Archive for May, 2009
Microsoft to Refine Netbook Definition to Manufacturers.. And Charge More for Not Being Small Enough?
Ugh. Microsoft is at it again. Reportedly, Microsoft is going to put some sharper restrictions around rules on what they define as a netbook and charge different prices for netbooks and non-netbook laptops. They plan on charging slightly less “Windows Tax” (yes, Windows tax, not Apple tax as they liked to call the extra price associated with purchasing an Apple.. somehow we let them help us forget that just a couple short years ago one couldn’t buy a prebuilt PC without Windows on it) for a “netbook” than for a “laptop”. Whatever the heck that means. Perhaps later they can tell us what “cloud computing” means.. Anyway, they plan on bumping the size restriction on the term “netbook” down to a maximum of 10.6 inches from 12.1 before.
I’m certainly not going to pay slightly more for an OS on a laptop just because it’s 11 inches instead of 10.6. That’s crazy talk. However, I’m certainly not going to go and purchase a laptop (excuse me, “netbook”) with a smaller screen just to save a few dollars. No, I’m going to purchase what I need to get my job done. Good economy, bad economy, okay economy, whatever.. People and businesses purchase computers as tools to make their jobs easier.
Forcing people into an upgrade, of course, is an old trick for Microsoft, but let’s be serious. Let’s call anything with a mobile processor like the Intel Atom a netbook and call it good. I can just hear the conversation at my next meeting: “Oops, we have to move the projector closer to the wall. My laptop only came with Windows 7 Ultimate 4′ Edition and the projector is causing my screen to show at least 5′ across on the wall”. Call me a fanboy or whatever you want, just give me Linux or Mac OS X where they don’t charge me more just because the stupid screen is slightly bigger than some arbitrary size. What’s next? Is my hard drive too big? Too much memory? Too many bookmarks in IE?
Tags: licensing stupidity, microsoft, windows
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May 27th, 2009
OS X 10.5.7 Finally Arrives
The seventh update to Apple’s OS X “Leopard” has finally arrived. The update was rumored to arrive on Friday, but the rumor mill apparently was wrong this time. The update weighs in at a hefty 449MB and includes loads of updates for several components of OS X, including: Apache, Bind, iChat, Kerberos, Flash, PHP, Ruby, Safari, Spotlight, and X11. Along with the updates for the OS X, Apple also released a security update for both Safari 3 and 4. The update mirror seems fairly slow from my Internet connection, so be patient. The update is available via Software Update on your Mac and does require a reboot.
Tags: apple, os x
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May 12th, 2009
The English Language Finally Catches Up
Well, the rest of the world seems to have finally caught up with whatan00b. Media outlets have reported that it’s being estimated by the Global Language Monitor (GLM) that the one millionth word will be added to the English dictionary on June 10, 2009. The word? “noob”! This is exciting news for whatan00b since its whole existence is based upon.. well n00bs existing.
“noob” is one of several words vying for the position. A word is added to the dictionary when the GLM has on record 25,000 uses of it in media outlets. If one counts forum posts and some other outlets online, I can’t imagine that it’s lower than 25,000, but it’s nice that noob will finally get the recognition it deserves. As the author of this forum post says “Now gaming culture has “pwned” the English Dictionary.” It’s just too bad that the word wasn’t recognized when there was 25,000 n00bs in existence, rather than how many times it was used. We would’ve had a word a long time ago.. 
Tags: n00bs, random
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May 12th, 2009
Canonical Launches Online Sync Service
Canonical has launched a beta service called Ubuntu One which will allow Ubuntu users to keep files in sync across the Internet as well as gain access to their files on other computers via a web interface. The service gives the user 2GB of online storage or 10GB for $10 per month and could give Canonical another revenue stream so it can maintain its free product.
While the service is very young and still in beta, it does seem pretty limiting… and expensive. The service not only requires you to be on Ubuntu, but Ubuntu 9.04 or higher. A similar service, Dropbox has a 2GB sync service for free and you get 50GB for $10 each month or 100GB for $20 per month. Dropbox also runs on Windows, Linux (several distros), or OS X which would give it an upper hand. I’m guessing that OS integration is where this product will shine, but it’s too early to tell. It’ll be interesting to see where this young product will go.
Tags: ubuntu
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May 12th, 2009
Vista Needs More RAM Than OS X: A Vista Selling Point?
Microsoft’s recent “Laptop Hunters” ad campaign as well as their “TCO” comparison have been stirring quite a bit of controversy in the blogosphere, but their last add might be the most laughable of them all. The ad proclaims that Apple’s most expensive laptop under $2000 only has 2GB of RAM. They do have a good point. “Out of the box”, the low-end MacBook Pro has only 2GB of RAM at $1999. You can add more RAM if you want to, but that brings the price up. Of course.. what they don’t mention is why the Vista laptops usually come with 3GB of RAM or higher.
If you take a look at the minimum system requirements, Windows Vista Premium requires 1GB of RAM. Windows Vista Basic requires 512MB of RAM, but that doesn’t suit most users’ needs. OS X Leopard, on the other hand, only requires 512MB. (Can we call it OS X Leopard Premium?) Now, I’ve run Leopard on 512MB of RAM. The system is usable. Not incredible, but not too bad. Ever try running Windows Vista on 1GB of RAM? Pretty much the same. It works. It’s just not overly usable. I guess I am not quite sure how the PC that comes with 3 times the required memory is a better value than the Mac with 4 times its required memory. The fact that to get a well-performing Vista laptop, you need more system resources is a selling point?? Since when? What are your thoughts? Out of control ad campaign or legit?
Filed under Uncategorized : Comments (0) : May 5th, 2009
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