Apple

Mié - Agosto 17, 2005

¿Beatlemanía? ¡iBookmanía!

¿Por qué esta gente hizo cola desde la 1:30 de la mañana? ¿Por qué una señora prefirió orinarse que perder su puesto en la cola? ¿Por qué aplastaron un coche de bebé y tumbaron a un viejito? ¿Por qué hicieron falta 45 policías para controlar a la muchedumbre? ¿Estaban renovando el pasaporte bolivariano? ¿Será el regreso de los Beatles?

¡Querían comprar iBooks a $50 cada uno!

El incidente también fue cubierto por NBC (incluso con un reportaje de video) y por CNN.

Posted at 06:33 AM

Mié - Marzo 9, 2005

A lesson in interacting with non-Mac-savvy service professionals

Este cuento me recuerda a lo que me ha pasado a mí cantidad de veces. Los que no son "daredevils", o que simplemente no saben lo suficiente de computadoras suelen aceptar lo que le dice el supuesto "experto" y concluir que algo no funciona en Macintosh. Luego, terminan cambiándose a PC para "evitar problemas". Si la medicina fuese así, la gente recurriría a la decapitación para evitar dolores de cabeza.

Este relato apareció en MacFixIt. Lo reproduzco acá porque luego de un par de días, MacFixIt lo convierte en contenido pago.

A lesson in interacting with non-Mac-savvy service professionals

MacFixIt reader Robert Ameeti recently attempted to purchase a PC 5220 adapter -- which allows unlimited data access at speeds up to 300 Kbps on Verizon's network for US$80 a month -- card for Verizon's wireless broadband service. HIs experience with the sales professional at a Verizon retail outlet is a valuable lesson in dealing with non-Mac-savvy company representatives.

In many cases, products that work perfectly well with Mac OS X are portrayed as incompatible by uninformed salespeople or supplied with incorrect (usually Windows-only) drivers. Make sure to contact the manufacturer directly (ask for a Macintosh-savvy representative) regarding Mac OS X compatibility or search the Web for other Mac users' experiences with the same product.

Rober Ameeti's case is as follows:

"A recommendation from Steve Wozniak moved me to give Verizon's cellular PC card a try and my experience was all the often the Mac user's way of life. Steve Wozniak said the "you insert the card and the port is recognized and the Internet Connect info is sucked from the card to make a Network Location." I

"On Steve's suggestion, I went to my local Verizon store and bought the PC 5220. The salesman gave me the MTN number and the ESN number that I was supposed to enter after installing the software from the CD. The salesperson warned me to make sure that I installed the software before inserting the PC card or else I would probably break the card as he had had to replace several cards for customers that had not properly installed the software. Still being in the store, I inserted the CD into my Mac and I immediately recognized that it was only PC programs and some PDFs. I put the CD back into the box. Asking the salesperson about this, he replied that he would find out about Mac compatibility and he disappeared behind the partition.

"Being the daredevil that I am, I brazenly inserted the PC card into my Mac. After a few seconds, up popped a dialog telling me that I had inserted a Verizon wireless card and that I must authorize the installation of software. My Mac then showed me the standard Admin password dialog where I typed in my password. About 10 seconds later, I noticed a Connect menu in the menu bar. What the heck. I selected Connect from the menu bar and in started flowing the 200 emails that were awaiting me. After about 10 minutes, the salesperson reappeared and said, Sorry, it wasn't going to be able to work on my Mac."

Posted at 10:52 AM

Jue - Marzo 3, 2005

Back to the future

Apple tiene un departamento de investigación y desarrollo, las demás compañías de PCs no necesitan uno, sólo tienen que ver el keynote de Macworld Expo.

Todos ya conocen a la Mac mini, que Apple introdujo en enero. La Mac mini es un producto listo que ya está a la venta. Supongo que para el departamento de investigación y desarrollo de Apple, ya es el pasado; obviamente ya están trabajando en la próxima Macintosh.

Hoy, en el Intel Developer's Forum introdujeron este concepto de una PC. Eso quiere decir que puede ser que en algún momento, se desarrolle algo así. (Noten las innovadoras ranuras en forma de cruz.)

Esto me recuerda un slogan que una vez usó Apple: "Windows 95 = Macintosh 89". El futuro de las PC es el pasado de Apple. (Gizmodo y Engadget)

Posted at 02:32 PM

Mar - Febrero 8, 2005

iPod Lego

Los PodBrix son figuritas de Lego adaptadas para asemejarse a los comerciales del iPod.

Posted at 05:00 PM

Mié - Enero 19, 2005

Mac mini: Apples to Oranges

Dan Frakes hace una excelente comparación entre la Mac mini y la Dell más económica. La Mac mini cuesta $500 sin monitor, teclado ni mouse. La Dell cuesta $400 con todo eso. ¿Con cuál te quedas?

...the Dell doesn’t even include antivirus software (a $62 option), which for Windows computers these days is like selling a car without brakes—in both cases you simply turn it on and pray.

