The New Computer Factor....
So WWDC has come and gone, and people are talking about it - including me... In fact it's quite interesting how much attention Apple gets from sites like Digg considering they have such a small market share. Perhaps we Mac users are the loud minority?
Anyway, I am not a developer, nor was I at the convention, but I pretty much got what I wanted from the show. Not so much the Leopard tidbits, but the Mac Pro. ArsTechnica have noted the underpowered graphics card, which I would say is a reasonable criticism, but for me personally, I think the standard version will be adequate for the time-being. (Though I hear Lightwave's Universal Binary a-callin'.)
Again people are still harping on about the speed increases or lack thereof, comparisons with Quad G5s and all of that, but what many comparisons neglect is something that came up in a conversation with a colleague of mine recently: "The New Computer Factor"
Anyway, back to the point, consumers are not reviewers, and even the technically savvy, are not necessarily "techs" per sé. Largely speaking we are not concerned with what mhz the GPU runs at, we care that it is up to foreseeable tasks and is better than what we had in the machine we are migrating from. (The effect, for me, will be like going from Impulse to Warp Speed. Even though I will have to use some applications in Rosetta, I'm sure that speed across all applications will be improved. (So in retrospect, perhaps getting a MacMini was a good idea after all.) I think that this is going to be the experience for most people really. If you are fortunate enough to work using mostly Universal Binary applications then great! If not and like me you hadn't yet upgraded to the G5 chipset, then it should be like getting 2 new computers: One when the new Mac is purchased, and the other when your favourite application is upgraded to a Universal Binary.
Other notable items from WWDC include Time Machine which will be good for somebody like me who almost never backs up.... It looks like a very useful piece of software which seems to make backing up far easier. There are many people who have written deep and appropriately useful commentary about the currently revealed Leopard features, so I dont need to, suffice to say I'm factoring in an extra drive into my Mac Pro purchase price just to accommodate the program.
I'm looking forward to the changeover... This will be the first time in a long time that I feel that the upgrade plan is A) not a just a get by purchase, and B) is actually a plan. I think I can see where I'm going with it this time. And it's a nice feeling of dare I say "security?"
More later.
Anyway, I am not a developer, nor was I at the convention, but I pretty much got what I wanted from the show. Not so much the Leopard tidbits, but the Mac Pro. ArsTechnica have noted the underpowered graphics card, which I would say is a reasonable criticism, but for me personally, I think the standard version will be adequate for the time-being. (Though I hear Lightwave's Universal Binary a-callin'.)
Again people are still harping on about the speed increases or lack thereof, comparisons with Quad G5s and all of that, but what many comparisons neglect is something that came up in a conversation with a colleague of mine recently: "The New Computer Factor"
"The New Computer Factor"
My 2 most recent computers are in chronological order, a 466G4 with 1GB RAM and a 1.4G4 Mac Mini with 1GB RAM (which I admit was only to tie me over until a "new" workstation became available - the Mac Pro). I had skipped the G5 chip because, well, the timing was bad for me, and I have "made do" with the Mac Mini, and it has served me well. It IS underpowered for work I do, but it is at least 2 times faster than the 466G4 for not much money...Anyway, back to the point, consumers are not reviewers, and even the technically savvy, are not necessarily "techs" per sé. Largely speaking we are not concerned with what mhz the GPU runs at, we care that it is up to foreseeable tasks and is better than what we had in the machine we are migrating from. (The effect, for me, will be like going from Impulse to Warp Speed. Even though I will have to use some applications in Rosetta, I'm sure that speed across all applications will be improved. (So in retrospect, perhaps getting a MacMini was a good idea after all.) I think that this is going to be the experience for most people really. If you are fortunate enough to work using mostly Universal Binary applications then great! If not and like me you hadn't yet upgraded to the G5 chipset, then it should be like getting 2 new computers: One when the new Mac is purchased, and the other when your favourite application is upgraded to a Universal Binary.
Other notable items from WWDC include Time Machine which will be good for somebody like me who almost never backs up.... It looks like a very useful piece of software which seems to make backing up far easier. There are many people who have written deep and appropriately useful commentary about the currently revealed Leopard features, so I dont need to, suffice to say I'm factoring in an extra drive into my Mac Pro purchase price just to accommodate the program.
I'm looking forward to the changeover... This will be the first time in a long time that I feel that the upgrade plan is A) not a just a get by purchase, and B) is actually a plan. I think I can see where I'm going with it this time. And it's a nice feeling of dare I say "security?"
More later.
posted by Aaronius at 2:50 pm
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