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Looking at CPU/GPU Benchmark Optimizations in Galaxy S 4by Brian Klug & Anand Lal Shimpi on 7/30/2013 9:34 AM EST
- Posted in
- Samsung
- Smartphones
- Android
- Mobile
- Benchmarks
110 Comments
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quarpronuet - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - link"BenchmarkBooster"..?
what the.. Reply
piroroadkill - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkUnderhand. Real classy, Samsung. Reply
FATCamaro - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkOptimization? What the fsck. Just call it cheating like it is. Reply
nutgirdle - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkThe file system does not need to be checked. Reply
MrCommunistGen - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - link+1 ROFL! Reply
Dman23 - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkSamsung doing what they do best. Manipulating coverage and cheating to artificially inflate their success. You would think paying students / people to post fake negative reviews of competing products i.e. HTC and iPhone, is bad enough --->http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22166606 but apparently there nefarious ways knows no bounds. You would think they would have some confidence in their products not to result to these childish / cheating ways but apparently not. Soooo sad Reply
StiHson - Thursday, August 01, 2013 - linkCheating? Inflate? Am I the only one who finds this article describes that Samsung unlock full power on their phone for (certain) benchmarking applications (they're not inflating the results, the processor *IS* that fast and powerful) and basically limits the phone for everything else. The only cheating here is that the users get to use the slower phone while full potential is only available to benchmarks. I do understand that battery life would be significantly lower with that, but isn't that what these dual-mode processors are for? Reply
lin2log - Thursday, August 01, 2013 - linkYeah. You ARE the only one. Catch a clue. Reply
zaki32 - Friday, May 05, 2017 - linkthis part from your idee Cheating? Inflate? Am I the only one who finds this article describes that Samsung unlock full power on their phone for (certain) benchmarking applications (they're not inflating the results, the processor *IS* that fast and powerful) ــــــــــ is not batter than thank you
full article : http://bestadjustabledumbbellss.com/ Reply
ghgidug9w - Thursday, August 01, 2013 - linkWell, it is cheating. What is the point of having some chip if you cannot fully use it (might as well put in a cheaper chip and save $). At the same time, they want you to believe you have access to it. If I sold you an i7 PC at price, boasting of its performance, but then underclocked it so that it is only as powerful as an i3, would you be OK with that? Reply
erephus - Friday, August 02, 2013 - linkWhat is most important to you?
Have a smooth and fast experience when running a beenchmark software or when using the phone for what you bougth it for? Reply
darwinosx - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkSamsung is a scumbag company that is investigated for illegal behavior even in South Korea where they have a lot of power. Nothing they do should surprise anyone. Reply
Lonyo - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkApple is a scumbag company that is investigated for illegal behaviour even in the USA where they have a lot of influence/mindshare. Nothing they do should surprise anyone.
See how easy it is? Reply
eallan - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkPoint me to a story where apply pays reviewers or does this. Reply
RichDavis - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkLike what? The ebook issue? That was decided by one person. Personally, I've read through the same thing they were and I wouldn't think that Apple was doing anything illegal. All Jobs was doing was to make it a fair market. What companies TYPICALLY do is set a retail price, set a wholesale price to resellers and let the resellers sell it for whatever they want. This is just trying to create a equal playing field. That's all Jobs was suggesting. he wasn't doing anything more than that, and since Jobs wasn't there to defend his statements, a judge is just trying to squeeze money out of Apple because Apple has lots of money. Now, in terms of routing profits from doing business in other countries into Ireland. Other companies such as Microsoft, Google and others do the same thing. There is NOTHING wrong about it. The reason why they do it is because the profits they made in other countries have already been taxed by the various countries they did business in. To constantly bring money back and forth between other countries and the US, they have to pay taxes on it and it's very difficult to manage their finances. BUT, Apple does invest the profits they make in other countries and that is brought into the US and it is taxed. Apple pays a VERY reasonable percentage in taxes. If you look at Apple's income statements, they pay a decent percentage of their gross profits in taxes. Last year they paid out about $14 BILLION in taxes. That's more than Google made in Net Profits for the year.
Apple have never been sued for Monopolistic business practices like MIcrosoft got continually nailed for. Nor did Apple get nailed for price fixing, which Samsung has been convicted of TWICE, once for memory price fixing and another time for monitors. They should get nailed again for raising prices to Apple on the processors they mfg because Apple went to other suppliers for other components. samsung also should be nailed for conflict of interest and unfair business practices since they sell components to various other companies and then they turn around and compete with similar products. That's COMPLETELY wrong. Nothing right about doing that. That's like Intel going around selling Intel computers competing against their own customers. Reply
DigitalFreak - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkOh do shut up, you twat. Reply
PeteH - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkWhat a compelling argument. The wisdom of your words has undoubtedly opened many eyes to the rightness of your position. Bravo to you sir, bravo! Reply
TedKord - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkThe ebook situation WAS price-fixing, and they did get nailed for it. Reply
psuedonymous - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - link"What companies TYPICALLY do is set a retail price, set a wholesale price to resellers and let the resellers sell it for whatever they want. This is just trying to create a equal playing field. That's all Jobs was suggesting."
Actually, the opposite is the case. Amazon were previously using that model for ebook sales, but Apple colluded with publishers to move to a different model, where the publisher sets the final sale rice, and gives the reseller a fixed cut of that final price. This, combined with agreements requiring Apple always have the lowest (or equal to lowest) sale price meant that Amazon was prevented from selling ebooks from those publishers for less than Apple was, and publishers got to see prices higher than Amazon's previously established baseline.
THAT was why Apple was slapped down in every court that has seen the case (US and EU), and why all the publishers involved settled to avoid more costly losses. Reply
RichDavis - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkSamsung pays much more in lobbying money in the US than Apple does. In fact, Apple spends the least for most of these large computer/software companies. Microsoft spends more in lobbying, so do other high tech companies, but generally Apple doesn't like greasing the palms of politicians by contributing to political campaigns. Reply
BC2009 - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkSeeing the replies to your comment, it apparently wasn't as "easy" as you say. You've been pretty much shut down. Reply
RichDavis - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkLonyo, it seems as though you don't know how to read. You obviously get suckered into the Misleading crap. Apple is a LOT more upstanding than most of their competitors. Apple usually sets trends that other try to copy or emulate. And since they are successful, idiots such as yourself try to damage their reputation. While they are't perfect, they are certainly a lot better at how they conduct business than a lot of others. You might want to go to college and learn how to read and question what you are reading. something that a lot of people can't seem to do. Reply
melgross - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkExcept that what you said is wrong, and what he said is right. Reply
drenBS - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - linkan example of someone paid by The Chaebol. Reply
M_F - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - linkYou might want to read the following article by The Independent.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/tax-e... Reply
hhh333 - Saturday, August 17, 2013 - linkyea it is easy as samsung/ to copy things others create Dumb@ss Reply
Dman23 - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkSamsung doing what they do best. Manipulating coverage and cheating to artificially inflate their success. You would think paying students / people to post fake negative reviews of competing products i.e. HTC and iPhone, is bad enough --->http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22166606 but apparently there nefarious ways knows no bounds. You would think they would have some confidence in their products not to result to these childish / cheating ways but apparently not. Soooo sad Reply
DanNeely - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkYou'd've thought they'd've learned from the gfx industry. They all tried writing special drivers to cheat on benchmarks. They all got caught repeatedly and were intensely mocked and derided for doing so. Eventually they figured out all they were getting was bad PR and stopped cheating. Reply
CBone - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkIIRC, didn't everyone (amd, nvidia, 3dmark) agree to stop talking about it as cheating and allow optimization paths? Reply
name99 - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkSamsung HAS been caught cheating repeatedly --- and the internet has apologized repeatedly for its behavior. Are you completely unaware of the tech arguments of the past few years?
Presumably they felt that "since our fan base not only already accepts everything we do, but provides plenty of excuses for it, what's the downside?" Reply
darwinosx - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkExactly.
