bob-bob's Profile

  • Jan 04, 2010
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Latest comments made by: bob-bob

  • The real cost of a new Mac Pro Desktop - base price $2500 ($2800 w/tax) Monitor - base price $900 ($980 tax) TOTAL: $3780 almost $4000 fricken dollars (are you kidding me ?) Apple has made it near impossible for most people to afford it
    bob-bob had this to say on Apr 16, 2010 Posts: 12
    Are Macs More Expensive?
  • Because that is how most people shop. Most computer users don't want to or need to know all about computer hardware. Therefore, they don't need to go do a months worth of research beforehand. They go out shopping, and come home with a computer. They'll have a budget and the uses in mind beforehand; portability, a big screen, good graphics, etc. It doesn't take much to find a computer that will suit them. Sure it might not be the best option possible option, but is spending a month beforehand searching and researching time well spent? I would say not. Sure, I've just spent the past 2 weeks researching, and I've just bought all the parts to build my next computer. Worth it for me because I enjoyed it, and I know I'm getting exactly what I want. But most people (95%+) aren't interested in doing this. Why would they be? It's a machine to browse the web, write some documents, and consume media on, etc.
  • Just a quick fact correction: Nokia does not actually run any of their phones on Linux, but instead use a closed-source OS called Symbian, , which started as a collaboration between several companies, but which Nokia now own 100%. This OS also runs on a few other phones by different manufacturers; Sony Ericsson and the Samsung Innov8 are two which spring to mind. I can't see Windows Mobile doing anything in the future, manufacturers have their own solutions, Apple is a viable competitor, Google is well... Google, and the internet is a big game-changer from the days of Windows 95. All this competition is a great thing, and will hopefully drive innovation. I think in a few years time, we'll have a better idea of where the market is heading, but if Windows Mobile doesn't pull something special out of the bag, it's never going to be the dominant force in the mobile space.
    bob-bob had this to say on Mar 10, 2009 Posts: 12
    Will the Mobile World Push Microsoft to Irrelevancy?
  • "...Windows systems with dozens of new viruses every day" I would LOVE to see a citation for that! Maybe you should look at Windows Vista/7. Writing a birus for these are much more difficult to write, and it is much much much more secure than XP, especially with UAC switched on, where the user must ACTIVELY DECIDE TO INSTALL THE VIRUS BY IGNORING THE WARNING. And please don't go "LULZZZ Vista"; while it's not the greatest OS ever released, it is more than good enough for corporations and 99% of users, and Windows 7 is turning out to be a much more polished version of Vista, which looks like it is going to shut a lot of people up. And as you said, trojans require fools to work, which I'm sure there are some fools who use Macs, thereby negating their perceived advantage, no? Corporations won't consider Macs for lots of reasons: 1. Most larger corporations will have in-house software/macros etc which run on Windows. A huge huge deal. 2. What do you buy from Apple? Minis, iMacs, or PowerMacs? Hmm... not a great choice, any of them. I'll stick with my Dells and HPs, where you get what you want, thank you very much. 3. Where is Apple's corporate software; Exchange etc? The range of business software on Windows is far far far wider than anything available on Macs. 4. If the reason for moving to Apple is for security, why not move to Linux? Plenty of companies are, obviously it's still only a very small percentage, but most flavours of Linux meet the needs of corporations better than OSX does. 5. Macs cost more. End of. The TCO will not be less than an equivalent Windows shop. 6. "the management of patching those holes is so much easier than Windows". WRONG. Microsoft have an awesome update schedule which runs like clockwork, unless a major security flaw is found, in which case a patch will be released earlier. This makes it easy to plan updates within the company, and it can be totally centralised. Unlike Apple, which release updates and patches whenever they feel like it, and a lot of the time don't even say what the patch is for, rather than it just "fixes a security hole".
  • "I ran - figuratively speaking - screaming from there, clutching my aching head after less than a minute. There's so many options and configurations it'll make your brain explode." Emm... what? The HP and Dell websites, while more complex that the Apple Store can (and has been) used by my mother. You can select pre-configured models, or customise it to your exact requirements. So you can choose exactly what you want. -First, you can select the type of laptop you want - from low-end to high-end, with the base prices shown, and a small blurb telling you some marketing stuff: http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/category.aspx/notebooks?c=ie&cs=iedhs1&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=mn -After that they are sorted by screen size. You then generally have a choice between a few pre-configured models, or you can click customise, and build it yourself. -If you choose not to customise, then you're set, pay for it, and that's it. -If you choose to customise - you can select your processor, harddrive, memory, screen type etc, whether you want a webcam/bluetooth/wireless and lots of others. You DON'T need to do this, but you can if you want. Therefore, you can get your nice Firewire port if needed. If choosing what type of processor you want makes your brain explode, I wouldn't really call you a "pro-sumer". You complain about Apple not giving you choices, and then you laugh at HP for giving you these choices... And finally, what a great "I'm a Mac" ad that would be. "Hi, I'm a Mac, and you have two choices if you buy me. If you don't like either of them, then it's your problem, not mine." PC: "I'm a PC, I don't try to dictate or tell you what it is you want, you can choose yourself." GENIUS!
    bob-bob had this to say on Oct 29, 2008 Posts: 12
    Is Apple Conning Consumers?
