touch the fan blades.
Which means you would need to be unretarded enough to unscrew the case, then retarded enough to purposely touch the spinning blades, presumably while the machine is plugged in and powered up. I guess they're insisting some kind of finger guard, like a mesh, is required around a fan that housed inside a computer case. Which of course would comprise the amount of space available in the case. Kind of retarded.
And I find it interesting that nearly no one on this self-defined "geek" site has pointed out that fan guards cause TURBULENCE, which REDUCES FAN EFFICIENCY, which in turn makes the engineers have to PUT IN LARGER FANS, that CONSUME MORE POWER AND NATURAL RESOURCES, which, IIRC, is ALSO something the EU is "on" about.
The EU is apparently having too much time making up problems. Just about EVERY appliance in a kitchen is more dangerous than a MacPro. Have you every used a kitchen mixer? Rotating blades hooked up to a high power motor, no protection, no case... We have a number of MacPros. You really have to open up the case and want to stick your finger in there. Even if you would, these motors are low power. The potential injury would be minimal compared to a mixer. This makes no sense. Is the European Union turning into Fire Marshall Bill?
Boy, you just hit the nail on the head!
I'm surprised you can still purchase KITCHEN KNIVES, let alone a MIXER (yow!!!) in the EU. What about curling irons? Soldering irons? Matches? Scissors? Screwdrivers? PENCILS!!!?!? The list goes on and on. NOT ONE OF THOSE HAS EVEN THE SLIGHTEST SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS!!!! The Humanity!!!!
The point being, of course: Where does the nanny state end?!?
I just don't like iMacs because I want to look inside the box and not have to perform mechanical gymnastics to change out a drive or add some RAM.
I don't know when the last time you looked was; but in iMacs, the RAM is located right behind a door under the "chin" (two captive screws. Done), and the hard drive, although a bit more "challenging", is not in any way "inaccessible" (any more than your car's alternator or starter is "inaccessible"). I was able to change the HD in a friend's iMac in about 45 minutes, and that was mostly because I was being extra careful. Pop the glass off the front with a couple of suction cups ($4 at Harbor Freight), remove about 12 "bezel" screws, unhook a power cable (so you can prop open the display), and there it is (I don't know why about half of the online "guides" tell you to REMOVE the display. You don't. All you have to do is find a large screwdriver, wooden spoon, or a stick to prop up the display while you work inside the chassis).
If you can't handle that, then you really have no business building a Hackintosh, either. Just sayin'...
When was the last time you saw someone EAT a circuit board?
Cellphone goes into trash, trash goes into landfill, rain goes into landfill, reactive compounds go into groundwater.
Proper eWaste disposal methods can minimize this, but in a lot of cases this just means shipping the cellphone to Dalian or Inner Mongolia where an 11-year-old makes a dime an hour dipping circuit boards into a hot bath. In the open air. Without a mask.
And there is more LEAD in ONE STILL-COMPLIANT LEAD-ACID CAR BATTERY THAN IN A THOUSAND COMPUTERS.
Mac Pros have cooling fans with access to the fan blades. Such fans will be forbidden within the EU from March first. They couldn't keep selling those models there even if they wanted to.
It is interesting that you seem to place the blame on the EU - if you read the second link of TFS it finishes by pointing out:
'This standard has been approved as a National Standard of Canada by the Standards Council of Canada, and
has been approved as by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as an American National Standard.'
It is, if I understand it correctly, an International Standard that the EU is obeying. I cannot imagine why the US or Canada, for example,
is not also complying.
Then why is it only the EU in which Apple feels compelled to (temporarily) withdraw the Mac Pro?
Slashdot Mirror
Pfft once the hyperinflation hits that won't be worth much
But it will still be worth more than NOT having it.
OP was a joke, referencing Michael Dell's 1997 comment about how he would fix Apple at the time. His response: "Close it down and give the money back to the shareholders"
If their stock keeps tanking, that may be a good option in 2014, too ...
Oh, yeah; because at $457/share (at the time of this post), AAPL is JUST like DELL, at $13.48/share.
Right.
AAPL didn't "tank". That was a correction. DELL is tanking.
Autodesk has never made the Macintosh one of their main platforms. Perhaps they are having some fun putting out little applets for iOS, but the CAD scene has never been strong on the Mac platform.
Historically Autocad was a DOS and then Windows platform. Real CAD historically was a UNIX workstation thing.
You need to look recently. Other than Inventor (which the still haven't ported for some unknown reason), AutoDesk has made a very STRONG commitment to OS X, and particularly with AutoCAD. And even Inventor (as well as others) are fully supported under Windows virtualization on the Mac.