Cheap plastic case? Buy another one to go over it.
Only 9 GB of storage? Buy an SD card.
Lousy screen in sunlight with shimmering while scrolling? Buy a screen protector.
Lag, lag, lag? Deny it exists.
Touchwiz a dog with terrible interface, speed issues, and features basically don't work? Like all the eye stuff they advertise on TV? Deny again.
Apparently owning a Samsung smartphone requires some sort of Stockholm syndrome. Reply
Bob Todd - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkSadly I think it is just as likely that their response will be to update the benchmark booster functionality to cover new versions and other apps vs. removing it all together. Reply
Senti - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkStopped cheating? Who, where? Both NV/AMD drivers are full of special hacks for popular games and benches. But write your own program and you find out that it often doesn't even work properly because the (standard) features you used are not widespread in games. Reply
dishayu - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - linkWell, very few people buy GPUs by synthetic benchmarks. Most people look at fps numbers in games, and it doesn't matter if NV/AMD cheat to get a higher number in games because that cheat will eventually generate higher fps in-game for the end user as well. Reply
psychobriggsy - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkCan you measure the power consumption difference between 480MHz GPU and 532MHz GPU? Reply
Shadowmaster625 - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkCan someone write an app+GUI that changes that file to enable./disable a turbo boost for any chosen app? Reply
r3loaded - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkWow, just like the Nvidia fiasco a few years back where they whitelisted benchmark exes so that the drivers ran with lower quality settings for them.
Despite all these "optimisations", the S4 can't touch the responsiveness of the Nexus 4. Reply
CBone - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkI doubt qualcomm would put out a new chipset that's slower than their old one. My experience has been that the s4 is close enough in responsiveness and dominates the n4 in Reply
CBone - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkeveything else.
Gods, this comment system sucks. Reply
rd_nest - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkDon't know about S4. But my N4 "lags" (interpret the way you want) while scrolling the settings menu. Almost 50% of the times, it will stutter.
Also on random occasion, it will stutter in widgets page. Running 4.3 stock.
Issue was same on 4.2.2 Reply
jonup - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkTry Trinity! it appears counterproductive to choose the phone with the largest development support and not you it. Reply
rd_nest - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkThat's a valid argument.
Every phone has some amount of development community. My choice of N4 was not because of development community. It was merely a matter of bang-for-buck.
I just don't have the "patience" now to check through various kernel or ROM. I know it sounds weird. Now I just root and run stock most of time. Reply
thekingofmean - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - link<i>Every phone has some amount of development community.</i>
That's an invalid statement. Reply
rd_nest - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkMaybe. I am not going to run around and check for each and every phone out there.
I am sure you knew that was not the point of discussion. But if it makes you feel better, I will accept that argument. Reply
ChuckRox - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - linkAll Androids lag. You guys need a real OS that doesn't need a mega-core processor to run smoothly. I'm talking, of course, about BB10 which runs like a racehorse and never crashes or lags. Reply
markthema3 - Tuesday, October 15, 2013 - link>Never crashes Reply
Jmaxku - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkVery true. Which is why I purchased the Samsung Galaxy S4 GPe which bests the responsiveness of the Nexus 4—not really, but it certainly isn't any worse and the gaming performance is better. Reply
jonup - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - linkWell, I do not how you measure your gaming/responsiveness experience and I cannot comment on the Octa core model, but as far as the Qualcomm version is concern I highly doubt you can tell the difference in real life. Given the similarity of the SoC, (yes the on in S4 is faster, but faster than plenty fast) and the fact that I have been running my phone on only 2 cores and max freq of 1G without noticing any negative effect on the user experience, I find your claim that S4 performance is better than a not so finely tuned N4 false. The biggest benefit of S4 would actually be sot battery life. AMOLED is just so more energy efficient. Reply
Ralos - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkWow. This is worst than cheating. Anandtech is more than polite to call this "optimisation".
These are not optimisations; this is a boost pure and simple, activated uniquely during detected benchmarks and that's way worst.
If the GPU could reach 533MHz during other applications, then it would be plain cheating. The fact that this speed is never available elsewhere makes it worst that cheating; this is deception.
It's gonna take awhile before I buy anything Samsung again. Reply
darwinosx - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkYes, they should call it what it is. Unless they are afraid of hurting advertising revenue like all the other sites. Reply
dishayu - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - linkIf they were really afraid of anything, they would just shut up and not post anything about it at all. Although most of us (me included) will agree this is shameless cheating, Samsung can say that they never claimed any clock speeds. Plus there is a legal risk of samsung suing them for defamation. Right now, there is nothing Samsung can do but suck it up and make amends. Reply
ancientarcher - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkIs this a hatchet job commissioned by Intel?
While this is bad, nothing can touch the depths that your beloved Intel dropped to with AnTuTu and publicising with the ABI Research report. At least, it doesn't skip certain steps and completely dupe the buying public...
Maybe you should start taking some money from Samsung/ARM, your reporting will become relatively unbiased then... Reply
darwinosx - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkAh here is the Samsung apologist..what took you so long? Reply
ancientarcher - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkSamsung is cheating, no doubt! All I am saying is, it is a far lesser sin than that of Intel which skips certain steps altogether and then publicises it. Overclocking the GPU only for certain benchmarks is wrong. And hopefully Samsung and the others listen. Samsung loses a lot more than it gains through these shenanigans.... not worth it sammy!!! It is worth a lot more to put your time and effort to improve your chips, not game the system... Reply
SydneyBlue120d - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkWhat about the Google Experience version of the device? Same behavior or it doesn't cheat? Reply
rd_nest - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkIt's for Exynos.
GE version uses S600. Reply
boris81 - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkFrom the above article:
"Interestingly enough, the same behavior (on the CPU side) can be found on Qualcomm versions of the Galaxy S 4 as well." Reply
sherlockwing - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkIt is different. The 532mhz GPU clock for Exynos is only avaliable for certain benchmarks, what they do with S600 is force the CPU to run at full clock(1.9Ghz) and all cores(4) regardless of load. But that 1.9Ghz/quad core performance is available(not always needed) for all apps and benchmarks unlike the 532mhz GPU clock. Reply
boris81 - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkThanks for clarifying that! Holding all cores on the S600 at the highest clock speed may still produce better benchmark scores than if they were allowed to change speed as they normally do. I wouldn't bet that it's significant but I think it's worth investigating. Reply
name99 - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkThis is misleadingly optimistic. It gives users an unrealistic view of the ACTUAL performance/power tradeoffs made by the device during use.
Assume the Samsung power manager actually worked the way it should. It would detect that the CPU was working hard and boost performance, it would detect that the CPU was idling and would lower performance.
If this were the case, there would be no need to diddle the benchmarks in this way because things would just work.
The fact that Samsung IS diddling the benchmarks this way suggests they have no confidence in their power management --- they don't trust it to rapidly (or ever) kick in under conditions of load and/or they don't trust it to rapidly throttle under conditions of idle. Both these behaviors are ESSENTIAL in a phone.
WTF is the point of having 4 fast cores and all this big.LITTLE infrastructure if your OS is either incapable of using them (when speed is needed) or using them drains the battery so rapidly you notice? Reply
danbob999 - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkWell to be fair with Samsung, it's possible that many of these benchmarks are poorly written and depend on very short compute time. In these cases, loosing a little time to ramp up the CPU speed can be fatal. These benchmarks also tend to produce different results on every run. Reply
WaltFrench - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkThat's not "being fair" to Samsung, it's fabricating an excuse for them that might not even be true. If they want to claim some reason like that, they have many forums where they could tell their story.
I, for one, would be delighted to have a Samsung engineer—even their Top Dog Marketing Guy—explain why they suggested the benchmark performance was consistent with their battery claims. Reply
Abelard - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkSneaky. Reply
boris81 - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkSo if these "optimizations" are a part of TouchWiz it would explain why the TW GS4s benchmark better than the stock Android ones. Would you please compare the Qualcomm CPU clocks of TouchWiz and stock Android GS4s running benchmarks? Reply
darwinosx - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkYeah that never made any sense to me. Reply
et20 - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkIt would be great if everyone, starting with you as highly valued reviewers stopped focusing on benchmark scores and spec lists.