  • I may be wrong, but I thought it was to promote Mac OS 9, as I remember there were a lot of tips showing you how to use iDisk with Mac OS 8.5 (which apple didn't support).
    bob-bob had this to say on Jul 19, 2008 Posts: 12
    July 17, 2002: Apple Kills iTools
  • Command-A isn't going to work for something that's multiple lines, it will delete all of them. I don't use macs so I'm not positive, but I suspect these ubiquitous hotkeys have nothing to do with emacs; these are all readline hotkeys, and mac OS probably uses readline (linux does extensively)
    bob-bob had this to say on Jul 09, 2008 Posts: 12
    Emacs Commands Work in OS X, How Awesome is That?
  • Why do apple and duracell price differently depending on market? Every buyer in the world has a different amount they would pay for a product - Bill Gates would pay $1m for a dell PC if there was no other choice and he wanted to code, an Indian CS student might never be able to pay more than $200 as that's all he's got. Similarly every seller in the world has a price he'd sell for - maybe a little bit more than what it costs them to get the stuff in the first place. Somewhere between these two prices the deal is made. The seller wants to maximise his profit - cut his price til he sells as much as possible, without cutting it so far he cuts his profits. The buyer wants to push down the price, but not so far enough that he puts the seller out of business. In India people are less able to pay, and it costs less to make, distribute and sell things. This is why prices are lower there (e.g. batteries) iTunes pricing is set by apple because there is no real competition - so the deal is made at the seller's price, rather than the buyer's price. Not sure why this means European prices are lower, but here's a hypothesis - Rich Britons are very rich, and they can afford to pay a lot for iTunes. Non-rich Britons don't buy music off iTunes, so dropping the price will just cut profits. Second theory - the prices need to be set by Apple to last for some time. The pound is volatile against the Euro, so Apple needs to protect itself against the fx rate by buying options. This costs money and adds to the price. The pound is a high interest rate currency, so in the future it is expected to fall. Hence the move is against apple - if it sets the price at 1 euro = 75p now, in two years time it will only be getting .95 Euro = 75p. It's difficult to raise the price of products, so it's better to set the price high now than have to hike it in a few months time. The other reason that prices seemed high when your posts were written is that the pound has rocketed up in value recently making 79p seem like a lot of money. Now the pound has fallen again the Euro rates (75p today) don't seem so expensive.
    bob-bob had this to say on Jan 13, 2008 Posts: 12
    iTunes Ripping Off UK Customers?
  • "I have a valid opinion on this matter that will indirectly bring massive improvements to the technological industry." Holy cow! That's a powerful opinion, do tell. "A Macbook Pro in MacBook has been desired for quite some time." Um okay, wait, what? "A smart phone, or even something more advanced, is still being adopted at a slow (but increasing) pace." It is? Or even something more advanced? Damn! Who is adopting it? Which smart phone? Why won't they tell? It would appear that English is not Godarzi's first or possibly even second language. It seems like he/she is suggesting that demand for products will drive the manufacturing costs of those products, and thefore the price to consumers, down. Eureka!
    bob-bob had this to say on Dec 12, 2007 Posts: 12
    Why Apple Would Be Crazy to Introduce a Sub-Notebook
  • Here is one: Mac loyalists are just a little too smug and a little too into "the movement". To quote Maddox on the subject: "I feel like Apple is not just selling computers, they're selling a way of life, and I'm not ready to be that heavily invested in a product."
    bob-bob had this to say on Oct 03, 2007 Posts: 12
    8 Reasons Windows Users Don’t Switch
  • There is NO uninstaller included with Windows. Period. It has been explained several times here but none of you seem to be able to understand. Maybe it's today's short attention spans...
  • If your watch is bumping against your laptop try turning it around (rotate it 180 degrees about the long axis of your arm). This is what I do when typing on my 12" powerbook.
    bob-bob had this to say on Jun 07, 2007 Posts: 12
    MacBook Pro: Is This a True Road Warrior's Machine?