
daneoni
Aug 26, 04:13 PM
That doesn't make sense, marketing wise. If they do anything to the MacBooks and iMacs they would at least bump their speeds. It doesn't matter f the 2GHz Merom chip is faster than the 2GHz Yonah chip, the consumers don't give a crap about the chip... they want to see "them GHz numbers" go up.
Well unless they use Conroe in iMac thats how it will be. They'll just tell you the new machines are using intel's new Core 2 Duo (64 bit computing) chips. Apple WILL differentiate their pro laptops so the 2.16 & 2.33 GHz combo is a given. Maybe, just maybe, they might bump the mini to 1.83 and 1.66 on its low end. The imacs will use 1.83 & 2.00 there is just no other option apparent to me because the 17" & 20" will also be differentiated. The macbooks may become 2.00GHz only across the board but even that route is questionable.
Well unless they use Conroe in iMac thats how it will be. They'll just tell you the new machines are using intel's new Core 2 Duo (64 bit computing) chips. Apple WILL differentiate their pro laptops so the 2.16 & 2.33 GHz combo is a given. Maybe, just maybe, they might bump the mini to 1.83 and 1.66 on its low end. The imacs will use 1.83 & 2.00 there is just no other option apparent to me because the 17" & 20" will also be differentiated. The macbooks may become 2.00GHz only across the board but even that route is questionable.

~Shard~
Jul 15, 12:58 AM
It would be ridiculous if it came with just 512 mb's of ram...
Steve Jobs-"The New Octa-Core Mac Pro with 512 mb's of ram" It just doesn't fit...
I agree, it wouldn't make sense. Might as well sell a new Lamborghini with a 1.8L 4-banger... ;)
Steve Jobs-"The New Octa-Core Mac Pro with 512 mb's of ram" It just doesn't fit...
I agree, it wouldn't make sense. Might as well sell a new Lamborghini with a 1.8L 4-banger... ;)

MacSync
Aug 25, 03:14 PM
Ahh did any one see this?
http://www.macnn.com/articles/06/08/23/apple.tops.pc.mag.survey/
Hmm. I've had a G5 DP worked on lately and had great support.
*Edit Nevermind, they are linking the PC mag story too.
http://www.macnn.com/articles/06/08/23/apple.tops.pc.mag.survey/
Hmm. I've had a G5 DP worked on lately and had great support.
*Edit Nevermind, they are linking the PC mag story too.

bibbz
Jun 14, 06:08 PM
Wait a sec...
Had to read that again...
If I get a PIN tomorrow at 1pm EST I am guaranteed
a phone on launch day? I don't have to stand in line
that morning?
They told me differently when I called the store citing
NO RESERVATIONS.
If you get a reservation pin, you will have a phone on launch day, bottom line. No pin, no guarantee of a phone. With the pin, you can pick it up when you want. At opening or 8pm at night. I would make damn sure i am the 1st person in line at 1PM EST to be sure you get a PIN.
We just cant call it a pre-order, and cant take money before the 24th.
Be srue you talk to the store manager, and again, if you get something other than what i said, call another store.
Had to read that again...
If I get a PIN tomorrow at 1pm EST I am guaranteed
a phone on launch day? I don't have to stand in line
that morning?
They told me differently when I called the store citing
NO RESERVATIONS.
If you get a reservation pin, you will have a phone on launch day, bottom line. No pin, no guarantee of a phone. With the pin, you can pick it up when you want. At opening or 8pm at night. I would make damn sure i am the 1st person in line at 1PM EST to be sure you get a PIN.
We just cant call it a pre-order, and cant take money before the 24th.
Be srue you talk to the store manager, and again, if you get something other than what i said, call another store.

