iGav
Mar 7, 03:05 PM
It certainly could be significantly higher. Public taste, laziness on the part of manufacturers and other things have all conspired to keep the bar set low on fuel economy.
I think that's probably accurate, general apathy on all sides really isn't it.
By way of a postscript, it's worth pointing out that today's safety and environmental regulations make it more difficult to make a car frugal, small and light than it was when Alec Issigonis designed the Mini.
Indeed, I think you've also inadvertently described the perfect engineering challenge that todays manufacturers really should be embracing, but instead seem so reticent to take up. The most remarkable thing about the original Mini, wasn't its size, it wasn't its cost� it was the whole. And in that respect alone, I cannot think of one car today that is really in anyway comparable whatsoever.
True, and that's a shame, because brand image often matters than a car's actual merits. If the new Jetta is a turd, people will still buy it because the VW badge has cachet here that GM does not, at least in the realm of small cars.
It's entirely possible to turn a brand around of course, as VW demonstrated with �koda, it's only 15 years ago that �koda was still the punchline to almost every joke.
The problem is Chevrolet is in a somewhat unique position in many respects here, it's a known brand, but by name only, usually as the carrier of good ol' boys... to a levy of course, when I think of a Chevy it's either something bright pink, with chrome� lots of chrome, or a pickup truck, not the rebadging of dreadful Daewoo cars. I suspect I'm not alone on that one.
And therein lies the problem. That and the Spark of course.
I'm not going to stand up too much for GM, I've never held a high opinion of most of their products, but I have reasonably read good reviews of the Cruze and I hope they bring the diesel here.
The Cruze is entirely inoffensive, and does the job entirely adequately by all accounts, as it should, after all it does have 4 wheels and an engine. Autocar likened it to the old Mk2 Seat Toledo saloon, and that's probably an apt comparison. Vanilla. Much like the rest of Vauxhall/Opel/Holden/Buick ranges etc actually. And that is a big problem for GM. A very big problem. One that almost sank the ship in the first place in fact. The captain might be different, but there's still no one at the helm.
the Daewoo -> Chevrolet re-branding in europe has been more or less the best business move GM has made perhaps in the last decade
Doesn't say much really does it. ;)
I think you highlight the real issue in the rest of your post. But it doesn't just affect Opel. And that is perhaps GM's biggest problem of all.
which is in a contrast to the japanese/korean brands which in europe over the last few years streamlined a lot: nearly all brands stopped offering premium sedans or upper market offerings and rather concentrated on SUVs/ crossovers and small offroaders and small minivans, compacts or small hatchbacks
It's not really streamlining when you have something like 6 suv/off-roaders in your range a'la Nissan is it? ;)
GM is doing reasonably well in Asia, and they have placed much of their small-car design duties into the capable hands of the Koreans - a wise move in my opinion.
Not if the Spark is anything to go by. Fortunately as the i10 proves, being Korean isn't the problem. ;)
I think blame can be put on both sides.
Yeah, but mainly GM for getting themselves into such a god almighty mess in the first place. ;)
The Buick Regal is the Opel Insignia( I love the US media. Before the Regal came out in the US, they went over to Europe and drove it and they loved it. Then they drive it on US shores, and all of a sudden they start panning it? ).
That'll be the marshmallows they use to replace the springs to make it a little softer for the yanks. :D
it wasn't a bad car.
It wasn't. You really don't want to think what today's hatches would be like if that car never existed. It really was that good. And its impact really was that great.
In typical bad Ford fashion
In typical Ford U.S. fashion you mean, fortunately, the profit making arm of Ford, i.e. the european division, produced the even better Mk2. ;)
I think that's probably accurate, general apathy on all sides really isn't it.
By way of a postscript, it's worth pointing out that today's safety and environmental regulations make it more difficult to make a car frugal, small and light than it was when Alec Issigonis designed the Mini.
Indeed, I think you've also inadvertently described the perfect engineering challenge that todays manufacturers really should be embracing, but instead seem so reticent to take up. The most remarkable thing about the original Mini, wasn't its size, it wasn't its cost� it was the whole. And in that respect alone, I cannot think of one car today that is really in anyway comparable whatsoever.
