Even the ChosunIlbo thinks that Microsoft Vista is a failure. Now if all these awful Korean sites will quit using activeX . . .
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30 Comments
Huh? I was under the impression that OSX was still restricted to running on Mac PCs, and that only the hacked versions would run on generic PCs… Has this changed, or is the reporter getting confuzzled by the fact that Mac PCs use Intel chips now?
How can the reporter not mention Linux, particularly Ubuntu?
Because Linux is not, and never will be, ready for general consumer use.
I’m an unhappy Vista user — it seems great, except way too slow because needs twice as much RAM as i have to run as its supposed to (what MS said was the minimum RAM needed for Vista) — and my motherboard won’t accept any more RAM. So until i can by a new ‘puter…
The other day I was looking at top end Apple PCs for my photography needs, etc. I was lucky to have an interesting conversation with an Apple trained salesman. We both agreed that Apple currently has the best solution. But, alas! for the poor Korean sales guy. It’s really a tough sell in Korea for Apple platforms.
Why? (and you can guess!) All the good pirated software runs only on IBM compatible platforms. There is comparatively few “free” application software packages out there for Koreans to bootleg for their Apple computers.
And as for me, I have spent thousands of dollars on legitimate software licenses and it is still a tough decision to jump platforms and relicense/pay for the same/similar applications again.
Lawyers face the same issues: There is a lot of specialized law-office software available only for Windows.
If you have some Windows software you’d like to run on the Mac, there are three (four, really) options available to you: (i) install your copy of Windows into a separately-booting partition using an Apple utility called Boot Camp; (ii) emulate Windows using an open-source program called WINE (Wine Is Not an Emulator) which you can buy in a commercial version called CrossOver; and, best of all, (iii) install Windows into a virtualization platorm — of which there are two: Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion.
I have purchased all three commercial products, but I haven’t used Boot Camp. Finally I have settled on VMware Fusion. It’s excellent and highly recommendable. But to be honest with you, Mac OS X-native applications are usually better and less expensive. For example, Apple has a very good “productivity suite” they call iWork, which has a word-processor/page layout application called Pages, a spreadsheet called Numbers, and a world-beating presentation application called Keynote. If it’s good enough for Steve, it’s good enough for me.
Tom, you can usually get cross-platform upgrades or “cross-grades”. Talk to Adobe, et al. about it. They usually have the same software for both platforms so it is no big deal.
I’m a happy Vista user (yes, we really do exist)… It does pretty much anything I want or need it to do, and looks pretty doing it. On the other hand, even just running Firefox, it takes up 54% of my 2 gigs of RAM, which just ain’t right.
“Because Linux is not, and never will be, ready for general consumer use.”
Really? Funny, but I’m using Linux right now.
PS. I guess you’re just biased in favor of Mac, as I was suggesting that the reporter may be. Yup, it was a rhetorical question.
If you’re using any Linux distribution on your desktop, I’ll bet you dollars to doughnuts you’re not a general consumer user. I sure heck am not; I’m an exceptionally advanced user, capable of configuring and building PCs from a box of parts and experienced with Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X (to say nothing of NeXTStep, OS/2, BeOS, and Plan 9). I’m usually the one that friends and colleagues ask to solve computer problems. And based on all that experience, I choose and recommend Mac OS X.
Brendon,
A computer-geek lawyer? Don’t your kids get any time with you?
By the way, would you be interested in a Pyongtaek CT reunion in Vegas? There is talk about having one there in the summer.
#11,
No, not at all. I’m a general consumer user. Have been for 30 years.
PS. Linux has greatly evolved since the days of MINIX and its original ‘FREAX’ kernel. Give it a try. It might not make you a convert, but you’ll most certainly reconsider you position that it’s too complex the average user. I too was disappointed with Linux at one time.
Just as I suspected.
Linux isn’t really ‘too complex’ for most people to use (except the guys who have to call helpdesk asking where to plug in the power cable maybe)… But in order to use it, you generally have to install it first, which certainly isn’t going to be the type of thing the average user feels up to. Until more companies than Dell and a few niche players start offering Linux pre-loaded on their systems, and more hardware vendors start releasing Linux drivers for their hardware, I don’t really think that the average user is ever going to consider a Linux system.
