jbembe
Oct 9, 10:19 PM
In fact, DVD pricing is not the most important factor for Walmart and I suspect Target as well. Both companies employ sophisticated marketing techniques to draw customers into the store and get them to part with more money than they originally intended to spend. Brand-name promotions, item placements and even Walmart's "don't ask, don't tell" return policies are examples. The use of loss-leaders, selling products at a small loss, has proven to be one of the most powerful customer draws. DVDs are the numero-uno loss leader draw of most Walmarts, particularly those in the broad midsection of the country where it's often difficult to find a video rental store, much less a Tower, Borders or Virgin Atlantic store. I recently spent the summer in the Hill Country of Texas and became quite familiar with the Friday evening surge when customers would stream into a Walmart to pick up a DVD for the weekend and then decide to do a little additional shopping "seein' as they was there." I think the stores are rightfully fearful of the loss in foot traffic and the consequential loss of impulse purchases if movie downloads become popular. For the same reason, simply openning up an online store will not insulate them from losses since the profits accrued from DVD sales don't generally arise from the DVDs themselves, but from the additional shopping that is all but inevitable once you enter the store.
Yep, it's similar in Best Buy and other places with the weeks newest CD releases. Normally a few CDs are on a really good sale and others are not so competitively priced. Good thing I can control my impulses... for the most part.
Anyway, unlike my CD collection, I would be quite happy with a terrabyte unit to store all of my movies so I could just scroll through some list on the remote and playback any given movie for the evening-- or download something new. When the iService gives that to us, it will be quite nice.
Yep, it's similar in Best Buy and other places with the weeks newest CD releases. Normally a few CDs are on a really good sale and others are not so competitively priced. Good thing I can control my impulses... for the most part.
Anyway, unlike my CD collection, I would be quite happy with a terrabyte unit to store all of my movies so I could just scroll through some list on the remote and playback any given movie for the evening-- or download something new. When the iService gives that to us, it will be quite nice.
miles01110
Mar 24, 03:51 PM
Most everyone is talking about the hardware, but what about the software that Apple develops? Gesture technology, 3D rendering, AI, all the graphic intensive stuff Apple has always been known for. There's a lot of potential for software application outside of the Apple hardware the military may be interested in too.
Yep. There always has been the potential. The reason it doesn't happen is because (as I said earlier) Apple is almost completely inflexible when it comes to creating something new, modifying an existing application, or otherwise being accommodating to the government. There are exceptions, but they're few and far in between. Microsoft, on the other hand, is more than willing to get their hands dirty.
Yep. There always has been the potential. The reason it doesn't happen is because (as I said earlier) Apple is almost completely inflexible when it comes to creating something new, modifying an existing application, or otherwise being accommodating to the government. There are exceptions, but they're few and far in between. Microsoft, on the other hand, is more than willing to get their hands dirty.
bildio
Apr 20, 03:44 PM
Try updating windows 7 through windows update. Make sure you have the lastest updates for Windows 7. I had this problem too, but after I updated everything, it worked like a charm. No shutdown issues.
It worked itself out. I don't remember if I did anything, like updates for Windows 7, or if it was just related to the initial install & a one time occurence.
It worked itself out. I don't remember if I did anything, like updates for Windows 7, or if it was just related to the initial install & a one time occurence.
fairpro
Apr 19, 09:54 AM
don't like apple? then treat apple like an ex wife or girlfriend.
get a divorce!
then go find somebody else to vent your frustrations on.
get a divorce!
then go find somebody else to vent your frustrations on.
more...
shelterpaw
Sep 1, 12:24 PM
Spending $400 on Vista Ultimate Edition makes up the difference. :) Although the operative phrase here is "most current OS running on their box"--the most current Windows is six years old, so if people want to complain that it costs more money to keep up with modern OS updates than it does to have no major OS updates at all for over half a decade, that's not exactly something I consider a negative. I've been using Vista pre-RC1 for a few days and besides some graphics updates it feels just like XP. The gadgets are not quite as nice as os x. Beyond that, Areo is super slow when you have several applications open and to run it you need 1 GB of ram or that's what they recommend. Vista is a resource hog. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice update, but it has a long way to go.
roadbloc
Apr 23, 03:54 AM
Are you sure you're trying your best? :D
Strangely enough, I'm doing a lot better than I was when I attended college. Having my daughter totally shook my life up.
