Editorial: Coders concur By David Leishman dleishman@maccentral.com
Last week’s editorial noted that Apple is making a concerted effort to extend its reach in scientific circles. The company’s upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference 2004 (WWDC) signals Apple’s plans to expand its outreach efforts even further, to diverse groups including enterprise IT; coders for QuickTime, Java, and Unix; and open source and cross-platform developers who support both Mac and Windows.
The company’s timing couldn’t be any better, with even Bill Gates acknowledging that the next version of Windows faces an unpredictable future. Jupiter Research Senior Analyst, Joe Wilcox, notes that “Apple has a tremendous opportunity to exploit the official delay of Microsoft’s next-generation developer tools and, presumably, major Windows upgrade.”
While it may be interesting and perhaps exciting to read analysis (and editorials 😉 recognizing Apple’s efforts, it’s actually enlightening to read what honest-to-goodness developers have to say. And a recent thread on Slashdot, ” Apple Developer Profile Changing? “, provides a perfect opportunity to do so.
Unlike in days of yore, modern Slashdot threads often provide more heat than light, so I suggest you skip the early eight or ten “Macs cost too much/no they don’t” posts, although one fellow puts it in a nice perspective: “The low-end of Apple’s product line… well, the simple fact is that there is no low end of Apple’s product line. Every Mac comes with FireWire, accelerated graphics, a kick-ass OS, et cetera. These are not entry-level machines.”
So, how well do users of other OSs like Apple? ” I’m A Unix guy by trade…(and) nothing in the open source world comes across as cleanly and nice as OSX.” Or how about this fellow: ” Apple has a good product, it’s that simple. It’s not a product I personally use, but it has its good points, and people are noticing it. And OSX really adds to the whole appeal.”
Even Apple’s CEO comes in for some praise: “Steven Jobs did 2 years ago what in 5 years from now the rest of the IT corporations will notice as the way to go…current Macs kick any other computer up and down the street in terms of conceptual consequence.”
For those who’d like a brief respite from all the prideful head swelling, there’s even an Ellen Fleiss parody for coders: “…and all of a sudden, visual studio was like BEEP BEEP BEEP…”
And while we’re among the young, it’s important to note that Apple VP Ron Okamoto emphasizes that student turnout at WWDC has remained strong over the years and is gradually increasing, because, as he puts it, “Student developers and Macs are a natural fit.” Or, as one more Slashdotter writes: “I’ve been a Windows user / Linux tinkerer ever since I first started using computers, but when I go to college (MIT!) this fall it’ll be with a new Powerbook. Aside from the great hardware design, OS X is the perfect blend of usability and power for my purposes.”
He might like to know that WWDC registration is open.
Apple News
Workgroup Cluster only the start of Apple’s scitech push
Apple outlined its strategy last week to win the hearts and minds of scientists during a presentation to select attendees of BioIT World Conference + Expo. Noting a survey from The Scientist magazine that said 30 percent of Life Sciences users have Macs, Apple representatives pointed to new Mac-using programs including Princeton University’s Center for the Study of Brain, Mind & Behavior; Genzyme’s Drug Discovery Group; and a new Science area on its site.
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Hardware News
New ATI Radeon utilities allow OpenGL override
ATI Technologies recently released ATI Radeon Display Utilities 4.2, aimed specifically at Power Mac users who have upgraded their stock video systems with one of ATI’s retail Radeon graphics card products. The new software, available from ATI’s Web site, is designed to work on Mac OS X 10.2.8 “Jaguar” or higher, and adds the 3D/OpenGL Overrides panel, which allows users to tweak their card’s performance and quality settings for individual OpenGL-based applications.
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Software News
Intego issues Mac OS X Trojan Horse warning
Macintosh security specialist Intego on Thursday issued a security warning to its customers for the first Trojan horse to affect Mac OS X. Dubbed MP3Concept (MP3Virus.Gen), the Trojan horse exploits a weakness in Mac OS X where applications can appear to be other types of files, according to the company.
Microsoft Office 2004 to ship in May, pre-order available
Microsoft’s Macintosh Business Unit on Tuesday announced that Office 2004 for Mac will ship the third week of May. While the release is still six weeks away, Mac users can now pre-order Office from several online retailers. Analysts feel that the contribution that Office makes to the Macintosh platform cannot be underestimated in Apple’s push for more customers.
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Around the Web
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