Macintosh... The Naked Truth 455
| Macintosh... The Naked Truth | |
| author | Scott Kelby |
| pages | 219 |
| publisher | New Riders |
| rating | 7 out of 10 Macsbugs |
| reviewer | pudge |
| ISBN | 0-7357-1284-0 |
| summary | Funny, irreverent, but kinda bugged me in spots |
The Naked Truth is a book about what it means to be a Macintosh user, in a world dominated by Windows. This should have tipped me off as to some troubles ahead, as I live as a Mac user in a predominantly Linux-dominated world. And I proudly use Linux (and, to a lesser extent, other forms of Unix, not even including Mac OS X) daily. As I write this, I have four terminal windows running in NiftyTelnet, connecting me to Linux boxes at work and at home. I am inserting a 700MB database dump into MySQL, scp'ing some MP3s, restarting some daemons, copying some source code for later porting, and monitoring disk space. I am a Macintosh devotee, and have been for more than 15 years, but I am a geek. A big, preemptively multitasking, geek.
But Kelly takes the perspective that Macintosh is not a computer for geeks, but for creative people who can't be bothered with geek-like things. So when he belittles those "PC users" who like to build their own computers, and I see the Linux box under my desk that I've recently been fiddling with, I just take it with a grain of salt. After all, geeks are allowed to like ease of use and a consistent and usable GUI, too.
This mischaracterization of some Mac users is also evident in his "definitive platform test." The questions, asking for things like a description of your own driving skills, are intended to tell you which platform you should use. On one end of the scale is the Macintosh user ("Average, I'm not a bad driver"), followed by borderline between Mac and PC user ("I'm an excellent driver, very cautious and alert") to obvious PC user ("I obey all posted traffic signs and don't exceed the speed limit"), to "militant" PC/DOS user ("I wish all those idiots would just get off the road!"). But clearly, any sane person would choose the latter response. I don't understand what the problem is. I selected the "Mac" and "DOS" answers evenly, which didn't do well for my overall score. I happily continue to use Mac OS nevertheless.
That said, Kelby is dead-on about many things, like how computer store personnel are mostly clueless (not that this is specific to Macintosh products, but it is more pronounced in that particular arena than in most); how most anti-Macintosh arguments by PC users either don't make sense any more or never made sense to begin with; how Apple has been the primary innovator of PC hardware and OS software; how Apple seems to succeed sometimes in spite of its own management. He tends to belabor his point on occasion (OK, we get it, CompUSA's Apple store-in-a-store is all the way in the back, we don't need you to spend two pages describing just how far back it is), but if taken in the good humor intended, it's a satisfying journey nevertheless.
His most interesting points, perhaps, have to do not with what it is like to be a Macintosh user in a foreign land -- I think everyone on Slashdot can understand these things, regardless of whatever non-Microsoft platform of choice they use -- but what it is like to be a Macintosh user in relation to Apple itself. He has some keen insights about where the passion comes from; why people love Apple; what's going on inside their heads.
But then again, reading his responses to letters written to Mac Today and Mac Design Magazine by PC users are just downright entertaining -- keenly insightful or not -- if you are the sort of individual who likes to see stupid people get smacked around. And who isn't?
Now, being a geek -- and a pedantic one at that -- I did take issue with him on some relatively minor issues, like claiming that Apple changed the name of Mac OS X to "OS 10.1" when it came time to do the first maintenance release; the fact is, the official name from day one was "Mac OS X 10.0," and that nothing has changed at all in that naming scheme. The current release is "Mac OS X 10.1.4." It's the same thing, with an incremented version number. He's absolutely right that this is a point of confusion, and in some ways poor marketing. For the next major release (Mac OS X 11.0? Mac OS 11? Mac OS XI?) there will surely be some more confusion, too. But nothing at all has changed in the naming scheme since the initial release. For now. I just want to make sure everyone is clear on this point. It is "Mac OS X, version 10.1.4," and "Mac OS, version 9.2.2." "Mac OS" and "Mac OS X" are OS names. "10.1.4" and "9.2.2" are version numbers. Got it?
Similarly, he bashes the Newton. Sure, the first release of Newton kinda stunk, but it was the first version. The last versions of the Newton MessagePad, aside from the size, were still by far the best PDAs around for the next several years. Newton still, to this day, has the best handwriting recognition in any consumer PDA, as well as the best (non-color) interface, and it was years ahead of its time in functionality. It was just too big. That was its only problem. Well, and too expensive. But maybe less so if it weren't so big.
And he also called Compaq's PDA an "iPac." And occasionally used poor punctuation. And I think I saw a run-on sentence in there.
But now I am getting worked up. I'll settle down. Deep breath, in, out, in, out. That's the thing about being a Mac user, Kelby points out: passion. Passion for Apple and its products, even the ones that stink, because Apple is more than just a company, it is an organization that changes our lives in important ways, by making products that make a difference to us.
OK, so maybe I am in the target audience after all.
Chapter List
- Life after switching to Macintosh
Using a Mac is easy; being a Mac user sometimes isn't. - "I can't believe you actually use a Macintosh!" and other stupid things PC users say
Congress should rethink giving PC users freedom of speech. - Things Apple doesn't tell you about owning a Macintosh
Since Apple's not going to tell you, dontchathink somebody should? - The definitive platform test
Find out if you're really a Mac person, or just a PC person in cool clothing. - How to resist the overwhelming temptation to strangle Apple's management
Is "Apple Management" an oxymoron? And is "oxymoron" actually a synonym for a pimple cream for really dumb people? - CompUSA: Your own private hell
Tips for surviving the visualization of Apple's place in the world. - Why PC users need Apple
Heere's why they should be kissing Apple's butt (instead of Microsoft's) - "Don't pick fights with people who buy ink by the barrel"
PC users write me nasty letters, and I give them the public flogging they so richly deserve - Pot shots at Microsoft, the media, and anything else that gets in our way
Nobody gets out of here alive! - The 20 most important things I've learned about being a Mac user
There were actually 22 things, but that made for a really clunky chapter title. - The secret of Macintosh
Here's a hint: it's not Apple's advertising.
You can purchase Macintosh ... The Naked Truth from bn.com. Want to see your own review here? Just read the book review guidelines, then use Slashdot's handy submission form.
