Always a Market for Excellence
From
Andrew Main
engadget.com's
Peter Rojas asks: "So how does Apple avoid what happened to the
Mac?"
Haven't read the article - don't have time - but this one
sentence makes it plain where this typical computer writer is
coming from, i.e. that "what happened to the Mac" is some kind of
fate worse that death that must be avoided if at all possible.
What happened to the Mac? Yes, the Mac didn't become the
worldwide 95%+ standard computing platform, and I for one am
thankful. Apple is arrogant enough now and probably would be very
like Micro$oft if it occupied Micro$oft's "niche." However, though
the herd animals may be mystified, the Mac didn't cease to exist
either.
What happened to the Mac is pretty much what happens to all
truly excellent products in a world where mediocrity (or less) is
good enough for most. What, after all, happened to Rolls Royce?
BMW?
These companies are not considered failures (certainly not by
themselves, their stockholders, or their customers) because they
sell only a tiny fraction of the numbers sold by Ford, GM, and
other purveyors of barely-good-enough, quickly-obsolescent,
forgettable junk.
As for the iPod, even if - as seems likely, assuming Apple
continues its policy of keeping close control over its products
instead of licensing them so the world can mess them over - its
market share declines down to 20%, 10%, or less (like the Mac), it
will continue to serve the market of those who appreciate
quality.
We may be a minority, but we will always be here. The bulge at
the middle of the bell curve may be all the myopic can see, but
it's not all there is, and so long as there is anything
approximating a free market, there will always be a market for
excellence.
Andrew Main
Hi Andrew,
I agree with your analysis.
Charles
Sick WallStreet
From Adrian Carter
Hi Charles,
I was wondering if you could help me with a problem I have
encountered on a WallStreet 266
MHz PowerBook.
Basically a while ago the machine sheared it's screen hinges and
as a result tore the left hand ribbon cable from the logic board to
the screen itself. I replaced the hinges and the ribbon cable but
that didn't solve the problem. The 'Book powered up, but there was
no display.
I wondered if perhaps the cable getting broken had damaged the
screen, so I replaced it with a known working WallStreet screen I
had in stock. Again the machine powered up but the display didn't
work.
One thing worth mentioning with this machine is it is running
OS X 10.3.8 courtesy of XPostFacto,
when I connect it to an external monitor, the external display
functions when booted into OS 9 but not when booted into
OS X.
Is there anything you could suggest that I might want to try to
resolve this issue?
Thanks
Hi Adrian,
Since the external video works, at least in OS 9, it seems
that your video circuitry is still functional.
I'm wondering if your replacement ribbon cable might be
defective.
Were I troubleshooting this myself, I would concentrate first in
getting things working in OS 9 and then tackling
OS X.
It's a tough problem to diagnose hands-off (or probably on in this
case).
Hope this helps a little.
Charles
From Adrian Carter
Hi Charles,
Thanks for the reply.
The cable itself looks fine and appeared to be new old stock
when I got it. Unfortunately these days WallStreet parts are pretty
expensive and very thin on the ground (nonexistent in the UK), so I
have no other cable to try. As I think I mentioned before, I have a
gut feeling the logic board might have took damage when the
original cable sheared (it was switched on at the time). I've had
partial logic board failures on other Macs in the past, and I don't
think this is beyond the realms of possibility.
Another thing I'm going to try is another hard drive in the
machine, essentially one with a plain vanilla OS 9
installation, just to put my mind at rest that XPostFacto isn't
involved.
In the meantime I intend to put the Mac into cryogenic
suspension and simply wait around for WallStreet bits and pieces to
come available at decent prices. I could be waiting for a long
time, but I like this machine too much too even think about
stripping it for bits - it was my first proper laptop, and the
amount of times it has bailed me out of tricky situations means
I'll keep it if only to show my grandkids the machine that got me
through my adult education degree :)
Thanks again & all the best
Adrian Carter
Hi Adrian,
Yes, I'm no expert on these matters, but it seems entirely
plausible that there could be circuit damage that could affect the
output to the LCD while the external VGA output still worked.
Charles
ColorIt
From: Chris Smolyk
Charles...
I was rereading the emails that come up on my name in Google and
saw your mention of ColorIt. Is
that still available somewhere?
chris s
Hi Chris,
It sure is.
Color It! 4.0.x works great in System 7.x through OS X Classic
Mode and is faster than any native OS X graphics application
that I'm aware of, but it does require that you keep Classic mode
up and running in OS X.
Color It! 4.5, a Carbon application that supports both OS 9
and OS X natively, is almost ready for prime time. It is
definitely no longer vaporware. I have a beta copy on my hard drive
that I've been using for several months.
The full price for new users of Color It! 4.0 is $49.95 (Electronic
Delivery - CD $5 extra for shipping).
For more information, visit <
http://www.microfrontier.com/products/colorit40/>.
To receive an email notification when the OS X version of
Color It! will be available, click here: http://www.microfrontier.com/general/whats_new/form.html
Charles
Battery for Pismo
From Michael
Hi Charles,
I've read your article [Lombard/Pismo Battery Replacement, Webmail
Problems with OS X, OS X on an iBook 300, and More], and you
mention the Newer Tech replacement batteries for Lombard/Pismo
PowerBooks - but do you have information on where to buy these?
Through the online store at OWC, but is it available in
US stores?
Hope you can help me. Thanx!
All the best,
Michael
Hi Michael,
To the best of my knowledge, these batteries are only available
through Other World Computing's online store.
Charles
ATI VersaVision on New PowerBook
From Michael DeJong re: ATI
VersaVision on New PowerBook
Howdy
I just want to confirm, I am eyeing up a PowerBook 15" with the 128 meg 9700
mobility chip. I have the new HP 2335 23" monitor which will do
landscape and portrait mode. Will the ATI update with VersaVision
work, or do I have to stick to buying a G5 tower with the proper
ATI card?
Thanks
Hi Michael,
I don't know.
I would suggest contacting ATI at 905-882-8440 or through this
link: <https://support.ati.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=894>
Charles
I Agree with Linus
From Peter da Silva in response to Linux Creator Switches to
Macintosh:
If it doesn't run Mac OS, it's not a Mac.
Hi Peter,
But is a Macintosh brand computer not still a Macintosh when it's
running Linux? If not, what would it be?
Charles
Oxford 911 vs. Prolific Chip
From Peter da Silva
When you review combo (FW +
USB) enclosures, you should make a note of whether they use the
Oxford 911 chipset or not. I've bought two enclosures with the
Prolific chipset and sent one back and relegated the other to the
PC world. The Oxford chipset works, reliably, and so do older
Prolific products that use the Oxford 911 chip, but the current
generation of PL chips are junk.
Hi Peter,
I haven't reviewed an enclosure for quite some time, although I
frequently post news releases on various products.
I'll keep your suggestion in mind.
Charles
EasyWatch ElGato DVB-T PCMCIA Module
From Jacques De Witte
Hi
Wouldn't you have any other comments or feedback about this module please?
Cheers
Jacques
Hi Jacques,
I'm sorry; I don't. I haven't used it. Perhaps some of our readers
have.
Charles
Re: PowerBook Tech
From Steven Hunter re: PowerBook
Tech Follow Up:
Mr. Rocek should contact his credit card company as soon as
possible.
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