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General Information
Institutional Mission
Western State College of Colorado fulfills its statutory mission by promoting intellectual maturity and personal growth in its students and graduates citizens prepared to assume constructive roles in local, national, and global communities. Western helps its students to develop the skills and commitments needed to continue learning for the rest of their lives and strives to elucidate the connections unifying academic domains which have traditionally existed separately: the sciences, the liberal arts, and professional programs. The College provides students with a solid foundation of skills in written and spoken communication, problem solving, critical thinking, and creativity. Our programs encourage a breadth and depth of knowledge, which will serve as a foundation for a professional career or graduate study, and an appreciation of values appropriate to a liberally educated individual. Western's distinctive character emerges from its unity among academic and professional disciplines, its high standards of scholarship, and its unique environment in the mountains of western Colorado.
The purpose of graduate studies at Western StateColorado University is to extend to post-graduate learning the high-qualityeducation consistent with the University role and mission. Graduate study at Westernbuilds on the existing mission of encouraging a breadth and depth of knowledgewhile promoting scholarly and creative learning. The faculty who areresponsible for graduate education at Western are themselves scholars whoseresponsibilities include guiding graduate students to become experts in theirfields of study.
Western State Colorado University offersgraduate-level coursework for continuing education and professional developmentand degree programs at the master's level as approved by faculty and the Trusteesof Western State Colorado University. Such programs are an extension of theUniversity undergraduate programs and allow Western to better fulfill itsimportant role as a regional education provider.
Indicatorsof the status of a University are the agencies from which it has sought andgained recognition. Western State Colorado University is accredited by thefollowing agencies:
The Higher Learning Commissionof the North Central Association (NCA)
Teacher Education AccreditationCouncil (TEAC)
National Association ofSchools of Music
The Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE) is a nine-member board appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Colorado State Senate that acts as a policy and coordinating board for all public institutions of higher education in Colorado.
Colorado Commission on Higher Education
1560 Broadway, Suite 1600
Denver, CO 80202
(303) 866-2723
Western is governed by the Western State Colorado University Board of Trustees, a nine-member lay board. The trustees are appointed by the Governor to four-year terms. One faculty trustee and one student trustee are elected by their constituents and serve one-year terms.
History of the University
Western was established in 1901. It was the first college on Colorado's Western Slope and is the fourth-oldest public college in the state.
The school actually opened for classes in 1911 as the Colorado State Normal School. Originally a preparatory college for teachers, Western's role changed when it became Western State College of Colorado in 1923. Though for many years Western was known for its graduates who became teachers, it was, in fact, the first Colorado college designed to teach a primarily liberal arts curriculum, and the liberal arts have remained at the core of Western's academic life ever since.
Some of Western's most cherished buildings–hallmarks of the lasting durability of the College–were constructed during the lean years of the Depression. Savage Library, the President's House, and Ute Hall are architecturally striking and add character to the campus.
During the post-war years of the 1940s, Western's enrollment soared as veterans took advantage of the GI Bill and new programs were added.
By the 1970s, enrollment was exceeding 3,000, crowding the institution so much that new freshmen often slept in the halls of their dorms for the first few days until rooms became available. During the 1980s, Western began to focus on undergraduate education in three core areas: the liberal arts, teacher education, and professional programs.
The academic year is full of opportunities for students to learn from and become acquainted with outstanding scholars, great thinkers, fine performers, and others from throughout the world. Just as importantly, summer in Gunnison is full of educational opportunities, such as the Summer Teacher Institute.
Western offers a broad range of courses of study in a beautiful mountain setting. Many degree programs take advantage of this environment, which has been called "one of the world's greatest natural laboratories." Western offers students opportunities to study in a wide range of fields, such as business, computer information science, communications, the social and behavioral sciences, outdoor leadership, the arts, the sciences, and teacher
Western's excellence has also been felt in other arenas. Western hosts the only nationally certified college mountain rescue team, and a wilderness pursuits program offers students ample opportunities to explore themselves and the mountains, rivers, and forests which surround the University. The University's vibrant theatre and fine arts departments provide a cultural center for the entire Gunnison Valley.
In athletics, Western traditionally has one of the country's finest small-college athletic programs. Western's teams are consistently ranked among the top in the NCAA Division II.
Throughout its history, Western has been a source of innovation and excellence, which is reflected in the quality of its programs and in the success and achievements of its graduates. Now in its second century, Western continues to build on its long tradition of excellence.
Leslie J. Savage Library
The staff of the Leslie J. Savage Library provides information, resources, and services designed to advance the intellectual and personal development of members of the College community. When classes are in session, the Library's services are available seven days a week.
Students find the majority of information they seek for course assignments in the Library collection. In addition to over 250,000 volumes and 3,500 films on video and DVD, the collection includes access to over 70,000 electronic books and 50 electronic journal databases. Special collections include federal and state government documents, books in the Western Colorado History Collection, and the University archives.
The Library makes extensive use of electronic databases to facilitate identifying and locating desired materials. The Library online catalog is connected to the campus network. Using Western's catalog, the search for information can be extended to libraries and databases throughout the United States. Through the interlibrary loan service, students can borrow materials from other libraries.
The Library staff gives students the opportunity to become skilled at using the full range of information resources and services. In addition to helping individuals identify and locate desired information, librarians offer group instruction to students as they start to research topics for course assignments. Savage Library provides a welcoming environment for study and research.


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AUGUSTA, GA (RNN) - For the third weekend in a row, NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick sat in the media center telling how proud he was of his winning race team. The only difference this week is that he was bragging on Kasey Kahne.
Jimmie Johnson first represented the Hendrick organization in victory lane after notching the team's long-awaited 200th Cup Series win two weeks ago in Darlington. The following week in the All Star Race, Johnson again took his owner to the winner's circle. Last weekend in NASCAR's longest race, the Coca-Cola 600, it was new driver Kasey Kahne who captured his first win for Hendrick and continued the win streak.
Kahne joined Hendrick's organization with high expectations. Most, including Kahne, thought that the young driver would instantly win races. But luck hasn't looked kindly on the No. 5 team, which didn't get off to the hoped-for start.
Kahne explained why it took a while:
"I think the biggest thing for myself was just to figure out the cars, figure out how they drove. It's been a little bit different for me," Kahne said. "I never really doubted myself. I was upset at some of the things that may have happened. I made a huge mistake at Phoenix, hit the wall there. But other than that, we were solid, we were fast. It was just a matter of getting past those five weeks and moving on and putting some solid races together."
Kahne was in Darlington to help celebrate that 200th Cup Series win - but he knew he hadn't contributed to the landmark. But it might have motivated him.
"Well, I wasn't part of that because I hadn't won a race for Hendrick Motorsports. They brought me up because I was part of the team now," continued Kahne. "Being there Tuesday night and listening to the stories of all the drivers who had won, thinking about the history that lies at Hendrick Motorsports, how much Rick Hendrick, Linda have done for the sport, done for so many people, was pretty awesome."
Now, he can hold his head high and know that he finally put all the pieces together last Sunday night and added win No. 201 for his new car owner.
Kahne outlasted a late charge from Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch and a mistake on pit road by teammate Jimmie Johnson to claim his first win in a Hendrick car.
"It was unfortunate," said winning crew chief Kenny Francis about Johnson's troubles. "Without really knowing what happened, the fuel cans that we use now are touchy, difficult to get unplugged. They fit real precisely. I'm sure it was something they were trying to make sure the car was full, jack dropped, he took off, the fuel guy was trying to get that last half-gallon of fuel in it - it didn't work out."
Second-place finisher Kyle Busch couldn't keep pace with Kahne at the end, but knew how big the win was for Kahne.
"It's awesome that it came in this race," said Busch. "The Coca-Cola 600 is such a cool race. Rick has won this race plenty of times, he has plenty of rings, doesn't need any more. It's cool that Kasey was able to do a nice job for him."
With three consecutive wins in their pocket, the Hendrick Motorsport teams are on quite a roll, which can mean trouble for the rest of the field.
"It's been an unbelievable week for us to get the 200th win at Darlington, then to come back and win the All-Star Race," said Hendrick. "I think we're showing the potential of the teams. I'm really looking forward to the second half of the year."
Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are the only Hendrick drivers that don't have a win this season, but if what Mr. H says is true, it won't be long before we see them in victory lane.
The question is: which team will manage to stop their win streak?
Copyright 2012 Raycom News Network. All rights reserved.

subset: commoncrawl


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If I could make a good deal for Leake, I'd do it and use Redmond, Corcino, Cingrani, and maybe one new inexpensive veteran as the tandem in line for sixth starter.
But this thread is about CF and I would NOT trade a major player or prospect for a stopgap CFer. I'd trade someone in the Lotzkar category for a one-year CFer. Maybe two such prospects.


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NCAA College Football – Week 12 Recap
The day started with Lee Corso letting loose an expletive on 'College Gameday,' and things just got crazier from there. The BCS was officially thrown into chaos as three of the nation's top five teams all went down to defeat. #1 LSU remained in the driver's seat for the title game with another dominating win, but any number of one-loss schools are now back in the mix for the title game. The biggest beneficiary of this week's upsets will likely be #6 Arkansas, who could move as high as #3 when the new polls come out and still have to play LSU, meaning the Razorbacks could control their own destiny for a spot in the national championship game (but, oddly, not for the SEC title game).
Here are all the highlights from this week in the Top 25.


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Challenge Exams (CSIS)
The Department offers students an opportunity to test out and gain credit for several of our courses. The list for CSIS is given below. All exams are centralized at the Center for Undergraduate Business Advising (CUBA). Please contact the Director of CUBA for details.
CSC125 - Internet and Webpage design (3 credit hours). Are you comfortable with HTML and CSS but don't have formal credentials to vouch for your knowledge? Then, this exam will validate your knowledge. Students will not be able to use the Internet as a resource during the exam. This course is part of the University Studies block.
CSC199 Introduction to Information Technology (3 credit hours). This is useful for students who are already well-versed in the Microsoft Office Suite. The exam is timed and consists of 5 components - Concepts, MS-Word, MS-Excel, MS-Access and MS-PowerPoint. The fee for this is $15, payable in advance at Sparks Hall. You must also purchase an access code from the bookstore for $10-15. This code is for one-time use only. This course is part of the University Studies block.
CIS343 - Business Statistics II (2 credit hours). This is for students who claim expertise in Statistics - specifically, Statistical Inference. To qualify to take this exam, students must have taken and passed a qualifying introductory statistics course at another institution that teaches the same concepts taught in this class. The Center for Undergraduate Business Advising (CUBA) determines which classes meet this requirement.
There could be other exams too. Please check with the CUBA office for the current list of exams.