Your wrongheaded stubborness of looking at PCs, tablets and phones as "computing devices" is a disservice to consumers.
If you like that kind of stuff you should cover servers and supercomputers.
Raw computing power is irrelevant in consumer applications. I don't care what it could do, I only care what I can do with it. If it's difficult, tedious, slow, annoying, unreliable or boring, I don't care how much or how fast it can compute; I still won't buy it or use it.
So tell what it is easy, fun, fast and pleasureable to do with it and stop overanalyzing the internals. Reply
Death666Angel - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkIf you are not interested in the reviews AT publishes, look at the Verge or Engadget who use pretty much no hard evidence and only go by "feeling" to evaluate the products they test. I like some good hard numbers to go with the subjective analysis AT provides, thank you very much. Reply
et20 - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkI would but they also focus on benchmarks, specifications and price because they are too lazy and feel the need to cater to their tech elite wannabe audiences.
They are spineless because they want to keep on good terms with and have access to everyone.
So all their reviews are useless for informing buying decisions because they dare not clearly praise or criticize anything.
I'm sure AnandTech can publish plenty of interesting analysis outside of product reviews if there's demand for it. Reply
kyuu - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkBenchmarks are useful, and if you don't like them I suggest you stay away from tech blogs in general. They don't tell the whole story, of course, but no one (legitimate) ever claimed they do.
It's impossible to objectively quantify how a device "feels" in use. Reply
WaltFrench - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkWhile you're at it, please draft a note to Samsung, with a cc to the FTC. AnandTech didn't promote these deceptions, they exposed them. Reply
jwcalla - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkAnother reason not to take benchmarks too seriously. Reply
UpSpin - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkAs you said in your article, it was predictable that such a thing will happen. NVidia and ATI used tricks with their drivers, and Intel does it similar (Antutu and Atom) or simply by crippling the competition:
Not related to ARM and mobile, but AMD vs. Intel and specifically the ICC:
so maybe you better also revise your server benchmarks to take care of this spoofing, because I doubt you've considered it yet. Reply
flashbacck - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkThis is really fantastic. Reply
takeship - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkAs I recall, they stopped marking out code path optimizations as cheating, since everyone does that for every game, but effects & downsampling to improve fps was (and is) still cheating. I.e. no derez to 16bit floats in the background when the benchmark is asking for 32bit floats. This though, is something different. As though Nvidia (or AMD) would lift their PowerTune/Powermizer/Boost speeds explicitly for benchmarking purposes, then enforce the normal limits during gaming.
Imagine if Intel & AMD started shipping procs with only the boost frequency listed. Sheesh.
Samsung should be called on this. Every performance claim they make is now b*ll***t until proven otherwise. Reply
gnx - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkThis confirms suspicions about vendors "optimizing" for bench marks, and I doubt Samsung is the only culprit.
What interests me more is the fact that this might be done cause of heat problems. The raw power of modern flagship smartphones seem to outstrip their cooling faculties, so despite the need to advertise and brag about high frequency processing power, the smartphones are too dangerous to allow any app to run their processors at full power, hence this "cheating" on benchmark apps.
For all the amazing development in the mobile cpu/GPU sphere the last three years, there is still a long way to go, it seems. Reply
Den - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkCan you bypass it by renaming the benchmark to quack.exe? (That was one of the first I remember on the PC side where you got better numbers out of quake.exe than you did if you renamed it to quack.exe before benching,) Reply
mike55 - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkI've been looking for a CPU usage overlay like that. Where can I get this System Monitor? Reply
BugblatterIII - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkI don't care whether it's been done before or whether everyone does it. This is fraud. It's providing misleading information upon which a consumer may base their decision to buy. That's fraud, and it's illegal in the UK at least.
And I'm not a Samsung hater; I'd say the same for any company doing this. Reply
BC2009 - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkSo, what I want from Anandtech is the ACTUAL benchmarks after they disable the benchmark booster so we can see how the GS4 really stacks up agains the HTC One and iPhone 5. Reply
WaltFrench - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkGo back and re-read. Now about power, is t it roughly true that increasing voltage and speed by 10% should increase GPU power by about 20%—maybe more? Assuming that your games wouldn't shut down for thermal protection during play, the full-bore speed might mean an hour's less play. Reply
jeffkibuule - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - linkThe relationship with voltage, speed, and performance you have is WAY off. At higher frequencies, you end up needing to scale voltage quite a bit to maintain stable clocks, and that draws a LOT more power, and the performance gains are often negligible. In physics, P = V^2/R. And because voltage has such a tremendous effect on power, endlessly scaling frequency is not a good way to save battery life. Reply
Excors - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - link"Nothing for GLBenchmark 2.5.1 though, despite its similar behavior."
TwDVFSApp has some hard-coded package names, but it also gets a list from android.os.DVFSHelper.PACKAGES_FOR_BOOST_ALL_ADJUSTMENT. That's set in /system/framework/framework2.odex and contains:
In my opinion, the fundamental problem is that almost everybody who reviews smartphones has a very juvenile approach - they want to run a benchmark and get a single number, because that lets them say "phone X has a bigger number than phone Y, so it is better" without engaging their brains. (And those are the more advanced reviews, that go beyond simply counting cores.)
But phones aren't designed for a single performance number - they're designed for power *and* performance, and it's impossible to separate one from the other.
I think a good review would analyse two things:
* The power/performance curve. If a phone has well-designed hardware and software, it will give better performance at the same power as another phone, across the whole curve. You could make an attempt at comparison by tweaking the kernel's cpufreq settings, to force it to run at a particular speed, then measuring benchmark scores and battery current. Do the same for GPU speeds if possible. Repeat at every available speed and draw the curve. That's hardly ideal (you probably need to compensate for display brightness etc), but it's a start, and it'd allow more meaningful comparisons than a single number per benchmark per phone.
* The tuning. A good phone will switch sensibly to higher-performance modes to give a responsive user experience. A bad phone will use too much power in mostly-non-interactive scenarios (on the home screen, recording a video, playing Angry Birds, etc), or it will take too long to ramp up when the user interacts (e.g. taking a photo or switching between apps will be slow and jerky). I think this is especially a concern with big.LITTLE - switching on the A15 cores is a relatively big commitment in time and power, so the software will have to be very careful to use them at the right times. It would be great if someone could at least attempt to measure this kind of thing quantifiably.
Looking at those two aspects would help understand how well a phone has chosen its power/performance tradeoffs.
But while reviewers keep comparing SunSpider and AnTuTu scores, it's no surprise that phone developers will spend a lot of effort on maximising those scores - sometimes subtly (like tweaking GPU driver optimisations for a benchmark's unique usage patterns), sometimes blatantly (like Samsung here) - because that gets good reviews and sells more phones. There's little point in kindly asking Samsung to focus less on benchmarks and accept worse reviews and lower sales and less money - if you want them to focus more on the user experience, that's what has to be measured in reviews. Reply
yhselp - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkIt's hard not to attack your comment since all you say is generally true. However, it seems that you've never read an AnandTech smartphone review -- the whole of it, or you've somehow missed what it says (and many accompanying pipeline stories). At AT they never say X is better than Y because of some benchmark number, on the contrary -- they always say benchmarks are subjective and are only a part of the story. I've read some shockingly objective pieces on this matter here on AT; of what a benchmark's role is, what it represents, how it should be read, what significance is has -- all benchmarks are useful as long as you read them 'right' and AT does an excellent job of stressing that very point in each review. Also, they were the first to say that comparing smartphones cross-platform is a very subjective thing.
