Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock

October 25

Jim Barksdale of Netscape. What a pussy! According to MacWeek.Com, Jimmy is whining that poor widdle Apple wasn't going to get Micosoft Office - unless Steve included Internet Explorer. Forgetting for the moment that the whole 150 million dollar deal was spawned as a way to settle a trivial lawsuit held over from even before Gil Amelio was at the helm - forgetting that Microsoft was considering dumping the Mac anyway since they, and many other companies, were loosing money on Mac software development hand over fist in general (see Steve Balmer's latest sound bites on the matter in back-issues) - you have to remember that Netscape, at the time, was serving up nothing but huge piles of dung to the likes of Quicken and AOL that wouldn't even touch Netscape with a 10 foot cattle prod. The product was so behind the requirement list for bundled apps - that even the current Apple board member, whose name is synomonous with the CEO of Quicken, was beside himself by the list of over-the-top support Microsoft was offering - and Jim Barksdale wasn't. Suffice it to say, many people that Netscape courted - prior to being overtly branded "inferior" by industry pundits during the congessional hearings earlier this year - didn't want the stinkburger he was offering as an expensive suite of products. Did Jim decide to hunker down, and improve his flakey - crash-prone browser and server suite? Hell NO! Let's blame MICROSOFT! YEEEAAH! Now THAT's competition! It didn't have anything to do with dialogue over how Apple was going to back up Microsoft for it's investment - NOOOoooooo. It didn't have anything to do with the fact that Apple and Microsoft were talking months prior to pussy-boy Barksdale chimed in his dour little fist over a product with more bugs than a bait shop. Nope - it's all Bill Gates' fault. Darn that rich son of a bitch all to heck!

October 26
Mac The Knife reports that Gateway is actually going to unleash a consumer bombshell with a new series of G3 and Intel powered boxes that will be running a reincarnated version of the Amiga OS - otherwise known as (for all you Trick or Treaters out there), THE OPERATING SYSTEM THAT WOULDN'T DIE (Cue cheesy horror music)!!!! Here's an intriguing run-down of features and prices being offered for the up and coming system. First all of the configs will be under a thousand clams - not surprising since the Amiga has always been a bargin compared to Macs. Before Wintel users chimed in the Apple price argument for their purchases, Amiga users were always agast at how mind bogglingly stupid Mac buyers had to be to pay so much for a box as undersupported as the Amiga was. Then there's the kicker with the G3 configs. First they're going to sell a G3 box at levels much lower than the "lowly" iMac's price - and here's the punchline to this gag - it will run Mac OS' 040 emulation as well as possibly Power Mac instructions. This isn't too suprising since Amiga's had Mac OS emulation waaay back around 10 years ago. It's not even surprising that even at 040 emulation only, all of the software will run on the Gateway boxes because of that backward compatable stuff that is all the rage with the MacJihaders who are gushing praise over their cobweb covered Mac IIcx's. What IS suprising is that the 040 emualtion speeds outclock Apple's own 040 emulation for older software and even Apple's system extension sets that are still non-native to the PPC platform (is QuickDraw native YET GUYS?)! Ouch! That's gonna leave a mark! A box encased in a cow patterned shipping container running Mac apps faster than Macs in emulation - with full multitasking ala classic Amiga user design (which enjoyed such trivial frills 10 plus years ago) and software support from a tennacious userbase that dwarfed Apple's most annoying Jihad members on an order of magnitude years ago? Imagine what the special effects artists at Babylon 5 must be thinking! Drool! Drool! I also like the reports that Gateway will ship Intel versions with partitions of BEos as well from the factory along with the Amiga OS 4.0 partitions. So lessie - you could get a powerful Intel or G3 line of computers from Gateway with Windows 98, BEos, Amiga OS 4.0 and Mac OS emulation at less than the cost than an iMac, with more features, more ports - a floppy drive - AND a monitor. I suppose the MacJihad will find some insecure way of bashing this wonder-box left and right even though it will be the ultimate swiss OS army knife of the decade. Steve Jobs already is nervous from reports of him offering 100 million plus to Gateway to prevent them from releasing it. The last rumor is just that - a far flung rumor. But when Steve Jobs is mentioned in such things - it's only a few months before it's proven so I'll take the chance on truth being wierder than fiction.

October 27

Some other ironic justices comb through grey matter and dusty data banks when thinking about the Amiga/BEos/MacOS Gateway box scenario, aside from MacJihadders already going apeshit over such things in true retrograde fashion. One is the fact that the Amiga user camp has migrated away to the Mac OS camp and would GLADLY jump ship for a new ultra versitile Amiga box in a flash. Second the fact that seeing two Jihaddesque user camps duke it out in the age of the internet makes a sociological sociopath like myself drool in anticipation. Lastly it's true karmic irony that during the Microsoft Sculley Vs Gates trial over trash can icons and GUI importance that the Amiga camp was just a TAD defensive. They were defensive to the point that during several computer expos - a great many were seen wearing and selling buttons with an American Revolutionary snake in pieces with the words "keep your damn lawyers off my OS" fearing that the Amiga OS was next on the list. Well that didn't come to pass, but Apple users on various chat areas are already getting defensive over their new predicament. They're dismissing the Gateway reports already over the most pissy of details - like price. Seems they can't believe that Apple can charge so much for their G3 equipped computers, while Gateway can charge less for similar configs running the Amiga OS. Uh - MacJihadders? Get a fucking clue! Apple is reporting breaking the 25% profit margin barrier and you people think it's impossible to charge less for a computer with the G3 in it? Well, here's a little secret! Apple has always overcharged for this shit. It's only "perhaps" hard to believe that someone else can do otherwise since no one else till now has given the G3 line the time of day. But there's another secret that has already been mentioned that needs re-emphasis. Amigas were ALWAYS CHEAP! I mean for Chrissake, when did assholes in the media think that sub 1000 dollar computers were such a big deal? Because Apple never sold one for so low. Amigas? Less than 1000. Atari STs? Less than 1000. Hell my first Atari 1200XL and Commodore 64 were less than 500 each! - just above 500 if we wanted monitors instead of TVs! And MacJihadders are pissed about this? Pathetic!

