Posts by Richard 102

@Thad

"Isn't it about time people stopped talking about this phone, which represents just a tiny percentage of mobile phones world-wide?"

By that logic, Jimi Hendrix had only one song in the Top 20, so obviously people should quit trying to learn from his recordings and listen to Herman's Hermits because they sold a lot more records, right?

Look, the iPhone, love it or hate it, was a game changer. The smart phone market on 2007/01/01 was similar to the MP3 player market on 09/01/2001. There were several competing factors, the market was ready to take off but people didn't really like the phones or the interfaces outside of some enthusiasts, there were certain entrenched ideas holding back innovation, the areas where things were bad were areas that were Apple strengths, getting application for your phone was complicated and then getting them ONTO the phone wasn't always straightforward, and they rarely worked as expected, ...

Touch and the virtual keyboard are things that you don't realize how great they are until you can't use them, use them for a month, then have to go back to the old way. The iPhone changed the cell phone industry. I remember watching the keynote for it and it was a jaw-dropper because NOTHING worked like that at the time. In the back of my mind, I could hear the execs at Nokia and RIM saying a collective "Oh crap ..."

Um ...

"Just how many bugs/exploits are going to be found when Linux finally starts getting more mainstream attention as an operating system?"

Well, considering that Linux has all but replaced Unix platforms in corporations (you know, the big places with all the money that the goverment hasn't stolen), that makes them 1) prime targets and therefore 2) mainstream enough for people who are serious about getting into places they shouldn't be.

Stop Press Shocker!

Apple is dropping support for PowerPC in Snow Leopard; no sense in delaying the impending inevitable.

Composition

Maybe it's made of things lighter than hydrogen: Ballmer's insight, Gates' integrity, Jobs' humility, Blogojovich's honesty, Gordon Brown's utility, Dell's innovation, NASCAR's excitement, actress' intelligence, ...

Is coal clean?

The enviroweenies won't let us use nuclear, they hate burning oil and gas, wind is way too inefficient, building hydro-electric dams hurts the fish, geothermal and solar aren't highly scalable, ... and that leaves coal or burning wood. This is better?

For all the problems with petroleum, it's cheap (certainly cheaper than milk or bottled water or soda or beer), efficient, has the infrastructure already, and is a known technology.

I think the real problem is that oil companies make money, and profit always seems to make lefties twitchy.

@Counter Offer

Licensing the OS won't work. Apple tried this before with the clone program in the 90s. It nearly killed the company.

Think about it

If you buy OS X and hack to run on a homegrown box, Apple doesn't really care. You bought OS X for $129 (or $29 this time around, yay!), which they wouldn't have gotten otherwise. You probably got it to tinker around with, test drive, poke around here and there ... remember, Woz and Jobs started off selling to hobbyists. They're cool with it, but don't, of course, expect much help from customer support or a genius bar.

Now, if you do that and start reselling the computers, then they got issues. Their cost of doing business will escalate as people call in for support. Their reputation drops as the quality is iffy, and Apple has built their reputation for quality goods; it's a large part of what keeps them profitable even in this consumer market. And the people you're selling to are far more likely to be people who would buy a Mac, thus cutting under their profit. And just how much are you returning to Apple for each copy of OS X sold?

Different cases. One is being a hobbyist, the other is using the OS in a way that is against the EULA and undermines Apple's business.(And this from a pro-business libertarian, I'll have you know.)

@Fred Flintstone

8 years of empire building? Try 76 or 96. The last president who contracted government was Coolidge.

I'm no fan of W, but he was a piker compared to FDR and LBJ.

A few thoughts

Saturn: This was just bought by Roger Penske; Saturn is no longer completely under GM's umbrella. Big changes: every Saturn will come with one big lug nut per wheel, and after your first 500 miles, you get to climb the fence at their dealership and drink a glass of milk.

Prius on 3rd generation: Remember, there is an advantage in allowing others to make the first mistakes in a new area.

Prius: My boss at a former job had a Prius, claimed how great the mileage was. He got 40MPG driving like an old lady. My five year old VW Golf diesel was getting 45MPG with me driving like I was The Stig. I still say that the added weight/inertia of the batteries and accompanying electrical systems make the Prius less efficient than you'd at first think. That is a lot of mass to a car that size, and let's not even get into how environmentally damaging the manufacturing process for the batteries is.

SUV: Most GM buyers have families. We have two growing boys still required to use car seats. We take our four bikes and two beagles everywhere. We also live in a place that gets its share of ice and snow (on hilly terrain) in the winter. So yes, we own an SUV as well. And remember, an SUV is where the hybrid system makes the most sense: the added mass is small in proportion to the overall weight of the vehicle, and the SUV's mileage rating is such that 1MPG makes a bigger environmental difference than it does in the Prius range.

GM's problems: GM's main problems are due to the idiot deals they had with the unions back in the 60s and 70s ... the sort of deals that killed British Leyland, American Motors, and nearly killed Chrysler back in the late 70s/early 80s. GM and Ford are *still* paying for this, and it is such a drain on their resources. The cars GM makes are actually good these days. The Cadillac line, particularly the CTS, is great, the OnStar system is a great idea, the new Vette is fantastic, and last year Consumer Reports had Buick tied with Lexus at #1 in customer satisfaction. And as usual, the truck division makes the best things going in that area, though they are having to respond to Toyota's efforts in that area. (The good ol' free market; who knew?) They also made a shrewd move to buy Daewoo and have them make their small cars cheaply (ie at a profit) rather than continuing to make their own at a loss.

Fairly common

I worked for a company that got de-monopolized (long story) and was split in two. The government MANDATED a no-poach and no-hire policy for eighteen months.

Of course, things are only good if the government blesses them so.

