The half price comparable PC myth ....

I bought my first Macbook in 2007 because it was CHEAPER than a comparable Sony or Asus. Ok, I could have settled for a Celeron instead of a C2D ...

The MBP I got in 2010 was cheaper again and I still use it all day long, with a SSD and 8GB RAM I installed myself.

Have a look at the Mac mini, it is not too expensive if you compare like to like. Same for the iMac compared to other AiO PCs.

Upgrades and repairs are a problem, no onsite service :(, and the more modern the less repairable they are.

A Retina Macbook Pro is not for me, I just don't want to buy a maxed out machine because I might need it next year. Same for the smaller iMac where one can't even upgrade RAM. Not to mention the braindead position of the SD cardslot on the back ....

So yes, Apple is less attractive to me now then it was two years ago, but let's have a look next year, when I need a new one :)

Re: forced obsolescence, Apple douchebaggery

It's bad enough with iOS5!

Re: forced obsolescence, Apple douchebaggery

"Oh sweet! So it'll transfer my development environment, and my servers, and my VMs, and my Kubuntu partition, and my Windows one?

No? Then perhaps upgrades are a better idea."

If you know how to clone a drive, it does.

Re: HP 800CT?

I had an Omnibook 300 then and from a price/performance/portability point of view my Macbook Air today is a steal :)

Re: …And we still have no idea what these patents are

Apple and MS have a Patent deal of some sort.

Tricky!

MySQL is in userspace, this is a patch against the kernel. So it depends on lots of code under GPLv2 and it should be very hard to make closed source extensions without breaking someones copyrights.

Re: More proof...

As far as the legend goes, they didn't adopt those because of retraining cost. There could be a grain of truth to it :)

Re: Breeder reactor

We tried to build one here in germany, never got it running. It's now a recreation park.

Even more so

I don't expect my 32gb iPad to hold a 4k Video. On the other hand, it's an iPad 1 and I don't expect it to hold anything besides my manuals and textbooks :)

Re: FFS

Yes, VMs can, but you have to have a license to install Windows 7 or 8 in a VM first. This is certainly not the license your computer came preinstalled with.

Re: @AC 02:46

Judging from current sales figures, the main OS is Android.

Question to the thumb downers

what software do you use on a Windows computer?

I have full Office, SQL Server Express and Visual Studio Express on my 128GB SSD Ultrabook.

And yes, I know how to install Software to different locations, move Userhome to another drive and run software from a network share. It's actually what I earn a living with.

But on the road I need it locally, not much fun running Office via VPN from a network share over a shaky EDGE connection ....

Virtual Desktops are a solution for this, but those work fine from Android and iOS, no need for Surface Pro there.

Re: Or for $200

Were talking about a Windows 8 Pro computer with intel X86 CPU. Try loading Office 2013 from a portable wireless HD, not much fun!

I'm really frustrated with my decision to buy an Ultrabook with only 128GB. Even with Win7 Pro and Office 2010, admittedly the full version, VMware Workstation and VMWare Server tools there is not much space left.

Re: Ok, fine so far

I still have the first iPad. I might buy the upcoming 8 inch Samsung for it's wacom digitizer. I use sketchbook pro a lot.

Re: Surprising choice

Whatever works, I had Sony Ericcsons which worked fine with OSX up until the M600i which didn't at all, then Palm Pre and HTC Desire.

Re: PFI - Epic fail

We import nuclear power and export wind power. 2012 the installed and operational wind turbines in germany produced more power than our ancient and unreliable nuclear reactors.

Two of our customers are nuclear powerplants.

Re: destruction

Especially when all the electricity you ever need comes from the wall plug!

Up to yesterday a VPN to a facility in Shanghai did work, have to check on monday.

Re: and they want to do business with the rest of the world?!

s/effect/affect

just learned the difference :)

Re: and they want to do business with the rest of the world?!

This does not effect businesses, you'll get your VPN from your premises.

Re: Fixed it for ya, Microsoft...

"Also, as Google's Android mail client is a bit rubbish, and their calendar and contacts ones are worse, can other Android programs use the Google proprietary crap, or will the best Android software also have to use their non-standard implementation of IMAP? Leaving even Android users wanting to migrate away from GMail?"

Works fine with most IMAP clients I've used so far. Pine/Alpine, Thunderbird, Evolution, fetchmail and even Net::IMAP::simple in PERL.

"So, in this instance, is the vulnerabilities the user, or that the OS allows a dodgy installation to take place?"

Up to now the user is allowed to run applications of his choice on a Mac. this trojan is probably unsigned, but if the user choses to run it and states his choice several times, it will run.

Re: Only for americans

I forgot, I'm in Bremen, Germany.

Re: Only for americans

Today, with 1 hour and 57 Minutes sunshine at 14:00 local time, I had 0.26 KWh per m^2 with 36W per m^2, lots of expresso from free energy :)

So yes, it won't feed all of my electrical needs but it helps a bit.

Re: What is it with number pads?

"er... maybe some people have different requirements to you?"

Probably, but why should I use a keyboard with keypads when I don't need it just because others have different requirements?

Re: What is it with number pads?

I rarely use spreadsheets, haven't programmed in hex codes in decades (and never with a decimal keyboard) and can do the rest with the number keys on the keyboard.

OTOH I learned touch typing in the late 70s and rarely type with 1 finger only.

What is it with number pads?

I haven't used it in over 30 years.

Martha Jones!

I just used one with the google authenticator app. Barcode in the browser on the desktop computer and barcode reader on the phone for two phase authentication.

Re: @JDX

And the SD Card slot on the back. I use it several times a day!

I'll skip this one, too. The old one will do what I want from it for another year or two.

Re: Some Obvious Reasons.....

And the earth is flat!