RSSSnow Leopard and Windows 7 still can't crack the netbook problem
By Tim Conneally | Published November 10, 2009, 12:39 PM
Yesterday evening, Apple rolled out the 10.6.2 update to its Snow Leopard operating system, which concentrated mostly on general bug fixes and stability issues as well as some issues in Mail, MobileMe and Safari. In all, there are more than a hundred improvements, and more than 40 security related fixes.
But the big talk today is that this update officially terminates support for Intel's Atom processor family. These low cost, low power processors have become the standard in many nettops, netbooks, MIDs, and ultraportables, and Apple has made a concerted effort to stay out of the way of most of these device categories.
Because Apple has not created a netbook, for example, OS X users could install the operating system on their unsupported netbooks and create what is affectionately referred to as a "Hackintosh." Atom-based machines from Asus, MSI, Dell, and HP have all been successfully converted into Hackintoshes with varying degrees of usability.
Users running Snow Leopard on their Atom-based netbooks however, are now reporting widespread failure when attempting to install the 10.6.2 update. A development build of the update reportedly killed Atom support, but the blogger who discovered this fact later retracted his statement as speculation "until the final version of 10.6.2 is out."
Well, that blogger today has declared Atom officially unsupported.
While only a small contingent of users have turned their devices into Hackintoshes, Apple's blockage of Intel's netbook-specific platform is symptomatic of a larger distaste for the form factor.
Microsoft, for example, has gone back and forth with its promotion of netbooks, trying to keep on top of the category with "lite" or legacy versions of Windows while simultaneously preventing it from cannibalizing the market for the current, full versions of Windows.
According to online shopping site Retrevo, Windows 7 Starter Edition (which was found in 23 of 28 new netbooks) actually lacks many features standard in Windows XP. The site asked 1,100 of its users if they were aware that Windows 7 Starter Edition lacked multi-monitor support, desktop personalization, and DVD playback, and 61% said they were not. Unsurprisingly, this made those same users reconsider Windows 7 Starter Edition as a positive quality of a new netbook.
While the survey was more than a little loaded to generate a negative response, the point remains that our big OS makers still can't figure out how to deliver a product to the netbook market that won't be detrimental to their bottom line.
Itunes, free...yup..thanks for that.
Score: 0
|I can't really quote anything on the Mac portion of this article other than the fact that remain disappointed and dissatisfied that I can't install their OS on any machine I want (hence why I don't use it ... probably would if I could use it on my existing machines).
As far as Win7 Starter on netbooks, I can see being slightly dissatisfied with not being able to personalize it as much... That being said, though, a netbook is pretty much a computer for surfing and e-mail ... that doesn't really include having DVD playback and multi-monitor support. I would venture to guess that multimonitor support probably would function exceptionally poorly on these devices! ... and having 5.1 HD running on this type of machine is kind of laughable, I think.
This is something that will be a problem for those that don't do their homework. I guess that goes to show you that that's something that you need to do!
Score: 0
|Microsoft's plan for netbooks (and all other PCs) is simple:
COMPLETELY PREVENT piracy of Windows 7
COMPLETELY ALLOW piracy of Windows XP
End result: very few switching to competing OS's. If you're a cheap bast*rd, in general, you won't go the Linux route if you can pirate XP (which is better than Win7 Starter). If you wanna spend some cash, then you may go on some adventure to Mac land only to come back home with your tail between your legs within a few short years (Apple *is* overpriced and *is* extremely limited for 3rd party hardware/software)..or you'll just buy Windows 7 now...
Microsoft can't crack the netbook problem?
Ha ha ha!
Score: -6
|Ah...
Back with the "cannot pirate windows 7" BS. How convenient there's no way to prove that....and since such cracks already exist, well...
I suppose you'll simply pull out your crystal ball and predict here and now that none of those cracks will last more than a few months, right? When 7 is using the same methods of verification Vista used....and have worked since Vista's release.
It's jsut because they didn't "care" about vista....right?
Yeah... Ya need some new meds.