Stridder44
Apr 7, 11:07 PM
Obviously you know little about retail and accounting.
Someone is full of themselves. And wrong to boot. You want to move products if you're a retailer, ESPECIALLY if you're a large retailer. And accounting? An accountant could give a crap less if the big boss man decided to hold off on selling a product for whatever reason; he reports and enters the numbers and makes sure the balance sheet is balancing. But since you seem to know so much, please enlighten us all.
Anyway, this is all very strange. Sounds like there's a lot more to this story than we're hearing so far.
Someone is full of themselves. And wrong to boot. You want to move products if you're a retailer, ESPECIALLY if you're a large retailer. And accounting? An accountant could give a crap less if the big boss man decided to hold off on selling a product for whatever reason; he reports and enters the numbers and makes sure the balance sheet is balancing. But since you seem to know so much, please enlighten us all.
Anyway, this is all very strange. Sounds like there's a lot more to this story than we're hearing so far.

shamino
Jul 20, 11:28 AM
Not quite the first. Sun has been shipping a commercial 8-core systems for about a year now.
Yes. This is their UltraSPARC T1 (http://www.sun.com/processors/UltraSPARC-T1/) chip.
The T2000 has all 8 cores on one chip but each core also does four-way hyper threading so they claim 32 hardware threads.
The T1 chip ships in several different configurations. 4-, 6- and 8-cores, at 1.0 or 1.2GHz. All sporting 4 threads per core.
The price for an 8-core T1000 is about $8K.
While this is their least expensive 8-core box, you should point out (for the benefit of everyone else reading this message) that the price is not just for the CPU. It's for a high-end server that includes 8G of RAM, 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports, remote management software, Java Enterprise, and Solaris 10. All in a 1U-high rack chassis.
A system with 8 cores and 8GB RAM burns about 250W.
You are being very misleading here. According to Sun's spec sheet (http://www.sun.com/servers/coolthreads/t1000/specifications.jsp), it has a 300W power supply. Peak power consumption for the entire system is 220W, and typical consumption is 180W.
But those are for the entire system. Sun's page on the UltraSPARC T1 (http://www.sun.com/processors/UltraSPARC-T1/) processor itself says that the CPU (in its 32-thread configuration) consumes 72W. The rest of that power consumption is from parts other than the CPU.
It's also worth noting Intel's Xeon spec sheet (http://www.intel.com/products/processor/xeon/specs.htm), which lists the fastest chips as consuming 130W for the CPU package alone! And that is with only four threads (two cores with 2-way hyperthreading.) I can guarantee you that a system based on one of these will have peak power consumption far greater than 220W.
Yes. This is their UltraSPARC T1 (http://www.sun.com/processors/UltraSPARC-T1/) chip.
The T2000 has all 8 cores on one chip but each core also does four-way hyper threading so they claim 32 hardware threads.
The T1 chip ships in several different configurations. 4-, 6- and 8-cores, at 1.0 or 1.2GHz. All sporting 4 threads per core.
The price for an 8-core T1000 is about $8K.
While this is their least expensive 8-core box, you should point out (for the benefit of everyone else reading this message) that the price is not just for the CPU. It's for a high-end server that includes 8G of RAM, 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports, remote management software, Java Enterprise, and Solaris 10. All in a 1U-high rack chassis.
A system with 8 cores and 8GB RAM burns about 250W.
You are being very misleading here. According to Sun's spec sheet (http://www.sun.com/servers/coolthreads/t1000/specifications.jsp), it has a 300W power supply. Peak power consumption for the entire system is 220W, and typical consumption is 180W.
But those are for the entire system. Sun's page on the UltraSPARC T1 (http://www.sun.com/processors/UltraSPARC-T1/) processor itself says that the CPU (in its 32-thread configuration) consumes 72W. The rest of that power consumption is from parts other than the CPU.
It's also worth noting Intel's Xeon spec sheet (http://www.intel.com/products/processor/xeon/specs.htm), which lists the fastest chips as consuming 130W for the CPU package alone! And that is with only four threads (two cores with 2-way hyperthreading.) I can guarantee you that a system based on one of these will have peak power consumption far greater than 220W.