25/1/2005: Este artículo generó tantos comentarios que Dan Frakes decidió escribir otro respondiendo a los comentarios pro Dell y pro Apple.

29/1/2005: En la tercera y última parte de su comparación: el software incluído con la Mac y la Dell.

Posted at 11:38 AM

Dom - Enero 2, 2005

Armagiddeon Time

Este es el tipo de cosas que hace que Apple tenga fanáticos y las otras compañías tengan clientes.

Desde el 26 de diciembre, el site de Apple no vende computadoras, vende caridad para las víctimas del tsunami.

Para comprar una iMac o un iPod, hay que hacer click un par de veces. Durante estos días de tanto movimiento en ventas, Apple deja a un lado el negocio para concentrarse en cosas más importantes. Lo mismo hizo cuando murió George Harrison, pero también en varias otras oportunidades. Ninguna de las otras compañías que revisé hace algo similar. Sólo Microsoft dedicó una parte de su página principal a ayudar, Dell, HP e IBM lo ignoran por completo; no es parte de su negocio.

Posted at 05:39 PM

Dom - Diciembre 19, 2004

Recomendaciones de seguridad

El gurú de la seguridad en IT, Bruce Schneier, presenta su lista "Safe Personal Computing". ¿Adivinen qué sistema operativo recomienda?

"Operating systems: If possible, don't use Microsoft Windows. Buy a Macintosh or use Linux."

Otras recomendaciones incluyen no usar Internet Explorer, Office, ni Outlook o Outlook Express.

Posted at 01:43 PM

Jue - Septiembre 2, 2004

Joe Montana usa Macs

El mejor quarterback de todos los tiempos pasó por la tienda de Apple San Francisco. Del New York Times.

...Another visitor to the Apple store yesterday was Joe Montana, the former San Francisco 49ers football quarterback who stopped in to pick up an iBook that was being repaired. He said he was intrigued by the new iMac's design.

Mr. Montana said that his family already had three desktop Macintoshes and several portables, and that he would frequently use the company's iSight videoconferencing system to chat with his daughter at college...

Posted at 08:11 AM

Jue - Agosto 12, 2004

¿Un celular Apple?

Has que tu Sony Ericsson tenga un tema de Apple.

Estos "skins" gratis hacen que tu Sony Ericsson parezca un celular de Apple. Ni siquiera esto me hace querer volver al T610.

Posted at 06:41 AM

Jue - Junio 10, 2004

Turn your PC into a Mac

Lista del software necesario y las instrucciones para hacer que una PC parezca una Mac. Sólo falta un latonero. (Engadget)

So, you wanna make your ugly Windows XP interface look like Mac OS X, huh? It’s really not all that difficult to do, and with a little luck, you’ll be able to convince all but the most die-hard Mac users that you run an Apple computer.

Posted at 07:15 AM

Lun - Junio 7, 2004

Quick, hide in this closet!

Otra graciosa anécdota del sitio histórico de Apple: Folklore.org, de Andy Hertzfeld.

1983: Steve Jobs decide desarrollar una unidad de diskette una unidad de diskette de 3,5 pulgadas para no tener que comprar la tecnología a Sony. El problema: ¡hay que hacerlo en siete meses!

Posted at 01:12 PM

Dom - Junio 6, 2004

Daring Fireball: Broken Windows

John Gruber hace una excelente analogía entre las Macs y PCs y dos vecindarios que, inicialmente, son iguales, pero luego de un tiempo uno sigue siendo bonito y bien cuidado y el otro se ha convertido en zona roja.

...The Mac is like a good neighborhood, where the streets are clean and the crime rate low. You don’t need bars on your windows in a good neighborhood; you don’t need anti-virus software on the Mac.

...But is it fair to judge Mac-v.-Windows under factory-fresh conditions? Wouldn’t an accurate comparison be better made a few months down the road — after a nice sampling of the hundreds of new Windows viruses discovered each week get a chance to find a home on the Windows box? In the hands of a typical user, a six-month-old Mac is almost certainly in similar working condition as when it left the store; a six-month-old Windows PC, on the other hand, is likely to be infested with multiple instances of crapware. And if it’s not, it’s likely because the poor sap who bought it just got done reinstalling from scratch.

...Arguing that it’s technically possible that the Mac could suffer just as many security exploits as Windows is like arguing that a good neighborhood could suddenly find itself strewn with garbage and plagued by vandalism and serious crime. Possible, yes, but not likely. The security disparity between the Mac and Windows isn’t so much about technical possibilities as it is about what people will tolerate.

And Mac users don’t tolerate shit.

Posted at 10:44 AM

Mar - Junio 1, 2004

The Mac is a harsh mistress...

...Microsoft is a cheap whore... and Linux is your psychotic ex.

I was asked for advice today from someone who was apprehensive about buying a new Mac, and wanted to know my opinion. This, of course, is sort of like going up to Dick Cheney and saying “You know, I’m not sure about that Iraq thing. What do you think?”

Posted at 07:41 AM