Tolerance

Why is it that we set our standards so low for our computers? I was talking with a coworker and he just bought a laptop with Vista. He likes the laptop and the speed and went on about it. Then, almost as a side note, he tells me that Vista isn't so great, it randomly reboots once it's finished updating itself. Without warning. It just decides on it's own to close whatever you're working on and reboot. That's not a good feature. But it didn't seem to bother him. Or take the crazy errors we get from XP. I've been getting a VB script runtime error every time I log in for the last week. But we just go about our business, thinking it's normal. I tell you. But really we're kind of stuck because that's what the rest of the world uses. Kind of frustrating but what can you do? Oh I know, run a Mac! The only thing that prevents me from doing that at work is my need for Access. All of our research database stuff goes there and I can't get to it with a Mac. Otherwise I'd be all over it. I think Apple is needs to move towards more integration with Windows, only then will they gain more marketshare. They're on the right path with Boot Camp but I don't think running Windows on a Mac is the answer. Creating programs that are better than what Microsoft offers, that are 100% compatible will lead to greater sales. Only then will the common man see the premium price tag that Apple charges as worth it. In my opinion...

Hopefully the Free Software Foundation doesn't mind that I borrowed this pic from them. They want all digital things to be free, right? hehe. I guess that's why you can BUY their free software. Yes, you can BUY free software from them. Oh, I guess it's free in the open source sense, not price. But then why are they such proponents of 'free as in freedom'? Doesn't that mean without out price? Such contradictions. Check them out here.

iWork Upgrade is not happening

So I'm a little behind the times and just picked up a copy of iWork '06 2 weeks ago. Little did I know the new version was coming out!! Doh. I was at the university computer shop complaining about it to the guy who sold it to me and one of his cronies thought I could get a free upgrade if I purchased it in the last 30 days. Cool! I thought. So I called Apple and you can't get an upgrade from iWork '06 to '08. I have a feeling it's because it includes a new app, something they don't want to give away will nilly. But the good news is you CAN get an upgrade form iLife '06 to '08 if you bought it recently (2 weeks or 30 days depending on who you ask). So that's something you've got going for you.

Santa Claus is dead

Earlier this week the Fake Steve Jobs was unmasked as an editor at Forbes. This has completely ruined my enjoyment of the FSJ blog. It was funny thinking about some 30 something hipster impersonating Steve Jobs with his witty repertoire. Now we found out FSJ is some stuffy middle-aged fool. I've tried all week to enjoy the blog but now it's just not as fun. The writing doesn't seem as witty or free, especially now that the blog is published regularly in Forbes. That kills it right there. It's easy to fling insults and be funny when you're anonymous, there are no consequences. But now that he's outed and he has a 'sponsoring' publisher he needs to be more reserved. I can already see the change in the most recent posts. Above all I don't see why he had to admit who he was. Why not continue with the game? That would have been more fun. Oh well. I guess it is what it is. I just feel like someone pissed in my cheerios.

Dude, it's totally new and rad...Kind of

Well here it is in all it's glory. Not as substantial of a redesign as I expected but it's still pretty cool. Basically it's just a new skin, aluminum, instead of the clean room white plastic. There are technical improvements, faster processor, graphics card, more RAM capacity, but the look was what I expected to change the most. I have to say I'm slightly disappointed. It's more like a modification rather than a redesign. Oh well. The keyboard is way sweet! I can't wait to find out how much that costs. Hopefully not more thanthe $30 they charge for the pretty white one. I think the keyboard design was more substantial than the computer redesign New iLife and iWork too? Looks like I'll be blowing my load on new software this fall. I just bought iWork '06!!! I tell you. Speaking of iWork '06 I'll be posting my thoughts on that a little later. For now enjoy the new iMac.

iMac dujour

Tomorrow we should be seeing the new imacs. I bet the mini gets axed. It's just like a good soap opera, who will live, who will die, and who will be reinvented? There's a lot of speculation that they'll look like this but I don' t think so. It doesn't look hip and stylized enough. I'm guessing they start departing from the refrigerator white. I doubt they'll put an aluminum shell on it like the mac pro. That seems to be they're big distinction across groups. Maybe back to colors again? As long as it's not Bondi Blue I think we'll be OK. We'll see.

Mac Village

Here you go, make your own origami Mac. A good weekend project for those with nothing better to do. Also good for a friday afternoon work project if you know what I mean.

Helpful Tip

Everyone loves Macs but the problem is they're freakin' expensive. But if you're willing to live with a slightly older machine you can score one for fairly cheap at university/state surplus auctions. I went to one last weekend and I saw old graphite G4's going for less than $50. Granted, they were pretty stripped but that's still not a bad deal. I was able to score one (graphite G4) about 6 months ago and after putting a new hard drive in it, a video card, and some RAM I had lying around I was good to go. I think the machine was about $50, the hard drive $70 and the rest of the parts were free. So for $130 I've got a solid working Mac. Not bad at all. If you're into more vintage Apples you can go CRAZY. PowerPCs like the one pictured were flying out the door at the auction for $5-10. Old G3 Blue and Whites were going for like $20. I even saw an old Quadra server go for about the same. Also check out university computer shops. They typically sell Macs at the student discount price to the general public.