Reader Comments

The SysInternal tools are great!!! Especially the pstools. They make admin scripting very easy!!! Before the iPeople can speak up, yes, it is another company that MS has gobbled up to acquire the SW...but I think that Apple has done so, too... Happy Friday!!! --tayme

Yeah, the big rumor now regarding the touchscreen iPod with the virtual clickwheel is that it is actually the iPhone, and that the clickwheel is replaced with number buttons so you can dial. As for the Zune, can you say "dead in the water?" You can't even use it as an external hard drive, for crying out loud.

I don't doubt that the iPhone is in development, and I'm sure it would "click" (as in click-wheel, get it?) with a large number of users, but I don't think they are going to be able to find a wireless carrier, or a wireless carrier that they would want, at least not in the US. Verizon - They probably won't make a CDMA version, but even so, Verizon has their own download store, and already has plenty of MP3 phones, including the Chocolate, which I have right now. Cingular - Just opened up their own download service, and also has been burned with the ROKR. I'm not sure they want to cooperate with Apple again. Sprint/Nextel - CDMA for Sprint, and they also have their own download service. Nextel phones are more about core functionality over features. That leaves T-Mobile. I see them as a possibility, and they could use a device to get them out of last place, and this could be it. But time will tell.

I'm sure more carriers will pick up the iPhone if it does well. Anyway, we can at least be sure it'll receive rave reviews, whether it's good or bad. Regarding Zune, it's funny that people who say it's good are branded "fanboys" by the iPeople. Anyone who says even a word in praise of MS is either a "fanboy" or a "Microsoft employee" (just ask preseton/vandil/bonch).

See, now I think what everyone who's talked about the "iPhone" has missed is this: It is completely possible that Apple is designing the device to be a standalone music player that ALSO does phone stuff. I.E. - You can buy it as an iPod and then turn it into a cellphone if you want. So, millions of people buy the thing as an iPod even though it doesn't work with their current cellphone carrier. Then, they get home and call up their cellphone company and ask, "Yo, when are you guys going to support Apple's phone?" And then millions of other people do the same thing... See where I'm going? Of course, this doesn't exactly fit with the "just works" theme that Apple is famous for. It does require some effort on the user's part. But, it's possible Apple will launch with a smaller cellphone provider (say T-Mobile) and will rely on users to convince the other providers to play ball. Regardless, my point is that the iPhone doesn't HAVE to have cellphone service to still be an iPod. Much like Apple didn't emphasize video when the "video" iPod was released a year ago. For that reason, I think the device will be wildly popular regardless of what cellphone carrier picks it up. And, honestly, there are 3 major US cellphone carriers. If Apple goes to Cingular (the largest) and says, "Hey, you wanna support the iPhone?" and they say, "Nope. Don't let the door hit you on the way out." and Apple responds with, "Really? Are you sure? Because we have a meeting with Verizon later this afternoon, we just thought we'd check with you first." are you really going to say no? There are 3 major US carriers. Two of which are looking to usurp number 1. The chances of the iPhone not finding a home are ridiculously slim. Conversely, the chances of number 2 or 3 upsetting number 1 if number 1 turns down the iPhone are probably pretty good.

And about the iPod dynasty: The iPod has done far far far more for Apple than just bring in loads of revenue. It has converted users to the company. It has won Apple a huge following that goes far beyond the "fanatics." I think, in many ways, it doesn't matter if the iPod's marketshare slips as music moves to cellphones. And the proof of that is the number of switchers Apple reported in the last quarter. The Halo effect is alive and well and THAT is the real Godsend of the iPod. If you're still denying the iPod Halo effect in 2006, you're living in a fantasy world. I think, at this point, the snowball is starting to roll down the hill. All Apple really needs is one more smash-hit (say, a fullscreen touch iPod) to really let that snowball get more speed. As we go forward, I think you'll find more and more consumers switching to Macs. And with them, more and more small businesses. And I think Microsoft realizes that the iPod is not an end in and of itself - it is the means to a much bigger end. And, frankly, I think that scares the **** out of them because if Apple can start chipping away at the Windows monopoly, Microsoft very quickly won't have billions of dollars to dump on things like Zune and Xbox. Redmond will actually have to bring MONEY-MAKING products to market instead of relying on the Win/Off cash cow. And I am not at all convinced they can do that.