True, and that's a shame, because brand image often matters than a car's actual merits. If the new Jetta is a turd, people will still buy it because the VW badge has cachet here that GM does not, at least in the realm of small cars.
It's entirely possible to turn a brand around of course, as VW demonstrated with �koda, it's only 15 years ago that �koda was still the punchline to almost every joke.
The problem is Chevrolet is in a somewhat unique position in many respects here, it's a known brand, but by name only, usually as the carrier of good ol' boys... to a levy of course, when I think of a Chevy it's either something bright pink, with chrome� lots of chrome, or a pickup truck, not the rebadging of dreadful Daewoo cars. I suspect I'm not alone on that one.
And therein lies the problem. That and the Spark of course.
I'm not going to stand up too much for GM, I've never held a high opinion of most of their products, but I have reasonably read good reviews of the Cruze and I hope they bring the diesel here.
The Cruze is entirely inoffensive, and does the job entirely adequately by all accounts, as it should, after all it does have 4 wheels and an engine. Autocar likened it to the old Mk2 Seat Toledo saloon, and that's probably an apt comparison. Vanilla. Much like the rest of Vauxhall/Opel/Holden/Buick ranges etc actually. And that is a big problem for GM. A very big problem. One that almost sank the ship in the first place in fact. The captain might be different, but there's still no one at the helm.
the Daewoo -> Chevrolet re-branding in europe has been more or less the best business move GM has made perhaps in the last decade
Doesn't say much really does it. ;)
I think you highlight the real issue in the rest of your post. But it doesn't just affect Opel. And that is perhaps GM's biggest problem of all.
which is in a contrast to the japanese/korean brands which in europe over the last few years streamlined a lot: nearly all brands stopped offering premium sedans or upper market offerings and rather concentrated on SUVs/ crossovers and small offroaders and small minivans, compacts or small hatchbacks
It's not really streamlining when you have something like 6 suv/off-roaders in your range a'la Nissan is it? ;)
GM is doing reasonably well in Asia, and they have placed much of their small-car design duties into the capable hands of the Koreans - a wise move in my opinion.
Not if the Spark is anything to go by. Fortunately as the i10 proves, being Korean isn't the problem. ;)
I think blame can be put on both sides.
Yeah, but mainly GM for getting themselves into such a god almighty mess in the first place. ;)
The Buick Regal is the Opel Insignia( I love the US media. Before the Regal came out in the US, they went over to Europe and drove it and they loved it. Then they drive it on US shores, and all of a sudden they start panning it? ).
That'll be the marshmallows they use to replace the springs to make it a little softer for the yanks. :D
it wasn't a bad car.
It wasn't. You really don't want to think what today's hatches would be like if that car never existed. It really was that good. And its impact really was that great.
In typical bad Ford fashion
In typical Ford U.S. fashion you mean, fortunately, the profit making arm of Ford, i.e. the european division, produced the even better Mk2. ;)
mlayer
Apr 2, 07:07 PM
Juxtaposition of medical apps to a simple preschool numbers trace shows the broad appeal and power. Sorry competitors, if you think this is just about a web browser on a tablet you clearly have no vision. Apple is yet again skating to where the puck is going.
Also - Peter Coyote's voice always adds gravitas.
Also - Peter Coyote's voice always adds gravitas.
Josias
Aug 7, 03:48 AM
Are there going to be static downloads of the event? I mean, one I can save to view later? I hate streams, so badly.
I dunno about that. I had hoped you could download it in HD from Apple' website:D , and though it would take 44 days and nights, I'd be willing to do it... But I think we're gonna have to do with something a bit less. To be honest, I don't care about the Keynote. I just want to read about it on MR, and see a more detailed and graphically advanced description of the products on Apple.com a few hours later...:rolleyes:
I dunno about that. I had hoped you could download it in HD from Apple' website:D , and though it would take 44 days and nights, I'd be willing to do it... But I think we're gonna have to do with something a bit less. To be honest, I don't care about the Keynote. I just want to read about it on MR, and see a more detailed and graphically advanced description of the products on Apple.com a few hours later...:rolleyes:
maxvamp
Jul 14, 12:59 PM
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res1233
Apr 12, 10:33 PM
Yawn...'cause if it ain't kludgy, it ain't pro.
