posted on June 6, 2005 01:51:33 PM
Just reading where Apple is going to start using Intel chips instead of IBM.
I thinnk in the long run this will spell trouble for Apple, especially as they have to redo some code.
posted on June 6, 2005 03:21:33 PM
Not necesarily, but it will probably cause incompatibility problems.
I had been thinking about buying a new Mac, but now, I don't know. It could be years before these new things hit the shelf, but who wants to buy a machine knowing they'll be even more obsolete than the usual computer obsolescence?
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Quidquid Latine dictum sit altum sonatur.
posted on June 6, 2005 03:35:43 PM
Well Replay - if they decide to make the change it will announced this week. I doubt it will happen though. It doesn't make a lot of sense on many levels and the most glaring is the one that you expressed. Apple is showing growth at every stage and an announcement like this would bring it to a screaching halt.
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No, I'm saying -- I'm merely -- I'm saying what I'm saying. I don't know why I'm always having people say, are you trying to say -- you know what you can do if you want to know what I'm saying is listen to what I'm saying. What I'm saying is what I said ...
posted on June 6, 2005 03:36:34 PM
BTW - When are you buying me lunch for all of the referrals I am trying to send your way
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No, I'm saying -- I'm merely -- I'm saying what I'm saying. I don't know why I'm always having people say, are you trying to say -- you know what you can do if you want to know what I'm saying is listen to what I'm saying. What I'm saying is what I said ...
I'm not sure what to make of it yet, as there haven't been any specifics announced. I don't know if Intel is going to make a custom PowerPC type chip for them, or what. One thing is for certain, IMO: This absolutely does NOT mean that any dipstick with an x86 processor beige box will be able to suddenly install the (Mac) OSX he's been wishing he could have for cheap. Apple will see to it that a proprietary ROM is established which will keep their OS firmly tied to their hardware. That's how they won't be just another PC brand..Steve Jobs doesn't like clones, never has, and I can't see any reason why he would change that opinion. Apple's beauty (notice I didn't say anything about market share) has always been the way their hardware flawlessly interfaces with the operating system. That, IMO, won't change, just because the chip maker has. There's nothing wrong with Intel chips per se, it's just that crap OS they've always catered to that has slowed them down. Apple will make sure the Intel chips are up to snuff, or they'll dump them. IBM, alas, is focused on the game box market and they've shorted Apple one too many times for a good relationship to continue.
These questions about trouble for Apple have always been around, every time there's a blip or change in direction. I've often thought their slogan should be "Apple Computer, going out of business since 1984"
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Dick Cheney: "I have not suggested there's a connection between Iraq and 9/11..."
posted on June 7, 2005 05:40:13 AM
Their market share would put most businesses out of business. But they have loayal buyers and must provide a good quality product. (Never owned one, I like to be able to upgrade single components)
But looking at a mini-mac
I am curious though if the software will be buggy being new?
Or will apple beat MS in that area once again? I still say that MS lets its customers test their software and patch it along the way.
posted on June 7, 2005 07:33:36 AMI am curious though if the software will be buggy being new?
It turns out that the software won't be new at all. Apple has been writing the OS X operating system for both Intel and IBM processors all along in secret. There've always been rumors to this effect, but Jobs confirmed it in the keynote address yesterday. It's always been a cross platform OS. They've had as much time to perfect the OS on Intel chips as they've had for the current PPC chips. As far as 3rd party apps are concerned, many of the biggies, like Adobe and M$ announced that they will have no difficulty with the transition for programs like Photoshop and Office.
While this change makes me a little nervous, one thing that does occur to me that may be a real boon for Apple; there are gobs of Windows users who would love to run Windows on Apple hardware. And there are a few rare occasions when we Mac users need Windows. For example, my online banking only supports Quicken for Windows, not Mac. As a result, I have to either use a program called Virtual PC, which emulates Windows on my Mac, and then run Quicken for Windows. It slows the machine way down because it's then running two memory hogging operating systems at the same time, or I can do my banking from my Dell box, which requires a reboot because I normally run Linux on it..While Apple and Intel will fix it so you can't install Mac OS X on a 499.00 Dell, Apple VP Phil Schiller addressed the issue of running Windows on Macs, saying there are no plans to sell or support Windows on an Intel-based Mac. "That doesn't preclude someone from running it on a Mac. They probably will," he said. "We won't do anything to preclude that."