*shudder* (Score:3, Funny)
*twitches repeatedly*
Re:*shudder* (Score:2)
Ugh... Glad I didn't eat breakfast this morning.. (Score:2)
Mac users aren't all clueless anti geeks (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm an admin on Linux and OpenBSD networks AND I love my Mac as well.
There is no conflict, especially after OS X
An elegant GUI is a wonderous thang.
Nuff Said!
Re:Mac users aren't all clueless anti geeks (Score:2, Interesting)
when i finally got a Mac again in 2000, i had forgotten how much i appreciated having a computer that was beautiful, in its designs and GUI. it really drove home the fact that the UNIX desktop is neither consistent nor pretty (usually).
now that OS X is here (read: now that i can pull up a Terminal window), i can't see a reason to use anything else.
Re:Mac users aren't all clueless anti geeks (Score:3, Insightful)
Many Mac persons love their computer. Therefore, they tinker and work and enjoy their computers a great deal. This leads to a technical comfort level with their machine that many times matches the equivalent skills for many PC users.
There are plenty of PC home users that have no clue about how their computers work. They surf the web, get their email and open their Word docs and they are happy. However, there is that other edge of users that tinker, upgrade and know how to manipulate their PC in imaginative ways.
Saying "Mac users are clueless artsy types with no technical knowledge" is as clueless as saying all
PC users are clueless Office clones blindly following everyone else's lead.
The stereotypes on both sides have fatal flaws.
_______________________________________________
"And I think I saw a run-on sentence in there." (Score:5, Funny)
Not a sentence fragment (Score:2)
Get with the times Die hard Mac users (Score:5, Interesting)
Macs arn't just for non-geeks anymore (Arguably the first apples were for geeks, became less geeky...). Mac OS X is the ultimate hybrid to allow both geeks and non-geeks a common platform which both can enjoy and use how they want. Heck, why do you think there is an apple section on
I bought my first mac last year specifically because of OS X. I needed a laptop that I could use for work and school. I wanted a UNIX based system but the ability to run commercial applications if needed (I love OS and Linux, but there is still no MS Office for it and probably never will be... But everyone still sends me
I still have people come up to me and say... "you bought a mac??? Don't geeks not like those? They are too colorful to be geeky."
Macs are for geeks and non-geeks alike. For different reasons though (sometimes). Mainstream users will probably figure this out in 3 or 4 years time.
Re:Get with the times Die hard Mac users (Score:3, Insightful)
I think those die-hard Mac users who still think that Macs aren't for geeks are a (sometimes vocal) minority. They are unhappy with how Steve has now significantly changed "their" OS (without asking their permission!), and some just don't like to see geek outsiders coming into their club.
I think a lot of Mac users welcome the influx of geeks because it adds some "legitimacy" to the platform, meaning that if geeks like it, then Apple can't be scoffed at as a toy anymore. And it means Apple more or less got it right with the Unix underpinnings.
Just my thoughts as a long time Mac user.
mark
Re:Get with the times Die hard Mac users (Score:3, Insightful)
Finally Someone Understands... (Score:2, Interesting)
I made the best decision of my life to move back to Macintosh a few months ago. OSX really does combine the ease of a mac with the power of unix. I hope that one day people will understand that it is not an either or situation with operating systems. I keep my Win box around and boot my mac into Linux all depending on the job I want to do. Quite simply what operating system you use should be determined by the task at hand.
Re:Finally Someone Understands... (Score:2, Funny)
I will have to get her her own G4 so she will leave me to my machine.
There's a geek in there somewhere.
Is it just me? (Score:2, Insightful)
Not for me (Score:3, Insightful)
I already have a personal identity. I know who I am. And I am a mac user. I don't need to read a book to tell me how I should behave, how I should think, or what my personality should be just because of the computing platform I use.
This point was brought up slightly in the review by pudge's criticism of the "definitive platform test," but it seems the problem would be endemic to the entire book. The author seems to be trying to get all chummy with every mac user out there, though most share the at best tenuous bond of using the same type of computer (and not even OS. Many mac users still use 9!).
However, this book might be ineteresting to someone who is not a mac user, as it could give some perspective into what "we" (and I hestiate to use the term) experience. But it seems like it alienates and bashes those who don't buy into the "jobs experience."
So my take on the book would be "don't buy."
A PC vs. Mac vs. PC Point of View (Score:4, Insightful)
What I mean by that, is that they randomly attack the PC, while pointing out the stupid ways PC users attack macs. It's been my experience that mac users of this "old guard" (which is to say, they've been using macs well before OS X was a glimmer in NeXt's eye) are very annoying. Most PC users I know, before OS X, didn't give a sh*t about macs, be they good or crappy machines. Mac users meanwhile wouldn't shut up about how good their macs were...as if they were trying to compensate for...something.
Now, with OS X, I may actually go buy a mac one of these days. It's UNIX when I want it to be, and a pretty looking OS for the days when I just don't feel like thinking. If I do get one, however, I'm going to mostly steer clear of those longtime mac users and instead find people who got a mac for the same reasons I did. At least then I could get some work done in peace!
geez guy ... occam's razor ... (Score:5, Insightful)
Or maybe they were just enthusiastic about their computer in a way you weren't about yours. Sometimes the truth is right in front of you and not a paranoid conspiricy about people's secret thoughts
Re:A PC vs. Mac vs. PC Point of View (Score:5, Interesting)
I never did understand that. That is, when I worked at JPL I had a Mac and a PC sitting on my desk. Inevitably when a PC-only person would walk into my cube, he would immediately comment on the "paperweight", or how overexpensive the Mac was, or how the WIMP interface was for wimps.
Generally, when comments started flying back and forth in person, it always started with a co-worker making a negative comment about the Macintosh--not because the Mac user went on the attack. And while it was never a big comment, after an entire day of "why do you use that paperweight" or "I thought you were a power-user until I saw your Macintosh" or whatever, it was hard not to snipe back.
I had a theory about that sniping from the PC folks, by the way: there is a certain expectation that using computers should be hard. That is, sophistication in the computer world is related to difficulty: thus, typesetting documents with TeX is considered sophisticated while using Microsoft Word is not--even if the resulting document looks more or less the same. But now that MacOS X is based on Unix and now gives users the ability to replace Finder with Terminal (for example), people look to the Macintosh as "finally" being a sophisticated operating system.
Re:A PC vs. Mac vs. PC Point of View (Score:4, Interesting)
When I was in Jr. High there were one or two friends who could never let it go that I preferred Macintosh. I wanted them to not care about what computer I used; I certainly didn't care about what computer they used. So there are people like that on both sides.