Strangely enough, I'm doing a lot better than I was when I attended college. Having my daughter totally shook my life up.
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DaveTheGrey
May 2, 12:19 PM
Hi everybody,
at the moment I've got an old non unibody MacBook Pro with an ACD like in the picture below. As apple has switched to the unibody models they started to put a black bezel on the the ACDs and a black keyboard to the MacBooks. What I love about the silver-only-design is, that the content on the screen is much more dominant, the MacBook and the ACD seems to fade away when you are working with them. I just wanted to know what you think about the new vs. old design.
Regards
Dave
at the moment I've got an old non unibody MacBook Pro with an ACD like in the picture below. As apple has switched to the unibody models they started to put a black bezel on the the ACDs and a black keyboard to the MacBooks. What I love about the silver-only-design is, that the content on the screen is much more dominant, the MacBook and the ACD seems to fade away when you are working with them. I just wanted to know what you think about the new vs. old design.
Regards
Dave
admanimal
Mar 26, 04:01 PM
I was wondering if that was an iPad on the table too. Only other thing I think it could be was the bill, but for just coffee? Probably was an iPad! :cool:
I really don't think it's an iPad. Given how it appears to be a bright and sunny day and how much light can be seen reflecting off of most other surfaces, the "iPad's" surface seems too matte.
I really don't think it's an iPad. Given how it appears to be a bright and sunny day and how much light can be seen reflecting off of most other surfaces, the "iPad's" surface seems too matte.
more...
.jpg "hairstyles for round faces for")
dwright1974
Apr 12, 02:06 PM
aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh I want to buy this!!!! But alas I cannot afford it at present, well it depends on if I get a 3DS next weekend or not. But having used the demo of Outlook I love it, much better then Mail IMO.
If anyone knows of a cheaper price then around �160 in the UK let me know cause that's the best I've found.
Are you in education? Or do you have children in education?
If so, then you can buy it for just under �39 from RM (www.RM.com/thebasement).
Full disclosure: I work for RM.
HTH
D
If anyone knows of a cheaper price then around �160 in the UK let me know cause that's the best I've found.
Are you in education? Or do you have children in education?
If so, then you can buy it for just under �39 from RM (www.RM.com/thebasement).
Full disclosure: I work for RM.
HTH
D
NoSmokingBandit
Jun 23, 02:22 PM
That doesnt make it a lie, you still get the first month for $1.
more...
VAmin
Nov 22, 07:42 AM
Wouldn't using the "extra" electricity to power fans to decrease heat lead to less "extra" electricity???? :rolleyes: I hope they really think this through - and I'm sure they will. Of course powering fans isn't the only use for electricity.
Using the electricity to power fans would actually improve the efficiency if the thermoelectric device is placed between the processor and the fan. This would increase the thermal gradient and generate more power than if you were relying solely on heat dissipation to get your gradient.
The only problem with this solution is that high efficiency thermoelectric materials, by design, have low thermal conductivities, so it would not be a good idea to place this between the chip and the heat sink.
I am also skeptical about the claim of 30% efficiency. If we had thermoelectric materials that operated at that efficiency, we could all say goodbye to refrigerator compressors and turbine generators in favor of devices with no moving parts, higher reliability, and no CFCs.
Using the electricity to power fans would actually improve the efficiency if the thermoelectric device is placed between the processor and the fan. This would increase the thermal gradient and generate more power than if you were relying solely on heat dissipation to get your gradient.
