Apple may have shipped 2.5 million Macs in spring thanks to Vista

[sanctified Veteran]

in my opinion, the only people that have problems w/ Vista are the ones that arent using it.

Thats quite an arrogant attitude. You are basically saying that Vista its flawless and everyone who uses it likes it.

I have known many, many people who doesnt like it but I know that doesnt mean Vista its unversally unlikeable.

[1759]

Vista is fine - most of the problems I had, last year, where because of problems with Nvidia drivers, and ATI has gotten most of their bugs shaken out too.

It was delayed, yet rushed out of the gate, somewhat like Leopard was IMO, but it's gotten better in most areas too.

New XP machines had bloatware, but Vista has taken it to new levels...that, and the increased HW requirements really tax startup processes.

The problem I've run into with OSX, is the crummy office suites, it's really a killer for me.

I dumped Office 2008 the other day, but Numbers is still completely worthless for me - dear Apple, if you really are serious about the enterprise, get off your consumer apps kick, and make a real Office competitor. Until then, Office 2007 FTW and maybe after.

I do not like Vista in the enterprise that much, it works fine on new our Dells, but most of our PCs are older Dell P4, 512 MB types, XP Pro works great, whereas Vista's UAC causes issues when installing ODBC drivers and some other software, it takes a bit longer setting up a new PC. Thankfully, we don't use Exchange at work; our Windows admin hates it, and she wants nothing to do with it.

[sanctified Veteran]

Are you actually questioning the fact that Macs are the new "cool in thing"? If so... please open your eyes! At the Uni where I work there are hundreds if not thousands of students walking around with Macbooks/iPods/iPhones.

Of course that its the reason for some, but also you are denying the possibility that some other people actually find the system to be better.

[Cara Veteran]

dear Apple, if you really are serious about the enterprise, get off your consumer apps kick, and make a real Office competitor.

God, I can't agree with you more than I do right now. :p

[JMann Veteran]

One of the main reasons I have moved to a Macbook? Vista. :) Also I will stick with XP as long as possible personally, working as an IT Enginner I just find XP better. (Stopping there as I don't want this swayed off-topic).

Nice one Apple imo. :happy:

[Martog]

I think there is a very important factor that was just touched on, ie the students. We are coming into an age of computing where a much larger, younger audience is using technology before and can easy adapt to change more so than older generations can. Thus with this in mind, the younger generations are more inclined to try something new out in technology that is not too familiar with them, while others may want to keep the same as they do not want change. This is a very important factor along with others like stability, ease of use, etc, as if people can take the change and look to alternatives they will, and the younger generations are definately willing to do so, even if they aren't so tech savvy as people who work and troubleshoot computers, etc, they still will go for change if they like it.

[Phixion]

I know that they are the in technology at the moment, but that is not solely due to looks. Apple is the best selling computer in higher education, students not only enjoy the looks of Apple's equipment but also the stability and increased functionality over traditional PC's. :)

iPods are everywhere, again, best (arguable by some, not for this thread) and most established portable entertainment device on the market.

iPhones, same as above only with phone capabilities. :)

Looks count, functionality counts for more.

iPods are okay, the fact you have to sync through iTunes is a killer. You can buy a Cowon iAudio which doesn't rely on crappy iTunes for less ???.

You don'seriously/b> believe that the iPhone is the best in it's class? You can buy cheapand/b> better, you just miss out on the Apple logo, the lush interface and the street cred.

[Cara Veteran]

iPods are okay, the fact you have to sync through iTunes is a killer. You can buy a Cowon iAudio which doesn't rely on crappy iTunes for less ???.

You don'seriously/b> believe that the iPhone is the best in it's class? You can buy cheapand/b> better, you just miss out on the Apple logo, the lush interface and the street cred.

I love iTunes, I have loved iTunes since I can remember. Syncing my iPod and iPhone through iTunes provides me a single point of control for both devices, I wouldn't trade this for anything!

I do think the iPhone is best in its class, however, the iPhone is its own class as there has yet to be a device like it. (Lets be honest, the knock offs don't count, and that counts major brand the ones.) iPhone is a Digital Life Center, it can contain your pictures, music, movies...everything all provided in a simple, easy to use interface. Add in the phone features and true Mobile Internet and it is the best in class device and beyond.

[sanctified Veteran]

iPods are okay, the fact you have to sync through iTunes is a killer. You can buy a Cowon iAudio which doesn't rely on crappy iTunes for less ???.