I think the problem is that the Wintel community outnumbers the Macintosh community so much that it's possible for a Wintel user to never notice someone who feels that passionately about it, but most Mac users have encountered someone like my Jr. High friends. And many of us react by responding in Jr. High ways.
Yikes ... misconceptions abound (Score:2, Interesting)
I think my original point was to say that there are always contingents of most OS fandom that are NOT geeks, and some that are. Such is life. Variety is the spice and all that.
Funny user assumptions (Score:4, Interesting)
So, I'm not the typical user, either, as the author presupposes in his "survey" as you described. But I am a True Convert to Mac OS X and things Macintosh. Funny how OS X throws the old assumptions about Mac users out the Window.
Who can forget the Newton... (Score:2, Funny)
In the auditorium, Skinner speaks to the children.
Skinner: Children, the times they are a-becoming quite different. Test
scores are at an all-time low, so I've come up with these
academic alerts. [hold stack of cards] You will receive one as
soon as your grades start to slip in any subject. This way
your parents won't have to wait until report card time to
punish you.
Martin: How innovative. I like it!
Kearney: Hey Dolph, take a memo on your Newton: beat up Martin.
[Dolph writes "Beat up Martin" which the Newton translates as
"Eat up Martha"]
Bah! [throws Newton]
Martin: [being bonked on the head] Ow!
-- Good ol' Apple Computer, "Lisa on Ice"
(Thanks to SNPP [snpp.com])
Re:Who can forget the Newton... (Score:2, Informative)
Tonight on Letterman... (Score:5, Funny)
10. On a certain day in January and July, Akamai traffic increases... Ten, err, Xfold.
9. Gap can always fall back on selling black mock turtlenecks and deep-blue denim jeans in an economic recession.
8. The world's goldfish will always have a place to live. (Today, in the Mac Classic. Tomorrow in the hollowed iMac G4 dome...)
7. Translucent irons, toothbrushes, speakers, mice, cat bowls, and lingerie.
6. Grandparents. Surfing. By themselves. Ahh!
5. MacOSRumors. The single largest scam on the Internet, today.
4. iPhoto coffee-table books. (Trust me: It's the ONLY way "The Osburne's" will ever make it into print... I hope.)
3. The Trash. Call it what it is, damnit! Recycle Bin my arse: Microsoft trying to please the tree-huggers.
2. Aquafied slashdot. Whodathunkit?
1. Grandparents. Unix. AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
jrbd
Above-average book (Score:5, Interesting)
As for the chapter where he gives childish replies to childish letters written to him as editor of his magazine, I stopped reading it half way through. I don't need that sort of thing to make me feel good about myself or my choice of computer, and reading such displays of immaturity is just painful. Maybe when I was 12 years old it would have been thrilling, but I've grown up since then. I wish he would have, too.
The rest of the book was pretty good, though, and some sections were laugh-out-loud funny. He has a good writing style and a sharp wit that comes out best when he's describing everyday situations he's had to deal with as a Mac user (such as the hostile responses from sales clerks and fellow customers when he asks for Mac hardware or software).
Still, given his whinyness on the one hand, and his vindictiveness toward "pee cee" users on the other, I'm not sure I want to be grouped with him as a "Mac fanatic." I tend to be a lot more forgiving of others than he shows himself to be. If most Mac users have the same extreme siege mentality he does, then I'll be sure to avoid Mac user groups like the plague. I'd much rather enjoy my computer than spend time cutting down others' choices. And I'd much rather let someone use one of my computers and thereby learn what's so great about the Mac than tell them what a crappy OS they use.
So, althoguh my wife and I own three Macs right now (two quicksilvers and one icebook), maybe we should call ourselves "Apple users" instead of "Mac Fantatics." (This, despite his sneering remark about people calling them "Apple" computers intead of "Macs." As a long-time user of Apple ]['s, I'll probably always refer to computers produced by Apple Computer, Inc. as "Apples" out of habit, at least some of the time).
-Joe
-Joe
Dodging stereotypes (Score:2)
Reminds me of the MIT Science Fiction Society's t-shirt motto, "We're not fans - we just read the stuff".
Stereotypically frothing-ever-so-slightly-at-the-mouth enthusiasts serve a useful purpose (reminding people that their topic of interest exists, and selflessly defending it from onslaught whenever necessary), but alas they also make it harder for "normal" folks to admit to liking something, be it Apples, SF, or (fave
Re:Above-average book (Score:2)
Of course there is a ton of free software for Linux, FreeBSD, etc. I should have stated that more clearly.
Are you kidding me? (Score:3, Interesting)
I keep seeing things like, "Smart consumers buy Apples because they're cheaper!" Uh... since when? My Powerbook was $3,000. A comprable PC laptop was $2,200. I selected the Powerbook because it fit my needs better and I was sold on the operating system.
Macintosh users are more creative? Wow. It must be because they like shiny lollipop colors on their iMacs, a marketing trend that has bled over into everything from cell phones to George Foreman grills. Props to Apple for trying something simple and basic that the stuffed suits at the PC conglomerates never thought of: make the computer available in bright colors.
I never bought into user stereotypes. I have definately noticed that a TYPICAL pre-OS X Mac user knows far less about how computers in general work than PC users. But I could say the same thing of modern PC users versus the pre-Windows 95 PC users. Anybody remember tweaking your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS endlessly to coax another 9K of conventional RAM out of DOS? Arranging and re-arranging LOADHIGH instructions to shuffle drivers around in upper memory and going seven rounds with QEMM and the myriad other memory managers to use that extra 2 MB stick you paid $200 for?
We had no choice. If I wanted to play Crusaders of the Dark Savant I had to find a way to get enough memory. That was how PC computing was. Modern users on average know far less because, for one, there's far more non-tech people who use PCs and for two there's no need. So I don't buy into this division along the Mac/PC line for technical competancy. You learn what is required to learn to operate your machine. The fact that the Mac removed this responsibility from the user 10 years before the PC did doesn't make Mac people less intelligent or more creative.
I love my Mac. I hate my PC. But I want to play Dungeon Seige so I need my PC. I think the platform wars should be winding down in the coming years. I think that with OS X, Apple has the BEST operating system available. Sorry Linux people, but Linux is a pile of crap. I do use it, simply because when I set up my web server I wasn't familiar with anything else (plus I got semi-orgasmic pleasure out of reformatting the disk with Win95 on it). But if there were any justice in the world, OS X would be the operating system of choice. Even the ports of MS applications to OS X are superior to the MS versions.
