Good news for Mac folks!

[millster]

Microsoft has helped us out at last. Today marks the release of Windows Media Player 9 for Mac OS X. I haven't had a chance to test it yet myself, but this should resolve our issues with playing WMV files. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/window ... fault.aspx

[Kari]

It would figure that I just downloaded WMP 3 days ago. And it scattered logs and crap every which way across the hard drive. Woo...more fun. LOL

[millster]

No doubt. I don't look for this one to be as bad as the old one. MS has improved their Mac support recently... I'm still not impressed by IE:mac though.

[Kari]

Me either. Safari is sooo much better.

[ragingfish]

I'm able to participate in this discussion about as much as I can in the French ones the Quebecans have.

[Kari]

You should buy a Mac then. Then, you, too, can be a part of the action!*does a switcher chant*

[millster]

Yes Ragingfish, join us... you won't regret it. OK. I've tested WMP 9 for the Mac now. It seems to work just the same as on a PC. Well, at least under Safari. Mozilla seems a bit sketchy, but it does function at least. This is good. Mac software is catching up finally. I just need a few more things and I'll be one happy Mac guy.

[Kari]

My new iBook G4 made me a very happy Mac girl...I doubt much could upset me at the moment. LOLI'll try WMP 9 when I'm feeling like cleaning up an MS mess again...heh.

[millster]

That'll be my next computer purchase aside from a new hard disk for my iMac. My old 500 MHz G3 iBook does its job, but does it slowly. It's time for it to move on I think. I'm wondering about the G4 though. Does it get really hot? My G3 gets pretty toasty right where you rest your wrists. Gets a little uncomfortable after a while.As for the install for Media Player, mine just overwrote my old WMP install. If you cleaned up the mess already, it should stay that way.

[millster]

Important Update:The most important test passed. I just went back and downloaded Rasermon's Ohio Meet video and it played flawlessly with the new Media Player.

[Kari]

My G4 doesn't get hot at ALL compared to my friend's G3 800mhz. Basically the only difference between mine and his is that mine is a G4, and his is a 14". I had a Toshiba laptop before I switched, and it was sooooo hot after you used it for a while, but this one only gets warmish when you're charging the battery. Beyond that, it's not uncomfortable at all. They must have improved something.I'm loving this thing...it's like the lovechild of the G3 iBook and the 12" Powerbook. Even has the slot-loader PB style drive. The best of both worlds.

[millster]

Cool (no pun intended). They may have added a small fan to keep up with the G4. I personally like the 12" display. I buy my laptops for portability, not display size. Plus if they're both 1024x768 max anyway, what do you really gain?I liked the PB G4, but there's something about the iBook I just like a little better. I don't really need the extra horsepower of the PB. I'm not going to do my graphics work at 1024x768. I'll keep that to my "Mega Mac" and the accompanying 17" high-res LCD. Anyway, thanks for the info!

[ragingfish]

When it comes time for a new PC, mac is definitely something I'll consider, though it's gonna be hard to switch from being a loyal PC user for at least 10 years.My gateway notebook is, by far, the worst investment I ever made. It had problems since day 1, and now my warranty expired, and my battery doesn't hold a charge anymore.

[Kari]

I was the biggest PC bigot ever, before I switched. Now I wish I could go back and eat every bad word I ever said about Macs. I used to completely and totally badmouth Macs...and now I'm a huge Mac advocate. Talk about an about-face. And on the PB/iBook issue...it wasn't worth $500 for 67 mhz of processor speed, to me. The student discount on the iBook G4 made it $999...an excellent value, I thought. You can't tell Patrick's is bigger than mine unless you have them stacked or right next to each other. He has just a smidge on each side of the screen...not enough to really notice.

[ragingfish]

quote:You can't tell Patrick's is bigger than mine unless you have them stacked or right next to each other. He has just a smidge on each side of the screen...not enough to really notice.Huh?

[Kari]

Sorry,the 2nd paragraph was to millster...I was talking about my friend's G3 14" iBook.

[ragingfish]

Gotcha.

[Kari]

http://www.apple.com/ibook/specs.htmlI have the 12". It's a very powerful little machine for what I paid for it, IMHO. I'm LOVING the 6 hour battery life especially, and the split-second wake-from-sleep. Get to class, open it up, and it's ready. When it's over, just close it and it goes back to sleep.

[ragingfish]

My only major beef with Macs is they're too expensive.

[Kari]

I paid $999 for mine with the student discount. To my knowledge, they don't check your status. I didn't think that was bad at all, for a great, reliable notebook. You can get a cheap PC, but what's it really worth? Macs hardly depreciate at all -- when you go to resell a few years later, you've not lost nearly as much as you would have with the PC. I noticed that when I just sold my iMac to get the iBook. It had only depreciated $200, and the model is 2.5 years old. I'm a big believer in getting what you pay for. I always used to be pissed at my PC, but I'm just never mad at my Mac...never have to be. I think if you do go for it, and spend the extra $200 or whatever...you won't regret it.

[ragingfish]

You can sell back computers?No way!Where? I got some old POSes to dump. Even if I get 50 or 100 bucks each, it's something...

[Kari]

Not sell back...sell to someone else. Macs sell very well used and they keep their value.

[ragingfish]

Damn.