HyperTransport

alternateorg on July 31, 2001

Here is an interesting article on HyperTransport.



Looks like it’s shaping up to be a face-off between Intel and its lapdogs (direct quote from the article, not mine) and the rest of the computer industry (which includes nVidia, Cisco and Sun). Interestingly, Apple is the only PC manufacturer on the HyperTransport consortium, with the rest of the PC industry squarely in the aforementioned lapdog category. Not that they’d have a choice anyway – they are little more than package and distribution channels for Intel and Microsoft these days.



Strangely enough, the article doesn’t mention the big fence-sitter – IBM, whose membership could decide the winner.



Macintosh and XBox sharing the same system architecture – imagine that!

Microslut IIS (It Isn't Secure)

alternateorg on July 23, 2001

This story about Microsoft IIS (IIS is their web server software) is so funny, It took the media and most of IT about 5 years to figure this out? I knew IIS was shite the first time I ever installed it. Especially with WinNUkePro and NTAttack and other Mac GUI based windows attacks in all the Hotline rooms… That alone made it fairly obvious.

I ain't sharin'

alternateorg on July 22, 2001

Has anyone else noticed that VersionTracker, the Mac-users best-kept secret now has Windows and PalmOS files? Bah to that. I say let those guys find their own shit… VT used to be ‘the Macintosh software source’ not ‘the everybody’ software source.. Now it’s just like Download.com or TuCows or any other useless software site. You ever tried to find software for Mac on Download.com? Terrible. Worthless. VT used to be the only place where any Mac software could be found, and I sincerly hope it doesn’t change just cause they gotta track Winblows crap now. The only other OS I could see happily coexisting on VersionTracker would be Linux, but they’ve got SourceForge all to themselves, for the most part.

We take it for granted…

alternateorg on July 20, 2001

We Mac users are blessed with a great interface and desktop. This is absolutely true. Even MacOS X, despite its departure from the classic ‘Mac’ look is much better than the alternatives, as is proved in this usability report on the GNOME desktop for Linux. It’s really quite fascinating how the Linux/open-source/geek world seriously has no idea on how to make an interface usable. I recommend reading it, as it’s fascinating how many things were done wrong, and how great OS X is, really.

Bit of a yawner

alternateorg on July 18, 2001

Macworld keynote this morning:

1. 3 new PowerMac G4s: 733, 867 and dual 800…Funky new enclosure that was accurately reported by MacOSX.org last week.. only they look a little better for real, but still, no actual presentation of it, just pictures on the screen… CDRW in the entry-level, SuperDrives in the top 2. Giant hard drives in all.. I think 40, 60 and 80. Price points: $1699, $2499, $3499

2. Faster iMacs (no more Dalmation and FlowerPower): 500, 600 and 700 G3s… CDRW across the board.

3. Apps for X: Illustrator, InDesign, GoLive, Maya, FileMaker, etc. The only ones available today are FileMaker and Maya.

4. MacOS X 10.1 available today as Software Update download… Movable dock, DVD playing, burning CDs in the Finder via a new ‘Burn CD’ menubar icon, super fucking fast, etc.

There was other stuff, most of it not important.. you just keep waiting until he smiles and says ‘Oh, and one more thing,’ which he didn’t say today, except the thank Apple employees and their families. So kind of a boring Macworld, but in these economic conditions for computer makers, especially with the EOL of the Cube, you can’t expect them to make too much of a leap. Still.. kind of disappointed by the lack of any change to the TiBook whatsoever.

At leat now running Linux on it would be useless..

alternateorg on July 18, 2001

In the course of my design career, I have had the utter privilege of using Macintosh computers just about exculsively. Now, it has been my experience that while the people who design the world do it on a Mac, the people who use the world do it on Windows. It makes a little bit of sense, and it’s something I’m sort of fine with. And now, if you’re a MacOS X user, you can run Windows on your Mac, as well as X. VirtualPC is nothing new, but hey, it’s on X now.

So I didn't get home until 1:30, but still…

alternateorg on July 17, 2001

I urge you all to get out and do what I did last night: Play a little Quake with some friends, walk down to a record store and pick up the brand-spankin’ new Saves The Day album, ‘Stay What You Are’ (website done by our friends at Liberation Media).

And once you’ve browsed said record store and have made sufficient fun of the pictures of Mudvayne and Slipknot on the cover some retarded metal magazine, go see Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within for a rollicking good animated ride. I should warn you, though: some people co-occupying the theater with us were less than enthused with the movie at its end. These people are morons, and do not understand science fiction: All science fiction has a plot that is so basic it is almost childish, while simultaneously being nearly impossible to understand. What sets good science fiction apart from the bad (say, Final Fantasy from Wing Commander [both based on video games, actually]) is the quality of the acting and the quality of the special effects. At least, that’s my opinion, but I digress. Some people didn’t like it because the plot borders on cheesy, but if you’re someone I would like, you’ll be too enthralled with the quality of animation and the bad-ass-ness of the computer interfaces and machinery used by the characters to pay much attention to the plot.

Better get in line now

alternateorg on July 16, 2001

Here’s where you can watch the MacWorld NY Expo keynote address on Wednesday, July 18. I’d bookmark it now, and open it up like Tuesday night, hitting refresh every 10 seconds all night until 9am ET. Otherwise, it tends to be a little difficult to get in.