# MWSF - Mixed emotions, really mixed.



## toast (Jan 7, 2003)

- No Mail update (= no Hotmail access)
- No iTunes update (= no Library organization with Genre/Artist)
- Safari: no tabs, ugly buttons, just a bookmark organizer as if it was more important than tabs ! Hopefully there is popup blocking, Cocoa text boxes and it's free.
- Keynote is PowerPoint for Dummies (just as iCal is Entourage for Dummies BTW) as Steve has shown us so well by being a dummy with his "Look, that's sublime" interventions. Most of the MWSF keynote was a succession of transitions FX and photo FX. Nothing profesionnal, even my mothe would be bored in a week.
- OS9 is killed. Bye !I'm trashing Fontographer you mean ? That's desperate.
- iLife: never seen such a pathetic name. Looks like George Orwell or Aldous Huxley could have found it for him. iLive OnmyMac WithMyWife AndKids And iSpend MyDays MakingVideos OfThem iniLife. Ridiculous.
- No full DIVX support in Quicktime.

After this MWSF, I'm gonna feel like I'm a video god for... hm... two days. Then I'll get back to normal state and think: oh, I'm gonna browse some forums. With no tabs. Then I'm gonna listen some music. On old iTunes 3 (which is good, okay, but could be even better).

Apart from "superb transitions" there's *nothing new, free and innovative* as there was before in Apple. Apart from transitions a poor video freak could have made (that may be overstating, but I feel it).

You can also feel like a real company God making heavenly presentations. PC guys have been making those for years.

HOWEVER, I'm very pleased by the new hardware. And, after all, the software is not so bad, I just expected more... Hence, mixed emotions.


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## toast (Jan 7, 2003)

And I voted "50% pro's 50% con's" in my own poll.


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## boi (Jan 7, 2003)

safari is beta. give it time.
you're trashing ilife for its name. get over it. it's great to see the iapps talk to each other.
you haven't used keynote so you have no idea how powerful/unpowerful it is.
itunes 3 isn't exactly old.
if you haven't noticed, apple has a trend of moving _away_ from microsoft. hotmail access in mail is unlikely.
booting in 9 is killed. use classic to use fontographer. 
no DIVX support in quicktime? what a surprise. i hope they release iPirate at the next keynote.

this keynote rocked. i'm only disappointed because they didn't release anything i could afford (new ipod, namely ^_^)


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## toast (Jan 7, 2003)

> _Originally posted by boi _
> 
> 
> > safari is beta. give it time.
> ...


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## ScottW (Jan 7, 2003)

I think we should ban Toast for his piss-poor attitude? Anyone agree?


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## boi (Jan 7, 2003)

ban everyone! this forum WILL BE HAPPY!


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## toast (Jan 7, 2003)

> I think we should ban Toast for his piss-poor attitude? Anyone agree?



Sir,

1) It is a honor to have the master of this place reading and contributing to my humble discussion.
2) What do you mean by banning me, you nasty evil... grayscale... guy ? 

I'm French. I need cheese with my wine .


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## ScottW (Jan 7, 2003)

I live in Pleasantville where everything is just perfect. My laptop screen is B&W as well.


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## cybergoober (Jan 7, 2003)

I was really hoping for AAC support on the iPod .


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## mindbend (Jan 7, 2003)

Quicktake: Good, solid, all around lineup offered. Nothing earth shattering, but by no means disappointing either.

1. New 17" laptop. And I thought the last one was a great machine. If Apple isn't careful, in a year or two I may never buy a desktop machine again.

2. Safari?I like it. Runs fast, looks nice. Needs Auto Fill. Other than that, it has supplanted all other browsers for me (which is saying something since I have tried every conceivable alternative to IE).

3. iLife?Whatever. I'm a professional. I have no need for any of this nonsense, but I fully understand its apeal to others.

4. Final Cut Express?Nice move. Say goodbye to Adobe Premiere on the Mac forever. Looks fairly intact for a crippled app.

5. Keynote?Looks nice. I'll believe PowerPoint export when I see it. It will have to be crippled. I make a lot of PPTs for clients that need to run them on PCs, so I may not benefit from this app. I rarely (never) make presentations for myself or Mac-only clients, so I'll have to pass (though I really want to try it out).

6. Airport Extreme?Nice, but I just ran some tests on my cabled network and I can move 7-10 megabytes per sec, whereas Extreme maxes out at 6.75 (theoretical), so I'll just deal with the well-hidden cables for now.


