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journal: mac
Days of Leopard: Is Leopard really a major upgrade?
The revolution will come, but if the recent history of Mac OS and Windows tells us anything, we should be expecting baby steps toward the revolution as opposed to a coup.
Last week, our good buddy Paul Thurrott wrote a piece that is undoubtedly one of the least professional news writeups I’ve seen in a while. This stuck out in particular:
Apple’s next-generation Mac OS X operating system, code-named Leopard, will be released to the public on October 26, the company announced. Leopard is the fifth minor revision to the company’s OS X system, and it is shipping almost exactly a year after Windows Vista, an OS that Apple incessantly ridiculed for its tardiness.
Emphasis mine.
Okay, ignore the general shittiness of the article for just a moment (though Thurrott did make a valid point about Apple ridiculing Vista’s delays and going on to delay Leopard; I’ll give him that point). This section’s reference to Leopard as a “minor revision” got me to thinking, just how major of an upgrade is Leopard?
Definitions, please
What constitutes a “major” versus a “minor” update depends on who you ask. Do ten huge new features make it a major upgrade? How about hundreds of minor updates across the OS? To come to some sort of answer for the sake of this discussion, let’s compare a service pack or two to an update like Windows Vista.
As far as service packs go, there are a couple that come to mind off-hand: WIndows XP Service Pack 2 and Mac OS X 10.4.4. Windows XP Service Pack 2 made its debut on August 2004 (Was it really that long ago already? My, the years fly by!) and was largely a security-centric update. Aside from bug fixes and patches, Service Pack 2 added the Security Center, an updated version of Internet Explorer, Bluetooth support, and also turned on the firewall by default (prior to Service Pack 2, XP users had to manually turn the firewall on). So there were a few welcome new features and a healthy number of bug and security fixes, but by and large there was nothing groundbreaking. The WIkipedia article on Windows XP has a few more details.
Mac OS X 10.4.4. was released in January 2006, and as the first released version of Mac OS X where there was an Intel and PowerPC version. Mac OS X 10.4.4. fixed a number of bugs, added a handful of minor enhancements (e.g. 10.4.4 added Bluetooth headset compatibility to iChat), and added new Dashboard widgets (release notes). Again, a few additions, but nothing too significant.
Now let’s look at the jump between Windows XP and Windows Vista. This was a bigger leap, by far. The most notable new features include changes to the Windows Vista shell (Windows Explorer), a new theme, updated Start menu, better searching, improved security, Media Center functions rolled in (Home Premium and Ultimate Editions), some new window management tools (Flip3D, taskbar window thumbnails), Gadgets, and more. Vista is, undoubtedly, more than WIndows XP with a new coat of paint, as some detractors like to say. If I had to use Windows, I would insist on using Windows Vista.
However, when using Vista, I never felt as if it was a fundamental shift. Despite the enhancements, at its core, Vista still looks like Windows and it still acts like Windows. The Start menu and taskbar are still there. There is no menubar at the top of the screen. The window control buttons are on the right-hand side. You get the idea.
Now that I’ve written all of this, how does any of it relate to Leopard?
Leopard is not a minor update
Let’s look again at what your average service pack contains. Again, a service pack generally has a few new features and bug fixes. A major release generally has many new features across many system components, and changes to the core operating system. I think we can all agree that not all of the 300+ features on Leopard are all that significant (a semi transparent menubar… yippee), so let’s list some of the more significant additions to Leopard.
- New developer technologies such as Core Animation, greatly enhanced 64-bit support, Dashcode
- Window management enhancements by way of Spaces
- Updated UI: I’m not just talking about a fancy new Dock, I’m talking about more useful changes such as the more prominent front window.
- Automated backup built-in (TIme Machine)
- Updated shell (Finder): improved access to shared machines/file servers, CoverFlow view, Quick Look, etc...
- New versions of Safari, iChat, Mail, iCal, and most other bundled applications. Some updated apps have seen significant changes, others have seen minor tweaks.
- A built-in remote desktop client (screen sharing)
- Improved localization
- New security features including sandboxing, signed application support, library randomizing, etc...