And if you want a full Unix-Style OS X compatible World-Class CAD/CAM/CAE environment, look no farther than Siemens, who has ported their Unigraphics UG/NX PLM Suite to several platforms, including, as of 2009, to OS X. And I do believe that this package SMOKES that nasty AutoCAD, because even VectorWorks does that, quite handily. And VectorWorks has existed on Macs since at least 1989.
99% are recycled
Well, since there are over 1 billion cars (let alone trucks, etc.) in the world, that still means 10,000,000 batteries are getting into landfills. In fact, it was recently estimated hat 40,000,000 Metric TONS of Lead from Lead-Acid Batteries ALONE goes into landfills EVERY YEAR. This is probably more than the lead in the solder of every single lead-based electronic product, 1,000,000 times over.
So, think about it when you say that "99%" of a number that large; because that remaining 1% is STILL a HUGE number. And speaking of which, the same article cited above says it's only 97% of batteries that get recycled, making my 10,000,000 batteries-getting-into-landfills now more like 30,000,000.
Your turn...
It can also be easily LOCKED [mac-pro.com]
I wouldn't consider having to buy a special third party lock because apple didn't think to design in a simple padlock hole to be "easilly LOCKED".
to prevent theft AND OPENING. So NOW who's got the responsibility?
The company who supplied it in a state where it could be opened without a tool.
r You're about an ILLITERATE fuck, aren't you?
Did you NOT see the latch detail where it clearly shows that you can put any $2 padlock in the little "loop". So, they DID "think to design in a simple padlock hole".
Learn to read, fucktard.
45 minutes? Holy shit that is forever and a half.
I can't tell if you are being sarcastic; but for an unfamiliar procedure, that isn't out of line.
I have worked as an electronics repair tech in a few other lifetimes, and I can tell you that isn't bad.
Someone who has done more than the ZERO I had before could accomplish the same using power screwdrives (I didn't) in about 15 minutes.
And as I said previously, I was being extra careful, with the owner of the iMac standing over my shoulder... I was also having to stop to verify every step with the online "guide" I had printed-out. Someone familiar with iMac repair wouldn't have any of that.
As a comparison, replace your car's starter in under 45 minutes. I'll wait...
Yep. PowerPoint was also first on the Mac. Word for Mac also happened in the mid-80s. Granted, calling it "Office " happened much later, but there wasn't much more to it than bundling the individual apps.
Yep, check out these 1.0 version screenshots for Mac Excel, Word and PowerPoint. Note the dates. In fact, Microsoft Word was CHARACTER-BASED for FOUR YEARS after it was a GUI app on MacOS, DESPITE having two Xerox PARC engineers as it's core.
Visual BASIC (although not an "office" app) was ALSO developed as "Microsoft BASIC for Macintosh" for THREE versions before they inexplicably did NOT port it to System 7. Here is the only screenshot I can find.
Then, the very next year, Visual BASIC for Windows (only) came out. Mac developers recognized it as their "denied" Mac BASIC.
Same thing with Access: Both MS Access AND FileMaker started from "Microsoft File", which was a Mac-Only database (unfortunately, I can't find even a single screenshot, but trust me, anyone who has developed in, or used Access or FileMaker would recognize it immediately). I still have a 3.5" floppy with the application on it. Then it simply "went away" on MacOS. Curious that MS has NEVER seen fit to release an "Access" for Macs, though.
So, you might say that Microsoft owes NEARLY EVERY SINGLE MAJOR "OFFICE" APPLICATION they sell (except the Exchange Suite) to the development work that was ORIGINALLY MAC-ONLY.
Why do we need app stores that make software 40%+ more expensive (assuming a 30% cut, to make $10 you must charge $14.29)? Can't people sell their own software like on Windows and OS X today?
How much is 40% of FREE? For example, here's a list of (almost all FREE. Not one more than US$5) Autodesk apps for iOS. How much do you think Apple "makes" from them? How much more expensive did the Apple App Store make this software?
And where did you pull 40% from? All 3 of the major "App" Stores take the same 30%
And if it could be done cheaper in a reasonable fashion, don't you think that at least one of those would be doing it?
Oh, excuse me: Microsoft (sort of) is, but only on high-volume sales. For the vast majority of "people" who "sell their own software", it's 30% accross the board.
also why other pro apps will not be in other app stores.
adobe CS 30% cut is way to high and sand boxing.
autocad 30% is to high as well.
So, that means they won't be in the Windows App Store, either, nor will they ever be in the Google Play Store.
Yes, the Windows App Store goes down to 20% after so much volume (which Apple would do, too, if there were actually any pressure to do so); but I'm pretty sure that won't be sufficient to both of those TRULY money-hungry publishers.