The only problem with this solution is that high efficiency thermoelectric materials, by design, have low thermal conductivities, so it would not be a good idea to place this between the chip and the heat sink.
I am also skeptical about the claim of 30% efficiency. If we had thermoelectric materials that operated at that efficiency, we could all say goodbye to refrigerator compressors and turbine generators in favor of devices with no moving parts, higher reliability, and no CFCs.
snberk103
Jun 20, 12:51 PM
The seldom used optical drive is on the back. All the useful stuff is on the front. :D
+1 That is is kind of "Think Different" Apple should be encouraging!
Is Apple thinking that SD cards are going to become the new "floppies"?
Many people who exchange files by 'sneaker net' use CDs, but don't need the capacity of a CD. Plus while rewriteable CDs exist, they are pricey and most people don't use them. Most files are exchanged a barely used CD that then gets shelved and collects dust.
Imagine if people started exchanging SD cards. .....
If Apple can create enough demand for cards, then economies of scale will bring prices down as they become a standard commodity.
As others have mentioned the bigger capacity ones would have all sorts of uses besides the exchange of files. Wow.
Hmm.
I was just having an "idle speculation moment" when the I wrote this. But since several people took the time to respond....
Re-writable optical media was only useful when the price of non-rewritable media was still non-trivial. When the cost of an optical disc is $0.10 in bulk at retail, people stopped caring considering how long it took to "erase" the disc for re-use. ...
Apple is moving towards being a "greener" company. All those nearly blank discs are becoming garbage. Apple may be thinking of pushing people to using a reusable media. Plus.... writing to a CD is not 'minimalist'. Apple makes it easy, but there are several steps involved, and it is not as easy as just dragging and dropping files to another "drive".
? Most people use thumb drives not CD Roms. ...
Yes, except that I usually want my thumb drive back because the cost is not trivial. I did a little research, and the cost per GB of thumb drives vs SD cards in the lower capacity format is slightly higher for thumb drives. I would assume that is because a thumb drive is more substantial (metal plug, metal casing, constructed to stand up to some abuse.) The SD cards I could examine were less substantial. If a factory started churning out 1GB to 4GB SD cards, I think you could bring the cost way down.
No. Apple has an application called Aperture. Many DSLR cameras for professional users (for example the press) use SD cards to save the picture data. HD camcorders use also SD cards to save the video data.
Personally, I use Lightroom myself, since it ties into Photoshop so well, and yes - as a professional photographer I have come across the occasional shooter who uses SD cards as well :rolleyes: (he says tongue in cheek) :).
I was more thinking along the lines of why Apple is suddenly putting SD card readers into several models. They are usually driving new technologies (or ignoring them), not catching up. SD cards have been around for a while now. Why is Apple choosing now to start adding SD card readers. And, in the case of the Mini - on the back. Professional users are not going to use the SD card reader on the back of the Mini (for the most part), they are going to buy a USB SD card reader so that they can use their cards efficiently. At professional rates, saving a minute a card to feed the reader and unload will pay for the USB reader in about a day.
... The reasons why most people do not use [SD cards] for the data exchange are that USB flash drives are much cheaper, more robust and nearly every computer has a USB port.
I don't think USB drives are necessarily cheaper in the small sizes, I did some price shopping - see above for why I think this is so. I agree that every computer has computer a USB port. But that has not stopped Apple before. One of the really big reasons why every computer has a USB port now is that when every computer had a floppy drive, Apple decided it was an old technology and did away with it - before there was an established alternative. USB drives and CD writers picked up the slack, in time.
I'm just wondering *why* Apple is choosing this time to introduce built in SD card readers.
The big flaw to my thinking (besides the fact that there is no compelling reason for it ;) ) is that the Mini puts the SD card reader on the back. That is not user friendly. If you are using an Apple keyboard, you can plug your thumb drives into the very accessible USB ports on the keyboard. Or if you are using the Apple displays, you can use those not quite so convenient USB ports. (Apple may say that you can use your Mini with any keyboard and monitor, but obviously they want you to use their own).
