Comment on the New MacBook Pro

Please don't eliminate the ExpressCard slot. Many professional photographers still use the superior compact flash media over SD, because it's faster and supports larger sizes. The ExpressCard slot offers a plethora of expansion options, including CF adapters. SD is absolutely useless to a professional photographer. I would much rather have a laptop with a normal replaceable battery and an Expresscard slot. Apple used to cater to creative professionals, not just PC switchers.

Thanks for your time and consideration.

The above was a comment I sent to Apple regarding there new MacBook Pro line. Every since Steve Jobs took over and "saved" Apple from bankruptcy, some of the strangest technological design decisions have been made:

1) Killed Off the Clones (Probably was a good "business" decision).
2) First G3 "PowerMacs" with limited RAM expansion.
3) Original Imac with no floppy drive.
4) Single button hockey puck mouse.
5) The Cube
6) Powermacs G3/G4's with no Dual Optical Drive Support.
7) A whole series of Powermacs with no "built in" Audio In Support.
8) Glossy screens with No matte options.
9) Elimination of the ExpressCard Slot in 15" MacBook Pro's.
10) Snow Leopard already dropping support for the PowerPC G5.

All things considered, I do believe Steve Jobs probably saved Apple from financial ruin. He's made some brilliant business decisions and has successfully catered to the average PC user. But, I think "user experience" has suffered for it.

Please feel free to posts other examples of technology/design flubs, correct any errors I might've made, or make suggestions on how to improve Apple,...

Alternate Operating Systems

I've been playing around more with the BeOs, and am amazed how
efficient and fast it is. I've been doing things like playing
multiple videos and animations at the same time, with no apparent
slow downs. Not very amazing when using today's super powerful,
yet over taxed computer hardware. But considering I'm using an
old Powermac 7500 w/ a single 233MHz 604e and 512MB of RAM
running an operating system that's 15 years old - That's pretty
impressive. The BeOS also supports dual processing and G3 upgrades,
but there's no G4 processor support.

Too bad the BeOS didn't get much support from the major software
companies like Adobe and Microsoft. That's what killed the Amiga
and the BeOS. They just couldn't compete with Macs and PC's running
Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft Office. Computers without professional and popular applications are pretty useless, except for the few hobbyist and tinkerers out there.

I wonder if it was the plan from the "get go" to design software
with bloated slow code, so people would have to spend more money and upgrade every few years. Just consider, we went to the moon with
computers not much more powerful than today's pocket calculators.
Now there's a good example of "slow" hardware accomplishing a
complicated and impressive task. Of course the mission got a lot
of help from very fast and efficient computers - The human brain.

There are just too many old computers in land fills. There's got to be
a better way. Maybe more licensing deals between hardware and software companies. I would love to here some other suggestions.

On the positive side, Apple's new Snow Leopard OS is 7GB smaller than
the previous version. That's a good sign. Although, it's Intel only,
meaning computers that are just a few years old are no longer supported. Rant Over.

Glossy vs Matte laptop screens.

Glossy
Pros
Brighter Outdoors
Greater viewing angle

Cons
More Reflective
More Eye Strain (In my Experience)
More Maintenance (Screen Cleaning)

Matte
Pros
Less Reflective
Less Eye Strain (In my Experience)
Less Maintenance (Screen Cleaning)

Cons
Dimmer Outdoors
Shallower viewing angle

Summary
I've used both and in my experience I prefer Matte, because I'm a graphics pro and the reflections from a Glossy screen are just to distracting. Also, I use may laptop mainly indoors. If you use your laptop outdoors a lot, I would recommend the Glossy finish. Even though they are more reflective than the Matte screens, Matte screens are just too washed out and dim outdoors. I wonder if Matte screens absorb more sunlight and if some kind of glass/plastic cover you could slip over the screen would help outdoor viewing? My advice is to view both Glossy and Matte screens indoors and outdoors, and determine for yourself.

