So Apple releases a firmware update for iMacs with ATI Radeon HD Graphics.
OK, I run Software Updater but it doesn’t register. No biggie, maybe they just haven’t rolled it to the auto-updater yet. I’ll check it out and download directly instead.
The Release Notes are pretty clear:
[UPDATE:] Read this. It’s true Apple has chosen a processor that generates more heat, but they may not have gone all the way to the desktop line.
A quick summary:
But, to me, the biggest thing is that they made the switch from the mobile to the desktop processor line.
As I mentioned in my review of the Airport Express, I bought it solely for the purpose of using Airtunes to stream my upstairs computer with my downstairs living room stereo. It does so flawlessly.
However, since I knew I as going on vacation I mentioned that I would bring the AE along and see about using it as a wireless network in my hotel room. I did just that, and here are my thoughts on it.
There’s an article on Roughly Drafted about a pilot program at IBM “designed to study the possibility of moving significant numbers of employees to the Mac platform.”
The article is a worthwhile read, and includes comments from users in the program, and what IBM’s next steps will be.
What I’m writing about is not RD’s article, or even the program itself, but rather a comment made by a user in the program:
The title says it all. This is not in any way, shape, or form meant to be a review. These are just some observations I gathered watching Blackberry usage last week.
On vacation I saw lots of iPhones and BBs (FYI, I don’t recall seeing a single Palm). On three occasions I sat right next to a BB user (once on a plane and twice in the airport), and it was very interesting to watch their interactions with the device. Certain things struck me:
There’s lots of talk about Psystar and their selling a cheap PC as a Mac, complete with Leopard.
That last part is important, because without Leopard it’s not a Mac anyway, and yet some articles quote the base price of $399 even though it doesn’t include the OS!
Fortune even goes so far as to ask the question:
Basically, it’s a Mac Mini with twice the memory at half the price. So what’s not to love?
A week ago Thursday — just one day before leaving for a week-long vacation — I noticed my iPhone was not connected to my WiFi network. The other iPhone in the house was on it, as was the iPod Touch, iMac, and MacBook, so I knew the network was fine.
Trying to connect to the network was flaky. It took a while for Settings to even open, and then it either wouldn’t find the network, or if it did I could “join” for a split-second before it reverted back to EDGE.
Here’s what I learned (or confirmed) on my vacation:
All in all I had a good time, but I won’t be back any time soon (that was my first visit).
Om Malik and John Gruber appear interested in what Apple’s pulling down from Google search referrals from Safari.
I’m not sure why this is; it’s not a lot of money for Apple’s bottom line, and I believe their primary goal with Safari is to help establish more web sites on open standards (e.g., not IE-specific).
Anyway, the reason I’m writing about this is I take exception to one thing Gruber mentions:
Bill Gates says Windows 7 may be released “sometime in the next year”.
Of course it will! I mean, at the very least, they’ll say it will. I wrote this before. Mind you, whether it’s actually delivered by the end of 2009 is highly debatable.
The fact is Vista stinks, and they have to wash the taste out of everyone’s mouth as soon as possible. Talking about Windows 7 is all they have, and 2009 sounds a whole lot better than 2010.
Starting tomorrow I’m off for a week of vacation.
It’s a family thing, and I’ll be doing my part to keep Walt Disney’s ghost rich (after all, the man built an empire, somebody has to feed it).
Will probably not post anything new until at least 4/13.
But wait! As I write this small post, a funny thing happens…
Bear with me a bit as I lead into what gives this article its title.
If you check my About page, you’ll see that since August of last year I’ve switched my household entirely to Apple. A 24-inch iMac Extreme, a 2.2 GHz MacBook, a Time Capsule 500GB, an Airport Express, and just last week an iPod touch.
In short, I spent a reasonable chunk of change, but it was time for new computers and I wanted to upgrade to “n” networking, etc. The time was right and I went back to Apple after many years of them, frankly, not making a computer I wanted.
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