Spotlight: News.com readers on Apple and Microsoft

(continued from previous page)

him, you have to admit, he does his company good... Eventually, it will learn how to play nice with everyone else. Then everyone will go on continuing to be annoyed at Michael Robertson." -- Kevin Kunreuther

Click here to read more responses to the Ballmer interview.

In other Microsoft news, one reader actually complimented Microsoft for acting to shore up recruiting problems:

•  "(H)ats-off to MS for being vulnerable enough to let the truth be known. At least when we know the truth we have the opportunity to address the issue--no matter how ugly." -- Dennis Smith

Keeping tabs on IE
Some changes that Microsoft made to Internet Explorer--specifically, the addition of tabbed browsing--also fired up the Firefox faithful, as well as those genuinely interested in seeing Redmond improve its ubiquitous browser.

• "I recently installed the toolbar.
1. It doesn't let me choose if I want to install the indexing service (I already have google desktop running)
2. The tab feature seems unstable. Each time you open a new tab my screen goes blank for a second, and the taskbar menu reference suddenly changes (apparently the folks at MS are still opening up new IE windows when you create a tab, they're just hiding them now)
I opted to uninstall. I'll continue to use Firefox for the time being." -- Amhed Herrera

• "I've just tried the MSN Searchbar for the tabs in IE and was dissapointed. There are no options to setup how and when new tabs are opened. It is nowhere near as good as Firefox's tab interface. Nice try MSN but it still needs work." -- David Langdon

• "No where near as nice as the tabs in Firefox. If you right click a link, it don't even offer you the option of opening it in a new tab, only a new window. I don't even think this is even truely 'Tabbed browing'. When you switch between tabs, the window and startbar flashes and then changes. I think all it does is opens them in new windows, but hides them and the tabs are nothing but links to the new windows. So what's the point in that?" -- Gregory Miller

Click here to read more responses to Microsoft's browser work.

Patent pros and cons
Patents also took heat, though not from everyone:

• "The patent system is screwed up just like everything else ours any one else's government sticks their fingers in to. The greed and stupidity runs too deep for anything done by such governments to be anything other than screwed up." --Robert Barnett, following an $8.9 million patent verdict against Microsoft

• "Patents are the brakes of innovation. And the lawyers are in the driver's seat." --Gerald Ter Beke, regarding a Congressional patent reform proposal

• "Seeing the right-wing, corporate lapdog who wrote the bill and the cast of characters who are raving about it, I can bet that this bill will be an utter disaster for small inventors." --Mac fan Dave

[michaelrcorley]

MAC OS on non-Apple Hardware

I wonder if Apple let its OS be installed on non-Apple hardware
running an Intel processor?

I am new to Apple (bought a PowerBook a few months back) and I
will never return to the Microsoft OS. My PowerBook did crash once
however; while using MS-Excel.

[clpdan]

Also New

I too am new to Macintosh. Bought my first Mac in November 2004
and my second (powerbook) in March 2005. I too will never return
to Windows OS. The move to an Intel CPU is a welcomed move in
my opinion. This will provide Apple with the latest, fastest chips
without any supply delays like have been witnesses with IBM's
PowerPC. Go Apple and Intel!

[michaelrcorley]

MAC OS on non-Apple Hardware

I wonder if Apple let its OS be installed on non-Apple hardware
running an Intel processor?

I am new to Apple (bought a PowerBook a few months back) and I
will never return to the Microsoft OS. My PowerBook did crash once
however; while using MS-Excel.

[clpdan]

Also New

I too am new to Macintosh. Bought my first Mac in November 2004
and my second (powerbook) in March 2005. I too will never return
to Windows OS. The move to an Intel CPU is a welcomed move in
my opinion. This will provide Apple with the latest, fastest chips
without any supply delays like have been witnesses with IBM's
PowerPC. Go Apple and Intel!

[clpdan]

Very Positive Comments from Mac Developers

I noted that all the responses on this page seem to be negative.
But, that happens when the comments are made by those with
little insight into what this move to Intel means, especially when
the responses are mostly emotional.

Read up on what Mac Developers are saying about this move --
how they approach this is much more important to me than
some few overly emotional consumers:

http://www.macworld.com/news/2005/06/08/saying/
index.php

[Jim Harmon]

Negative responses

Sadly, people seem to believe that the processor has any noticable effect on the way a computer runs. It doesn't. The biggest factor in determining how a system will operate is, not surprisingly, the job of the Operating System! The processor also has no influence on the way the user interfaces with the computer. That job is handled by (GASP!) the Graphical User Interface.

The only real difference that happened in switching to Intel chips is the machine code instructions. There's even the chance that the OS source code is largely the same with the new processor (but I'm only guessing at this - theoretically it's very possible).

[clpdan]

Very Positive Comments from Mac Developers

I noted that all the responses on this page seem to be negative.
But, that happens when the comments are made by those with
little insight into what this move to Intel means, especially when
the responses are mostly emotional.

Read up on what Mac Developers are saying about this move --
how they approach this is much more important to me than
some few overly emotional consumers:

http://www.macworld.com/news/2005/06/08/saying/
index.php

[Jim Harmon]

Negative responses

Sadly, people seem to believe that the processor has any noticable effect on the way a computer runs. It doesn't. The biggest factor in determining how a system will operate is, not surprisingly, the job of the Operating System! The processor also has no influence on the way the user interfaces with the computer. That job is handled by (GASP!) the Graphical User Interface.

The only real difference that happened in switching to Intel chips is the machine code instructions. There's even the chance that the OS source code is largely the same with the new processor (but I'm only guessing at this - theoretically it's very possible).