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How to access my Control Panel (cPanel)?
cPanel is the control panel for most of the technical functionality of your web hosting account. With it you can manage your emails, databases, subdomains; you can install scripts and applications, check your stats, etc.
In this section you will find answers of the following questions:
How to Access cPanel?
To access the cPanel you need to be logged into your Customer Area first.
In My Accounts section you will see a button Go To cPanel for each of the hosting accounts you have:
A pop-up will appear where you will be able to choose if you want to access the cPanel securely or normally. We recommend secure access whenever possible.
cPanel Username & Password
Initially for your first account the cPanel username and password are the same as for your customer area. If you have multiple accounts, however each of them will have separate user and pass for the cPanel.
To see the username for the cPanel of a particular account and to change its password you need to first click on the Manage Account button of the account:
On the Manage Account page you can see your cPanel username and change the password:
How to use cPanel?
cPanel is a powerful and in the same time user-friendly tool that will help you manage your hosting account easily. For more information on how to use cPanel and its tools check out our cPanel tutorial.


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You will require this permit if you intend to discharge any type of material onto or across a public place or local government property. This includes roads, streets, parks and verges. The type of material includes, but is not limited to, dust, wastewater, paint, oil or chemicals.
Please consult the Contact Officer for more information.
A licence defines the need to obtain recognition / certification and registration to undertake a certain business activity.
Please consult the Contact Officer for more information regarding eligibility requirements.
Please consult the Contact Officer for information on fees to be submitted.
Application for Permit to Discharge Material in a Public Place - Please consult the Contact Officer for information on forms to be submitted.
City of Armadale
Local Government Act 1995 (Western Australia)
Activities and Trading in Thoroughfares and Public Places Local Law 2001
Environmental Health Officer
City of Armadale
The information contained on the Australian Business Licence and Information Service
(ABLIS) web site, or via packages or other sources is intended for general guidance
To the full extent permitted by law, the Federal, State, Territory and Local Governments
make no representations or warranties (expressed or implied) in relation to the
information, including its accuracy, currency or completeness.
The business information provided does not constitute professional or legal advice,
nor is the use of any third party resource an endorsement of the information contained,
the associated organisation, product or service. It is recommended that you obtain
appropriate professional and /or independent legal advice to ensure that the material
provided here is relevant to your particular circumstances.
To the full extent permitted by law the Federal, State, Territory and Local Governments,
their employees and agents do not accept any liability for any reason, including
without limitation, liability in negligence, to any person for the general information
which is provided herein, or in respect of anything, including the consequences
of anything done, or not done, by any such person in whole or partial reliance upon
the information.
We're here to help so get in contact if you are having difficulty finding the information you need.


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Public school counselors said Thursday their education role would be radically diminished or even eliminated under a plan by state Superintendent of Education John White to give local districts more flexibility.
Under current rules, high schools are supposed to have one counselor for every 450 students.
White's proposal would eliminate that requirement.
A committee of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education is set to take up the issue on Tuesday at 10 a.m.
Cathy Smith, president of the Louisiana School Counselors Association, said counselors play a vital role in assisting students and that abolishing the staffing requirement would hurt the state's bid to improve public education.
"If a counselor is doing what they are supposed to be doing, they are making a huge difference," said Smith, a counselor at Hathaway High School in Jennings.
Critics contend that White's proposal would hurt students by relying on untrained officials to handle duties long done by counselors.
They said that, without the current staffing requirement, some school districts will eliminate counselors in favor of football coaches or other spending. "And I think it would be devastating," Smith said.
High school counselors are supposed to assist students on course selections, make sure they are on schedule to graduate, and assist in college and career options.
In some districts they interpret tests, grapple with student disciplinary problems and oversee student records, among other duties.
Frank Phinney, a counselor at Walker Freshman High School, said White's plan is a drastic change and one that would damage public schools. "It is just a complete disregard for our training, the role that we play, and I think it is just wrong," Phinney said.
Even the current mandate — one counselor for every 450 students — is too lax, he said. "Even that is well above the national recommendation, which is like 250 to 1," Phinney said.
White, asked for comment about the criticism, issued a prepared statement.
The superintendent said counselors provide "invaluable services" that assist students in their personal development. "But schools should be able to use partnerships, vendors, part-time staff and others, along with full-time counselors, to achieve (goals) in the way that is best for their students," according to the statement.
Smith, who has exchanged emails with White about her concerns, noted that counselors are required to have advanced degrees.
"They are looking at a team of people to meet the needs," Smith said. "Unfortunately, these people aren't trained."
Ending the staffing rule would also open the door to eliminate counselors, she said.
"To me that is what it is," Smith said of White's plan.
The state has about 2,300 school counselors, state education officials said.
The change is included in the superintendent's plan to overhaul the state handbook for school administrators, which is called Bulletin 741.
White has said his proposal would allow local school districts to set their own academic calendar and allow students to earn credit for subjects where they can show proficiency rather than attending the class.
BESE leaders say they expect the plan to win approval next week.
Counselors contend that the only BESE members who have shown sympathy for their concerns are Lottie Beebe, of Breaux Bridge, and Carolyn Hill, of Baton Rouge.
Neither could be reached for comment.
Michael Lefort, who lives in Cutoff, recently retired after 33 years as a school counselor.
"The potential negative impact for students will become staggering," Lefort said in an email when asked about the proposed change.
The role of counselors in public high schools has been debated at BESE off and on since 2007.
In the past, critics have said, counselors were routinely assigned odd tasks, such as prom planning and organizing the 4-H Club, and that doing so hurt their ability to help students.
But officials said that the state redefined the role of counselors a few years ago to follow a national model aimed at improving student achievement.
"And the whole counseling phenomenon that we were excited about is going to go by the wayside," Smith said.