Some of these additions, like Time Machine, new security features, Finder enhancements, and screen sharing, are pretty big deals. Notice I didn’t mention stuff like the fact that the Dictionary now has Wikipedia integrations (yay!), Boot Camp built-in, the Dock, Front Row, Photo Booth, notes and to-dos, Parental Controls, Spotlight enhancements, and so on. I know that there are people who would be more than willing to pay for Leopard for the smaller updates. Regardless, Leopard (like Vista) is not a fundamental shift. It still looks like Mac OS X. It still has the Dock, the menubar along the top of the screen, a recognizable--though significantly enhanced--Finder, and so forth. It’s still Mac OS X, much like how Windows Vista is still Windows. And I think that’s exactly the problem in many people’s eyes.
Ain’t no upgrade large enough
The problem, I feel, is that for some, an OS update is not a major update unless there is a fundamental shift in the way it works. I think that’s why some people see Vista as nothing more than a Windows XP service pack. I think that’s why some people see Leopard as nothing more then a Tiger service pack. I think this line of thought is downright absurd for a number of reasons:
- You can’t expect a fundamental shift in every OS upgrade. It would be downright destabilizing to the platform. Imagine if with every new release the way an application functions is instantly rendered obsolete by a new paradigm. Older Windows apps designed for Windows XP still run on Vista. They may look cosmetically out of place, but by and large, they still fit within the parameters of what a Vista user would expect. By the same token, Mac OS X has undergone a number of cosmetic changes throughout the years, but an OS X app written for Jaguar would still by-and-large fit into the scheme of things on Tiger.
- It would be bad on users. Imagine something to the magnitude of the jump from Mac OS 9 to Mac OS X every two or three years. I don’t know about you, but when I upgraded to Mac OS X, I was confused at first. I couldn’t find what I wanted, and the operating system as a whole behaved a good deal differently than Mac OS 9 did. Meanwhile, if you know how to use Tiger, you’ll know how to use Leopard, and if you know how to use XP, you’ll know how to use Vista. In both instances, there are a number of differences in the ways the revised versions of the OSes work, but a user of the older version should be able to adapt quickly to the newer version since the basic concepts are unchanged.
Additionally, you risk alienating your userbase. Just look what happened with lMovie ‘08!
- A major change doesn’t always mean a change for the better.
Evolution, not revolution
An evolutionary upgrade is not necessarily a minor update. Simply because Apple chose not to blow up their user interaction paradigm and release something completely new does not mean Leopard should be dismissed as a mere “minor update.” In time, the revolution will come, but if the recent history of Mac OS and Windows tells us anything, we should be expecting baby steps toward the revolution as opposed to a coup.
Previous Days of Leopard articles
Days of Leopard is Deep Thought’s series of Leopard-related articles posted in the days leading up to and immediately following Leopard’s launch on October 26, 2007. Collect them all!
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19 | 2869 |
| Nick | comments | views |
thinkback
Paul Thurrott is a Microsoft shill and a jackass, nothing more. Whatever he writes, he makes sure to slip some untruths or even downright lies in order to cast whatever achievements Apple makes as something inferior to his almighty overlord Microsoft.
But look how interested you are of his opinions! If he’s such a jackass and annoyance then simply don’t read his articles!
I think his writing is intentionally trollish, to get more readers who come back for more.
Don’t forget to click on the ads! 
| Oct. 23, 2007 | |
| 1:01 am |
I think his writing is intentionally trollish, to get more readers who come back for more.
Well of course.
The point is is that Thurrott isn’t the only one with this opinion, Others will mention it. I don’t really give a rat’s ass about what Thurrott says, but it was a good starting point, if you will.
| Nick | Oct. 23, 2007 | |
| 1:36 am |
The best OS war is over. Microsoft lost badly. Thurrott is licking his wounds.
They spent billions on an OS that we were told was going to be 1,000 years ahead of the Mac OS. We were told that Vista was going to make PC gaming relevant again. Nine months after it officially shipped and I don’t know anyone who is using it exclusively. On top of that, John Dvorak, Chris Pirillo, Jim Louderback have all bashed Vista and recommend Macs (Dvorak) or switched back to XP (Pirillo) or dropped Windows altogether (Louderback).
Microsoft is a mess. They continue to lose money in all their divisions outside of their Windows and Office monopolies forged 12 years ago.
Online Services Business -$239,000,000
Entertainment and Devices Division -$1,199,000,000
Corporate-Level Activity -$1,439,000,000
Wow.
This chart tells it all. The orange line at the bottom is Microsoft’s stock. The blue one is Apple’s.
Last quarter revenue:
Microsoft up 13%
Apple up 29%
| Oct. 23, 2007 | ||
| 9:37 am |
But look how interested you are of his opinions! If he’s such a jackass and annoyance then simply don’t read his articles!