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## adambyte (Jan 7, 2003)

I was pleasantly surprised by most of the announcements. Granted, the rumorsites got the iApp updates, but what made this Keynote special was all the surprises..... Big and little PowerBooks, an Apple-branded web browser, and presentation software that has cooler transitions than anything I've seen from PowerPoint. I'm happy.


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## JohnnyX12 (Jan 7, 2003)

"I think we should ban Toast for his piss-poor attitude? Anyone agreed?"

Hmmm....NO

Instead lets make this a place where anyone can say what they have on their mind, because words can't actually hurt you and if someone bothers you that much just don't read what they say.

Sorry, I realize that you might have been joking but seriously that's not cool.


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## wiz (Jan 7, 2003)

> _Originally posted by ScottW _
> *I think we should ban Toast for his piss-poor attitude? Anyone agree?
> 
> *




if only you were not kidding


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## toast (Jan 7, 2003)

Yeah, let's ban me. I should exile to Cupertino. Isn't that perfect punishment ? 

I understood why I'm a bit disappointed: these announcements were not targetted at me (Mac addict, design/browsing) but at my parents:

"Ho ? We can make our photos brighter ? That's fantastic ! Ho, we get tons of video software to make supa-supa-family videos ? Extatic ! It's called iLife... isn't it nice and sweet ? And this Keynote I can use to show off at work... yeah ! I need them all."

I'd say:

"I still need fonts to preview in the Finder, I still need some more features in iTunes and Mail. Ho, what about the tabs ? Missed something ?"


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## wiz (Jan 7, 2003)

roger that


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## Gedankenspiel (Jan 7, 2003)

I'm with Toast. I posted my disappointed about Apple last month (Losing Faith in Apple). My opinion really hasn't changed. This MacWorld brought no innovation to the table. A 17" giant on my lap can hardly be considered innovation.

Did you hear the sighs when Steve showed the Jacket? Is he on crack? Don't waste my time to tell me there is a $500 Jacket that allows me to control my iPod. Puhlease.

I was also bothered by the 20 minutes of themes and transitions. Boooooring. Now the dumbest person makes great looking presentations. I look forward to hours of presentations looking like Blackboard. The oohs and aaaahs will soon fade.

And iDVD is neat but come one - who has a Superdrive yet? I don't and when I will I back up data. But I understand that it will appeal to an audience I am not part of.

I thought it was fair to get the iApps free except iDVD. I was getting all worked up about the rumors that they would be fee based from now on. As long as I can download the individually I am fine with it.

In terms of overall innovation though I was disappointed. I actually made time to watch the whole thing and I though at the end Steve would pull out the Joker. What about the new LifeStyle device everyone has been talking about? People could hardly have meant the $1800 Powerbook. And as appealing as a 17" screen sounds in a Powerbook who really needs that much bulkiness. Blah. A step in the wrong direction if you ask me.

Safari is miserable and Chimera is still leaps and bounds ahead. Just load a flash movie into Safari and you will know what I mean. I don't care how fast the app opens because its open all the time anyway. I care about how quickly my content downloads. Plus - do we really need another browser to customize for? I checked some of my own designed sites and could notice display differences already.

Overall, Steve over-promised and under-delivered. Again. Sorry, but that was a waste of time. Note to self: unload Apple stock.

Finally, a little bit of honesty on the side of the effeciveness of the Switch Ads would have been nice. Has either you of been asked if you are a switcher upon buying a computer at the Apple store? I didn't when I bought my Tibook.
The stat that 64% of visitors to the Switch site were windows machines is a bogus fact. I work on a windows machine as well as on a Mac and have accessed the switch site myself - therefore being one of the roughly 5.5 million people allegetly being windows users.

Oh well. Just my 2 cents.

G


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## ScottW (Jan 7, 2003)

Seems to me we have another spoil sport. 

Boo hoo, the latest imagination from a rumor writer didn't make it. I spent 2 hours and was disappointed.

Life sucks, then you die.

Think Different.


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## MacLuv (Jan 7, 2003)

> _Originally posted by ScottW _
> *I think we should ban Toast for his piss-poor attitude? Anyone agree?
> 
> *



No... I think toast is entitled to his opinion, and I think he made some good points--the biggest one being iLife--how presumptuous of Apple. If one thinks a name like that isn't going to make Apple seem more elitist than I don't know what to say.

[goofy voice]
Duh... hey PC users, get an iLife!
[/goofy voice]

I think the marketing department at Apple is pushing it...

Overall, as a person who has been dedicated to Apple Computer for over two-thirds of his life, I have to say I'm very dissapointed with Apple at this point. If people want to get into it, I'm not going to rain on their parade, but Apple has yet to address more of the serious issues it faces walking into the future with this sort of product lineup. If I want to support a rogue computing system, I'll go with Linux. The attitude that we should wait around for Apple to get its ass in gear (releasing beta apps? WTF?) is ludicrous. 

