Well the world is better off without mediocrity and yet that's what MS offers, and essentially what you are defending, what 90% of the world accepts and therefore contributing to the general stagnation of the planet.
Why not push inefficient V8 engines from fat American motor companies as well while your at it ?
Where's the future we were promised 30 years ago when man landed on the moon ? Never arrived did it because 90% of the world accept whatever shit get's wrapped in cellophane and called 'the greatest' by the most economically powerful...the only reason MS are even trying a litter harder is because of Apple....
Microsoft is the ruling hegemony - that's all it exists to perpetuate - NOTHING ELSE.
Time to Wake up and understand the world you actually live in, rather than the one the TV is telling you you live in...
There's a reason MS used the 'flat earth theory' in their ad's and that was because sooner or later people were going to realise they were the force keeping the world in the dark ages.
Don't get me wrong, I know Apple's not perfect - heck a long way from it, but they at least hold aspirations towards this elusive thing called quality...at least they have a 'dream' I can believe in and act accordingly...
Your thoughts are all over the place. I understand what you're trying to say, but the ironic thing is you're telling people to understand the world they live in when it's clear you don't quite understand it. Saying that stupid people shouldn't buy Apple's products because it will make Apple look bad isn't exactly a good way to get your point across lol.
The past 20 years of computing have been something the world has never really seen before. The "information age" or computing age is as pivotal and influential as the industrial age was over 150 years ago, if not more. We're still basically starting out, and how thing transform is anyone's guess. What we have today is an emerging of smaller companies in fields that were once dominated. Take VIA for example. This small company bought their x86 license, and they have started down the path of becoming an influential cpu maker. Their Nano chip can be found in Samsung's N20 and has been received with great reviews. Dell even announced a VIA server running like 12 nano's or something, all required a quarter of the power as a comparable AMD server. In the operating system side, Google's android should be picking up speed here in the next 5 years or so, and there's even rumors that Palm's WebOS can be turned into a full fledged computer OS, not to mention the widely applauded ubuntu OS. Nvidia seems to be getting backed into a corner with their ion platform when trying to compete against Intel, and the idea that in retaliation they could create their own CPU that isn't based on x86 instruction set architecture is being bounced around a bit. Right now Intel is selling their Atom processors to OEMs for $45 while they sell the Atom+945chipset for $25 dollars. This is making OEM's want to turn away from Nvidia's ion chipset which like the 945 chipset also relies on Intel's Atom cpu.
Anyways, the argument you're making is that the big bad Microsoft corporation has been running a cut throat operation for years and so we should all stop buying their product, but they kind of have a lot of people by the balls right now. Mark my words, 10 years from now, companies like Intel and Microsoft will be hurting as they desperately try to compete against companies they pissed off in the past. These companies will take a hold of the market on their own accord. Change will come, but it will come slow. Right now your hero Apple is not the solution for MANY people. For instance, they aren't offering any solution to system builders for a choice in OS.
Do you slightly better understand the world you live in now?
You really have to be an ignorant low class idiot to be a Windows user/deliberate PC buyer. There is no other way to put it. MS bet that 90% of the world population are imbeciles. Turns out they were right. Apple doesn't have to rule the world. We don't want that trash anyhow...MS can KEEP IT.
I agree with you, but your numbers are off. The reality appears to be more like 98%.
I agree with you, but your numbers are off. The reality appears to be more like 98%.
7 posts since February of 2008, two of them I can confirm are completely ill-thought trollish comments. Guess who takes a spot next to Jimmy01 on my ignore list? It doesn't matter too much I suppose since you don't post very often anyways, but it's always good to weed out people like you from a discussion.
Could you at least try to be a good troll? Apple isn't directly competing with Microsoft. They are competing with the likes of HP, Dell, Acer, etc and they all happen to use Windows (not due to its superiority, but due to a lack of other options as Apple doesn't license its OS out). Given the limited number of computer models Apple produces, they do quite well compared to HP or anyone else. Individual mac computers are always at or near the top in total #'s sold on a model by model basis.
Apple could increase market share by producing more computer models (for example, a traditional desktop) but the more models they produce, the less time they can spend on each model and build quality and the overall level of system wide integration would diminish. Personally, I am quite happy to pay more for a better computer (there is more to a computer than processor speed, ram and hard drive size), and if their market share stays low because they focus on making a few good PC's instead of a bunch of crap ones, I'm fine with that.
Correct - Always consider the quality and availability of technical support when considering a Mac or a PC (Dell, HP, Acer, etc). I will pay more for more reliable hardware and for better customer service. I just hope that Apple does not get lazy.
Correct - Always consider the quality and availability of technical support when considering a Mac or a PC (Dell, HP, Acer, etc). I will pay more for more reliable hardware and for better customer service. I just hope that Apple does not get lazy.