Score: -1
|"COMPLETELY PREVENT piracy of Windows 7"
I can personally vouch for the fact that Microsoft is off to a really, really bad start on this one. =)
Score: -1
|MS is collecting data now. My estimate, every 3 months they'll make ya re-crack. That means, sweet yountmj, that by 1/22/2010 (3 months after retail release of Win7), you will need to re-crack your machine. And that too won't last more than 3 months (probably won't even last a month hahahaha).
I don't need a crystal ball, I can feel it coming and I'm almost ALWAYS right. ;)
As for Vista -- Microsoft would like everyone to please forget it ever existed, thank you very much. (I personally think it's a great OS, but that's because I'm not an idiot like vast majority of PC users who run to mommy grabbing her apron for every little google'able "problem".)
Score: -5
|There is a patch out called RemoveWAT that makes Windows Activation Technology completely irrelevant by completely removing it from your system while keeping it fully functioning..
Score: -1
|What you smoking, ew?
Score: -2
|I'm smoking something real good called "fresh air of reason" hehehehe.
You're all dreamers, my boys.. I honestly don't mind being the only smart guy around here, it gives me great pleasure to be the only one right in a group of "supposedly" peers in my trade.
You gotta be supremely naive to think that no Microsoft-made EXE (that includes patch, new version of Messenger or any Windows Live X, etc) can detect internal system manipulation. You gotta be equally naive to think MS can't figure out that a faked BIOS is, indeed, a fake BIOS simply because the OEM license you're using was for a certain motherboard+video+etc and yours don't only not match by a little (people can change video card), but are TOTALLY DIFFERENT. If motherboard is different, then sorry son, I just detected you're a thief no matter how many BIOS flashes you're gonna run. Might as well keep flushing your time to the toilet...Microsoft WILL catch you and WILL annoy the hell out of you until you either buy the software, or go get a Mac (Donald) or something ehehehehe
Of course Microsoft could have peppered the OS with random-circumstance self-checks and BIOS checks and once they're 99.999% sure you're a thief and actively trying to scam them, they one bright day pull the plug. And if they're not that smart yet, they will be one day very very soon.
Now lets all sit back and watch my prophecy come true...
Score: 0
|"...a fake BIOS simply because the OEM license you're using was for a certain motherboard+video+etc and yours don't only not match by a little (people can change video card), but are TOTALLY DIFFERENT. If motherboard is different, then sorry son..."
For someone as smart as you claim to be, you have a rather p*ss-poor grasp on Windows activation.
The method you're referring to is called SLP (System Locked Pre-installation), and all that matters to those OEM versions of Windows is the BIOS. Every single piece of hardware could be changed to something completely different and it would never require reactivation. Even the motherboard can be changed as long as the BIOS matches. Those versions don't perform a hardware hash. It's a method various OEMs have used for years.
Jeez... you're starting to make Microsoft sound like Apple with your conspira... oops, "prophecies".
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|I know this is off the point, and I really do hate getting involved in the Apple/Microsoft bickering because I see good and bad in both and use both at home for different reasons. But...
MS issue an OS which is installed by millions of people on millions of machines with millions of hardware configurations and everything runs (pretty) well. A few months down the line a patch/update/SP is released and a load of issues are fixed/improved/superseeded.
Apple release an OS (that's not really a new one) which is installed on a few supported Apple models on about 5 different hardware configuations and about a month later we're 2 major updates on with over 200 fixes!
Am I going nuts, or is Apple losing it?
Score: 6
|No, you're spot on... Most Apple fanbois look at MS when they have the slightest issue with the OS and fail to take into account that Windows in and of itself (like Linux), runs on literally millions of different hardware configurations (including mobile devices, embedded devices, and others). Yet, the OS is pure crap according to them... However, Apple, who does run on a very, very limited hardware platform cannot seem to ever get an OS out the door that doesn't have any issues.
Go figure
Score: 4
|I wish I could give 5 thumbs up, to the both of you. =)
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|We'll get there, youtmj
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|This is as bad as lazy application developers who used to put code in their software that says something like if Windows version does not equal Windows 3.1, for example, then display error message and quit. Even though said software runs perfectly fine on 32-bit Windows Vista RTM and later.
Score: -7
|Don't drag Snow Leopard into this, Apple wants no part of the dumbed down garbage netbook market.
