A trio of tantalizing tidbits for you
Posted by Dan Moren | Monday, January 22, 2007 9:56 AM PT
We don’t always time for the in-depth coverage that you deserve, given the number of Mac-related stories that surface on the Interweb every single day, so instead let me brief you on three pieces that have caught my eye over the last few days:
Brande Jackson’s PowerBook G4 screen (shown above) is among the wackiest I have ever seen. Says he of the bizarro display: “I’ve had this thing for almost five years now, it’s traveled every single mile I have, gone through a few falls and what not, so all in all I’m not complaining.” Still, wouldn’t it be nice if computers could be expected to last for more than five years?
Jeremy Reimer at Ars Technica reviews the latest release of AmigaOS, proving that there is, in fact, an operating system with a more minority fanbase than the Mac. High points? “No constant reminders for updates or to download new virus definitions (there are no viruses or malware available for OS4, and unlikely to ever be).” Man, don’t you hate those smug Amiga fanboys?
Jesse Benjamin, writing for McSweeney’s, concocts a list of “Other Long-Standing Feuds I’d Like to See Explored in a Commercial à la ‘Hi, I’m a Mac’ … ‘And I’m a PC.’” Example: “Hi, I’m buying alcohol.” “And I’m paying rent.” What? Those are contradictory?
See? That was three stories in one. Look at the kind of efficiency we’re harnessing here.
The screen on my venerable PowerBook G4 looks just like that. Luckily, it waited until I got its replacement before it started freaking out. If I press on the case down the left side I can get the picture to pop back in sometimes. The machine works fine with an external monitor.
It might also be worth noting that the AmigaOS review also points to a Space Balls-esque, ludicrous speed of the OS and instant switch to running applications with minimal memory in the hardware (256MB). It's an interesting read for the sake of reminiscing and also to see how the OS can be done differently. Mind you, at the end of it all you have to wonder about the practicality of it all but then the same can be said about the Mac platform relative to Windows.