I guess I take this for granted. I'm not saying I'm the grand know it all of all things computer, but I can honestly say I've never once used customer service to address issues I had with any computer. Come to think of it, good search is my customer service lol :P
The ads are targeting a soft spot for every consumer, their wallet. How often do I read comments from self-proclaimed Apple fanbois suggesting that Apple reduce prices? Everyone wants to get more and pay less, it's simple human nature.
To the general public computers are complex so they look for simple ways to compare them: now that PC makers have stopped advertising processor speeds they essentially have 3 numbers to look at: price, RAM and HD. Everything else requires more thought and so is generally ignored.
For the most part Macs cost more, come with less RAM and smaller HD. To the uninformed that situation simply doesn't make sense and so the Mac is rejected without giving it a chance. Others reject the Mac on price alone. It's been possible to buy a PC system for under $1000 for most of the last decade so anything with a 4 digit price is simply too expensive to consider, regardless of how much better it may be.
I'm surprised that M$ is lying in the laptop hunter commercials. It would be easy for them to tell the same story and get the same results with more fair comparisons. We all know Macs cost more, but those of us who frequent sites like this one know you usually get what you pay for.
Personally I think the most effective ads of all are the ones with the little kids using Windows apps to edit and email photos, create slide shows with music and other such things. Those directly and very effectively target Apple's perceived ease of use. They show Windows in a positive light and do not undermine the message by mentioning any competitor.
I heard two people on the train today, the girl said "hey look at how cool my new laptop is!" the lad said "is it a macbook air they're cool?" she said "no i dont know how to use them" and produced a purple dell.
the problem is, people whove switched may like the mac better but most people are too ignorant to even try something 'unfamilair" apple ought to put far more effort/money into promoting OS X rather than specific computers
Your thoughts are all over the place. I understand what you're trying to say, but the ironic thing is you're telling people to understand the world they live in when it's clear you don't quite understand it. Saying that stupid people shouldn't buy Apple's products because it will make Apple look bad isn't exactly a good way to get your point across lol.
The past 20 years of computing have been something the world has never really seen before. The "information age" or computing age is as pivotal and influential as the industrial age was over 150 years ago, if not more. We're still basically starting out, and how thing transform is anyone's guess. What we have today is an emerging of smaller companies in fields that were once dominated. Take VIA for example. This small company bought their x86 license, and they have started down the path of becoming an influential cpu maker. Their Nano chip can be found in Samsung's N20 and has been received with great reviews. Dell even announced a VIA server running like 12 nano's or something, all required a quarter of the power as a comparable AMD server. In the operating system side, Google's android should be picking up speed here in the next 5 years or so, and there's even rumors that Palm's WebOS can be turned into a full fledged computer OS, not to mention the widely applauded ubuntu OS. Nvidia seems to be getting backed into a corner with their ion platform when trying to compete against Intel, and the idea that in retaliation they could create their own CPU that isn't based on x86 instruction set architecture is being bounced around a bit. Right now Intel is selling their Atom processors to OEMs for $45 while they sell the Atom+945chipset for $25 dollars. This is making OEM's want to turn away from Nvidia's ion chipset which like the 945 chipset also relies on Intel's Atom cpu.
Anyways, the argument you're making is that the big bad Microsoft corporation has been running a cut throat operation for years and so we should all stop buying their product, but they kind of have a lot of people by the balls right now. Mark my words, 10 years from now, companies like Intel and Microsoft will be hurting as they desperately try to compete against companies they pissed off in the past. These companies will take a hold of the market on their own accord. Change will come, but it will come slow. Right now your hero Apple is not the solution for MANY people. For instance, they aren't offering any solution to system builders for a choice in OS.
Do you slightly better understand the world you live in now?
No, I don't, but I see where your coming from.
Mainly, I don't understand why competition in a capitalist context leads to the market dominator creating cheaper and invariably inferior products- this cheaper downward cycle often sucks in the competition in order to survive. Don't get me wrong, I understand HOW that happens, but not why we allow it ( not that communism or socialism has historically delivered any significant advance in this scenario).
I do admit I put my faith that a company like Apple represents a place where gifted idealistic people who want to CHOOSE to work and in some way improve the world can exist. I like the things Apple says it stands for and that people would choose to apply their talent that way. I do understand in this sense that the rich have easier access to this superior technology, even if MS want to convince the world that they really don't. I also understand why Apple don't dwell on market share the way we might.
If Bill Gates' Microsoft was ever a visionary company of equal idealistic intent then it certainly lost it's way during the 90's when it became determined to win at all costs...in fact, didn't it's origins involve cloak and dagger? Nothing MS does today suggest to me that any of that ruthlessness has been replaced by idealism...
