I admit that this is a bad time to go into this in-depth series because Tiger it EOL and Leopard is just around the corner. I must, however, because I have done something awful. I have, against my word to never upgrade to Vista, done so… and I’m liking it! Shocking, I know, but the enjoyment of Vista is tainted deeply by Microsoft blatant, unrepentant, unapologetic thievery of Apple’s innovations and refinements. If that weren’t bad enough, they turn around and say that these ideas are their innovations! Appalling!

So here, on COMAC, I will go through each and every one of Vista’s “innovative” new technologies and compare them to the Apple technology which came first (in many cases several years in advance). Why would I do this? Why would I waste my time? I don’t know for sure, but it seems like a good idea. If I can get one Windows weenie to look at this and say,” Damn! Microsoft has been fooling me all these years,” then I suppose I’ve made some headway. Keep your eyes open installations as frequently as I can get to them.

written by Tyler Regas \\ tags: Opinion

This one’s great! In this Vista ad image I found over at Engadget there are two happy children playing with a Mac. Its an iBook to be specific. How sad it must be to be Microsoft and not have control over much anything at all because you a) simply don’t care, b) prefer to be rich rather than look good, c) find it funny, d) think Steve Ballmer is a shrewd business man, e) are trying to push the idea that kids love Apple computers, f) have no clue who you are hiring to prepare advertising, g) are working on a version of Windows which will run natively on Macs, or h) don’t know that your entire ad trafficking division is made up of cardboard cut-outs of real people.

Personally, I think this is just another in an endless line of stupid gaffes that the Jolly Greed Giant gets away with and nobody takes the time to point it out. I prefer to think this simply means that Microsoft truly believes that children are happy when using a powerful, stable, easy to use computer instead of their own Vista. (Sub-observation: I think they chose the name Vista because it doesn’t rhyme with any unpleasant words I can think of. -Ed.)

written by Tyler Regas \\ tags: Opinion

John C. Dvorak, I love you. You’re a smart, curmudgeonly fella and I’ve been reading you for years in various forms. I have to tell you, though, this is an inaccurate path to follow. As Scott Bourne pointed out on TWIT #93 Apple is reshaping the way phone makers approach designing phones. People will no longer be satisfied with sub-par handsets of dubious functionality. So far, the most popular handsets have been all about the bang and not the buck. While I doubt Apple will have an iPod-like success with the iPhone overnight, it will have a significant impact on the mobile handset market and Apple will enjoy a great deal of sales. Will Nokia get out of the business in 5 years? No. Then again, Apple won’t have 75% of the handset market, either. There is a happy medium here. Cool yer jets, tiger!

written by Tyler Regas \\ tags: Opinion

I just love this quote I got off of AppleInsider:

“This not a statement about Media Center PCs. It doesn’t mean Media Center isn’t going to be successful,” claimed HP channel manager Doug Robert. “It’s just that we’re discontinuing development.”

That’s so funny! Untrue, but funny. If HP, one of the world’s largest PC makers, is dumping a technology it means that said technology is sucking. Of course, based on my year and a half as Director of IT at DISCover PC Gaming, I can tell you that the hardware sucked, too. Maybe they’re giving up because they can’t build a reliable PC to save their lives or maybe its because they can’t sell enough Media Center PCs to validate the expense. I’d prefer to think they’re jumping ship because the Apple TV simply rocks and Windows MCE doesn’t.

written by Tyler Regas \\ tags: Opinion

If Tom Yager isn’t some sort of Microsoft stooge, then I can’t tell cheese from stone. The first, and only necessary, piece of evidence is his effort to examine an “acquaintance” while she attempts to migrate to a MacBook Pro. Its likely best if you just read the article. Note that the following comments are mostly defending Mac OS X, which is interesting seeing as how this is InfoWorld, a decidedly Enterprise oriented publication.

written by Tyler Regas \\ tags: Opinion