Score: -20
|No of course not. It's not dumbed down PC in Apple style with extra $$ added to it (a.k.a the mini).
Just because Steve Jobs didn't invent it doesn't mean it's a good idea. Sooner or later though they will have to come up with a comparable product.
Score: 3
|Steve Jobs is one of the smartest people alive. The Atom processor and tiny screen that typically comes with a netbook was one of the worst ideas ever created. Now we have real subnotebooks instead of improperly named laptops. The Mac Mini is among the fastest PC's in it's class. The only mistake Apple made was using Nvidia graphics instead of superior ATI graphics.
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|"superior ATI" what?
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|And the Mac Mini has what to do with this discussion???
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|sorry spilt coffee on my keyboard at work!! arrgggg :(
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|Love my mac mini(early 2009), but it can barley run win7 w/ aero running.. ati wayy better than nvidia.
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|LOL
I thought you were offering DotNet_Coder an equation to help him answer his question about the Mac Mini.
I almost had it figured out, too... =)
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|I kept toying around with the idea of a Mac Mini... but in the long run, and opted for Leo4All.
OS X Leopard on an Athlon 64 / nForce4 PC is running much better than I thought it would (actually didn't think it would run at all).
Score: 0
|So, I'm confused... the point of having a Mac is what again if you are just going to run Win7 on it? Hell, you can get the same machine with Win7 natively running (as opposed to VMWare or even BootCamp) for less money than the Mac Mini.
I'm just a little confused...
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|lol... And here I thought my days of interviewing and testing were over...
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|Moron.
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|Netbooks can be hooked up to a bigger screen you know, SFB,
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|Win 7 can run natively under recent Macs. After all Macs ARE PCs now. No need for Boot Camp.
Score: -1
|You don't remember that one of the selling points of Macs was for people too stupid to use a PC.
Score: 0
|Theres alot of smart people in every product.
Its not selling point is towards dumb people, they just want a stable and powerful machine that always work!
And good built with a kickass design and some extra juice for 3 or 4 more years to come
Old saying is ; You get what you paid for
Score: 0
|"actually lacks many features standard in Windows XP. The site asked 1,100 of its users if they were aware that Windows 7 Starter Edition lacked multi-monitor support, desktop personalization, and DVD playback"
This is so silly, I'm not sure how to even respond.
1) XP also DOES NOT HAVE DVD playback support. (PS Have you seen a Netbook with a DVD player yet? Ya, they don't exist.)
2) XP doesn't have the same multi-monitor support as Win7 either.
(PS How many multi-monitor Netbooks exist, and how often do you think a netbook user is planning on sitting at a desk with a netbook and several monitors? Seriously, at the most you are going to get the built in display and maybe one external VGA connection on these devices, you are not going to be doing the multi-monitor tricks or even have a way to use the Win7 multi-monitor features.)
3) This is just a low cost version of the OS so that device makers can meet a price point. There is nothing preventing the user from paying the upgrade fee, typing in a code and seamlessly turning it into Win7 Ultimate, as even Ultimate runs fine on even first generation Netbooks.
4) There are also about 3,000 features Win7 'Starter' edition has that XP does not, do 61% of the users also realize this fact?
Either there is stupidity at play or someone is trying to get a headline.
Score: 4
|#2 yes we use these netbooks with WindowsXP in Multi-monitor mode with a Projector..
Score: 2
|W7's multi-monitor support is crap. I have to switch back to XP any time I need to use multi-monitors.
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|"(PS Have you seen a Netbook with a DVD player yet? Ya, they don't exist.)"
They do exist, just not available where you are, probably.
Score: 1
|Why? I can't imagine you'd actually get decent performance out of such a low performing computer with multiple monitors.
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|"They do exist, just not available where you are, probably."
Funny, but if it has a DVD, then by definition it is NOT a Netbook.
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|"#2 yes we use these netbooks with WindowsXP in Multi-monitor mode with a Projector.."
Then pay the $50 bucks for the full version of Windows7 and stop buying Netbooks from OEMs that use the Starter version that they can get for $15 bucks instead of spending the $50 bucks for the Home Premium version.