You see this is one of the endearing things about Apple - they don't want to win the world - they just want to be the best, and that is really a very different thing to Microsoft and that's why I react to their lies so much because I know they are compelling and convincing to most people who really don't care too much about the details, and that there products really are just about 'good enough' and so when people choose then they lose, and in doing so we all lose a little...
Imagine a world where Apple was 90% and some other company HAD to be better than Apple to be the 10%....I'd be rooting for that 10% company again, wouldn't you?
I'm not a PC fan but I'm thrilled that Microsoft is keeping Apple on its toes.
Competition is good for Apple and it forces them to constantly strive to protect their market share by impressing their consumer base with better hardware and better software.
In short, Apple has to work harder for us. That's not bad.
Bingo! You get it!
I'm of the opinion that if this forces Apple to lower their prices the one who wins is us.
That being said my main computer is a mac and I love my little Linpus Acer Net Book SSD.
Imagine a world where Apple was 90% and some other company HAD to be better than Apple to be the 10%....I'd be rooting for that 10% company again, wouldn't you?
I'll always root for the company with 10% share in a situation like that, even if I'm completely content with what the holder of the 90% offers. I'm that way because I know competition drives innovation. That's why technology always gets a good boost from wars.
The fact remains, associating buying anything from Microsoft with low intelligence is silly. Take a netbook for example. I'm going to buy an 8.9" asus netbook for general F'ing around while camping or on the road. It runs XP, and I'm perfectly fine with that. To me, Windows is just a familiar, and sometimes necessary utility that allows me to get the most functionality from a non-Apple computer.
When you look at global warming, it's easy to call everyone stupid for driving vehicles that emit pollution proven to have adverse effects, all in a time where the earth is heating up, right? Our kid's grand kids might look back and group everyone into a moronic general group, blaming whatever issues the earth is having on our era. They could say things like "Those morons all saw that oil companies were greedy crooks who didn't care about the planet and they still bought gas guzzling vehicles." It's kind of the same thing here with Windows (without such adverse effects lol.)
And why do I always find myself defending Windows?
I prefer OS X, obviously, but I admit I live in a dual OS household. Windows has better gaming. Period. I'm not a hardcore gamer, but do play GTA IV, I use the ChaosLauncher for StarCraft and use BWChart to analyze my play, and I often use Hamachi to play friends over VPN, which has shoddy performance on OS X.
That being said, while I don't enjoy having my time split amongst two OSes, I can't say that I *hate* Windows. I mean, let's take a look at the facts. Windows XP is very stable, very fast, and can do just about anything you'd want it to. It takes a true moron to contract a virus under XP, despite its reputation. In all my years of using XP, I'd estimate I've had three virii serious enough to warrant a clean wipe and they were all my fault. Compare that with OS X's zero virii and of course we have a clear winner, but would I say that XP is painful and inconvenient to use? Not at all.
While I'm not as forgiving about Vista, I'll agree with the consensus that most of the serious issues have been ironed out. Those who've been using Windows for the past 10 years will recall the travesty of Windows ME, a product that was over-hyped, succumbed to feature-creep, launched late, and bombed. Sound familiar?
But ME was followed by XP (really just a ME mark 2) and was a considerable success. Windows 7, likewise, is Vista mark 2 and I have confidence that it, too, will be a considerable success as compared to its immediate predecessor.
While I'm not going to sit here and be a MS apologist, I seriously question the zealous hatred of everything they produce as most on these forums do. The overall superiority of OS X is obvious, especially to us Mac users, but to regard Windows 7 as an auto-fail is just plain stupid, wrong, and naive, frankly.
what i hate is all the time and effort i had to "invest" in fixing their problems, when apple does my family right, its my choice
MS to me has been a huge productivity sink hole, where for hours i can't get anything done
oh yea tired of losing data and rebooting, when you lose major presentations and files because it "works good enough" you fight the tyranny and apple fits that bill till it doesn't
Don't get me wrong, I know Apple's not perfect - heck a long way from it, but they at least hold aspirations towards this elusive thing called quality...at least they have a 'dream' I can believe in and act accordingly...
Apple's dream is the same as any other corporation's dream - make a lot of money for board and stockholders.
And Apple believes the best way is to fulfil that dream is through building strong image, centralized control, vertical integration, perceived quality (and accordingly high margins).
nothing wrong with that business method, but your post sounds as if Apple's target is creating better world; no it's not. Except for their owners
And why do I always find myself defending Windows?
I prefer OS X, obviously, but I admit I live in a dual OS household. Windows has better gaming. Period. I'm not a hardcore gamer, but do play GTA IV, I use the ChaosLauncher for StarCraft and use BWChart to analyze my play, and I often use Hamachi to play friends over VPN, which has shoddy performance on OS X.
