Rants Tagged with “Apple”
1 2 > >> (Total Pages: 2/Total Results: 16)
I usually don't post many videos, but this one had me on the floor...
After seeing Scott Hanselman's experience with Safari, I thought I'd share mine:
The good:
- Did not make it the default browser automatically (didn't even ask me if that's what I wanted when I ran it). Nice...
- While usually a problem with Apple, it seems that (if you downloaded just the browser and not Quicktime bundle and de-selected the options in the installer) that all you get in the browser...not magic services added...good news.
- Private Browsing (allowing you to go to pages but no history or auto-fill is supported) is an interesting idea...not that I would have a need for such a thing ;)
The bad:
- They are using their own font smoothing and it looks fuzzy to me, maybe i'd get used to it, but I doubt it:
<click picture for full size view>
- I don't find it faster (Scott does, but IE7 seems faster).
- The bookmarks implementation (taking over the entire screen) is just annoying...perhaps there is a way of changing it but I didn't dig too deep to find out.
- As with all Apple apps, they don't behave like windows apps. My particular annoyance is that with their application maximized my 'auto-hide' start bar doesn't work. This means they are drawing to the edge of the screen instead of following the Windows design guidelines.
- Integrated Search bar only seems to support Yahoo and Google. While I use Google usually, i'd like to see a more open approach like MS did for their integrated search box.
- Seems to be missing zoom facility that I like in IE7.
- Autocomplete on the address bar is perplexing...they actually found old URL's that I have never typed on this machine (maybe there is a bookmark or something with it or they are getting it from somewhere mystical...made me very nervous).
- RSS Feed support is mixed in with Bookmarks and is confusing to me. I don't like any browser's implementation yet so this isn't as much a problem with Safari as it is with all browsers so far.
I found the browser quite unstable too, I had a total of six crashes in the 1/2 hour I browsed with it. Too bad, more competition in the browser area is usually a good thing (except if you're a web developer ;)
After my little rant about how much I hate the "Smug Little Twit" I am happy to report that Apple is dropping those annoying commercials. Did you like them?
UPDATE: Its Smug...Smug...after thirty years of typing, you'd think I'd be better than I am...
Its official, once I installed iTunes 7.x (which I am uninstalling) it installs an addin into Outlook! I can't find any reason for this. I haven't determine exactly why it installs it and what it does (I disabled it). This is to go through a nasty bundling of stuff with iTunes (anyone understand why Apple gets away with this but Microsoft gets critisized for it?). When I install iTunes I get:
- iTunes Helper (which I have to constantly kill...doesn't seem to do anything but provide a system tray icon).
- iPod Service (which I don't need...I don't have an iPod). This is enabled by default which makes no sense since some percentage of users don't have iPods.
- Quicktime and all the mess that comes with that (I don't buy or intend to buy movies/tv from iTumes so I don't need this).
- Apple Software Update: Supposedly to keep us up to date with thier software, but it doesnt' seem to do anything since iTunes still checks the website on launch to update iTunes by downloading a new version manually!
- And they paste icons everywhere (quick launch, start menu, desktop of every user).
Looks like they've hired some good people from Real and AOL to help them annoy users. I'll just have to live without their music store.
Anyone else have this experience?
I am installing iTunes 7.0.1 because they still have the best selection of music (though admittedly, I burn them to CD and immediately rip everything in MP3 to strip them of DRM). When I installed it today, I got this curious complaint from the installer:
Why the %&*$( is Apple updating Outlook? Anyone have an ideas?
The new IStinguisher is a new accessory for the MacBooks with the Sony Batteries. Take a gander here:
http://flickr.com/photos/timtastic/224502119/
In case you're as annoyed as I am with the new misleading Mac ads, you wil probably enjoy this new send-up by VH-1's "Best Week Ever"!
Here is a video on Google Video of what MS would do to the iPod packaging. Funny thing, it was confirmed today that the video was created *inside* MS! Hopefully as a lesson on what *not* to do ;)
Shawn
I installed the new version of iTunes recently and its amazing how many running services and background tasks Apple is installing:
- Bonjour Service: a new network stack, not even marked as Apple
- iPodService: I don't have an iPod, so don't make me run it?
- iTunesHelper: Why do I need a helper when iTunes isn't running?
- QuickTime: Huh? I thought it was a music player...maybe music in the MTV view of music.
- qttask: Luckily my Annoying Process Killer is doing its job and killing this.
Please make it stop. Guess I could just uninstall iTunes...I only use it to buy music, never to listen to it (I think its a crap player). If only MSN would get a library their size. I haven't tried with Vista yet, but I do hope that I get asked if an installer is installing anything into Run, RunOnce or into the SCM! This is ridiculous...I can only imagine how many tasks are running on my mother's system!
While I don't agree with much of what they say, especially that MS code is poorly written and buggy; I am convinced that MS has lost their way with what the story around Longhorn really is. They announced so many interesting ideas in Longhorn that have been either dropped (WinFS, Monad) or moved it to pre-longhorn (Indigo, Avalon, Aero), that they have lost the momentum story.
The funny thing is that I don't think Apple or Linux have an opportunity here (unlike what the article perports). I think Windows real competition in the next round is with Windows XP/2003. People just won't move because Microsoft wants them to. XP is a solid OS (unlike 9x or even 2000). I cannot imagine that unless there is a real story here around Longhorn (and they get it right *not*, not when the public beta arrives), many people will move. Unfortunately, I think Ballmer is betting the company on Longhorn's success.
Lastly, I'd like to hear from Microsoft on which direction Longhorn is headed:
- Replacing the Win32 with a .NET API; or...
- New Hardware Model that will lower driver crashes.
I can't imagine they can do both, and I suspect the promise of the .NET API is dead. Too bad. We will still be stuck with Win32 legacy for too long. Avalon might help this, but until we see a real designer that can help replace WindowsForms, VB and a ton of older RAD tools...I am not convinced. Essentially Win32 was a maturation of Win16. There are a lot of hold-overs from Win16 that still plague us. We now have coolbars, gradient titlebars and other niceties, but it is still basically Win16 designs. Avalon promises a new model where we can actually innovate...hopefully.
What do you think?