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My personal "essentials" lists evolve slowly over time based on not only minor refinements in selection or new product availability, but also on my own cooking style. It's impossible for me to tell you that the pots and pans that I use the most will be the same as the pots and pans you'll use the most. But I can tell you this: I cook a lot, and I cook a wide variety of things, and with these pots and pans in my arsenal, I never find myself saying, "man, I wish I just had [insert pan X here]. Nearly every recipe on this site can be cooked in a kitchen equipped with these bad boys, so if you or a loved one has been extra nice this year, listen up!
Wherever applicable, I've included two versions: the money-is-no-object best, and a budget-minded alternative.
A 10 1/2- or 12-inch Cast Iron Skillet
What it's good for: Heavy cast iron might take a while to pre-heat properly, but once it's hot, it'll sear a steak like nothing else. Pan-roasting or deep frying chicken? Reach for the cast iron. Frying latkes or potato pancakes? You guessed it.
Because of its thick gauge, it's also a great option for slow-cooking or for baking, delivering crisp, golden brown crusts to everything from corn bread to pan pizza
Which one?: Vintage cast iron from a brand like Wagner or Griswold has a smoother, slightly more non-stick finish than modern cast iron, and if you can find it online or in an antique shop, I'd highly recommend it. That said, a good modern brand like Lodge will do you just fine. Check out our Guide to Cast Iron Care for tips on how to clean, season, and maintain a cast iron pan.
A Large Enameled Dutch Oven
What it's good for: Anything that requires some heavy searing followed by gentle, even cooking—slow-cooked braises like pot roast, carne adovada, or better-than-Chipotle's barbacoa. It's also handy for soups, like spicy pork, green pepper, and pork soup, hearty escarole and barley, or roasted cauliflower and barley. And, of course, it's great for chili! Like the best chili ever, or Texas-style chile con carne, or vegan chili, or chile verde or...you get the picture. It's a chili machine.
Which one?: You can't beat the durability, good looks, and cooking power of a French-made Le Creuset. It heats the most evenly, sears the best, and lasts the longest. At over $300, it's not a cheap toy, but it'll last you or your lucky giftee a lifetime. Upgrade it with a stainless steel replacement handle to make it oven safe at high temperatures for recipes like no-knead bread
Best Buy: Lodge makes a fine enameled Dutch oven that consistently scores well in professional reviews and I've met many happy Lodge users. On the other hand, those reviews often neglect to account for longevity. I've personally seen two Lodge dutch ovens with heavily cracked and chipped enamel after only a few years of use. If you're willing to play a bit of roulette to save a couple hundred bucks, this may be the pot for you.
A 12-inch Straight-Sided Sauté Pan
What it's good for: Unlike a skillet, a sauté pan has tall sides set at a right angle to the base, which makes for a larger bottom surface for searing, better protection against splattering, and plenty of volume. A sauté also features a tighter fitting lid, which makes it great for slow-cooked braises or in-the-oven cooking. Want to wilt a whole mess of greens? This is the pan for you.
It excels at searing or frying large batches of food, like a whole chicken's worth of parts. Reducing sauces. Braising enough food to feed four to six hungry adults. It's especially good for dishes like this braised chicken with Hatch chiles and white beans or these red wine-braised turkey legs where its wide surface area means you can fit in plenty of beans or sauce while still leaving the surface of the meat exposed, allowing it to crisp as it stews.
Which one?: All-Clad is the gold standard here with a relatively lightweight pan that still manages to pack in the power. Better design and construction helps it heat faster and more evenly while still delivering plenty of searing power.
Best Buy: The Tramontina 5-Quart Tri-Ply Clad Sauté Pan available from Wal-Mart perform nearly as well as the All-Clad at just about a third of the price. The All-clad heats faster and cooks a little more evenly, but most folks will be perfectly satisfied with the performance of this more economical option.
A Wok
What it's good for: Whether you stir-fry or not, a wok is one of the most versatile tools in the kitchen. It's by far the best vessel for deep-frying; its wide shape and large volume make it easy to fit plenty of food in there with minimal contact and oil-use, with virtually no danger of splattering the stove-top with hot oil (or worse, overflowing). You can also smoke, braise, and steam in it. (Check out Wok Skills 101 for more info.)
You may have heard elsewhere that on Western stoves, a skillet is a better stir-frying vessel. This is not true. When tasted side-by-side, a stir-fry that comes out of a cast-iron wok tastes significantly better than one that comes out of a skillet, due to its shape, material, and the manner in which heat is transferred (a wok has a much larger hot area above and around the actual cooking surface, helping to produce that familiar smoky wok-hai flavor that is impossible to achieve in a flat skillet).
The downside: A wok will not work very well on an electric or induction burner. Take note.
Which one?: To be honest, any 1 1/2- to 2 mm gauge carbon steel wok will do the job, including the $15 chinatown kitchen supply versions, but the Joyce Chen Class Series comes with a domed lid (great for protecting yourself from particularly intense frying jobs) and a wooden spatula. You can ignore the 1-star comments on Amazon complaining of rusting. So long as you follow our care and maintenance guide, your wok
should will achieve a deep black, lustrous non-stick sheen within a few uses.
A 3-quart Saucier
What it's good for: A slope-sided saucier performs all of the functions of a straight-sided saucepan, with the added advantage of rounded edges that make whisking and combining ingredients a snap. A 3-quart size is just large enough to heat up four to six servings of soup. It'll hold a couple bottles of wine for reducing, but is still a reasonable enough size that you can reduce those bottles down to a cup or two without having to switch over to a smaller pot.
If you like using the low-heat, low-water method of cooking pasta, this pot'll do for that, as well. Cook the pasta, drain it, and add your sauce directly to the pot and heat to combine, for a no-mess, no-fuss cleanup. Oh, and it's a good friend to have for boiling and poaching eggs.
Which one?: The All-Clad 3-Quart Stainless Steel Saucier Pan is ultra-sturdy with superb heat distribution and weight balance. It's got a tight fitting lid for retaining heat as well.
Best Buy: The Calphalon Tri-ply Collector's Edition 3-Quart Chef's Pan with Lid is about $100 cheaper but is a decent performer. It doesn't heat quite as evenly and has steeper sides that make looking into it a bit tougher, but with a saucier, you're stirring and shaking for most cooking tasks anyway, so it's not a huge issue. The biggest downside? A kind of dinky handle that feels like it was designed for a smaller pot.
A 10-Inch Non-Stick Skillet
What it's good for: Ok, so if your cast iron skillet is perfectly seasoned, it should be completely nonstick. But for the rest of us mortals, a non-stick coated pan is a useful tool to have on hand for guaranteed results with omelets, Spanish tortillas, frittatas, rösti and the like—things which you don't want getting stuck to the pan halfway through a precarious flipping step.
There are things you can do to maximize a non-stick skillet's lifespan—never use metal utensils, only wash it with a soft sponge, refrain from using very high heat, don't store it with other items stacked inside—but no matter how good you are at caring for them, non-stick pans are going to eventually lose their coating. Stay away from the expensive models, unless you have money to burn.
Which one?: The Anolon Advanced Anodized Nonstick Skillet is my new favorite for its extremely durable coating and fast, even-heating all-aluminum heavy-gauge construction.
A Large Stockpot
What it's good for: Every kitchen should have at least one big-ass pot for big-ass jobs. Save your chicken and meat scraps and whip this big boy out once a month to make a supply of stock (your cooking will thank you). Need to boil that whole country ham or make enough pasta sauce from fresh tomatoes to last you through the winter? You'll need a really large pot.
Large enough to cook at least 4 to 5 pounds of pasta, it'll also solve all of your crowd-feeding problems, making entertaining a snap. Unlike the enameled Dutch oven, you're never going to be searing or sautéing in your stock pot, so heat distribution and retention aren't much of a concern. Just make sure that the metal is thick enough that you won't burn whatever is resting right against the bottom surface.
Which one?: The Farberware Classic Stainless Steel Covered Stockpot is tall and narrow, so it does big jobs without taking up too much stove space. It's got a rolled rim for easier pouring (great for divvying that stock into freezer-size containers), and a tight-fitting metal lid. What more could you ask for?
Rimmed Baking Sheets and Cooling Racks
What it's good for: I use rimmed aluminum baking sheets (in the industry we call them "sheet pans," and I use half-sized pans) for the vast majority of my oven tasks, whether it's baking off a tray of cookies, crisping up a tray of potatoes or broccoli, or even roasting a whole turkey or chicken. They're lightweight, inexpensive, and durable. Just be aware: you'll want to keep a separate set of pans and racks for high temperature roasting and for baking, as the ones used for meats and vegetables tend to get a bit beat up.
Which one?: The Nordic Ware Naturals Sheet Baking Pan paired with a CIA 23304 Masters Collection Wire Cooling Rack is about the best money can buy, and it's not even much money!
A Large Casserole Dish
What it's good for: Since they're intended both for cooking and serving tableside, a good casserole dish should be both functional and attractive. A good one should be made with high quality glazed ceramic, so not only do they heat foods evenly (and more importantly, store that heat so your food stays hot while you're trying to corral the family to the table), but their smooth glaze is practically non-stick, making them simple to clean up afterward, even with gooey foods like this Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna.
Which one? The Le Creuset Stoneware looks as beautiful as it performs.
Best Buy: The Pyrex 9- by 13-inch Oblong Baking Dish might be lacking in the looks department, but it's a fine choice for casseroles if pure performance is your only concern.
About the author: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt is the Chief Creative Officer of Serious Eats where he likes to explore the science of home cooking in his weekly column The Food Lab. You can follow him at @thefoodlab on Twitter, or at The Food Lab on Facebook.
Your purchase on Amazon helps support Serious Eats.


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Shantytown Opens Students' Eyes to Homelessness
October 12th, 2011 | SMWC
If you put your food in a refrigerator, hang your clothes in a closet, lay down to sleep in a bed and wake up under a sturdy roof, then you are richer than almost 3 million Americans.
That staggering number, from the United Nations, is difficult to grasp, let alone understand, without experiencing life on the streets first-hand. On Sept. 22, 2011, students at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) experienced just that– a taste of what life is like for those who struggle to find their next meal or a dry place to sleep.
"Shantytown gave the students a better sense of empathy," said Malia Hoffman, coordinator of campus ministry at SMWC. "It helps them see that life is more different than they realize."
Hoffman organized Shantytown to awaken students to the harsh world of homelessness. The students listened to Dottye Crippen, executive director of Bethany House, a program of Catholic Charities that provides food, clothing and shelter to homeless women, children and couples. After the talk, the students were to spend the evening sleeping outside in cardboard boxes. Crippen's presentation was designed to open the students' minds, while sleeping in boxes was designed to open their hearts.
Crippen painted a realistic picture of life of the streets for women and children. They aren't just materially impoverished; they are also emotionally and mentally worn down. She expanded the students' view of homelessness, describing the lives and experiences written on those faces standing in the soup kitchen line or sleeping in a doorway.
"It really opened my eyes," said Breaha Thomas, a sophomore from Clinton, Ind., studying psychology. "It makes me so sad to know that many people have to live like this all the time, especially during cold winters and hot, miserable summers."
Due to the downpour that pounded the campus that Thursday night, Thomas was the only student to trudge outside and settle into her new cardboard home. "It was pretty nasty out there," Hoffman said. As the temperature reached a low of 51 degrees, the rain continued pelting Thomas and her flimsy shelter, sinking her further into the muggy, wet grass of the sunken gardens in front of Le Fer Hall.
"The only comfort I had was for a while there was a friendly large dog that would occasionally look into the box so I could pet her," Thomas said. "I tried my best to endure it, but in the end, I just got too cold."
Thomas ended her night in the box after about three hours of dealing with the cold and rain. However, even that brief time was enough to drive the point home.
"I feel as a future counselor, I need to understand people of all different backgrounds," Thomas explained. "This way I can relate to my clients on a personal level."
Listening to Crippen and watching Thomas tough it out left a significant impact on the other students. "It gave people a chance to really experience service learning," said Hoffman, who hopes to host another Shantytown in the spring 2012 semester. "It was a deeper opportunity for them to learn and grow."
Through participation in events like Shantytown, SMWC students deepen their responsibility to the community with generosity and stewardship. As a part of the College's mission, developing a student's compassion and integrity is as crucial to an education as math and science. For more information about SMWC's service learning opportunities, please visit www.smwc.edu/student-life/campus-life/campus-ministry.
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THE following planning applications were validated by south Bucks councils on Friday.
Wycombe District Council
49 Copes Shroves, Hazlemere, Buckinghamshire, HP15 7AH. Householder application for the construction of single storey rear extension and addition of front porch.
Little Downham, Manor Road, Hazlemere, Buckinghamshire, HP15 7QL. Householder application for construction of single storey extension, porch and fenestration alterations to front. Erection of detached double garage with store, associated external alterations and erection of 2 x outbuildings to rear garden.
2 Hillside Cottages, Marlow Road, Lane End, Buckinghamshire, HP14 3JW. Householder application for construction of two storey side extension.
6 Henley Road, Marlow, Buckinghamshire, SL7 2DA. T1 Eucalyptus - Remove to source x 4 lowest laterals on larger limb growing over garden, reduce section of crown overhanging neighbours gardens by 15% approx (1.8m approx) of apical and lateral growth to suitable growth points and remove dead wood over 2cm in diameter.
Kingswood Surgery, Hollis Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP13 7UN. Installation of 3 x air conditioning units on south east elevation (retrospective).
1 Victoria Gardens, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP11 1SY. Reduce crown height and width of Ash by approximately 2 - 2.5 metres (approximately 30% crown reduction) to previous pruning points.
Cadsden House, Cadsden Road, Cadsden, Buckinghamshire, HP27 0NB. Householder application for construction of single storey rear extension.
South Bucks District Council
Clarendon House, 20-22 Aylesbury End, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, HP9 1LW. Listed Building application for: Change of use to beauty salon/training centre.
Merlins, 9 Butlers Court Road, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, HP9 1SF. Alterations to front porch, single storey rear extension incorporating roof lanterns, additional window to first floor side elevation.
No applications were validated by Chiltern District Council.


