March 30, 2006
Preaching to the Perverted : Steve Balmer: Idiot
http://www.gulbransen.net/preaching/2006/03/steve_balmer_id.html I agree that Ballmer's an idiot, but just to play Devil's advocate (and in the highly uncharacteristic role of being ever so slightly critical of Apple, no less!), some believe Apple has thrived because it doesn't listen to customers either -- it tells them what they want. Steve “Apple” Jobs is famous for saying: “It's really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them.” Is the iPod so popular b/c it's what people want, or do people want it b/c it's so popular? I don't know how it works exactly, but it seems that tech companies *do* need to listen to customers (and I think Apple does); they just need to be a lot better than Microsoft at responding to what they hear.Posted by mowabb at 10:14 PM
March 11, 2006
divine angst: mechanical woes
http://divineangst.blawgcoop.com/archives/2006/03/mechanical_woes.html Ooh. Icky. Bad Apple. Very. Bad. This is when Apple's whole “our way or the highway” attitude really really sucks. I guess maybe this is also why they put that new magnetic release on the new MacBook Pro, eh? I hope Apple just decides that this is one of the kinds of repairs it's going to cover. Speaking of which, it's about time for me to decide whether to fork over the $200 for 2 more years of Applecare coverage. Stories like this make me think pretty seriously that it's not worth it. If Apple decides not to cover this, don't you feel like you deserve a new machine, anyway? I mean, you've had a rough few weeks lately, maybe a shiny new MacBook Pro is exactly what you need.... ;-)Posted by mowabb at 07:09 AM
February 22, 2006
Rename Podner - The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)
http://www.tuaw.com/2006/02/22/rename-podner/1#c1105527 I'm all for allowing Apple to defend its intellectual property, and its issue with “ipodder” I can understand, but this seems a step too far. How does “podner” infringe in any way on Apple's property? Does Apple now control anything with the word “pod” in it?Posted by mowabb at 07:26 AM
February 13, 2006
prettytypewiters » Tattoo Your Powerbook
http://www.prettytypewriters.com/bloggy/index.php?p=189 Wait a sec -- how do you have a powerbook that's not yours? I think I am jealous. Yeah, that would be definitely jealous.Posted by mowabb at 08:47 PM
November 09, 2005
Campaign Ad Parody
http://www.prettytypewriters.com/bloggy/index.php?p=160 I don’t understand your Mac woes. Are you saying that sometimes you press the go button and nothing happens? Or are you saying that it tries to boot up and hits some kind of problem? And if so, what problem? It’s so sad to hear of macs misbehaving. It hurts me deep down, you know? ;-) More important, no mac for you means no bloggy, and we no likey that. Thought: The next time you’re able to log in to your blog, why not go to your account preferences and change your password? Would that be possible, or do you need to know your old password to do that? Another idea: The next time you can log in, export your blog and save it to your computer. Then create a new WordPress blog w/a new account and login and write down your password! Then upload the exported entries from this blog into the new blog, delete this blog, and move the new blog into this blog’s location on your server. Bam! You can now login from anywhere, your dumb mac be damned! Do you think that would work?Posted by mowabb at 10:50 PM
October 04, 2005
Three Years of Hell: Creative Returns, or Why I Left the Zen Micro and Went to the Dark Side
http://www.threeyearsofhell.com/archive/004804.php Your downward spiral has begun.... ;-)Posted by mowabb at 11:45 AM
Will Work for Favorable Dicta: Talk Amongst Yourselves
http://favorabledicta.blogspot.com/2005/09/talk-amongst-yourselves.html Can't. Help. It. Macs = no viruses, no malware or spyware, and much less chance of downtime. The lifetime cost of a Windows machine is greater than the lifetime cost of a Mac b/c of maintenance costs, not to mention your time and headaches fighting w/your machine and/or its vendor. The fact that Windows dominates the marketplace is proof that the market does not produce optimal, rational, or efficient results. Whew. Sorry about that. I feel better now.Posted by mowabb at 11:38 AM
August 29, 2005
thisdarkqualm » RIP Rio
http://thisdarkqualm.com/?p=292#comments Ah, you knew I’d have to answer this. I won’t really defend the iPod mania — I agree that it’s largely irrational. However, I can use an iPod easily w/one hand and I’ve found the clickwheel a very fast and convenient way to navigate through thousands of tracks. How does the Karma do it? My iPod has always had gapless playback, too (I’m pretty sure — it doesn’t pause between songs, if that’s what you mean). But the really bad thing about the iPod is that it only plays mp3 and AAC and that sucks. The iTunes Music Store sucks because of the DRM. I don’t buy from there unless I just must must must have a track ASAP. I’d rather buy the CD and rip it so it will be mine to do whatever I want with. So I agree that it’s sad when good alternatives drop out of the market. I think the iPod is a better player than you give it credit for, and if Apple would only open it up to more formats it really would be a truly great player. But ok, it’s too expensive, too. Still, I’ve argued here before that Apple isn’t really free to do what it wants in this space. For more evidence of that, check out this story about how music companies are trying to manipulate the system even more to their benefit. What is Apple to do?Posted by mowabb at 09:12 PM
May 28, 2005
Two-Timing the Cosmos: “Dear Heather, we at Apple don't care about you or your stupid computer problems”
http://twotimingthecosmos.blogspot.com/2005/05/dear-heather-we-at-apple-dont-care.html Ugh. Very sorry to hear about your Apple support troubles. I've had some good and some bad w/Apple support over the years, but the bad can seem really bad. I hope they actually fix it this time. So what's this about not being able to use a Mac for the Bar? Which Bar are you taking? Are most states like that?Posted by mowabb at 08:14 PM
April 09, 2005
prettytypewriters » Computer Seizures
http://www.prettytypewriters.com/bloggy/index.php?p=72
Current count on my iBook: 23 windows open, including 22 different tabs open w/in three different Safari windows. This is pretty standard operating procedure around mac land.