If Apple wanted to make life easy for photographers the SD card reader would have been on the side (front actually, but there was no way Apple was going to clutter up the front) or..... put it into the keyboard in place of a USB port.
So this is just speculation. Think about where Apple may be taking this in the next few months. Can an SDXC card slot be used like an ExpressCard/34 slot?
Cheers
+1 That is is kind of "Think Different" Apple should be encouraging!
Is Apple thinking that SD cards are going to become the new "floppies"?
Many people who exchange files by 'sneaker net' use CDs, but don't need the capacity of a CD. Plus while rewriteable CDs exist, they are pricey and most people don't use them. Most files are exchanged a barely used CD that then gets shelved and collects dust.
Imagine if people started exchanging SD cards. .....
If Apple can create enough demand for cards, then economies of scale will bring prices down as they become a standard commodity.
As others have mentioned the bigger capacity ones would have all sorts of uses besides the exchange of files. Wow.
Hmm.
I was just having an "idle speculation moment" when the I wrote this. But since several people took the time to respond....
Re-writable optical media was only useful when the price of non-rewritable media was still non-trivial. When the cost of an optical disc is $0.10 in bulk at retail, people stopped caring considering how long it took to "erase" the disc for re-use. ...
Apple is moving towards being a "greener" company. All those nearly blank discs are becoming garbage. Apple may be thinking of pushing people to using a reusable media. Plus.... writing to a CD is not 'minimalist'. Apple makes it easy, but there are several steps involved, and it is not as easy as just dragging and dropping files to another "drive".
? Most people use thumb drives not CD Roms. ...
Yes, except that I usually want my thumb drive back because the cost is not trivial. I did a little research, and the cost per GB of thumb drives vs SD cards in the lower capacity format is slightly higher for thumb drives. I would assume that is because a thumb drive is more substantial (metal plug, metal casing, constructed to stand up to some abuse.) The SD cards I could examine were less substantial. If a factory started churning out 1GB to 4GB SD cards, I think you could bring the cost way down.
No. Apple has an application called Aperture. Many DSLR cameras for professional users (for example the press) use SD cards to save the picture data. HD camcorders use also SD cards to save the video data.
Personally, I use Lightroom myself, since it ties into Photoshop so well, and yes - as a professional photographer I have come across the occasional shooter who uses SD cards as well :rolleyes: (he says tongue in cheek) :).
I was more thinking along the lines of why Apple is suddenly putting SD card readers into several models. They are usually driving new technologies (or ignoring them), not catching up. SD cards have been around for a while now. Why is Apple choosing now to start adding SD card readers. And, in the case of the Mini - on the back. Professional users are not going to use the SD card reader on the back of the Mini (for the most part), they are going to buy a USB SD card reader so that they can use their cards efficiently. At professional rates, saving a minute a card to feed the reader and unload will pay for the USB reader in about a day.
... The reasons why most people do not use [SD cards] for the data exchange are that USB flash drives are much cheaper, more robust and nearly every computer has a USB port.
I don't think USB drives are necessarily cheaper in the small sizes, I did some price shopping - see above for why I think this is so. I agree that every computer has computer a USB port. But that has not stopped Apple before. One of the really big reasons why every computer has a USB port now is that when every computer had a floppy drive, Apple decided it was an old technology and did away with it - before there was an established alternative. USB drives and CD writers picked up the slack, in time.
I'm just wondering *why* Apple is choosing this time to introduce built in SD card readers.
The big flaw to my thinking (besides the fact that there is no compelling reason for it ;) ) is that the Mini puts the SD card reader on the back. That is not user friendly. If you are using an Apple keyboard, you can plug your thumb drives into the very accessible USB ports on the keyboard. Or if you are using the Apple displays, you can use those not quite so convenient USB ports. (Apple may say that you can use your Mini with any keyboard and monitor, but obviously they want you to use their own).