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Write a program that calculates the equation of a straight line that best fits a given set of data points.
Inputs:n number of data points {xi,yi}, where i = 1, 2,…, n.
Outputs:The equation of the straight line that best fits to the given set of data points:
where a is the slope of the line, and b is the intercept. The square of the correlation coefficient, r2.
Hint: Use simple linear regression.


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I admit: at first, when I saw pictures of Michelle Obama at last night's state dinner in her Alexander McQueen dress, I got excited. It marked her second english designer outfit in as many days during Hu Jintao's state visit (she wore Roksanda Ilincic for their arrival), and seemed to suggest an end to the conventional use of dress in such occasions, which says the First Lady has to either fly the national flag and wear a local designer, or, if she wants to be rebellious, only go so far as to wear a designer from the country of her guest (ie, Naeem Khan to the India state dinner).
© The Financial Times Ltd 2016 FT and 'Financial Times' are trademarks of The Financial Times Ltd.


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Kenny and Zuke's Delicatessan
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Forktown Tour of Portland
I'm a foodie at heart and cities like Portland really bring it out in me. Portland is the best city in the Northwest from urban sustainability to farm-to-table dishes. What is so amazing about their food scene? The Missoula Floods brought…


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Romney looks for votes and Santorum for money as they jockey for advantage in primaries
MESA, Ariz. (AP) -- A bitter and often personal debate behind them, Republicans Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney are shoring up their campaigns in different ways ahead of a series of crucial presidential primaries.
Romney is paying the most attention to Michigan, his birthplace and the site of an unexpectedly tight race with Santorum, by attending a tea party rally Thursday night in an effort to get more conservative support. He has campaigned confidently in Arizona, so much so that he has not aired any television ads in the state.
Santorum, meanwhile, is focusing for the moment on raising money for his cash-strapped operation. He is hoping for an upset in Michigan, which would cap a rebound that began two weeks ago when he won caucuses in Minnesota and Colorado and a nonbinding primary in Missouri.
The 20th debate of the primary season offered the GOP hopefuls their final face-to-face outing on a national stage before contests over the next 12 days that may well winnow the field. Arizona and Michigan host primaries Tuesday, followed by caucuses in Washington four days later. Ten states will cast ballots on Super Tuesday, March 6.
Polls show Santorum leading the field nationally and in several states. Romney and rivals Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich used the nationally televised forum Wednesday night to challenge Santorum, who repeatedly found himself in the hot seat over his record on spending, home-state projects known as earmarks, and support for a federal education law.
Obama to address rising gasoline prices in Florida, pitch his multiple-source energy policy
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is confronting Americans' anxiety over rising gasoline prices by drawing attention to his energy policies and taking credit for rising oil and gas production, a greater mix of energy sources and decreased consumption.
Obama is heading to Florida on Thursday to promote an energy strategy that the administration says will reduce dependence on foreign oil in the long term. But Obama's pitch will also have a subtext: that the federal government can do little to halt the current rise in gasoline prices.
Obama will speak at the University of Miami and tour the school's Industrial Assessment Center, which trains students as industrial energy-efficiency experts. The program is one of 24 across the country.
White House advisers believe Obama needs to address the recent spike in gasoline prices, even though they see it as a cyclical occurrence. The current $3.58 per gallon is the highest price at the pump ever for this time of year.
Obama aides worry that the rise in prices could reverse the country's economic gains and the president's improved political standing. A new Associated Press-GfK poll shows that though Obama's approval rating on the economy has climbed, 58 percent disapprove of what he's doing on gas prices.
Militant attacks in Iraq spread across 12 cities in a few hours, killing 50 people
BAGHDAD (AP) -- A rapid series of attacks spread over a wide swath of Iraqi territory killed at least 50 people on Thursday, targeting mostly security forces in what appeared to be another strike by al-Qaida militants bent on destabilizing the country.
The apparently coordinated bombings and shootings unfolded over four hours in the capital Baghdad -- where most of the deaths were -- and 11 other cities. They struck government offices, restaurants and one in the town of Musayyib hit close to a primary school. At least 225 people were wounded.
"What is happening today are not simple security violations -- it is a huge security failure and disaster," said Ahmed al-Tamimi, who was working at an Education Ministry office a block away from a restaurant that was bombed in the Shiite neighborhood of Kazimiyah in northern Baghdad. He described a hellish scene of human flesh and pools of blood at the restaurant.
"We want to know: What were the thousands of policemen and soldiers in Baghdad doing today while the terrorists were roaming the city and spreading violence?" al-Tamimi said.
Two government spokesmen declined immediate comment.
FACT CHECK: 20th GOP debate was a trip down memory lane, featuring familiar factual stretches
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Twenty Republican presidential debates later, the head-scratching claims kept coming.
Did Mitt Romney really cut taxes as Massachusetts governor, as he asserted yet again? Or did he raise them by hundreds of millions of dollars, as former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum alleged? And how could Newt Gingrich have given the nation four balanced budgets when he was only in Congress for two of them?
There was something old, something new in the misstatements of the candidates Wednesday in what was possibly the last GOP debate.
A look at some of the claims and how they compare with the facts:
Obama administration seeks online privacy protections with voluntary but enforceable rules
NEW YORK (AP) -- The Obama administration is calling for stronger privacy protections for consumers as mobile gadgets, Internet services and other tools are able to do a better job of tracking what you do and where you go.
Administration officials outlined a proposed "Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights" on Thursday and urged technology companies, consumer groups and others to jointly craft new protections. Such guidelines would initially be voluntary for companies, but those that agree to abide by them could be subject to sanctions for any violations.
"As the Internet evolves, consumer trust is essential for the continued growth of the digital economy," President Barack Obama said in a statement. "That's why an online privacy Bill of Rights is so important. For businesses to succeed online, consumers must feel secure."
The effort comes as companies have found more sophisticated ways to collect and combine data on your interests and habits. Beginning next week, for instance, Google will start merging data it collects from email, video, social-networking and other services when you're signed in with a Google account.
The growing use of smartphones and tablet computers adds another dimension to the tracking. Location information can give service providers insights into where you spend your time and, if you have friends who use the same services, whom you tend to hang out with in person.
Newark mayor calls for probe of NYPD spying on Muslims; calls report 'deeply offensive'
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- The mayor of New Jersey's largest city called for state authorities Wednesday to investigate a widespread spying operation conducted in Newark's Muslim neighborhoods by the New York Police Department that he characterized as "deeply offensive."
At about the same time Newark Mayor Cory Booker made his remarks, Gov. Chris Christie, once New Jersey's top federal law enforcement official, called the surveillance "disturbing" and said Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa was already looking into the reports.
In mid-2007, the NYPD's secretive Demographics Unit fanned out across Newark, photographing every mosque and eavesdropping in Muslim businesses. The findings were cataloged in a 60-page report, obtained by The Associated Press, that served as a police guidebook to Newark's Muslims. There was no mention of terrorism or any criminal wrongdoing.
Officials reacted strongly on Wednesday. Booker and Newark's current and former police directors said they were misled by the NYPD, which they said asked a limited number of questions but didn't hint at the depth or breadth of the planned investigation.
"If anyone in my police department had known this was a blanket investigation of individuals based on nothing but their religion, that strikes at the core of our beliefs and my beliefs very personally, and it would have merited a far sterner response," Booker told The AP.
Stepmother, grandmother charged in death of Ala. girl forced to run 3 hours as punishment
ATTALLA, Ala. (AP) -- Roger Simpson said he looked down the road and saw a little girl running outside her home but didn't give it another thought. Police, however, said the man witnessed a murder in progress.
Authorities say 9-year-old Savannah Hardin died after being forced to run for three hours as punishment for having lied to her grandmother about eating candy bars. Severely dehydrated, the girl had a seizure and died days later. Now, her grandmother and stepmother who police say meted out the punishment were taken to jail Wednesday and face murder charges.
Witnesses told deputies Savannah was told to run and not allowed to stop for three hours on Friday, an Etowah County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman said. The girl's stepmother, 27-year-old Jessica Mae Hardin, called police at 6:45 p.m., telling them Savannah was having a seizure and was unresponsive.
Simpson said he saw a little girl running at around 4 p.m., but didn't see anybody chasing or coercing her.
"I saw her running down there, that's what I told the detectives," Simpson said from his home on a hill overlooking the Hardins. "But I don't see how that would kill her."
Spin doctors needed: Forecasting tornado season severity not quite possible yet, say experts
WASHINGTON (AP) -- With the month of March looming, tornado chasers are already watching the Southeast as a nasty storm brews with the potential to spin off a batch of tornadoes.
But if funnel clouds develop Thursday or Friday as some forecasters believe, they won't be the first. This tornado season got an early and deadly start in late January when two people were killed by separate twisters in Alabama. Preliminary reports showed 95 tornadoes struck last month, compared with 16 in January during a particularly stormy 2011.
The season usually starts in March and then ramps up for the next couple of months, but forecasting these storm seasons is even more imprecise than predicting hurricane seasons. Tornadoes are too small and too short-lived for scientists to make seasonal predictions. They don't develop like blizzards and hurricanes, which are easier to project.
They pop in and pop out. The storms that give them birth may last only a few hours. Hurricanes and blizzards are lumbering beasts that spend days moving across the satellite maps. When a hurricane approaches, coastlines get days warning to evacuate. With a tornado, if the weather service can let people know 20 minutes in advance, it's considered a victory.
"The Joplin (Mo.) tornado (that killed 158 people last May) wasn't violent until just about the time it got to the hospital," said Harold Brooks, a research scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Severe Storms Laboratory, in Norman, Okla. "Even when you're in the field, there are still times when you're surprised by the intensity of the event and how quickly it started."
Holy orders: Ohio church includes drive-thru blessing among annual Ash Wednesday services
CINCINNATI (AP) -- An Ohio church is offering a drive-thru Ash Wednesday blessing for parishioners pressed for time or reluctant to come inside the church for the Lenten observance.
The Rev. Patricia Anderson Cook of Mt. Healthy United Methodist Church in suburban Cincinnati offered the ashes Wednesday evening for people of all faiths beginning around 5 p.m. in the church parking lot. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Christian season of Lent, which concludes after 40 days with the celebration of Easter, and the faithful traditionally have a smudged cross drawn on their forehead.
Bridget Spitler, the church's secretary and building manager, said the church had received a lot of positive feedback for offering the drive-thru ashes.
"Some people may not be too comfortable coming in for a serious service," she said, adding that people with severe arthritis or other ailments that make attending the service uncomfortable also appreciate the drive-thru opportunity.
The pastor will provide a church brochure and a Lenten booklet, and the church offers a traditional Ash Wednesday service inside at 7 p.m.
Lin, Knicks rout Hawks 99-82 before visiting Heat on Thursday
NEW YORK (AP) -- Not much heat from the Hawks for Jeremy Lin and the New York Knicks.
That's likely to change Thursday night when the show travels to Miami for Lin versus LeBron and some real Heat.
Lin had 17 points and nine assists, sitting out most of the fourth quarter in a rare easy game during his remarkable run, and the Knicks tuned up for their trip by beating Atlanta 99-82 on Wednesday.
Carmelo Anthony scored 15 points in his second game back from injury for the Knicks, who led the depleted Hawks by 25 points at halftime. New York bounced back from a loss to New Jersey on Monday and won for the ninth time in 11 games since Lin joined the rotation.
The Knicks visit Miami on Thursday in their final game before the All-Star break, and Lin's emergence has the Heat's attention.