And just before someone comes back with the tried and true "Apple will never usurp Windows because it will never enter the Enterprise market!!!": Yes, it's true that the enterprise market is huge and important for Microsoft. But with the consumer and small business segments combined, Apple could MORE than put a dent in Windows revenue. And, ultimately, if those two markets fall to Apple, it's only a matter of time until Macs slowly infiltrate large businesses - to the horror of IT pros everywhere! Still, no need to polish up that resume yet gentlemen. For now, I think Apple's sights are set squarely on consumers.

"The iPod has done far far far more for Apple than just bring in loads of revenue. It has converted users to the company. It has won Apple a huge following that goes far beyond the "fanatics." I used to think that was just wishful thinking on the part of the iPeople, but in the past month, I've sat back in wide-eyed amazement as four of my friends have bought Macs--people that would never have even considered one a year or so ago. I know it's anecdotal, I know it doesn't "count", and I know it's statistically irrelevant, but it's still amazing, because at least two of them swore they would never use a Mac. Yeah. The iPod is THAT important to Apple. They'll do whatever it takes to remain competitive, and you can bet your sweet arse that Jobs and Company are taking the little brown turd VERY seriously.

"There's always been a strong "wait until SP1" mantra when it comes to enterprises adopting new Windows versions, and given the kernel upgrade, that's never been truer than it is with Vista." Couldn't have said it better, myself, Paul.

As a Mac user, I'll be using Vista via Boot Camp regardless of pre SP1. It's more managable than XP and makes for a better expierience in general. None of the applications I use have a problem. I can't judge the Zune until I use one. I really wish Mac users in general would just tone down their garbage. I love using OS X as much as you, but please stop giving the rare few people with common sense, who enjoy using multiple OSes a bad image.

"See where I'm going?" No. To the Steve Jobs temple?

Will Vista run under Boot Camp? That is the question. Yes, EFI support is enabled in the beta's and RC's but Microsoft confirmed that EFI support WILL BE DISABLED in the RTM. Will Microsoft make it compatible with Mac hardware out of the box? Will they allow Boot Camp to proceed and emulate a BIOS and circumvent the GUID-style hard drive? Will they give a flying fu**? Only time will tell.

BTW: Anybody here have a Technet Plus subscription? If so, has Microsoft released details about the date when you can download the Vista RTM ISO?

Reflections: Neither Lotsa nor I have a problem with you running multiple OS's on a Mac. In fact, I think I can speak for both of us when I say I'm glad you like OS X and have found Vista useful as well. Shark: The "where I'm going" refers to the eventual outcome of millions of people calling their cellphone providers asking when they plan to add support for Apple's phone. That outcome is that eventually the companies will HAVE to add support for the phone or alienate significant numbers of people. 2 year contracts DO expire, after all. Waethorn: Microsoft is disabling EFI support in the RTM version of Vista? Hmm. Now I wonder what the motivation behind that is. So far, only one computer maker uses EFI... Perhaps Microsoft is more scared than I thought. Apparently, they're a little gun-shy about putting Vista side by side with OS X. Or perhaps you can come up with another reason to disable EFI? Please note: This post is not about bashing Vista. I just think that disabling EFI shows Microsoft is taking Apple very seriously. I think they can foresee that dual-booting on a Mac would very quickly turn into "boot into Windows for one or two applications and OS X for everything else" for most people. Which, if you're Microsoft, is NOT where you want to be just as Apple's hardware starts selling extremely well.