If Apple wanted to make life easy for photographers the SD card reader would have been on the side (front actually, but there was no way Apple was going to clutter up the front) or..... put it into the keyboard in place of a USB port.
So this is just speculation. Think about where Apple may be taking this in the next few months. Can an SDXC card slot be used like an ExpressCard/34 slot?
Cheers
more...
Vegasman
Apr 12, 02:44 PM
I find that it corrupts the database when it reaches 2GB in storage, no matter how many messages are involved.
Try reaching that limit again. You will surprise yourself.
Try reaching that limit again. You will surprise yourself.
KnightWRX
Mar 26, 12:32 PM
Doubtful. A judge already said they don't infringe.
Read the news much lately ?
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-25/kodak-wins-round-in-1-billion-patent-case-against-apple-rim.html
The ITC has decided to review that judge's ruling. It's still on.
Read the news much lately ?
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-25/kodak-wins-round-in-1-billion-patent-case-against-apple-rim.html
The ITC has decided to review that judge's ruling. It's still on.
more...
ski2moro
Nov 21, 02:45 PM
He is a minor. Can he be sued in NY? Better question might be, can they collect from a minor in NY?
gugy
Sep 27, 11:29 AM
yeah, bring it on.
10.4.7 is a total crap.
It caused kernel panic in my computer and made it behave totally erratic. I had to uninstall back to 10.4.6
I hope the new upgrade will solve many issues that were created by 10.4.7:mad:
10.4.7 is a total crap.
It caused kernel panic in my computer and made it behave totally erratic. I had to uninstall back to 10.4.6
I hope the new upgrade will solve many issues that were created by 10.4.7:mad:
more...
Windowsrefugee
Apr 24, 12:21 AM
1. 4G (3G) modem so I don't have to carry around my VZW dongle
2. Even better battery life
3. More memory
I don't care so much about backlit keyboard as I really want longer battery life and can always tilt screen forward a little to see keyboard.
2. Even better battery life
3. More memory
I don't care so much about backlit keyboard as I really want longer battery life and can always tilt screen forward a little to see keyboard.
Micjose
Apr 21, 04:46 PM
probably just going to be a spec update this year for the iphone
likemyorbs
Apr 12, 03:00 PM
It's impossible for those who have been oppressed by the majority to be racist - they don't have the power.
Ummm...sounds like something al sharpton would say. That's a load of crap. What do you mean they don't have the power to? We're not talking about racism coming from the government, which is predominantly white in the US. We're talking about, for example, say black people are dining in a restaurant, and they have an issue with white people. They leave their white waitress a horrible tip just because they figure "oh well, her ancestors may have held ours as slaves, so i don't feel bad leaving her a bad tip". To say it's impossible for those who have been oppressed to be racist is laughable. Blacks can be just as racist and vile as whites.
What about denying somebody a job because of their, say, intelligence? Charisma? Any number of things that are largely predetermined?
Not sure what you mean. Elaborate?
Ummm...sounds like something al sharpton would say. That's a load of crap. What do you mean they don't have the power to? We're not talking about racism coming from the government, which is predominantly white in the US. We're talking about, for example, say black people are dining in a restaurant, and they have an issue with white people. They leave their white waitress a horrible tip just because they figure "oh well, her ancestors may have held ours as slaves, so i don't feel bad leaving her a bad tip". To say it's impossible for those who have been oppressed to be racist is laughable. Blacks can be just as racist and vile as whites.
What about denying somebody a job because of their, say, intelligence? Charisma? Any number of things that are largely predetermined?
Not sure what you mean. Elaborate?
citizenzen
Apr 15, 08:19 PM
crime, I'm not sure how I forgot that word. Mea culpa
Nobody is saying you can't discriminate against someone who's shoved a gun in your face and asked for all the money in your cash register.
However, what's your rationale for discriminating against someone who has sat down at a table and wants to order a hamburger and fries?
Males are far more likely to commit violent crimes than females. If you were worried about statistics, then it would make sense to open an "ladies only" establishment.
