Archive for Talk
Is OS X For You?
Gnomie Matt (itubepro in our chat room) writes:
Is the Macintosh for everyone? Here’s a list to test if you should switch to Mac.
- Go to an Apple Store or visit a friend who has a Mac and see if you can limit yourself to using a Mac for a couple of days. I am a big Mac supporter, but I wouldn’t suggest buying one until you know what you’re getting yourself into. As a safety net, remember that you can also run Windows — so don’t throw away your install disk!
- If you get frustrated, keep trying — you will get used to it. I know the first day of using my MacBook was a mixture of excitement and frustration!
- Remember that OS X Macs operate differently from Windows machines. It took me five minutes to discover that the options are on the top bar! Not everything’s intuitive if you’re used to the way Windows works. Expect initial confusion.
- Get used to Finder and Spotlight. These applications will start you off on OS X as finder is Mac’s Explorer. If you cannot figure out the OS by yourself, go to the Apple Store and the Mac specialists will be more than helpful.
- The price shouldn’t scare you! I know this is a advertising thing, but they have better bang to your buck is completely true. The iLife suite is amazing and the software is very simple to use. I can find a file using Spotlight in five seconds while in Windows it might take me five minutes. (As a side note, I am only 14 and bought the 2.2 GHz model myself by selling RAM on eBay)
- The way the Mac is organized is much simpler. Start off with a lower-end Mac like a Mac mini or the lowest end MacBook if you need a notebook. But as I said in the first step, test Macs before you buy them. I personally like Mac better, but you may not. And no I did not pull the virus card this whole entire list!
Apple Sub-Notebook for Under $1500, 3G iPhone By June
AppleInsider has the latest roundup of rumors in the Mac world: sub-notebooks will be coming out with a sub-$1500 pricetage, and there will be a 3G iPhone in June.
“In a just-aired broadcast on CNBC, the network’s Jim Goldman reported that a source close to Apple’s manufacturing facilities has confirmed that the company will launch its much rumored sub-notebook at Macworld in January and that it will also have a 3G iPhone on store shelves by June at the latest.
Goldman’s report on the new sub-notebook, which cited unnamed sources who have supposedly seen the product, mentioned several details first reported by AppleInsider over the past 12 months.”
Read the rest of the article here
Why Widescreen LCDs Suck
Ever since I purchased my PowerBook (TiBook) back in 2002, I’ve really come to dislike widescreen displays on computers. I don’t get it. What world are most of you working in? Sure, for movies they’re great but for work? I’m not an accountant so I have no need to go right but rather down. Web pages, e-mail, documents, ftp, and the list goes on where there are items that go top to bottom more than left to right. Thus, with these widescreen LCDs, I’m losing screen real estate. So why the big hoopla for them?
I understand how they just fit right on laptops, but for desktops, unless you’re getting a 30 inch LCD that can handle high resolution, it just doesn’t make sense to get one. I find on many Web pages I scroll much more on my MacBook Pro (MBP) than I do on my PC with its 21 inch 4:3 LCD screen. Sure, I don’t have as much room on the right, but who cares, the MBP isn’t giving me much more that I can use it for something anyway. No, I’m happy with the 4:3 setup and some times dread my MBP for its lack of depth. Maybe a higher resolution would help.
Now I wouldn’t mind having a widescreen LCD much like what co-Mac developer Andy Hertzfield and Burrell Smith came up with when they left Apple in 1986 to create Radius. The Pivot monitor was a work of art. I remember the first time I used it I thought the rest of the world would follow. To my disappointment, it didn’t. But today you can pick up something in the same, excuse the pun, frame of thought such as the Philips 170W4P LCD Display. It’s a bit dated, but reviews show it to be a pretty good display and since you can turn it on its axis and get more depth when needed, it hits my mark just fine. But, sadly these type of monitors are not too easy to find and thus I’m back to my beginning rant of why widescreen monitors suck. Lack of depth.
Tags: lcd, widescreen, standard screen, pivot, hertzfield, radius, apple
Apple Disses On Help For New Switcher
So here I am convincing my friend to ditch his PC and go with a new MacBook Pro for the past month. I loaded him up with the last five months of Macworld and gave him a personal 30-minute demonstration on my MacBook Pro (Rev A). We talked and I answered all his tough questions. Finally last Sunday at church he tells me, “Let’s go get me a Mac this week.” Sweet!
