Microsoft is one step closer to ruling the world....

Amen, the vector engine is on all the G4s. It's called the velocity engine. May be on all G3s also, I'm not for sure.

Floppy drives don't come on Macs because they are old out-dated technology, and they are trying to move ahead to a more reliable technology. I personally haven't used a floppy disk for years.

If you still do, then you can get a USB floppy disk drive for probably $30.

Why does a 400mhz run faster than an 800mhz PC? I don't really know. I don't even know if that's true, or if it's marketing hype.

But what I do know is that a graphic design friend of mine is still using a 300mhz PowerPC (not a G3 or G4) as his primary machine, and it is running fine. He runs Freehand, Illustrator, Photoshop, Quark, etc, and they honestly aren't that slow. Apple is trying to ignore mhz and sell their digital lifestyle right now. Computers are pretty much fast enough for the moment, so instead of saying "we have a faster computer! It will let you type so much faster in Word!" They are selling how many things you can do with an apple and all the neato accessories you can get.

Pretty much the same thing Microsoft is doing with XP. Hm. Wonder who thought of that first....

Desktop or laptop would be your choice. I'm going for the laptop because I want to take it to meetings, outside to sit in the park, take it on trips, etc. Then just bring it home and put it on my desk for a desktop. It's got a huge screen, and extremely nice computer in side, so I feel completely comfortable using it as a desktop replacement.

Your needs may be different.

It ships with OS 9 and OS X for the same reason XP has a legacy mode... To support older apps that do not take advantage of X's new features.

As for multitasking, I don't see why it would be a problem.

Matt,

I'm sure Windows XP is great. I will never buy it. I don't really have anything to contribute to this debate, because I am sick of Microsoft, and totally biased towards the Mac. That is what I believe is best for me and my needs, so that is what I'm going to go with.

actually my brother has an iMac, but he recently went to college so ive been playing around on it. I got Mac OS X ... (i think thats what its called can't remember, hehe) and its pretty cool. oh btw (totally off subject) i found a cool site that tells you when new programs and updates come out.

www.versiontracker.com
(hope it hasn't already been posted or anything :P)

Well I totally agree that if you are going to strictly do design work, a Mac is the way to go. That's what Macs are for. But many people are not going to do ONLY design work. I myself, am not a gamer, but a lot of people are, and really aren't willing to give up the PC games they paid a total of $3000 for.

But for me, PCs are the way to go. There is no money to be made in Macs. People don't use Macs for large networks. Whether they should or not, I really don't care. I don't know about Macs and networking. Macs do not function well on a PC network, and I suggest getting them off PC networks and on their own network. If you are Microsoft Certified, you "can" make a LOT OF MONEY, even in this slow economy. This networking world is not looking for people who know how to run a Mac, they are looking for people who can run PCs with Windows. Sure, Linux is definietly making it's mark in the networking world, but it will never be the main choice for Desktop PCs in the workplace. It will, however, be more and more popular for servers in the working world. I would like to learn how to run Linux/Apache since people are starting to look towards it after the recent Code Red/Nimda scare with Microsoft IIS, and if people are getting serious about changing to Linux, then I need to keep up on the trend. But for this current point in time, Microsoft is where it's at. I know with our clients, many of the department heads are getting sick of their Microsoft Windows NT 3.51 networks. But too many of these people are only worried about the money part of it. They are stuck with the crap that NT 3.51 is, but they don't want to spend the money to upgrade because they don't understand what the benefits are. You can tell them the benefits and how it will help them save money and time, but they just look at as a "cost of installation" thing. Too many people don't understand that computers are like cars. You ARE going to have problems no matter what your operating system is. You HAVE to maintain your server like you do your car. You have to have tune-ups otherwise big problems can occur. Eventually, your car is going to take a complete s**t, eventually, your computer may do the same. I have seen both PCs and Macs take complete dumps. Sure, I have seen more PCs do it, but that's only because the ratio of PCs to Macs is about 99:1, but in the end of it all, the ratio of ones that work to the ones that don't I'm sure is about the same.

To conclude for now, I like Microsoft. I think they have done some amazing things for the computer world since they came into the picture. Whether or not they stole/ripped the Apple OS, I don't care. Great ideas will always be copied by someone who will come along and build upon it to make it better. Look at Wheaties. Wheaties was NOT the first bran flake. Wheaties just knew how to market it, how to (literally), shove it down people's throats. So what if Microsoft is an advertising God, so what if they strong-arm their opponents so they they themselves can rise to the top. With money comes greed, and with greed comes the ability to forget who you are and the ability to focus only on more money rather than satisfying your customers. I will not say that Microsoft has been good to their customers in recent years, for I know they have not. But I will say that Windows XP was definitely built on consumer reactions to previous OS's. This time Microsoft was out to please the customer. This time a goal of theirs was to make the consumer happy. Sure, they want money, for Windows XP home I think is $200 for full-version, but at least they actually IMPROVED upon their previous OS's. From Windows 95 to Windows ME, they didn't change jack-schit. Windows XP, if you have seen it and used it, is an experience. It it not just what you use to work on, just changing settings is one of the funnest things to do on your computer.

