Some thoughts on computing

[andrewducker]

1) What I've been up to
At some point in the last couple of weeks I was handed a copy of Lotus Notes Developer and told to make it forward email depending on the contents of the email, using a webservice (or two) to look up the necessary information.  In Java.  Having never coded anything for Lotus Notes, used Java or done anything similar before, this has kept me stuck in that fantastic limbo between fascinated and confused that is a steep learning curve.

2) An unlikely conclusion
I've also come to the conclusion that if someone I know wants a recommendation for a computer for checking their email and surfing the web on I'm going to tell them to buy a Mac Mini.  Now, I don't have a Mac Mini, I've never used one, and frankly I didn't care much for OS X when I used it, but with the current state of adware, spyware, malware, viruses and miscellanious other evilness there is no way on God's earth that I'd recommend a PC to anyone who didn't need software that only ran on it.  Personally, I'm happy to have one, I like the software options, the flexibility and the general ability to all sorts of fucking horrible things to it, but frankly it's not suitable for ordinary people who just want to do things without having to worry about the consequences. 

It's like the difference between a Tivo, MCE and Sky+ ; Tivo's have a gorgeous interface and do one think exceptionally well, MCE is a general purpouse PC that does media things well and allows you to mess around with the results to a large degree, and Sky+ is a piece of shit that nevertheless keeps many, many customers happy enough to not actually go looking elsewhere.  I'd never recommend Sky+ to people, but if they've already got it and aren't annoyed to death by it, then that's fine.  I'd recommend a Tivo to anyone, but if you want the maximum amount of tweakability then you'll have bought MCE and be willing to face the idea that your video recorder can now get viruses.

You may notice that I haven't mentioned Linux (or any other unix-a-like) at all there.  That's because frankly if you're a Linux person then you already know what you want, won't be asking for my advice and probably like recompiling kernels more than actually using the computer to do anything.

So, in conclusion - if you want to just check email I'm sure there's some kind of simple device that allows you to do so (personally I'm a fan of the Palm Tungsten series), if you want web, mail etc. in a usable computer-shaped box, get a Mac, and only buy a PC if there's actually a need for you to do so.

[Poll #439411]

Comments

[flickgc.livejournal.com]

am too busy tweaking my kernel to pay much attention

Is it just me, or is that faintly rude....?

[andrewducker]

I hadn't thought of that.

However, I am now giggling like a 6-year-old.

[lilitufire.livejournal.com]

What, that was unintentional innuendo?

*applauds*

[flickgc.livejournal.com]

[g]

As long as it's not just me....

[broin.livejournal.com]

I am amazed you didn't intend that.

Then again, on Tuesday, I figured out that 'High Fidelity' was called that because it was about relationships.

[andrewducker]

Whereas I needed _you_ to tell me that.

[broin.livejournal.com]

Hmm?

[andrewducker]

I had no idea that the title was a pun.

[broin.livejournal.com]

Thankyou. We all pissed ourself at that one. :D

You're the best. :D

[broin.livejournal.com]

How about I try it and you tell me?

[flickgc.livejournal.com]

Do your worst, transatlantically....

[lilitufire.livejournal.com]

The only reason I have a PC running Windows is that I have a big stable of games that I like.

I liked my laptop with Redhat on it, that an ex configured for me, but I never got up the impetus to keep it updated. I keep that and a spare PC liberated from work as a backup.

[greenzowie.livejournal.com]

Ditto on the games thing. Plus, I've got used to the idiosyncrasies of Windows and I'm happy tinkering inside my PC when I want to update something. That, and I'm too lazy to learn how to use a Mac.

[robhu.livejournal.com]

You can run most games on Linux using Wine or Cedega. Examples of supported games are Doom 3 (runs faster on Linux), Half Life 2, and World of Warcraft.

[webmacher.livejournal.com]

I like the software options, the flexibility and the general ability to do all sorts of fucking horrible things to it,

If that's your reason for liking your PC, well, the same is true for the Mac. OSX is built on top of FreeBSD, so all the power you'd have to commit great acts of mayhem on a Unix or Linux box, you can have here too. Software? You can buy just about all the usual suspects (I hear games are still a weak spot) and there's all sorts of open-source software available for it as well.

I'm using my old blue-and-white G3 (with a new G4 processor) as my web and music server at home, and typing this on a PowerBook. My husband, who was a hard-core Linux user, now says he prefers to use the Mac.

(And for those who don't want to get that geeky, Macs make very nice home computers for checking email, playing your tunes, and storing your photos.)

[andrewducker]

Macs just don't seem to attract the same levels of hackishness - when I look at cool tools they generally seem to be for the PC.

When I look at things I actually need, they exist for the Mac as well.

Right now I'm greatly looking forward to Darwinia, so I'll have to stick to the PC for the moment.
http://www.darwinia.co.uk/about/screenshots.html

[robhu.livejournal.com]

It does indeed look excellent, have you played the demo?

I really enjoyed Uplink, but this looks like it is a lot better.

[andrewducker]

Yup, I played the demo, and again when they re-released it. Great fun.

[gomichan.livejournal.com]

Seebs is playing with a Mac Mini as we speak, preparatory to writing an article about it. He seems to think it's teh neet. If you had any questions about it, you'd have no trouble getting him to babble. :D

[stillcarl.livejournal.com]

I've also come to the conclusion that if someone I know wants a recommendation for a computer for checking their email and surfing the web on I'm going to tell them to buy a Mac Mini.

My conclusion is there's no computer you can recommend, we having reached the point where we can only offer the least-worst option.

Here's a simple question: Does the Mac Mini, out-of-the-box, automatically back up the data on its hard-drive so if its hard-drive dies the user won't have lost any of their data?

[bohemiancoast.livejournal.com]

Nope. In fact, backups are an area where I think Apple is missing a trick. You don't get a backup tool with the Mac (whereas you do get almost everything else the average home user needs). If you buy .Mac, their email/webspace/cool online toys package, that includes a backup tool.

[stillcarl.livejournal.com]

What's it backup to?

I think everybody's missing this trick. Backing-up shouldn't be an add-on - it should be a part of every computer shipped, and ideally do it in triplicate, meaning to a second hard-drive in the computer and another-one elsewhere - should the computer be stolen - dropped in the bathtub...

[bohemiancoast.livejournal.com]

It backs up key data to the webspace that's part of .Mac; can also back up to external hard drive, DVD etc.

But I agree totally on this. When I say that Apple is missing a trick, I'm referring to the fact that their general philosophy seems to be to ship with the system nearly everything that the average computer user will need.

[greengolux.livejournal.com]

Nothing personal. When anyone starts talking about computers I fall asleep. I probably wouldn't if I had any clue what they were going on about, but I know next to nothing about computers.

[andrewducker]

Ok. Lesson 1:
That thing you are currently staring at is a 'monitor'. The thing your fingers are near with the letters all over it is a 'keyboard'. The thing which, when you move it, makes the cursor move, is a 'mouse'.

The magical box they are all plugged into is a 'computer'.

Next week: Advanced compiler optimisation techniques.

Re: kernels

[wolfieboy.livejournal.com]

Considering that my main server is still on kernel 2.2, kernel tweaking isn't something that I can be painted with. :)

[opusfluke.livejournal.com]

Personally the strong point of a Mac is also its weakness: hardly anyone uses them. I like the sound of Linux and it's very popular in Germany. They even used a form of Linux to test the new Cell chip (posting about this later...)