I'm right because I say so. I read Slashdot! I'm always right! And well-informed!
More stupid Mac FUD (Score:2)
I seem to recall that up until about 2 years ago MacOS 9 users had to manually assign memory allocations? And if you got it wrong, the program would crash?
I love my Mac. I hate my PC. But I want to play Dungeon Seige so I need my PC. I think the platform wars should be winding down in the coming years. I think that with OS X, Apple has the BEST operating system available. Sorry Linux people, but Linux is a pile of crap.
More zealotry. Why do so many Mac users insist on giving Apple free advertising? It's not like they don't buy enough TV airtime anyway! And actually, the platform wars wound down years ago, I think you'll find that the open architecture of the PC, for all it's faults, was the winner.
Sorry Mac people, but saying things like OS X is better than Linux is ridiculous. I for one, will NEVER buy a Mac, not because I'm a poor student (though I am), not because I don't like Apple (though I don't), but because if everybody bought a Mac we'd suddenly be even worse off than we are now. Microsoft showed us what damage a monopoly can do when it controls the standards, a monopoly of Apple would be infinitely worse as they control the hardware too!
The only monopoly that wouldn't cause massive damage would be a monopoly of PC/Linux. Nobody, but nobody, should control the OS/Hardware. I don't give a damn about the software on top, if I want to pay MS for Office then I will, but the OS and hardware are too key.
I hate people who get modded up for saying "I love the good looks and UNIX core of Mac OS X". It's redundant. We don't care. So you like your new Mac, good for you, I guess we just have to hope not everybody is like you, cos if they are then we're screwed all over again.
end rant
Re:Are you kidding me? (Score:2)
So tweaking your autoexec.bat means you 'know how computers in general work'?
Thats the funniest damn thing I've read on Slashdot in awhile
Using a PC doesn't mean you know squat, other than how to use a PC. You don't magically know how to program all of the sudden, or how to design a PCB, or even how to swap out a PCI card (you think the vast majority of PC users ever even open their machine's case? To them its a commodity, more akin to a toaster oven than to a personal hobby.)
"changes our lives in important ways" (Score:5, Insightful)
"But now I am getting worked up. I'll settle down. Deep breath, in, out, in, out. That's the thing about being a Mac user, Kelby points out: passion. Passion for Apple and its products, even the ones that stink, because Apple is more than just a company, it is an organization that changes our lives in important ways, by making products that make a difference to us. "
What is he talking about? Are we supposed to understand exactly how Apple has "changes our lives in important ways" without him mentioning how? Look, I've got PCs & Macs running Windows, Linux, and Mac OSs. They each have their good and bad points. But none of them have something so special that they "change our lives in important ways". They are all jusy fscking operating systems. We'd all be doing fine if we were using OS2 or Amiga or Be.
It's what people do with computers that makes a difference.
Re:"changes our lives in important ways" (Score:2)
Introduced the PC with the Apple I/Apple II, in a serious way and not just in a hobbiest homebrew way.
Introduced the mouse to computing.
Introduced the 'window, icon, mouse, pointer' pardigm.
Introduced the WYSIWYG concept.
Introduced color managment. Publishing industry.
Introduced audio and video, via Quicktime, to home computers.
You know, things that today you take for granted, Apple helped popularize.
Re:"changes our lives in important ways" (Score:2)
Quicktime 1.0 the product was released, what, 1991, while MPEG1 spec was released in 1992?
Unless you're talking about some other thing entirely?
I never claimed Apple *invented* the mouse, WiMP, or movies, in my post. I just said they introduced those concepts to home computers at a time when computers were more of a novelty than they are today
What a love fest this is. (Score:2)
If only my Mac was a person just like me and I could talk to it and marry it and have sex with it.
You can have what you want... (Score:2)
Check out the new dMac, vMac, and biMac [bbspot.com].
At least one Newton still lives (Score:2, Interesting)
It's amazing what bad PR can do to a product. Remember 'The Simpsons' episode where the Newton handwriting recognition totally screws up?
Re:At least one Newton still lives (Score:2, Interesting)
My MP120 is still going strong, and I routinely back it up within OS X using NCU through Classic. Woo!
great... (Score:5, Funny)
do we constantly have to make it 'us' and 'them', the other side always claiming moral highground?
this is just one more thing for people to get angry at each other for. like dads beating each other up at hockey games, or fans beating each other up at sports arenas...
does it fucking matter? are we so superficial as to group each other by the types of computers we use? this is sad, sad, sad.
:
and by the way C64 rocks, you all suck.
Re:great... (Score:4, Funny)
As you do not believe the world can be divided into two groups, you're one of *them*.
Be gone from my sight, foul demon!
Why I gave up on Apple (Score:2)
Sounds like another "Macs are great!" book... (Score:3, Troll)
I would like to see a pro-Mac book that actually addresses the shortcomings of Macs instead of pretending that they don't exist. Instead, we get David Pogue saying stuff like "Who needs to be able to encrypt files when your entire computer is password protected?" in his Mac OS X Missing Manual book. Why hasn't anyone addressed the spatial information deficiencies in Mac OS X? Why aren't there any articles about how horrible iPhoto really is (Apple's own discussion board on iPhoto is almost entirely composed of usability complaints, with no comments from Apple staff)?
It gets frustrating seeing the stupid "love it or leave it" mentality used to defend Macs in the absence of a critical but fair analysis of Apple's hardware and software. While I can't imagine using anything but a Mac as a general purpose computer, I don't see why Macs should be exempt from reality.
Lighten up! (Score:4, Insightful)
That "definitive platform test" is a joke. I mean, come on! If you score 20-40 (militant PC user), his advice is to "...put your hands on your head, walk out the front door of your home directly toward the officers, and listen carefully to their instructions. Keep your hands clearly in sight and don't make any sudden moves." Yup! That sounds like a serious platform quiz to me!
Kelby's humor takes a little getting used to and his over-exaggeration of Mac and PC user stereotypes wears a little thin, especially in the era of OS X. There is some useful info in here--covering the obstacles you're probably going to run into and what to do about them (if you want lots of games, buy a Playstation), but for the most part the book is meant to be fun (usually at the expense of Wintel users). In the last chapter, he reveals the true origins of the Cult of Macintosh (and a lesson in media manipulation). General Burkhalter? Go fig! ;-)
Buying advice--if you prefer MacAddict over Macworld, you'll probably enjoy this book.