So you should've probably familiarized yourself with AT better before posting over-generalized comments like this one. I'm not hating on you, just saying. Reply
abdealiv - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - linkyou missed his point completely!! Sure AT has different suits for benchmarking & also mentions that benchmarks are subjective but 1st thing rest of 99.999% tech sites , reviewers, bloggers & general users do is benchmarks this new phones with those mentioned apps & compares instantly with other flagships ..so its not surprise that samsung feels the need to get positive reviews from those majority reviewers. this is why the guy above mentioned to change the review system as whole ..not for AT but for others out there. Reply
yhselp - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - linkWait a second, my reply was strictly aimed at Excors "the guy above" and not this article so I don't believe I've missed any point. I am not defending benchmark optimizations, on the contrary -- I've always been against this game of cat and mouse between silicon makers; I'm all for focusing on improving the hardware and user experience.
It seems you've missed the point of my reply as a response to Excors' comment completely!!1 While I agree that many other tech sites evaluate smartphones (and other products) solely by comparing benchmarks, however, Excors wrote his generalized comment (which I agreed with) here on AT, and not on other tech sites. Wouldn't you agree that it's pointless to leave feedback and advice at the wrong place, unless you believe AT doesn't review properly which is not the case. That's what my comment was about. Reply
kurkosdr - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkWhen will benchmark developers learn to RANDOMIZE any strings that identify the app and the fize size?
Google "quack ati" for similar hilarity.
PS: What if you run the benchmark again and again for hours and the phone dies a death from overheating? Will the samsung warranty cover it? Reply
tcool93 - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkAnandtech is an idiot for making such a big deal out of this. Now you got everyone trashing Samsung claiming they are "cheating". Which is total BS, because its not any different than what EVERY other company does, which is write drivers so that certain games or whatever perform better with their hardware. And that includes benchmark programs, and Anandtech knows it.
We are also talking about a measly 53mhz... big deal. This is just stupid, now this biased BS will get spread everywhere, thanks to Anandtech.
I believe Android tablets even have an overclock option in their settings. Reply
varad - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - link"biased BS"?? - So how much does Samsung pay you for writing comments like this? Reply
Scannall - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - linkIt smells like....... Astroturf. Reply
tcool93 - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkIt would be funny to see Samsung sue Anandtech for spreading this fud. Reply
varad - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - linkIt would be funnier if Anandtech also tracked your a/c to Samsung Reply
Nathillien - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkMe: Hey Exynos, I need you to finish this task faster than usual.
Exynos: No problemo Boss, right away.
iPhan: Hey A6 I need you to finish something a bit faster than usual.
A6: No can do, screw you. I'm the Boss of you.
Oh LOL
Anandtech preparing ground for the iPee5S release and GLBench comparison with GS4 Exynos devices? Noooooo.
I can just imagine future iPhan benchmark enthusiasts comments.
" ... well, they tweaked their chipset ...whine ..." Reply
ratte - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkMe: Hey Exynos, I need you to finish this task faster than usual.
Exynos: Can't do that Boss, unless it's a benchmark. Reply
varad - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - linknow that is hilarious :) Reply
Musafir_86 - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - link-Hmm, so how about what Intel's (allegedly) doing? http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&am... (via http://legitreviews.com/news/15752/).
Regards. Reply
Musafir_86 - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkCorrection: http://legitreviews.com/news/15752/ Reply
ViRGE - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkBrian Klug has already commented on that one on twitter: https://twitter.com/nerdtalker/status/355445625518...
Which goes along with the fact that AT doesn't even use AnTuTu. Reply
everydae - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkIt's so shame that Samsung did this. As a Korean-American, I know how 'ethically' bad Samsung is doing in Korea (Another nickname of Korea, "Samsung Republic," explains quite a lot. Here in America, at least, the USA doesn't stand for the United States of Apple), but at least I believed they would be 'technically' honest with what they have to offer and what they show to US media. But guess I am wrong. Reply
shm224 - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - linkWell, not yet, but we are getting there, the United States of Apple.
Sure, no doubt this is unethical, but I don't think this is egregiously bad, having overclock/jailbreak'ed my smartphones in the past. I'm not a big gamer, so never noticed any difference. I agree with the author that Samsung should either open up the setting for all to use or keep it at 488Mhz. Reply
rd_nest - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - linkWhat do you say about Intel episode then? Reply
batongxue - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - linkI'm not surprised at all.
It is the sort of things Shamesung do. Reply
lgmagic - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - linkThanks for the wonderful post. Can you also post similar results from other manufacturer devices? I'm pretty sure they would have similar tweaks. All the mobile manufacturers are simply showcasing their best through these benchmarks. what is wrong in that? Obviously you will find every mobile with such things to boost their performance. Reply
DanaGoyette - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - linkHmm, I wonder if this means anything for overclocking and warranty... Reply
shoomkloom - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - linknon-insignificant = significant :-) Reply
yhselp - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - linkUntrue, they have different degrees of implication. Significant is stronger than non-insignificant. These subtle differences are key for the diversity of a language. Reply
toyotabedzrock - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - linkI see a string that looks designed to raise the thermal limits for the Soc. Reply
arch2008 - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - linkWatch this video about test of Samsung galaxy S4 to make sure for everyone that the Samsung Company false and are misleading the customers ..I bought a Samsung galaxy S4 a month ago and fell from the table height of 50 cm and with regret no longer works, and when I went to the Samsung's agency in Egypt , they told me the screen need to change, and that the price is 1900 LE, not covered by the warranty .. and when I told them about test they told me: (they do not know anything about these tests and they are not responsible for that, and they told me to go to Samsung Egypt) !!!! ...
When I went to the Samsung Egypt, I have directed a question to a customer service representative, and the question as follows: (Is Samsung S 4 against bumps and breakage?), the answer was: (Yes,sir), and when i faced him with my problem,he stripped of his answer and repeated the same words that I heard in the Agency.
waiting your comments,Thanks for all
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4f9gQ7b6Gg Reply
Gondalf - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - linkToo much money around and in a too short time sometimes give strange effects on brain. Samsung is trying to dominate the handset with it's phones. I have the suspect that once Merrifield will be out on a Contender top of the line phone, the mission will become a lot harder, looking at the absurd trick used to fake the benchmarking. The market share can goes up or down quickly in this world.
Good luck Samsung, you don't look good at all. Reply
Zibri - Thursday, August 01, 2013 - linkStrings? LOL! Can't you decompile and analyze what it really does? Reply
lynymylynymy - Thursday, August 03, 2017 - linkAs you know that Roblox game has their own currency which is used for buying their personal resources and also helping to enter in higher levels directly. But many times when you get hesitate with the same level and don't able to enter in next higher level due to lack of Robux in your Roblox account.
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text:
The Michigan Association of State Universities provides information on a wide variety of public policy and legislative issues pertaining to higher education. Additionally, MASU takes official positions on matters of concern to Michigan's public universities in order to help our members, and the public, stay up-to-date on important issues impacting higher education.
Useful Information
Michigan's Public Universities: Vital Partners in Meeting Michigan's Educational Goals - 2017
MASU Legislative Luncheon Presentation - March 15, 2017
Daniel Hurley's presentation at Governor Snyder's 2016 State Universities Summit, "Narratives in U.S. Higher Education, Michigan in Context." - May 24, 2016
MASU CEO Daniel Hurley testifies in opposition of SB 826 - replacement of the common core state standards - before the Senate Education Committee (PDF) - April 26, 2016
State Investment in Michigan's Public Universities - (PDF) - March 10, 2016
MASU CEO Daniel Hurley testifies before the Joint House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Higher Education
Higher Education: Why Investing in Michigan's Public Universities Leads to a Stronger Economy for All - (PDF) - February 2015
Michigan's public universities are addressing the problem of sexual violence, including sexual assault, in our society and on our campuses, and continue to refine policies and procedures to prevent and address it. (PDF). August 2014
Cost Control Measures and Total Claimed Savings at Michigan's Public Universities - Infographic (PDF) March 2014
Investing in Higher Education, Good for parents and students, smart for Michigan - (PDF) Infographic
The cost of providing a college degree hasn't changed much in the last decade, but state support for college students has dropped dramatically. February 2014
Regional Chamber of Commerces across the State support Governor Snyder's budget recommendation for the need for a significant increase in funding for higher education - February 2014
Common Core State Standards - Myths v. Facts
Michigan's business leaders, educators, advocates, and parents understand that in order for students to compete in a global economy, our state needs rigorous academic standards. To that end, we proudly endorse the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) - a state-led effort that will better prepare Michigan students to succeed after high school. Sadly, misstatements and myths are being spread about the CCSS. We answer these myths with facts.