October 28

Several sites including Apple's have noticed a little problem with Mac OS 8.5. Seems that it looses the ability to see the hard disk - as well as files of all sorts. The hard drive one is the worst - since disk recovery has become pretty nasty on the Mac OS side with no "safe" boot or any option to get a Mac back on it's feet apart from wrestling with floppys (how iMac users are going to deal with this is even more interresting). Suffice it to say - only those that rushed out to bludgeon their working systems with an unproven OS are getting their just deserts, without seeing if it's working on an associate's machine, or isolating it on a test unit first. Well, that's because Apple fans are still under the misguided tact that if it has a fruit logo on it - it must be good. Wintel users have been cautious in upgrades for years, and even the most power of the Mac power users are familiar with Quark and Adobe updates that are as stable as plutonium. Not the Jihad though. If it's from Apple, it's always flawless - perfect - and care-free. Pitty reality has been indicating otherwise.

October 29

ZDnet has been following the trail of trashed hard disks, but the user flurries have been snowballing in their "talkback" section at the end of the article in question. It seems - predictably so - that the mere mention of a flaw in the ever perfect facade of Apple must be a massive conspiracy of some kind. This was obvious in most of the letters that accused ZDnet in being "biased, harsh, dismissive," or otherwise in cahoots with other Apple media bashers. What's lost in the rabble rousing is the fact that perhaps - just perhaps - it would be a good idea to notify users of a potential problem that might trash their hard disks. This isn't a little - invisible file bullshit - one of those. This is a wholesale slaughter of the system. One of those bugs it might be handy to be aware of. Nope. MacJihadders would rather burry their heads in the sand - than warn users of a potentialy crititcal problem to keep Apple's glow intact. Perverse? You bet! Warped? Oh ya! Something they're unique to in brain-dammaged behavior? Amazingly, yes! Because other users noted that when the same kind of problem is uncovered in Wintel updates, most if not all, users are glad to be kept in the loop on such things. Many offer thanks to the publications and tech sites that find such bugs. No complaints - thanks for the tip! It's just futher indications that not only are the MacJihad merely paranoid - but inherently dangerous to their own user-base from their sheer pompacity.

October 30

One final note from the ZDnet "talkback" follies - one last user wondered why the MacJihad bash every system under the sun not branded with an Apple logo - but insist that Apple must survive to allow people a choice in their OS needs. How they keep these two contradictory thoughts alive at the same time is quite the mindfuck. Perhaps it explains why Steve Jobs was using Henry Ford in it's advertisements from Chiat-Day. Much like Ford's initial color selection for their Model T's, Apple would like you to have the choice of any OS that fits your needs - as long as it's exclusively Mac OS. This is too wierd. If you want an underpowered, overpriced OS that is proported to be perfect, then you're supporting "choice". Not like those Linux, BEos, Irix, Solaris, Windows 98 and Windows NT people who - how dare they - actually chose something more in keeping with their server strategies, high-end database functions, and other many - many areas that have fallen flat on the Mac side. It's obviously a conspiracy - not a user choice!

October 31

MacWeek.com's mailbag is overflowing again with reports from readers about various ways that Apple has either fallen a little short of their own hype - or how bad they're being huckstered. Let's watch! First item: One user has coined a new phrase for digital abandonment in the computer age. In the 80's, you could be orphaned by hardware manufacturers going belly-up and leaving users stranded for technical support - as well as dwindling end-user applicaitons. Now you can have a functioning computer, built by a hardware company that's still alive - but nothing to run on it. Welcome to the world of "OS outcasts"! What a great concept! And we're not talking just obvious flops like NeXT which NEVER got anything significant published for the platform - we're talking software companies that are abandoning a user-base they took money from a mere few days before.The run-away (to coin a phrase) support in this instance was CompuServe which is saying B'Bye to Mac account holders in terms of any future updates for it's software shell. Next item: Powerbook customers may want to make a deal for one of those squished Wintel laptops from Apple's TV ads. Seems that the return and repair maze for faulty Powerbooks is something out of Dante's Inferno. One customer when asking what the repeat return for repair rate is - found 5 TIMES TO BE THE NORM. I mean talk about not getting it right the first time, it's almost like what Robin Williams said about reincarnation - "life a bitch, and then you die - and then you die - and then you die". On another letter: one user compared Microsoft's contention of no futher Mac OS support from Steve Balmer to GM's overlooking of auto markets. How about lack of sales for US Steel in the 80's? If you build it - you could just end up loosing a buttload of money these days in the software biz when no one comes. And lastly, Mac clone users are still checking their fillings in their molars after Steve Jobs' kicking spree - as well as all those Power Mac buyers who are still noting that their OS options are gone without a new system purchase. Further whine for the cheesy parties that claimed classic Macs forever.