I expect more from Apple. I think we all should. Frankly I'm tired of everyone telling me to "chill out" because "they'll get there". I've been using Apple for almost my whole life, and they're still "not there". What do you guys want me to do? How long do I have to wait for Apple to fufill promises it's been making to me *for twenty years?*

Sorry about the rant, but I needed to put this into my perspective. I hope others here can be tolerant of my opinions.


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## ScottW (Jan 7, 2003)

Yea, well anyone who has "MacLuv" as their screen name and bashes Apple so frequently is pushing it in my opinion.


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## MacLuv (Jan 7, 2003)

> _Originally posted by ScottW _
> *Yea, well anyone who has "MacLuv" as their screen name and bashes Apple so frequently is pushing it in my opinion. *



Excuse me?


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## ScottW (Jan 7, 2003)

Your excused.


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## cq107 (Jan 7, 2003)

im tired of Apple claiming the G4 is still king... At least he didn't at this keynote... 

Intel is way ahead, 3Ghz, comon I KNOW photoshop will run faster on that then even the DP 1.25ghz... 
APPLE NEEDS speed and at least 1Ghz more...


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## ianfinity (Jan 7, 2003)

Greetings to all.

I read these forums when i can, and as extensively as I can. I post infrequently because usually I have been beaten to the punch on whatever topics I have the expertise or the deep-seated opinion to contribute to. I seem however, to be at the right place and the right time, so here we go...

I am excited by what I saw today and by what I learned.  But structure must prevail over excitement, so I will start with what we didn't see:

I know the iPod will be updated - it has to be - but that wasn't for this forum. The iPod was released separate from a Macworld and its update can be, too. I don't use a portable music device, primarily for many reasons that the iPod already solved, but am interested to see what comes next.

As far as software updates that were not announced, I am not worried by these either. Software will be updated and Apple has been on an agressive schedule to get those to market.

As far as Safari (including this here due to a significant amount of comment on missing features) I find it to be an impressive beta, especially compared to some of the 1.0 realeases we have seen (iCal comes to mind). I miss autofill already and am sure that tabbed browsers are very handy, but the transition to Safari was easy and intuitive, which can be said for every choice I have made in switching to an Apple developed app or OS.

Now, for what we were given:

iLife. I, too, am a professional with little time or desire to spend building infinite numbers of dvd's to send to family and friends. I used to start to set up some very special pieces in photoshop and then quark and then let it go to rest in an archived, unfinished and never appreciated by the person it was intended for. I still don't know if I will take the time or see things through to completion, but I appreciate that there is a more direct route to blending the resources I have on my hard drive together to produce a nice piece that I can share with a friend. I do not, for example, have a DV camera but can see the value in the Ken Burns feature touted today. A lot of value. And I do not need to burn a dvd to share it with them. I can just make a little quicktime - better than an ecard in my book.

Keynote. A lot of my contacts who are creative professionals are not getting this, but I am thrilled. For all the reasons that I went from powerpoint to director, this app fills the gap. I cannot wait to play with this as a way to promote my own business and will keep an open mind as to whether it can be used to develop client presentations. But, I just need to say - you have sent a pdf to a client to sign off on and they say "ok, go to press" and now that pdf can be incorporated into a presentation without going back to the source file? Only one of the reasons that I like it.

New hardware. It should be said at this point that I bought a tibook 667DVI in august and my g/f bought a 1G tibook (sans superdrive) in november. Are we pissed? No.
I would almost love to leave it at that, but we use these. A month is money; many months is alot of money. Each upgrade we make gives us faster, more capable computing. Am I pissed that 6 months later there is a computer that I never dreamed could exist? NO, I am happy that I can begin to lust after my next upgrade & let me tell you, in a year or so it is going to be a very nice machine.

As far as airport, neither of us can take advantage of the speed of airport extreme, but am hoping that the new cheap airport base station will solve our wireless printing problem. We share a cable connection over airport at times, with no apparent issues, but hate having to switch positions so that someone can print. ( i know there is usb printer sharing, but haven't tested it, not sure how it would affect the 667 and she is not on osX yet [though she will be by the end of the month])

Well, longer than I wanted this to be, but I feel very strongly that what we heard today was not a slap in the face, it was not ignoring our needs and it was most definitely not a waste of time. Every time I get a firsthand glimpse of what Apple thinks is important, I walk away with a feeling that they have my best interests at heart. I didn't want presentation software this morning, but I know that my next presentation will not be done in powerpoint. I don't have a computer with a light up keyboard, but my next one will (don't know what i will do with the flylight at that point). I have a bluetooth dongle, my next computer won't need it. Hey, I just freed up two usb ports in my future. And I know that there will be something else to use them for.

