Devon Shaw's Profile

  • Nov 09, 2005
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Latest comments made by: Devon Shaw

  • Because 95% of these people don't even know how to nuke and pave. I work the tech bench at Best Buy and see dozens of these computers every day. 1. If the computer is more than 3 years old, or it's not running XP, we recommend a new PC. You can an eMachines or HP for 450. 2. We basically impose on people not to walk out the door without Norton and Webroot's Spysweeper, currently the only active-protection adware program. 3. The Price Breakdown -- Diagnostics: 60 Data Backup: 90 OS wipe/reload: 60 System Tuneup: 30 Norton + Install: 60 Spysweeper + Install: 40 = $340. Then we recommend a brand new computer three years newer for a hundred bucks more. Sorry to be so blunt, but this entire article is silly. Of course people are convinced a new computer will help. No, it doesn't blow my mind. Would I sell Apple if I could? You betcha. But the only thing tangible we have is the Mac Mini, and it does NOT sell. It's just kinda... there. As a curiosity. What you're best off doing James, is discovering a better approach to the Apple zealot Libertarian'esque "ha ha we were right all along" peanut gallery marketing. It doesn't work. People don't care. We've got a long road to go in proving OSX is superior to the point that it actually sells more units to the average Joe. That being said, I thought when I started working on all these PCs that I might have more sympathy for the people who use them. Nope. Their ignorance of technology and the troubles they encounter because of it are well deserved.
    United StatesDevon Shaw had this to say on Jul 25, 2005 Posts: 4
    Car out of oil? No problem! Buy a new one.
  • Screen real estate has always been a focal point in my work... I'm either designing in Adobe and Macromedia, or working on music in Logic Pro (which has a multitude of recording/VST windows). For my primary iBook G4, 1024x768 is terribly cramped. I actually considered at one point ditching Apple for a 1920x1200 Sony Vaio A690 17" laptop. It just makes all the difference in the world, and that's why I've been frequently disappointed at Apple's lack of expansion on their powerbook line (1440x900 for the 17", 1280x768 for the 15). Supposedly in "The Year of HD", Apple is rumored to have higher resolutions, but as all things we'll have to wait and see. I do use virtual desktop managers, but it's not the same. There's something blissful to be found in seeing all your information at once.
    United StatesDevon Shaw had this to say on May 12, 2005 Posts: 4
    The Monitor is the Revolution
  • 10.3.0 was far scarier than my installation of 10.4.0 just today. Remember the firewire drive epidemic? Mac users abound were infuriated because the first version of Panther was arbitrarily nuking their boot records (or something), and their data on external FW drives were instantly lost. There wasn't a pattern of consistency either -- it was happening randomly to units across the Apple line, regardless of upgrade or fresh install. So far I've had extremely few troubles with Tiger, though I do share your sentiment about RSS being oddly implemented in Safari (I've found an even odder problem -- auto-click on the bookmarks bar won't open in tabs, it actually takes up the entire active Safari window). I also experienced the same frustration of trying to send screenshots via iChat AV to a Panther user. Eventually once the conversation had actually begun, Send File worked fine. I also noticed while doing so that Apple's native screen capture format is now PNG instead of PDF, as it has been in previous versions. Two thumbs up for that touch.
    United StatesDevon Shaw had this to say on May 05, 2005 Posts: 4
    Looking Forward to 10.4.1
  • I've found one iMix you might enjoy -- It's for C89.5 FM, aka Nathan Hale High School, a Seattle-based radio station that plays a goodly amount of dance music. Part of the reason iTMS is lacking is because they don't have the resources or depth to challenge the genre. The usuals are there -- BT, Tiesto, The Crystal Method, even a few selections from Way Out West -- but nothing past scratching the surface. There's a couple reasons for this. 1) iTMS needs to reach out and make it easier for independent artists to get their music up. I know a few people trying to put up their albums and they're being delayed. 2) The turf is already owned. There's a half dozen dance-exclusive digital download websites that all charge more that 99 cents a song, but their catalogues can be exclusive and there are definitely gems to be found. Among these are: -Beatport.com, the leader in volume, selection and price value. -EDMdigital.com, primarily for progressive house and breaks, also noteworthy of having the highest quality downloads regardless of bitrate. -3beatdigital.com, they charge a premium but also hold exclusive songs in their catalogue. -ReleaseRecords.com, who've started including an mp3 download section in addition to their vinyl. -Audiojelly.com -Karmadownloads.com -bedrock.org.uk, for digital versions of songs owned by the label iTMS is late to the party. They surprised a few of us by including tracks from Sasha's "Involver" album, but Beatport already had it... 1.49 per track for 320 kbps or WAV, not just 128 AAC. Have fun, and feel free to email me at [email]devon.shaw@gmail.com[/email]
    United StatesDevon Shaw had this to say on Mar 22, 2005 Posts: 4
    iTunes Music Store Dance Selection Is Limited