That being said, while I don't enjoy having my time split amongst two OSes, I can't say that I *hate* Windows. I mean, let's take a look at the facts. Windows XP is very stable, very fast, and can do just about anything you'd want it to. It takes a true moron to contract a virus under XP, despite its reputation. In all my years of using XP, I'd estimate I've had three virii serious enough to warrant a clean wipe and they were all my fault. Compare that with OS X's zero virii and of course we have a clear winner, but would I say that XP is painful and inconvenient to use? Not at all.
While I'm not as forgiving about Vista, I'll agree with the consensus that most of the serious issues have been ironed out. Those who've been using Windows for the past 10 years will recall the travesty of Windows ME, a product that was over-hyped, succumbed to feature-creep, launched late, and bombed. Sound familiar?
But ME was followed by XP (really just a ME mark 2) and was a considerable success. Windows 7, likewise, is Vista mark 2 and I have confidence that it, too, will be a considerable success as compared to its immediate predecessor.
While I'm not going to sit here and be a MS apologist, I seriously question the zealous hatred of everything they produce as most on these forums do. The overall superiority of OS X is obvious, especially to us Mac users, but to regard Windows 7 as an auto-fail is just plain stupid, wrong, and naive, frankly.
-Clive
Great post. Bravo!
Only thing I don't agree with is, XP is more like Windows 2000 mark 2. True it was designed for home users too (while 2000 was primarily targeting businesses) so in a way you can link it to Me, but technically - much as I remember - XP was built on Windows 2000 (not unlike 7 based on Vista) with improved compatibility, multimedia features and more modern GUI.
Which is pretty much what is being promised (among the other things) for Windows 7, compared to Vista - better compatibility, better GUI.
Correct - Always consider the quality and availability of technical support when considering a Mac or a PC (Dell, HP, Acer, etc). I will pay more for more reliable hardware and for better customer service. I just hope that Apple does not get lazy.
Last numbers I've seen here on AI were showing that Macs are breaking down as often as any other brand, on average.
Apple's dream is the same as any other corporation's dream - make a lot of money for board and stockholders.
And Apple believes the best way is to fulfil that dream is through building strong image, centralized control, vertical integration, perceived quality (and accordingly high margins).
nothing wrong with that business method, but your post sounds as if Apple's target is creating better world; no it's not. Except for their owners
True, but you gotta start somewhere...not that it's make any difference.
but that said...there does appear to be a massive rise over the last year in the amount of bloggers and forum posters who seem intent on convincing me ( apple fanboy I admit) that MS are not the bad guys, that 'windows 7 really is good' and that Apple aren't as peachy as I would like to think they are (which narcs me no end cos I have a great Apple experience)
It just get's seriously tedious cos really I don't give a shit about MS or their products but I find people endlessly stuffing this crap down APPLE forums. I mean I have NEVER once EVER been on a MS forum and wacked off about how great Apple is...but for some reason MS sympathizers feel the need to litter every Apple forum with pro-MS 'contra' point of view...I really don't need it...In many ways I'd prefer Apple sites not to list these Microsoft articles..but I guess they are good for ratings...
Again, it just seems to me that a bad smell follows anything MS related - where-ever it goes - and that's even in Apple forums...
True, but you gotta start somewhere...not that it's make any difference.
but that said...there does appear to be a massive rise over the last year in the amount of bloggers and forum posters who seem intent on convincing me ( apple fanboy I admit) that MS are not the bad guys, that 'windows 7 really is good' and that Apple aren't as peachy as I would like to think they are (which narcs me no end cos I have a great Apple experience)
just like the massive rise in blogs about Apple products proclaiming their perfection, which narcs me no end becuase I have had bad (and good) experiences with apple...
Quote:
It just get's seriously tedious cos really I don't give a shit about MS or their products but I find people endlessly stuffing this crap down APPLE forums. I mean I have NEVER once EVER been on a MS forum and wacked off about how great Apple is...but for some reason MS sympathizers feel the need to litter every Apple forum with pro-MS 'contra' point of view...I really don't need it...In many ways I'd prefer Apple sites not to list these Microsoft articles..but I guess they are good for ratings...
Becuase appleinsider 1) likes the post count to increase their advertising 2) feels the need
to 'defend' apple against the horrible horrible MSrs, or 3) both
Quote:
Again, it just seems to me that a bad smell follows anything MS related - where-ever it goes - and that's even in Apple forums...
Like the pungent smell of excrement that lingers after a "get a mac" commercial
Canwe at least not mentiin battery life???? Sure I can get 4-4.5 hours if I half the brightness, turn off Bluetooth and wireless and run inky pages or word. But use logic, final cut, photoshop, fireworks and your loooking at 2 hours, tops. Open a game and forget about it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by xwiredtva
Find a PC laptop with aluminum and glass shell, 1066 bus, wireless N, bluetooth 2.0, under 5lbs with a 5hr battery life. You can include plastic shelled units if you like but keep the specs the same.
Find a PC laptop under 3.2lbs that has a real CPU and is less than 1/2" thick CLOSED, then make your MBAir point.