You don'seriously/b> believe that the iPhone is the best in it's class? You can buy cheapand/b> better, you just miss out on the Apple logo, the lush interface and the street cred.

Some of the iPod features depends of a database file that iTunes knows how to build. Still there are other apps that can do the same, you are not tied to iTunes.

[techbeck]

Odd, I've setup AD on tons of Macs without issue... If you could be more specific as to the problems you're having I'd be happy to make suggestions.

As for the memory, can you perhaps toss me a G5 Model Number that uses that memory so I can look it up specifically, I haven't been able to find any G5 memory that expensive.

The main issue I was having was after I integrated it in AD, desktop Icons and the startup items (preferences/users) never saved. Weird issue that I havnt had time to troubleshoot.

As far as the memory...i dont have a G5 close that I can get hte exact model number. Look on Apple's store and do teh memory selector. Select the newest g5s.

[techbeck]

iPods are okay, the fact you have to sync through iTunes is a killer. You can buy a Cowon iAudio which doesn't rely on crappy iTunes for less ???.

You don'seriously/b> believe that the iPhone is the best in it's class? You can buy cheapand/b> better, you just miss out on the Apple logo, the lush interface and the street cred.

You can use the new version of Winamp to sync iPods....Winamp is free

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

A fair bit of Vista being slow/having issues is probably these OEM manufacturers absolutely strangling the PC's with bloat - 95 included applications, ect.

If I bought any good new PC today, reformatted it and installed Vista myself it would be fine. Not to mention a Vlited copy of Vista, but I won't go that far as everyday people would never use Vlite, let alone know what it is.

However I will add, as a negative for MS, I'd never install Vista if I couldn't use Vlite. It is bloated, and MS should offer more options when your installing to customize your installation.

iPods are okay, the fact you have to sync through iTunes is a killer. You can buy a Cowon iAudio which doesn't rely on crappy iTunes for less ???.

You don'seriously/b> believe that the iPhone is the best in it's class? You can buy cheapand/b> better, you just miss out on the Apple logo, the lush interface and the street cred.

use Floola to manage your iPod on your PC.

I honestly can't recommend this enough - http://www.floola.com/modules/wiwimod/

You can even put the exe on your ipod hard drive and when you go around to a mates, just plug your ipod in, and load floola.exe off your ipod.

iTunes is a POS on Windows.

To be fair, most if not all Mac applications work great on a Mac, but are awful on a Windows PC (iTunes, Safari and Quicktime).

I own a Mac and a PC by the way.

[techbeck]

A fair bit of Vista being slow/having issues, is probably these OEM manufacturers absolutely strangling the PC's with bloat - 95 included applications, ect.

If I bought any good new PC today, reformatted it and installed Vista myself it would be fine. Not to mention a Vlited copy of Vista, but I won't go that far as everyday people would never use Vlite, let alone know what it is.

Most major PC manufacturers dont include alot of crapware...you even have the option to have the PC shipped with a blank HD. I know back in the day PCs used to come with a lot of crap on it...not today. We order Dells at work and all that is on them is Windows XP.

Several years ago they used to come with toolbars, desktop searches, crappy antivirus, AOL...and much more...at least now you have the option to not have this isntalled...of course, if you dont choose this option then you will get a bunch of crap on the PC.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Most major PC manufacturers dont include alot of crapware...you even have the option to have the PC shipped with a blank HD. I know back in the day PCs used to come with a lot of crap on it...not today. We order Dells at work and all that is on them is Windows XP.

Several years ago they used to come with toolbars, desktop searches, crappy antivirus, AOL...and much more...at least now you have the option to not have this isntalled...of course, if you dont choose this option then you will get a bunch of crap on the PC.

Most everyday buyers will probably associate all this extra content as value for money...

Which some of it is, but a lot of it is overkill, and isn't the most efficient choice for the PC (Slow/poor performing Antivirus, ect).

However, yes, I do know things have got better at least (Y)

[Martog]

Most major PC manufacturers dont include alot of crapware...you even have the option to have the PC shipped with a blank HD. I know back in the day PCs used to come with a lot of crap on it...not today. We order Dells at work and all that is on them is Windows XP.

Several years ago they used to come with toolbars, desktop searches, crappy antivirus, AOL...and much more...at least now you have the option to not have this isntalled...of course, if you dont choose this option then you will get a bunch of crap on the PC.

