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Imagine 10 years into 2 futures....

Firstly, I fully agree with above posters who have commented on the default Mac mouse and keyboard -- they are garbage. OK, the Mighty Mouse has finally ALMOST caught up to modern standards (TWO buttons -- AND A SCROLL WHEEL!! HOLY CRAP!! I wonder if Steve Jobs' brain collapsed the first time he could actually do something with a mouse other than click one button). But the keyboards are the absolute worst. I know, Dell's default keyboard is garbage too, but at least they still have NUMPADS, which apparently Apple thought was a wholly frivolous luxury. I've heard some people argue that it "reduces clutter" -- is your office a cardboard box???

I want Apple to keep going because I have an iPhone, but let's not get hyperbolic here -- if Apple shut down today, life would largely continue as normal. If MS shut down, business would be crippled. Like it or not, it would in no exaggeration be an absolute catastrophe. I don't think MS is a great company, but come on -- you're talking about 90% of the world's computers.
 
yg17 said:
PCs are cheap. Not to get into a whole price war discussion or anything, but if all a business needs a PC for is some basic word processing and accounting work, a cheap, $300 PC will easily fill their needs.
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which is kind of my point - If xp works, and third party software developers can handle developing applications like tabbed browsing, would we notice as much if MS OS dept just cashed their chips and went home?
 
Journojulz said:
which is kind of my point - If xp works, and third party software developers can handle developing applications like tabbed browsing, would we notice as much if MS OS dept just cashed their chips and went home?
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Would we notice immediately? No. Would we notice eventually when PCs need replacing or a major bug in Windows needs to be fixed? Definitely.

And we'd also notice once Apple realizes that they're now the only major players in the computer market and increase prices and slow down development of new products because they have no competition.
 
Also, to think of MS as simply "Windows" is an extremely narrow view. You need to consider Office, Outlook, Exchange Server, SQL Server, Visual Studio, countless data servers -- the communications, data, and development infrastructures that businesses depend on. The backbone of literally billions of people's livelihoods. The stuff Apple simply doesn't have to worry about.

I'm not hating on Apple, but topics like this are silly -- the Apple fan's fantasy of "what if M$ just disappeared?" Then they will turn around and argue in another topic that "it was never Apple's goal to be as big as M$, their focus is on quality and innovation, blah blah." I live in the big M's neighborhood and know a lot of people who work for them, and the sheer amount of stuff they do is just mind-boggling. True, this pandemic approach leads to a focus on building a business and making money, and quality does suffer somewhat as a result, but no way in hell could Apple handle all of that -- their culture is just not compatible with it.
 
yg17 said:
And we'd also notice once Apple realizes that they're now the only major players in the computer market and increase prices and slow down development of new products because they have no competition.
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You can't assume Apple would do that just because Microsoft and Intel do.

Apple have little competition right now, in the market that they play in. Apple holds a 65% marketshare of all computers over $1000, but they continue to push the barrier.
 
True - MS is a rival for apple in the OS stakes, but that is not the only game afoot.

Apples other rivals are the hardware manufacturers, phone companies, mp3 player makers and..... makers of whoever copies whatever the heck they are going to unveil next month.
 
Future #2: We're all using Zunes. Zunedroids. Zunebots.

The dystopian Microsoft Big Brother (who, ironically, has the face of Steve Ballmer :eek: and hides behind a curtain like the Wizard of Oz screaming "Give it up for ME!") speaks propaganda in our ears in subtly-worded television and radio specials while the select few who are smarter and haven't been brainwashed remember better days... Each a less violent Deckard looking for love and refusing to 'squirt' on our fellow - for which we are savagely beaten and obsessively monitored, but even the electrodes on our testicles won't stop us from fighting for the past. I've seen the future and it ain't pretty...