Then you can make your point. You want a quality PC, buy a Mac. You want creaky plastic running 2 year old high end parts buy anything else.
Comments
Well the world is better off without mediocrity and yet that's what MS offers, and essentially what you are defending, what 90% of the world accepts and therefore contributing to the general stagnation of the planet.
Why not push inefficient V8 engines from fat American motor companies as well while your at it ?
Where's the future we were promised 30 years ago when man landed on the moon ? Never arrived did it because 90% of the world accept whatever shit get's wrapped in cellophane and called 'the greatest' by the most economically powerful...the only reason MS are even trying a litter harder is because of Apple....
Microsoft is the ruling hegemony - that's all it exists to perpetuate - NOTHING ELSE.
Time to Wake up and understand the world you actually live in, rather than the one the TV is telling you you live in...
There's a reason MS used the 'flat earth theory' in their ad's and that was because sooner or later people were going to realise they were the force keeping the world in the dark ages.
Don't get me wrong, I know Apple's not perfect - heck a long way from it, but they at least hold aspirations towards this elusive thing called quality...at least they have a 'dream' I can believe in and act accordingly...
Your thoughts are all over the place. I understand what you're trying to say, but the ironic thing is you're telling people to understand the world they live in when it's clear you don't quite understand it. Saying that stupid people shouldn't buy Apple's products because it will make Apple look bad isn't exactly a good way to get your point across lol.
The past 20 years of computing have been something the world has never really seen before. The "information age" or computing age is as pivotal and influential as the industrial age was over 150 years ago, if not more. We're still basically starting out, and how thing transform is anyone's guess. What we have today is an emerging of smaller companies in fields that were once dominated. Take VIA for example. This small company bought their x86 license, and they have started down the path of becoming an influential cpu maker. Their Nano chip can be found in Samsung's N20 and has been received with great reviews. Dell even announced a VIA server running like 12 nano's or something, all required a quarter of the power as a comparable AMD server. In the operating system side, Google's android should be picking up speed here in the next 5 years or so, and there's even rumors that Palm's WebOS can be turned into a full fledged computer OS, not to mention the widely applauded ubuntu OS. Nvidia seems to be getting backed into a corner with their ion platform when trying to compete against Intel, and the idea that in retaliation they could create their own CPU that isn't based on x86 instruction set architecture is being bounced around a bit. Right now Intel is selling their Atom processors to OEMs for $45 while they sell the Atom+945chipset for $25 dollars. This is making OEM's want to turn away from Nvidia's ion chipset which like the 945 chipset also relies on Intel's Atom cpu.
Anyways, the argument you're making is that the big bad Microsoft corporation has been running a cut throat operation for years and so we should all stop buying their product, but they kind of have a lot of people by the balls right now. Mark my words, 10 years from now, companies like Intel and Microsoft will be hurting as they desperately try to compete against companies they pissed off in the past. These companies will take a hold of the market on their own accord. Change will come, but it will come slow. Right now your hero Apple is not the solution for MANY people. For instance, they aren't offering any solution to system builders for a choice in OS.
Do you slightly better understand the world you live in now?
BUT 90% of the world HAS been conned....
Microsoft didn't start this. Case in point: Religion.
You really have to be an ignorant low class idiot to be a Windows user/deliberate PC buyer. There is no other way to put it. MS bet that 90% of the world population are imbeciles. Turns out they were right. Apple doesn't have to rule the world. We don't want that trash anyhow...MS can KEEP IT.
I agree with you, but your numbers are off. The reality appears to be more like 98%.
I agree with you, but your numbers are off. The reality appears to be more like 98%.
7 posts since February of 2008, two of them I can confirm are completely ill-thought trollish comments. Guess who takes a spot next to Jimmy01 on my ignore list? It doesn't matter too much I suppose since you don't post very often anyways, but it's always good to weed out people like you from a discussion.
Could you at least try to be a good troll? Apple isn't directly competing with Microsoft. They are competing with the likes of HP, Dell, Acer, etc and they all happen to use Windows (not due to its superiority, but due to a lack of other options as Apple doesn't license its OS out). Given the limited number of computer models Apple produces, they do quite well compared to HP or anyone else. Individual mac computers are always at or near the top in total #'s sold on a model by model basis.
Apple could increase market share by producing more computer models (for example, a traditional desktop) but the more models they produce, the less time they can spend on each model and build quality and the overall level of system wide integration would diminish. Personally, I am quite happy to pay more for a better computer (there is more to a computer than processor speed, ram and hard drive size), and if their market share stays low because they focus on making a few good PC's instead of a bunch of crap ones, I'm fine with that.
Correct - Always consider the quality and availability of technical support when considering a Mac or a PC (Dell, HP, Acer, etc). I will pay more for more reliable hardware and for better customer service. I just hope that Apple does not get lazy.