laidbackliam
Aug 7, 02:34 AM
this is me going out an a limb here.
but do you think the desktop lineup could become this?
Mac mini (2 models)
the Mac
iMac
Mac Pro
"if" this happens, which i find unlikely based on pure speculation, the mac mini could keep yonah processors, the Mac could get conroe, the iMac could get conroe, and the Mac Pro could go balls to the wall with 3.0ghz woodcrests.
the Mac would be the affordable tower that people have been wanting. yet another reason for people to switch. a unit that works, that has an upgrade path, but doesn't cost 1500+.
again, i don't think this will happen at wwdc, but i do think it would be cool
but do you think the desktop lineup could become this?
Mac mini (2 models)
the Mac
iMac
Mac Pro
"if" this happens, which i find unlikely based on pure speculation, the mac mini could keep yonah processors, the Mac could get conroe, the iMac could get conroe, and the Mac Pro could go balls to the wall with 3.0ghz woodcrests.
the Mac would be the affordable tower that people have been wanting. yet another reason for people to switch. a unit that works, that has an upgrade path, but doesn't cost 1500+.
again, i don't think this will happen at wwdc, but i do think it would be cool

Shasterball
Apr 19, 01:58 PM
Parties do not understate potential damages in a lawsuit. No way. No how.

fithian
Apr 8, 07:55 AM
Just for entertainment, go to a Worst Buy and sidle up to a sales guy giving his pitch to an unsuspecting victim. I only ever go there to see a model in person before ordering online or elsewhere. I do purchase items at local stores who respect the customer and don't tell blatant lies about the products.

ZoomZoomZoom
Sep 19, 02:24 AM
Does it even MATTER if Apple keeps up? Do we actually WANT Apple to release a new computer every month when Intel bumps up their chips a few megahertz
Why yes we do.
If you can get more speed, and if the competition is doing it, why not? If you're spending a ton of money on a computer, wouldn't you want to most recent one available? Am I being too greedy when I see competitors using a newer, faster chip at the same price as the old chip (easily swappable too) and demand that I want that in my "pro" laptop from Apple?
As for constant revisions, you're probably thinking a bit about resale values. In the long run, constant speed bumps won't affect your resale value at all. (Think about it. You compare old laptop speed to current generation speed. It doesn't matter whatever happened in the middle.)
Why yes we do.
If you can get more speed, and if the competition is doing it, why not? If you're spending a ton of money on a computer, wouldn't you want to most recent one available? Am I being too greedy when I see competitors using a newer, faster chip at the same price as the old chip (easily swappable too) and demand that I want that in my "pro" laptop from Apple?
As for constant revisions, you're probably thinking a bit about resale values. In the long run, constant speed bumps won't affect your resale value at all. (Think about it. You compare old laptop speed to current generation speed. It doesn't matter whatever happened in the middle.)

Chupa Chupa
Apr 8, 04:59 AM
This is such a B.S. story. Apple to BB is like a minor star in the galaxy; if it goes out few will notice. Remember all those years BB didn't sell Apple products and did fine? Apple just doesn't have that kind of pull with a big box store. And every manufacturer knows that getting stores to behave as they'd like them to is like hearding cats.
Until Apple can get more of its own stores it needs BB more than BB needs it. So I doubt Apple went all hurt or p.o.'d girlfriend on them.
Until Apple can get more of its own stores it needs BB more than BB needs it. So I doubt Apple went all hurt or p.o.'d girlfriend on them.

Vegasman
Apr 27, 08:40 AM
Apple's solution is fine by me. They wouldn't have done anything if there wasn't so much press about it, but I guess that's a good reason (one of the only ones) for the press to exist.
Interestingly, this behavior of waiting for things to blow up in the press before they are addressed will only lead to MORE things getting blown up in the press. Maybe Apple likes that? I dunno.
Interestingly, this behavior of waiting for things to blow up in the press before they are addressed will only lead to MORE things getting blown up in the press. Maybe Apple likes that? I dunno.