So last night we hit the Apple Store in Stoneridge Mall and I tell the guy helping us (I’ll withhold the name) that my buddy is a switcher. He was excited to hear that and I ask him, “So is there like some cool gift for me? You know, a shirt or something?” No was the answer.
No? Dang, I wasn’t expecting an iPod shuffle or anything, but no shirt? Not even a silly “I Helped My Bud See the Light” sticker? Nothing. Dude, what’s up?
You know, evangelism is great, but reward for that evangelism is even greater! I mean for all the things Apple does to think different, a reward system would be just one more way to get more to the Mac platform.
Again, I wasn’t looking for hard cash or expensive hardware. Just swag. You know, a shirt that peps wear at the store or something. Nothing major, just something. I think a simple little “Thank you” from Apple would go a long way and maybe even impress on the switcher the Apple is different than the from the evil empire they just escaped from.
Now granted, one could say a buy-off is really just corporate America at its worst and that’s why Apple doesn’t have a reward system, but I would have to disagree with that assertion since Apple in context just isn’t like that. The reward would just be one more thing Apple does from the heart and not from the bank.
Anyway, I’m not sweating it, I was just kind of surprised and thought I’d share. Maybe you had a similar experience or maybe you have been rewarded. Or maybe I’m just being a baby. Comment and let me know what you think.
Why Does One Mac Play While Asleep And Another Won’t Ever Go to Sleep?
So here I am, working next to my MacBook Pro, which has its pretty lid closed and a glowing white light coming from the latch release. “Yup, saving power,” I think as I work on other things. But then I hear the SuperDrive mechanism going and stop what I’m doing to look at the Mac. The white light’s still glowing, so what’s with the noise from the SuperDrive? This seems to be an issue that’s been happening for a while now; even though the Mac is asleep, the drive will be active. Almost as if it’s looking for a disc during boot up. Having no idea what could be causing this, I simply ignore it but still would like to resolve it.
It may be related to another issue I’ve encountered just recently, too. I’ve noticed that if I let it sleep for over 24 hours, popping open the lid gives me nothing but a black screen. Repeated closing and openings do not wake it up. A power cycle is my only choice to regain contact with my Mac. On a hunch, I have closed Skype 2.x beta to see if it could be the culprit. The few times I’ve done this test, the Mac woke up when I opened the lid after a 24-hour nap. So, maybe Skype is causing the drive activity and the inability to wake after long periods of sleep. We’ll see after some more testing.
That’s one Mac that has sleeping problems, but I also have another one that just refuses to sleep. My wife’s Mac mini just doesn’t want to save us any power. It likes playing the screen saver and really won’t go nighty-night. Yes, I’ve checked the settings and yes it’s set for one hour of inactivity. But still, no tired Mac mini that ever sleeps. In fact, forcing it to sleep from the Apple menu still doesn’t work. It blanks out the screen, shows a white glowing dot on the Mac mini’s front panel, and then - poof! - Up it comes again from the dead. “Look mom, no hands!” It’s on or off for that Mac, I guess.
So there’s my fun little life with my two newest Macs. The PowerBook is a workhorse and still has yet to exhibit any odd behavior. Maybe I should shut up while I’m ahead.
Did David Ciccone Just Have a Bad Day With His MacBook Pro(s) or They All Junk?
We’ve all read about the mooing and whining of the MacBook Pro and how it’s one pretty hot notebook (and we don’t mean that in the slang term.) For me, I’ve had little issue with my Rev. A MacBook Pro. Sure, I had a battery that gained some weight and bloated out, but that’s Sony’s fault. But it seems some are having even greater issues. A peeling Magsafe end, a warped battery bay, and heat that will leave burn marks on any beach-going MacBook Pro user. David Ciccone of Mobility is one such user.
Seems poor David can’t win. He got a MacBook Pro back in March and has had problem after problem with it. Finally, he just got a new one from a New Jersey Apple Store and thought all was fine, until he got home. The whining sound continued and weeks later more problems ensued. In his book, his MacBook Pro was a lemon. It’s skinned him so sourly, he’s written an open letter to Apple’s Hollywood-like star CEO, Steve Jobs. In the letter, he notifies Mr. Jobs that he will no longer — “never” — purchase an Apple product and he’ll be sure to tell everyone about is poor experience. Is Ciccone being a bit extreme? Maybe.