Correct - Always consider the quality and availability of technical support when considering a Mac or a PC (Dell, HP, Acer, etc). I will pay more for more reliable hardware and for better customer service. I just hope that Apple does not get lazy.
I guess I take this for granted. I'm not saying I'm the grand know it all of all things computer, but I can honestly say I've never once used customer service to address issues I had with any computer. Come to think of it, good search is my customer service lol :P
To the general public computers are complex so they look for simple ways to compare them: now that PC makers have stopped advertising processor speeds they essentially have 3 numbers to look at: price, RAM and HD. Everything else requires more thought and so is generally ignored.
For the most part Macs cost more, come with less RAM and smaller HD. To the uninformed that situation simply doesn't make sense and so the Mac is rejected without giving it a chance. Others reject the Mac on price alone. It's been possible to buy a PC system for under $1000 for most of the last decade so anything with a 4 digit price is simply too expensive to consider, regardless of how much better it may be.
I'm surprised that M$ is lying in the laptop hunter commercials. It would be easy for them to tell the same story and get the same results with more fair comparisons. We all know Macs cost more, but those of us who frequent sites like this one know you usually get what you pay for.
Personally I think the most effective ads of all are the ones with the little kids using Windows apps to edit and email photos, create slide shows with music and other such things. Those directly and very effectively target Apple's perceived ease of use. They show Windows in a positive light and do not undermine the message by mentioning any competitor.
the problem is, people whove switched may like the mac better but most people are too ignorant to even try something 'unfamilair" apple ought to put far more effort/money into promoting OS X rather than specific computers
Your thoughts are all over the place. I understand what you're trying to say, but the ironic thing is you're telling people to understand the world they live in when it's clear you don't quite understand it. Saying that stupid people shouldn't buy Apple's products because it will make Apple look bad isn't exactly a good way to get your point across lol.
The past 20 years of computing have been something the world has never really seen before. The "information age" or computing age is as pivotal and influential as the industrial age was over 150 years ago, if not more. We're still basically starting out, and how thing transform is anyone's guess. What we have today is an emerging of smaller companies in fields that were once dominated. Take VIA for example. This small company bought their x86 license, and they have started down the path of becoming an influential cpu maker. Their Nano chip can be found in Samsung's N20 and has been received with great reviews. Dell even announced a VIA server running like 12 nano's or something, all required a quarter of the power as a comparable AMD server. In the operating system side, Google's android should be picking up speed here in the next 5 years or so, and there's even rumors that Palm's WebOS can be turned into a full fledged computer OS, not to mention the widely applauded ubuntu OS. Nvidia seems to be getting backed into a corner with their ion platform when trying to compete against Intel, and the idea that in retaliation they could create their own CPU that isn't based on x86 instruction set architecture is being bounced around a bit. Right now Intel is selling their Atom processors to OEMs for $45 while they sell the Atom+945chipset for $25 dollars. This is making OEM's want to turn away from Nvidia's ion chipset which like the 945 chipset also relies on Intel's Atom cpu.
Anyways, the argument you're making is that the big bad Microsoft corporation has been running a cut throat operation for years and so we should all stop buying their product, but they kind of have a lot of people by the balls right now. Mark my words, 10 years from now, companies like Intel and Microsoft will be hurting as they desperately try to compete against companies they pissed off in the past. These companies will take a hold of the market on their own accord. Change will come, but it will come slow. Right now your hero Apple is not the solution for MANY people. For instance, they aren't offering any solution to system builders for a choice in OS.
Do you slightly better understand the world you live in now?
No, I don't, but I see where your coming from.
Mainly, I don't understand why competition in a capitalist context leads to the market dominator creating cheaper and invariably inferior products- this cheaper downward cycle often sucks in the competition in order to survive. Don't get me wrong, I understand HOW that happens, but not why we allow it ( not that communism or socialism has historically delivered any significant advance in this scenario).
I do admit I put my faith that a company like Apple represents a place where gifted idealistic people who want to CHOOSE to work and in some way improve the world can exist. I like the things Apple says it stands for and that people would choose to apply their talent that way. I do understand in this sense that the rich have easier access to this superior technology, even if MS want to convince the world that they really don't. I also understand why Apple don't dwell on market share the way we might.
If Bill Gates' Microsoft was ever a visionary company of equal idealistic intent then it certainly lost it's way during the 90's when it became determined to win at all costs...in fact, didn't it's origins involve cloak and dagger? Nothing MS does today suggest to me that any of that ruthlessness has been replaced by idealism...
You see this is one of the endearing things about Apple - they don't want to win the world - they just want to be the best, and that is really a very different thing to Microsoft and that's why I react to their lies so much because I know they are compelling and convincing to most people who really don't care too much about the details, and that there products really are just about 'good enough' and so when people choose then they lose, and in doing so we all lose a little...
