Together at last? Buhahahahaha! Apple still sucks!

[OmegaBob]

I can't believe no one posted this yet:

Apple to switch to Intel chips (http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050608/D8AJ4HV00.html)

Why would they switch? I remember Jeff Goldblum telling me that Apples where the fastest computers in the entire galaxy!?!?

I guess he lied...

Buhahahahahahaha!

[calvin]

Why do you hate Apple so? av_frown.gif

[OmegaBob]

Answer: They suck

[MarkN]

It's also not clear whether the move might make Macs more vulnerable to attacks by viruses and other malware. To date, they've been mostly exempt.

Then I guess the days of Macs being safer from viruses, or at least suffering a lot less from them, are numbered, huh?

[TheClair]

Originally posted by MarkN:
It's also not clear whether the move might make Macs more vulnerable to attacks by viruses and other malware. To date, they've been mostly exempt.

Then I guess the days of Macs being safer from viruses, or at least suffering a lot less from them, are numbered, huh? How does a change in hardware result in more viruses? BSD boxes running on x86 architecture can be the most secure systems. An increase in market share would most likely result in an increase of virus and malware production.

[stingray]

So much for thinking different. av_biggrin.gif

The rivalries between the systems have never been about the hardware and quite frankly Intel has a good track record.

Linux runs on Intel hardware too, so I'm a bit surprized about the reactions. It's not like the next generation of Macs are all going to look like todays PC's. av_biggrin.gif Macs have always been about design and I don't see that change now.

[NO2STARFORCE]

It depends on the users as much as the Software.

[fizzak]

WOW! All those elitest Mac users will revolt agaist this big time.

Quotes from Mac elitists I've heard:

"Mac's are so fast, they are illegal in China".
"Mac's are considered supercomputers by the government".
"A 1 ghz PowerPC is 5 times faster than a 1 ghz Pentium".
"The reason Pentium's have higher mhz ratings is because it has to compensate for bad Windows code".

Flame suit on...

[Worbah]

http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/?t=archives&date=2005-06-08

[OmegaBob]

Heh! "Fisher Price" !?!

Thats how I've been describing my friend's iPod and his other Apple products. graemlins/av_rofl.gif

[OmegaBob]

Originally posted by fizzak:
WOW! All those elitest Mac users will revolt agaist this big time.Not to flame (anymore), but I am curious as to what actual Apple users think of this upcoming change.

[MichaelCory]

Originally posted by omegabob:
Heh! "Fisher Price" !?!

Thats how I've been describing my friend's iPod and his other Apple products. graemlins/av_rofl.gif This friend wouldnt be me would it...because i see you eyein my ipod..just admit it you secretly like it

[OmegaBob]

Hush you!

[anthonyX]

Hey I am an Apple hater as much as anyone but this news isn't going to change anything. My co workers are Mac Fanatics and they are freaking out that the next thing that is going to happen is windows users will be soon use Max OS and Macs will be using Windows OS LOL.

Times are a changing. I can't knock apple as much as I did. My g/f bought me an ipod (the shuffle and ipod) and I find my self actually liking them av_redface.gif
Maybe I will joing the darkside and buy an Mac?????

BTW I don't use Itunes instead I use Yahoo! music engine!

[One-Winged Angel]

Nah, I don't see this changing much of anything. The PowerPC design, while very powerful in theory and paper, just wasn't pulling the full load like Apple (and pretty much every manufacturer of the chip) thought it would. Plus, they couldn't cool it down enough to put it in their laptops, which are their largest selling systems.

They'll still be a closed system, and as far as viruses go, they'll probably still have only a small market share; I don't see this increasing that any.

Can't say I blame them, though.

However, I'd like to see how they're going to cool these suckers, especially if they do a dual processor system. The G5 generates so much heat that it needs a water cooling system to make it work; what's an Intel chip going to take, liquid nitrogen? av_razz.gif

[OmegaBob]

Thats something I didn't know: re - watercooling. Wow.

[One-Winged Angel]

Mind you, that's only on a dual-processor PowerMac G5. The iMac G5 uses regular air cooling because it only uses a slower single CPU.