Sara
"creative" Mac users are geeks, too (Score:4, Informative)
The Mac has a shallow (=good) learning curve and makes it easy to get started. And OSX is now (finally) a robust and powerful Macintosh operating system, and that is great. But anybody who spends significant amounts of time with computers will naturally learn a lot of arcane trivia, and that's no different for Mac users.
Another Book is Required (Score:4, Insightful)
I would call this book "The Rise and Fall of the Mac Developer."
In this book, I would enumerate all the things that Apple has done to drive truly creative developers from the platform. Of course one can argue "semper fi", but where is Guy Kawasaki today?
In this book I would have the following chapters.
1) The failure of Marketting/Evangelism
Yes, I'd have this in the book. I spent five years promoting the use of Macs in enterprise and engineering. Apple could never keep these positions well stocked, and when they did find people, they gathered a self-delusional-reinforcing clique of groupies that denied that Apple was pooching NOT attempts to enter the space, but pooching toeholds they had in the space, and telling developers trying to build products that their applications were not "killer apps." Is there an engineering killer app? For five years Apple reps announced at WWDC the same thing: We will foster development and awareness through VAR incentives. That's right... No help for people building products - but give a salesman who doesn't know a Mac from Adam a T-Shirt and he'll promote a product into an Oil company without ANY SOFTWARE to make it useful.
2) Starve the Developers for Development Tools
First tell developers they must pay for expensive development tools, and delay on providing those tools. [The developers want free tools to write product to sell your platform.]
3) Jerk the Developer Chain through Legalese
Have developers wanting to support new technologies sign incomprehensible NDAs and technology agreements. [The developers must wait months to actually get there hands on the technology.] Then announce that certain specs for internal hardware will NEVER be released.
4) Remove the Reason for Start-ups to Use Macs
Any developer incentives like the hardware purchase program must be abolished. [It is more likely small start ups that cannot afford 200%+ mark up will support fringeware.]
5) Run in Circles and blow the Developers Credibility
Get new technologies out, convince developers they must support them, and kill them a year later. [Copland, OpenDoc, QD3D...]
6) No Support for You
Put a barrier between your core developers and technical resources that do not know the technologies and claim every bug you report in the Software is a support incident requiring the DEVELOPER pay for it.
7) Close the Playing Field
Make sure that any attempt to support CHRP and get other Vendors making Macs is pooched.
8) Kick your Developers in the Groin
Never return the phone calls of a developer known as a Doubting Thomas. Make sure the development teams that do have tight contact with developers ignore advice from the seasoned ones because it illustrates design flaws, or points out missing key parts of a strategy, or because the developer said after stating factually why something is stupid, resorting to saying "The Idiot Who Did This Should Be Short" must be threatened with LEGAL ACTION.
9) Lie To The Developers
In 1996, WWDC, "Apple will be the Number One Java Development Platform." Apple FIVE YEARS LATER delivers a functional Java implementation.
10) Creativity Must be Stiffled
Kill ATG, research, and disclosure because Microsoft delivers the cool thing you saw at WWDC the previous year.
11) OpenSource this
Don't forget to kill mkLinux because you might eat into your OS X sales. But wait - OS X won't run on older hardware. F**k ADB and NuBUS - who uses old Macs [except every die hard Mac developer I know.]
Unfortunately most of the things that Apple has done right, they did long, long after it would make a difference. Think different? I don't think so.
p.s. Tim, f**k you for breaking all the UI guidelines making iWhatever look and feel like consumer products. A skin should be a choice... and Apps should be consistent.
Re:Another Book is Required (Score:2)
Of course, now I'm considering buying my first mac in a decade, but maybe because I'm actually making money for once, and it's not by being an Apple developer!
Goddamn OpenDoc. I still have the t-shirt I got for writing one of the first demo parts.
brains are not necesary (Score:2, Funny)
A: to those who say Macs are NOW cool because of MAC OS X having unix underpinngs
--Shut up. LOL... MAC OS has always had the tools for power users... and to think it was just some kids computer until X came around is to ignore VPC, LinuxPPC, Terminal apps, Hexediting and the whole kit n kabbodle
B:to those who say PC's have are supirior, or macs arent tweakable.
--i have taken my rev b imac apart installed a scsi/video card... upgraded the processor, added firewire, upgraded the ram/HD/and video ram, and installed my own internal cd-r. AAAll of this in a All in one case.... uhm.... thats a great deal of tweaking in my book. If it wasnt for the fact that linux reads so many disk formats macs would be the only real good IT computer... but no-one in IT realizes that... sigh... misunderstandings will continue till the end of time...
Generally jovial character? (Score:3, Insightful)
You all should see how "jovial" pudge is when he's beating the stuffing out of some poor college freshman's poor argument. Its like watching a 800 pound gorilla tackle a miniature poodle and stuff it into a thimble. Its so awful, you can't help but watch in glee (i mean, doesn't everyone find glee in the idea of one of those horrible little poodles being stuffed into a thimble?)
I' dying to see the ... (Score:2)
Sales types. (Score:2)
Yesterday, I was in a computer store and over heard a sales guy say to a customer inquiring about RAID, that "Seagate drives don't work in a RAID setup, because they're just too fast. Trust me, I know, I've tried at home! I've spoken to Seagate about it and they acknowledge the problem." He also stated to the customer that Seagate does not make anything else but hard drives.
I was'nt really in the mood to interupt and tell of my RAID setup at home that has been working nicely with Seagate drives for about 3 years now.
Sometimes helping out other customers with correct advice in the presence of these nit-wit sales types can be fun though.
Re:Yes, a pretty cool book (Score:5, Funny)
Doesn't everybody do that? (Score:2, Funny)
Just remember, if you're Jewish, to use the "meat" untensils, not the "milk" ones.
Re:Yes, a pretty cool book (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Yes, a pretty cool book (Score:2)
Better user factors (Score:2)
Most X interfaces suck badly, and have poor mouse tracking/accel/deceleration that leave you squinting and gripping your mouse in the hopes you will hit what you're trying to click. Windows is a little better, but still pretty lame next to MacOS7-9 (my jury's still out on X).