You knew I wouldn’t be able to resist showing my mac’s superiority, right?
Posted by mowabb at 12:09 PM
prettytypewriters » Apple Field Trip
http://www.prettytypewriters.com/bloggy/index.php?p=70
I’m sure your penance will be most pleasureable. ;-)
I have decided you need a digital camera, or if you have one, I have decided that you must take and post more pictures. For example, wouldn’t it be fun to share pics of the new Esquire and of the cheering and jeering there during the big game?
Of course, my decisions aren’t really very persuasive. Just ask L. ;-)
Posted by mowabb at 12:04 PM
April 07, 2005
Uncle Davey gets a new MP3 player...?
http://davetravel.scripting.com/2005/04/05#a839
Just FYI, I think some confusion might have been created above when “mcdordad” explained how to do a hard reset of the iPod. My understanding is that you don't have to plug the iPod into a powered firewire port (which Dave's sony doesn't have); you just have to plug the iPod into *power* -- the wall outlet will work fine.
Dave: If you're just going to throw your iPod out, I'll take it. If I had the money for a new portable audio device, I'd probably go with one of the above options w/more features, but I'd also be willing to risk $30 to see if your iPod would work w/a new battery or something.... ;-)
I agree that the iPod is sadly bereft of features and tends to steer users in one direction w/iTunes, ACC, etc, but isn't it important to remember the context in which it exists? There was really no viable online music business prior to the iTunes music store, and in order to make that work, Apple had to sell its soul to the RIAA to get rights to sell the music. The soul-selling came w/the DRM and the perceived “lock in.” So from where I sit, I have to wonder how much choice Apple had. At the time, it was Hollywood's way or no way, so Apple decided to try it Hollywood's way. Now people are over the coolness of being able to download any song they want (which they've found isn't true since the selection is limited) in about one minute for less than a buck each. Remember what a cool thing that was when it first started? But we're over it, so now we're asking whether Apple's Faustian bargain w/Hollywood -- a bargain that basically allowed Apple to create a proof-of-concept for a successful online music business -- was worth it. I'm certainly not qualified to say. I'm just saying that it doesn't seem like Apple's so powerful and free to do whatever it wants in this space, so maybe Apple shouldn't get so much of the blame and the ire. Yeah, Apple has the bestselling portable music player, but couldn't Hollywood shut down a lot of Apple's mojo in a heartbeat if it wanted to end its sales agreements for the iTMS? It seems like Apple's been walking a fine line between pissing off Hollywood and pissing off users. I hope it's able to start move that line toward the users soon...
Posted by mowabb at 08:06 AM
March 25, 2005
thisdarkqualm » Instant K.:
http://thisdarkqualm.com/index.php?p=152
Since blasphemy is fun, I will agree that Apple’s open-ethics suck and that yes, it did crash and burn in the ’90s b/c of greed and trying to lock its users into proprietary hardware and software, etc. Now it’s doing the same w/the iPod and iTunes, and it really really sucks. I agree.
That said, I love my mac and I hate windows. ;-)
Perhaps it’s just rationalization, but I think it’s important to consider why Apple has done what it’s done. First, it tried to control everything in its hardware/software b/c it didn’t want to go the way of Windows which was to please the lowest common denominator and build systems and software out of chewing gum and scotch tape. It wanted quality, not quantity. And the fact that Apple has always been a small company (relatively speaking), I think is a product of many conscious decisions to pursue quality rather than profit. This is especially true w/its hardware. Apple could easily produce a $400 laptop that looks kind of cool but is flimsy and crap, and they could sell boatloads of them and make lots of money, but they won’t do that. It’s not really about the money, it’s about the pursuit of goodness.
Yeah, I’m a totally cult devotee.
But, and so, w/the iPod, it’s different. The path Apple is taking is being dictated by the music companies – they require the DRM and all the stuff you hate about the iPod and iTunes. This is Apple’s Faustian bargain: We will hobble our users and hardware to make it really hard for people to share and do what they want w/their music; in exchange, you (the music companies) will license your huge catalogs of music to us so we can sell them at the iTunes Music Store. If you want to give Apple the benefit of the doubt, you could say it is doing this b/c it wanted to break the deadlock we were all in before the iTMS came along where users were just file-sharing and had no way to legally buy music online and the music companies were getting increasingly pissed and resorted to all kinds of ever-more draconian legal maneuvers to protect their crumbling dynasties. So Apple didn’t do this for Apple, but for the users, to blaze the trail, knowing that if it could just prove the concept of the pay-per-download model, others would follow and eventually all the DRM and whatnot won’t be as important.
I don’t believe that, either, exactly, but it’s a nicer story than simply saying Apple’s a bunch of greedy bastages.
Your Rio looks cool. J9 has been using something else that’s quite cool, I can’t remember what, but it records voice memos and I think you can plug a mic into it for interviews and it has an FM tuner and you can record direct from radio, etc. All much much better than an iPod. Sad, really, b/c the iPod *is* cool; it could just be so much cooler….
Posted by mowabb at 07:34 AM