Showing posts with label Apple. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Apple. Show all posts

February 4, 2008

Debunked: The $350 Mac Hack

A new breed of "hackintosh" computers have surfaced at a much more frequent rate. It doesn't take a genius to figure out this is due to apple's big processor switch to Intel.

For example we have the $350 hacked Macintosh that was put together by a fellow on wildwobby.com. He uses five pieces of hardware and one piece of pirated OS X operating system software.

I'm inclined to repeat what one digger stated so well:
Ok, I hate to be a dick, but this $350 hackintosh emits one vital piece of the puzzle. If you want to do this and make it even semi-legal you've got to buy Lepoard for another $130 which brings you to $480 at which point you're $20 short of just buying a real mac mini from the apple refurb store.
Mr. "Diggtatorship" also points out that this hacked system comes without apple's iLife `08 suite, a kick ass USB remote and a host of other features.

So here's some food for thought: Perhaps you really are getting a good deal on those "expensive" mac machines.



November 8, 2007

The apocalypse or world peace? I report, YOU decide


A little over a year from now, citizens in the United States will begin the long, arduous process of choosing a new President.

I offer this bit of advice to my fellow men and women: Choose and Choose wisely -- for the wrong candidate in office could proof disastrous on an apocalyptic scale. But there are some perks to enjoy until the nuclear-filled end of days comes to pass. For instance, it's an exciting time for anyone with a busy schedule, a fast Internet connection and a desire to follow 43-minute long American produced melodramas.

Prime-time television shows are now available online at no cost to the viewer.

Last year I remember ABC having by far the best of the best when it came to video players, which surprised me. I didn't think it was possible for a corporation to cut through all the red tape and become so successful in pushing content into a new medium. It all seemed vaguely familiar...

Convergence-Smon
smergence...(or something)

ABC has actually had quite a bit more experience at converging programming into a new medium. After all, the major TV networks got their start in radio. Although, critics once scorned by online video programing will probably claim that the path from radio to television was much, much easier than from television to Internet.

The truth is we don't know that yet, however, we do know ABC has figured out how to make online programming work. But, what's really important here is the fact that free prime time TV via Internet is a sign that we can have everything we've ever dreamed of, which I'll explain in a moment.

A viable business model for online video programing is just recently becoming a reality. Do you think the major networks realized the full and utter potential television had to offer when the medium was just an infant? Very doubtful. The daily news hour wasn't created until long after the big three (ABC, NBC, CBS--now called the big five) converged programming.

So ABC, CBS, and NBC are doing pretty well if you compare their services to the CW and FOX, which are pure wastes of time. Fox and the CW, therefore will not deliver us our wildest dreams and only serve to bring us closer to the apocalypses.

But getting back to what surprised me about ABC: they're doing this all without commercials for now. How can you have a successful business model without selling ads?

Then it dawned on me where I had seen this crazy put the customer first tactic before.

Someone over at Disney/ABC -- I don't know who -- but someone figured out that television missed the beginning of a consumer revolution where people decided to use a new medium (the Internet). Since television initially ignored the revolution, people started illegally downloading shows and streaming them from ghost servers around the world.

Bottom line? People were doing it anyways.

ABC is making the right move because they understand one thing. To sell advertising on a product, it first has to be in great demand...not forced down our throats.

Steve Jobs = Free TV online

Now, I may have lamented on the death of Business 2.0 magazine in a previous post, and then followed up with analysis of television corporate business models, but I assure you I don't find money very interesting at all.

I do, however, find it interesting that ABC leads the pack by doing all the right things after Steve Jobs took over as head of Disney/ABC/ Pixar.

*Sigh* Now if only he would run for President. The equation would then be altered slightly: Steve Jobs + Presidency = Everything I really want but don't know about yet.

*Things I really want but don't know about yet could possibly include, but not limited to: Pterodactyl transportation vessels that run on cottage cheese, people actually using segways, a cure for cancer based on burping truthiness, world peace, an end to global warming, world peace again and a insanely revalued greenback....

Oh....and one more thing
:
State of the Union Addresses will be given in the form of Keynotes from now on. Oddly enough each keynote speech includes at least one cheap shot on Bill Gate AND PEOPLE STILL LAUGH.


Now I understand most of you are wholly against the idea of a Steve Jobs Presidency. You may be against allowing your inner apple fanboy to dictate your political decision. I understand that. But much the way a frustrated Windows user doesn't know what he's (or she) getting into after using a mac for the first time, You really don't know what you want.

Steve Jobs can give you want you don't know you want. And anytime things start heading down the wrong path? No worries, we'll have Vice President Woz to save us.

Think different, think America.

October 5, 2007

Joost on PPC Macs? How about Never.




When I purchased my Powerbook Mac, I had no idea that apple would release Intel powered processor versions 32-days later. That's about two days too many for me to have returned my machine so that I could get the upgrade. Yet, I was extremely happy with my new notebook and I didn't feel too burned by the company, as many of us do with the iPhone.

My sentiment did not change until last week when I was surfing the Joost message boards wondering when the streaming media program's (which I wrote about previously) company Joost would be upgrading support for Pre-Intel Processor Mac users.

Apparently, Joost hates PPC Mac people. In what was far from an official statement, message board administrator "meccaibrahim" explained that PPC macs just weren't cool enough to come to the cool kids party.

The direct comment:

Posted on: Tue, Sep 25, 2007, 12:38

Re: PPC Support
We're currently working on improving the performance of the PC and Intel-based Mac versions available today. Although there has been demand for a Mac PPC version of Joost, we have to prioritize our business objectives. As a result, we do not have plans to release a Mac PPC version at this time. Sorry.

http://www.joost.com/forums/p/2007/09/re-ppc-support-16/


Never mind that early adapters of new software are niche hardcore computer users like the small pocket of long time apple Fanboys. I think its the wrong move over all. I look at how limited iTunes (and now Safari) was when it first came out, and now is considered the primary choice for music libraries. Joost killed off a huge host of free promoters by deciding not to supporting PPC.