Sorry for the positive rant, I know it is not common & we have yet to see if it is accepted.
cheers,
Ian Ruddle


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## GroundZeroX (Jan 7, 2003)

Gedankenspiel, and Toast you two need to get your heads out of your butts. Toast, Apple doesn't need to make products for your personal every need. The beauty of Apple software lies in the simplicity of it. If you want to run a Mac, and have alot of audio features, download Audion from Panic. It has alot more features then iTunes. There, problem solved. If you don't like Mail.app because it doesn't support Hotmail, they why don't you go buy Entourage from Microsoft that does, or run Outlook Express in Classic. Its not Apples business to support Microsofts poorly designed proprietary protocols. If you two numb-nuts think you can do things better then Apple, then by all means, start your own company and come out with your own products. I know PLENTY of people who are going to love the stuff they released today. Yes, most of us have been able to do alot of this stuff for a while. Yes, we can do all of the iphoto stuff with other programs, but guess what, not everyone can. Gedankenspiel, your missing the whole point of the 17' display on the Powerbook. Its supposed to be a TRUE desktop replacement. How many desktops do you know of, of power users that only have 15' displays? I don't know of ANY. The power in this laptop comes from being able to bring it that much closer. You don't like Safari? Boo hoo hoo. You don't like a product that Apple is making no profit on. I guess that means that youw ill have to download one of million variants of mozilla that go from light but buggy, to bloated and stable. Really, what did you expect Apple to do? Most of this stuff isn't a big deal for you, and thats good, that means your need in that area has already been filled, if it even exists, but, there are MILLIONS of people who don't. Thats what the products are here for.


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## Stridder44 (Jan 7, 2003)

So when is Apple gonna get rid of the G4? I know they're supposed to get some updated G4, but it'll go no farther than 1.4 Ghz, which by that time will suck. I don't care if it's a G4 or not, 1.25 GHz SUCKS nowadays anyway! And  numbers, charts, and benchmarks do not lie. Screw the G4! Get a damn AMD chip or something else in there! Quit dickin' around and get on with it! If not an AMD, then maybe an alternative chip. Anything would do! Just something better than the G4. The lame thing can't even take DDR Ram! Look at PC companies now, RD Ram is becomming the norm! Apple is still offereing SDRam cuz thats all the G4 can take! SDRAM licks fat balls and should be dead! (Note: dont get me worng tho, DDR isn't bad...). That, I feel, is one of the biggest downfalls to the Apple computer. The Pentium4 has hyper-threading technology and is a little over 3 GHz. No, maybe Megahertz doesn't matter, but when 1.25 GHz processor based on 10 year old technology is compared to a hyper-threaded assisted 3.08 Ghz processor...well, whats to compaire? Don't get me wrong, my faith is still with Apple...and the reason I bought an iMac was for Mac OS X...


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## ianfinity (Jan 7, 2003)

Right, I knew I forgot something. Megahertz.

I can get more done now, in a shorter period of time, than I could two years ago. My most recent windows experience was about 6 months ago on a machine that was a year old. My mac is better. No matter which os, but I prefer X.

People who watch me work think that my machine is the fastest thing they have ever seen. I admit that I do not need raw processing power for most anything that I do, but must say that the processor is part of a package. This package saves me time and trouble. 

And I do have to ask - is osX not the only os to divert graphic rendering completely to the videocard? this solves alot of the megahertz problems right there. i beg forgiveness if i am incorrect in this matter.
cheers,


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## vanguard (Jan 7, 2003)

If apple wants to really build desktop replacements they need to start selling docking stations.

As for the guys how didn't like macworld, they are well spoken they make good points.  People who are not sastified can contribute to apple's future direction.

Vanguard


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## mindbend (Jan 8, 2003)

The whining is incredible!

For the record, Apple did NOT hype this expo one single bit. I'd like somebody to show me one single example of where Apple/Steve overhyped this expo. All the hype was created by us and the media and others like us. It's not like Apple ran seven days of web banners as per the iMac lamp hype of last year. Get real.

If you didn't like the lineup, that's fine, I'm not out to change your opinion, but sheesh, be reasonable. Poo-pooing a 17" laptop as a snoozer. Are you kidding me?! That may very well be the best laptop on the planet right now. (Who was it that said the last model was the best laptop available, PC or Mac? It was some online PC site...this one's even better, albeit expensive as always.)