I have had some minor issues with my Rev. A MacBook Pro, but nothing that would drive me to call the office of the CEO of Apple. Sure, everyone will get a lemon of some sort from just about every company and that just happens in our imperfect world. For the most part, Apple does do everything in its power to correct a fault and I think Ciccone even documents that in his article when he notes how the New Jersey store gave him a new MBP as well as various accessory replacements in a five month period without any grief. I can’t imagine Dell doing this. (How would they even understand such a concept in India? ;) )
I understand Ciccone’s frustration and I would be just as upset as him if I had had such an experience as his. But I didn’t and most haven’t. I think Ciccone may be a unique, one in a million, customer that just drives his machine into the ground with extreme use. After my PowerBook G4 burnt out its motherboard twice and my Dell Inspiron 1000 once, I learn a valuable lesson: laptops are meant to run all day and night long. Turn them off for a while. Since then, neither computer, nor my MBP, have had heat issues.
It’s my hope that Ciccone gets a new MBP and Apple step up to the plate and resolve this the right Apple way I’m sure it will as this kind of PR is not the kind any company wants to have. Hopefully this doesn’t happen to me, either. :)
Tags: macbook, steve, jobs, mobility, today, david, ciccone, debacle
Is Clowning Vista Smart When Leopard Ain’t That Big of a Deal?
So Apple is having its fun calling Vista a copycat and Vista 2.0 Leopard. Kinda reminds me of the Windows95 campaign of the duck thing. But you know what? Leopard ain’t that big of a deal. I mean, let’s look at what’s new.
Spaces: Ya, it’s nice and all but truth is virtual desktops have been around a long time. There are some great third-party applications for both Windows and Macs that do this quite well right now. Granted, it’ll come with the OS now, but still, nothing ground breaking here. Also, why limit it to just four “spaces”? Available memory should be the key to how many spaces you have if we’re talking “cool” here.
Mail 3.0: Really, Steve, copycat? Dude, have you looked at Outlook Express? Stationery templates have been there for a good while, buddy. I don’t know, man, but someone copied someone here and it wasn’t Microsoft running with something new up north to Redmond!
Dashboard Dashcode: Hey, I appreciate the ability to make my own Dashboard now, but if this is one the main highlights Apple is pushing for reasoning of the $129 price tag Leopard will be sure to claw from your pocket book, then I’m not scratchin’.
Spotlight: Being able to search network-mounted folders is nice but really is just the next logical step in Spotlight. Nothing cutting edge here.
Parental Controls: Copycat? Again, not a new thing and something that has been a well known feature of Vista. I saw it myself at CES in January, eight months ago, and apparently so did someone at Apple.
Time Machine: Okay, this is cool. Not only will this help bust more white collar criminals as they’ll have no way to erase their criminal past, but it’ll also remedy bonehead mistakes from costing many lost hair and hours of anguish trying to recreate a perished file from scratch (if it’s even possible.) Without a doubt, watching Scott Forstall demonstrate how to bring back an accidentally erased contact in your Address Book was the coolest.
So out of this entire list, only one item grasped the audience enough to bring resounding applause. Remember, these are the highlights, the really BIG stuff! If this is all Leopard has to offer, I’d say this is more a meow than a growl of the name in which this OS shares with. Definitely not worth the common $129 Apple asks for and absolutely not a reason to have to wait until Spring ‘07 for it.
So what of this? A lesser upgrade than we all expected and to be released after Vista. Wouldn’t it seem one should release its copied product before the copycat?
I think Apple is treading on thin ice with this campaign and should really just drop it. There’s enough Microsoft fanboys about that will have a field day with this lackluster release that comes well after the fanboys are doing Windows XP SP3 on their tired PCs.
Tags: os x, osx, apple, wwdc, leopard, vista, lacking, copycat
WWDC06 Disappoints?
Where was the aluminum iPod? The glossy MacBook? Tabbed Finder? Windows Virtualization? Didn’t Scobel say there was too many surprises to let slip ’cause Jobs would have his head? (Leo said this on Episode 64 of TWiT.) I don’t know, I like Time Machine a ton, and the Mac Pro does look hot, but, did this meet the hype? For me? No.
I think Wall Street agreed as Apple’s stock (AAPL) fell when all the guys that dress better than Steve Jobs cast their votes of “unimpressed” after the Cupertino CEO finished his keynote speech from the Moscone Center in San Francisco, Monday morning. Biz Journals had the headline “Apple stock down on no Jobs’ surprises” which Microsoft’s MSN Money site was more than happy to run. The business world wasn’t moved.