I think his writing is intentionally trollish, to get more readers who come back for more.
No, I’m not interested in his opinions at all. I stopped reading anything he writes a long time ago; just like Dvorak.
If only websites would stop giving his opinion any weight and linking to him and discussing his opinion, then he would simply disappear.
Unfortunately, he would still get hits based on the high count of key phrases that he inserts into his drivel; and the extra weight that Microsoft’s search engine gives to his articles.
Yeah, we all could ignore Thurrott, Dvorak, etc… but then who would we have to point and laugh at? 
I guess in the future I could just not link to anything he writes if I discuss it.
As I said before, though, if Thurrott didn’t say it, someone else would regarding how big of an upgrade Leopard is. Even though I link to Thurrott, this article isn’t meant to be a rebuttal to him but instead to the general idea that paid OS X upgrades aren’t major upgrades because they’re only .1 updates and what not.
| Nick | Oct. 23, 2007 | |
| 10:14 pm |
The best OS war is over. Microsoft lost badly. Thurrott is licking his wounds.
How did Microsoft lose? They have 90%+ marketshare on the desktop and their server OS is doing great too. OTOH Apple realized they can’t win the OS war so they have dropped the “Computer” from “Apple Computer” and shifted their focus to consumer electronics.
Nine months after it officially shipped and I don’t know anyone who is using it exclusively.
Anecdotal. I have personally overseen the rollout of Vista based clients at several schools and my new client, Northwest Airlines, is rolling out their new system early next year.
On top of that, John Dvorak, Chris Pirillo, Jim Louderback have all bashed Vista and recommend Macs (Dvorak) or switched back to XP (Pirillo) or dropped Windows altogether (Louderback).
Are you really trying to support your position by using commonets from the geek-equivalent of a “shock-jock”? Dvorak even admitted that he writes articles to incite the Mac fanatics so as to get more adrevenue. This is the same guy that claimed that Apple should have stopped making computers years ago and just sold their IP for scraps.
Microsoft is a mess. They continue to lose money in all their divisions outside of their Windows and Office monopolies forged 12 years ago.
The Server division (Win2k3, Win2k8, SQL Server, etc.) makes ton of money and they don’t have a monopoly.
You act like the company is failing. They’re still the largest and most profitable software company in the world (or possible in the top two) and making A LOT MORE MONEY THAN APPLE.
They also just released the best selling, fastest selling, highest grossing, and most profitable visual entertainment product ever in September. Second on that list is the game they released a few years ago, Halo 2.
They have the best selling next-gen console on the market and the best software attachment rate of any console EVER.
They have the largest online gaming network in the world.
They’re the second largest digital media player maker and online music/video distributor.
And they’re breaking financial records almost every quarter.
This chart tells it all. The orange line at the bottom is Microsoft’s stock. The blue one is Apple’s.
But look at the difference in share volume. If Microsoft had half as many shares then it would be running wild too (not as much as Apple’s but a lot more than it currently is).
Last quarter revenue:
Microsoft up 13%
Apple up 29%
But Microsoft still makes a lot more money than Apple does.
Days of Leopard: Is Leopard really a major upgrade?
That depends on your definition of “major”. You seem to think that minor = service pack and major = point release. I don’t neccesarily agree with that as Leopard is a Windows ME-size upgrade or more like Windows XP over Windows 2000 but no where near as large as Widnows XP to Windows Vista or Windows 9x to Windows XP.
So in that sense it is a minor update.
Nearly everything that Apple added to Leopard has a comparable feature that Microsoft added to Vista but definitely not the other way around.
Vista is basically a complete redesign of the internals of Windows from networking, audio/video, web browsing, application design (.Net 3.0), gaming (DX10), video display, printing, security, and almost everything else.
From a user perspective, Vista also comes with Tablet, MCE, Photo Gallery, DVD maker, SFU, and 64-bit in the box… which XP did not.
All-in-all, Leopard is bigger than a service pack but it’s not on the same level as Vista in terms of size of an update. IMO that makes it “minor” in the context of the times.
I’m not going to go rebut you point-by-point; I have other things to do, but I will respond to two points you made:
That depends on your definition of “major”.
That’s exactly why I wrote this article in the first place.
You seem to think that minor = service pack and major = point release.