...by contrast, Future #1 (Apple) is like a giant, earth-wide Xanadu of freedom of speech, freedom from repression and Steve Jobs stops by your house with fresh organic produce, coincidentally only at the convenient times. We ride wild horses to work, write poetry every day, and live each day with the freedom of actors performing in a scene we know will be deleted from the main feature anyway. Conviviality, bonhomie and good coffee prevail.
 
Melrose said:
Future #2: We're all using Zunes. Zunedroids. Zunebots.

The dystopian Microsoft Big Brother (who, ironically, has the face of Steve Ballmer :eek: and hides behind a curtain like the Wizard of Oz screaming "Give it up for ME!") speaks propaganda in our ears in subtly-worded television and radio specials while the select few who are smarter and haven't been brainwashed remember better days... Each a less violent Deckard looking for love and refusing to 'squirt' on our fellow - for which we are savagely beaten and obsessively monitored, but even the electrodes on our testicles won't stop us from fighting for the past. I've seen the future and it ain't pretty...

...by contrast, Future #1 (Apple) is like a giant, earth-wide Xanadu of freedom of speech, freedom from repression and Steve Jobs stops by your house with fresh organic produce, coincidentally only at the convenient times. We ride wild horses to work, write poetry every day, and live each day with the freedom of actors performing in a scene we know will be deleted from the main feature anyway. Conviviality, bonhomie and good coffee prevail.
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Jesus, do you have a "MAC 4 LIFE" tattoo on your forehead?
 
I am barely 45 mins old.

Have yet to decide who I should be today.

A swim and a sauna should help, followed by the best breakfast in the world - one made by someone else.
 
I would also agree that Linux could fill the niche, but what about the possibility of some new OS besides those three. Just because the big three of computing exist now does not mean there is a physical limit and everything technological has been done. What if some new OS comes along completely different in the next ten years from what we know now such as AI (applying Asimov's three laws to our benefit of course) or perhaps using the very old computer model that has existed for millions of years and perfecting electronic interfaces with flesh who knows we might actually have a "computer mouse that is a MOUSE!" one day--I woudn't be very sure where to plug in my usb drive there though. A hell of a lot may happen in ten years Apple and M$ofts existence seems such a limited scope which to base technological advancement upon even the thousands of NIXs out there being used doesn't even cover the potential possibilities.
 
Melrose said:
Like a fly. Do you see in slow motion too?
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That would be relative. :)

Anyway, today's I is not much different from yesterday's.

But I did meet derren brown at breakfast and watch the new Trek.

Who knows the I that can be cooked up fresh tomorrow?
 
raggedjimmi said:
So you always hover your fingers above the buttons instead of resting on them?



Never happened to any of the mice I've ever owned. Also my parents wired MM had this problem too, the usual rolling didn't fix it. Compressed air didn't fix it and neither did soaking the mouse and then drying it. It's been over a year and I could never fix it. The next step is to open it up but of course Apple didn't want you servicing something as basic as a mouse.


Since when is a mouse where you have to lift your fingers off it to right click a good design choice, or not taking ergonomics into account at all? Name an example of good design on it. All I can think of is the back of the unit fits snugly into my palm, even though it means I have to arch my fingers over to use the buttons.
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The Mighty Mouse is possibly the worst mouse I've ever used. The wheel sticks all the time, and I've tried everything to unstick it. I had to eventually resort to slamming it on the desk. The side button constantly presses itself. Every Mighty Mouse I've had (6) has eventually had a problem where when I just touched the mouse the side button would click a million times until I let go of the mouse, making it unusable. Also, not being able to right click while left clicking is very annoying. It's also just plain uncomfortable to hold. I can't use it for more than an hour without my hand hurting.
 
The mighty mouse divides people like mac vs M$ :)

Personally i love it haven't had a ball problem a vigorous rubbing over a piece of paper wouldn't cure.

I find washing my hands now and again works to keep things clean, and as for right clicking - my index finger is fairly light to lift, this is outweighed by th whole hand click of the mouse.

Swings and roundabouts really.
 
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