So my point is, better user factors leads to better usability, which lowers barriers to creativity with a computer. Face it, drawing with a mouse is like drawing with a brick in your hand
To put it in automotive terms, the Mac drives like a BMW, Windows like a Ford, and X like a 1967 VW Bug with the a broken steering mechanism!
Re:Yes, a pretty cool book (Score:2)
A fellow on one of the automobile mailing lists I used to subscribe to signed every message:
[his name]
--
'00 George Foreman Grill
This was, of course, a direct response to the "look what I got!" signature style of most subscribers.
Offtopic, I know, but hell, I thought it was funny.
--saint
Re:Yes, a pretty cool book (Score:5, Interesting)
You can't put me in a little box and define what I believe because I use a certain computer platform. All you can say is that I like that platform.
And that is my problem with the book.
Re:Yes, a pretty cool book (Score:5, Funny)
Oh yes, I have just the thing for you. Ladies and gentlemen, the iBong [wired.com]!
Inhale and enjoy...
Grab.
Re:Yes, a pretty cool book (Score:2)
Re:Yes, a pretty cool book (Score:5, Informative)
Oh pleaaase. Comparing the use of Macs with using alternative medicine? How did this leap of logic occur to you? This is just the sort of ignorant elitism that gives Mac users a bad name.
Look, I am a hard core Mac user that also happens to be a hard core neuroscientist researching retinal processing of vision. I use the Mac (OSX in particular) because it allows me to get lots of work done without getting in my way. OSX also allows me the flexibility of UNIX and gives me access to the huge library of available UNIX apps in the scientific community. Additionally, I get the benefit of getting rid of the SGI Octane that was previously under my desk along with the Windows system next to it down to a single elegantly designed Macintosh with the most beautiful LCD display I have ever seen. Getting rid of the other displays and keyboards frees up tremendous physical space.
As for the alternative medicine stuff, yeah there is some anectodal evidence that some of it may have application (as there ARE active compounds in lots of stuff. But until I see controlled scientific studies of those "herbal remedies" I wont go near them.
Let me relate a bit of a cautionary tale: A couple of years ago, when I was teaching the sleep medicine portion of the 2nd year medical school curriculum to students, one of them walks up with a bottle of melatonin to help him sleep. He wanted to know what I thought of it. Looking at the back of the bottle they actually had listed "melatonin derived from bovine extracts". Do you know what extracts those are? I asked. He replied no. I went on to explain that melatonin was extracted from bovine pineal glands and then I asked him if he remembered the lectures on spongeoform encephalopathies? (Mad Cow disease which is a prion based disease). The point was taken and he immediately threw the bottle in the trash.
My point is that folks should really be more careful about which views and advice they express to others if they are not familliar with many of the details and implications.
Use of Macs and alternative medicine.........sheesh.
Re:Yes, a pretty cool book (Score:3, Insightful)
When compared with an equally equipped x86 machine, and taking into account the quality and resale value... yes, low cost.
mark
Re:Yes, a pretty cool book (Score:2)
Re:Yes, a pretty cool book (Score:2)
mark
Re:Yes, a pretty cool book (Score:2)
Case in point:
OS X not supported at all on pre-beige G3 machines, irregardless of CPU upgrades installed. (in fact, you could, in theory, install a dual 500mhz G4 in a 9600, last of the great 6-slot machines. But OS X is not supported, and you need to run a hack to get it to run, and most people I've heard from don't achieve any degree of stability with it). - In fact, you can't upgrade the OS past 9.1 on these machines. Period.
OS X not fully supported on beige G3 - irregardless of CPU upgrades installed (primarily, the video subsystem is not supported by graphics acceleration drivers - and the SCSI subsystem is poorly supported at best - believe me, I own one of these machines, I KNOW what I'm talking about).
iDVD not supported on machines that did not ship with the internal superdrive (Pioneer DVD-RW). You can buy the exact same model superdrive, external firewire or scsi, and plug it in to even the latest and greatest desktop powermac, and iDVD won't run. It's not a technical limitation, it's engieered into the product. The only alternative for those who want to author DVDs on a mac is to buy Apple's DVD Studio Pro for $999.
Video connectors on more recent macs aren't compatible with VGA monitors. (although they've finally corrected this by finally shipping an adaptor).
- -
I agree, that historically, old Macs retain their value longer - look at the resale prices on eBay as proof. But this fact is changing, and continues to change, due to marketing decisions, not engineering limitations.
Re:Yes, a pretty cool book (Score:2)
I just don't see this change you're talking about.
Maybe a pre-beige G3 has trouble running OS X (and needs a hack to allow installation). The absolute newest one came out 5 years ago, when OS 8 was just coming out. It would be nice I suppose if these things could still hold their own. But considering Apple has made the most significant OS upgrade since the Mac was created, and considering what a 5 year old PC will get you, I'd say it's really not all that bad.
The point is that someone buying a new Mac now can be pretty sure that it will have good resale value when they are ready to buy a new one. I say that is still true, and will continue to be true. If I buy a G4 Tower or iMac now, it will sell for a good chunk of money in 2 or 3 years.
mark
Resale Value (Score:2)
That wasn't true when OS 9 was the OS of choice. Back then an old mac would do the job just fine.
In summary, now that Apple has joined the windows world of increasing hardware requirements you'll see the resale value of macs drop.
Vanguard
(Written on my favorite notebook, a 500mhz iceBook)
Re:Resale Value (Score:2)
On eBay it looks like my G4/450 is selling for between $700 and $1000, at a glance. And it runs OS X just fine.
Are you saying that in two years or so that G4 won't be worth the $1000? Or that, say, an 8500 can't be resold for that much anymore? If so, then that's pretty obvious I think!
Bah, OS X seems slow. When OS 9 came out, it seemed slow. When OS 8 came out, it seemed slow. And so on!
This new OS isn't any different. The only difference is that it still hasn't been fully optimized yet, and so it continues to be speedier at each OS upgrade.
mark
Re:Resale Value (Score:2)
No?
I have installed OS updates, and so far have had a much speedier OS. I know that those beta-testing the next update to the OS say it is even faster. I know there is an unimplemented Window buffer compression feature that is switched off until it is stable enough. For example.
If you can't stand the
Totally irrelevant, and meaningless.
Why? And to clarify, that was only one aspect of comparison.
