Andrew Harden's Profile

  • Mar 14, 2008
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Latest comments made by: Andrew Harden

  • You can take it to the Apple Store and have the battery replaced. It's $129, the same price as any other notebook battery at the Apple Store.
    Andrew Harden had this to say on Jan 21, 2008 Posts: 19
    Improving the MacBook Air
  • What's the coverage/availability of Wi-Max? Are there any devices that use wireless USB? It would seem foolish if Apple released a notebook that none of your current devices could connect to. People are mad enough that they have to upgrade their OS just to use the new iPods, how would they feel if they have to buy all new printers, hard drives, mobile broadband cards, flash drives, etc. etc.? If they went this route, it would either (a) sell poorly, or (b) sell incredibly well and promptly be returned since nothing plugs into it.
    Andrew Harden had this to say on Jan 14, 2008 Posts: 19
    Will the MacBook Take Flight at Macworld?
  • I don't think Apple is going to drop the high capacity iPods any time soon as there are plenty of people who have massive libraries of audio or video that want to carry it all with them. As for adding multitouch to the rest of the line: how would one differentiate? The iPod Touch Nano, iPod Touch Classic? Seems like it would add confusion, whereas now each iPod is easily identifiable just by looking at it. A Nano-sized touchscreen seems, to me, to be a little ridiculous. It would make video a little better on the Nano, but people complain enough already about the size of the interface objects on the iPhone and Touch, on the Nano it wouldn't really add anything. I think we'll see the flash-based models grow in capacity as the costs come down, and eventually the HD-based iPods will go away and be replaced with flash, but I think Apple will keep the lineup essentially as it is now with easily differentiated models, just like with their computers.
  • "However.. on a more positive note… about 6 months ago a small company that was ‘backing up’ DVDs to its media server product won against a lawsuit attempting to stop it. Apple may see this as an option now… and hard disks are getting to be the right size." That company was Kaleidescape, and because of the licensing fees they have to pay to the DVD Content Control Association, their base unit costs $27,000 and they can go as high as $100,000. The lawsuit was whether or not they had properly implemented the CSS encryption standard on DVDs. While their media servers seem to do some cool stuff, if all you want to do is get rid of your discs a cheaper solution would me a Mini or AppleTV and as many drives as you can afford.
    Andrew Harden had this to say on Dec 10, 2007 Posts: 19
    When Will Apple Decide Ripping DVDs Is Cool Too?
  • This was the first computer I personally ever owned, it was called the e0ne. It worked well enough for a highschool freshman in 99, but it eventually crapped out ("No operating system found. Please restart and try again.") and when I emailed eMachines about replacing the hard drive their reply was essentially "Do not attempt to disassemble, repair, or upgrade the e0ne. Electrical shock or death may result." I replaced it with a Compaq Presario, which served me well for about 3 years, and after that the PowerBook I'm now typing on (time for an upgrade again...)
    Andrew Harden had this to say on Aug 20, 2007 Posts: 19
    August 20, 1999: Apple Sues eMachines
  • "That’s my take. But I’m sure a software upgrade to turn on the 3G part is most likely built in." This is assuming that a 3G radio is built in, which we don't know whether it is or not. I would guess that the second gen would have one, but probably not this one.
    Andrew Harden had this to say on Jun 28, 2007 Posts: 19
    The Network Behind the iPhone
  • Of course I could just wait until my current contract expires. And as the iPhone has the standard iPod connector on the bottom, my current chargers and USB cables might work. With Wi-Fi, the only way I'd buy a data plan is if it's required.
  • "Yet with the Microsoft Xbox 360, this isn’t necessary, because everything is built in and games are designed with that console’s power in mind. I seriously believe that if Apple were to release a computer with some decent horse power behind it, enough to run decent games, it would attract a large number of users to the OS X platform. Perhaps this is just one of the ways Steve Jobs could make the Mac more enticing to new Vista users" Then Apple will have to get game developers on board, and if the majority of the big-name studios are all entrenched in DirectX, then that means Apple would have to license DirectX, which they probably aren't too keen on doing.
    Andrew Harden had this to say on Jan 31, 2007 Posts: 19
    Why Apple Really Needs to Do Something Special Now
  • Both VMWare and SWSoft (maker of Parallels) have stated that the next iterations of their respective products will allow OS X to be installed on non-Apple hardware.
  • You fail to mention that the MacScoop story states *Tiger users* will have to pay for Boot Camp, it will still be included in Leopard.
    Andrew Harden had this to say on Jan 24, 2007 Posts: 19
    Apple to Charge for Bootcamp?
  • There would have to be some hotkey or active corner of the touchscreen to switch between a keyboard (of any flavor, be it QWERTY, foreign language, FinalCut, or Photoshop) and the touchpad mouse pointer interface. Otherwise you'd try to scroll or highlight something and end up with a string of gibberish or something.
  • "Steve said calls were the “killer app” and then bundled four more killer apps on the phone." 5 "killer apps"...So it's like a team of ninjas that have to take a nap every 5 hours :)
    Andrew Harden had this to say on Jan 17, 2007 Posts: 19
    Ultimate Death Match: iPhone Versus RAZR
  • It's 8th in the MP3 player section, behind 6 iPods (3 models, but the different colored Nano's are different products), but it's beating out the green, silver, and blue Nanos; the white 5.5gen iPod; as well as the 1st gen Nanos and original iPod videos. I guess it's doing all right...
    Andrew Harden had this to say on Nov 17, 2006 Posts: 19
    Zune Update!
  • "Taking all the above into account, it seems that the years of angst spent wondering why more folks weren’t using a Mac were wasted. It wasn’t the price, the styling, or the chips; it was that the Mac wasn’t PC enough." Fair point, I think most people think to themselves "I NEED to get a new PC" and "I WANT a Mac." For a lot of people there's no overriding need to buy a Mac like there is to get a new PC, even though a Mac can (for the most part) do the same things, and often times better. As John Gruber of Daring Fireball put it, "For most people, good enough really is good enough." So while my parents, for example, would probably love a Mac Mini, there's no real reason for them to buy one instead of a Dell or HP, which means they're next purchase will most likely be from one of those vendors.
    Andrew Harden had this to say on Aug 25, 2006 Posts: 19
    Mac Resurgence: Is it all About the Getting Along?
  • The MacBook Pro was also cheaper at the time it was released, although I doubt this is the case right now. And you're right, Beeblebrox. Comparing two pro-level systems doesn't matter much to a lot of people. However the reason articles like this keep appearing is because people continue to argue that Macs are unjustifiably more expensive than PCs. Sometimes they are, sometimes they aren't, but it's your money to do with as you please.
    Andrew Harden had this to say on Aug 14, 2006 Posts: 19
    Is the New Mac Pro Really Cheaper than a Dell?