Produced by the Presidents Council, Higher Education in Michigan by the Numbers (March 2013)
Appropriations Metric
2007 to 2009 changes to state appropriations. Michigan is now ranked 40th.
Michigan House Vote Opens Door to Higher Costs, Duplication and Waste in Community Colleges
The Presidents Council responds to the Michigan House of Representative vote that encourages Michigan's community colleges to duplicate four-year degree programs already available at Michigan's 15 public universities, or programs that the university presidents have said they are prepared to initiate if there is sufficient interest.
State Financial Aid for Students Concept Paper (pdf)
The demand for student financial aid in the State of Michigan and throughout the nation is at an all-time high due to the current economic recession. Even before the reductions in the 2009-10 state budget students with financial need did not compare well to those in other mid-western states. The PCSUM financial aid directors committee benchmarked, discussed, and developed a concept paper on state financial aid programs.
Michigan Economy in the Balance (pdf), The Case for Funding Higher Education
A presentation given by the Presidents Council emphasizing the importance of funding for higher education
Difficult Dialogues, Rewarding Solutions (pdf), Strategies to Expand Postsecondary Opportunities While Controlling Costs
A report from Public Agenda on the 4th Annual Policy Summit of the Midwestern Higher Education Compact
The Ripple Effect of Virginia Tech (pdf), Assessing the Nationwide Impact on Campus Safety and Security Policy and Practice
A report by the Midwestern Higher Education Compact on Campus Safety
What You Don't Know Can Hurt You (pdf), 11 Facts Michigan Citizens Need to Know About Michigan's Fiscal Crisis
A short brochure with facts about the current economy and spending in Michigan
The Art and Science of Running Universities like a Business (pdf), by former SVSU President, Eric Gilbertson
Exerpt from Presidents' Perspectives, Commentary by Michigan public university presidents and chancellors on important issues affecting Michigan.
Myth-Busting the State of Michigan Budget (pdf)
A brief overview of the consequences of state policymaker decisions to cut taxes and make spending decisions that have reduced the state's ability to return to prosperity.
Challenges and Implications (pdf), Declining State Support of Michigan Public Higher Education
An overview of how Michigan's public universities' have responded to state funding reductions, and the implications of any further erosion of state support of higher education.
Michigan's Higher Education System: A Guide for State Policymakers (pdf) Courtesy of Ferris State University, 2003
An overview of Michigan's system of public universities and key issues affecting higher education, check out our guide for policymakers.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Hand Crafted
On my last road trip to Squamish, I met Candace, who, on a rainy rest day, took me on a tour of the renowned potter Vincent Massy's home, which she was watching while he, her mentor, was away. Everything in and outside the house was completely custom, from a sink and stovetop fired in his personal kiln, to chairs and staircase handrails carved from driftwood. Soon Candace was pulling beautifully crafted pots out of the kiln, explaining the minutia of the craftsmanship. To my surprise, I eventually found out that nearly half of the work belonged not to Massy, but to the unassuming and bubbly girl standing before me.
"One of these pots would look great on the mantel of my house," I said. "I'd definitely like to buy one."
"No!" Candace blurted. "You can't be one of those lame poser people who buys a piece of pottery and then doesn't use it. It's insulting!" She laughed.
For the last six years, Candace, 27, has lived in Squamish and divided her time between painting, pottery, mountain biking and climbing. Her preferences for climbing are as eclectic as her preferences for art, and she does it all, from sport and trad climbing, to bouldering to the occasional ice climb. First introduced to climbing six years ago, Candace has more recently found a fresh spark for the sport.
"I like how creative and dynamic climbing can be," Candace said. "The way your body has to move." Her most recent climb was a 5.10b crack at Smoke Bluffs called S.M.'s Delight. "Soooo fun!" Candace said.
After a three-year apprenticeship with Vincent Massy, Candace has developed a strong and distinctive style. She was recently accepted to the Alberta College of Art and Design, a two-year program that she hopes will help her go forward with her work, teaching and collaborating with other international potters.


text:
A Month with a Mac - Part II: The Mobile Experienceby Anand Lal Shimpi on 1/24/2005 12:01 AM EST
- Posted in
- Mac
60 Comments
Back to Article
jonmarsh - Thursday, November 03, 2005 - linkI just read this and several other Mac articles here last night. Funny thing is, several weeks ago when my "enterprise" HP laptop started flaking out on a business trip, I was at the point where I was considering buying a Mac Mini just to play with. This was after reading about the current state of Tiger and the platform in general.
Instead, I ended up walking out of the store with a new 17" Powerbook, which is no heavier than my 15" HP, and infinitely more pleasurable to use, in so many ways. After loading Office for the Mac, iWorks, Deltagraph, Acrobat and Acrobat reader, and bringing my files over, I was ready for a subsequent three weeks of business travel, and haven't looked back since.
I'll need the HP to run some of my CAD software (schematics and PCB design), but I'm pretty sure now there will be a G5 dual processor system in my future running those apps under Virtual PC.
Perhaps some of the adoption process and uptake wouldn't have been as smooth with earlier versions of OSX, but some days I just wonder why I didn't do this sooner.
BTW, I've been using PCs since 1983, and building them since 1985, so it's not like I'm not quite immersed in that scene, especially due to the CAD work (electrical and mechanical) which I do. For now, I'm learning Ashlar Vellum Graphite, and thinking I should have done that long ago, too. (Adios, AutoCAD).
BTW, the 23" Ciinema display is great- not that my Samsung 213T is obsolete, but the integration factor for the Apple is a big plus. And this silly laptop DOES have dual DVI and can drive the 30" display, too. Hmmmm. ;^)
~Jon Reply
Imaginer - Sunday, August 07, 2005 - link"For example, if you have a file, drag it into an open Terminal window and the entire path to that file will be copied into the window for you. It actually makes interacting with the file system from the command prompt quite easy. "
Windows command prompt allows this too Reply
rhayes - Tuesday, July 26, 2005 - linkI bought a PowerBook 15" 1.5ghz about 4 months ago (my first Mac for all intents and purposes).
As mostly a PC user (Windows + Linux), I agree with a lot of what Anand talks about in the article. I think most people coming from a Windows background could safely make a purchasing decision based on that article...
For the record, what really sold me on the Mac (particularly the PowerBook) was running into it EVERYWHERE at my last Java symposium: "No Fluff Just Stuff". As a Java developer, it just seemed liked the perfect package: a) no Windows in sight, b) UNIX on a notebook without having to install it myself, c) the best OS GUI on the market IMO.
The reservations about the 1 button mouse on the G4 are definitely understandable. But somehow (for whatever reason) it really doesn't bother me. However, when I'm at a client site and developing for long periods of time on the G4, I do carry a Bluetooth mouse with me. It's one button also :)
ginjin31 - Sunday, June 12, 2005 - linkwonderful job with all the articles related to this. i can't believe i read the whole thing. =D
there's one thing that i haven't noticed though. you never mentioned the sleep freature in the Powerbook, where you never really have to turn off your laptop. so whenever you need to use it you just take it out open it and it's ready to go.
unlike PCs, you have to turn it off, standbye, or hibernate. waiting for the PC to boot takes a lot time, so a lot of time wasted before you can actually start working. i'm not really satisfied with the standby feature either. sometimes the PC just doesn't resume or i would get an error message. this happens more often and i would always end up rebooting the PC in the end.
this is my favorite feature on Macs, and i don't know if i missed it but i don't think you mentioned it at all in the article.
wonderful job overall Anand. i felt exactly the same way when i first got my Mac, being a diehard PC user myself. Reply
Gooberslot - Wednesday, February 23, 2005 - link#28, it works on Win98 too. Reply
mongo lloyd - Monday, February 21, 2005 - linkSometimes, these article make me wonder if Anand is the kind of "die-hard PC user" as he claims. For example:
"Unlike the Windows command prompt, Terminal actually interfaces quite well with the rest of OS X. For example, if you have a file, drag it into an open Terminal window and the entire path to that file will be copied into the window for you. It actually makes interacting with the file system from the command prompt quite easy."