In all, the day ended with no bang. No great stunning new gizmo that no one even thought of but rather, everything — for the most part — that everyone anticipated: a PowerMac replacement running Intel chips with some Leopard highlights. That’s it. Wow, is Jobs losing his touch?
This is one of the problems with past events where hype was the lead horse in the parade of what is Apple and now too many expect too much. Truth is, Leopard isn’t that impressive when compared to other OS X releases and the Mac Pro is a great unit, but not as great as when the PowerMac was first revealed. Yes, on their own in a vacuum of no other previous amazing Apple shows, these would have impressed most, but today, nada. Hope Macworld ‘08 doesn’t leave us with this same sick feeling…
Logitech’s BT Mouse More Mighty Than Apple’s Latest Cordless?
Click to Read the Full Post »
SvenOnTech reported on Apple’s release of the wireless Mighty Mouse Tuesday and while a few things are new, such as no cord and being laser guided, the big thing that keeps sticking out to us isn’t the fact that it can now be easily lost as your cordless phone but rather its $80 price tag.
Is Lite Switch X Worth $15?
Okay, Proteron’s Lite Switch X looks interesting with it’s few extra features over Tigers built-in Command-Tab switcher, but is it worth $15 of your hard earned cash? From what I’m seeing, I don’t think so.
Sure, you can change the background color of the switch panel or move it up the screen or down it to be closer to your keyboard but is that worth $15? Yes, it has context sensitive menus for each item in the list with a bit more options than Tigers default option, but do I really care to get more info on that app from my switcher?
Dan Frakes of Macworld is giddy over the fact that he can now use it on his Intel-based Mac due to the newly released Universal Binary, but Dan, why? I read your list and I did catch my self say audibly once or twice, “That’s cool,” but I was also quick to complete my sentence with, “But still not worth $15.”
Is displaying background applications really that important to you? I thought the idea of the task switcher is to minimize lengthy resume times. Shesh, with all those applications filling up the list, it’s hard to even tell what icon is what since they’re so small!
I guess the “re-open” feature is cool, too, but again, $15?
Look, I’m the first to admit I have some stuff running on my Mac that is probably over priced that I love dearly so I’ll cut Dan some slack, but IMOHO, Tigers switcher is just fine by me. How ’bout you?
Tags: mac, lite, switch, x, os x, osx, tiger, apple, mac-intel, intel, task
iPhoto is a Dog, So Stop the Kudos!
Now that I have the new Intel dual-core chip, I figure I’ll have better luck with iPhoto, especially since it’s a new faster touted version. Well, it is faster, but I do still get beach balls and it is still slow enough that I just don’t bother with it any more.
It’s sad, because the other iLife and OS X core is so tied into it. But with it’s speed issues, it’s just not worth it in the end. What makes it the worst is everything else about iPhoto is so good. It’s ease of use, layout, and integration is just so awesome. If Apple could only resolve the speed issue. For real!
Me, I’ll still with Picture Arena for now. Hopefully IOSpirit will be able to mimic the iPhoto connection into other applications so I can then pull off it’s albums instead of having to open iPhoto, watch a beach ball, tap my fingers, create an album, watch a beach ball, copy pictures in (and thus take up more room from my hard drive), watch a beach ball, see it import into the album, and then close iTunes, and yes, watch a beach ball. I thought reflections of the beach bring good feelings to mind. :)
I really hope iPhoto 7 is way better or I might have to punch Steve Jobs in the face at Macworld if he tells us one more time that it’s better. ;)
OS X 10.5 Leopard Screen Shots Showing Native Support For Windows?
Is this the next version of OS X code named Leopard? Notice Internet Explorer there in the background? Note the scroll bar isn’t that of OS X’s Aqua but rather the block-like version of Windows. Also note the Boot Camp icon in the menu bar. One more notation, the Windows version is stated in the About window. Mmm, very interesting.
Now as many have pointed out, this could just be a really good Photoshop job. IE could actually be the WINE IE project that some have been able to successfully get running and the About screen an easy Photoshop hack. But if this is legit, think of what this all means! This could make sales records for Apple like it hasn’t seen since the original Macintosh 128k. Heck, maybe even since the Apple II! Click to Read the Full Post »
Is MusicGremlin Direct the iPod Apple Should Have Made Long Ago?