ehoui
Apr 19, 03:58 PM
So True...
Poor lost souls rely on Steve to think for them, bring them courage, and guide them in worship.
Anyone who fails to fall in line, is immediately a threat to them.
It's this weakness is laughable.
I don't know what's worse:
1) Poor lost Stevie souls who "fall into line" with everything Apple does; or,
2) Poor lost anti-Stevie souls who "fail to see any good" that Apple does
This is a debate about a topic which few of us are technically qualified to argue. That being said, ad hominem attacks should have no place here regardless of the bucket that one might fall into (1), (2) or other. So I respectfully ask you to knock it off. Thanks.
Poor lost souls rely on Steve to think for them, bring them courage, and guide them in worship.
Anyone who fails to fall in line, is immediately a threat to them.
It's this weakness is laughable.
I don't know what's worse:
1) Poor lost Stevie souls who "fall into line" with everything Apple does; or,
2) Poor lost anti-Stevie souls who "fail to see any good" that Apple does
This is a debate about a topic which few of us are technically qualified to argue. That being said, ad hominem attacks should have no place here regardless of the bucket that one might fall into (1), (2) or other. So I respectfully ask you to knock it off. Thanks.

hobi316
Jun 14, 11:05 AM
[QUOTE=NJRonbo;10129607]Radio Shack is taking preorders starting Thursday.
Essentially, they special order the phone for you.
That pretty much guarantees you a phone on opening day.
All you need to do is leave a $50 deposit when ordering.
QUOTE]
I'm thinking you meant Tuesday there?
But yeah, they're definitely doing the $50 downpayment thing like with the Evo. I was told to call back this afternoon to get the opening time.
Generally seems like it will be easy to get this phone on launch day. Between Apple, RadioShack, Best Buy, and WalMart, I'm hoping everyone who wants one next Thursday will get it!
Essentially, they special order the phone for you.
That pretty much guarantees you a phone on opening day.
All you need to do is leave a $50 deposit when ordering.
QUOTE]
I'm thinking you meant Tuesday there?
But yeah, they're definitely doing the $50 downpayment thing like with the Evo. I was told to call back this afternoon to get the opening time.
Generally seems like it will be easy to get this phone on launch day. Between Apple, RadioShack, Best Buy, and WalMart, I'm hoping everyone who wants one next Thursday will get it!

FFTT
Sep 13, 11:07 PM
The current Mac Pro and even the Core Duo 2 iMacs are both amazing upgrades
to what most people were running 2 years ago.
Generally, I recommend waiting for those who already have a working OSX Tiger
machine.
However, if you NEED a new Pro workstation, the Mac Pro will pay for itself
in productivlty.
We also don't know how cool these new quad core processors will run.
At least we do know that the current Mac Pro is extemely quiet with power to spare.
to what most people were running 2 years ago.
Generally, I recommend waiting for those who already have a working OSX Tiger
machine.
However, if you NEED a new Pro workstation, the Mac Pro will pay for itself
in productivlty.
We also don't know how cool these new quad core processors will run.
At least we do know that the current Mac Pro is extemely quiet with power to spare.