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Kilohana Estate, Kauai
Kilohana Estate
- Name: Kilohana Estate
- What: Historic plantation estate
- Where: Lihue on Kaumualii Highway
Past Lihue and headed toward the Kauai Community College campus is Kilohana, a restored plantation estate that provides a glimpse of life in the 1930s. The site of a 16,000 square-foot Tudor mansion that was home to one of the island's most prominent families, Kilohana is now a picturesque venue for tours, gatherings and a theatrical luau.
Manicured green lawns surround the estate, which now features Gaylord's restaurant and a number of unique shops like the Koloa Rum Company. Once the center of a 27,000-acre sugar plantation and the hub of Kauai business, cultural and social life, the 35-acre estate now features tropical gardens and an old plantation village. Classic Kauai Plantation Railway gives you a tour of Kilohana's working farm, and the festive Luau Kalamaku is held regularly. Banquet facilities also make this a perfect venue for weddings, receptions and special events.


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HP Takes on Apple with the New Voodooby Anand Lal Shimpi on 6/11/2008 12:00 AM EST
- Posted in
- Systems
56 Comments
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shady28 - Tuesday, June 17, 2008 - linkA mac it isn't.
The biggest problem I find from companies like HP is all the crapware that they load on their machines.
This touchsmart software is destined to become more crapware. How many times have you seen some interesting somewhat useful proprietary software that a hardware manufacturer like HP loads onto a computer become garbage that needs to be removed within a year or so?
They have a real neat software package that works on this one computer. In 1 - 2 years, it'll be unsupported garbage. At some point, MS will do something to break it and whatever time / effort the user put into learning and using it will be wasted.
The fundamental difference here between Apple and HP is that Apple makes the OS AND the hardware. When they roll something out, it's supported within the OS for a long long time - it is not destined to become crapware. Witness iMovie, iPhoto, GarageBand. I've seen plenty of PCs with 'equivalent' software pre-loaded, but ultimately it becomes crapware because they have no intention of using it to do anything but sell that particular season's PC models. Incompatibilities arise, and it becomes buggy and unreliable.
Then there is the 'crippleware' that's often included - unsupported scaled down 3rd party software. Want to get it supported and make sure it keeps working with each new MS patch? Get out your wallet. Hundreds of dollars for software if you want to get all the full versions buddy.
What's killing MS and these PC makers isn't Windows itself, its the model that Apple has where the hardware / software is all integrated, supported, and tested by a single company that they can't beat. Reply
joey2264 - Friday, June 13, 2008 - linkThe bias is dripping! I expect that from MSM like NYT or Washington Post, but this is Anandtech. If I see another article so unbelievably biased against Windows and towards Apple, I will remove my bookmark from this site and not visit here unless directed by a source like Engadget. I suspect I won't be alone. Reply
michael2k - Friday, June 13, 2008 - linkWhat is the problem? Windows has 90% of the market-is there some reason you are so affronted when #2 makes better products?
Do you think AMD shouldn't get good press for it's innovations? How about the XBox 360 or the Zune? Reply
eraigames - Friday, June 13, 2008 - linkMy friend succumbed to the Apple hype and bought one of their laptops because it was so small and cute. I had brought over my Dell laptop which despite its faults cost half what my friend's mac did, performs better and has more usb ports. While using his laptop he kept complaining about what a pain in the ass it was to use the mac OS. Despite Apple's minor advances by switching to Intel, their hardware is still proprietary, slower than the competition and overly expensive but their greatest fault is their horrible software. Sure the mac OS has some visual fluff but it is just that: fluff. Has anybody actually tried zipping around the mac OS and multitasking? Impossible. Despite the fact that computers are tools to be used, macs are obviously not designed with the user in mind. Apple products have always been and continue to be about one thing only: fashion. What was it that sold all those ipods? Was it because they were such wonderfuls piece of engineering? NO, it was because of all those silhouette ads that branded the ipod as a trendy fashion statement. Anyone who's ever used an ipod knows what a pain that stupid circle button is and how tedious scrolling through long lists can be. -Never mind the horror that is itunes… The new Ipod Touch is a step in the right direction but even then most people only bought it because it's cute and it looks like the new iphone they wish they had. Reply
Mogget - Friday, June 13, 2008 - linkYou quite clearly haven't the faintest clue what you're talking about. Take this (out of any sentence -- I commend you for being so consistently wrong):
Has anybody actually tried zipping around the mac OS and multitasking? Impossible.
This is beneath even sarcasm. Multitasking on OSX is ludicrously easy. Spaces (http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/spaces.html)">http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/spaces.html) makes having many apps open at once simple to manage, and swtching between them takes no time at all. Please refrain from making sweeping statements based on you incompetence with (and no doubt minimal exposure to) the OS in question.
There are plenty of valid reasons for critcising Apple, so please use them instead of spouting garbage. Reply
wvh - Thursday, June 12, 2008 - link
My girlfriend bought a portable recently. She's not a "technical" computer user, unlike me. She just didn't want anything with Microsoft Windows on it. There is no way of getting a laptop in Europe from any major manufacturer that doesn't come with Windows. It's bloody disgusting. The one alternative option we could find, was a bit too geek oriented.
So she spent a bit more than she was planning for and bought a MacBook Pro... Just because it wasn't Microsoft.
I've never tried Windows Vista, but especially on laptops and small form factor devices, there are much better options. The biggest issue that was holding back Linux was support from hardware manufacturers. If manufacturers start designing their system and hardware with Linux in mind, just like Apple does, Microsoft will get a serious beating. If you need to buy a new computer just because of the operating system, there's something wrong.
I can't wait for Microsoft to loose its stranglehold on the industry. Reply
sprockkets - Thursday, June 12, 2008 - linkLet apple open up the OS to other manufacturers, and see what the first step they would do. It is easy: they will undercut Apple on price every time. Then they will offer machines that are plain clones, offer off shore support, since the machines are so cheap.
Now, what do you think will happen? If people really like OSX, then they will buy it cheap on other machines. Then apple will be forced to go cheap and skimp on their support and design. Hell, maybe they will be pressed to stop advertising their products on 4 different times and channels a day (the mac book air commercial aired each day during The Daily Show).
Obviously, Apple does not want their crap being sold as a commodity. They want the supply to be small. While keeping complete control over the hardware and software is a valid reason, it isn't the only one.
And that is what happened to the pc market at the turn of the century. Everyone stopped offering a pc with distinctive features and designs, and started making the same old computer.
And why? One reason could be that emachines with their "What the hell? A $400 PC? Wow I'll buy!" forced everyone to go cheap. Of course, everyone who bought one found out you got what you paid for.
tbcpp - Thursday, June 12, 2008 - linkBut under all the fluff, it's still MS Vista crap. A turd with whipped cream on it doesn't make it any more palatable. Reply
AssBall - Thursday, June 12, 2008 - linkI beg to differ. It slides right down with less fuss, and tastes better. Reply
Focher - Thursday, June 12, 2008 - linkWhy do I often sense that those who launch into anti-Apple diatribes actually have no direct experience with their products? They hang their opinions on false premises like "Apple products cost more" which is patently untrue. Take a comparably equipped Apple computer and compare it to any other major vendor and you get only minor price differences.
If you don't want to buy a particular brand or product, that's fine. If you don't feel that you get the value from a particular brand or product versus another, fine. But do us a favor and if you've never used the product just spare us the opinion.
I use XP, Vista, various flavors of Linux, and OS X on a regular basis. Vista is, as MS's latest offering of cutting edge, a pathetic OS. Yeah, it works ok but it's practically the first major OS MS has released that is not even somewhat better than its last one. It provides nothing new of significant benefit to a user while forcing a user to endure layers upon layer of bad architecture and user interface design. To claim that MS's OS offering is not a fundamental cause of the lack of interest in PCs seems a silly proposition. After all, Apple's sales are doing quite well. What's the difference between the two markets? Reply
BikeDude - Thursday, June 12, 2008 - link[quote]provides nothing new of significant benefit to a user while forcing a user to endure layers upon layer of bad architecture and user interface design.[/quote]
Is this provided as an example of an ignorant opinion, or do you have anything to back up your statement?
FWIW: I spend most of my keyboard time on a MacBook Pro, running Vista64. Best of both worlds as far as I am concerned.
Sure, Vista64 has "problems" running some crappy antivirus products, but that's due to proper OS design. MS finally had the balls to tighten an old security hole now that there was no point in being backward compatible with old drivers (because old 32-bit drivers won't work anyway).
Apart from that I haven't noticed much issues with Vista. I've disabled services I don't need or want, just like I did with Windows XP and 2003 (2003 Server was noticably easier in that regard though -- less stuff running by default).
Oh, I've had driver issues like everybody else, but that is hardly MS' fault. It is not as if Vista shipped ahead of schedule and surprised all the OEMs. Creative Labs et al had _plenty_ of time to get prepared, but instead chose to stick their head up their ass instead. Reply
MalodorousYeti - Thursday, June 12, 2008 - linkErr, I'm going to have to politely disagree with your "minor price differences" comment.
I've recently been shopping for a notebook to take to college with me and replace my desktop, and I was very keen on the MacBook Pro. I mean, its stylish elegance and great features makes it a perfect candidate, not to mention that it comes with Leopard, which is a very fine OS.