Personally, when I get one of the new Intel Macs, one of the first things I'm going to do is install Windows on it for those rare times when I need it. I bet a lot of people are going to see this as a real bonus. It'll certainly eliminate those whiney gamers who complain that they can't play certain games on Macs.
The WWDC keynote address is really interesting to watch, if you can get a good stream to come in. Apple's website is getting hit pretty hard. Watch it real early or real late. Here's the link, you need Quicktime to view:
posted on June 7, 2005 07:35:41 AM
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WASHINGTONEBAYER:
"Their market share would put most businesses out of business."
Yeah, but they're not trying to own the market, they're trying to make a profit. If they run a profit and manage to control 2%-3% of an umpteen trillion dollar market, that's a LOT of money.
No, they'll never BEAT Microsoft. But they're not TRYING to beat Microsoft.
"I like to be able to upgrade single components"
I used to think the same thing, but then I thought about it...
When was the last time you upgraded something in your computer? Back in the day of 486's and original Pentiums, I upgraded and switched out cards all the time. Maybe it's just me, but nowadays, most components are built right into the motherboard, so you can't swap them out anymore. If something goes BOOM, you have to replace the motherboard for $100 or so.
I have a higher end video card in my PC system, other than that, everything came built in the computer. Things like RAM and Hard Drives are easily upgradable in most Mac systems.
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FENIX:
Referrals? For What?
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PROFE:
All the geeks seem to want OSX for the PC. I don't get that. They have Linux, BSD and a host of other Unix-like options, which are very similar (and in some ways better) than OSX... And they're FREE. Maybe not as pretty, but every bit as secure and safe.
Just because Intel will make the processor does NOT mean Mac will be the same as PC.
People don't seem to understand that Apple is a COMPUTER company, not a software company. They make money by selling COMPUTERS, not Operating Systems. If they sold their (marginally profitable) Operating System to run on competing PC hardware their Mac system sales would die overnight. OSX for the PC? It's just never gonna happen, as it would kill Apple.
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And as far as software compatibility with the new Intel chips, I assume they will give people some sort of compatibility layer for the new system, something like Virtual PC or Whatever that thing was called that let you run OS9 apps from within early versions of OSX. Will the old software run natively on the new systems? Almost certainly not, but that doesn't mean you are out of luck with your old software.
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Quidquid Latine dictum sit altum sonatur.
posted on June 7, 2005 08:03:32 AM
Replay - Referral for Works.
I pretty much have all the ones I need for awhile so the last couple times I have referred someone to Works I tell them to say you sent them to get the third free week.
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No, I'm saying -- I'm merely -- I'm saying what I'm saying. I don't know why I'm always having people say, are you trying to say -- you know what you can do if you want to know what I'm saying is listen to what I'm saying. What I'm saying is what I said ...
posted on June 7, 2005 08:04:46 AM
Prof - thanks for the info. I can't bleieve they did it but OK. Wonder what the stock is going to do this week
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
No, I'm saying -- I'm merely -- I'm saying what I'm saying. I don't know why I'm always having people say, are you trying to say -- you know what you can do if you want to know what I'm saying is listen to what I'm saying. What I'm saying is what I said ...
posted on June 7, 2005 08:27:34 AM
Ron - Macs can absolutely be ugraded. Very easy to to ugrade and the best part is you are never going to buy a new compnoent for your Mac that conflicts or is incompatible with your existing system.
I have owned and upgaded Macs I was a weee little tyke and the only time I have ever had a problem with a Mac was when a battery I was not aware existed died... and when I had to explain to my boss that, stressed out and in the middle of a publication deadline, I replaced the $5 battery in my Quadra with a $3000 PowerMac and a couple extra toys.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
No, I'm saying -- I'm merely -- I'm saying what I'm saying. I don't know why I'm always having people say, are you trying to say -- you know what you can do if you want to know what I'm saying is listen to what I'm saying. What I'm saying is what I said ...