RE: point releases:
I think it’s more so Apple can stretch out that über-sexy Mac OS X moniker as long as possible.
| Nick | Oct. 24, 2007 | |
| 11:57 pm |
That depends on your definition of “major”.
So you’re not using a spam-infested Hotmail account at least…
Seriously, a lot of Leopard’s updates are under the hood, the details at least I care the most about, like the hacker-hostile library randomization and a generally faster OS.
Tell me which Microsoft OS is immune to malware infections, tell me if XP or Vista really was any faster than previous version.
The real value, i.o.w., in Mac OS X is that it’s currently the most useful, most beautiful and completely free from all that grief Windows users have had to endure through the internet years in particular.
So com back when you’ve stopped admiring the piles of money and want to start to talk about things that matter like usability.
Good for both Microsoft and Apple that they are rich like mountain goblins but that shouldn’t interest us much, should it?
|
| Oct. 25, 2007 | |
| 6:10 am |
How did Microsoft lose?
They spent billions on Vista, mismanaged it, and shipped a crappy product that people who make their living with Windows PC-oriented organizations are panning.
OTOH Apple realized they can’t win the OS war
Um, “The Best OS” war. Microsoft continues to do well with their monopoly, but this is about which product is the best experience. It’s not even close.
And when Bill Gates had to field questions about Vista being a copy of OS X, that was a clear sign that the multi-billion dollar gorilla lost.
All that money and all that time and their new “revolutionary” OS is called a copy of OS X - not just by Mac zealots, but by mainstream journalists.
Anecdotal. I have personally overseen the rollout of Vista based clients at several schools and my new client, Northwest Airlines, is rolling out their new system early next year.
They should wait for SP1 and you should recommend that.
Here’s something that isn’t anecdotal. That would be Dell’s desktop page for businesses. Notice anything? They all come with Windows XP, nine months after Vista shipped. LOL
Are you really trying to support your position by using commonets from the geek-equivalent of a “shock-jock”? Dvorak even admitted that he writes articles to incite the Mac fanatics so as to get more adrevenue. This is the same guy that claimed that Apple should have stopped making computers years ago and just sold their IP for scraps.
OK, fine. How about Chris? How about Jim? Neither of those guys are “shock jocks”.
The Server division (Win2k3, Win2k8, SQL Server, etc.) makes ton of money and they don’t have a monopoly.
That’s Windows. They do well with Windows and Office, nothing else. Everything else has been a failure.
You act like the company is failing. They’re still the largest and most profitable software company in the world (or possible in the top two) and making A LOT MORE MONEY THAN APPLE.
And yet they can’t ship a good OS, even after years and billions.
They also just released the best selling, fastest selling, highest grossing, and most profitable visual entertainment product ever in September. Second on that list is the game they released a few years ago, Halo 2.
Entertainment Division lost over $1 billion.
Yes, Blizzard makes a good game, don’t they? And now they split from Microsoft.
They have the best selling next-gen console on the market
The one that’s failure rate is so high Microsoft has to spend over $1 billion to cover an extended warranty on it?
And any other company would have to axe it because they don’t have a monopoly on the office suite and OS to subsidize the losses Microsoft routinely sees.
They have the largest online gaming network in the world
Online Services lost $239 million.
They’re the second largest digital media player maker and online music/video distributor
Entertainment and Devices lost over $1 billion.
I guess in your world, losing billions is success.
And they’re breaking financial records almost every quarter
Are you talking about Google or Microsoft?
But look at the difference in share volume. If Microsoft had half as many shares then it would be running wild too (not as much as Apple’s but a lot more than it currently is).
That’s crap. It has to do with the billions in losses, obviously. It has to do with the Xbox 360’s first half 2007 projections being lowered in January of 2007, then not meeting the lowered projections and then having to charge over $1 billion to cover defective 360s.
They haven’t produced a winner since their anti-competitive practices forged the office suite and OS monopolies.
But Microsoft still makes a lot more money than Apple does.
Yes, they make a lot of money from their office suite and OS monopolies they forged 12 years ago.
Vista is basically a complete redesign of the internals of Windows
Windows Server 2003 is a complete redesign?
| Oct. 25, 2007 | ||
| 8:25 am |
So you’re not using a spam-infested Hotmail account at least…
Kuaidang always uses gmail for his multiple accounts.
So com back when you’ve stopped admiring the piles of money and want to start to talk about things that matter like usability.