Interestingly enough, both of your example companies actually have plenty of touch applications.
In fact, speaking of Autodesk, the long-standing Mac-centric Architectural site, Architosh, in a review of the Autodesk app "Formit", said the following:
"We are getting deeply impressed by Autodesk’s commitment to Apple’s mobile iOS platform. No other CAD or 3D company has gone so far this fast in creating a stable of interesting “apps” for Apple’s platform–targeting both iPhone and the newer iPad."
So, not exactly sure where you're getting your "lack of interest", especially in regard to iOS, by these companies.
Office has been available for mac since 1989, before it was even available for Windows. Office on mac wasn't something that happened in reaction to antitrust investigations.
Nice try; but you are missing the point.
Although most of the MS Office suite WAS available on Macs long before they were on Windows, MS was threatening to STOP producing Office for Mac before that fateful (and widely booed) "promise" by Gates to "continue to develop Office for the Mac for the next 5 years".
The reason Bill Gates agreed to port Office to the Mac wasn't altruism. He was at the time trying to fight off the Justice Departments charges of abusing their monopoly. Porting Office was one way to show they weren't really a big bad evil that refused to play nice.
Thank you!!! Someone who actually REMEMBERS history...
This is Slashdot. Playing fast and loose with the fact in order to come up with an anti- Apple conclusion is a time-honored tradition around here.
FTFY.
It's not the turbulence. It's the pressure drag caused by something in the flow path. Turbulence increases mixing and actually improves heat transfer.
Wrong.
Turbulence on the HEAT SINK SURFACE increases cooling because purely "laminar" airflow actually doesn't cool all that well. HOWEVER, turbulence on the Fan Blades simply increases DRAG on the fan blades themselves, and thus CURRENT REQUIREMENT, thus DECREASING cooling for a given fan speed/size/blade-pitch.
Sorry. I've designed a few products with heat sinks in my time. If what you postulated was actually true; we'd see fan blades with funny "ripples" or "scales" on them. But we don't. Instead, we see HEAT SINKS with those features. Think about it? Ever seen ANY fan with other than COMPLETELY SMOOTH blades?
The Mac Pro case can be opened in a few seconds without any tools, you don't have to unscrew anything. If there are moving parts exposed inside the case, then this ruling seems perfectly sensible.
It can also be easily LOCKED to prevent theft AND OPENING. So NOW who's got the responsibility?
Oh, and before you complain about nearly $40 to secure that $2500+ computer (which someone will, no doubt), you can use just about ANY small lock that will fit through the little slot below the latch (see detailed drawing of the latch, showing the lock-loop about halfway down in this document).
So, in the case of the case of the Mac Pro, who is actually "negligent" if a child/mentally-challenged-adult opens a Mac Pro and sticks their widdle fingaws in it?
I'm no expert on the case law of a law that's not in effect right now. I'm guessing most such fans are not readily accessible while in use.
Which kind of makes this entire "Directive" USELESS, don'tcha think?
Knives, scissors, screwdrivers, pencils; ALL of them are not just dangerous; but actually DEADLY, even when "not in use".
Why not ban them? After all, THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!
When I get my garage to change the car battery, they keep the old one, and most likely sell the lead plates to a scrap merchant.
But not "everyone" is you.
But sure, compare PCs to kitchen knifes, as everyone can see that they are so similar.
True. One is patently, plainly, deadly to anyone who comes in contact with it.
The other, you have to be astonishingly unlucky or just plain stupid to even get a LITTLE "hurt" with it.
Wanna guess which one is which?
And in the case (pun intended) of the Mac Pro, THAT isn't even POSSIBLE. Period.
Prove me wrong. Show me the diagram that would show how you could "access" a SPINNING fan blade with a HUMAN body part in the Mac Pro?
Quite frankly, if I were Apple, I would apply for an exemption, or at least argue that they are compliant. The only reason they aren't, IMHO, is that they are poised to offer their new (and likely "compliant") version of the product; but it won't be ready QUITE in time for this Directive.
So, does this Directive make the iMac, the Mac mini, and the Macbook Pro ALL "non-compliant"? Because, IF YOU DISASSEMBLE THEM, you will find "accessible fan blades" in ALL of those products (just like a ZILLION other products by a ZILLION other manufacturers)???
Where does it end?
Their updates have been incremental at best. Fuck them. Their updates used to at least seem magical. we should hook up a generator to Job's grave. He's spinning so much we could power oakland at a minimum.
What you (and others that share your "The thrill is gone" sentiments simply don't understand Product Development cycles.