#15,
Actually, some computer makers have been offering computers with Linux preloaded for years.
http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS7114714037.html
Walmart sells them. That screams ‘targeted for the average user’, doesn’t it.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog.....id=7754614
Evidently, efficient, elegant and parsimonious technology solutions are not a Microsoft strong point. What do you expect when you basically give one company a virtual monopoly in the PC OS market?
True, but like I indicated before, those (but for Dell) tend to be the niche players, not big sellers like Gateway and HP. And one or two token systems with pre-loaded Linux just won’t make that much of a dent, especially where the Linux systems aren’t that heavily marketed. What’s more, systems that come pre-loaded with Linux tend to suffer from a relative lack of options on the hardware front compared to a Windows box from the same manufacturer. Again, it’s encouraging that more companies are offering Linux as an option, but it’s still just not ready for primetime, IMO.
I absolutely love my Mac–but I cannot imagine a more difficult market for Apple to crack than Korea. Korean society is so tightly intertwined with Microsoft that it borders on frightening.
“And one or two token systems with pre-loaded Linux just won’t make that much of a dent, especially where the Linux systems aren’t that heavily marketed.”
At least one is sold at Walmart…the biggest fricking retailer in world. So, yeah, not “heavily marketed”.
“What’s more, systems that come pre-loaded with Linux tend to suffer from a relative lack of options on the hardware front compared to a Windows box from the same manufacturer.”
So, you’re telling me that the regular users don’t want a no frills machine so they can easily surf the internet, watch porn, send email, and download stuff they shouldn’t be downloading? Make up your mind.
Until I see a commercial for said machine, I stick by my statement. Marketing is separate from distribution and retailing, you know.
Didn’t say that they wanted ‘no-frills’ in the first place, so I don’t see how I’m failing to make up my mind here… I implied that people want a safe, idiot-proof box that they don’t have to think a whole lot about in order to get working, while still having enough of a choice in the hardware they get in order to feel as if they’re not being railroaded into a certain setup. Combine that with the aforementioned lack of marketing, and you’ve pretty much got a combination that’s going to take a bit longer to explode onto the scene.
Hmm… the article looks like an anti-MS rant, with Apple thrown in for good measure, which is ironic considering that Korea itself, as commented by Janus, isn’t a Mac friendly place.
mins0306,
In all fairness, isn’t it better to say that in Korea the MS OS is overrepresented in PCs, but when it comes to servers, Linux may be overrepresented?
Ubuntu took all of 20 minutes to install. And most of that time was spent sitting back and watching the installer do its thing.
WangKon, it is true that Windows is “overrepresented” here when it comes to PCs, but from conversations with my suppliers I can certainly say that Linux isn’t “overrepresented” when it comes to servers. And although Apple Macs are sold here, it is true and obvious that Korea isn’t exactly a place where it can flourish. I mean one only has to type in Apple Mac in Naver and get a bunch of comments from computer nerds telling new computer buyers to go with Wintel machines. That and the Active X plastered all over Korean web pages plus difficulties in getting software for Macs.
Not on my laptop… Even after getting the core OS working (which itself took a good couple hours of browsing tech forums), I still couldn’t get the wireless to work.
And the funny thing is although the Korea IT community let itself get “intertwined” with MS Windows, it considers MS as this big evil foreign monster out to get them. That is ironic because Korean corporate buyers will sacrifice standardization and give contracts to several companies because they fear giving contracts to one company may leave them vulnerable.
In ref to Linux, maybe overrepresentation is not the right word. I think Linux has better penetration in Korean and China when it comes to servers when compared to North American and Europe.
Active X intensive web pages are really annoying…
#28.
I don’t know about China, but Linux hasn’t penetrated that much in Korea. It is rare to find any personal users of Linux, and the only corporate organization that has made significant investments in Linux servers is a certain web portal, and it’s not a big player like Naver or Daum. Although some corporations have bought Linux servers, the numbers are so small that they won’t even register on the Linux user radar. I wish I had solid figures with me, but….well maybe next time.
Here’s what happened to Vista: Bill Gates is stepping down http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=HEWMC4usElM