As does CMD. As it's done for at least since Win2000. Possibly longer. There are lots of small things like these, bordering on being untrue statements, interspersed into these two Macintosh articles (which, admittedly, are good reads). Reply
azkman - Sunday, February 06, 2005 - linkIt looks like one of your dislikes with the G4 P'Book may have been partially addressed with the brand new lineup. Scolling and panning on the trackpad can be performed with two fingers. Besides, they're just plain faster and cheaper than before. BTW, great review! Reply
sluxx - Thursday, February 03, 2005 - linkEnjoyed the article very much.
I'll also fifth SideTrack. For $15, you essentially get a new multi-function trackpad.
When you are typing, in the middle of a word, press alt+esc, you get a list of words that begins with what you've typed. Great for looking up words that you're not certain of the spellings. I imagine it works only for Cocoa apps and not Carbon apps.
A couple of other freewares that I find useful: Spirited Away that hides selected (you select) background apps after a specified amount of time, and Speed Freak, a GUI wrap of the "renice" unix command. It's especially useful for me on a G3 iBook, but can help making your front app snappier. You can search and find them at www.versiontracker.com.
My first time here, but looking forward to reading your other articles. Reply
hindsight - Saturday, January 29, 2005 - linkA couple of PowerBook features not covered in the article but still worth mentioning:
- Dual displays: an external monitor plugged into the PowerBook can either mirror the LCD screen or act as a second display and thus significantly increase the desktop real estate.
- Target Disk Mode: start the computer with the 'T' key held down and the computer behaves like an external FireWire drive. Very useful for transferring large amounts of data between machines quickly. (this works to all Macs) Reply
bshell - Thursday, January 27, 2005 - linkBoth Windows and Macintosh OS's try to "think for you", but there's a fundamental difference in how they do this. Windows *imposes* its monopolistic will all the time, making decisions that it decrees to be the way things should be done all the way from spelling and grammar to where files should be stored, to the web search results. It's very mercenary, patronizing, irritating, and annoying. Apple, on the other hand has a more philosopher-king style, making "kind suggestions" rather than decrees, and guessing what you want correctly, sensibly, and unobtrusively more of the time. Somehow the choices Apple makes feel much kinder than Windows and always make you go "Wow, thanks" instead of "Oh damn, leave me alone." This is pervasive. Reply
garote - Wednesday, January 26, 2005 - linkA note about Exposé usage on a powerbook:
I know it's unorthodox, but consider using the 'Fn' key, on the lower left, for activating Exposé. It's easier to reach in general, but especially easy to use when you want to drag an icon/file _through_ an Exposé operation (via hold-release), from one window to another. Especially if you're right-handed.
You can still use Command-up/down for home/end, Command-left/right for begin/end of line, and Option-left/right for next/prev word. You'll have to invoke F6 to use the keypad, however, and you'll lose quick access to page-up/page-down.
The big difference, of course, is that you'll lose access to the regular invocation of the FN keys - however, I find that I never want to use the FN keys anyway, unless I want to embed a bunch of Photoshop macros in them.
Try it for a while. If you're a heavy Exposé user, you may find the change quite pleasing. Reply
adespoton - Wednesday, January 26, 2005 - linkHi Anand; just thought I'd clarify a statement you made in your conclusion:
"Unless you do a lot of .NET development on the road, just about anything you use your laptop for is available under OS X...."
For anyone in this situation, Project Mono is available for OS X at http://www.go-mono.com/archive/1.0.5/macos/MonoFra...
Of course, this doesn't give you *all* the .NET bindings etc., but for basic .NET development it works quite well -- and has the added benefit that you can test the programs out under OS X as well, without resorting to emulation. Reply
jayemcee - Wednesday, January 26, 2005 - linkThanks for a nicely balanced article. The speed issues tend to fade a bit (especially pure cpu speed) when looking at the way the system operatesand how it helps productivity. Less downtime for the system (my uptime has been continuous except for reboots at software updates times). Drag and drop into and between applications make the system appear very elegant to me and a bonus is when I want it... there is BSD *nix underneath OS X.
The hardware is as good as it gets for the price and I do not feel cheated by Apple. Of course, there is also that indefinable Apple experience that you get when opening the boxes of a new piece of apple hardware. I guess that I am addicted to that as well. :)
You write well and many PC magazines would do well to emulate your methods of testing the unquantifiable variables of all machines that they test and then write about... for public consumption.
mattfaulds - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - linkGreat article. Good to see someone weighing things from a bablanced point of view.
Would like to reiterate the greatness of Sidetrack (www.ragingmenace.com)
I have an iBook G4 and have changed the button to a right click button, the corners of the tap pad to exposé functions (and a right click corner) and a scroll on the right side. It's very customisable and very stable.
Apple really really should pay him lots of money and incoporate the optional function as standard. You need it with the limited space on a laptop.
waterbug - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - linkAnand,
Another thing to compare between OS X and Windows is sleep/wake behavior. Try this at home:
Connect both your Wintel laptop and your PowerBook to a WiFi network with DHCP and verify connection by opening a browser. Close both lids for 5-10 seconds, until you're sure they're both asleep. Open the lids.
You should be able to click a link on the PowerBook within 5 seconds of seeing the LCD come on. If you have a static IP, it'll be even faster.
On my XP laptop, it takes anywhere from 10-45 seconds to reacquire the wireless signal, figure out the encryption, reacquire a DHCP address, and then finally be able to do anything.
It sounds trivial, but imagine this scenario: imagine you're working with your laptop in the kitchen, and you decide to move to the dining room. Do you close your laptop, or walk over to the dining room with it open? With my Dell, I walk around the house with it open. With our iBook, I close it even to rearrange things on the bed. It's not a huge issue, but it's one of those "little touches" that makes for a more satisfying ownership experience. Reply
lookmark - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - linkNice article, as always. I too am slightly disappointed by my 15" PB's wireless range, and hope Apple is able to improve it in fure models.
Just want to chime on the fabulousness of Quicksilver, which is like just a little taste of Tiger's Spotlight, focused on launching (or more, if you want). Well, well worth checking out.
I too started with the Applications folder in the Dock -- didn't we all? -- but Quicksilver is so much better it's quite astonishing, and considering it's completely free and open-sourced all the more so. Apple is clearly taking notice as well.... it's been reported from the latest Tiger builds that the (customizable, of course) shortcut for hitting Spotlight quickly is now command-space, a la QS. Reply
jim v - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - linkActually, the ethernet port on the PowerBook is 10/100/1000 Reply
bcstanding - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - linkI am one of those guys that switched from PC to Mac (3 years ago). This article (with Part I) is one of the most insightful and unbiased articles I've ever read on the subject of the Mac User Experience. Very well done!
I also thought I'd chip in an idea - if you don't have quite enough RAM, you may want to leave apps open (just hide them) instead of quitting them. OS X seems to be faster when swapping a program back into memory than starting it outright. I'm on a 3 year old PowerBook, though, so this may not be applicable for faster Macs... Reply
davechen - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - linkAs an old school Unix programmer, I've always hated keyboards that have a large caps lock and a small control key (as most do these days). I use control a lot more than caps lock. Hell who ever really uses caps lock.
