[thechat] microsoft rant (part 2)

[deke]

On 17 Mar 2002 at 12:27, dave mclean posted a message which said:

> On 2002.03.17 09:05, deke wrote:
>
> > Neither store had any printers that worked with Mac. You have to look
> > hard to find printers that will work, and when you find something, you
> > have to pay whatever they ask, instead of expecting a bargain.
> Yeah, I've had trouble finding printers with USB connections.  Who ever
> thought that "Plug and Play" was ever going to fly.  Sheesh, some people
> will buy into anything.

The Xerox printer *does* have a USB connection. What it doesn't have is
a driver that will work on a Mac.

> deke, I'm not sure where you shop, but there's no shortage of printers
> available for the Mac right now. Epson, Canon, HP, Brother... hey if you
> don't mind actually driving to the local Staples or Office Depot they've
> got them all.
> Now, don't get me wrong, I understand the position you're stating.
> Niche items lead to higher costs for the sometimes ordinary requests,
> and you're right. But I think your printer example was more likely 5
> years ago, not today.

Well, it happened Saturday. I'm not saying printers are unavailable.
I'm saying that there is a smaller selection, at higher prices.

> Now, before you jump all over me on this... let's remember when Apple
> brought out the iMac... how many computers had USB ports back then?
> Virtually none.  Apple pushed the port into the mainstream by forcing
> new users to buy into it. It was a huge risk, and it paid off.  Apple
> got rid of two legacy devices in one machine (serial port and floppy
> disk) and it worked. A mere four years later, Intel and Microsoft are
> finally realising that the floppy drive isn't really needed anymore and
> USB is actually starting to work like it was intended to in WinXP.

Except that I *need* a floppy drive. Not just a 3.5" microfloppy, but a
5.25" minifloppy as well. I have data on those disks. And occasionally,
I need to run software that's on a copy-protected disk to *access* that
data.

And I can mail data on a floppy disk, and the post office will put it
in the mailbox. Many apartment-dwellers have to take off time from work
in order to drive to the post office during the limited hours the
window is open if I mail it on a CD-ROM, because CD-ROMs won't fit into
their mailbox.  Why not send it over the net?  Because a significant
number of people still aren't online. And it's considerably more secure
to mail it than to send it online.

> If nothing else, Apple as a niche player is pushing all the mainstream
> producers to make better stuff and it's working. Sadly very few people
> realise this when they're comparing lemons with oranges. ;-) Sorry, my
> dig.

Much in the way that niche player Volvo is pushing Honda to make safer
cars? http://www.ifisher.com/honda.htm

"Inspiring" might be a better term than "pushing". I *do* see a lot of
crappy toy computers with garish color on them. (I note that Apple
exhibits better taste on their better computers.)

Apple has dropped their old line of iMac toys in favor of a new line of
iMac toys that they can't even manufacture. I don't imagine Michael
Dell, Carly Fionina and Ted Waite are staying awake at night, worrying
about Apple....

deke











*Any great truth can -- and eventually will -- be expressed as a cliche
-- a cliche is a sure and certain way to dilute an idea. For instance,
my grandmother used to say, "The black cat is always the last one off
the fence." I have no idea what she meant, but at one time, it was
undoubtedly true. --
                       Solomon Short