SvenOnTech has been calling for some advancements in the iPod for some time now. One of those is built-in Wi-Fi. Apple has been pretty quiet on any upcoming improvements to its DAP and rumors really haven’t made any mention of a wireless data connection (other than Bluetooth.)
Well, it seems someone else sees the power in Wi-Fi and with the release of MusicGremlin Direct, you can now download any of the offered 2 million songs from the service directly onto your DAP via Wi-Fi. MGD (MusicGermlin Direct, not the beer) is just another name for PlayForSure, so you won’t have to worry about yet another new service competing for iTunes Music Store customers. The DAP itself has 8 GB of storage and a small 2-inch QQVGA display. Also included is USB 2.0 that supports charging when plugged in, line-in, and an FM receiver, along with the aforementioned 802.11b radio. Only WMA and MP3 formats are supported. All this for $300 plus the $15 month subscription fee.
The true beauty of this device is its ability to find a hotspot, log into the service, and allow you to pick and choose a song or songs for immediate download and enjoyment. Even cooler is if a friend has an MGD, you can set up an ad-hoc network with each other and share songs! Why isn’t Apple doing this?
A direct connection to iTMS via your iPod would be a great feature, especially if movies are coming. To be able to just download a new song or movie in an airport, coffee shop, or even in the lobby of a company while waiting for a meeting to start, would increase the cool-factor of the iPod, as well as the usefulness. Sharing songs between other users would probably be a bit more difficult for Apple to pull off due to licensing; however, under current agreements, you can sync your iTMS DRM protected music with an unlimited amount of iPods. Maybe Apple was thinking of the future?
Apple really needs to be bringing this technology to the iPod. These features along with the ability to sync with your iTunes in the other room of your house would be nice. No, great. Hopefully Apple sees that and maybe with MGDs release, it will heighten its awareness to this.
Tags: apple, ipod, mp3, wi-fi, dap, music, wma, download, musicgremlin, store, direct
Administration Tools And Tigers On The Prowl…
Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a site that gives a good overview on all the good administration tools?
Guess what? There is one!
Check out this link: Mac OS X Troubleshooting Utilities
You can find almost any maintenance tool you want! This is, in my opinion a great “bookmark.”
And in other news…
Testers on the next OS X update said that the new update includes better audio playback in iTunes, Final Cut Pro, and Sound Track Pro. The update will also have some Bluetooth upgrades that will improve mouse pairings, syncing your mobile phone, and file transfers.
Looks like a good update, I hope that Apple addresses some more issues, but these updates are well worth the bandwidth!
Viewers Rather Suffer Through Ads Than Pay Apple $1.99 for ABC Shows
It seems that $1.99 just isn’t cheap enough to entice the masses. When Steve Jobs nabbed Hollywood for some content, he was pushing for cheap downloads and thought he had that at the two dollar mark. However, ABC just completed testing free online viewing of its shows at abc.com and the results are staggering. In just its first month alone, 11 million people viewed ABC shows with commercials and all. And just to see if the sponsors made an impression, ABC exit polled the free-bee viewers. 87 percent could remember which brands where being pushed on the viewers of the low-resolution content without a single hitch. Mmm. On the other side of the Hollywood pond, Apple has only sold 8 million episodes of ABC content in eight months total. Does this mean that people would rather suffer through advertisement than pay money for a show? Looks to be the case.
Some have questioned the $2 price Apple has been charging its customers for TV shows. The compliant is that for a low-resolution program that airs on television, it should carry the same price tag as the music that resides on iTMS. At worst. But would 99 cents even do it? Maybe. Maybe not.
Knowing this, the rumored price that Steve Jobs is pushing for movies, $9.99, may not go over too well either. In fact, many comments around the Internet are already in on the price and it seems that it will bomb at this point. If Hollywood gets some bright ideas (don’t they always?) then maybe it’ll start streaming some of its flops movies to us with an ad here and there. For free, you know. And don’t under estimate Hollywood’s greed.
How this new data from ABC will effect future shows on iTunes is hard to say. Its doubtful that Apple will be able to get the shows any cheaper and most likely we’ll see more “free” shows on the networks web site. While this most likely won’t effect sales greatly on iTunes, it will certainly give Hollywood the idea that it now has an option and will use that against Apple in future dealings with computer-gone-multimedia company. Let the gloves come off.