He can start by telling Liam how to reset his Vista Registry keys back to their default values.
| Oct. 25, 2007 | ||
| 8:31 am |
This is the same guy that claimed that Apple should have stopped making computers years ago and just sold their IP for scraps.
And you parroted Dvorak, Kuaidang, and even told us all Apple would switch to NT, and switch back to PowerPC processors because of the drop in sales because of Intel Macs.
| Oct. 25, 2007 | ||
| 8:34 am |
Vista is basically a complete redesign of the internals of Windows from networking, audio/video, web browsing, application design (.Net 3.0), gaming (DX10), video display, printing, security, and almost everything else.
Networking
audio/video
web browsing
application design
gaming (OpenGL 2.1)
video display
Printing
security
and almost everything
Yeah, Vista is a much, much bigger update, huh?
| Oct. 25, 2007 | ||
| 10:21 am |
Yes, Blizzard makes a good game, don’t they? And now they split from Microsoft.
Bungie. God forbid Blizzard ever get bought by Microsoft.
Kuaidang always uses gmail for his multiple accounts.
In clear violation of the rules for posting here, of which we’ve asked him multiple times to cease. I’m not going to ban him or anything, but I’d like to point out that it’s very trollish behavior to post under multiple fake names and addresses. So there you have it, Kuaidang == official troll.
Edit: This is in response to the multiple accounts, not Gmail. Gmail’s certainly not against the rules.
| Oct. 25, 2007 | |
| Arden | 10:38 am |
And when Bill Gates had to field questions about Vista being a copy of OS X, that was a clear sign that the multi-billion dollar gorilla lost.
All that money and all that time and their new “revolutionary” OS is called a copy of OS X - not just by Mac zealots, but by mainstream journalists.
And mainstream jounalists are saying that Leopard is a copy of Vista as well. Hell, people laughed at Jobs when he showed the grassy wallpaper on stage because they all thought it was a joke but he was dead serious.
That’s Windows. They do well with Windows and Office, nothing else. Everything else has been a failure.
SQL Server is Windows?
Um, “The Best OS” war. Microsoft continues to do well with their monopoly, but this is about which product is the best experience. It’s not even close.
You’re kidding, right? Not only is “best experience” even more subjective than “major” vs “minor” but Apple isn’t even competitive at all in the OS market. They won’t sell their OS for regular PC hardware and in the areas where the “monopoly advantage” does not exist they still can’t beat Microsoft. Just look at their server OS. Not only does it run on some of the best hardware but it’s also fairly familar to IT people who use *nix currently. But somehow Microsoft is gaining marketshare in that market very quickly and Apple is doing nothing.
Hell, the biggest improvement to the Mac experience in YEARS is the fact that you can run Windows on it. Think about that for a second before you go claiming how things “aren’t even close”.
OK, fine. How about Chris? How about Jim? Neither of those guys are “shock jocks”.
I don’t know anything about Jim. Chris OTOH is just a big talker who knows relatively little. Listen to his podcast sometime. This guy is always talking about how he’s going to switch to Mac or Linux or whatever but never actually does it.
But my point is that you’re just using ANYTHING to support your view no matter how ridiculous it is. There are far better whom on the internet who could support your point but you choose to use the wors ones because you care so little about the strength of your supporting evidence.
And any other company would have to axe it because they don’t have a monopoly on the office suite and OS to subsidize the losses Microsoft routinely sees.
Any other company? How about Sony? They’re losing even more money on the PS3 and it’s selling far worse. When are they going to axe that?
They haven’t produced a winner since their anti-competitive practices forged the office suite and OS monopolies.
SQL Server, ASP.net, Windows Media, Windows CE, IPTV, Microsoft Game Studios etc.
If you consider Microsoft products to be failures then you surely must consider the Mac with it’s Zune-like marketshare a failure too. By your metric the only good product Apple has made would be the iTunes/iPod combo.
Networking
Are you really comparing an entire new network stack to Bonjour? Please say it isn’t so.
audio/video
Again, Minor updates by Apple compared to massive updates by Microsoft. We’re talking a new secure video/audio pipeline, Silverlight, and COMPLETELY new API’s not just tacking one small thing on to the existing system.
web browsing
IE7 over IE6 is a bigger update than Safari 3 over Safari 2.
application design
I was talking about the API’s themselves. Microsoft added .NET 3.0 to Vista which would be like adding all of Cocoa to the Leopard update.
gaming (OpenGL 2.1)
Luaghable at best. OpenGL isn’t even something Apple designed and on any other platform you can update this by just a simple download and install. On the Mac you have to buy a new OS. Besides, OpenGL 2.1 isn’t anywhere near the size of update that DX10 and the PC version of Xbox Live is.
video display
What about Quartz Compositor? Do you even know what it is? Or that is’t not a new feature of Leopard?