I disagree, but in any case, what does it matter *why* they have good resale value... so long as they do.
mark
Re:Yes, a pretty cool book (Score:2)
mark
Re:Yes, a pretty cool book (Score:3, Informative)
Um, new iMac G4 from Apple store: $1399. With included LCD monitor and CD-RW drive. I'll be willing to bet there are other components in that athlon you named which are also inferior.
And if you are in education you can get the eMac G4 for as low as $999.
mark
Re:Yes, a pretty cool book (Score:2, Troll)
$250
Cost of 40x12x48 speed CD-RW drive (which is, incidentally, extraordinarily faster than the drive on the imac):
$80
So that's $330. You mean I have $1069 left to build the computer in order to defeat an imac with a 40GB hard drive (80gb hard drive, $80), 128MB of SDRAM (512MB of PC2100 DDR, $100), and a 700MHz processor (given Apple's faulty performance claims, I'll even spot you 2-for-1 on the megahertz, getting an Athlon XP 1800+ 1533MHz processor for $99). Now we're down to $790. Uh-oh, I have to beat a geforce2 mx with a Geforce4 TI 4600 VIVO ($309) just to blow you out of the water, oh, and because I can. Down to $481, oh no, I'm shivering. A nice case with a 420W quality AMD-approved PSU ($100), an MSI KT3-Ultra motherboard ($90), a quality keyboard/mouse/floppy drive/network card ($100 total), a Hercules Game Theater XP ($100)-incidentally, much better than the imac's crappy audio-and we still have $91 left for a Pioneer Slot-load DVD drive ($60).
There we go. $1368. No crappy components, even allowed $100 for the case. And this computer will play any video game at exponentially better speeds than that mac (if you don't play games, save $250 and get a geforce2 gts-v or something). The sound system is exponentially better. It has video capture, 4x the memory (twice as fast) and double the hard disk space. I personally would rather have a nice 19" trinitron than a 15" flat panel, but I catered to what you wanted.
Granted, this configuration does not have an OS, but if you're a Windows guy and want an OS, go one step down on the video card (we did buy top-of-the-line) and you'll have more than enough.
NEVER say macs are a cheaper alternative-they are only cheaper compared to PC prices of two years ago. I'm sick of macintosh users being spoonfed doctrine about how their computers are cheaper and faster. It's only to make them feel better for spending so much. Use a mac-that's fine with me. Just don't lie about it.
Re:Yes, a pretty cool book (Score:2)
You acted as though purchasing a G4 Mac was almost 4x the cost of purchasing a PC. My point is, the price difference is very small if you compare similar computers, plus there are unique things about the Mac that you just can't have on a PC, and I think they are worth something as well. The design of the iMac G4 isn't just for looks, it has function and value. The G4 tower's case is so easy to get into, it's hard not to smile.
It has Unix, Word, Photoshop, and everything just *works*.
The Mac isn't the cheapest thing out there, but I believe you get what you paid for.
mark
Re:Yes, a pretty cool book (Score:3, Funny)
This is one of the most oft-repeated lies in modern computing.
Re:Yes, a pretty cool book (Score:2)
What are you trying to say?
Try buying a bunch of PC parts, putting them all together, making the thing work, installing Linux, and configuring your computer for the internet.
Then compare that to the amount of time, effort, and expertise needed to buy a Mac and set up the Internet, and you'll understand what is meant by "it just works".
mark
"It just works" (Score:2)
What I'm trying to say is that the moment a Macintosh locks up, freezes, or crashes, then it no longer "just works." Comparing the difficully of setting up a Macintosh vs. setting up a Linux system is not the issue (in fact, I'll agree with you that setting up a Mac is light-years easier than setting up Linux). What is the issue is the validity of the claim "it just works." You can't claim that something "just works" if it crashes or freezes. I don't think there has ever been a computer* that did not crash or freeze, and this includes computers that run MacOSX, Linux, *BSD, whatever. Thus, the "it just works" claim is a lie disguised as marketing hype.
*Ok, maybe OS/390 is an exception, but that's comparing apples (pun intended) to oranges.
Re:"It just works" (Score:2)
When I first plugged in my digital camera I understood what "It just works" means. It recognized the camera the first time and with a single mouse click all my photos were downloaded.
Anyway, ease of use and stability are both hallmarks of Apple. I will concede that stability has only been true for a few months now.
Vanguard
Re:"It just works" (Score:2)
And others have posted that OS X has crashed, and has crashed many times. If OS crashes even once, then it does not "just work."
When I first plugged in my digital camera I understood what "It just works" means. It recognized the camera the first time and with a single mouse click all my photos were downloaded.
I will agree that using your digital camera with your Macintosh was easy. Kudos to Apple for making it that way. But if the system crashes, even once, for any reason, then it does not "just work." If the system crashes then nothing is working!
The only thing I'm opposed to is people saying that their technology "just works" when they know that their technology freezes and/or crashes.
Re:"It just works" (Score:2)
As for me, the first time I unplugged my digital camera, OSX crashed. More specifically, I plugged the camera into the USB port, it popped the "do you want to import your pictures?" dialog box but as this box was /behind/ some other windows on the screen I didn't see it. Instead I went to the desktop and double-clicked on the camera's icon, copied the photos I wanted off it, and unplugged the camera from the USB port without dismissing the hidden window or closing the open folder view. Instant freeze. I think I had to actually pull the power and yank the battery to reboot my TiBook.
I think they fixed this issue in one of the later system updates. But if you've never crashed OSX you've been pretty lucky. I've found OSX more reliable than 9.X but not bulletproof.
Re:"It just works" (Score:2)
WTF are you talking about!? It's been about a month since my Mac has even been REBOOTED (I just throw it into powersave mode when I'm not using it), and I have not had a lock-up, freeze, or crash since version 10.0.1 came out, which was what? about a year ago? (and that was only because I had an unsupported firewire device hooked up when I turned it on... caused a kernel panic.)
If you consider macs unreliable, it can only be because you have not used one in a long, long time.
Re:"It just works" (Score:2)
Then don't say "everything just works." Instead say, "if you want to do something, it is straightforward and quick." The former implies stability (since system stability is certainly contained within "everything") while the latter does not. How can "everything just work" if the system crashes? When that happens, nothing is working!
Re:"It just works" (Score:2)
I said "it just works", not "everything". And in the context of what I was saying, it makes sense too.
To you, it implies stability. But fine. I'll just come right out and say that Mac OS X is *extreeeeeemly* stable.