So on OS X, I'd be lost without uControl. It's a little control panel that allows you to remap modifier keys (along with a lot of other things). Here' the link:
http://gnufoo.org/ucontrol/ucontrol.html Reply
jsares - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - linkI second and third the suggestions for SideTrack. Great shareware from a great guy. Reply
jsares - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - linkHere's what I wrote on my blog:
Anand Lal Shimpi of AnandTech has a great second article about his experiences with switching to the Mac.
If you could say he liked the Mac in his first article you could say he loves the Mac in this article.
Some great quotes and my comments in italics:
"It took a lot of convincing (as well as some executive privilege) for the establishment of the Mac section, and then came the ... article "
Some of Anand staff didn't want him to write about the Mac.
"Within the first three days of publication, that little Mac article skyrocketed to becoming one of the all-time most popular articles ever published on AnandTech."
Windows enthusiasts are dying for something new.
"One problem with these types of articles is that they inevitably take much longer to put together, simply because there are no structured tests to run and analyze."
That's why this article is so good."
"At the end of the first Mac article, I came to the realization that what attracted me most to OS X was the way everything just worked the way that you'd expect it to."
Welcome to the Mac, Anand.
I don't want to give away too much so go read the article and give the guy some credit in the comments section and send him some nice emails.
Great article Anand! Reply
CrankyTodd - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - linkHi Anand,
Regarding Expose, especially on a laptop, you'll find yourself enjoying Expose MUCH, MUCH more if you dont use the function keys to launch it.
Under System Preferences, choose Expose, and use "Active Screen Corners" to activate Expose functions. I was reluctant to try it at first, but I was hooked within minutes, and cant imagine going back. I Set the lower left corner of the desktop to activate the "Application Windows" function, and the upper right corner of the desktop to activate the "All Windows" function. So as I'm using my Mac, as soon as I want to switch applications or windows within the current application, I just throw my mouse into one corner or the other, instead of having to actually go hit a button to activate either function. Once you try it, you'll see that its an incredible seamless way of navigating the system. Reply
ugly - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link"OS X Tiger
...as well as the fact that in Tiger, every single pixel on the screen will ac-tually be rendered by the graphics card."
I thought some image "things" (I couldn't come up with a better word for what was in the core image demo) could be offloaded to the graphics card, but this statement makes it sound as if Tiger will be Quartz Extreme like it should have been.
Dualboy24 - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - linkI loved the article. I was waiting for a new Mac read at anandtech. It seems like ages since the first one... I recently made a jump to a Mac Powerbook 17" a few months before the first article. The funny thing is I build/sell PCs on the side... but my main system is now the mac and of course I have 5 PCs running every MS-Linux but I must say that the Mac OS is the most advanced OS in terms of interface and it seems multitasking. Expose is a wonderful feature (I use an MX500 mouse with the exposes features mapped)
Oh. Also you shouldn't forget the system wide spell checker. Such common sense I wonder if MS does not include this in windows in order to push some of their other products?
Anyway looking forward to the Mac mini review I am probably going to get one for the low noise and power factor. Reply
miniMUNCH - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linkI 2nd the 5400 rpm HD for an extra $45...well worth it. Or you can upgrade the HD yourself or have MAc Shop throw in a 7200rpm HD, but for me the 5400 rpm HD is plenty. Reply
wilburpan - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linkOops. What I meant to say was:
Being a user of OS X, Linux, and Windows, I would say that the often cited lack of a two button mouse in OS X is not so much a flaw as it is a preference. Personally, I can move from the one button mouse in OS X to the two button mice of Linux and Windows and back again without much trouble. To complicate things further, two button mouse behavior is different in Windows and Linux. One can get right-click type behavior in many OS X applications by control-clicking the mouse, which does not seem to slow me at all compared to right-clicking.
Until someone can produce data or a usability study that shows that, say, editing an image in Photoshop is slower using a one button mouse than a two button mouse, this is all a matter of what one is used to. You might as well criticize a scroll mouse for the tendency for middle clicks to be interpreted as scrolling commands, or harp on the inconsistencies of menu shortcuts and menu item locations (e.g. does Preferences belong under Edit or Tools?) between applications. Reply
pkthoo - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linkGreat article!
I consider myself as a neutral. This article sheds light on what I have been looking for; user experiences on using Mac.
Now, I am certain that I am going to be Mac+iPod user, hopefully by year's end.
Apple should make 512MB as minimum RAM amount, and bundle Mac mini with iPod Shuffle as a new 'wholesome' package.
wilburpan - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linkReply
Snoozy - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linkI still think you are missing out on the complete mac experience by not using a launcher application.
I run Butler (http://www.petermaurer.de/nasi.php?thema=butler&am... but there are many more: LaunchBar (http://www.obdev.at/products/launchbar/index.html)... QS as mentioned earlier, just do a search on versiontracker.com.
What these applications enable you to do is virtualy elimate the need for CMD+tab switching, using the dock, or using the Applications folder to launch things. Basically press CMD + Space (as I have it setup, you can go with whatever key combo you want!) and then type what you want - you can even teach them anacronyms for commonly used applications. For example if I do CMD+Space then type PS and hit enter it opens photoshop, or switches to it if its already open. The applications are infinitely configurable, I've got a shortcut for blog which runs an apple script that then pops open MarsEdit and opens a new post window for my blog (which is WordPress powered, MarsEdit contacts it via XML-RPC). Butler also has a built in dictonary, and multiple other widgets. Check it out.
I 2nd the suggestion on using sidetrack. I bought my PB (1st mac) in march last year and this was one of the first things that I had to have - makes it so much nicer. Reply
hopejr - Monday, January 24, 2005 - link#23, On OS X there is the Zoom thing in the Universal Access Pref panel, that allows everything on the screen to be zoomed at what ever zoom level is necessary. You can set it to follow the mouse, or keyboard focus. It's a nice feature. There's other good features in OS X that help with those who can't see too well.
#28, I just tried that and you're right, it does (I tried in 2k3). Oh well, I use OS X more so it's more important to me there :P (although it's nice to know it works in Windows too, for the times I use it) Reply
GL - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linkAnother great read! There's not much to take issue with. Now that I have both a desktop and notebook Mac, I find one of the biggest issues is keeping them both in sync (documents and settings). I believe Tiger will solve this annoying task once and for all because Apple will open the .Mac API to third party developers. But until then, I have to rely on some custom scripts that can only sync my documents, but none of the program settings. Has this been an issue for you too? Reply
michael2k - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linkWow, I didn't know that, DeathB Reply
DeathB - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linkNice review, Anand.
But the drag and drop example in the terminal is not a good one, you can do exactly the same thing with Windows command prompt, maybe since win98 old days :) Sure for XP and 2k, but I'm too lazy to check my 98 box. Reply
DeathB - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linkReply
SteveJobs - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linkMac Rules!!! Reply
SteveJobs - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linkNicely done, Anand. Reply
OptimisTech - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linkI also use a Mac laptop (iBook G4, 15") and a PC for my desk at home. I love the iBook for being on the road. I have recommended the combination to friends. I admit the dreaded "one-button mouse" irks me quite a bit, but I have a little mini-optical mouse that I use almost always, so it's not a big deal. what I wish someone would come up with is a KVM switch that could operate a Mac and a PC happily but wouldn't cost $150. I would think that if mac-mini sales really do well, there would be a pretty good market for something like that. Reply
T8000 - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linkYou should have mentioned the Acer TravelMate 4001WLMi (Centrino 715 based) when comparing with PC notebooks, as that has similar specs, including weight, for under $1250.
Also, you make mention of screen estate like smaller font size does not bother you. I noticed that lots of older users (40+) find native TFT resolutions hard to read, usually setting 800x600 on 15" TFT screens. Since premium "design" products like Powerbooks are not unlikely to be bought by older users, the current resolution could allready be an issue, raising the question how well interpolation works on this Powerbook. Reply
nels0360 - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linkNice review. I switched in June 04 to a PowerBook 1.33Ghz 12". I hook it up to a 20" LCD when I'm at my desk.