Printing
WOW! Leopard uses CUPS… just like Tiger did. HUGE UPDATE!!!!!
security
Every single feature listed there was something Microsoft already added to Vista and Vista is still more secure (note: I said more secure not more safe) than OS X. Even all those security researchers Rosyna was arguing with wouldn’t budge on that point.
Vista was a bigger update in every single way.
and almost everything
And you parroted Dvorak,
You HAVE NEVER SEEN ME “PARROT DVORAK” EVER!!
Kuaidang, and even told us all Apple would switch to NT
No I didn’t. I said that Apple will (future tense) switch to Solaris but they should switch to NT. Remember all those rumors about Apple and Microsoft working on a virtual machine inside of OSX to run Windows on Leopard (you have too look WAY back). It’s looking more and more like Hypervisor was designed specifically for that purpose. It’s OS independent and would accomplish the same thing. Seeing as Apple doesn’t have a public virtualization plan and they cant expand on the server without one then it makes perfect sense.
Xen works too. But either way, there’s a ton of people who believe Apple will be running another kernel/OS/userspace (at least in a box) in the near future.
and switch back to PowerPC processors because of the drop in sales because of Intel Macs.
Nope. Wrong again bucko. I said Apple will (again future tense) encounter a problem with product differenciation and therefore start moving to the Cell or PPC in some products (servers and consumer devices most likely). You can already see the product differenciation and/or low sales issues popping up for them with their servers, consumer devices (Apple TV) and desktops.
And they’ve already ported the Mac OS to ARM so Cell (PPC) isn’t exactly a stretch.
And mainstream jounalists are saying that Leopard is a copy of Vista as well.
Who?
Apple didn’t spend billions on Leopard and proclaim that it would be generations ahead, like Microsoft and you did in regards to Longhorn/Vista.
Dell doesn’t even standardize on it for business.
SQL Server is Windows?
Which SQL Server? Sybase SQL? LOL
Microsoft SQL Server is targeted towards Windows users, the monopoly. Stop it with your bullshit. You mislead and lie all the time. You just make a vague reference to something hoping that it makes a point. I’m on here with you smacking down your FUD all the time.
Microsoft bundles SQL Server with their Back Office suite.
Microsoft is ignoring Unix and leaving it to Oracle and IBM, who hold the respective top 2 spots in market share of all RDBMS. On Windows, they hold a 39.9% market share.
You’re kidding, right? Not only is “best experience” even more subjective than “major” vs “minor” but Apple isn’t even competitive at all in the OS market.
Whether or not they license their OS has nothing to do with the fact that OS X blows away Windows Vista in terms of usability, ease of use, hassles, security, problems. You aren’t here arguing that point.
They won’t sell their OS for regular PC hardware and in the areas where the “monopoly advantage” does not exist they still can’t beat Microsoft. Just look at their server OS.
I disagree that the client OS monopoly is not advantageous in the server market, but it’s not related at all to whether or not Vista sucks balls. It does.
Apple doesn’t even have an Enterprise sales force, IIRC, so I don’t have a clue why you keep pointing to crap like that as evidence that Microsoft creates great, innovative products.
Hell, the biggest improvement to the Mac experience in YEARS is the fact that you can run Windows on it.
It’s the other way around, Kuaidang. The biggest improvement to the Windows PC experience is you can buy a Mac and use OS X and run the Windows applications on it that you need in a VM that won’t hose your whole system.
I don’t know anything about Jim. Chris OTOH is just a big talker who knows relatively little.
I disagree about Chris. Jim was the editor in chief at PC Magazine.
Any other company? How about Sony? They’re losing even more money on the PS3 and it’s selling far worse. When are they going to axe that?
They lost over $1 billion last quarter? Bullshit.
Are you denying that Microsoft’s billions in profit from Windows and Office allow them to subsidize losing products over a long period of time?
Sony will have to axe the PS3 if it continues to lose millions every quarter.
SQL Server, ASP.net, Windows Media, Windows CE, IPTV, Microsoft Game Studios etc.
LOL. Yeah, those a really popular products, aren’t they?