Well, for your information, I've never, ever had my system crash since installing OS X 10.0. Many others have had a similar experience.
mark
hidden costs (Score:2)
And most people charge money to assemble computers. If you're going to build it yourself don't forget to account for that time spent. I built my own PC and I don't regret it but I spent a lot of time physically assembling the machine and installing software. I spent hundreds of dollars worth of my own time.
I'm not saying that Macs are cheaper than PCs, but I hate it when someone quotes Pricewatch prices for PC parts assuming that those components will somehow magically become a computer.
Re:Yes, a pretty cool book (Score:2)
Looks don't get your work done. I could have "good looks" even on a PC and not get a single thing done with the looks.
A "good" GUI won't get your work done- your apps will. If the "good" GUI makes the box slower than it needs to, it may be getting in the way of your work instead of helping you, no matter how "easy" it is to use.
Re:Computer choice does not confer creativity (Score:2, Interesting)
Sprite says it best I think in there commercials.
"hey that Pro basketball player drinks sprite, I drink sprite so I am just as good", then the youth gets his butt beat at basket ball.
Re:TV version? (Score:2)
Anyway... who wants to talk about socks?
--
Damn the Emperor!
Re:TV version? (Score:2)
Re:I bought an IMac (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:I used to be a Mac lover.... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:I used to be a Mac lover.... (Score:2, Interesting)
I then went to return my new power adapter. I wanted a new keyboard at the time, so I'd hoped to exchange the adapter, give the reseller some more money, and get the keyboard instead.
Well, sales sent me back to service. Service sent me back to sales. Neither would accept the return. The manager was not in; I'll point out I left him repeated messages and visited the store a couple of times, and never got in touch with him. Bottom line, they wouldn't take the adapter back. Did I mention I wanted to give them more money plus the adapter so I could get a better keyboard?
I ended up having to dispute the ~$50USD charge on my credit card. The reseller never challenged this, so I never paid it. I also never went back. What I did do was call the sales rep at the reseller who wanted to sell my company a couple of Irix boxes and told him to forget it; if I couldn't get satisfaction on a lousy adapter return then I sure wasn't going to go forward with this purchase.
That reseller went out of business less than a year later. The absent manager works at a sign painting firm I think. And I've used M$, Solaris and Linux ever since. As curious as I am about the new OSX, that experience keeps reminding me of why I went away from Apple, and why a new Powerbook [apple.com] isn't in my future, even though it should be.
Jack
Re:Primary innovator (Score:5, Insightful)
-Popularized USB (an intel invention that wasnt taking off)
- First (and really the only) desktop "PC" to have standard SCSI acoss product lines.
- Quicktime
- Firewire
- Dylan (a great language that never took off)
- Put a GUI in the hands of home users (Just to get this straight, Xerox sold the idea to Apple for stock, which Xerox made a hefty profit off of. Xerox actually made a GUI based computer for "business" that sold at the excellent price point of $19,000 USD....and you thought macs were expensive. Xerox had no interest in putting a GUI on consumer desktops).
- ColorSync , a technology probably never heard of by PC users, but essential for print work.
- When macs first came out they were expensive, but they had the same CPU's as many workstations and servers of the time.
- Digital hub, I know its a marketing term. But its real. Its nice for a geek with no artistic experience to be able to produce his own movies of the kids n send it to relatives. There are much better digital video editing programs, but anyone can use iMovie....and its free.
I'm sure there are many more I cant remember. If Apple was just pretty case design they wouldnt have the following they do.
Re:Primary innovator (Score:2)
Re:Primary innovator (Score:2)
Re:Primary innovator (Score:2)
-affordable networking (AppleTalk)
-laser printers
-PostScript
-3.5 floppy drives
Re:Primary innovator (Score:2)
Re:Primary innovator (Score:2)
Nothing will ever qualify Apple for that title. What they have done, while it may seem sgreat to you, is just a grain of sand on a very large beach.
Re:Primary innovator (Score:2)
Re:Primary innovator (Score:2)
Yeah, other products are hard to get into, but I've never seen any mainstream PC as easy as the Mac desktops.
Apple's packing box designs are also quite elegant compared to others.
Re:Primary innovator (Score:2)
Was Apple innovative? Incontrovertably yes. Are they STILL innovative - that's a little more problematic. They still make their own OS but they are using a lot over other peoples innovations either by buying them (NeXT, FinalCut Pro, iTunes, Nothing Real (curious to see what that little purchase is about)) or getting them for free (Mach, BSD)
In the past Apple did "innovate" and even "invent" a lot of things. Unfortunately that also led them to have a vicious "not-invented-here" syndrome which caused them to always be non-standard in lots of ways which weren't necessary. They used their own technologies for almost everything - FireWire, NuBus, ADB (That's APPLE desktop bus) of course the MacOS, ColorSync, AppleScript, AppleTalk, MacSpeech, OpenDoc, QuickTime etc. etc. etc. They can even claim a little credit for the PowerPC chip - back when it was being developed the AIM alliance (Apple, IBM and Motorola) maintained a joint R&D lab - and yes some of the engineers & scientists were and a fair amount of the money came from Apple. A lot of primary computer science research on all sorts of things was done by Apple's Advanced Technology Group (ATG). In the personal computer industry Apple has been the first or among the first during every major development: first GUI on a PC, first PDA, first(? - or at least among the first) consumer digital cameras, first OS with system wide color management, First UNIX my granny can use. etc. etc. etc.
Sadly Apple has changed, The ATG is history, Fundamental research has given way to R&D that had better be in a money making product in short order. Industry standard technologies (PCI, USB etc) are "good enough" and Apple has stopped trying to invent their own superior version or choosing superior non-standard technologies (like when they standardised on SCSI when everyone else went with the cheaper option)
Happily Apple has changed. The not-invented-here syndrome is history. R&D money is spent more wisely and profitably. Industry standard technologies are good enough and Apple has stopped wasting time and money and ensuring their incompatiblity with everyone else by inventing their own expansion busses and connections or always choosing the better but less common standard.
Re:version numbers (Score:2)
/Brian
NiftyTelnet does ssh (Score:2)
It certainly shames the commercial SSH cleint.
-pmb
Re:-1, Flamebait (Score:2)
Most companies are massively up from their low on Sept. 21.
Apple has underperformed its prophesies financially and technologically since the mid-'80s.
--Blair