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Back-to-school tech shopping: a buyer’s guide
It’s back to school time again here in the United States, and you know what that means: kids going off to college! And these kids may need a computer! Are you a parent without a clue of what to buy, and what your kid might need for school? Read on.
Mac or PC?
Who would have imagined that a such a simple question would resort to fanatical responses? At any rate, the decision isn’t as clear-cut as it used to be. Despite big gains by Apple, Windows still controls a good 90% of the market. There is still much more software and accessories available for Windows than the Mac, but that doesn’t mean the Mac isn’t a good option. There may not be as many products available for the Mac, but there are still more than enough choices out there for most users, and that number is always growing. Windows PCs start at lower prices, but Macs are not out of reach for most people (Mac laptops are available from $1099 US). Another thing to note is that Macs can run Windows too.
Also, some schools or academic departments may have certain requirements; some may require Macs, others may require…
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WWDC 08 Keynote wrapup and postmortem
The WWDC keynote has come and gone. Now it’s time for pundits (or wannabe pundits) to pick apart every detail about the keynote. Let’s do just that. Before we go any further, be sure to take a look at my WWDC predictions to see where I stood before today.
In general today’s keynote had no surprises. And I expected it to me almost entirely iPhone (which it was). Let’s take a closer look at what was announced, and what wasn’t.
What we saw
iPhone apps, OS 2.0 and SDK
Again, no big surprises (though some new features that’ll make developers a little happier, including the iPhone’s “push” notification system). What we did see is that the iPhone may become a pretty damn good mobile gaming system. I’m not going to det too into detail here, since there was nothing really new announced, except to ask, what will these apps mean for iPhone battery life?
My prediction: I pretty much nailed this one, right down to there being 3rd-party app demos (I’d go so far as to say there were too many app demos, but whatever).
3G iPhone
Anyone who predicted a more radical change in form factor (larger iPhone, etc...)…
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Absolutely absurd WWDC predictions
All right, my predictions won’t be that absurd; I think I’ve filled my quota for absurdity for a while, thank you very much. But in the spirit of unending Apple speculation, and to kick off our WWDC coverage, here is yet another WWDC 08 predictions article. The likelihood of each rumor coming to fruition is measured in meatballs (in keeping with fixation on food1); the fewer the meatballs, the less likely it is that Lord Steve, Controller of Apple, Our Destinies, and Lesser Kingdoms will unveil it.
And now it’s time for my most favorite disclaimer: the contents of this post are a figment of my own imagination. I have no insider sources, so these predictions, like Miss Cleo, are for entertainment purposes only.2
OS X for Windows boxes
As fun as it was for me to speculate, I don’t see this actually happening, and I never did for that matter. And I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised that some people took what I said (read the article) as anything more than “cloning probably won’t happen, but if it did, this is how it could work.” At any rate, while the dropping of the word “Mac” from Mac OS…
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Fun with semantics: speculation versus rumors
I have a couple of questions: When does speculation become a rumor? When is a rumor really speculation?
Here’s why I ask: yesterday afternoon I wrote up a piece for The Apple Blog regarding the photos of the banners hung in Moscone Center for next week’s WWDC. I noted John Gruber’s belief that dropping the “Mac” from Mac OS X is an attempt to unify the OS X brand (OS X iPhone and OS X Leopard), and I noted that “this is probably the simplest and most logical explanation.”
And then I jumped into speculative fun times: is Apple planning to license the Mac OS again? Considering the fact that rumors are pointing toward Apple turning .mac into something more platform-agnostic, and the fact that Apple has yet to do anything publicly in regards to Psystar, maker of the “Open Computer” Mac clone, as well as some other conjecture, I put this all together and raised some questions. Do I really think we’ll really see Apple jump into cloning again? I don’t think so. But you can never count anything out when it comes to Steve Jobs (see also: Apple switching to Intel—who saw that one coming?). So I offered…
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This is why Macs aren’t right for business? You gotta be kidding me.
One thing I hate is when people criticize for criticism’s sake. OK, we all do it—I do it from time to time—I won’t deny that. But if you need to do it, at least make it look like you tried to come up with some meaningful criticism. A couple days ago, Fortune Small Business posted an article entitled Why Macs still aren’t right for most businesses (via Gruber). Some of the points raised are perfectly valid, like some incompatibilities with VPN clients, but many are, well, downright absurd. Let’s dive in.
The article starts off well enough. Author Jonathan Blum discusses a small business that successfully switched to Macs, then states the following:
“My verdict? Though Apple computers can produce excellent results for small business, expect issues: Macs remain a niche product. Your transition from Windows will not be without bumps.”