[Mac]

Originally posted by omegabob:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by fizzak:
WOW! All those elitest Mac users will revolt agaist this big time.Not to flame (anymore), but I am curious as to what actual Apple users think of this upcoming change. </font>[/QUOTE]OmegaBob, I like you and all, but why would you bust someone else's balls over their choice of a product? I mean, it's not like the iPod is a terrible product (I own one and enjoy it very much). You may disagree, but that doesn't make it canon, you know?

[OmegaBob]

Anything made by "pure evil" is still.... EVIL.

[Mac]

C'mon now, I don't remember Apple logos on Nazi flags.

[Alaric]

What is the deal with iPod? It is just an mp3 player, not the holy grail of computing. You can upload music and you can listen to it, why all the “ooos” and “aaas”?

I own an mp3 player, I don’t even know what brand it is. I bought it way before iPod came out and I think it is better because it does the same thing, is smaller, WAY cheaper and doesn’t have any on-board memory so I can use the same memory cards I use for my cameras.

Tell me that iPod is any better!

[anthonyX]

Tell me that iPod is any better! I don't think the Ipod is better but it is nice. It is way to expensive which is why fans of Apple like them.

[JadedMage]

This is wierd.

I used to be a big-time Mac fanatic. I loved the system, and spent more time on the forums than was probably good for my eyes.

(And why did I come over? 1. Wolfenstein, 2. Ghost Recon 3. Build-your-own!)

But anyway, the wierd thing is I got a real sense of dejavu reading those posts up there. Dark Side. Evil. Yadda yadda yadda. Its exactly the stuff that I used to read about Microsoft,

It's Coke and Pepsi all over again--god, these companies have got good P.R. wizards working for them!

How do you create loyalty when you really aren't that different from the competition? Groupism! Get your buyers to feel like they're taking part in a battle.

And we lap it up...

JadedMage

[OmegaBob]

You forget that:

1 - Apple stole all its "ideas" from Commodore
2 - Amiga &gt; Mac
3 - Amiga &gt; PC
4 - iPod = NON removeable battery
5 - iPod = class action lawsuit (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/06/03/BUGF9D2MK31.DTL)
6 - Apple = Kiddie/Fisher Price toys
7 - EVERYTHING that a Mac can do, a PC can do
8 - Gaming... on a Mac? Buhahahahahaha!
9 - I thought Jeff Goldblum said that Apples were the fastest computers on the planet.... did he lie? See #5 for an example of Apple "truths"

Shall I go on?

EDIT: Wait! Wait! I have to type it out again:
GAMING... on a Mac? Buhahahahahahaha!
Buhahahahahaha!

EDIT2: Like I asked earlier, anyone have some links to what actual Apple users think of this change over to Intel?

[enfestid]

Originally posted by Worbah:
http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/?t=archives&date=2005-06-08 graemlins/av_rofl.gif

Good stuff! av_smile.gif

[Alaric]

Originally posted by enfestid:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Worbah:
http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/?t=archives&date=2005-06-08 graemlins/av_rofl.gif

Good stuff! av_smile.gif </font>[/QUOTE]ROFLMAO!!! graemlins/av_rofl.gif

[fizzak]

Here ya go...

http://arstechnica.com/columns/mac/mac-20050608.ars?74943

[Dark_Sara]

Originally posted by omegabob:
You forget that:

1 - Apple stole all its "ideas" from Commodore
2 - Amiga &gt; Mac
3 - Amiga &gt; PC
4 - iPod = NON removeable battery
5 - iPod = class action lawsuit (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/06/03/BUGF9D2MK31.DTL)
6 - Apple = Kiddie/Fisher Price toys
7 - EVERYTHING that a Mac can do, a PC can do
8 - Gaming... on a Mac? Buhahahahahaha!
9 - I thought Jeff Goldblum said that Apples were the fastest computers on the planet.... did he lie? See #5 for an example of Apple "truths"

Shall I go on?

EDIT: Wait! Wait! I have to type it out again:
GAMING... on a Mac? Buhahahahahahaha!
Buhahahahahaha!

EDIT2: Like I asked earlier, anyone have some links to what actual Apple users think of this change over to Intel? How about...
10. What do you mean all those songs I downloaded from apple wont play on my new PSP?!?