This is about OEMs wanting to put an OS on a cheap computer and pay $15 for the OS license. Microsoft is NOT forcing anyone to buy the cheaper version, and they are not forcing you to buy a Netbook with only the cheaper version.
Somehow people get stuck on the 'Netbook/Starter' version and think that Netbooks can't run the regular versions. This is wrong. It is only about the $15 license. PERIOD.
PS - If you are using a computer for presentations, you really should have something beyond a "Starter" OS License...
Score: 0
|"W7's multi-monitor support is crap. I have to switch back to XP any time I need to use multi-monitors."
I'd really love to hear more about this. I run 2 monitors off of my work desktop, use a projector on my laptop along with a monitor (total of 3 there), and two on my desktop at home. Win7 behaves far more intuitively on these setups than XP ever did. Win-P alone is a major bonus on the laptop.
Score: 2
|2) My Eee PC 700 (XP) is almost permanently in two monitor mode.
Score: 1
|Multi monitor support in W7 is excellent. I'm doing it right now, the gestures and snaps makes it very, very good.
Score: -1
|"Funny, but if it has a DVD, then by definition it is NOT a Netbook."
That's a fair assumption, but you do realize there is no official definition or standard defining a netbook must be w/o an optical drive, right?
If a netbook with Intel Atom CPU and a built-in optical drive doesn't makes it a netbook, then what is it? Does a notebook (w/ a non-Atom category CPU) without an optical drive then make it a netbook? Besides, Asus (the company that started it all and coined the term "netbook") is among the companies that have scheduled or released netbooks (with Atom CPU) with optical drive built-in under the Eee PC banner.
Score: -1
|you obviously dont know what your dooing then
Score: -2
|Real simple for me, when I switch to multi-monitor, it will detect it and extend it, then it just cuts off and won't detect the other monitor or TV again until I reboot. The Clone Desktop doesn't work at all for me. I am running a NVIDIA 8800GTS 512 with the 191.07 driver package for W7 64 bit. I have just upgraded to the 195.39 Beta drivers and will try is again. As I said before, everything works flawlessly in XP.
Score: 0
|Nope still cuts out. However now clone works, but not extend.
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|It's not just me, either.
http://superuser.com/que...em-on-windows-7-pro-x64
Score: 0
|Driver specific? I have never seen that happen...(which doesn't mean squat, it's just never happened to me and most of my stuff is ATI)
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|I was thinking that it is more than likely an issue with NVIDIA as they have gotten pretty bad at making drivers that work correctly. I am about to move over to ATI, again. I just don't like all of the bloat that they try and get you to install with their drivers.
Score: 0
|"That's a fair assumption, but you do realize there is no official definition or standard defining a netbook must be w/o an optical drive, right?"
Yes... There is even argument among makers, but in 'general' terms, 99.999% of Netbooks do not have an optical drive. Sure there is not a platform design standard like UMPC, but there are some generalities that are accepted by the majority of people and the industry.
So you could find a Atom based 'Netbook Design' with an optical drive, and you can also easily add an external USB DVD drive.
However, this was really not the POINT.
The point is that XP DOES NOT HAVE DVD PLAYBACK EITHER.
So asking users if they know they are giving up the ability to play back DVDs is INVALID.
Neither XP (Any Version) or Win7 Starter have the DVD playack codecs. PERIOD.
***
Also this is NOT a hard limitation, even a Win7 Starter user can install DVD Playback software, just like any XP user can. I think people forget that XP didn't have DVD codec support and needed WinDVD and other tools to play DVDs.
Also Win7 users can just select 'Upgrade' from within the OS to pay the $40 bucks to turn 'Starter' into 'Home Premimum' and get DVD support along with virtually every codec on the market, as Win7 has very comprehensive codec support for even Divx.
Score: -1
|"The Clone Desktop doesn't work at all for me. I am running a NVIDIA 8800GTS 512 with the 191.07 driver package for W7 64 bit. I have just upgraded to the 195.39 Beta drivers and will try is again. As I said before, everything works flawlessly in XP."
WindowsKey+P
It really is that freaking simple.
(PS If the 'BETA' drivers you are running fail to do multi-monitor correctly, stop running the BETA drivers.)
