[afransen]

As far as the Macbook Air, I expect it to flop. It doesn't accomplish what it sets out to do: be an ultra-portable for people on the go. A shorter than industry standard battery life for ultraportables, coupled with a non-swappable battery severely limit its utility. Other questionable moves, such as dumping the optical drive, will probably keep quite a few away as well. As it is, the only people who it will appeal to are people for whom portability is not critical, and who get a tingly feeling in their pants when they look at it. I haven't give it a shot, but it's thinness suggests to me weakness. I'd hate to see what would happen to one when dropped.

As far as the Air getting hacked, that's more a problem with the OS than the particular machine.

 

[syn]

End the bickering. Once Linux lays Windows and Mac to waste in a few years the whole argument will be pointless anyways.

That'll be great. I think it's going to be more than a few years though.

 

[syn]

As far as the Macbook Air, I expect it to flop. It doesn't accomplish what it sets out to do: be an ultra-portable for people on the go. A shorter than industry standard battery life for ultraportables, coupled with a non-swappable battery severely limit its utility. Other questionable moves, such as dumping the optical drive, will probably keep quite a few away as well. As it is, the only people who it will appeal to are people for whom portability is not critical, and who get a tingly feeling in their pants when they look at it. I haven't give it a shot, but it's thinness suggests to me weakness. I'd hate to see what would happen to one when dropped.

As far as the Air getting hacked, that's more a problem with the OS than the particular machine.

According to reports it's actually pretty sturdy.

I agree with everything else though. Removing all the features they removed just to make it slightly thinner is a terrible design decision. It seems like the novelty is supposed to be a big selling point.

If I needed a cool little laptop for in-city use only and I had the money I might consider it (though I'd probably just go with one of Sony's offerings). Otherwise, it's an awful portable machine.

 

[EnviroTO]

Here is how I see the pluses and minuses:
Windows: Non-free, supports the most hardware, supports the most proprietary software, supports the most free software, the most likely to get a virus, some hardware will causes driver and system stability issues, in the case of Vista uses the greatest system resources, most expensive.
Mac: Non-free, supports the least hardware but computers and laptops are well designed, a limited proprietary software selection, the least free sofware selection, not as prone to viruses, hardware drivers are well tested leading to excellent system stability.
Linux: Free, limited hardware support for the newest laptops and desktops but most other hardware is supported, supports the least amount of proprietary software, a large amount of free software, the least prone to viruses, certain drivers unsupported by Novell or Redhat will cause system stability issues, least expensive.

Who are they best for:
Mac: Adobe software users, general personal use (document creation, web, and e-mail).
Linux: Servers, 3D rendering workstations, basic office workers who create documents and use web based ERP and CRM, techies or enthusiasts.
Windows: Everybody else. The only platform supporting AutoCAD, most PC games, most accounting packages, advanced office software, certain server software not available on Unix/Linux, etc.

 

[afransen]

I actually found that Linux was nicer than Windows for bumming around on campus. It handled wireless connections better (more reliably), and was more convenient for ssh'ing into school servers. Pity Ubuntu really doesn't like my new laptop. I wouldn't call myself a Linux enthusiast. I am pretty down on all OSes. It's rather remarkable how terrible they all are in some respects. It's why I don't understand fanboys...

 

[syn]

I actually found that Linux was nicer than Windows for bumming around on campus. It handled wireless connections better (more reliably), and was more convenient for ssh'ing into school servers. Pity Ubuntu really doesn't like my new laptop. I wouldn't call myself a Linux enthusiast. I am pretty down on all OSes. It's rather remarkable how terrible they all are in some respects. It's why I don't understand fanboys...

I totally agree. I don't see why people have such strong allegiances towards an OS when the reality is that they all have their drawbacks.

 

[Steve_D]

The endless boring attacks on Macs - and by extension Mac users - are already tedious.

You're right, this thread was started by a mac user to bash windows products and users, you're not allowed to post truths about apple products though.

 

[MetroMan]

^ No it wasn't. Unimaginative started the thread and from this post he's not yet a Mac user, just a letdown Windows user:

That being said, I'm thinking of getting a new laptop sometime soon. I'm willing to spend a fair bit, and performance and durability are two big priorities. I've been a lifelong PC user, but I'm seriously considering switching to Mac because of some good recent experiences and horror stories about Vista.

 

[MetroMan]

... and here comes confirmation of the prediction that the mouse is looking at death in the face:

On December 11, 2007, Hilton Locke, who worked on the Tablet PC team at Microsoft reported that Windows 7 will have new touch features.
“
I will say that if you are impressed by the "touch features" in the iPhone, you'll be blown away by what's coming in Windows 7. Now if only we could convince more OEMs that Windows Touch Technology is going to drive their sales.[20]
”
Also, Bill Gates has said that Windows 7 is also "a big step forward" for speech technology and handwriting recognition.

Interesting that the iPhone is driving Microsoft's goals.

Now this is slated for Windows 7 which was supposed to be Windows Vista but then got delayed by several years and MS decided to release this half baked crap.

Windows 7 is slated to come out in 2010 (a.k.a. 2013 in Microsoft launch time). It'll be too little too late I think. The rest of the world isn't crossing their arms waiting on 7...

 

[syn]

Interesting that the iPhone is driving Microsoft's goals.