Tags: music, itunes, ads, free, lost, abc, shows, store, commercials
New Mac Ad, Touché, To Bite AppleCare in the Fanny?
Apple’s Get a Mac series is just a riot and a half. They are too funny and now they continue on with the addition of three new ads, Work vs Home, Out of the Box, and Touché. The later plays on the Boot Camp software that Apples are now both Mac and PCs. In keeping with the humor of the dunce PC, he commends the Mac with a, “Touché,” to which the Mac tries to set him straight grammatically. To no avail, the PC doesn’t get it and the question is did Apple when it made this ad?
I can see it once the masses start purchasing Macs because now they can run Windows on it and then here comes all the fun of Windows with it. Spyware, malware, viruses, crashes, and on and on. Who do you think people are going to call? Microsoft as they are suppose to (since you need a retail version of Windows and thus Redmond gets the support calls by license)? Heck no, they’re going to call the place where the dude that sold it to them works. Apple.
AppleCare is sure to get a slew of calls from people who don’t understand how software support works. Or maybe they’ve been derailed with previous hardware when calls to Microsoft pointed them to the OEM manufacturer of their product such as Dell, HP, or Gateway. Either way, Elk Grove, California is going to get a few more calls than average and they’re going to be about Bill Gates first love (no, not Melinda.) Is Apple prepared for this? I hope so…and I figure they are. One most likely will hear a recorded message (”Please listen carefully for our menus have changed…”) instructing any one that has installed Windows on a Mac to call Microsoft. Further, Apple will most likely remind the caller that Apple does not and never has supported Windows products in any way.
If Apple dotted all of its I’s and crossed all of its T’s, I think this won’t be a large headache. It could taint Apple’s image slightly when a few clueless customers complain that Apple “left them out in the cold” but for the most part, I can’t see this turning into a really bad thing. If anything, this ad may be the very one that puts them into double digits for market share. Now we just need the “get tomorrows OS today” ad. (It’s coming, I’m sure.)
Tags: windows, apple, support, dual boot, get a mac, ad, touché, touche, nightmare
Windows Vista Rips OS X…And At a Great Hardware Cost (And Apple Gains in the End)!
Now that anyone can get a copy of Windows Vista Beta 2 (grab the BitTorrent from our friend Chris Pirillo instead), one can see first hand just how much Microsoft admires OS X. I know when I first saw it in all its glory at CES this year, I kept mummering to myself, “That’s from OS X…that’s from OS X…that’s from OS X,” until the Microsoft project manager that was giving the demo told the crowd what hardware demand was needed. Ya, that was all Microsoft.
If you haven’t seen the next version of Microsoft Windows, then Lifehacker has some side-by-side (well, top-by-bottom) comparisons to show you. For those that can remember the ads Apple took out in 1995 against Windows 95 (”if it looks like a duck…”), then you’ll probably be expecting an update to all the papers across America sometime next year.
The irony of Windows Vista isn’t that it uses Gadgets instead of Widgets or Windows Calendar instead of iCal but that all this glass interface and other software applets it uses will have a heavy hardware requirement. While Microsoft will not give out exact specifications yet since it’s still in beta, most estimates are that computers that are of the medium grade released in the last year have a chance. High-end machines from about two years ago could probably pull it off. If you don’t have such a system, start packing it up for the dump now ’cause it ain’t gonna do you no good when Vista rolls out.
As Vista drags on toward its ultimate release date, OS X will continue to grow in market share. With the growing number of daily insecurities of Windows (which has plagued Vista betas as well,) users will soon grow tired of Microsoft and move on. The extra hardware need may be that final straw, to use a cliche. When many see that they can buy a Mac mini at a fairly low price and get all that Vista promises at half the cost of what Vista demands, it may be Apple looking out from the clear mountain tops of Cupertino…well Saratoga at least, in the end.
Tags: windows, mac, os x, osx, apple, vista, microsoft, hardware, mimic, rip, off, demandwindows vista rips os x…and at a great hardware cost (and apple gains in the end)!
Will Apple’s Recycle Program Hurt the Bottom Line or Help It?
Stock holders are heartless, blood sucking, blind, droids! What do they care about people? Well, that’s at least what most think about those that own a little part in a publicly held company, but sometimes it’s really not that way. For the most part, Apple stock holders seem to let Apple steer its current course as things couldn’t look better for the most trusted company in the world.