I configured the MBP in the Apple Store for Education so I could receive the hefty $200 discount. The total for my base-level MBP was still $1800, which was, sadly, too much seeing as how I had a $1500 budget to work with.
I began to look for other premium laptop models and wandered across the Dell XPS m1530. I like the way it looks, too: the notebook is stylish, but in a different way than the Macbook Pro. I configured the m1530 with the same exact specs as the MBP had, LED screen and all., and the total came to $1600 without any discounts. $200 may not seem like much, but as a student who will be attending full-time at college and paying for it, I think it's a lot.
To add to the price gap between the two, I used a 25% off coupon and effectively lowered the XPS's price to $1200, literally 2/3 the price of the "comparably equipped" MacBook. That's when I stopped considering the Mac altogether. Still, it was the more stylish of the two (but $600 for style is a little steep, and though the Envy 133 is probably the most beautiful ultraportable I've ever seen, I wouldn't shell out 2 grand for sexy).
Anyways, that's just my two cents. Reply
batu - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - linklooks nice. i cant understand the choice of font for the keyboard though. the X, H and K keys look virtually identical.
a ps regarding HP keyboards:
I wonder if HP will continue to burden the majority of their Canadian customers by only offering bilingual french keyboards for most of their laptop line...i refuse to buy HP laptops with keyboards designed for french. the enter and shift keys are moved and made smaller and the keys are also made busy and harder to read with accent markings. Why doesn't HP do the same to the USA, where a far greater percentage of the population also use accent keys? Reply
Barack Obama - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - linkThat laptop looks so good! So expensive but:( Reply
yyrkoon - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - link"If you talk to any of the major PC OEMs off the record about Microsoft you'll get the same response: they are frustrated. They are frustrated that the Vista launch went the way it did, they are frustrated with Microsoft's lack of action in addressing major issues that exist today and they are frustrated that the most innovative player in the PC space right now happens to be Apple."
I can not say I agree with 'Apple is the most innovative player in the PC space right now". Anyone can make ultra portable PC fit in a tissue box using laptop hardware, or an OS run seemingly very well on a very limited hardware selection. HOWEVER, since Microsoft is not the only player in the 'reverse' side of this statement, they are not the only one to blame, and finger pointing just makes the 'pointer' look stupid.
While I will concede that the Vista launch *could* have gone better, you have to admit that a good portion of that probably had to do with user error. The 'Vista Ready' fiasco with certain laptops etc could have easily been avoided if the two parties involved had stronger communications between each other, or *if* a certain *cough* company *cough* did not try and bully Microsoft into lowering their driver certifications for AERO, forcing Microsoft to take the media coverage heat. But hey . ..we all know everything is Microsofts fault, even if we're too lazy to get off our butts and do something about it.
Anyhow, I would have to say that Microsoft has been at least as innovative as Apple, and probably far surpassing Apple where software is concerned. That while supporting a vastly larger list of hardware components on their OS. That said Microsoft is far from perfect, and neither is Windows, but you name me an OS that is perfect, and I'll try to keep from laughing . . . Reply
michael2k - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - linkIf it is so easy to make a proprietary system explain the lack of success for the XBox or the reliability issues for the XBox 360?
Microsoft has a pervasive culture that lacks quality and perfectionism.
If anybody could make a ultraportable PC fit in a tissue box... why didn't they until after Apple released the Mac mini? Or the MacBook Air? Prior to the mini, there were only Shuttle sized cases (which, come to think of it, were only released after Apple made the G4 Cube!)
It's hard to call Microsoft innovative: Zune after the success of the iPod, XBox after the success of the PS2, Live after the success of Google, Marketplace after the success of iTunes Store, etc.
On the software side, all they have is Windows, IE, Office, MS-SQL, and devtools. Apple at least has OS X, iWork, iLife, Aperture, Final Cut Studio, .Mac/MobileMe, XCode, and Safari. Reply
yyrkoon - Thursday, June 12, 2008 - linkYou sir need to pull your head out of that Mac of yours, and take a good long whiff of reality.
By the way, Creative made an MP3 player FOR THE PC long before Apple had a clue of what may be the iPOD, and this was not even the first 'DAP' made. The first DAP was made in 1997, a full 4 years before the ipod made it to market. Guess what, the software was written for Windows 9x.
MSN was created in august 1995 LONG before google, or the iTunes store."Microsoft Network" in case you're confused.
mini ITX was conceived on or just before march 2001, the first motherboard was pushed out by VIA in april of 2002. the Mac Mini G4 was announced January 11 2005 . . .
OSX has it's root heavily tied in BSD.
Starting to see a trend here ?
At some point, I think it is safe to say that very few in the market today are truly original, but Microsoft has shaped the future a bit, and what has Apple done ? They've ported their OS to x86 hardware . . . Reply
michael2k - Thursday, June 12, 2008 - linkI never said Apple invented the MP3 market, so bringing Creative into the conversation is irrelevant.
MSN, in 1995, was also just a portal and service provider(just like AOL) and cannot be compared to either Google or iTunes store: Google was a search engine in 1998 while MSN search was unveiled in 1999. iTunes store was first iTunes music store in 2003, while the MSN Music site didn't go live until 2004.
If miniITX was available until 2002, the Apple G4 Cube was on sale in 2000.
So what is your point? My point is this: Microsoft is not innovative, but derivative (copying, in other words). Apple IS innovative, and derivative (inventing and copying). Reply
ElFindo - Thursday, June 12, 2008 - linkLets make a quick list:
1) "Google was a search engine in 1998 while MSN search was unveiled in 1999"
Quickly scrolling through the article will reveal:
"MSN Search first launched in the fall of 1998".
2) "iTunes store was first iTunes music store in 2003" (assuming you meant first online store)
"In 2000 Sony... available for sale on the internet... pricing of US$3.50 per song track".
3) "the Apple G4 Cube was on sale in 2000"
"The NeXT Computer and NeXTcube were high-end workstation computers developed, manufactured and sold by NeXT from 1988 until 1993."
"packaged in a 1-foot (305 mm) die-cast magnesium cube-shaped case"
Now I'm not saying Microsoft is better, but your argument is fundamentally flawed. Apple =/= innovative with the references provided, not saying they aren't in perhaps other areas. Reply
michael2k - Thursday, June 12, 2008 - linkYour link betrays you: MSN Search was powered by Inktomi, Looksmart, and AltaVista. I got my dates mixed up but you got your facts wrong. MSN Search was not MS powered until their first beta in 2004, which means Google was out in 1998 and MSN Search wasn't a search engine until 2004!
You also bring in Sony for what reason, exactly? Never in my posts did I say Apple invented the music store; I only said that Microsoft copied it after Apple did it (and additionally, Apple made it successful AND profitable).
Finally the NeXT Cube was the inspiration for the G4 Cube. Do you know why? Steve Jobs was CEO of both NeXT and Apple when both designs were unveiled. So if you really want to pick nits, the point was that Apple made the first small desktop computer, the G4 Cube, that was copied by others such as Shuttle. The G4 Cube itself is a logical successor to the NeXT Cube, since Apple bought NeXT in 1996.
The Via mini ITX was a great contribution to small computers, in 2002, only hobbled by the processors available. Again, what is your point? That Apple doesn't innovate? Or that I am wrong?
Apple's innovations in this discussion:
G4 Cube as a small desktop (after the NeXT Cube)
Mac mini as a small desktop (after the G4 Cube) The Via mini ITX was only for DIY kits
iTunes store for low prices ($1 a song) and liberal rights (unlimited iPods, 5 to 7 PCs, burn to CD)
MacBook Air as a powerful small laptop (1.8GHz CPU, lowest price)
ElFindo - Thursday, June 12, 2008 - linkSorry for the double post, however I forgot to mention:
Even if Microsoft wasn't a true search engine independant from others until 2004 (which doesn't mean I got my facts wrong as I never called it a search engine, I referred to it as MSN Search) it simply doesn't matter as not even Google was the very first search engine. Surpisingly, I'm sure, they copied others.
Why is Microsoft non innovative then if others everywhere do it too? Reply
michael2k - Thursday, June 12, 2008 - linkBecause Microsoft fails after copying something else. Live Search is ranked behind Google and Yahoo, XBox 360 is behind the Wii and Xbox is behind the PS2, Zune is behind the iPod.
In a similar vein, Mac marketshare is clearly below 10%, yet at the same time in the field of industrial design (compared to HP, Dell, Compaq, etc), they are clearly innovating with designs such as the Mac mini, G4 Cube, MacBook Air, etc.
So when Microsoft is first AND successful, or second and MORE successful, I can give them credit. They obviously deserve credit for DOS, Windows 95, and Windows XP, but their other recent endeavors?
Live Search, UltimateTV, Zune, XBox, XBox 360, Zune Marketplace, URGE, PlaysForSure, and Zune-2?
Their only recent successes seem to be XBox Arcade, Surface, and Sync. Reply
ElFindo - Thursday, June 12, 2008 - linkThe point is, and why Sony was brought up, is that innovate is to produce something new, and Apple is clearly doing the exact same things you're accusing Microsoft of. Although you seem willing to turn a blind eye to that. People copy because of competition, yet you seem to want to portray Apple as making all these wonderful ideas that everyone is wrongly 'stealing' when its quite clear that, like their peers in the industry, they do the same thing. Basically, stop preaching and look at both sides for just a little longer than what it takes to snub the other side off as inferior. Reply
michael2k - Thursday, June 12, 2008 - linkNo, the difference between what Apple is doing and what Microsoft is doing is that Apple is succeeding.
If Microsoft released the MSTV that was 10x better than the AppleTV due to MS innovations, that would be "cleary doing the exact same thing."
You must have your own agenda and bias; I've never mentioned stealing, I only used the word innovation and derivation. If I "snub the other side off as inferior" it is because it is more derivative than innovative. Reply
ElFindo - Thursday, June 12, 2008 - link"If Microsoft released the MSTV that was 10x better than the AppleTV due to MS innovations, that would be "cleary doing the exact same thing."