"I just think that disabling EFI shows Microsoft is taking Apple very seriously. " Perhaps they were using it to test EFI on those computers that could use it, but will disable it for compatibility issues? I don't see why Microsoft would be afraid of Apple, especially since Bootcamp emulates BIOS anyway. I think they were enabling it for testing purposes, and will include it in a service pack. "I think they can foresee that dual-booting on a Mac would very quickly turn into "boot into Windows for one or two applications and OS X for everything else" for most people." Actually, I would expect it to be the opposite way around. Use Windows for everything (esp. with Office 2007!), and use OS X for apps like iMovie and Final Cut Pro. Windows has *by far* the most applications. With Vista, the ease of use and the elegance has skyrocketed since XP. Although there are some areas that they could improve, I can't see anyone wanting to use OS X for anything except a few token programs. I, for one, like to use one OS that does everything. I don't want to learn two completely different interfaces, learn the quirks of multiple OS's, etc. I want to run apps in a native OS (not virtualization-yet). I want to edit video, browse the web, play the latest games, write code, make presentations,and spreadsheets, edit photos with Photoshop, and listen to music on the same OS. Vista does that. Apple does not. If Apple had +90% of marketshare, I would use Apple's OS. I support various friends, relatives, etc. and they *all* own Windows. If they all switched to Macs, I would have to learn OS X. Thankfully, that will not happen in the near future. (They are non-computer illiterate and ask me for my opinion on what computer equipment to buy. So far, they have been extremely satisfied - so far as I can tell-with Windows. It does everything they want it to do.)

I should add, however, that if someone can give my 5 solid, irrefutable reasons why I should switch, I will consider it. I consider a "solid, irrefutable reason" as one that I cannot refute. So far, I have not seen *one* reason to switch. (and no, viruses and spyware reasons do not count). About the people I support - They have programs that are Windows only and have used Windows all their lives. Why should they pay more money and switch? They sure aren't smart enough to use Bootcamp or Parallels in order to run their Windows programs, and it would create a major hassle with them.

Nate: The people you've mentioned... the old-time, life-long Windows users who are computer illiterate are exactly the kind of people I would prefer STAY on Windows. Nothing against them, but I've seen what happens when their kind switch to OS X. All they do is whine and complain about how OS X doesn't work like Windows. Usually it's something stupid like "print screen doesn't do a screen capture!" and you have to sit them down and explain that there's a different shortcut on OS X for that. In short: These people are intellectually lazy. They cannot be bothered to take 30 seconds to type "screenshot" into OS X's help or google's search field to discover how to do it. Instead, they just complain. Another popular one is how to see all your applications now that there is no Taskbar... Expose usually shuts them up for at least a little while. Eye candy will do that. ;) At any rate, I hate dealing with people like that and I would hate for Apple to have to deal with them. As far as I'm concerned, they can go to their graves with Windows clutched in their hands. That way, they won't pester Apple with stupid requests like a second mouse button on the MacBook's trackpad. Now, the other kind of people... the ones who when they hit a problem, hit the web to find out how to fix it... give me those all day long.

And here we go again on the Mac v. Windows debate. Can you hold on a few minutes? I'm going to go get some popcorn. ---- Refreshes: 3 Uh... how exactly do I type an east-west resizing arrow?

"That outcome is that eventually the companies will HAVE to add support for the phone or alienate significant numbers of people." You might be right, but isn't that exactly the type of marketing that you complain about MS using??? --tayme

Tayme: I do not recall ever complaining about Microsoft's marketing. (Although, since you mention it, I think "get ready for the social" is stupid.) Please explain what you mean.

" the old-time, life-long Windows users who are computer illiterate are exactly the kind of people I would prefer STAY on Windows." "These people are intellectually lazy." "I would hate for Apple to have to deal with them." Frankly, although you try hard to hide it, you do have a lot of love for Apple, which obviously (in the iPeople's dictionary) translates into hatred for Microsoft. It's not that you think the Zune will fail, it's that you want it to fail. You want Microsoft to fail miserably in the home front. You want the XBox group to remain in the red. You want the Windows and Office monopoly to end. In short, your rhetorical question, "See where I'm going?" deserves the answer, "to the Steve Jobs temple."

And coming to a point you made the other day, comingzune.com never had a forum, so, obviously you never visited the site. You probably heard this from another iPerson and having convinced yourself that iPeople can never go wrong, reproduced the words here without bothering to double check. I never made any claims about the Zune. It may be successful or it may fail. And, unlike you, I don't have a stake in it either way. I do like Microsoft and some of its products but that hasn't stopped me from getting an iPod or a Mac. Loyalty towards a company is fine, but unless you work for Apple, I don't see why you pray everyday that MS should fail.