CSZ Radio

Cool Stuff Zone

URL Hoarding

People who obtain URL addresses and do nothing with them or use them inappropriately are really starting to annoy me. I'm going to use this post to list URL hoarding offenders. Feel free to add your own under comments. USE IT, OR LOSE IT!

www.albertking.com
www.arethafranklin.com
www.brandnewheavies.com
www.coolzone.com
www.funnyshirts.com
www.happydays.com
www.voyager1.com
www.voyagerone.com

www.cafepress.com/heavymetal
www.cafepress.com/science
www.cafepress.com/sciencefiction
www.cafepress.com/stargazer
www.cafepress.com/thezone

More to come,...

AppleSoft

A list of MicroSoft like tactics Apple has done over the years:

1) Killed off the clones.
2) Fired a lot of the original UI designers after SteveO took over.
3) No OS 9 boot support on newer machines.
4) Took away features from Quicktime - became Quicktime Pro.
5) Killed iTunes 4 true music sharing.
6) No Safari 3 support for OS X Jaguar or Panther.
7) Slower, bigger OS updates.

Feel free to list your own under comments,
or correct me if I'm misinformed,...

Apple Customer Care

Recently I tried to send Apple Computer an iBook G4 that developed the dreaded white splotches on the screen (areas on the screen that appear whiter and brighter than the rest). The iBook still had a year of extended warranty coverage, so I decided to take it down to my local Apple store
at the International Plaza mall in Tampa, FL.

One of the highly over confident tech guys tolled me that the problem was a common one (what happened to Apple quality?), and that the warranty should definitely cover it - NOT!

A week later I get a call from Apple telling me the problem was pressure related and not covered under the warranty. The iBook is in excellent condition cosmetically and well taken care of. The problem is obviously a design flaw and not a result of user misuse or abuse. Suffice it to say, Apple wanted to charge me $750 for a new display. Screw that, so I told them to send it back with no repairs. I just hope it doesn't get damaged during shipping.

Now after this depressing and enlightening ordeal, I thought about never buying an Apple product again, then I realized it's really the only game in town if your a graphic designer. Linux and Windows are not viable options, but I would switch in a heart beat if Windows didn't have such security and virus problems; and Linux had a decent GUI, was more user friendly and could run Photoshop natively without emulation software. The biggest advantage the Mac had over other platforms was user friendliness, but with the birth of OS X, that's pretty much over. It's still not as troublesome as Windows, but it appears Windows is getting better and the Mac OS is getting worse. The Mac OS has just become another GUI shell over a command line driven operating system. Now don't get me wrong there are some things I really like about OS X; protected memory and true multitasking, but it could be so much better - I'll leave that for another rant.

Apple is not the company they used to be where they cared more about innovation and customer support and less about the bottom dollar. Does a technology company really have to sacrifice quality and customer care to be profitable. Look at Microsoft; they put out mostly crap, but they're one of the richest companies in the world.

TV and Excessive Graphics

I don't mean to sound like Jerry Seinfeld, but what's the deal with TV?

It seems every year more reality based programs pop up. Are fictional stories too difficult to write? Are reality shows easier or cheaper to produce? Or are the so called creative types in the field just getting dumber and lazier? It doesn't take much imagination to get a group of young pretty people together and film them acting like stupid drunk primates. I guess people enjoy watching others suffer, because it makes them feel superior or just better about their own lives. I really don't know for sure, but it does appear that our imaginations and attention spans are being adversely effected in some way.

Also, another negative aspect of television are the flashy, quick cutting graphics. They're getting so bad, that sometimes I have to close my eyes just so I don't get a headache. I wonder how this effects people who are prone to seizures? Right now I pretty much Tivo everything so I can zoom through the commercials, which are the worse culprits, but, even then the excessive graphics are hard on the eyes. Even the internet is swamped with flashy graphics; Flash users take notice. Often I have to turn off Java Script in my browsers preferences, just to give my eyes a break, but then there are sites that require it, so I'll have to go back to my preferences and turn Java Script on again. I won't even go into Microsoft's bastardization of Java Script and how they are forcing everyone to use their version, making it very difficult for people using older technology or different operating systems. Don't force me to upgrade - I will leave that for another rant.