I remember poo-pooing the expo when they announced the iPod. I was like, "What the hell do I need this for? Just gimme a faster CPU dammit!" Let me just say that I was wrong. Way wrong. I still don't have an iPod, but I've been lusting for one for months. Right now I lug back and forth from home to work an external Firewire 80 gig for working on projects at night. That 20 gig iPod would be a great solution and then some. Anyway, how did I get off on that tanget?

The disappointment of SOME is nothing other than an indication of just how innovative Apple is overall. The fact that there should be such disappointment over a pretty solid expo shows how much we all expect from them. Of course we all want G5s running at 5 gig. No crap. As if Apple doesn't want to give that to us. In the meantime, I am enjoying watching Apple (more importantly OS X) evolve.

I have to admit some relief in the fact that there was no major CPU leap as I am committed to another year on my work box and two full years on my home box. I'm hoping the really big announcements come next year when the new IBM chips really get going.


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## lukepetschauer (Jan 8, 2003)

> _Originally posted by GroundZeroX _
> *Gedankenspiel, your missing the whole point of the 17' display on the Powerbook. Its supposed to be a TRUE desktop replacement. How many desktops do you know of, of power users that only have 15' displays? I don't know of ANY. The power in this laptop comes from being able to bring it that much closer. *



It's only a desktop replacement if the screen is as bright as it is on the iMac. If it's any dimmer, it ain't a replacement.


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## Peter King (Jan 8, 2003)

Right on mindbend! I think it's all about OS X - That's really what makes Apple a better system than Windows. I feel no need at all for a G5 5 gigahertz processor, I am just fine with my G4 550, and I probably would be with a G3 233 just as well, I love this operating system, and no one's ever going to sell me an Intel based Windows system, no matter how much faster it is.


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## mightyjlr (Jan 8, 2003)

> _Originally posted by lukepetschauer _
> *It's only a desktop replacement if the screen is as bright as it is on the iMac. If it's any dimmer, it ain't a replacement. *




I am sure the 17" screen (the same screen in the iMac) will be more than bright enough.  I don't think I have ever even seen or heard someone complain of a screen not being bright enough....  I also don't understand how if it is even a smallllldegree dimmer, this makes it not a desktop replacement.  Explain it to me.


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## buggerit (Jan 8, 2003)

> _Originally posted by vanguard _
> *If apple wants to really build desktop replacements they need to start selling docking stations.
> 
> Vanguard *



Are you serious? what can't you do on a 17" TiBookt that you can't on a Dual 1 GHz? Or for that matter, what can't you do on a 12" TiBook that you can't on a Dual 1.25?

Connect a Cinema Display, a keyboard and a mouse.

That's your docking station.


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## toast (Jan 8, 2003)

> Toast, Apple doesn't need to make products for your personal every need.


Well, I'm aware of this.



> The beauty of Apple software lies in the simplicity of it.


No, you're missing my point: when I ask just for iTunes to organize my music into Genre and then Artist folders, I'm not asking for somepowerful features like Audion has. I'm just saying some little modifications (like have a short to get to Next Track in the Info window) would be welcomed.

I suppose you're 100% right about any whining about Microsoft proprietary  products. At second thought, I don't want Hotmail in Mail. Okay.



> If you two numb-nuts think you can do things better then Apple, then by all means, start your own company and come out with your own products.


Thanks for getting this stupid line in the middle of your argumentation, which makes you sound childish and completely stupid. No offense to you, of course, as the rest of your post is built on valuable arguments.



> I know PLENTY of people who are going to love the stuff they released today. Yes, most of us have been able to do alot of this stuff for a while. Yes, we can do all of the iphoto stuff with other programs, but guess what, not everyone can.


Yes. I've written this somewhere: that was a MWSF keynote for my mom. Not for any mac geek like I am.


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## vanguard (Jan 8, 2003)

> _Originally posted by buggerit _
> *Are you serious? what can't you do on a 17" TiBookt that you can't on a Dual 1 GHz? Or for that matter, what can't you do on a 12" TiBook that you can't on a Dual 1.25?
> 
> Connect a Cinema Display, a keyboard and a mouse.
> ...



I'm a computer programmer by trade.  At work, I use a high end IBM thinkpad, at home I use it and/or my iBook for surfing the web, working on software/papers for school.  (Yeah, lousy sentence structure, I know)

Everyday day at work I drop my thinkpad into the docking station and my monitor comes on, my keyboard and mouse become active, my palm pilot becomes connected, my speakers are active, and my network connection is established (I may have left something out).