kdarling
Apr 6, 03:01 PM
But he then said after how well it would work on the phone, they put the tablet project on the shelf and focused on the phone as it was more important. Which means it was a tablet and no just a touch screen device in the beginning.
Sure, it could've been a full tablet. It just didn't have iOS, is my point.
People misremember a lot. You know how it goes: a story always gets better as time goes by :)
For example, in the later tablet version we are told that seeing kinetic scrolling on the demo made him want for Apple to build a touch phone:
“I had this idea about having a glass display, a multitouch display you could type on with your fingers. I asked our folks: could we come up with a multitouch display that we could type on? And six months later, they came back with this prototype display. And I gave it to one of our really brilliant UI guys and he called me back a few weeks later and had intertial scrolling working and I thought, ‘my God, we can build a phone with this!’ So we put the tablet on the shelf… and we went to work on the iPhone.”
Yet, years before in one of the first iPhone articles in we were told that kinetic scrolling came later on:
"At one point, Mr. Jobs got a call from one of the iPhone engineers with an idea: Why not allow iPhone users to navigate through both song collections and contacts stored on the device by simply flicking their fingers up and down across the surface of the touch-screen? The engineer gave Mr. Jobs a demonstration of the technology, and the Apple chief executive signed off on it immediately, according to a person familiar with the process."
I'd love one day for a definitive history to come out, so we can know the full timing, and also credit those unsung engineers who actually invented it all.
Sure, it could've been a full tablet. It just didn't have iOS, is my point.
People misremember a lot. You know how it goes: a story always gets better as time goes by :)
For example, in the later tablet version we are told that seeing kinetic scrolling on the demo made him want for Apple to build a touch phone:
“I had this idea about having a glass display, a multitouch display you could type on with your fingers. I asked our folks: could we come up with a multitouch display that we could type on? And six months later, they came back with this prototype display. And I gave it to one of our really brilliant UI guys and he called me back a few weeks later and had intertial scrolling working and I thought, ‘my God, we can build a phone with this!’ So we put the tablet on the shelf… and we went to work on the iPhone.”
Yet, years before in one of the first iPhone articles in we were told that kinetic scrolling came later on:
"At one point, Mr. Jobs got a call from one of the iPhone engineers with an idea: Why not allow iPhone users to navigate through both song collections and contacts stored on the device by simply flicking their fingers up and down across the surface of the touch-screen? The engineer gave Mr. Jobs a demonstration of the technology, and the Apple chief executive signed off on it immediately, according to a person familiar with the process."
I'd love one day for a definitive history to come out, so we can know the full timing, and also credit those unsung engineers who actually invented it all.

dethmaShine
Apr 19, 02:36 PM
You're wrong. Apple is losing marketshare for over 2 years now. Just because they are selling MORE iPhones doesn't mean they are gaining marketshare. The market grows much faster than the iPhone sales. Have a look at Nokia: In Q4/10 Nokia sold almost 7 million more smartphones but they lost about 10% marketshare. In Q1/11 Apple lost about 2% marketshare despite the fact that they sold about 2.5 million more iPhones.
Ya right. :rolleyes:
Ya right. :rolleyes:

maclaptop
Apr 12, 10:33 PM
I wouldn't worry. I have an insider source who assures me Apple is basing its entire iPhone 5 product launch on when your contract ends. Here's a direct quote from Steve Jobs:
"While the antenna issues forced us to accelerate our product cycle in favor of a redesign a year earlier than expected, and while the earthquake/tsunami disaster in Japan has added several of its own complications, rest assured that Apple will take every conceivable measure to ensure that the iPhone 5 ships at a time close to the end of mlmathews' 3Gs contract. We have been quite fortunate with the success of out iOS devices in recent years, but we're not about to start pushing our luck here."
You're right.
I have confirmation that the upcoming iPhone release date is Tuesday January 17, 2012.
"While the antenna issues forced us to accelerate our product cycle in favor of a redesign a year earlier than expected, and while the earthquake/tsunami disaster in Japan has added several of its own complications, rest assured that Apple will take every conceivable measure to ensure that the iPhone 5 ships at a time close to the end of mlmathews' 3Gs contract. We have been quite fortunate with the success of out iOS devices in recent years, but we're not about to start pushing our luck here."
You're right.
I have confirmation that the upcoming iPhone release date is Tuesday January 17, 2012.