Nobody is saying you can't discriminate against someone who's shoved a gun in your face and asked for all the money in your cash register.
However, what's your rationale for discriminating against someone who has sat down at a table and wants to order a hamburger and fries?
Males are far more likely to commit violent crimes than females. If you were worried about statistics, then it would make sense to open an "ladies only" establishment.
Queso
Dec 18, 11:08 AM
There's no "overreaction" in the news, just publicity. Do you honestly think a major record company is going to miss such an opportunity for free advertising?
I like the song BTW. Reminds me of my younger days :)
I like the song BTW. Reminds me of my younger days :)
Interstella5555
Feb 24, 10:22 PM
...or Apple could allow returns, like every "normal" store.
No normal store allows software returns. Nice try though.
No normal store allows software returns. Nice try though.
RacerX
Apr 3, 03:00 AM
I think that Apple was probably aiming to make Pages into a desktop publishing program but then found halfway through that most of the features added in were pretty similar to what word has. Maybe that's why Jobs decided to put it head to head with Word?
Pages is a resurrected application from more than 10 years ago. It's feature set and implementation are pretty much the same, just as the reaction of both the media and users.
Pages was never designed to be a page layout replacement. It is designed to be a step above the standard word processor layout aimed squarely at people who know nothing about page layout. This has been (in it's original form) and currently is a template driven application.
What is so amazing is that people are reacting the same way now as they did before. Always thinking that it'll become more than it currently is. This application has had more than 10 years to be rethought out and improved. If it was aiming for page layout, there was plenty of time to move it in that direction.
Pages is to page layout what painting by numbers is to art. Anyone expecting the freedom that a page layout program offers has missed what this is about. It isn't about freedom, it is about empowering people with little or no experience to produce quality documents.
The only reason Pages has been resurrected is that it was an application that Steve Jobs really liked and thought had a place even if it didn't fit into any defined category.
Steve Jobs, 1993: Pages is a stunning product, and I believe it will become a major mainstream product on NEXTSTEP.
Pages could be a good product... as soon as people start taking it for what it is rather than projecting what they want it to be onto it.
Lets look at a 1992 description of Pages from NeXTWorld:The flip side of PasteUp's carte-blanche approach to page design is a layout program from Pages Software, which after several years in the making is close to release under the name Pages by Pages. It guides users to produce well-designed business documents by limiting their choices to a preset range provided in a companion "design model."
Pages by Pages will ship with seven design models, most aimed at corporate design (other models will be available separately from Pages and third parties). A separate program, the Pages Designer Edition, is used to create models.
Each model contains rules for typeface control, column layout, headline styling, and other elements that make up a page design. The idea is that an organization will use the product to standardize on a common look for all its documents. The constrained approach also allows users to create attractive designs easily, with a fairly flat learning curve.
The Pages user interface groups 26 page elements under six basic palettes. All elements are dragged and dropped on the page, and they interact appropriately. For example, a subhead will know that it lives in a column, so it scales to the column width.
Once users are comfortable with a design model, they have several ways to expand or change it. Every element has an inspector with controls to adjust the behavior of the element. Users may also alter a design model by overriding one or more rules, and then saving it as a style sheet. They can also create a design model from scratch with the Designer Edition.
Pages believes it has hit on a fundamentally new ap-proach to page design. It is aimed squarely at business publishing, leaving the graphic-design market to other products.
Does any of this sound familiar?
The first week Pages was out a lot of people were crowing about a new "Word-killer" and I really felt that was offbase because the better comparison really is to Microsoft Publisher. It reminds me of a light version of Pagemaker from 10 years ago.
Pages was compared with PageMaker during it's original run also.
PageMaker was a very powerful application 10 years ago, I should know, I have PageMaker 1.0-6.5 (and still use Aldus PageMaker 5.0a on my PowerBook 2300c today).