[OmegaBob]

Heh! Good one!

Since I am not familiar with the i-Tunes format (is it ACC or something?), are there programs that allow the converting of the format to mp3?

[Hitman05]

I gotta jump in here, seeing as how I *just* got an Ipod 20Gb last week.

I've never been a Mac user - always PC. I had a very old Macintosh laptop for about 6 months on loan about 7 years ago.

Personally I think it's great news that they're moving to Intel architecture - at worst it will make Macs cheaper, and at best it will give PC users another choice of O/S (provided they release MacOS for all PCs).

Having said that, I think the only reason there aren't a lot of viruses for MacOS is because it's not used much compared to Windows. I like Windows (since 2000 at least), I've always liked Windows, but i've always ADMIRED MacOS since OS-X came out.

And the Ipod? It's one of the best designed products out there. It *IS* the best MP3 player (apart from the horrible mis-step that is the Shuffle - no screen? what are they thinking) and the only thing it's missing is support for OGG and a radio tuner. Itunes is nice software too - especially since CDs are pretty cheap and you can legally burn them up to 7 times to an actual CD.

AFAIK the class action lawsuit is for older Ipods, not the current ones. The battery in my 20Gb seems to last at least 10 hours too, so i can't complain. Can't speak for it's longevity though.

[Mr No Name]

Originally posted by Hitman05:
I gotta jump in here, seeing as how I *just* got an Ipod 20Gb last week.

And the Ipod? It's one of the best designed products out there. It *IS* the best MP3 player (apart from the horrible mis-step that is the Shuffle - no screen? what are they thinking) and the only thing it's missing is support for OGG and a radio tuner. Itunes is nice software too - especially since CDs are pretty cheap and you can legally burn them up to 7 times to an actual CD.

AFAIK the class action lawsuit is for older Ipods, not the current ones. The battery in my 20Gb seems to last at least 10 hours too, so i can't complain. Can't speak for it's longevity though. Wait.. so I can take my 1200 mp3s I have on my computer. And transfer them over to an Ipod ?

[One-Winged Angel]

Yes. iPods play AAC, Apple Lossless, MP3, and I think some other format. I might be wrong on that last unknown format, though av_razz.gif

[Mr No Name]

Hrm...so maybe getting a 5GB one won't be so bad.

[One-Winged Angel]

Well, they don't make the 5GB iPod anymore. And I would not recommend buying one used; there's no telling how one was handled.

However, the iPod minis are very good, smaller, and come in 4 and 6GB sizes, and also offer longer battery life (18 hours). They start out at $199 for the 4GB and $249 for the 6GB. The iPod is $299, and only comes in 20GB size. So it's kind of a tradeoff - more room, less battery life and portability (although that's kind of a mute point, as the iPod itself is pretty portable), or less room, smaller size and longer battery life.

[Mr No Name]

20gb is just so much space. But it seems like a much better deal over the long run.

[anthonyX]

the ipod suffle comes in 512 Megs and 1 gig price is $99 and $149. I have the 1gig and it does the job. It is a no frills (read stripped down version) player. I use it because it is so small but it is not my main mp3 player. In fact it was my g/f who bought it for me or I would of paid the extra 50 and got the 4G. Still I would recommend people to go in other direction if they are looking for a better bang for the dollar.

[Dark_Sara]

Ack! You all still miss the point. The songs you buy from Apple CAN only be played on the Ipod. Would you ever buy a DVD if it could only be played on a SONY DVD?!?

[OmegaBob]

Thanks to one Derek Smart for suggesting this site in another thread! av_smile.gif

Popular Technology - iPod Overrated? (http://s4.invisionfree.com/Popular_Technology/index.php?showtopic=318)

iPod Overrated?

For a tech toy praised up and down as being the "best" MP3 player, how has everyone managed to miss its shortcomings?