I once you have this type of set up you'll never way to go back to plugging in 5+ cables just to get going.  Also, by having the cables in a permanent place, I can hide them better than I would be able to if I had to plug them into the machine.

I guess the bottom line is that it *could* work without a docking station, but it would be a PITA.

Vanguard


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## Gedankenspiel (Jan 8, 2003)

Stridder, here is where I'm coming from:
I have been a Powerbook owner since the Duos came out and have been on board with pretty much every new generation. The exception were the 400Mhz Powerbook (Wallstreet) and now the endless mini revisions of the Tibooks. I own a 667Mhz TiBook DVI and my point is that so far in my history with Apple I wanted and NEEDED the next Powerbook. Again not this time.
$3300 is hardly a "replacement" of a desktop given that I can buy a pretty dandy Dell for $699 right now. Even a juiced up machine for $2000 doesn't come close to the $3300 the "Replacement" should cost.

To sum it all up:
1. Apple needs to truly innovate. Apple is THE company to produce lifestyle devices like a new ipod / pda / phone / camera hybrid. It has an incredible name and trust from consumers when it comes to quality. So dammit, give us something in that direction.

2. Catch up: I tried to sell my Quicksilver 733Mhz to a friend the other day (bought it 1 1/2 yrs ago) and he laughed at me and said: "No way, for the same money I get a 2.4 Ghz PC". To switchers a 867Mhz machine still looks ridiculous.

So my rant is pretty simple. 

G


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## lukepetschauer (Jan 8, 2003)

> _Originally posted by mightyjlr _
> *I am sure the 17" screen (the same screen in the iMac) will be more than bright enough.  I don't think I have ever even seen or heard someone complain of a screen not being bright enough....  I also don't understand how if it is even a smallllldegree dimmer, this makes it not a desktop replacement.  Explain it to me. *



I'd be happy to.

First, we'll look at the semantics. As it's being used here, "replacement" means "has all the features of." So, a laptop computer that is intended to replace [all the features of] a desktop must have a screen that is exactly the same quality, brightness, etc. as the same screen on a desktop. 
Now, some may argue that this is a petty argument: "You know what I meant!" So, we'll trot on down to the...

Second point: in regards to screen brightness, the lower output on laptop screens can cause eyestrain. (Seem to be differences in contrast, too.) There's a certain amount of irony here, right? After all, LCD's are supposed to be more eye-friendly than CRT. And they are, if adequately powered. I think this dimness (or whatever you want to call it) is a function of power conservation; since laptops have to be as energy conscious as possible (and the display is a big energy draw), they end up providing less power to the display than that a comparable "desktop" LCD receives.
I'm not an expert on the mechanics of the new apple laptops, so it's very probable that there's a different explanation for this. 
In the Apple section at my college's bookstore, where all the macs are displayed side by side, the difference in brightness/quality between the PowerBook (or iBook) screen and any "desktop" LCD (including those on the iMac). I'm not claiming that this will be the case with the new powerbook (we can't call it a tibook anymore, can we? AlBook doesn't sound as cool, either), but especially in light (no pun intended) of the massive amount of power that the screen will need to draw and what laptop screens are like now, I am not holding my breath that it'll be better.

And I can provide heartbreaking stories about laptop screen on request, too. But this post is getting too long as it is. Suffice to say that I've owned several laptops (wintel and apple alike) and have noticed drastic differences between them and regular displays.


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## Cat (Jan 8, 2003)

It's nice to see so many Apple enthusiasts on this forum, who provide constructive critique on their favorite company 

However I do get the faint impression that many complaints carry a whining note that reminds me vaguely of spoiled children.

Where shall I begin? Ah yes, "iLife", truly a pathetic pun! So let's hold a survey: what do you think would be a more appropriate name for the suite of iApps that Mr. Jobs presented?
Post it, discuss it, suggest the results to Apple in a petition. Similar things are already being done for tabbed browsing in Safari. Keep in mind that the integration is inspired by the type of integration one finds in M$ Office (now _that_ is an unimaginative name ...).

Yes, probably your mom will use it more than yourself. Do you have Photoshop? Nice huh? How much did you pay it? Do you use all of its features? Like a Pro? Or are 50% of them completely unknown to you? The best point Mr. Jobs made the whole evening is "you only use what you understand". If you're the Photoshop king: Great! I'm not. I don't even own it nor do I plan to. The iApp suite is perfectly suited for consumers, not pro's. Maybe it's less suited for nerds and geeks. But nerds and geeks are smart and use workarounds. Safari has no tabbed browsing? Hey: its Open Source!  I have no doubt there will be a version of Safari with tabs before long. Dont like iPhoto? Can't afford/use Photoshop? Download the Gimp! OS X + X11: your very own X-Windows workstation! Enjoy!