Some people seem to think that difficult to use = pro. Those are the people use windows because they enjoy fixing problems. Anything to save time is good for anyone, pro or not, and this interface feels like one that wont take much time to get used to. It looks well designed.
Some people seem to think that difficult to use = pro. Those are the people use windows because they enjoy fixing problems. Anything to save time is good for anyone, pro or not, and this interface feels like one that wont take much time to get used to. It looks well designed.
twoodcc
Oct 5, 10:30 PM
Congrats, keep the bigadv coming!
thanks. like i said, i'll have them coming when it gets colder. but it looks like mc68k will keep them coming
EDIT: and congrats to you! over 2 million now!
thanks. like i said, i'll have them coming when it gets colder. but it looks like mc68k will keep them coming
EDIT: and congrats to you! over 2 million now!
Eraserhead
Mar 20, 03:57 PM
No-one could possibly be offended by homeopathy.
dmaxdmax
Nov 28, 10:41 AM
I was in a Best Buy the day before Thanksgiving and an employee told me they sold 4 Zunes that morning because they were out of stock on iPods. More were to be delivered that afternoon so he expected iPods to rule Friday. (as well they should)
For MS the Zune is as much about strategy as anything. If they believe it's a necessary product it will be easy to justify extraordinary marketing spending. Apple has shown them there is no shame in a 5% market share if you believe in your product and have patience.
MS hasn't bet the farm on anything. It bought into the game with a moderately high ante and has many many chips in its stack. Just because they aren't usually smart doesn't mean they will always be stupid. It could come down to Gates' successor's vision which won't be known til he's sitting in the big chair.
For MS the Zune is as much about strategy as anything. If they believe it's a necessary product it will be easy to justify extraordinary marketing spending. Apple has shown them there is no shame in a 5% market share if you believe in your product and have patience.
MS hasn't bet the farm on anything. It bought into the game with a moderately high ante and has many many chips in its stack. Just because they aren't usually smart doesn't mean they will always be stupid. It could come down to Gates' successor's vision which won't be known til he's sitting in the big chair.
rdrr
Nov 27, 01:47 PM
Don't they already make one? Its called a 17" MacBook Pro... :)
Benguitar
Nov 25, 11:18 PM
^^^^^Could I recommend a case for that?
:D
/facepalm
He's pretty tough on stuff, That's why I didn't get him a nano because it has a screen.
I wish I could find a pelican for a shuffle.. :p
Seriously though, Stop, I don't wanna get banned for spamming this thread.
:D
/facepalm
He's pretty tough on stuff, That's why I didn't get him a nano because it has a screen.
I wish I could find a pelican for a shuffle.. :p
Seriously though, Stop, I don't wanna get banned for spamming this thread.
longsilver
Sep 5, 08:21 AM
Well, the US store is down anyways. UK and Ireland are still up. Anyone checked any others?
Chef Medeski
Jan 1, 07:58 PM
Pretty excited about this Stevenote.
* iTV
* Leopard
* iLife '07
The rumored stuff this year is all retarded. "Maybe we'll all get Apple phones!" And maybe I'll give a flying #$%^ at a rolling donut. I have a phone, and I spend approximately 3 minutes on it per month. My wife and I are thinking of going prepaid for this reason. The last thing I'm going to do is buy a danged smartphone.
Gah. It's all silly.
A phone is best used to make phone calls not for music. If you want to listen to music theres a nano... I dont like the idea of putting them together compromising each other.
Phone Compromises:
Worst reception or larger size due to the added multimedia.
Buttons are geared towards music instead of calls and stuff that is useful for making calls.
iPod Compromises:
Shorter battery life than iPod
No Line-out for superior audio quality.
Worst navigation for selecting songs.
I like a great phone and a great iPod. Not an alright phone and alright iPod in one place so I cant just carry one or the other.