OK, so far it’s not too far off point. Macs are a niche product in terms of their small overall share and the fact that Apple basically focuses on three markets: home, creative, and education--though that doesn’t make them unsuitable for business. And with any transition, there are going to be bums bumps1 in the road.
But then the…
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more stuff
- Back-to-school tech shopping: a buyer’s guide
- WWDC 08 Keynote wrapup and postmortem
- Absolutely absurd WWDC predictions
- Fun with semantics: speculation versus rumors
- This is why Macs aren’t right for business? You gotta be kidding me.
- Teens banned from Apple Store after jailbreaking iPhone
- Saying Is Believing
- NY Times: Microsoft walks away from Yahoo bid
- Spam turns 30; Internet not happy
- A quick look at Times 1.0
- Who’d’a thunk it? Most facebook apps are pointless
- Adobe Photoshop Express
- Quick Tip: Improve Locate Me’s Accuracy
- Blogging may be hazardous to your health?
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- When Mac Zealots Embarrass a Mac Zealot
- Okay Apple, we get the point
- On ‘A More Perfect Union’
- Windows Vista SP1 Released
- What not to do with your MacBook Air
- iPhone event roundup
- Blu-ray wins, consumers lose
- Quickies: Free newsreader roundup, Tetris for Dashboard
- Adventures in troubleshooting
- Microsoft Makes Standards Mode Default for IE8
- Let’s Preview: Yahoo! Messenger for Windows Vista
- Report: MacBook Air in short supply
- Welcome to the new Deep Thought!
- Quick Pick: Secrets
- The fun with Facebook gifts
- Warp: Switch between Spaces with the mouse
- Something new is coming to Deep Thought
- ThinkSecret officially stops publishing
- Stacks revisited
- Mac OS X 10.5.2 released, Mac users everywhere rejoice
- Becoming Obsolete
- BusinesssWeek to Ballmer: Learn a trick from Jobs
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- Fun Stuff: Inside Apple HQ
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- Crazy Apple Rumors goes on hiatus. Seriously.
- The iPod Touch January Software Upgrade
- My on again/off again relationship with Deep Thought
- Fun Stuff: Hit me on my iPhone
- ‘Today’ goes giddy over MacBook Air
- Why the iPod’s low sales growth isn’t worth losing sleep over
- Deep thoughts on thin
- MacBook Air: First Look
- Yet Another Prediction of the Future of the Internet and Technology
- Here’s What’s Wrong with Vista
- Slow Times At Technology High
- The Smoldering Effect
- A quick look at Scribbles 1.0
- HDR Imaging Explained
- Report: Apple to hike iTunes movie prices
- Fun Stuff: Chi Pet widget for Dashboard
- Malware Dealers Game Search Engines to Dispense Payload
- The Enigma of Safari for Windows
- What’s wrong with Windows Vista?
- A first look at CandyBar 3
- Malcor: the last word
- Musings on Malcor
- Updated x2: Malcor nothing but a PR stunt??
- You’ve Come A Long Way, WordPress
- Wrong URL…
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- Reflections on DT’s 3rd birthday
- Mac OS X Leopard Part 8: Wrapup
- Report: Internet to experience traffic jams by 2010
- Windows Live Suite
- All-in-one desktop shootout
- Updated: Dell officially unveils XPS One, Latitude tablet
- Hacker targets Mac blogs
- FileMaker releases Bento preview
- Mac OS X Leopard Part 7: iChat
- Mac OS X Leopard Part 6: Time Machine [UPDATED]
- Mac OS X Leopard Part 5: iCal
- Musings on Mac malware
- Nasty file-moving bug bites Finder users
- Mac OS X Leopard Part 4: Spaces
- Mac OS X Leopard Part 3: Stacks
- Mac OS X Leopard Part 2: Spotlight and the Finder [UPDATED]
- Mac trojan horse targets porn viewers
- More cool tricks, random weirdness, and other Leopard observations [UPDATED]
- Mac OS X Leopard Part 1: The Leopard UI
- Dear Apple
- Jailbreak your iPhone in one easy step
- Cool tricks, random weirdness, and other Leopard observations
- Apple Releases OS X Leopard
- Some Leopard shipments delayed
- Days of Leopard: What to do before and after installing Leopard [UPDATED x2]
- Security researchers warn of iPhone vulnerability
- Days of Leopard: Musings on the Finder
- Days of Leopard: Mac developers gear up for Leopard
- Apple Q4 2007 Financial Results - conference call play-by-play