You think that just because you can generate a USB controlled flyswatter with a Raspberry Pi in a weekend, that that's how long ALL Products take to develop.
Every single thing that has come out of Apple since Jobs' death was WELL ALONG in its Development when Jobs hit the dirt.
Every. Single. Thing. Same with any company. Product development takes TIME.
Macworld UK:
At issue are the large fans within the Mac Pro. Since they are unprotected, it would be possible to touch the fan blades.
Which means you would need to be unretarded enough to unscrew the case, then retarded enough to purposely touch the spinning blades, presumably while the machine is plugged in and powered up. I guess they're insisting some kind of finger guard, like a mesh, is required around a fan that housed inside a computer case. Which of course would comprise the amount of space available in the case. Kind of retarded.
And I find it interesting that nearly no one on this self-defined "geek" site has pointed out that fan guards cause TURBULENCE, which REDUCES FAN EFFICIENCY, which in turn makes the engineers have to PUT IN LARGER FANS, that CONSUME MORE POWER AND NATURAL RESOURCES, which, IIRC, is ALSO something the EU is "on" about.
So NOW what?
They are the most recycled consumer product.
http://www.leadacidbatteryinfo.org/lead-acid-battery-recycling.htm
So? You ACTUALLY think that NONE of them ends up in landfills?
Remember what I said about the RATIO of the amount of Lead in ONE car battery to a THOUSAND computers? That was probably a CONSERVATIVE estimate.
So now what? Why did the Automotive Industry get a 10-year "deferral" on RoHS? I can TELL you why: Graft.
The EU is apparently having too much time making up problems. Just about EVERY appliance in a kitchen is more dangerous than a MacPro. Have you every used a kitchen mixer? Rotating blades hooked up to a high power motor, no protection, no case... We have a number of MacPros. You really have to open up the case and want to stick your finger in there. Even if you would, these motors are low power. The potential injury would be minimal compared to a mixer. This makes no sense. Is the European Union turning into Fire Marshall Bill?
Boy, you just hit the nail on the head!
I'm surprised you can still purchase KITCHEN KNIVES, let alone a MIXER (yow!!!) in the EU. What about curling irons? Soldering irons? Matches? Scissors? Screwdrivers? PENCILS!!!?!? The list goes on and on. NOT ONE OF THOSE HAS EVEN THE SLIGHTEST SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS!!!! The Humanity!!!!
The point being, of course: Where does the nanny state end?!?
I just don't like iMacs because I want to look inside the box and not have to perform mechanical gymnastics to change out a drive or add some RAM.
I don't know when the last time you looked was; but in iMacs, the RAM is located right behind a door under the "chin" (two captive screws. Done), and the hard drive, although a bit more "challenging", is not in any way "inaccessible" (any more than your car's alternator or starter is "inaccessible"). I was able to change the HD in a friend's iMac in about 45 minutes, and that was mostly because I was being extra careful. Pop the glass off the front with a couple of suction cups ($4 at Harbor Freight), remove about 12 "bezel" screws, unhook a power cable (so you can prop open the display), and there it is (I don't know why about half of the online "guides" tell you to REMOVE the display. You don't. All you have to do is find a large screwdriver, wooden spoon, or a stick to prop up the display while you work inside the chassis).
If you can't handle that, then you really have no business building a Hackintosh, either. Just sayin'...
Cellphone goes into trash, trash goes into landfill, rain goes into landfill, reactive compounds go into groundwater.
Proper eWaste disposal methods can minimize this, but in a lot of cases this just means shipping the cellphone to Dalian or Inner Mongolia where an 11-year-old makes a dime an hour dipping circuit boards into a hot bath. In the open air. Without a mask.
And there is more LEAD in ONE STILL-COMPLIANT LEAD-ACID CAR BATTERY THAN IN A THOUSAND COMPUTERS.
Whaddya think happens to THEM???
Mac Pros have cooling fans with access to the fan blades. Such fans will be forbidden within the EU from March first. They couldn't keep selling those models there even if they wanted to.
So, what defines "Access", since you HAVE to have the computer DISASSEMBLED to get anywhere NEAR a "fan blade: in the POWERED-OFF Mac Pro?
It is interesting that you seem to place the blame on the EU - if you read the second link of TFS it finishes by pointing out: 'This standard has been approved as a National Standard of Canada by the Standards Council of Canada, and has been approved as by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as an American National Standard.' It is, if I understand it correctly, an International Standard that the EU is obeying. I cannot imagine why the US or Canada, for example, is not also complying.
Then why is it only the EU in which Apple feels compelled to (temporarily) withdraw the Mac Pro?