Score: -1
|" was thinking that it is more than likely an issue with NVIDIA as they have gotten pretty bad at making drivers that work correctly"
It could be drivers or the GPU chipset or a combination of the two.
There are a few NVidia driver builds that have broken Multi-Monitor support every since Vista was released, and sometimes it only affects certain GPUs and GPU brands.
Sadly I wish I could say ATI was always better, but they also have their issues now and then.
As for as industry compliance and supporting customers, ATI does care, where NVidia thinks their **** don't stink, so that is why recently lean towards ATI, although not always.
(NVidia has ben obstructive in the whole WDM and WDDM driver migration of Vista and Win7, and are the reason many features were dropped from DX10, as their 8xxx series cards would not have qualified as DX10. NVidia continues to do this dance with Microsoft, all the while you see their CEO sucking up to Apple.
The irony of the NVidia obstruction and hatred of Microsoft, is the 5xxx,6xxx,7xxx GPU technology was designed by Microsoft for them during the original XBox development, and Microsoft gave them the GPU technology. (The Original XBox has a PS and is equivalent to a Geforce4Ti, which is the basis of the technology in the next 3 generations of NVidia GPU cards.)
This is why it was quite a slap in the face when NVidia later sued MS for more money per XBox GPU, considering their entire product line for 3 generatins was designed by Microsoft Engineers.
This is also why MS chose ATI for the XBox 360, and didn't 'give' them the specific GPU this time, although they did give ATI the technology behind the GPU MS developed, which was the first unified shader GPU, and even has features like tensellation that is just now available in the PC world with the release of DX11.
ATI seems to be 'happy' about the technology MS Engineers offer and their help over the years, where the NVidia relationship has seriously went south, with NVidia doing some really nefarious things behind the scenes.
Score: -1
|Well, I just started using the beta drivers, after having the WDM drivers fail to work. I know all about the W+P It makes little difference when the second display device is dropped after only a few seconds and you have to reboot to get it back.
Score: 0
|I hear about the Nvidia/Ati bit. It seems it's always one or the other doing well and by my recollection has swung back and forth about 5 times now.
I am liking ATi...ATM...and have found that their newer installers allow for "driver-only" installs.
I would suggest giving them a go, but by then, it would probably have swung back to nvidia....the consumer just can't get a break...
Score: 0
|I'm pretty much in the same boat as you, PC_Tool.
It's not that I'm extremely brand loyal... it's just that every time I'm due to upgrade the graphics side of things, the pendulum is always swinging in favor of nVIDIA, so that's what I usually end up with.
I completely missed the FX series... was happy with the Ti4200 until I got a 6600GT. I completely missed the 8 series... was happy with the 7950GT until I grabbed a 9800GTX+... and that's what I'm still using (and loving).
Glad to hear about the ATi driver installer's recent diet though.
Score: 0
|I see that you haven't heard of the USB port..... They have drives that work just fine through them.
My Netbook has a 32" screen with 500 Gigs of external HD (Along with the internal 80), and a 20X External DVD Burner and all using Windows 7 Home Premium..
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|You're right, you can't imagine anything, SFB.
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|Who said so, ASPT? Are you just retarded?
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|Netbooks get good performance for what they were designed for, SFB. If you want to play games get a console..... You're a victim of mindless consumerism that bigger and flashier is better. I feel sorry for you.
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|Who the hell are you replying to sjc?
Score: 1
|Is this even true? This made news on slashdot when the news first broke (over a week ago); then the whole thing was recanted as the "official release" didn't actually remove Atom support:
Hardware: Apple Not Disabling OS X Atom Support After All (Thu Nov 05, @05:32PM)
"Contrary to previous reports, Atom chip support is working fine in the latest 10C535 build of OS X 10.6.2. Apple's EULA still states that OS X is licensed to run only on Apple hardware, but it looks like OSX86 hackers can breathe easy ... for now."
Score: 0
|Yes it is true according to Engadget and other tech reviews of the OS X Update from yesterday.
I also remember when it was debated on SlashDot, but apparently the final version does remove the ability to run on Atom processors after all.
Score: -1
|I could have sworn Ars had some coverage regarding this following the whole debacle which basically stated it had been removed in a test build and was back in again on the following build...