Back to the subject,...
Conspiracy theorist would say that it is all some master plan by the dark ones to dull are imaginations and shorten our attention spans. Increasing cases of A.D.D may be a direct result. Makes you wonder if there are subliminal messages in those quick cutting graphics flashing across the idiot box. Idiot box, what an appropriate term for television. I for one am seriously considering cutting out TV all together.

Now that I think about it, Gene Roddenberry's vision of the future might be pretty accurate. Just people learning, experiencing and bettering themselves, without a TV in sight. When I was younger I would have shuttered at the thought of no TV, but now it sound pretty good, maybe even necessary. When people finally wake from their delusional slumber, and their imaginations begin to stir again, you might just start seeing televisions being thrown out of windows.

I feel big changes are in store for all of us. Hopefully good changes.

Rant over.

Poems

Time

To go back in time,
and displace your young soul.
memories you'll have or share,
young or old.
As you live your life again,
and make changes to your past.
memories you once had,
fade or last.
Would you exist in the present,
aware of the changing times.
two different sets of memories,
conflicting time lines.
Would you exist in the past,
leaving your present behind.
probability quantum paradox,
stranger in the mind.

by Renick Marsh

Battle Man

Hang in there battle man,
your objective clear, brave and true.
Fight the enemy and survive.
Withstand the pounding guns,
with emotions numb.

by Renick Marsh

Thoughts of man

Give me more you bore,
never say we.
existing, resisting,
beach house by the sea.
Dig those crazy consequences cat,
that don't apply to me.
living it up in a jello mold,
ruler of the sea.
Aging funky furious,
live and let be.
caring, repairing,
thoughts by the sea.

by Renick Marsh

Waterfall

Free Standing Waterfall,
I compare to the.
fluent, powerful provider,
for all the world to see.
Peaceful and turbulent,
beacon in the night.
liquid jungle melodies,
wondrous sight.

by Renick Marsh

Plastic People

Nip and Tuck,
mutant deceiver;
insatiable greed,
doubting disbeliever.
Self control out the door,
stretch marks I detect;
fill that hole
with constant distractions,
no time to reflect.

by Renick Marsh

Traveler

Remain constant,
from point of departure,
to point of no return.
Will the traveler ever arrive,
wander and roam.

by Renick Marsh

Continuance

When you think of me,
what will your perceptions be.
Of relationships and love,
through my eyes you've seen.
When you look back and see,
how forgiving and naive I could be.
You just might think to be,
a coward like me.

by Renick Marsh

Panic

Death panicked the ritual beast.
Strive for obscurity and you will find,
that life is far less demanding.
The daily grind your peace of mind,
what's worth your sanity.

by Renick Marsh

In the Zone

May the Gods smile upon me,
guide my hand straight and true.
Battle for that round ball,
cool calculating crew.
Can't describe the feeling,
it's therapy of sorts.
Life's not so chaotic,
when I'm running the courts.

by Renick Marsh

Dark Thoughts

Hunter on the road,
Preying, hurting, suffering.
Purge those dark thoughts,
emotional pretender.
What are you feeling,
nothing at all.
Hidden and repressed,
festering mess.
Didn't your mommy love you,
you narrow minded freak.
Be content in hating yourself,
leave that child alone.

by Renick Marsh

Cool Stuff Zone

Cool Stuff Zone specializes in Graphic and Web Site design. Custom designs on T-Shirts, Greeting Cards, Collectables, Mugs and more.

PorkChop Productions, a division of CoolStuffZone, specializes in LP/Tape to CD conversions, audio restorations and custom music compilations.

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