Just what Dell's do you order anyhow? The Optiplex and Vostro's come with almost a bare installation of Windows on them for one. I have not booted up a fresh Dimension in a very long time so I can't say how much stuff they pre-load on them. The main reason especially on cheaper computers the crap is there is because the manufacture gets money for loading it thus able to ship the computer out cheaper than it could without the extra junk.

[Cara Veteran]

Most major PC manufacturers dont include alot of crapware...you even have the option to have the PC shipped with a blank HD. I know back in the day PCs used to come with a lot of crap on it...not today. We order Dells at work and all that is on them is Windows XP.

Several years ago they used to come with toolbars, desktop searches, crappy antivirus, AOL...and much more...at least now you have the option to not have this isntalled...of course, if you dont choose this option then you will get a bunch of crap on the PC.

Dell charges extra to the ordering company/organization to ship that way. If memory serves me right it's $10/$15 per PC depending on contract with the orderer.

[Phixion]

I love iTunes, I have loved iTunes since I can remember. Syncing my iPod and iPhone through iTunes provides me a single point of control for both devices, I wouldn't trade this for anything!

I do think the iPhone is best in its class, however, the iPhone is its own class as there has yet to be a device like it. (Lets be honest, the knock offs don't count, and that counts major brand the ones.) iPhone is a Digital Life Center, it can contain your pictures, music, movies...everything all provided in a simple, easy to use interface. Add in the phone features and true Mobile Internet and it is the best in class device and beyond.

o_O

Fair enough, iTunes is bloated IMO. Foobar2000 has more support for audio files, FLAC etc, replaygain tagging. You can even sync your music to your iPod using plugins. I just don't like how Apple try and lock everything to iTunes, which is inferior in so many ways - it doesn't even play my FLAC files.

I mean, what do they put in iTunes? It's 57MB, Foobar2000 is 2.71MB, B-B-B-Bloatware!

There are phones out there that are better than the iPhone, the fact the iPhone has a brilliant interface is a huge plus. But other than interface, the iPhone hasn't really broken boundaries.

Edited July 9, 2008 by Phixion

[Cara Veteran]

o_O

Fair enough, iTunes is bloated IMO. Foobar2000 has more support for audio files, FLAC etc, replaygain tagging.

There are phones out there that are better than the iPhone, the fact the iPhone has a brilliant interface is a huge plus. But other than interface, the iPhone hasn't really broken boundaries.

Given my entire Audio Collection is AAC / Apple Lossless formats don't matter to me. :)

As for iPhone, I've never once seen a phone that has as robust of a web browser or just all around ease of use like it.

Features are a wonderful thing, however if you can't use them due to bad interfaces or poor implementation what is the point of having them? That is what the majority of 'Superphones' out there suffer from.

iPhone provides full, easy, access to each and every feature it has...that alone breaks the boundaries. If you don't believe that, look at the mobile industry, every company out there is attempting to make an iPhone knock-off styled phone... Imitation is the greatest form of flattery, people don't flatter things that aren't top of the line.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

o_O

Fair enough, iTunes is bloated IMO. Foobar2000 has more support for audio files, FLAC etc, replaygain tagging. You can even sync your music to your iPod using plugins. I just don't like how Apple try and lock everything to iTunes, which is inferior in so many ways - it doesn't even play my FLAC files.

There are phones out there that are better than the iPhone, the fact the iPhone has a brilliant interface is a huge plus. But other than interface, the iPhone hasn't really broken boundaries.

Apple have nothing locked to the iPod.

I just posted a freeware application above in response to your comment that will completely manage your ipod.

iTunes works great on a Mac, but is pretty awful on a PC.

[techbeck]

Dell charges extra to the ordering company/organization to ship that way. If memory serves me right it's $10/$15 per PC depending on contract with the orderer.

Not really....the Optiplex systems were order are pretty cheap. I think Dell and others are learning that the crapware can mess with the system and annoy the hell out of users.

I helped a friend by a laptop a couple years ago. It was a Compaq since she didnt want to spend a lot of money. It had a few crapware installed on it...but that was about it.

[Simon Veteran]

There are phones out there that are better than the iPhone, the fact the iPhone has a brilliant interface is a huge plus. But other than interface, the iPhone hasn't really broken boundaries.

Care to explain what these other boundaries are? Besides the 2MP camera that everyone seems to care so much about. The interface is everything in a phone: it's what you actually use. There's not a lot of hardware you can change. And it has an amazing SDK that will produce incredible applications come July 11.