* iTV
* Leopard
* iLife '07
The rumored stuff this year is all retarded. "Maybe we'll all get Apple phones!" And maybe I'll give a flying #$%^ at a rolling donut. I have a phone, and I spend approximately 3 minutes on it per month. My wife and I are thinking of going prepaid for this reason. The last thing I'm going to do is buy a danged smartphone.
Gah. It's all silly.
A phone is best used to make phone calls not for music. If you want to listen to music theres a nano... I dont like the idea of putting them together compromising each other.
Phone Compromises:
Worst reception or larger size due to the added multimedia.
Buttons are geared towards music instead of calls and stuff that is useful for making calls.
iPod Compromises:
Shorter battery life than iPod
No Line-out for superior audio quality.
Worst navigation for selecting songs.
I like a great phone and a great iPod. Not an alright phone and alright iPod in one place so I cant just carry one or the other.
heffemonkeyman
Sep 6, 08:34 PM
Planet Germany ;) The not so expensive part of it though (other Germans are quite surprised too). Macs are pretty expensive here though, IMHO. And there isn't a single store you can get Macs... in a town with 200000 people or so. Oh well...
Wie Geht's!
In most major US cities (I'm in Seattle) 1st run movies in the theaters are over $10.
So $9.99 for a movie download starts to look more reasonable...
Wie Geht's!
In most major US cities (I'm in Seattle) 1st run movies in the theaters are over $10.
So $9.99 for a movie download starts to look more reasonable...
asdf542
Apr 12, 09:49 PM
Well I really can't judge it until I'm actually able to touch and use it myself, but from the looks, they've gone consumer. *here's hoping for the best* I really want it to work... but Adobe is looking better by the day.
They've gone consumer because the UI is something modern and not something ripped out of the 90's like the last Final Cut was? :rolleyes:
They've gone consumer because the UI is something modern and not something ripped out of the 90's like the last Final Cut was? :rolleyes:
maclaptop
Apr 21, 12:29 PM
One of the many advantages of my iPhone 4 tracking me, is that I have big brother watching me. I'm never alone.
The only problem is my stupid Android phone can't do the same.
I have an appointment with Apple next week, I'm giving them the keys to my house, cars, and all my tax returns, stock certificates and investment portfolio. They promise to do every thing for less than 70% of my annual income. A great deal.
I'm in good hands with Apple, not a worry in the world. I'm now an official Apple fanboy. Living in the walled garden all I have to do is be an Apple drone :)
Woo Hoo life is sweet.
The only problem is my stupid Android phone can't do the same.
I have an appointment with Apple next week, I'm giving them the keys to my house, cars, and all my tax returns, stock certificates and investment portfolio. They promise to do every thing for less than 70% of my annual income. A great deal.
I'm in good hands with Apple, not a worry in the world. I'm now an official Apple fanboy. Living in the walled garden all I have to do is be an Apple drone :)
Woo Hoo life is sweet.
puckhead193
Apr 12, 10:45 PM
So now the question is do I still need to transcode to pro res my avchd footage :rolleyes::confused:
SaddY
Aug 7, 06:05 AM
Well I think it's not AMD who is against apple using ATI products.. not at all.. I think it will be Intel trying to prevent Apple from buying from their biggest competitor and rather have them buy at Nvidia (somewhat independant).
ibook30
Jul 14, 12:51 AM
What i'm worried about is if this whole format war between HD-DVD and Blu-ray turns out to be really worthless and end up with neither format winning and instead having both supplanted by further formats. it would be like trying to put betamax up against laserdisc then having DVDs come to market :rolleyes: .
There are great things coming though- future discs, future mass storage too. HDs may be on their way out soon enough for speed reasons. one thing i'm keeping an eye on is ferroelectric memory, which might also make HD-DVD/Bluray etc. partly obsolete as a storage format- useful primarily for video media only.
Excellent points, and concerns. I think the format wars will be mitigated by tech companies desire to make a dollar and the markets inability to handle too many choices and price points vs. value.