Trying to compare Pages to PageMaker does both a disservice. Pages wasn't attempting to be like PageMaker and PageMaker was never as limiting as Pages.
As for the comparison to Publisher... that I don't know about.
I, personally, don't have a need for Pages. TextEdit (with the help of services from other apps) does most of what I need and when I need more than that I have Create. But even though it is not a product I would want, I know people whom this product would be great for.
The best thing to do is to stop comparing it and give it a fair chance based on what it does. If it fills a need for you, great. If it doesn't, then move to what does.
Pages is a resurrected application from more than 10 years ago. It's feature set and implementation are pretty much the same, just as the reaction of both the media and users.
Pages was never designed to be a page layout replacement. It is designed to be a step above the standard word processor layout aimed squarely at people who know nothing about page layout. This has been (in it's original form) and currently is a template driven application.
What is so amazing is that people are reacting the same way now as they did before. Always thinking that it'll become more than it currently is. This application has had more than 10 years to be rethought out and improved. If it was aiming for page layout, there was plenty of time to move it in that direction.
Pages is to page layout what painting by numbers is to art. Anyone expecting the freedom that a page layout program offers has missed what this is about. It isn't about freedom, it is about empowering people with little or no experience to produce quality documents.
The only reason Pages has been resurrected is that it was an application that Steve Jobs really liked and thought had a place even if it didn't fit into any defined category.
Steve Jobs, 1993: Pages is a stunning product, and I believe it will become a major mainstream product on NEXTSTEP.
Pages could be a good product... as soon as people start taking it for what it is rather than projecting what they want it to be onto it.
Lets look at a 1992 description of Pages from NeXTWorld:The flip side of PasteUp's carte-blanche approach to page design is a layout program from Pages Software, which after several years in the making is close to release under the name Pages by Pages. It guides users to produce well-designed business documents by limiting their choices to a preset range provided in a companion "design model."
Pages by Pages will ship with seven design models, most aimed at corporate design (other models will be available separately from Pages and third parties). A separate program, the Pages Designer Edition, is used to create models.
Each model contains rules for typeface control, column layout, headline styling, and other elements that make up a page design. The idea is that an organization will use the product to standardize on a common look for all its documents. The constrained approach also allows users to create attractive designs easily, with a fairly flat learning curve.
The Pages user interface groups 26 page elements under six basic palettes. All elements are dragged and dropped on the page, and they interact appropriately. For example, a subhead will know that it lives in a column, so it scales to the column width.
Once users are comfortable with a design model, they have several ways to expand or change it. Every element has an inspector with controls to adjust the behavior of the element. Users may also alter a design model by overriding one or more rules, and then saving it as a style sheet. They can also create a design model from scratch with the Designer Edition.
Pages believes it has hit on a fundamentally new ap-proach to page design. It is aimed squarely at business publishing, leaving the graphic-design market to other products.
Does any of this sound familiar?
The first week Pages was out a lot of people were crowing about a new "Word-killer" and I really felt that was offbase because the better comparison really is to Microsoft Publisher. It reminds me of a light version of Pagemaker from 10 years ago.
Pages was compared with PageMaker during it's original run also.
PageMaker was a very powerful application 10 years ago, I should know, I have PageMaker 1.0-6.5 (and still use Aldus PageMaker 5.0a on my PowerBook 2300c today).
Trying to compare Pages to PageMaker does both a disservice. Pages wasn't attempting to be like PageMaker and PageMaker was never as limiting as Pages.
As for the comparison to Publisher... that I don't know about.
I, personally, don't have a need for Pages. TextEdit (with the help of services from other apps) does most of what I need and when I need more than that I have Create. But even though it is not a product I would want, I know people whom this product would be great for.
The best thing to do is to stop comparing it and give it a fair chance based on what it does. If it fills a need for you, great. If it doesn't, then move to what does.
spicyapple
Nov 11, 05:47 AM
PC dude looks to be wearing a wig. Please tell me Japanese guys at least comb their hair.
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