Comments on: Blogging from Cicada’s Computer

By: emma

emma — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 07:13:29 +0000

Hi,
I have a favour to ask you - I’m the President of the Society of Editors WA here in Australia, and i was wondering if we could reprint one of your Arrant Pedantry blog posts in our newsletter. It’s sent out free to our members each month, and i would love to put your post about prescriptivism and descriptivism in an upcoming issue.
Of course, you would retain all rights blah blah blah … i’d just like to share it (and the link to your blog) with the other members.

If this would be okay, please let me know. If not, i guess you should let me know anyway.

Cheers.

By: Dan

Dan — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 05:43:12 +0000

I enjoyed those videos. I thought the part about the sox matching was funny, and the brain lasers was hilarious. They really did a good job stereotyping the mac and linux fan-bases. I am now running both Mac OS X Leopard and Ubuntu Linux on virtual machines on my Windows Media Center PC. I have my reasons. But when I use those OS’s, I still say to myself, “what makes this so much better than windows?” NOTHING. I’ve noticed that whenever I want to do something technical with OS X or Linux, step one of the instructions always reads: “1. Open up a terminal window and type…” Why is there still software like it’s 1981 working on a 80 columns by 24 lines screen when my monitor is capable of outputing beatiful colors at 1920×1080, with a 46″ diagonal. Why is there no GUI? Why do I still have to open up a stupid terminal?

By: Jon Boy

Jon Boy — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 17:00:19 +0000

I think any version of Mac OS X (or maybe just the versions that work with the Intel processors) will let you use Boot Camp and install Windows or another operating system. But I’d have to have a license for that, and we’d have to buy Windows versions of all the software, and I don’t think they’d approve those expenses.

By: David S.

David S. — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 05:11:34 +0000

Doesn’t the new Mac OS (Leopard) have that Boot Camp thing that allows you to install Windows? Or does that not work with XP Pro?

By: Jon Boy

Jon Boy — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 04:59:53 +0000

$1000? Try $1800 and up. For a laptop without an optical disc drive. I’m not sure why anyone would need such portability over functionality, but maybe that’s why Steve Jobs is rich and I’m not.

Sure, they’re pretty, but I’d be happier if I could install XP Pro on it. You might get a kick out of this video, Dan. Oh, and this one too.

By: Dan

Dan — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 04:13:16 +0000

I think anybody who says that Macs are great is not qualified to say what computer is great and what is not. On one hand, when I see that commercial where a MacBook Air is pulled out of an envelope, I’ve got to admit that the concept of a computer that small is pretty awesome. For that, you gotta hand it to those apple people. On the other hand, once I buy that computer, what can I do with it? Probably about 10% of what I can do with Windows. So really, all I’ve got is a really thin piece of junk that cost me over $1000. Macs look nice, but so do supermodels. When it comes to brains, though…you get my point.

By: Jon Boy

Jon Boy — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 21:06:21 +0000

Require? No, not that I’ve ever heard of. And it wasn’t a full week’s worth of work; my computer died yesterday at noon, so it was at most three and a half days’ worth. I’ve worked on a few other things this week, too, but that was the bulk of it.

By: Wm Morris

Wm Morris — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 19:46:40 +0000

A week’s worth of work1? You mean the company you work for doesn’t require you to either work off of (or at least daily back up work to) a share drive?

By: Brinestone

Brinestone — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 19:06:06 +0000

It looks so funny to see you in the office I have seen so many times on her blog. Also, you look positively bored out of your skull in that picture.