This makes little to no sense and has very little to do with my statements to this point. I pointed out Apple has done its fair share of creating competition in areas pioneered by others and its not a Microsoft specific pracice.
I've not once mentioned a bias towards either of these companies and at times have shown support for both sides. Any percieved bias would simply be towards anti-beligerance. And most of your points have referenced a perceived Apple 'innovative' product followed by a rip off or 'derivative'. Most of my points have shown the precursor to the 'innovative' Apple product mentioned. Reply
WeaselITB - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - linkOn the software side, all they have is Windows, IE, Office, MS-SQL, and devtools. Apple at least has OS X, iWork, iLife, Aperture, Final Cut Studio, .Mac/MobileMe, XCode, and Safari.
Wow ... just, wow. If that's all the software you can think of when you hear "Microsoft" ...
-Weasel Reply
pauldovi - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - linkBoth this and the Mac Book Air are toys compared to the Lenovo X300. Why is that not mentioned. Reply
michael2k - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - linkBecause the X300 has a slower CPU and is more expensive? Reply
DiRRRtyFlip - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - linkBenn a lurker for quite a long time but I just had to pipe in on this.
Wow, didn't *I* predict this...
Dunno why Voodoo is taking on Apple, I guess they can't sell their overpriced gaming rigs LIKE THEY USE TOO. Oh wait, they STILL do... though I don't think they're selling as many units as they use to. ;)
"The Voodoo brand will stop servicing gamers specifically and turn into much more of a lifestyle brand."
Abandoning gamers that bought their 'gaming' PCs in the past, those same gamers who made them who they are are now below them - now they're a lifestyle brand.
Marking up an UGLY Mac Air Clone with a "carbon-fiber chassis" that umm... can't play games (due to on craptastic onboard Intel video) AND badge it with a Voodoo logo, price it accordingly at $2,099 and then call it one? They're sure are REACHING these days. Reply
feelingshorter - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - linkI started typing some anti-apple stuff and i decided to delete the message and say that I've given up. Its impossible to get through to some.
But I would like to mention that you haven't even read the article or must have lost your attention span half way through. It does not say the laptop is a gaming laptop, and even says its quite the opposite. I'm sorry but that laptop is priced exactly like the MacBook Air and beats it in every aspect from looks to features. Even before the Envy 133, there are lenovo notebooks out there that really beats the macbook air in features/weight/battery life. Compare the 3000 dollar macbook air and the x300 from lenovo and you'd realize that Steve Jobs is just selling you a whiff of his fart. And your sniffing it up thinking its the best perfume you ever smelled without looking further.
Why isn't there a rating system on these comments as compared to comments on daily tech? Reply
araczynski - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - linkits looking like these voodoos are also trying to imitate apple in their higher pricing.
no thanks, they can both keep their fancy schmancy designs. joe schmoe wants an affordable computer first and foremost, not a fancy paint job or case that'll just end up getting scratched to all hell anyway within a few months.
michael2k - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - linkJoe Schmoe definitely wants the fancy paintjob and case, but since he can't afford it he will settle for the affordable computer.
Every Joe wants a fast, fancy car, a stunning wife, a Rolex or Omega watch, and a shiny gadget.
Most of the time Joe just can't afford any of it. Reply
Mr Perfect - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - link"The Voodoo brand will stop servicing gamers specifically and turn into much more of a lifestyle brand."
A lifestyle brand? So their premium gaming PC line will be reduced to a fashion statement? Words fail me... Reply
Inkjammer - Thursday, June 12, 2008 - linkExactly what happened to the XPS line. XPS used to be awesome gaming systems, now they're just flashy, expensive laptops... Reply
Bobattack - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - linkIt is amazing that after all these years, with all the various kinds of iMacs and Powerbooks and PowerMacs - that the big PC companies can't figure it out.
Many years ago there was a site trying to make something different, but nothing came of it. Check it out, it still looks like a neat idea:
Its old, but what is out there like that?
dysonlu - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - linkIn the past, PC companies strived because people just wanted a computer. The computer, whatever computer, was fascinating in itself and they just wanted one. That's why those PC clone boutiques that appeared like muchrooms in your neighborhood were a sustainable business.
Then, the computer became a commodity -- every family has one, or two, or three. The market has changed. The average population now want more than just a computer -- they want a trendy, cool and fashionable machine. They want something that distinguishes itself from the crowd of typical PC clones. People are more discriminating in terms of styling.
Apple, with the iPod success and effective marketing, was able to capture these average joe's attention and imagination, the average joe who's cares more about form than function. I'm not claiming that Apple computers offer more form than function; just that the majority of people wanting an Apple computer are motivated by form rather than by function.
Now those PC companies need to do catch up. The Apple brand is firmly engraved in the public's conscious as the stylish and cool computer brand, thanks to the iPod and the huge marketing machine (everyone in movies and TV shows uses a Mac). It will be tough for the PC companies exorcise the public out of this spell. Reply
Bobattack - Thursday, June 12, 2008 - linkIn the OLD days of computers - Many of the NON PC-Clones were about syle - including the IBM PS/1 & PS/2 which we kind of see today with Lenovo's (Ex-IBM) ThinkCenter designs. But yes, I understand the Clones were about commodity - without the Clones, the PC and Microsoft would not have survived in the form they are now. Remember, until Windows95 - Only Amiga and Macs had a top-notch usable GUI with a 10year head start.
Look at the Amiga 1000, Amiga 3000, Atari ST, Atari TT, Mac II, Commodore 128 & 128D.
I build my own PCs of course, using higher end $100+ cases because I don't want some generic looking $30 Dell/HP little case.
PS: I couldn't past a working link last time, I don't think I did it wrong, perhaps it disabled? Reply
ltcommanderdata - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - linkI wonder if they'll end up having reliability issues with putting a wireless access point in the power brick? I know my power brick can get pretty hot when I'm using my notebook heavily while charging. My router gets pretty hot too, and while a access point is no doubt cooler, it's also serving as a bridge to the ethernet port too, not just being an end user. It's an interesting idea though. Reply
hamiltonguy - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - linkcripes gimme a break with the "it's all Microsoft's fault crap" The OS is not the reason why dell and HP are having a hard time selling pc's. Vista is a fine OS that yes has some quirks but works quite well. I have been using Vista as my primary OS for over a year and it is fine, even better with SP1.
you want to know why Dell and HP are losing Marketshare
1. Boring designs, thick and hot - not sexy at all.
2. LOADED with CRAPLET's - HP is the worst at this. I refuse to recommend HP to any family member as it's always a huge chore to uninstall all the crapware.
3. BRUTAL Support - There is no one worse than Dell Support. Web sucks, buit-in task pane support too sucks, 1800 support is friggin brutal. HP is not much better
4. 0.0000 inovation, what the hell do these guys bring to the table that set's them apart. Where are the cool hardware features, where are the cool free software tools. - ONLINE BACKUP is not cool.
HP seems to be moving in the right direction with this voodoo line and the TouchSmart 2, but they still have a long way to go.
Dell - Now that HP have caught you in the price department, you guys are screwed.
gochichi - Friday, June 13, 2008 - linkYou know, I just don't agree with you at all.
Dell has excellent support, very friendly. Dell has very good prices. My inspiron 530 is as reliable as a computer can get (perfectly reliable, never crashed or even misbehaved). It may not be a Mac Mini, but it's like 2-3 times faster for a little LESS money than apple(quad-core). My only real gripe with it is that it can't run MAC OS, because having all of that Video editing capable hardware and no Apple software to harness it is such a waste. Apple is a tremendous SOFTWARE company inspite of itself (can't stand the snobbery, can't stand being forced to buy expensive pretty hardware when I just want something that looks alright but is beastly fast, like Dell).
In terms of designs, the build quality of the XPS M1330 is the real problem, I'll even deal with the decorations falling off, but the design itself is very slick and it's a VERY fast 13" laptop, if there's a faster 13" laptor, I haven't seen it (with Nvidia 8400 upgrade). Again, my main complain BY FAR on this laptop is that it doesn't run Mac OSX. To be perfectly honest, once you start using both Windows and MAC OS you're just bound to be dissapointed... cause they both have really big pros and cons. I much prefer PC hardware though.
The crapware on my two Dells was minimal IF ANY. (I wouldn't call Roxio burner software crap, nor Works, etc.) Very little probs there. Do have a problem with being stuck with Vista 32-bit and having no option to have the 64-bit version (free of charge or at least low cost, Dell doesn't offer 64-bit at any price for the Inspiron 530).
Dell is here to stay, their LCDs are very high quality, their designs on their desktops are clean and simple without being extreme and costly (in $ and performance). Their laptops are shifting, but yes, they have had some of the frumpiest laptops for a while. The XPS M1330 being an exception, as well as the new 13" Vostro. They are a big company, and they are listening. I think HPs designs are misleading, they look good in the store but then you take them home and you realize that the hinge isn't smooth and the screen is dim (not like the gorgeous LED on the M1330).
I have to be perfectly honest, on both the Inspiron and the XPS M1330... the only thing that I felt left me wanting more was in the lack of Mac OS X. Mac OS X LOVES horsepower,yet they keep selling you desktops with laptop parts at outrageous prices... and the new iMacs are a "HELL NO" for me.
I don't need any sexier than a Dell (the right Dell), what I need is a more pleasant to use OS. Ultimately, you can navigate and get Expose like functionality and stuff like that.. but iWork, iLife, etc. are just good software that can take your work over the top, make it stand out. Office 2007 IS better than Office 2008, but I don't like either too much... kind of prefer 2003, besides VM FUSION takes care of that stuff.
