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In this 1996 video Apple talked incredibly polite trash about Windows 95
The debate between PC and Mac users over which system is better will likely never end, but since the fight rages on, we might as well enjoy its finer moments -- like this video Apple produced in 1996 talking polite trash about the Windows 95 operating system. Over the course of 26 minutes Apple's Mike Bobrowicz makes the case against Windows 95. You want to install a new hard drive on your Windows PC? Oh hell, you don't even know how hard that's going to be. Well, surely your PC can use a Mac-formatted disc? You're going to be sadly disappointed. Can you talk to your Windows 95 PC? Mac is ready and listening right now, in a way that (to be honest) wasn't nearly as useful as the video makes it seem like it was. This is easily the most polite trash talk ever released. If you enjoy cheesy vintage computer videos, pour yourself a nice drink and revel in the glory of 18-year-old technology.
PPC Macs 'likely' to be unsupported by Firefox 4
While it may not come as much of a surprise, it's still going to aggravate owners of aging PPC Macs that the upcoming Firefox 4 browser is probably going to drop support for the older architecture. Mozilla program manager Mike Beltzner noted that the next version of the open-source browser, currently in beta, is not working on PowerPC machines now and the update will not be automatically offered to them. Computerworld points to two separate technologies in FF4 that are standing in the way of a PPC build: the OOPP isolated plugin system, which prevents browser extensions from gumming up the works; and the JIT (just in time) compiler for the new JaegerMonkey JavaScript engine, which sounds like a drunken simian but is actually supposed to speed up JavaScript compilation manyfold. Neither have a functional equivalent on the PowerPC. It's not clear if the Camino browser, which does work on both Mac processor platforms and is based on the Mozilla Gecko rendering engine, will be able to update to the Gecko 2.0 platform that powers Firefox 4. In the same message thread, Beltzner allowed that developers could certainly work on a PPC version that left out the two problematic components, but that it most likely would not be allowed to carry the Firefox brand (which has happened before with custom optimized builds for specific architectures). He also pointed out that there aren't development resources within Mozilla to extend support for OOPP and the JIT compiler to PPC, and that outside help has not been forthcoming. [via Download Squad]
Freescale-powered LimeBook hits eBay for astronomical price
China's Tsinghua Tongfang has had quite the difficulty launching any of its Lime-splashed gear here in the United States, and while it has bothered to show up at CES the past two years, we're still waiting for the LimePC UMPC and LimeBook netbook to arrive in proper fashion. Evidently, one eBay user reckons that Americans really will pay anything so long as something's considered "rare," as the Lime OS-packin' LimeBook -- which was spotted in January in Las Vegas -- is being offered up for US delivery at $500. Yeah, 500 smackers for an unproven, practically unheard of Freescale-powered netbook with a 9-inch display, 512MB of DDR2 RAM, a 32GB SSD, WiFi, 1.3 megapixel webcam and the Linux-based Lime OS. Anyone feel like burning through some discretionary income in order to let us know what the feeling of ownership is like?[Thanks, Joseph]
Snow Leopard to drop PowerPC support?
PowerPC users, your days could be numbered. According to an alleged screenshot of Snow Leopard's system requirements, only Intel CPUs will get to take a ride on the 10.6 train as of now. The grab comes from an early version of the OS seeded to developers at WWDC this week, though given that Jobsy said we're a year out from an actual release, these things could change. Still, it's not looking promising for those of you who've stood by your older models -- but Apple shutting out legacy users doesn't come as a real shock, does it?[Via Mac Rumors; Thanks, Kiwi616]
A simpler process for creating a bootable PPC and Intel drive
A reader of macosxhints.com has posted another method for creating a bootable drive that is friendly to both PowerPC and Intel Macs. While it's a twelve-step process, macosxhints.com has called it 'simpler', so who are we to argue? If you've been hankering for a way to create a bootable drive that can play on both sides of the Mac CPU fence, this tip just might have you covered.
Mac "G6" now available for $499
Want an Intel-based Mac but don't want to pay Apple's prices? A company called Red PCs may have what you're looking for -- if you're willing to face the wrath of Apple's lawyers. Red PC is now offering something they're calling a "PowerPC G6 Macintosh" for $499. According to the specs, the box is basically a generic Pentium-based PC running a hacked version of the Intel version of Mac OS X. For your $499, the company is also throwing in copies of Photoshop CS2 and Microsoft Office 2004, making this quite the deal, given that Photoshop alone can go for over $400. But, then, we assume you're prepared to deal with Adobe and Microsoft's lawyers as well if you're ready to buy this. Unfortunately (or fortunately, as the case may be), the Red PCs web site seems to be down, though the machine is still listed on the Alibaba.com site as available for purchase with free global shipping and a one-year warranty.[Via OSX86]