Imagine a world where Apple was 90% and some other company HAD to be better than Apple to be the 10%....I'd be rooting for that 10% company again, wouldn't you?
I'm not a PC fan but I'm thrilled that Microsoft is keeping Apple on its toes.
Competition is good for Apple and it forces them to constantly strive to protect their market share by impressing their consumer base with better hardware and better software.
In short, Apple has to work harder for us. That's not bad.
Bingo! You get it!
I'm of the opinion that if this forces Apple to lower their prices the one who wins is us.
That being said my main computer is a mac and I love my little Linpus Acer Net Book SSD.
Imagine a world where Apple was 90% and some other company HAD to be better than Apple to be the 10%....I'd be rooting for that 10% company again, wouldn't you?
I'll always root for the company with 10% share in a situation like that, even if I'm completely content with what the holder of the 90% offers. I'm that way because I know competition drives innovation. That's why technology always gets a good boost from wars.
The fact remains, associating buying anything from Microsoft with low intelligence is silly. Take a netbook for example. I'm going to buy an 8.9" asus netbook for general F'ing around while camping or on the road. It runs XP, and I'm perfectly fine with that. To me, Windows is just a familiar, and sometimes necessary utility that allows me to get the most functionality from a non-Apple computer.
When you look at global warming, it's easy to call everyone stupid for driving vehicles that emit pollution proven to have adverse effects, all in a time where the earth is heating up, right? Our kid's grand kids might look back and group everyone into a moronic general group, blaming whatever issues the earth is having on our era. They could say things like "Those morons all saw that oil companies were greedy crooks who didn't care about the planet and they still bought gas guzzling vehicles." It's kind of the same thing here with Windows (without such adverse effects lol.)
my nephew returned 3 laptops to bestbuy for non function (he's a moderate gamer)
that will then show them that cheap isn't the only decision issue
gee all this and vista too!!!
buyers remorse
And why do I always find myself defending Windows?
I prefer OS X, obviously, but I admit I live in a dual OS household. Windows has better gaming. Period. I'm not a hardcore gamer, but do play GTA IV, I use the ChaosLauncher for StarCraft and use BWChart to analyze my play, and I often use Hamachi to play friends over VPN, which has shoddy performance on OS X.
That being said, while I don't enjoy having my time split amongst two OSes, I can't say that I *hate* Windows. I mean, let's take a look at the facts. Windows XP is very stable, very fast, and can do just about anything you'd want it to. It takes a true moron to contract a virus under XP, despite its reputation. In all my years of using XP, I'd estimate I've had three virii serious enough to warrant a clean wipe and they were all my fault. Compare that with OS X's zero virii and of course we have a clear winner, but would I say that XP is painful and inconvenient to use? Not at all.
While I'm not as forgiving about Vista, I'll agree with the consensus that most of the serious issues have been ironed out. Those who've been using Windows for the past 10 years will recall the travesty of Windows ME, a product that was over-hyped, succumbed to feature-creep, launched late, and bombed. Sound familiar?
But ME was followed by XP (really just a ME mark 2) and was a considerable success. Windows 7, likewise, is Vista mark 2 and I have confidence that it, too, will be a considerable success as compared to its immediate predecessor.
While I'm not going to sit here and be a MS apologist, I seriously question the zealous hatred of everything they produce as most on these forums do. The overall superiority of OS X is obvious, especially to us Mac users, but to regard Windows 7 as an auto-fail is just plain stupid, wrong, and naive, frankly.
-Clive
what i hate is all the time and effort i had to "invest" in fixing their problems, when apple does my family right, its my choice
MS to me has been a huge productivity sink hole, where for hours i can't get anything done
oh yea tired of losing data and rebooting, when you lose major presentations and files because it "works good enough" you fight the tyranny and apple fits that bill till it doesn't
power to the individual
Don't get me wrong, I know Apple's not perfect - heck a long way from it, but they at least hold aspirations towards this elusive thing called quality...at least they have a 'dream' I can believe in and act accordingly...
Apple's dream is the same as any other corporation's dream - make a lot of money for board and stockholders.
And Apple believes the best way is to fulfil that dream is through building strong image, centralized control, vertical integration, perceived quality (and accordingly high margins).
nothing wrong with that business method, but your post sounds as if Apple's target is creating better world; no it's not. Except for their owners
Why is there so much MS hate?
And why do I always find myself defending Windows?
I prefer OS X, obviously, but I admit I live in a dual OS household. Windows has better gaming. Period. I'm not a hardcore gamer, but do play GTA IV, I use the ChaosLauncher for StarCraft and use BWChart to analyze my play, and I often use Hamachi to play friends over VPN, which has shoddy performance on OS X.
