Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
OT: Syntax 30" Olevia LT30HV
Hi Linda,
The Viewing angle is a non-issue with the Syntax 30" Olevia LT30HV
The Default Contrast and Brightness settings needed to be adjusted on the set I received.
The On screen Menu adjustments allow you to tweak the display.
The vast Array of Video Inputs VGA, S-video, DVI, Composite and Two component inputs and Cable ready inputs make this display extremely versatile.
The Display only ships with a VGA cable so expect that you will have to buy cables for what ever devices you want to plug into it.
Using an old Panasonic progressive scan DVD carousel with S-Video rendered excellent quality dvd movie images.
I have not plugged Cable into this device so I'm not sure about the quality of High Definition broadcasts with this display yet.
A unique feature to this Display is the audio output connection for a Subwoofer speaker.
One thing that puzzled me that took a couple of days to figure out was if you add the VGA cable and then add a MacMini with a DVI cable the Display will not accept the DVI input. When I removed the VGA cable from the set the MacMini DVI input worked great.
The second thing that has proven to be a challenge is that the Mac Mini with Panther 10.3.8 does not have the 1280 x 720 resolution video setting by default so I found a very handy piece of shareware DisplayConfigX which allows you to add custom resolutions to the Mac Mini in order to work with the Syntax Display. Their are so many competing video standards and the syntax appears to support most of them download the specs for more info.
I'm posting the link to the Syntax Web site. All the Specs are downloadable PDF files.
http://www.syntaxgroups.com/products/30inch_productd.html
...... And the Skipper too !!!
Lang I've been working with and servicing mac systems since 1985 and find that Mac fanatics are far and few between. I've been supporting Windows systems going on 15 years so I use both platforms. The whole Cult of the Mac stuff is so over blown. I support Apple because without any viable Commercial competition Intel and Microsoft would be free to set the standards for personal computing and the cost as well.
As a long suffering Red Sox fan during my Youth I have a tendency to support the underdog and as the last baseball season proved .... Dreams can come true.
Apple is back producing great Hardware and Software but other companies produce great stuff as well.
My current Display is a 30" Syntax Olevia LCD HD-ready TV flat panel. It sells for a Third of the Price of an Apple 30" LCD and is more than adequate for my needs. Is the Apple 30" monitor better ... absolutely ... Better resolution support with a price to match its quality.
If I where running a graphic business I would seriously consider an Apple display but I'm not.
So save a space on the island for me as well.
Hey, isn't that Maryann and Ginger under the palm tree.
BR, Altaire4
OT: Dell Pricing
I find Dell's pricing to be inconsistent: higher in some places lower in others. I guess when they average it Dell makes a pretty good profit. Just don't be the one paying the premium price.
OT: DELL UltraSharp LCD Monitor
Nothing like having choices.
http://www.macfuture.com/
Roni's Question is Valid ?
Inquiring minds want to know if your willing to pay a premium for AAPL products ? If not ... what brand Monitors you like.
BR, Altaire4
Apple Prices: part Deux
Apple cannot compete with Dell on every System Component because of Basic Supply and Demand and how it impacts on Volume pricing. Nor should it have too. Apple learned that hard lesson in the 80's when it ended up with warehouses of unsold inventory. I would rather have Apple sell through everything it makes than have them stuffing channels and have systems taking up dust. As Apple's share of the market grows they will be much more capable of competing on price.
The MacMini and the iPod Shuffle was a huge step in the right direction for pricing Apple products. If both of these products had flopped we would be skewering Jobs for canabilizing sales of higher margin systems.
So lets cut Jobs and the AAPL Crew some slack. You don't have to buy Apple displays if you perceive them to be to expensive.
Go AAPL !!!!!
AAPL Pricing !!!
Lango No one needs to buy Apples displays ! Third party display's that work with Mac hardware are plentiful and available.
Every corporation even Dell has items they overcharge for.
Try Building a PC equivlant of a PowePC G5 with all of its standard features on the Dell site and then add a monitor and you will find that the Apple and Dell systems are in the same BallPark.
Br, Altaire4 ..... go AAPL !!!!
OT: MSFT Pandering
I would call MSFT's corporate policy change on gay Civil Rights ..... Pandering .... to the Current NeoCon Christian Right political power base to prop up their monopoly.
The Gates foundation has been very generous so I believe this decision was a pragmatic one.
Government contracts are very attractive to any big business in this economy.
It's all part Dubbya's Wayback machine.
At this rate America will end up in the Stoneage reinventing the Wooden Wheel.
Fire am Good !!!!
Tomm thanks for the heads up !!!