Multimedia
Aug 21, 05:43 AM
I stopped by the Apple store tonight to play with a Macpro. I'm getting ready to buy and thought I'd get some hands on experience to see how it performed with Finalcut Pro. I was especially interested in how it handles playback of uncompressed footage.
The store had a 2.6 hooked up to a 30"ACD. Everything on the machine was stock. I launched FCP and it appeared with a project already loaded (about 5 seconds). The project was a simple 20-30 second 720x480 NTSC clip of hockey game footage. I selected the clip and copied it to a new layer and threw a blend mode on it AND changed the speed to 85%. Next I copied and made another layer and changed the speed and offset it and changed the transparency to 80%. 3 layers total with the top two manipulated. I hit the render and it finished in about 30 seconds. :)
I know, not very scientific, but I just wanted to get a feel for how fast the Macpro would render manipulated footage. Anyhow, next I changed the output in project settings to "uncompressed" and hit render again. Again, it took less than a minute to render and the CPU usage in console was maxing out at only 42% per core.
Once the render completed, I hit the play button to see how the stock Macpro would handle playback of the uncompressed footage. It played for about 4 seconds then threw an error saying that frames were being dropped during playback. Not good. I was hoping that the Macpro would be able to play uncompressed footage from the timeline without 3rd party acceleration or setting up a raid. The error message suggested turning off RT effects (of which I did, but still had dropped frames) or get a faster drive. There was a couple other things the error suggested, but I can't remember at the moment. I wonder if having the ATI card would have made a difference? Not sure if FCP uses the GPU for playback, but I would think that should make a difference. Ram would probably help too. Anyone know what might be going on? Am I expecting too much out of this machine?
Sorry for sort of getting off topic. I thought this might be an appropriate area to post this; I wasn't feeling up to starting a new thread.That's great info. Would you please tell us:
1. How fast that is compared to what Mac model-speed you are currently using?
2. IE Were you impressed or not so impressed with how fast-slow it rendered?
3. What kind of speed were you expecting?
I'm no expert, but my guess is that the lack of RAM may have been the culprit. Need more independent tests like this from other FCP users. Thanks a lot. :)
The store had a 2.6 hooked up to a 30"ACD. Everything on the machine was stock. I launched FCP and it appeared with a project already loaded (about 5 seconds). The project was a simple 20-30 second 720x480 NTSC clip of hockey game footage. I selected the clip and copied it to a new layer and threw a blend mode on it AND changed the speed to 85%. Next I copied and made another layer and changed the speed and offset it and changed the transparency to 80%. 3 layers total with the top two manipulated. I hit the render and it finished in about 30 seconds. :)
I know, not very scientific, but I just wanted to get a feel for how fast the Macpro would render manipulated footage. Anyhow, next I changed the output in project settings to "uncompressed" and hit render again. Again, it took less than a minute to render and the CPU usage in console was maxing out at only 42% per core.
Once the render completed, I hit the play button to see how the stock Macpro would handle playback of the uncompressed footage. It played for about 4 seconds then threw an error saying that frames were being dropped during playback. Not good. I was hoping that the Macpro would be able to play uncompressed footage from the timeline without 3rd party acceleration or setting up a raid. The error message suggested turning off RT effects (of which I did, but still had dropped frames) or get a faster drive. There was a couple other things the error suggested, but I can't remember at the moment. I wonder if having the ATI card would have made a difference? Not sure if FCP uses the GPU for playback, but I would think that should make a difference. Ram would probably help too. Anyone know what might be going on? Am I expecting too much out of this machine?
Sorry for sort of getting off topic. I thought this might be an appropriate area to post this; I wasn't feeling up to starting a new thread.That's great info. Would you please tell us:
1. How fast that is compared to what Mac model-speed you are currently using?
2. IE Were you impressed or not so impressed with how fast-slow it rendered?
3. What kind of speed were you expecting?
I'm no expert, but my guess is that the lack of RAM may have been the culprit. Need more independent tests like this from other FCP users. Thanks a lot. :)
KnightWRX
Apr 6, 11:01 AM
So are the current MacBook airs using a dedicated gpu? Or is it integrated? I'm confused. :-)
They use an IGP (Integrated Graphics Processor) manufactured by nVidia and incorporated to the "chipset" (south bridge) that is the 320m.