- Ann Coulter
[ edited by fenix03 on Jun 7, 2005 08:28 AM ]
posted on June 7, 2005 10:10:06 AM
replay, you're correct in every respect...there ain't ever gonna be Mac OS on beige boxes..but there will be Windows on Macs. I bet M$ is plotting already how to avoid that one. Trouble is, there are already millions of copies of XP Pro floating around that shipped with Virtual PC, and which don't need authentication to install.
fenix, you know how it is, Steve Jobs sneezes, the "experts" come out of the woodwork predicting Apple's demise, and the stock takes a dump. More interesting will be next year, once the "IntelMac" shipping pipeline is full. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and predict seriously brisk sales of these new machines.
Ron, please forgive my pickiness, but it's Mac, not MAC. I'm typing this right now on a 1999 vintage Macintosh Blue and White Yosemite tower. It began life as 400mhz G3 machine with a 6 gig PCI drive and 128 mb of ram. It had a CDROM and a zip drive built in. When ram got cheap a few years ago, I stuffed it with it's full complement, 1gb. Last fall, I decided to upgrade it. It now has 3 120gb hard drives, a 1ghz G4 processor, and an Apple Superdrive, which will burn DVD's. I accomplished that resurrection with 500 dollars and about 45 minutes worth of work. It's never needed a new power supply, motherboard, or any of that other stuff the PC builders are always talking about, because Macintosh power supplies, motherboards and other hardware rarely ever die. This machine has lived it's entire life in my dusty, evaporative cooled, 100 year old woodstove heated barn office. Think manure, flies, mold, mildew, smoke, dust and temperature extremes as the normal environment. I have 25 year old Apple II's at school whose original keyboards and mice have been hammered on by school kids since the 80's that still function just fine as word processors. Macs can certainly be upgraded. They just don't need it so often.
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Dick Cheney: "I have not suggested there's a connection between Iraq and 9/11..."
posted on June 7, 2005 11:13:40 AM
"Think manure, flies, mold, mildew, smoke, dust and temperature extremes"
I could probably come up with a really good wisecrack for that line, but I'll leave that stuff to the other thread
As far as the upgrades go, Profe is correct, but it does depend on which system you buy. The "tower" style Powermacs are every bit as upgradable as a typical PC, even moreso considering some cheapo PC systems. But, if you go with an iMac, eMac or Mac Mini, you'll be able to upgrade RAM and hard drives and that's about it.
But he's also right on about the reliability of the systems. They last forever, sometimes longer than you would like. I'd like to get a new Mac Mini or iMac, but my old 233Mhz Bondi Blue iMac JUST WON'T DIE!!!
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Quidquid Latine dictum sit altum sonatur.
posted on June 7, 2005 11:18:04 AM
Replay - just kill the battery and don't tell your wife.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
No, I'm saying -- I'm merely -- I'm saying what I'm saying. I don't know why I'm always having people say, are you trying to say -- you know what you can do if you want to know what I'm saying is listen to what I'm saying. What I'm saying is what I said ...
posted on June 7, 2005 01:02:22 PM
MAC - High end cosmetic line
Mac - High end computer line
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
No, I'm saying -- I'm merely -- I'm saying what I'm saying. I don't know why I'm always having people say, are you trying to say -- you know what you can do if you want to know what I'm saying is listen to what I'm saying. What I'm saying is what I said ...
- Ann Coulter
[ edited by fenix03 on Jun 7, 2005 01:02 PM ]
posted on June 7, 2005 09:59:29 PM
Right again Replay. It's the towers that are the most upgradeable. The lower end machines are aimed primarily at users who would never think of cracking their own computer's case, which is, after all, most people, and they are remarkably well set up. My son has an eMac, and it is the best bang for your buck out there, IMO. He runs photoshop, burns DVD's, does his homework and is connected to our network wirelessly, all for about a thousand bucks.
____________________________________________
Dick Cheney: "I have not suggested there's a connection between Iraq and 9/11..."