[Phixion]

Given my entire Audio Collection is AAC / Apple Lossless formats don't matter to me. :)

As for iPhone, I've never once seen a phone that has as robust of a web browser or just all around ease of use like it.

Features are a wonderful thing, however if you can't use them due to bad interfaces or poor implementation what is the point of having them? That is what the majority of 'Superphones' out there suffer from.

iPhone provides full, easy, access to each and every feature it has...that alone breaks the boundaries. If you don't believe that, look at the mobile industry, every company out there is attempting to make an iPhone knock-off styled phone... Imitation is the greatest form of flattery, people don't flatter things that aren't top of the line.

So you've switched/obtained your entire music collection so that it will work with Apples music player? That speaks volumes.

There are knockoffs of the iPhone because like I said, the interface is brilliant. If all phones don't have something vaguely resembling the interface on iPhones within a few years the companies will be in alot of trouble. People expect an interface like the iPhone because it's next gen. The fact it has a 2MP camera in is a HUGE letdown, surely they could do better than that?

What exactly is in iTunes for it to come in a 57MB installer? I know they tried to bundle Safari in iTunes updates to get people to unknowingly download their browser... but come on :)

[techbeck]

So you've switched/obtained your entire music collection so that it will work with Apples music player? That speaks volumes.

There are knockoffs of the iPhone because like I said, the interface is brilliant. If all phones don't have something vaguely resembling the interface on iPhones within a few years the companies will be in alot of trouble. People expect an interface like the iPhone because it's next gen. The fact it has a 2MP camera in is a HUGE letdown, surely they could do better than that?

What exactly is in iTunes for it to come in a 57MB installer? I know they tried to bundle Safari in iTunes updates to get people to unknowingly download their browser... but come on :)

I disagree. I dont like a lot of crap on my phone. All I do on my phone is call, text, and occasionally take a picture. I want to be able to make a quick call without having to click on several menu items first. I am not saying the iPhone is like this..i never used one. I tried a BB Que for about a day and got annoyed with it. Yea, the phone is cool and all but I like to only have to push 2 buttons to make a call. I do have a Que for work but I am required to be able to check my email from wherever I am since I dont always have my laptop with me.

And there are already phones out like the iPhone. Palm, Samsung, and I believe LG all have similar interfaces. I dont think all companies will have the same or similar interface as people dont like to have the same things as everyone else. At least I dont and I am sure many others will as well. I am also sure that someone will come out with a new/better interface than the iPhone soon. Its all about competition and out doing hte other.

[sn00pie]

I think the Mac sales have gone up thanks to the success of what we know as iPods. I don't think there is a single person who doesn't know what an iPod is. Apple was pretty non-existent as a company until the iPod came out and since then Apple has become a household name; thanks to the iPod.

Vista may have contributed to Apple's surge in sales because Vista has been a huge let-down for MS. It failed to deliver the OS we expected, while Leopard slapped it upside down.

iTunes does suck on Windows, no question, that's why I've been using the foobar2000 + iPod plugin for a really long time. No problems at all. iTunes on a Mac is great though. (I've used it)

I myself will be purchasing my first Mac this fall, and hopefully will never look back. I'll probably end up switching my family to Mac too. :)

Rogers has been anal regarding the iPhone, so I decided to wait and buy it from a Apple store. However that won't be happening, so I went and got myself a LG Vu. :p

[Cara Veteran]

So you've switched/obtained your entire music collection so that it will work with Apples music player? That speaks volumes.

There are knockoffs of the iPhone because like I said, the interface is brilliant. If all phones don't have something vaguely resembling the interface on iPhones within a few years the companies will be in alot of trouble. People expect an interface like the iPhone because it's next gen. The fact it has a 2MP camera in is a HUGE letdown, surely they could do better than that?

What exactly is in iTunes for it to come in a 57MB installer? I know they tried to bundle Safari in iTunes updates to get people to unknowingly download their browser... but come on :)

Actually I purchased much of the music from the iTunes Music Store, the stuff I've converted from my CD Collection I wanted the best quality I could get with some space savings so I went with AAC and then Apple Lossless. The fact that it works with my iPod and iPhone is just a perk. :)

You know, people complain about the 2MP camera on the iPhone but I've seen better pictures from the iPhone than I've seen from some N95's which have 5MP if memory serves me right. Still, a camera on a phone is still only as good as it's optics. If you want a camera, get a camera. If you want something to take quick, decent, fun pictures and spur of the moment things, then use your phone. Don't try to take production photos with your phone, if you do...wow.