He's relating to the iPhone because it's a popular touch device that people are familiar with.

MS is also developing their own multi-touch devices (Surfaces) and have been developing for touch devices (phones, PDAs, etc.) for years.

 

[MetroMan]

It's about time:

Apple to release PC version of Leopard in Q3

by Stan Beer

Page 1 of 2

Microsoft beware, Apple is set to launch an assault on the world's biggest computer marketplace with plans to release a version of its new Leopard operating system for PCs. According to Apple insiders, the launch is set for sometime in Q3 of this year and a select group of Apple beta testers are reporting stunning results running Leopard across a range of OEM PC hardware.

Since the move of Macintosh computers to the Intel platform was announced in June 2005, followed by the release of Intel Macs, it has been possible to run Windows XP and later Vista natively on Macs using the Bootcamp dual boot facility. What has been left unsaid, however, is that theoretically this is now a two-way street - it is possible with a bit of tweaking by a knowledgeable computer techie to run Mac OS X on a PC, needless to say a practice definitely not sanctioned by Apple.

Since its release on October 26 2007, in stark contrast to Windows Vista released 10 months earlier, Mac OS X version 10.5 (Leopard) has received rave reviews as the best operating system on the planet and Mac sales have boomed. However, questions have been raised by media watchers since the move to Intel as to why Apple should limit its obviously superior operating system to the Mac platform, while ignoring more than 90% of the market which is literally crying out for a viable option to Windows.

Until now, Apple has been characteristically coy in its response. At one session, where Apple was demonstrating a pre-release version of Leopard on newly-released Intel Mac Pro computers, a local technology director responded to a question as to why Leopard will not be available on computers other than Macs with a wry grin saying: "We want our software to work with the hardware."

However, according to a source close to the project, Apple is readying itself for an all out assault on the PC operating system space with a program underway to unseat Microsoft's increasingly tenuous hold on the market.

"Vista has been such a dismal failure that nobody wants to move off Windows XP, Vista SP1 has been a disaster and now Microsoft is talking about some new pie-in-the-sky operating system that will supposedly be released who knows when called Windows 7," said the source.

"Quite frankly, the market is ripe for the picking. Apple now has considerable experience on the Intel platform with both Tiger and Leopard and all the necessary applications and drivers are well-defined and available."

Source: iTWire

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

April's Fool!

AoD

 

[CDL.TO]

Too many April Fools this year.

It might be a joke, but I really do think that Apple should develop an OS for PCs. Microsoft became a larger company than Apple with software only.

 

[syn]

Too many April Fools this year.

It might be a joke, but I really do think that Apple should develop an OS for PCs. Microsoft became a larger company than Apple with software only.

Then they'd really lose their advantages. If the Mac OS became that popular, with people able to use it on PCs, it would be plagued with many of the problems people knock Windows for.

 

[smuncky]

Apple hit with another "millions of colors" lawsuit

By Slash Lane

Published: 03:00 PM EST
Just days after settling a lawsuit in which it was charged with misrepresenting the quality of its notebook screens, Apple Inc. has been hit with a second class-action suit rife with similar allegations over one of its iMac displays.


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According to the new suit, filed in a San Jose court Monday by Kabateck Brown Kellner, LLP, Apple is deceiving consumers by concealing that its new 20-inch iMac monitors are inferior to the previous generation’s and those of the new 24-inch iMac.

Specifically, the firm takes issue with a marketing claim from the Mac maker that both the 20-inch and 24-inch iMac are capable of displaying “millions of colors at all resolutions." While this claim holds true for the current 24-inch model and previous generation 20-inch model -- both of which display 16,777,216 colors on 8-bit, in-plane switching (IPS) screens -- the new 20-inch iMac display is said to be capable of 98 percent fewer colors (262,144).

"Apple is duping its customers into thinking they’re buying 'new and improved' when in fact they’re getting stuck with 'new and inferior,'" Brian Kabateck, Managing Partner of KBK, said in a statement. "Beneath Apple’s 'good guy' image is a corporation that takes advantage of its customers. Our goal is to help those customers who were deceived and make sure Apple tells the truth in the future."

While Apple describes the display of both the 24-inch and 20-inch iMacs as though they were interchangeable, KBK asserts that the monitors in each of the desktop systems are of radically different technology.

The new 20-inch iMac features a 6-bit twisted nematic film (TN) LCD screen, which the firm claims is the "least expensive of its type," sporting a narrower viewing angle than the display of the 24-inch model, less color depth, less color accuracy and greater susceptibility to washout.

Apple on its website says: "No matter what you like to do on your computer — watch movies, edit photos, play games, even just view a screen saver — it’s going to look stunning on an iMac."

However, KBK argues that the inferior technology in the 20-inch iMac is "particularly ill-suited [for] editing photographs" due to its limited color potential and the distorting effect of its color simulation processes.

"Apple is squeezing more profits for itself by using cheap screens and its customers are unwittingly paying the price," Kabateck said.

Apple last week agreed to a settlement in a similar class-action lawsuit brought on by two professional photographers, which charged that the company's Intel-based notebooks were only suited to display the "illusion of millions of colors through the use of a software technique referred to as 'dithering,' which causes nearby pixels on the display to use slightly varying shades of colors that trick the human eye into perceiving the desired color even though it is not truly that color."

The terms of that settlement were not made public.