SB ships an IGP integrated on the CPU die itself, manufactured by Intel.
The nVidia solution is better for graphics performance.
They use an IGP (Integrated Graphics Processor) manufactured by nVidia and incorporated to the "chipset" (south bridge) that is the 320m.
SB ships an IGP integrated on the CPU die itself, manufactured by Intel.
The nVidia solution is better for graphics performance.
camomac
Jul 20, 02:39 PM
eight cores + Tiger = Octopussy?!?
haha, then Doctor Q's signature could be-
"Oh do pay attention 007. In the wrong hands, this Octopussy could be very dangerous."
LOL.:D
haha, then Doctor Q's signature could be-
"Oh do pay attention 007. In the wrong hands, this Octopussy could be very dangerous."
LOL.:D
nightcap965
Apr 25, 02:27 PM
Lawsuits are filed against Apple every week. That's why they have their own legal department and engage powerful firms as outside counsel. Any idiot can file suit. Nothing to see here, move along.
Personally, if anyone were to gain unauthorized access to either my computers or my iPhone, I've got far more serious problems than someone knowing my day-to-day travels. Hacker's Law: Once I have physical access to your computer, it is no longer your computer. Anyone who doesn't treat his smartphone with the same care and attention he gives his wallet will soon have neither.
Personally, if anyone were to gain unauthorized access to either my computers or my iPhone, I've got far more serious problems than someone knowing my day-to-day travels. Hacker's Law: Once I have physical access to your computer, it is no longer your computer. Anyone who doesn't treat his smartphone with the same care and attention he gives his wallet will soon have neither.
Huntn
Aug 19, 06:11 PM
Do you consider official images and video from E3 of this year, a mere 2 months ago, to be "old" footage? If so, then yes, I'm basing it on old gameplay footage. Look at the model and texture in this pic, and tell me that isn't straight out of GT4, just higher res....
Racing games have come a long long way. Based on original racing sims, watching the shock absorbers flex is wonderful. You can feel the bumps. :)
Racing games have come a long long way. Based on original racing sims, watching the shock absorbers flex is wonderful. You can feel the bumps. :)
shawnce
Aug 6, 02:28 PM
So, you're comparing a mature product (Tiger) to one that's still in beta and which by all accounts has plenty of outstanding issues before it's ever released (Vista)? Ok soon lets compare Leopard and Vista.
The fact of the matter is that Vista has to be functionally complete now (or else they are going to miss shipping dates by a large margin)... so the functionality you see is basically what you are going to get. Put aside the crashes, performance issues, bugs and you can get a good sense for how it will operate when it is released.
Really MS has taken the transparency and visual effect so far that they are distracting and degrade usability (thank fully you can adjust them to some extent)... they are doing just like Apple did in Mac OS X 10.0 (transparent window title bars when in background, overly transparent menus, etc.) but thankfully Apple has been refining it for the last few years for looks and usability.
Also the new user security mode is going to be a big nightmare for folks until 3rd party software catches up with it... currently in my average usage it is always bouncing to out the full screen overlay with security confirmation dialog... I am at the point I don't read them any more since the disrupt what I am trying to do. (We have several developers in house struggling to keep up with changes and bugs in the beta, making it hard to get ready for Vista).
In the end Vista will be a good OS but it is going to be a little painful for the Windows world for the next year or so (into 2008).
The fact of the matter is that Vista has to be functionally complete now (or else they are going to miss shipping dates by a large margin)... so the functionality you see is basically what you are going to get. Put aside the crashes, performance issues, bugs and you can get a good sense for how it will operate when it is released.
Really MS has taken the transparency and visual effect so far that they are distracting and degrade usability (thank fully you can adjust them to some extent)... they are doing just like Apple did in Mac OS X 10.0 (transparent window title bars when in background, overly transparent menus, etc.) but thankfully Apple has been refining it for the last few years for looks and usability.
Also the new user security mode is going to be a big nightmare for folks until 3rd party software catches up with it... currently in my average usage it is always bouncing to out the full screen overlay with security confirmation dialog... I am at the point I don't read them any more since the disrupt what I am trying to do. (We have several developers in house struggling to keep up with changes and bugs in the beta, making it hard to get ready for Vista).
In the end Vista will be a good OS but it is going to be a little painful for the Windows world for the next year or so (into 2008).