Coming from Apple, and just recently switching to Dell... I am a BIG DELL FAN. Apple, however, is a tremendous software company, don't be fooled by the Windows-zealots... it just is a software powerhouse. Miss some of the software, do NOT MISS the "sexy" or the prices. Dell may fall, but they won't fall easily. Reply
hamiltonguy - Friday, June 13, 2008 - linkhi there,
i am glad you are having a good experience with dell. I am actually an IT manager at a mid-sized company and have primarily purchased dell for the past 5 years. I am replying on a dell xps 1530. I do however, stand by my comments about dell support. We have approximately 300 dell pcs plus servers and desktop/laptop support gets worse every year -to the point where it is almost unbearable to call them.
As for crapware, dell is no where near as bad as HP, but Works, google toolbar, symantec av 90 day, crippled roxio, google desktop are crapware and I don't want them on mt system.
Dell support website is ok. Dell's automatic driver update tool is a joke. it can't identify your video card, nic, wifi card etc. it brings you a list of all of them, and there are a tonne.
As for Mac OS, i am not a mac basher, I use leopard occasionally at work and it's ok, just not my cup of tea. I do however love ilife.
I just don't see the innovation. Apple can do somrthing as simple as a mag connector for a power supply and people say coooool! why, it's new, it works, and no one else has it. Dell and HP don't need to re-invent the wheel just think outside the box.
CSMR - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - linkYes the OS is not apple's key advantage, it's the system designs. How many people would buy a apple system inside a dell case over an identical windows dell? Some, but not many. Apple's advantage is a nice combination of hardware in good form factors with simple designs, painted white.
This is exactly what the OEM manufacturers could do if they want: produce good windows systems in good form factors with simple designs, and paint them white. :)
The OEMs can easily compete with apple by producing a range that focuses on style and simplicity: forget about appealing to the aesthetic tastes of gamers and leave out the legacy connectors and supporting chips: leave these to other ranges. Reply
segerstein - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - linkThere are two computer companies that I really admire: one is HP, the other is Sun.
They both make excellent computers, HP printers, scanners, while Sun's Solaris is top notch.
Apple is for shallow people :-$ Reply
michael2k - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - linkIf Apple is for shallow people, what is the Envy, Omen, and Touchsmart for? Rich, shallow people? Reply
krnmastersgt - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - linkI'll agree with some of those points, but Vista had a horrid launch, there's no arguing that, most programs couldn't even run on Vista until SP1 or a rewritten and updated code for the programs was released. Even Microsoft's own Visual Studio had problems running. Sure, some stuff is the hardware and looks, but if MS can't even have all of its programs and apps from the past run well or even at all on Vista, you can't expect the majority of developers out there to like it very much. Most people I know who've used Vista have switched back to XP, and so have a lot of people I've only talked to. That spoke volumes to me. Reply
Griswold - Thursday, June 12, 2008 - link"... there's no arguing that, most programs couldn't even run on Vista until SP1 or a rewritten and updated code for the programs was released."
Yes there is arguing about that because its a truckload of bullshit. Most programs ran and run just fine. Fact. End of debate. There were and still are crappy written programs that cause trouble or wont run at all... so what? If you depend on that particular piece of shit software, run it in a (free) virtual machine of your choice with your previous edition of windows...problem solved.
Please stop talking about vista when you obviously never touched it for more than 5 minutes and depend on "what you heard" on some forum...
Steve Guilliot - Thursday, June 12, 2008 - linkIt gets even better. We all remember Apple's migration to x86 and Rosetta. Old apps either crashed or used 5x memory while running 5x slower. Almost all of the biggest software titles were affected until they could produce a native x86 binary, which often took a year or longer.
Now let's talk about the blame-Microsoft BS floating around. The pro-Mac sentiment created by Apple's admitedly supperior industrial design, combined with the "I'm a PC, I'm a Mac" commercials, is being transferred to MacOS. This is swelling the pro-Mac bandwagon, while increasing the anti-MS hype. Anand has apparently succumbed. PC's are not being held back by Vista. They are being held back by inferior industrial design.
Bashing Microsoft is just trendy. Most geeky bloggers and webauthors will find a way to either attack MS, or compliment it with a backhanded insult, even if the issue at hand has nothing to do with MS. For a good example, see the intro to this very article. Reply
preslove - Thursday, June 12, 2008 - link
Now let's talk about the blame-Microsoft BS floating around. The pro-Mac sentiment created by Apple's admitedly supperior industrial design, combined with the "I'm a PC, I'm a Mac" commercials, is being transferred to MacOS.
You sir, are an idiot. Every single mac switcher I've talked to raves about OSX. It is the reason Apple is successful, not the design. The design obviously helps, but having an awesome OS is what differentiates Apple from every one of its competitors. Reply
Steve Guilliot - Saturday, June 14, 2008 - linkMac users raving over OSX doesn't contradict my point, it's because of my point. How many Mac users are going to spend big money on a Mac and then compain about OSX? They bought into the Mac lifestyle, and viewing everything Apple in the most favorable light goes with the territory. OTOH, there is no Microsoft lifestyle to buy into or identify with.
Apple really started taking off with the iPod success (wow, no OSX). Then Apple released the unbelievable cool MacBook Pros (they still appear in almost every TV show and movie today, and don't say it's becuase of OSX). Then the restyled iMacs and MacPros. Now the MacBook Air, again being driven 99.99% by design. Almost everything Apple is renowned for is hardware related. The popularity of OSX follows as a result. It's a good OS, without any major objections. Just good enough to not impede the desireability of the hardware.
On the otherhand, you've offered a thin (and unconvincing) line of anectdotal evidence to conclude I'm and idiot...
Sir indeed. Reply
Thorsson - Monday, June 16, 2008 - linkLOL. No using logic with a fanboi.
Anyone who doesn't understand the importance of marketing needs to study the success of brands like Coca Cola and Budweiser. Did they get to be successful through having superior products?
Guys & Gals, Apple has sold you a lifestyle. And you want it. Reply
michael2k - Thursday, June 12, 2008 - linkWere you a Mac user that bought the first Intel Macs?
The software was at worst 2x slower.
And... you say, "They are being held back by inferior industrial design", which is exactly what was written in the intro for this article. The only reason Vista was mentioned was because that was an aspect of PC design the OEMs had precious control over, so the only thing left for them to tackle was industrial design.
You think you are superior for not "succumbing" to pro-Mac sentiment? Is that like not "succumbing" to pro-Zune sentiment, or pro-XBox sentiment, or any other "underdog gaining in popularity" sentiment? Reply
Steve Guilliot - Saturday, June 14, 2008 - linkYes, I bought one of the first Intel Mac Minis, and I had to upgrade the RAM to 2GB because of Rosetta. I have some experience here, thanks.
So I'm wrong becuase the speed hit from Rosetta was 2x instead of 5x. Don't you know you're making my point? Anandtech articles frequently make much of a 3% speed increase due to faster RAM, etc. Don't you think a 50% performance hit is significant?
Second, if you only percieve a 2x slowdown, it's because the Intel hardware was fundamentally faster masking much of the slowdown. You can't seriously say the speed improvement from Photoshop CS2 to CS3 was only 2x.
I notice you ignored my point about poor app stability. I've had apps crash in Rosetta far more frequently than Vista pre-SP1 (which is to say almost never).
It doesn't matter that the article mentioned the inferior industrial design when they go on to put blame on MS. Maybe the only thing the OEMs could tackle was industrial design. So? They still failed at that, didn't they?
I own a 5G iPod, a Zune, an Intel Mac, and a few PCs. I do see both sides, and I can say with certiantly that the pro-Mac position is hyped, and MS is getting shorted by the tech community who think it's cool to blast Windows. Reply
Inkjammer - Thursday, June 12, 2008 - linkYep, I concur. I've been playing around with Vista since launch day and I've only had one app (out of dozens and dozens) that wouldn't work right. Short of some driver issues (Creative and Nvidia) I never had any real Vista-specific issues.
On my old Toshiba Tecra M7, Vista BSOD'd the first time I loaded it up. When I rebooted, Vista gave me a warning messaged that it detected the crash was caused by an incompatible BIOS and that a new BIOS was available for download, even provided a link as to where to get the update. Never had a problem after flashing my system. I was rather impressed with that. Reply
ElFindo - Thursday, June 12, 2008 - linkIt seems to me that I had more trouble getting things running under XP out of the box. When there was that initial shift and everything was 'compatibility mode', which didn't work half the time anyways. In fact some of those same programs I had issues running under XP (mostly games in my experience) actually did run on Vista out of the box. Reply
Rev1 - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - linkI'll agree there with you on that, when i 1st got my comp last year at vista launch most of my probs with it not working right was vista, and a cheap nzxt 500w power suply which was purely my fault. Having said that though i think vista works fine now exept no Hd acceleration for sounds cards like eax. I thought my logitech z5300 on a audigy 2zs on xp sounded light years better than my current z5500 on a X-fi extreme gamer on vista. So bad actually i switch to the onboard realtek and use the optical connection for sound. Reply
adelaidewright - Friday, February 11, 2011 - linkDefinitely, Windows 7 is about to impresses the XP users who resisted to Vista on the ground of performance and compatibility. Windows' newest avatar has a great look and it consumes least of the system resources. It's not surprising that more and more users are migrating to Windows 7. Windows 7 is a multi talented Operating System which includes native functionality to read and write Blue-Ray discs. Windows 7 has many built-in tools to help with program compatibility and it also features an improved backup solution to help keep your information safe. Windows7 is an advanced Operating System with excellent features. Windows 7 builds on the substantial investment.
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