One thing I noticed you mentioned alot is disk performance. One of the best upgrades on a PowerBook is the 5400 RPM drive. It really speeds things up. These faster drives will likely be included in the new PowerBook models that are due to be released soon. Reply
knitecrow - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linkThanks for the link #4. iBook sales were up, but powerbook sales have been down.
PowerBook numbers lagged in fourth place, a reflection of the fact that the pro laptops haven't been refreshed since last April. 152,000 units were shipped last quarter for $307 million in sales, numbers that were down 29 and 27 percent sequentially and 22 and 23 percent year-over-year. Reply
RMSistight - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linkHey Anand, make sure you check your video links. One of them doesn't work. Also, when are you going to release a full review of the Mac Mini? I'm dying to see it's performance and also what it looks like piece by piece under the hood. Reply
billsuspect - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linkWhen it comes time to review the mini, please please please keep focused on the fact that it's a Grandma Machine! Reply
Entropyq3 - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linkThat iLife comment above - what I've found, silly as it may sound particularly from a middleaged man, is that Llife really encourages creativity in its users.
Just about everyone I know that has gotten in touch with the programs have gotten more interested in some creative area - be it making tracks in GarageBand, using their digital camera much more since it's so easy to keep track of your pictures in iPhoto, getting back into music due to iTunes, or actually doing something with your videos in iMovie so that they can be shown to and actually enjoyed by other people.
Just seeing them as lightweight "getting started" apps misses the effect of them being so damn accessible that even my elderly mother can use them. And she finds surfing the web difficult. If you have a latent interest or talent, the iLife suite will let you get your feet wet and try things out. And that's important. Reply
Entropyq3 - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linkInteresting to see your takes on the mac - as a long time user of many platforms I'm gratified to see a representative of the PC hardware reviewing community opening up to what other platforms can offer. Although it is a bit galling when a newbie on a platform you have used for a long time comes up with nifty features you weren't even aware was there. :)
If you are going to review the Mac mini, then having a look at the iLife suite is nigh on unavoidable - it makes up such a large part of what the user experience of the Mac mini would be to many general users. But then, that would probably make the review take longer, and the suite is not at all specific to the mini. Reply
goates - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linkGreat article.
If only more PC users were this open minded about using other platforms. Reply
Chuckles - Monday, January 24, 2005 - link#6: You can set the trackpad to click when tapped without Sidetrack.
Anand: Nice article again. Reply
habibbijan - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linkIf you want to try to avoid using the mouse as much as possible, you should take a look at Quicksilver.
This little freeware app allows you to launch any program or navigate your filesystem with just a few keystrokes. Reply
Hikari - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linkGood article!
However, I sort of disagree on the screen. I think Macs have an even bigger need for higher resolutions. I hope the Powerbooks get 1400x1050 or some similar widescreen resolution soon, but that might not be until the next OS version which has resolution independence I think.
I owned a Pbook 867. :D Reply
hopejr - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linkGreat article! Learnt a few things in that I didn't know about before (e.g. the fn+delete thing - not having a proper delete key on my iBook G4 always irked me, but now I know I had one all along!, oh, and the drag folders into the save window thing - that's really nice).
I think I'm going to be even more productive on my laptop than I already am! (I use it as my main system too :P) Reply
vmajor - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linkI just bought a an iMac for my elderly neighbout that has never used a computer before. There really wasn't any other choice. A PC just would not work as well - the viruses and trojans would have brought the system to its knees within a week.
What surprised me was how much I liked the iMac! The machine is truly fantastic! I am a hardcore PC user - having built all my PCs over the past ten years or so. But I can really see myself owning a nice Mac with a huge wide screen (or two) sometime in the near future, and keep my XP Althlon 64 (FX) box for games.
All of you really need to play with MacOS X and admire the achievement... simple and nice and it still has a fully functional UNIX shell... Reply
MIDIman - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linkAs always - great article! Two of my friends last year moved from PC to apple notebooks, but kept their PC desktops.
Here's to looking forward to your Mac Mini article ;) Reply
xype - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linkI predict in one year's time Anand will be advocating Macs on the anandtech forum, flaming PC users and wearing Steve Jobs themed tshirts all the time! Teeheee!
Ok, maybe not. But the article is nice and I hope it manages to get more users to look into alternative platforms, be that Macs or Linux desktops or whatever else is interesting and/or useable. Reply
jtntwozz - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linknice article
well done anand Reply
zekester - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linkYes, Sidetrack might be just what the doctor ordered. Personally I've been using Mac notebooks long enough to have developed the knack of hitting modifier keys and the trackpad simultaneously -- with one hand, no less -- but for the PC switcher/adder who's missing that second button, Sidetrack can separately map the hardware button and touchpad to yield "left" and "right" clicks.
BTW it seems to be $15 now, but still shareware so you can try before you buy. Reply
grug2k - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linkI thought I'd point out theres a program called Sidetrack available at ragingmenace.com. It allows you to fully customize the trackpad behaviour. I have it set up so tapping the trackbad now acts as a mouseclick, I don't have to use the button at all (except click+dragging). Additionally, tapping the bottom right corner acts as a right click (fancy that), and the very right edge acts as a scrollwheel.
It used to be free but I think its $10 now. Either way, well worth it, and I consider it essential for any iBook or Powerbook user. Reply
crazycarl - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linknice article! Reply
addragyn - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linkApple recently released their results for the previous quarter, iBook sales were up 35% over the same quarter last year.
271,000 iBooks / $297 million
http://www.macworld.com/news/2005/01/13/bythenumbe... Reply
knitecrow - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linklast i checked, apple ibooks sales weren't too good. I wonder if centrino marketing and Penium-M had anything to do with it.
HermDogg - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linkI still say new PBs show up tomorrow or Tuesday. Mark my words!
Excellent article. Reply
habibbijan - Monday, January 24, 2005 - linkNice article Anand. I enjoyed it.
You don't need to "ctrl-click" the Applications shortcut in the dock to expand it. Just click-and-hold for a second. You'll get the same results. Reply


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D6 400-G Series
Go to understable disc, I can roll it 600 feet!
bill graham
Jun 16, 2017
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Cuisinart Rice Cooker
Alton Brown always says not to get a single purpose item for the kitchen...and while there are certain times I disobey that rule (after all how many times can you make mini pumpkin cupcakes) in general I try to follow it. In addition to making rice this rice cooker also lets you steam things (vegetables, meat and dumplings! I love dumplings!).


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Wild Wings® Series "Free Style" Window Graphics from Vantage Point®
Item # WX2-179450SOLD OUT
Wild Wings® Series "Free Style" Window Graphics from Vantage Point®
Item # WX2-179450SOLD OUT
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- Details & Specs
Wild Wings® Series "Free Style" Window Graphics from Vantage Point®. Reflect your individuality with easy to install, 100% made-in-America rear window graphics!
Treat your truck to a great-looking design, courtesy of Vantage Point®! With hundreds of choices for back-window artwork, from in-the-wild still to backcountry scenes,Vantage Point Concepts offers you the most vivid colors and highest quality materials to make your truck stand out from the rest.
The micropreforated vinyl construction not only displays a brilliant image on the outside, but also allows passengers complete visibility through the material. On top of that, this baby helps block UV rays too! Simply clean the window, position your Window Graphic, then trim and let it set for 24 hours. Easy to remove too! Give your rig a pick-me-up!
State Size, as available in the Shopping Cart below. Dynamic graphic displays for LESS! Order ONLINE Now!
Size Small:
- Window Measurement: 53 x 14"
- Vehicle Size: Chevy Avalanche
Size Medium:
- Window Measurement: 58 x 18"
- Vehicle Size: Compact Pick-up
Size Large:
- Window Measurement: 66 x 20"
- Vehicle Size: Full-size Pick-up
Size Extra Large:
- Window Measurement: 66 x 29"
- Vehicle Size: SUV / Minivan / Full-size Van
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