Sorry? You were saying? Oh yes, the beta versions... well I heard a lot of people complaining in the fora that Apple holds back products and innovations to show them off at Macworlds. Well, have I got news for you: Apple is pulling out of Macworlds and even releasing beta versions. Hint: they actually want you to give feedback, because they care about your opinion! "Some companies seem to have a problem with open source.... We think it's great." Apple is holding the door open wide, and everyone's invited.

Finally the AlBooks. Gosh, it's not the Apple pda-phone-videoPod-iGod. But then, what is it? We could say that the 12" model comes as close to a handheld desktop replacement you can get. What would you want more? A G5 5 Ghz? Come back in a year or two. And quit living in the future, the present has much more to offer, because it's real and actual. The 17" model is for people who want to be able to carry their dasktop system around. In their car, not in their backpack. It's a bit absurd to complain that a kitchen sink is useless because you can't fly on it.

Now to the back-switchers: I know one reason you shouldn't buy a Dell. It's not an Apple. That should be reason enough. 

Measuring the value of a computer only by the processor's Mhz is like judging a man only by his IQ. It might be correct in some limited situations, but it is totally insufficient for the overall picture.

As of today, I officially am a Mac Evangelist. Notify me if there are any forms to fill in or rituals of passage.

yours truthfully,

Cat


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## dave17lax (Jan 8, 2003)

Listen, guys, Apple is pushing the boundaries here. They went turbo big, and super small. The 17 inch laptop may in fact become the next cube, and the airport wafer may break off of the 12 incher. The point is that they are setting precidents. Look at the top of the line tibooks when they first came out. $3400. Look at top of the line towers when they first come out. Same price. This is apple's giant profit margin and they'll sell a bunch of these things to rich guys and gals, and in a year or two maybe we'll be able to afford one, or they'll incorporate these features into a lesser book.
The idea of a "replacement" has to come in little baby steps and pushing the size of it up to tv tray is just one way of making people think that anything is possible. (We can be heroes).
It does need a dock of some type, we also use thes at work (thinkpads) for a few of the workstations. It's inconceiveable to think that people would do it without this. Maybe apple could design a proprietary cord, ala ADC, with everything included.


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## mr. k (Jan 8, 2003)

"when I ask just for iTunes to organize my music into Genre and then Artist folders"
- toast

you want artist orginization just check ~/music/iTunes/iTunes Music     its all there in artist titled folders (if youve got itunes 3)


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## mightyjlr (Jan 8, 2003)

written by lukepetschauer --


> First, we'll look at the semantics. As it's being used here, "replacement" means "has all the features of." So, a laptop computer that is intended to replace [all the features of] a desktop must have a screen that is exactly the same quality, brightness, etc. as the same screen on a desktop.



Well that isn't exactly correct... "replacement" in this sense doesn't really mean "has all the features of".  No laptop has ALL of the features of a desktop computer obviously.  That is accepted however, and many laptops are classified as desktop replacements.  The 15" Powerbook met all the requirements to be considered a desktop replacement, which is what I have.  The only drawback I saw to it was the screen... undoubtedely one of the brightest and clearest of any laptop.  It was however a little short on screen real estate.  Now with 17" that really isn't a problem.  Im sure the screen is just as bright or brighter than the current powerbook, thanks to new battey technology.  With this new technology the 17" Powerbook is getting around the same battery life as the 15" and the only real difference being the screen size.  By the way, when I first got my Powerbook I didn't think the screen was fabulous, but as soon as I calibrated it with a 3rd party utility, it was much much better.  It origionally looked a little washed out, but now the contrast is absolutely beautiful.


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## adambyte (Jan 8, 2003)

Hey, mightyjlr, what 3rd party utility do you speak of? I'd like to make my screen look nicer, too.


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## mightyjlr (Jan 8, 2003)

it is called SuperCal... you can get it at Versiontracker


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## jeb1138 (Jan 9, 2003)

oops.


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## jeb1138 (Jan 9, 2003)

> _Originally posted by vanguard _
> *I'm a computer programmer by trade.  At work, I use a high end IBM thinkpad, at home I use it and/or my iBook for surfing the web, working on software/papers for school.  (Yeah, lousy sentence structure, I know)
> 
> Everyday day at work I drop my thinkpad into the docking station and my monitor comes on, my keyboard and mouse become active, my palm pilot becomes connected, my speakers are active, and my network connection is established (I may have left something out). *



Hey Vanguard, how about instead of dropping your thinkpad into a docking station, you walk into the room with your PowerBook?   I think that's where Apple's headed, don't you?

