Chris Howard's Profile

  • http://www.qwertyrash.com
  • May 15, 2008
  • 894
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Recent articles written by: Chris Howard

Latest comments made by: Chris Howard

  • I don't think either of us are doing a very good job, zato. :)
    AustraliaChris Howard had this to say on May 15, 2008 Posts: 894
    iPhone 2.0: Part One, A Physical Keyboard
  • Yeah, DM, it'd be interesting if a third party could make a small and sleek keyboard that wouldn't turn the iPhone into a brick-sized device. It will be interesting to see if the strongly rumored larger form factor iPhone has a keyboard or mini-USB for attaching one. Zato, you don't contribute enough! Always get a chuckle out of your trolling efforts, but of course, don't take them seriously.
    AustraliaChris Howard had this to say on May 14, 2008 Posts: 894
    iPhone 2.0: Part One, A Physical Keyboard
  • "you usually get what you pay for." Unfortunately, based on mine and friends' experience with Macs and iPods, I suspect we don't get what we pay for from Apple anymore. Brainsan, I'm not sure Apple is as altruistic as you hope. As several respondents above have already said the only reason Apple won't allow clones is because it would cut into its very profitable hardware business. Apple's primary motive is profit. While it was a niche player, it had to make high quality products. But as its market has expanded, it has been able to cut corners on quality. I do believe that clones can again be a reality without compromising OS X's reliability. Unlike Windows, which runs on anything, Apple simply chooses one or two PC manufacturers to license OS X to, and sets some reasonable hardware limitations. And then we wouldn't see all the compatibility issues that plague Windows. I don't recollect that the clones in the '90s were plagued with compatibility issues. Compatibility is a non-issue., The only issue for Apple is profits. That is. being "the richest". "making the most money". It believes it can make more profit making all the Macs, instead of sharing that market.
    AustraliaChris Howard had this to say on Apr 27, 2008 Posts: 894
    Is The Time for Clones Now?
  • Psystar is yet to be proved to be a "real company". It is yet to trade anything. So far all it is is a front for challenging the OS X EULA. Of course Apple will likely send scary lawyers letters to it, telling it to stop. That is an age old bullying technique to test the challenger's intestinal fortitude. Will Psystar have the guts - and money - stand up to the bully? It's reasonable to expect people to pay for software and to not duplicate it. But to then say you can only install it on machines from a particular vendor is really stretching the friendship. Imagine if Pixar came out and said "Sorry, you can only now watch our movies on our authorised players." What if Microsoft came out and said you could only install Windows on MS machines? All the Apple zealots would be the first ones to scream the "M" word (monopolization). (The funny thing that would happen too is Windows would lose marketshare and the profit on the hardware would not offset those losses and subsequent losses on Microsoft's other products such as MS Office.) It's time for this to change. Psystar are rocking the boat and that's all I think they are here to do. But at least they've got the ball rolling.
  • Well said, turondota. Because no one is suggesting "hackintoshes" are for the mainstream. They are still for the geeks and nerds who enjoy the thrill of spending hours getting it to work - which was me 10 ore 15 years ago. Turondota's friends are lucky to have him around but really, as I said, no one is suggesting that hackintoshes are for the majority. These, even if built by friends or Psystar, are still for people prepared to live on the edge.
  • Totally agree, Hadley. People's fears about clones are based more on maybes and what happened in the past. Particularly, clones will give a lot more to the Mac's PC marketshare than it will take from Apple's own Mac marketshare. If Apple licensed OS X, undoubtedly more computers with OS X would be sold then are now. And yes Apple would concede some sales of its own Macs. But wouldn't it prefer more OS X machines out there? It's like the adage "you have to spend money to make money." That is, Apple has to accept making less money in one stream, to make more in another, an importantly, to long term make more in both streams.
    AustraliaChris Howard had this to say on Apr 22, 2008 Posts: 894
    Is The Time for Clones Now?
  • and I think that's because it has been swamped by non-evangelists coming over for iPods and iPhones, and then picking up Macs.
    AustraliaChris Howard had this to say on Apr 12, 2008 Posts: 894
    Apple Evangelism: Enough Already!
  • Chris, it's great to have you back. Your writing is better than ever. do agree with this article, of course; however, I do think the evangelistic crusade has lost many of its foot soldiers. Its generals, like Gruber, are finding less and less men standing behind them wanting to fight every little battle to to last breath. Proof of this lies in the response to this article. A couple of years ago there'd be a massive response, with most respondents also debating whether the author should be boiled or roasted. So, although the generals are still calling "charge!", no one much seems to be charging with them.
    AustraliaChris Howard had this to say on Apr 11, 2008 Posts: 894
    Apple Evangelism: Enough Already!
  • dang, Robo, you beat me to it. :) Nice work, Hadley. And nice choice of date to launch - a very famous Apple date.
    AustraliaChris Howard had this to say on Apr 01, 2008 Posts: 894
    Welcome to the new Apple Matters
  • All the best, Tanner. Have really enjoyed your work. Look forward to hearing more about this mysterious project.
    AustraliaChris Howard had this to say on Mar 31, 2008 Posts: 894
    Farewell, Apple Matters
  • yes! Forgot to mention that one, Beeb! It drives me around the twist. I think Leopard has no big issues, but still too many little ones.
    AustraliaChris Howard had this to say on Mar 22, 2008 Posts: 894
    Leopard: Not Quite Right
  • I got no issue with Leander's piece. However, you are right, it doesn't say anything we didn't already know or think about Apple. But it did raise the interesting question in my mind about how will Apple survive without Steve? Any new CEO is likely to embrace more openness and will that hurt Apple? (It'd be impossible to be less open, and near impossible to maintain the status quo.) Regards Think Secret,for many people, morally, what it did was wrong. But journalism operates under different morals where if something might have even the slightest bit of "in the public interest", it is acceptable to publish. Under that code, TS did nothing wrong.
    AustraliaChris Howard had this to say on Mar 21, 2008 Posts: 894
    My Take on Leander's Piece AKA Apple Is Evil
  • Ah yes, Hug, I also get a Kernel Panic quite regularly when restarting. Except I couldn't remember if it pre-dated the upgrade to Leopard. I think it came along around 10.4.11, but not sure. Strange thing is it goes away if I leave it for a few minutes. So maybe it's hardware. Anyone?
    AustraliaChris Howard had this to say on Mar 19, 2008 Posts: 894
    Leopard: Not Quite Right
  • Scott Thurstall said at the SDK presentation that "Apple is a platform company". Does a digital camera fit with that? I don't think so.
    AustraliaChris Howard had this to say on Mar 13, 2008 Posts: 894
    What Should Apple's Next Product Be?
  • area51, you'd be pretty happy now with the preview of Epocrates and Spore. :) I Reckon the rest will follow pretty soon.
    AustraliaChris Howard had this to say on Mar 12, 2008 Posts: 894
    User Poll: What Do You Want from the iPhone SDK?