That being said, while I don't enjoy having my time split amongst two OSes, I can't say that I *hate* Windows. I mean, let's take a look at the facts. Windows XP is very stable, very fast, and can do just about anything you'd want it to. It takes a true moron to contract a virus under XP, despite its reputation. In all my years of using XP, I'd estimate I've had three virii serious enough to warrant a clean wipe and they were all my fault. Compare that with OS X's zero virii and of course we have a clear winner, but would I say that XP is painful and inconvenient to use? Not at all.
While I'm not as forgiving about Vista, I'll agree with the consensus that most of the serious issues have been ironed out. Those who've been using Windows for the past 10 years will recall the travesty of Windows ME, a product that was over-hyped, succumbed to feature-creep, launched late, and bombed. Sound familiar?
But ME was followed by XP (really just a ME mark 2) and was a considerable success. Windows 7, likewise, is Vista mark 2 and I have confidence that it, too, will be a considerable success as compared to its immediate predecessor.
While I'm not going to sit here and be a MS apologist, I seriously question the zealous hatred of everything they produce as most on these forums do. The overall superiority of OS X is obvious, especially to us Mac users, but to regard Windows 7 as an auto-fail is just plain stupid, wrong, and naive, frankly.
-Clive
Great post. Bravo!
Only thing I don't agree with is, XP is more like Windows 2000 mark 2. True it was designed for home users too (while 2000 was primarily targeting businesses) so in a way you can link it to Me, but technically - much as I remember - XP was built on Windows 2000 (not unlike 7 based on Vista) with improved compatibility, multimedia features and more modern GUI.
Which is pretty much what is being promised (among the other things) for Windows 7, compared to Vista - better compatibility, better GUI.
Correct - Always consider the quality and availability of technical support when considering a Mac or a PC (Dell, HP, Acer, etc). I will pay more for more reliable hardware and for better customer service. I just hope that Apple does not get lazy.
Last numbers I've seen here on AI were showing that Macs are breaking down as often as any other brand, on average.
Apple's dream is the same as any other corporation's dream - make a lot of money for board and stockholders.
And Apple believes the best way is to fulfil that dream is through building strong image, centralized control, vertical integration, perceived quality (and accordingly high margins).
nothing wrong with that business method, but your post sounds as if Apple's target is creating better world; no it's not. Except for their owners
True, but you gotta start somewhere...not that it's make any difference.
but that said...there does appear to be a massive rise over the last year in the amount of bloggers and forum posters who seem intent on convincing me ( apple fanboy I admit) that MS are not the bad guys, that 'windows 7 really is good' and that Apple aren't as peachy as I would like to think they are (which narcs me no end cos I have a great Apple experience)
It just get's seriously tedious cos really I don't give a shit about MS or their products but I find people endlessly stuffing this crap down APPLE forums. I mean I have NEVER once EVER been on a MS forum and wacked off about how great Apple is...but for some reason MS sympathizers feel the need to litter every Apple forum with pro-MS 'contra' point of view...I really don't need it...In many ways I'd prefer Apple sites not to list these Microsoft articles..but I guess they are good for ratings...
Again, it just seems to me that a bad smell follows anything MS related - where-ever it goes - and that's even in Apple forums...
True, but you gotta start somewhere...not that it's make any difference.
but that said...there does appear to be a massive rise over the last year in the amount of bloggers and forum posters who seem intent on convincing me ( apple fanboy I admit) that MS are not the bad guys, that 'windows 7 really is good' and that Apple aren't as peachy as I would like to think they are (which narcs me no end cos I have a great Apple experience)
just like the massive rise in blogs about Apple products proclaiming their perfection, which narcs me no end becuase I have had bad (and good) experiences with apple...
It just get's seriously tedious cos really I don't give a shit about MS or their products but I find people endlessly stuffing this crap down APPLE forums. I mean I have NEVER once EVER been on a MS forum and wacked off about how great Apple is...but for some reason MS sympathizers feel the need to litter every Apple forum with pro-MS 'contra' point of view...I really don't need it...In many ways I'd prefer Apple sites not to list these Microsoft articles..but I guess they are good for ratings...
Becuase appleinsider 1) likes the post count to increase their advertising 2) feels the need
to 'defend' apple against the horrible horrible MSrs, or 3) both
Again, it just seems to me that a bad smell follows anything MS related - where-ever it goes - and that's even in Apple forums...
Like the pungent smell of excrement that lingers after a "get a mac" commercial
Find a PC laptop with aluminum and glass shell, 1066 bus, wireless N, bluetooth 2.0, under 5lbs with a 5hr battery life. You can include plastic shelled units if you like but keep the specs the same.
Find a PC laptop under 3.2lbs that has a real CPU and is less than 1/2" thick CLOSED, then make your MBAir point.
Then you can make your point. You want a quality PC, buy a Mac. You want creaky plastic running 2 year old high end parts buy anything else.