Again, Entertainment and Devices Division lost over $1 billion.
If you consider Microsoft products to be failures then you surely must consider the Mac with it’s Zune-like marketshare a failure too. By your metric the only good product Apple has made would be the iTunes/iPod combo.
Ah, so Macs aren’t making Apple money and aren’t growing in sales?
I’m saying the Zune is crap. I’m saying that Windows is crap, even though it makes Microsoft billions. I’m not arguing that low market share makes something crap. That would be you trying to twist the subject into something you can defend, because you aren’t here telling me Vista is a wonderful experience.
Again, Vista is so good, Dell bundles XP on business machines.
Are you really comparing an entire new network stack to Bonjour? Please say it isn’t so.
Oh, was everything in that list entirely new? Finally getting tabs in your Web browser is entirely new? LOL
Yes, Vista is getting some bigger updates that the Mac OS got years ago. Congrats! Welcome to 2003!
Leopard’s networking was updated. It sets your TCP buffer size automatically. You were spouting off a list of things you didn’t think were updated in Leopard.
Again, Minor updates by Apple compared to massive updates by Microsoft. We’re talking a new secure video/audio pipeline, Silverlight, and COMPLETELY new API’s not just tacking one small thing on to the existing system.
Yes, OS X got completely new audio APIs with CoreAudio some times ago.
Yeah, you finally get speech recognition and two new voices for speech synthesis! Woo hoo!
It will be nice to get that FireWire ability in Vista SP1, won’t it?
Microsoft added .NET 3.0 to Vista which would be like adding all of Cocoa to the Leopard update.
Yes, Microsoft is finally adding a modern API to their OS. Cocoa was in OS X years ago.
OpenGL isn’t even something Apple designed
Oh, you don’t want to go down that road! LOL. You were saying about SQL? LOL
and on any other platform you can update this (OpenGL) by just a simple download and install.
Ah, so whatever I can download and install on XP is a minor update in Vista? LOL OK, so .Net 3.0 and DirectX 10 are minor updates in Vista because I can just download and install them in XP SP2.
What about Quartz Compositor? Do you even know what it is? Or that is’t not a new feature of Leopard?
Microsoft’s new display system has been on the Mac for years.
WOW! Leopard uses CUPS… just like Tiger did. HUGE UPDATE!!!!!
Wow! Vista finally gets something like the PDF-based OS X system in XPS!
You HAVE NEVER SEEN ME “PARROT DVORAK” EVER!!
Kuaidang, I’ve been debating with you for years. You parrot anything negative about the Mac, whether it’s true or not. That’s your problem - that’s why you are wrong so often.
No I didn’t. I said that Apple will (future tense) switch to Solaris but they should switch to NT
No, you parroted Dvorak’s article about Apple switching to a Windows NT base.
Nope. Wrong again bucko. I said Apple will (again future tense) encounter a problem with product differenciation and therefore start moving to the Cell or PPC in some products
You are full of shit. You never mentioned Cell or other devices.
You said,
At this point Apple would have been better off by staying with Freescale and IBM, both of which has similar low power and dual core designs already or coming down the pipe.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Apple switch back to Freescale and IBM procs.They aren’t really “completely switching” to Intel because they’re still going to support the PPC architecture through 2008. Universal binaries will make the switch back to PPC a non-event because all the software will already be compiled for that architecture.
Secondly, it’s not like Apple hasn’t done all this before. Think about it, they could have initially released OS X for X86 instead of dragging Mac users through two separate painful transitions back to back but they choose not to. Apple will get fed up with pirated X86 eating into their sales and all the complaints coming from people who see Apple offering sub-par specs (and now they can’t blame the chip manufacturer), their price protection will take a major hit, profits will slide, and they’ll quietly start pushing PPC based Macs more than Intel based ones.
| Oct. 25, 2007 | ||
| 2:55 pm |
1.
As a proof of this, take a look at Microsoft Office 2007. It makes me want to rip my hair out everytime I use it because it’s so confusing and I can’t do things like I used to be able to. With menus + toolbars, I could at least fake my way through a task, but with the ribbon I have to constantly check the documentation, only to find out that what I’m looking for is in what should be an obvious place. Talk about frustrating and destabilizing.
I’m guessing they’ve got their paradigm-shattering operating system under top-secret development in the basement of the OS X wing of the Apple campus, like when they were developing the Intel Macs. Personally, I’m looking forward to using computers like in Minority Report (and certainly others).