Time will out. We'll find out soon enough, eh?
Score: 0
|I'm wondering how that was done? Did they insert some code that if it detects an Atom processor kill the OS? Or were they testing something and then users found out and they went, Ooops!
Well sad about Windows 7, So maybe MS should just bite the bullet and start having Home Basic or Home Premium on Netbooks. Or they may never get rid of Windows XP.
Tempted to buy one of those netbooks. Still haven't, don't know if i'll ever bother. be nice for air travel though :)
Score: -1
|Windows 7 Home Premium is offered as a custom option for many netbooks already.
Score: 0
|It is NOT up to Microsoft of what version to offer on Netbooks. It is the maker of the Netbook, and whether they want to pass the extra cost on to their users.
They can get away with selling a device for $399 if they are saving $40 on the OS costs, so this is what many are doing.
Most MFRs will let users select any version of Windows7, but also pass the cost difference on.
Additionally, users can just buy the off the shelf netbook with the Starter edition and purchase the upgrade to any Windows7 version inside the OS itself through Microsoft and the system will upgrade itself and reboot to the new version, just that easily. (Look up the Upgrade Anytime features of Win7 at Microsoft.)
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|"It is NOT up to Microsoft of what versio'n to offer on Netbooks. It is the maker of the Netbook, and whether they want to pass the extra cost on to their users."
Beat me to it, Anthony... It's all up to the OEMs. Hopefully they'll get their heads out of their hindquarters soon if they are indeed trying to sell their hardware with Starter... What a huge disappointment for the end-user.
Score: 0
|WindowsXP is still the perfered OS of the world.
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|One year from now your tune will be much different. You may still prefer XP but you will claim that Win 7 is the preferred OS of the world. The Win7 machine is rolling and many of those people who skipped Vista are climbing aboard.
OSX is showing its age and XP look even older. Time for a fresh ride.
Score: -2
|Canonical has a flavour of Ubuntu called Netbook Remix which should work just fine for netbooks, considering that they're powered like a 4 year old Apple iBook. You get up-to-date security, web browsing, e-mail, and all the things for which netbooks are supposed to be good.
It's not up to Apple to support machines it doesn't sell. They are a hardware company, after all. If you want to gamble, you should be prepared to lose sometimes.
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|How exactly is apple a hardware company? What "Apple hardware" is inside of mac pro?
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|Apple is indeed a hardware company. They don't make much but that's where their revenue really comes from. Iphones, ipods, crazy over priced laptops compreised of off the shelf low cost components. In fact, I would guess Apple makes very little money off OSX.
Score: 0
|That doesn't make them a hardware company...they're a packaging/marketing/reselling company...NVIDIA, Intel, AMD, ATI, those are hardware companies. Apple just takes other people hardware, packages it in a nice box, slaps OSX on it, puts an inflated price on the package, markets and sells the result.
It's a good business model, they make a lot of money doing it. But that doesn't make them a "hardware company".
Score: 1
|@Niro:
They're just as much a hardware company as when they were using Motorola and IBM and MOS Technologies processors. They make their money on hardware, not software.
The sale of the machines subsidises the cost of development of Mac OS X. Otherwise, they'd have to charge something like US$299 for it instead of US$129.
Besides, if you have to ask what's inside, you haven't looked at one. It's all well-designed, especially compared to 90 % of the other machines on the market. They take into account a lot more than just slapping in a processor, a heat sink, and a few fans the way most companies do.
Score: 0
|The case may be well designed, but none of the hardware inside that case is made by apple. You're saying that you're basically paying a premium to have a nice case with a very large profit margin to make the price of OSX look attractive.
I just don't see how you can say Apple is a hardware company if they don't make any hardware. If I took an Intel I7-920, put it in a box (maybe I even designed a nice looking box to put it in), resold it to you for 4 times what I paid for it, can I be a hardware company too?
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|Yes you would then be a hardware company just like Dell, HP, Acer, Gateway, and Apple.
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|Since I didn't make my own hardware...I would call myself a computer manufacturer, which is what all those companies you listed are...one of them just happens to charge a whole lot more for their computers.