It's not impossible that the bluray/ HD DVD conflict will be supplanted by new technology - but it will become a regional issue (Asia vs Europe or N America) and/or price against value issue .. ultimately leaving the consumer with two or three choices.... no matter how fast the technology advances. "The market" is unlikely to handle more than 2 or 3 choices. (I am speaking of the consumer market - a seperate market for the technocracy will allow more choices for niche markets.... I hope)
Let's see what happens- it'll be an interesting ride.
On the 802.11n front- to deviate from the thread again - if Apple and other traditional tech companies do not get behind this - it will leave an opening for telecom/cable companies like Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon - all of whom are delivering faster and faster connection speeds to the (residential)consumer's front door .... Verizon's fiber optic system gives faster download and upload times than previous options, so they are creating a need for faster home networks.
Apple is beginning to compete with telcoms for the communication dollar (iChat AV and ventures into cell phones) - so telcoms might strike back by offering machines or networking cards that work with these advancing high speed internets. I dunno.
p.s. (Silentwave) I am reading about ferroelectric tech - and it is fascinating. Glad you mentioned it!
There are great things coming though- future discs, future mass storage too. HDs may be on their way out soon enough for speed reasons. one thing i'm keeping an eye on is ferroelectric memory, which might also make HD-DVD/Bluray etc. partly obsolete as a storage format- useful primarily for video media only.
Excellent points, and concerns. I think the format wars will be mitigated by tech companies desire to make a dollar and the markets inability to handle too many choices and price points vs. value.
It's not impossible that the bluray/ HD DVD conflict will be supplanted by new technology - but it will become a regional issue (Asia vs Europe or N America) and/or price against value issue .. ultimately leaving the consumer with two or three choices.... no matter how fast the technology advances. "The market" is unlikely to handle more than 2 or 3 choices. (I am speaking of the consumer market - a seperate market for the technocracy will allow more choices for niche markets.... I hope)
Let's see what happens- it'll be an interesting ride.
On the 802.11n front- to deviate from the thread again - if Apple and other traditional tech companies do not get behind this - it will leave an opening for telecom/cable companies like Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon - all of whom are delivering faster and faster connection speeds to the (residential)consumer's front door .... Verizon's fiber optic system gives faster download and upload times than previous options, so they are creating a need for faster home networks.
Apple is beginning to compete with telcoms for the communication dollar (iChat AV and ventures into cell phones) - so telcoms might strike back by offering machines or networking cards that work with these advancing high speed internets. I dunno.
p.s. (Silentwave) I am reading about ferroelectric tech - and it is fascinating. Glad you mentioned it!
ten-oak-druid
Mar 22, 04:32 PM
The classic is great. I got my iphone and was excited about having the ipod and phone combined. But I've gotten to the point where I miss the larger hard drive with more songs. I don't like having to decide which music I can squeeze onto the device. So I've started carrying the ipod around and using the phone for video and calls.
I don't think the classic will die, nor will conventional hard drives in laptops, until you can buy 500GB flash drives for $100. If the functionality of the hard drive suits your needs then you are simply paying more for less. If you are doing tasks that benefit from the access speed of a flash drive compared to a hard drive then of course that will outweigh the capacity issue.
Viva la roue de clic!
I don't think the classic will die, nor will conventional hard drives in laptops, until you can buy 500GB flash drives for $100. If the functionality of the hard drive suits your needs then you are simply paying more for less. If you are doing tasks that benefit from the access speed of a flash drive compared to a hard drive then of course that will outweigh the capacity issue.
Viva la roue de clic!
DavidLeblond
Aug 7, 07:23 AM
Heh, not only is that tag-line funny, but it's funny 'cause it's true. "Hasta la vista, vista"? That's great too. Paul's obviously irritated by it, and also annoyed by the fact that Apple marketshare is in fact growing, despite his disbelief in its ability ever to do so.
Paul's not a bad guy, in fact sometimes I think he's on the fence about what product to support. Look at the crap he writes. He'll praise Mac OS but then say something completely assinine such as "That feature's great, too bad they stole it from Longhorn!"
Then he'll praise the innovativeness of Vista, and in the next breath talk about how much of a piece of crap it is.
