Ajarn Forum - Living and Teaching In Thailand - View Single Post - What to go with

Night_Rider · 25th January 2005, 01:13

animaster I admire your energy. I'd have just chucked the post after the 10th sentence or so.

Ok disclosures first. I'm writing this on a PC but it'd be a Mac if I had the cash.

Ease of Use
I gotta go with Marko on this. I think that XP has largely closed a previous ease of use gap with the MacOS and now both are easy for the first time user. Apple's new search technology, Spotlight, may give them the edge when Tiger is released but the skinny is that there are still some bugs in the works.

But regardless if I had Steve Jobs in my kitchen I'd give him a piece of my mind. I don't expect user interface innovation from Microsoft. I'm sorry but historically MS follows the pack. I expect better from Apple. Where is my Star Trek computer with a voice activated interface where I enter my home and say, 'computer play a mambo' and I suddenly hear Tito Puente coming through my home audio speakers. Hell I'd even settle for this digital convergence panacea I keep reading about where all my home audio, video and computers talk to each other and interoperate. Where my OS allows me to load up the latest Jet Li Divx from SuprNova and play it on my home TV with the click of a button.

Kudos to Apple's Rendezvous technology and making it open source but I think the current MacOS and the future Longhorn release should offer more innovative human interface design than new search technology and pretty 3-D icons.

Architecture
To think that Microsoft is still not over the 64 bit OS hump when MacOS X has made the hurdle a year ago is amazing. There are a lot of 64 bit AMD processors sitting on desks just acheing for a 64 bit OS. I think the beta was just released but there is so much more to migrating a platform. Microsoft has to get all their developers onboard. The public has to suffer through that period where developers just quit working on the 32bit versions and focus on the new technology. With proper planning and backward compatibility the transition can be softened. I'd hope MS learned lessons from the Win31 to 95 leap. God those were hard times.

But the point I'm making is that Apple has already done it. Their developers are onboard. Their userbase is converted. Their codebase is 64 bit. If MS drops the ball they're there to whisper in the ears of Windows users that as long as they have to buy a new machine why not buy from the guys who brought you that cool iPod.

I'm encouraged to see architectural innovation at Apple as well. First with 802.11b. First to offer Firewire. First to offer PCI-X standard. First to offer 1.25MHz frontside bus. First to offer liquid cooling standard. It's no wonder than even Microsoft has adopted the PowerPC architecture for the next Xbox. (BTW I predict that will be the final nail that brings games parity back to the Macintosh. Ports should be nothing w/in the same chip architecture.)

Virus
I'm getting long winded myself but just briefly I want to return to the idea that started this thread. Whether you argue that the MacOS is more secure (it was approved by the National Security Administration [the real CIA] in the US for government use) or just not targeted or a combination of both. The fact is that the MacOS at this point is virtually virus and spyware free. As the guy that supports his families PCs I can tell you they all have firewalls, virus protection and spyware monitors running on them but it doesn't mean that they get used or updated. Most PCs on the net are the metaphorical equivalent of a sailor on leave in Pattaya without a condom. They just attract nasty diseases.

The Mac user does not have this experience. It is foreign to them. More and more Windows users are moving for this single reason alone.

Final Thoughts
I enjoy this discussion though it may not be convincing or productive. I would just encourage everyone to keep an open mind. Learn something new. Don't be afraid to walk into the other camp and poke around a little.

25th January 2005, 01:13	#4 (permalink)
Night_Rider Night_Rider is..... New Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio USA Posts: 67 vCash: 500 Rep Power: 0	animaster I admire your energy. I'd have just chucked the post after the 10th sentence or so. Ok disclosures first. I'm writing this on a PC but it'd be a Mac if I had the cash. Ease of Use I gotta go with Marko on this. I think that XP has largely closed a previous ease of use gap with the MacOS and now both are easy for the first time user. Apple's new search technology, Spotlight, may give them the edge when Tiger is released but the skinny is that there are still some bugs in the works. But regardless if I had Steve Jobs in my kitchen I'd give him a piece of my mind. I don't expect user interface innovation from Microsoft. I'm sorry but historically MS follows the pack. I expect better from Apple. Where is my Star Trek computer with a voice activated interface where I enter my home and say, 'computer play a mambo' and I suddenly hear Tito Puente coming through my home audio speakers. Hell I'd even settle for this digital convergence panacea I keep reading about where all my home audio, video and computers talk to each other and interoperate. Where my OS allows me to load up the latest Jet Li Divx from SuprNova and play it on my home TV with the click of a button. Kudos to Apple's Rendezvous technology and making it open source but I think the current MacOS and the future Longhorn release should offer more innovative human interface design than new search technology and pretty 3-D icons. Architecture To think that Microsoft is still not over the 64 bit OS hump when MacOS X has made the hurdle a year ago is amazing. There are a lot of 64 bit AMD processors sitting on desks just acheing for a 64 bit OS. I think the beta was just released but there is so much more to migrating a platform. Microsoft has to get all their developers onboard. The public has to suffer through that period where developers just quit working on the 32bit versions and focus on the new technology. With proper planning and backward compatibility the transition can be softened. I'd hope MS learned lessons from the Win31 to 95 leap. God those were hard times. But the point I'm making is that Apple has already done it. Their developers are onboard. Their userbase is converted. Their codebase is 64 bit. If MS drops the ball they're there to whisper in the ears of Windows users that as long as they have to buy a new machine why not buy from the guys who brought you that cool iPod. I'm encouraged to see architectural innovation at Apple as well. First with 802.11b. First to offer Firewire. First to offer PCI-X standard. First to offer 1.25MHz frontside bus. First to offer liquid cooling standard. It's no wonder than even Microsoft has adopted the PowerPC architecture for the next Xbox. (BTW I predict that will be the final nail that brings games parity back to the Macintosh. Ports should be nothing w/in the same chip architecture.) Virus I'm getting long winded myself but just briefly I want to return to the idea that started this thread. Whether you argue that the MacOS is more secure (it was approved by the National Security Administration [the real CIA] in the US for government use) or just not targeted or a combination of both. The fact is that the MacOS at this point is virtually virus and spyware free. As the guy that supports his families PCs I can tell you they all have firewalls, virus protection and spyware monitors running on them but it doesn't mean that they get used or updated. Most PCs on the net are the metaphorical equivalent of a sailor on leave in Pattaya without a condom. They just attract nasty diseases. The Mac user does not have this experience. It is foreign to them. More and more Windows users are moving for this single reason alone. Final Thoughts I enjoy this discussion though it may not be convincing or productive. I would just encourage everyone to keep an open mind. Learn something new. Don't be afraid to walk into the other camp and poke around a little.