I started out shopping for an MP3 player as a Christmas Gift over the holidays and wound up reading hundreds of reviews on all the available players. After much thought I narrowed the features that the player had to have:

1. Support MP3 bit rate of 192 Kbps or higher.
2. Drag and Drop File transfer both ways (no software)
3. Universal File Storage (not just MP3s)
4. User Replaceable Battery (Either Rechargeable or Standard)

The MP3 bit rate is often overlooked except in regards to audiophiles who understand this or just have better hearing? Generally MP3's with a bit rate below 192 Kbps when played on standard audio equipment (stereo) will exhibit numerous sound flaws including the potential lack of stereo sound. Some may argue that on very high end equipment 192 Kbps is still not good enough but I would argue that is the best mix of quality to size. Then of course you have the various encoding formats vs. bit rate but again the average person cannot tell the difference. The iPod supports up to 320 Kbps, so we are fine there.

I then narrowed down the common features that every player had but you would choose based on how you would use the player, debatable features:

1. Rechargeable Battery or Replaceable Battery
2. Harddrive or Memory Stick

This article is NOT debating these two features since these are determined based on personal preference or finances (being able to afford a more expensive player and or constantly buying batteries), how much music you listen or want to take with you, and long term reliability (Memory Sticks will last longer then Harddrives, and rechargeable batteries will fail at some point). Regardless, I was sure I would be buying an iPod and all this research would just confirm what I initially thought. What I found was the exact opposite. The iPod was way overrated.

iPod's Achilles Heel:
1. Proprietary Software - This was a deal breaker, having to use proprietary software such as iTunes is just unacceptable, especially when it is completely unnecessary. Could you imagine if Microsoft released the mPod and you had to use winTunes to transfer the files to the player? There is absolutely no excuse for this. To make it worse files can only be copied one way with iTunes. Are you kidding me? You cannot take your iPod to a friends house and copy songs off of it or too another player. Yes there are hacks but this is not the point, numerous other players feature Drag and Drop both ways WITHOUT iTunes or ANY software.

2. Nonreplaceable Rechargeable Battery - Keyword is "nonreplaceable", at least not for the average user. Anyone that knows anything about electronics and rechargeable batteries is that at some point they will fail and need to be replaced.

This whole fiasco was brought to light a year and half ago: www.ipodsdirtysecret.com (http://www.ipodsdirtysecret.com) yet I never heard about it until I started doing this research and I am sure MANY iPod owners are unaware as well. Since that site went up iPod changed their battery replacement policy (below) and have improved the battery life on the new models to 18 hours.

Apples Replacement Policy:

Out-Of-Warranty PricingPrice includes:

Repair: $249.00 USD Replacement: labor, parts, and a 90-day guarantee on materials and workmanship, plus $6.95 USD shipping. $255.95 USD total.

Battery Service: $99.00 USD: labor, parts, and a 90-day guarantee on materials and workmanship, plus $6.95 shipping. $105.95 USD total.

Still, the iPod's battery is not easily replaceable by the end user. Excuses for this such as player size and design are unacceptable. Nor is it that other popular players feature the same bad design. My point is there are good players that do not.

Recently on vacation I found the iPod (and its variants) the most widely used and talked about MP3 player (which compelled me to write this). No one seems to know the shortcomings of the iPod, nor how massively overrated this player is. Simply put no one does any research. I recently heard on the morning news an anchor say, "Most people don't realize you have to install and configure software to get songs onto MP3 players" Unbelievable! Not only is this overrated player spreading huge misconceptions about MP3 players it is setting socially acceptable standards on bad design decisions.

[dangerballs]

Originally posted by Hitman05:
Itunes is nice software too - especially since CDs are pretty cheap and you can legally burn them up to 7 times to an actual CD.
Actually you can burn the files from itunes as many times as you want. You can only burn the files in a certain order 7 times. Just change the order or add a track to burn the tracks again.

[OmegaBob]

Thats good to know! Thx!

[OmegaBob]

If these words were people, I would embrace their genocide (http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=banish)

iPod: This is one of those inventions that makes people say: "why didn't I think of that?" On news shows anyway. One of the anchors on FOX News said "now the music industry is waiting for someone to come along and invent the next iPod." Wow, if only I had thought of the bright idea of putting an mp3 player on a portable hard drive. Damn that's brilliant. I had that idea years ago. I also have another idea: a car that can fly. I will sue anyone who makes it.Take that!