Please

Anyone who ever claimed that Macs have no vulnerabilities is an idiot speaking utter b@lls, to such a level that he/she probably works as an administrator for government schools. Any computer hooked up to a network has a risk of vulnerabitlites ... yes, kiddies, even Linux and BSD. Now, it's the *rate* and *severity* and *duration* of those vulnerabilities you need to watch out for.

Hold on

"I could have done what most Americans do, sue the bastards."

Uh, hold on. Most Americans don't do this; the ones who do this get reported. Most of us, like most people everywhere, are alright folks. Flawed, but alright, just like everywhere. However, it's just journalism; a successful plane landing isn't a headline. Which of the following is more likely to be a headline?

"Former Student Sues University for Lack of Employment"

"4,999 Other Students from Last Year's Class Get on with Their Lives"

@No reason why not

"Overpriced. Underpowered."

Less space than a Nomad. Lame.

Blame AT&T

AT&T is actually rebranded SBC, and they are a terrible company. Always have been. When they took over Ameritech, service went into the tank. It was so bad that the FCC got involved, and, under deposition, blamed all the complaints on Ameritech (ie Midwest) customers who actually expected them to do what they promised on the dates they promised. Selfish Midwesterners.

@DaveCrav

Being a monopoly (or whatever the US government decides is a monopoly) is not in and of itself illegal. It is abusing that monopoly, ie leveraging it via unethical business practices to extend the monopoly into other areas, that is illegal.

Case in point: iPod and iTunes. This is not an illegal monopoly. For one thing, there are alternatives that exist. Second, iTunes and the iPod allow the use of open (or open-ish) formats: mp3, mp4, etc. Third, the DRM was not Apple's idea, but the labels'. Fourth, Apple hasn't tried to use the iPod to strong-arm into other areas. Influence, maybe ("You do know that we are by far the biggest market for personal media player peripherals, right? Maybe you could make those cases for the iPhone.") ; but not force ("Make cases for us exclusively or your puppy gets it.").

And remember, it's all how you spin things. MS is a software company. Some argue that Apple is a software company, a hardware company, whatever. In truth, they are a *solutions* company. They sell you the whole widget. Don't like that? Okay, that's fine, there are other solutions out there.

Uh ...

"Everyone runs faster in a race where there are more people."

Then she needs to explain Secretariat at The Belmont. (YouTube will show you the race.)

Shakespeare was right

First thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.

Why all the negativity?

This thing isn't even out yet, and it might all be leaked disinformation or smokescreen. One would think, between the way that Apple have changed the game in the MP3 player and cell phone markets, they'd at least be given the chance to show us the darn thing first before you pronounce judgement. Maybe it will be a success. Maybe it will be an utter failure. Maybe it doesn't even exist. The hatehs need to be reminded of:

"No wireless. Less space than a Nomad. Lame."

Don't worry!

Our Secretary of State will get to the bottom of this! It's not like Hillary owes anything to the Chinese gov-- uh, nevermind.

Sincerely,

Charlie Tri

Damn

I was thinking about buying some Apple stock a few weeks ago. Then I decided to put the cash towards the down payment on our new house. Ah, well, regardless, it's a win.

Nice to see that a company that innovates (or puts forth a good effort to it) is succeeding. And yes, I down own a Mac, but I also own a Linux box and work on Windows, Solaris, and Linux for my daily bread.

One thing bothers me

Well, okay, several things do. But WRT this, I don't see the point.

I was skeptical when Apple opened their stores, but I could see the point. The shopping experiences in Apple retailers wasn't good. The local outfit was fine, but in other places I'd lived/visited, it was like pulling hen's teeth to get questions asked, to try out the latest equipment or models, etc. The big box retailers were, if anything, worse. Often you'd go into CompUSSR and the Macs were old models, broken, and generally looked like they'd been treated like an ex-husband. Meanwhile, the sales people were on commission from HP, Dell, etc, and would steer customers away from any Apple product.

So Apple having the stores, where you could see the latest and greatest hardware and software, with friendly trained staff and a genius bar to answer your questions, made sense. The customer channels weren't doing their job. IIRC, they hired someone from The Gap to create the sort of store that was inviting and enhanced the purchasing/browsing experience. Apple stores are inviting, well laid-out, and aren't crammed with product. They are sometimes crammed with customers, but hey, nice problem to have, right?

MS has hired an executive from WalMart. Before the economic issues, WalMart was in trouble because people were getting fed up with their experience their (long lines, no layaway, unhelpful staff, etc) that they were willing to pay more to go elsewhere. And WalMart's customer base isn't one that is generally willing to spend more money for the same product. So I don't expect the shopping experience to be on par with Apple's.

And this isn't even getting into what MS is saying to Best Buy, HP, Dell, Sony, etc; what products they're going to display; or how MS is more business-oriented than consumer-oriented. They may succeed, but I have more serious doubts about this than I did about Apple's foray into retail. Then again, no one asked me.

A point not mentioned

The Pre was posing as an iPod. Okay, that's clever enough, but suppose someone wrote a virus that attached to a drive, which posed as an iPod, and pulled over contact and calendar information, ...

A bit far-fetched, perhaps, but surely there is a potential security issue here.

@Jeremy 2

"And Americans wonder why people outside think their legal system is a joke"

No, we don't wonder; we think the same thing. Remember, laws are created and managed by lawyers. It's just that there is no risk on frivilous lawsuits.

James may was right ...

A nation of bolshy, work-shy peasants.

A thought

How many of those netbooks shipped are replacements? The ones I've tried have a build quality that brings to mind the phrase "Soviet quality".

Yeah

Anyone who believes in government control is welcome to listen to my stories about travelling in the two Germanies back in the 80s.