But since I've typed out a 10-page essay here, I'll cut it short. Again, I have a LOT more to add, but my fingers hurt. I would love to talk personally on the phone or in person, because the biggest part of communication is your tone of voice and your body language, and it is really hard to truly express how I feel without actually seeing you folks in person. If I had the opportunity to do so, I would love to, and I can assure you that you would feel differently about Microsoft when we were through talking.

Thanks for listening, whether you are mature enough to absorb this or not.

Matt

Wow....the first time I can remember having this debate was about 7 or 8 years ago. At that time I was told that I'd better learn MacOS because Apple was going to take over the business application world!

I find all your arguments amusing and wonderfully slanted toward your orientations! Deker's the only one who seems to really be searching his soul's OS.... I've spent my career working in the UNIX and Windows worlds, but thanx to academic endevors, I will get my first chance to work on a MAC for a typography class next semester.

Pretty much the same thing Microsoft is doing with XP. Hm. Wonder who thought of that first....

-- nice point Dek: Mac was the first to multitask, first to have a desktop, first to have TCPIP as part of OS, but always a bridesmaid, never the bride. Microsoft prolly likes having Apple do a big part of their R&D for them.

I heard a good one (read), gosh if I can't remember the source, tho.... (now you're gonna ignore what follows, right). I believe it was someone quoting the fearless leader of Adobe as saying that the market share for Photoshop is ~ 50/50 between Mac and Windows, but that new sales of PS6 we're about 90% PC. Interesting, huh? Looky the money Adobe wasted on developing a promo spot just to showcase their "excitement" about WinXP (I don't know if this link will work, if not, it's on the front page of adobe's website on the right hand side):

Adobe / WinXP video

8 years ago....it's funny how the more things change, the more they stay the same.

In an effort to get this thread back on track, I'll refer you all to an interview at SiliconValley.com, in which Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor the World Wide Web, very clearly is distressed and alarmed with how Microsoft has been driving a wedge into how content is delivered...leveraging a "There's Microsoft....and then there's everyone else" attitude that can only result in a less compliantly robust experience for everyone.

Particularly telling is the following quote:

There was a time when I would have beloved (s.i.c. I believe this should be "believed"...Ed.) that the ethos of the Internet, and understanding of (its) importance as an independent medium, was pervasive enough to ensure that things would be (maintained as) an acceptably open (environment). However, the latest events have shown that this is not the case, and legislation is therefore required before we can have the sort of world in which I want to live, work, and bring up children.

When it comes to the rules of the road, and the ethos of how manufacturers of software and content behave, all I can say is: there is quite an upgrade required.

I'm all for freedom of expression, speech, web, information, business expansion, blah blah blah...but in the pursuit of fairness to all I have to side with Mr. Berners-Lee on this one. Microsoft is most definitely stepping beyond the bounds of ethically sound business behavior and whether there are legal precedents in place to mitigate their practices is up to the courts to decide. My only wish is that the people adjudicating what is fair and what is anti-competetive have an unwaveringly learned staff of experts upon which to call for information regarding anything which might, in any way, be considered a "gray-area" legally.

In an effort to get this thread back on track

On track? On track?!? The debates in this forum are never on a track. They just meander around in the quagmire between the Island of Ludicrous and the State of Lucidity.

Ad....adjud.....adjudica..... adjudicating?!? /me stumbles for the merriam-webster. ;)

Just heard on a radio talk show today that our Government spent more money last year trying to prosecute Microsoft on the monopoly charges than they ever have spent trying to fight terrorism. Bill Clinton said after every single terrorist event over the 8 years of his Presidency that he would do whatever was necessary to stop terrorism...I guess Microsoft is more important to combat than terrorism....

Let's leave that "Big Fat Idiot (thanks, Al Franken)" Rush Limbaugh's twisted logic out of this, Matt.

:p :D

I've been kinda steering clear of this thread, but I thought I'd say:

MACS RULE!!!

Quick pop in to correct one wrong statement I saw:

And I'll be happy to report that Windows XP gets rid of the "Dreaded Blue-Screen of Death". No longer does it exist.

Well I've seen it about 5 times so I know first hand it DOES exist and it pissed me off. Now, what I will say is that when I first installed win2k I did the upgrade and had problems. I finally formatted and did a CLEAN install and didn't have ONE crash or problem for the last 8 or so months I've been running it. So when I get time I will do a Clean install of xp pro and see if that solves the Blue screen of death problems. My "guess" is it will. But upgrading from win2k pro to xp I honestly thought should be a do-able upgrade since they are based on the same kernel. My bad for thinking that. I just hate re-installing every program I have again. Major pain in the ass...