"the old-time, life-long Windows users who are computer illiterate are exactly the kind of people I would prefer STAY on Windows." Sorry, but I take issue with statements like this. If you go to the Apple site, or listen to people who own Macs, all you'll see and hear is: "Why are you on Windows? It's crappy. Switch to a Mac! It's so much better!" So a lifelong Windows user gets rid of his/her PC and buys a Mac; an entirely whole new platform and a rather large learning curve for an "intellectually lazy" computer user. They buy into the fact that Macs are so easy to use; you just plug it in and turn it on! So here is this new Mac user. They're lost, they're taken aback because of the difference. It's ALL new; they have to re-learn how to use a computer. Yet the minute they ask for help, no matter how simple the problem, Mac users jump all over them for being lazy. You hate them for clogging your message boards with silly questions. Nice. Real nice. Mac users forget that they were once new users too and have, in the past, asked the same questions. So instead of helping out, they berate. They tell people to Google questions instead of saying "Hey, I can help! Try this". That's pretty crappy. Is it the users fault that Mac doesn't include a Print Screen button and instead employs some strange, four finger combo solution? No. Is it the new users fault that OS X employs a context menu and Apple laptops only have one button? No. These users were used to a certain way of doing things and we told that the Apple way is better and now they're stupid because they have to relearn. No wonder so many people are sticking with Windows. It's not dealing with a new platform that sucks. It's dealing with a large portion of the Mac community. In some cases it's worse than dealing with the hardcore Linux geeks.

StickNick: NO. Absolutely not. I have NEVER and will NEVER berate anyone for asking a question about anything. If you go to a Mac forum and ask the most basic question in the world, you'll find people jumping everywhere to answer it. What I DO have a problem with are the people who instead of asking those basic questions, just whine and complain. That is what I said in my original post and that is what I meant. People who ask questions and figure things out are NOT intellectually lazy. Those folks are exactly the kind of people I want on Macs. And I would be happy to walk them through the learning curve any day of the week. But the people that get on their blog and just complain that OS X doesn't do things the same as Windows and therefore it is "hard to use" really get on my nerves. If you ask them, you'll find that most of them never took the time to even TRY to relearn their habits. It's these people I don't want. Shark: No, I do not want Microsoft to fail. I've always held that Microsoft can and should coexist with Apple. And, on several occasions I've said that all I want is for Apple to reach about 20% marketshare and stay there. I've also said that I don't want Apple in the enterprise market, because I'd rather have them focus on the eye-candy like Expose, Spaces, etc than business-type features. I've also said that MS Office is best-in-it's-class (obviously) and that Apple should not try to compete with it (with the exception of Keynote, which blows PowerPoint away.) Similarly, I'll say that the iPod is best-in-it's-class and Microsoft should not try to compete with it. And yes, it is that I THINK zune will fail - not that I am secretly praying for that to happen every night. In short: I am not Bonch. I do prefer Macs, but that does not translate into hatred for Microsoft - even when you put words in my mouth.

And although the site is now gone and there is no way to prove it, comingzune.com DID have a forum. And there WERE users there with stupid titles like "Zuneologist." And I use the word "user" lightly because I really do believe they were set up by some ad company in a viral-marketing attempt. But whatever, it doesn't matter.

bdkjones, Microsoft's foray into home electronics is not new. In fact, Zune could be considered to be a logical progression for the XBox team. It's started as an mp3 player and will soon progress into a portable gaming device like the PSP. Now, failure or success is something that no one can predict. But, ridiculing everything about it just because it doesn't have the Apple logo on it seems weird to me. I don't know if it's arrogance on the part of the iPeople or if you're simply scared. Even David Pogue of NY Times tried hard to dismiss the Zune, but he found it difficult to do it. Microsoft has worked hard on it and there are certain things that the Zune team has in fact done better than Apple, but, of course, as I mentioned earlier, the Apple logo is nowhere to be seen on the Zune, so...