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|"Canonical has a flavour of Ubuntu called Netbook Remix which should work just fine for netbooks"
Indeed they do. Its just a shame that in 9.04 the Intel graphics drivers, which most netbooks use, are borked and in 9.10 a great many mobile broadband dongles now don't work OOTB. And in both cases, power management sux so much that you'll be lucky enough to get 75% of the battery time that you do with XP.
Score: -1
|Niro, computers are hardware. You're just splitting hairs now...
Score: 0
|If you only consider Apple desktops/laptops, then Niro is right and Apple is basically a software company that can only utilize whichever hardware is GIVEN to them by third-parties.
However, the iPhone and iPods make Apple a hardware company.
Score: -1
|*sigh*
Look at Apples Profit Margins.
OS X? Nope. It's free with the PC. They don't sell software. They sell hardware.
Now, please...don't come back with the insanely small list of software they sell to a very select market....it is *not* their primary market. Their primary market is Laptops and PMP devices.
Those, in case you missed it, are hardware.
Score: 0
|But... but...
What about iTunes?! ;-)
Score: 0
|iTunes? Free.
Score: 0
|I have an official apple netbook, its called an apple Iphone :) works great for the small stuff, ya know- email, lite websurfing, pr0n, etc. lol
Score: -5
|i wanna see a Iphone run starcraft
w8 it can't
Score: -1
|star what? is like a pc game or something? I gave up on that years ago! lol xbox360/ps3 fixes my gaming addiction.
Score: -1
|I'd gladly buy a netbook with no OS installed whatsoever. I know, this is not for everyone...but it would at least solve this 'problem' they're/they've creating/created for themselves.
Starter is insufficient by/in any regard...and I really can't believe MS made it the way it is, Basic was horrible enough...Starter is just, ugh.
While netbook and Apple don't 'officially' fit into the same sentence, it's no wonder that many more adventurous folk have flocked to the hackintosh non-standard. Cheap OS, runs wonderfully on cheap hardware, what's not to love?. That's why Apple had to break compat. because no matter what people SAY, the reality of it is that if they can get it cheaper, they will try. And some folks are in love with OSX, just not in love enough to buy it for $999.
Score: 0
|Because there are so many netbooks around is that Apple can't get away with overcharging for one. They can't stand fair and honest competition (Just look at their "I hate Windows" ads that don't actually show why one should use a Mac instead).
Score: 5
|yet they still can overcharge for a laptop. They just like to have control :)
Score: 0
|Look, I'm ALL for MS and Windows 7, but we all have to respect that Apple is running a business.
Who on earth would buy a Macbook if Apple let OSX be rampantly installed to any ole' netbook or laptop?
Let me tell you what would happen....once they saw Apple disable and re-enable support for Atom, PC makers would start building netbooks and laptops with the exact specs to allow OSX to be installed straight from the DVD. Apple is basically 'telling' people that 'we're not ok with this'.
I think the commercials are immature and 'wrong' as much as the next Windows user, but guess what? They're effective. They count on Windows 'soft/bad' spots and they take advantage of that. If MS ever made a commercial that did the same thing to OSX, Apple would threaten or maybe sue...this is just the 'monster' that Apple is. MS is another kind of 'monster', to each his own.
Score: -1
|*laughing* I was just thinking that today when I saw the newest Mac advert... They can bash Microsoft but yet can't seem to come up with a single reason of WHY someone would want to switch.
Score: -2
|Its simple really, use Windows 7 Home Premium and skip the Starter edition. And soon, you can use the new Atom Processors coming out "Pinetrail", I believe, that are dualcore, and have IMCs. Now you have none of those missing features and much more processing power than the original netbooks.
Score: 2
|I too use Win 7 Home Premium on my netbook. Starter Edition is nothing but crippleware. A joke.
It seems that Apple wants to tell people what they want instead of the other way around.
Score: 2
|whats this have to do with Apple? Microsoft and Linux are the only ones in this Netbook game, who cares if Apple dropped 'Atom support', it was never officially supported to begin with, they only support their own Hardware anyhow, typical TPM lock in
my respect goes to Microsoft and Linux in this area, never Google though ;P
Score: 1
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