My favorite is when he says how awesome IE7 is... but he won't actually USE it, he uses Firefox. And he'll praise Ubuntu any chance he gets. I'm sure that REALLY steams Microsoft's shorts!
He gets paid to write about Windows, so of course he's going to issue it more praise and talk trash about Apple more. But pay close attention to the bad things he says about Mac OS and the bad things he said about Windows... he has a lot more bad things to say about Windows... his arguments about Mac OS are usually the stupid things like making fun of their marketshare. *yawn*
Paul's not a bad guy, in fact sometimes I think he's on the fence about what product to support. Look at the crap he writes. He'll praise Mac OS but then say something completely assinine such as "That feature's great, too bad they stole it from Longhorn!"
Then he'll praise the innovativeness of Vista, and in the next breath talk about how much of a piece of crap it is.
My favorite is when he says how awesome IE7 is... but he won't actually USE it, he uses Firefox. And he'll praise Ubuntu any chance he gets. I'm sure that REALLY steams Microsoft's shorts!
He gets paid to write about Windows, so of course he's going to issue it more praise and talk trash about Apple more. But pay close attention to the bad things he says about Mac OS and the bad things he said about Windows... he has a lot more bad things to say about Windows... his arguments about Mac OS are usually the stupid things like making fun of their marketshare. *yawn*
iJohnHenry
Mar 19, 03:57 PM
(Jesus, BBC reporting septics have fired 110 Tomahawks already, at $1 million each.
Raytheon shares will be on the up soon).
(plus the Brits have fired some)
Nice edit. CNN was first. :p
Raytheon shares will be on the up soon).
(plus the Brits have fired some)
Nice edit. CNN was first. :p
Angrisano
Sep 6, 08:45 PM
You are not alone. I think there are a lot of Apple users right now who would love to see Apple release a mac-mini pro.
Well I posted it in another thread however I just built a PC with some amazing specs for under $500. It was a P4 3ghz, 2gb ram, 250GB HD, 256MB GPU, DVDR, bluetooth, wifi. The kicker is it's a Shuttle so it's tiny, not much bigger than a mini, and it's made of aluminum. The thing is very Mac like. And being able to build it so cost effectively, really ticked me off.
Because no matter what I'd get on the Apple side it would either cost much, much more or it would be hobbled in some way (GPU, monitor, etc.). In the end you have to realize that as a Mac user you're paying more for a brand and for the ability to run OS X. That's fine, provided you can find a system which meets your needs.
(yeah it's late and I'm cranky) :P
Well I posted it in another thread however I just built a PC with some amazing specs for under $500. It was a P4 3ghz, 2gb ram, 250GB HD, 256MB GPU, DVDR, bluetooth, wifi. The kicker is it's a Shuttle so it's tiny, not much bigger than a mini, and it's made of aluminum. The thing is very Mac like. And being able to build it so cost effectively, really ticked me off.
Because no matter what I'd get on the Apple side it would either cost much, much more or it would be hobbled in some way (GPU, monitor, etc.). In the end you have to realize that as a Mac user you're paying more for a brand and for the ability to run OS X. That's fine, provided you can find a system which meets your needs.
(yeah it's late and I'm cranky) :P
rasmasyean
Mar 19, 04:14 PM
mispost...ignore.
dguisinger
Aug 7, 07:53 AM
Huh....so VM Ware finally got their act together; and its only pre-register for a future upcoming beta.
....you know, I'd have to say they dropped the ball on this one.
parallels not only did the public beta first, they released a final product a full month before VMWare announced beta.....and is in the Apple Store, office depot, staples.... heck, its even in Apple's TV commercials.....
VMWare might use to have had a good edge, but I think they lose out on the Mac oppurtunity.....
....you know, I'd have to say they dropped the ball on this one.
parallels not only did the public beta first, they released a final product a full month before VMWare announced beta.....and is in the Apple Store, office depot, staples.... heck, its even in Apple's TV commercials.....
VMWare might use to have had a good edge, but I think they lose out on the Mac oppurtunity.....
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