Oh, and by the way, comingzune.com is now zune-arts.net. I don't see any forum over there and I didn't see one on comingzune.com. Of course, that's not a big deal. Also, what's not to say that Apple employees post comments on these sites poking fun at the Zune?

bdkjones: You may have never berated a new Mac user, but countless others have. I've checked out the Apple Support forms; there are *some* helpful people out there, but there are some jackazzes too. Now I should be fair, you will find harsh treatment online, no matter the platform. I have seen some horribly nasty comments directed at Windows users who ask obvious questions online. The same happens to new Mac and Linux users as well. But to say "These are not the kind of users I want using a Mac" ... well... We all have to put up with them. Just like we have to put us with crappy drivers or people who ask stupid directions rather than look at a map. -shrug- As for the Zune: I saw comingzune.com last week. It did have a forum and it was pretty lame. Then again, there are lots of lame forums out there. I'm not defending it, I'm just sayin'. The Zune may do well, it may not. I guess we'll find out come next week. I'm in the market for a new mp3 player and, right this second, I'm looking at a 30gig G5 iPod. This is based on me going out and looking at the different players in the store. I'm not going to even comment on Zune until Monday when I can walk into a store and try one out. Do I hope it fails? No. Do I think the idea that it will fail is baseless? Yes. Remember everyones reaction to the G1 iPods? Yah. Wans't too good, was it? iPod is now a mature product (and be honest, porting it over to Windows is a HUGE reason for it's success), just like the new Creative devices. I don't like the Zen because it offers a bunch of crap I don't need and will never use. If the Zune turns out to be a pretty decent device I may give it a try - but I'm skeptical of first gen products no matter who makes them. If Zune sucks now, hopefully it will get better by the time my future iPod needs replacing.

Side note: I think the most laughable reason for Zunes possible failure came from Mr. Thurrott himself when he said: "It's not compatible with iTunes." Nice bit of observation there Paul.

Maybe not you personally...but the iPeople gang in general loathes MS for "forcing" Windows on consumers because it comes preloaded on 98% of the PCs sold in the US. --tsyme

I forgot to direct my last ressponse...It was in response to bdkjones - "Please explain what you mean." --tayme

Has anyone heard anything about worldwide availability of the Zune? None of my suppliers have release-date info for Canada. The big-box retailers don't either. Hopefully it will be by the time Vista launches, because I'd like to offer a bundle rate with some Vista Premium-capable (ie. Media Center) notebooks at or before that time-frame.

Waethorn: I'd maybe contact MS ... from what I could find out online (and we all know the Internet never lies) it's supposed to be here tomorrow as well.

bdk, not to sound like a know it all, but concerning the cell phone market, it is a much different ball game than the MP3 or OS market. We speak of lock-in with other things, but in the cell phone market, there is tremendous lock-in. Sure, you have number portability now, but you still have contracts, that are typically drawn up for two years. The phones are also heavily subsidized. I'm not sure what the cost of such an unsubsidized phone would be, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say in upwards of $500+, a lot of bank. Take a look at HowardForums and Engaget Mobile. Then you will get an idea about the mobile market, which doesn't support a third party system like you speak of. Trust me, the carriers would not look highly on another company selling phones en masse. Sure, they don't mind the little importers, but if you had a company like Apple with a distribution network ready to go, Verizon, Cingular and Sprint, and probably T-Mobile too, would do all they can to stop it, even if that meant locking them out of the network. Heck, Verizon has a customized US that they force phone manufacturers to use, all to ease support. Verizon and Sprint require an ESN also, which will make it very trivial to block the iPhone. And consider that if you have such an unlocked phone on a carrier, they won't even talk to you if you have a service problem, since you are probably breaking their terms of service. I don't doubt that the iPhone would be hugely popular, *IF* it would come out. But they absolutely NEED to be connected with a carrier to be more than an expensive niche. And those two year contracts will slow the adoption rate of such an iPhone. And as long as Apple will marry the iPhone to iTunes, then you can leave out Cingular, Verizon and Sprint, which all have a media service of their own. Verizon's VCast is VERY profitable.

Noticed something that might make my above post a little confusing. I meant to say that Verizon has a customized *UI*, not US.

I don't know what "new kernel version" Paul's referring to with Vista SP1/LH Server. Microsoft's made it pretty clear that both will be Windows 6.0. Contrast this to the XP/Server2003 split: XP was 5.1 and 2003 was 5.2 -- this isn't what's happening here. It's also misleading for Paul to say "[SP1] will bring the Vista kernel up-to-date with the kernel changes that Microsoft is introducing in Longhorn Server." Microsoft has stated that Longhorn Server and Vista SP1 will be the same code base, much in the way that the first version of XP x64 was the same code base as Server 2003 SP1. In this case, the first version of Longhorn Server is the same code base as Vista SP1.