Now Apple wants to take your junk back and recycle it when you purchase a new spiffy Mac for your home or office. Purchasing from any Apple Store or authorized seller is all you have to do. Apple will send you an e-mail with information how to get your mailing label to send in your mercury filled dinosaur. And don’t worry, Apple knows what it’s doing as it’s already ingested 21 million pounds of electronics worldwide since 1994. It knows its stuff.
A question, though, is what about all this cost? When I tried to bring my old iMac down to the local dump, they wanted $15 for me to dispose of it “properly”. I know my city is most likely either wasting resources or making a profit off the high admission to freedom, but it can’t be cheap having people around the nation sending in their junk to Cupertino. While Apples press release doesn’t disclose what can be sent (I can’t see sending in that old 21″ CRT as an option,) I’m sure some of this stuff adds up in the weight department. Forget where all this is even going, just getting there will put a dent in the bottom line, no? (BTW, I’m sure all this stuff is going in the same landfill Apple dumped all those Lisa’s in.) Or maybe this program will attract new customers…you think? (That’s why the stock holders are allowing this!!)
Either way, I personally think Apple is doing the right thing. It’s tough to get dispose of your electronics properly (I have a pile of it in my garage) and entice customers with free recycling is a great thing. I hope it’s also a profitable one, too.
Tags: mac, apple, pc, free, old, recycle, equipment, hurt, bottom line
MacBook Pro, MacBook, Mac Pro…Mac 30 Next?
While we’ve already speculated about a 30th anniversary edition Mac before, one has to wonder with all this Mac name branding if TAM Part II (Thirtieth Anniversary Mac) is around the corner. Maybe it won’t be as far out as the original TAM but rather a special edition Mac Pro. You know, quad-core Intel chip with a 30″ LCD, wireless keyboard and wireless Mighty Mouse. Throw in maybe a HD-DVD burner and/or Blu-ray Disc burner and you’ve got something special. Expensive, ya, but still special. And while we’re at the dreaming thing, why not slap in some old Motorola chips along with the IBM PowerPC and allow for some OS9 and OS7 fun. Now that’s a special edition unit! Don’t worry, I’m not going to ask to bring back the Sony floppy drive, though. :)
In all seriousness, though, it wouldn’t be surprising to find Steve Jobs reveal to a crowd of excited WWDC attendees the Mac 30 just after pulling off the sheet from the Mac Pro. He’s done the double whammy surprise before so why not again?
So what would be your perfect 30th anniversary Mac?
Will Mac Pro Have Enough Gusto to Beat the PowerMac It Replaces?
Now that Apple has filed for the trademark of “Mac Pro”, it’s pretty obvious that this will be the Intel replacement of the PowerMac G5. The PowerBook, iMac, and iBook replacements all were lavished with statistics of higher performance than of the older models but the question is, will this be true of the Mac Pro?
The PowerMac is sporting a quad-core G5 which makes it the choice for multimedia professionals. It’s been a known fact that non-Universal programs such as Photoshop CS2 are having speed issues on the Intel-based Macs and coupled with the fact that Adobe is pretty much set on a 2007 update, this could put the Mac Pro at risk if it can’t overcome the slow factor.
Macworld tested PowerMacs against the MacBook Pro in February and found in all but three tests (boot-up, frame rate, and packing a zip archive) that the G5 processor was still mightier than the Intel dual-core chips. Universal binaries will be sure to change those numbers; however, by how much? If rumors are close to being accurate, we could see Mac Pros by summer giving about six months (at least) before Adobe, Microsoft, and other Universal hold outs release updates for the new faster Intel chips.
But what if Steve’s got a trick up his sleeve? (Surprised?) What if the Mac Pro will get two dual-core chips? That’ll make it a quad-core-like chip much like the G5 it will replace. With the extra umph, this may be enough to ignore the slower rendering and other issues of Photoshop and such like applications. Think of the power of the Mac Pro when Universal binaries come out! Could it be this is the game plan? Could it be?
Speculation is a great thing, but some validity can made to such incredible stories with some foundation. Truth is, Intel is coming to the PowerMac replacement. Intel’s chips have come down in price and stuffing more in to the top-of-the-line Mac is a no-brainer. Universal applications will be the norm of Mac software life by summer of 2007. All things will come together eventually and yes, then, the Mac Pro will be better than the PowerMac. Way better.
Tags: adobe, photoshop, powermac, universal, mac pro, less power, two dual-core
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