Looking at the back and sides of my PowerBook -- everything could now be done wirelessly except the monitor and firewire.  (_could_)

Airport or Airport extreme replaces ethernet & dialup modem, bluetooth replaces usb & headphone jack.  Your keyboard and mouse would become active, your palm pilot would sync up, your speakers would come online and your network connection would be established.  All for less than what a docking station would cost.  (OK, maybe not that last part, I don't know since I've never bought a docking station. )  All you'd have to do is plug in the monitor, and all those cords you used to have to hide would instead be nonexistent.  You don't even need a plug-in bluetooth module now.

Whaddya think?  Of course, MS is the only one out with a bluetooth keyboard & mouse so far & they claim it won't work on Macs, and I don't know if bluetooth speakers exist yet either, but the technology is there now and Apple is saying:  3rd party people do your thing!  Right?

Now if Apple could come up with a wireless display technology the whole dockless wonder would be complete.  Anyone know what kind of data rate a VGA/DVI cable transfers at?  Is it pixels * colors * refresh rate or something?  I know AGP is far too fast for wireless technologies but I'm just talking about from the card to the display.  Anybody know?


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## ianfinity (Jan 9, 2003)

Ok, I know that the "docking station" line of conversation is slightly off topic, but I can't resist this.

The guys who make BookEndz must be a little chagrined at the new 17" product. Their solution was an elegant, though expensive, one for past powerbooks, if one values a quick hook up to all their key products. Apparently it decreased wear and tear as well, though usb, firewire and dvi are greatly improved in that respect. The iBook model, which had to mount on the side was arguably worse than just pluggin in one's cables. Now the 17" has ports on both (!) sides. I'm sure they will come up with something, but feel a little sorry for them. 
Hmmm, maybe rubber strips with connectors that embrace the powerbook and have all the actuall connections in the back.

Ok, will stop and start to make the long trip back to the original topic. See you there.


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## OSX_MAN (Jan 9, 2003)

> You can also feel like a real company God making heavenly presentations. PC guys have been making those for years.



I have never seen a good presentation on a PC?Pixeled fonts and vector graphics!  Wait until people start seeing Keynote presentations.


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## toast (Jan 9, 2003)

> *I have never seen a good presentation on a PC*



May I call you 'biased' or 'utterly ignorant' on this pont  ? No offense, sorry, but please be serious. Pixeled fonts are Windows 98 (and OS8, BTW). Vector graphics are very good, I don't see what's wrong with them.

Hewlett Packard came last year to my Institute and their PowerPoint show was tremendous. I have all my lessons of "Economies and Strategies of the Press" as PowerPoint files. They're very honorable presentations, extremely efficient in class.

You can download those lessons on my site at this link: http://zolico.homedns.org/thinkhybrid/scespo.html#rivet


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## OSX_MAN (Jan 9, 2003)

I was not sure which file I was supposed to check out. I did not see one powerpoint file on the page.

People have not been using Powerpoint on Xp for years! Most places I have seen powerpoint shown out of 98 or Windows 2000. BTW the same has been done with PowerPoint on the Mac. Microsoft even bragged about how PowerPoint looks with Quartz  PowerPoint 

PowerPoint works, but Keynote goes far beyond it and will create presentations of the highest quality. PC users are just use to getting things done?Mac users want them done right.


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## vanguard (Jan 9, 2003)

On the docking station thing, I could live with just a single cable, the video.  I could also live with the decreased performance of 802.11g or even 802.11b.  I've never heard of bluetooth speakers but I guess it could happen.

I doubt this will be cheaper than a docking station.  My docking station ran about $125.  However, it does seem cool.


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## Stridder44 (Jan 9, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Gedankenspiel _
> *Stridder, here is where I'm coming from:
> I have been a Powerbook owner since the Duos came out and have been on board with pretty much every new generation. The exception were the 400Mhz Powerbook (Wallstreet) and now the endless mini revisions of the Tibooks. I own a 667Mhz TiBook DVI and my point is that so far in my history with Apple I wanted and NEEDED the next Powerbook. Again not this time.
> $3300 is hardly a "replacement" of a desktop given that I can buy a pretty dandy Dell for $699 right now. Even a juiced up machine for $2000 doesn't come close to the $3300 the "Replacement" should cost.
> ...



Please, don't get me wrong! I love Mac OS X with every fiber of my being...and for having 800Mhz...it really doesnt do that bad. I just sometimes wish it were a little faster


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