This board has gotten a liitle overheated over this Tiger 32 bit vs 64 bit debate. The fact that Tiger can run both 32 bit and 64 bit apps is most certainly great progress. The Scientific community is very excited about Tiger and is looking to adopt it ASAP and bodes well for AAPL to make further inroads into the marketplace.
BR, Altaire4 ..... Now about those Dual Core PPC chips .... Aaah we'll never be satisfied. Go AAPL !!!!
OT: Bluetooth Mice
Thanks for the recommendation.
I ordered the Macally BT Micro rechargeable mouse.
Br, Altaire4
Apple's Big Virus
by Kelly Martin, SecurityFocus
Alternative environments like Apple and Linux are finally catching on. Unit sales of Apple Computer's OS X based computers grew by 43% in the past quarter, over the same time last year -- in business terms, that's incredible growth. Revenue grew by 70%, and profit grew by an unbelievable 530%, thanks to the little music revolution they call the iPod and the iTunes Music Store.
What's fueling Apple's growth, besides the infamous iPod halo effect? Security. Either it's the perceived security that is thought to be better in OS X, or it's the documented lack of security in the Windows world. By that, I mean that you can't assume everyone who owns Genuine Windows is running XP with Service Pack 2, which has some improved security features -- because there are a few hundred million people out there still running Windows 2000, 98, or something else. No, they don't have automatic updates, and no, they may never understand what a firewall is. Anyone who works hands-on in the security field has his own experience spending countless hours removing viruses and spyware, or becoming adept at formatting and reinstalling (or laying down a new image), patching, immunizing, and so on. Whether it's in your large corporate environment or your Uncle Bob's computer at home, it all takes time.
Viruses don't have to be a fact of life. There are no viruses on OS X -- not a single one. The reason most often touted is Apple's lack of critical mass, but that argument has been beaten to death. There are millions of OS X computers out there. It's not that a virus couldn't be written for it either. Far from it. The soft underbelly of Unix (or Darwin, an open-source Unix like OS similar to FreeBSD) is just as vulnerable as the eye-candy applications that run on top of it. Step back from Apple's three-tiered user privilege system (user, GUI superuser, and root, which is disabled by default) and understand that users can still be tricked into clicking on anything -- social engineering will always work, and there will always be people who click.
Why, then, are there no viruses for OS X?
Just as Windows users have become accustomed to 140,000 viruses, Apple users have become accustomed to none. It's a major cultural difference that admittedly, sometimes causes Apple users to do stupid things -- and get away with them. It's hard to describe the freedom of using a system with no malware known to have spread. It's liberating.
Beyond critical mass, I would like to believe there's a better reason for the lack of viruses on OS X, and it's based on the culture of the Mac -- which is distinctly different from other platforms. Is it wrong to try a new computer system and actually enjoy the user experience, for a change? Can you imagine a world where (today) you can click on anything and never worry about malicious intent? Can we not continue this unwritten rule that there can be a platform out there that is simple, easy-to-use, with Unix (and a cool ports tree) underneath that has no threat at all from viruses?
Perhaps I'm living in a pipe dream, but that reality is here today. Linux is also close, but OS X is already there. Perhaps Apple's big virus is really just the market enthusiasm that translate to new unit sales, spread like a contagion, that fuels their 70% year-over-year revenue growth.
I held off writing this column for the better part of a year, because many SecurityFocus readers have the intellect, talent and ability to write a virus that could be quite nasty on OS X. There's the general notion that (shh!), any added exposure to the platform might bring it out of the limelight. But if a Windows programmer or security researcher can try a new operating system and enjoy it just enough to not want to destroy it, then there's hope for us all.
I should have also prefaced this column with the disclaimer that most SecurityFocus staff use OS X in some way or another, if not at work then at home, so we're somewhat biased. After covering multi-platform security news all day long, from WiFi penetration testing to intrusion detection and honeypots, at the end of the day it's nice to use a system that's not on everyone's radar for a change. Let's keep it that way.
Full story is here:
http://www.securityfocus.com/columnists/319?ref=rss
10.3.9 Update
No problem with 10.3.9 update on a G4 iMac 800 mhz. Safari speed much improved.
Br, Altaire4 .... Go AAPL !!!!
Verizon, Sprint pass on iTunes phone
By Kasper Jade and Katie Marsal
Fyi: Looks like the Telecommunications companies are looking for a new revenue stream ... music downloads....... Altaire4
Published: 09:00 AM EST
Most major wireless companies, including Verizon Wireless and Sprint, have reportedly balked at carrying the iTunes phone Apple has been codeveloping with Motorola.
According to an international cover story in the April 25th edition of Business Week, the cell phone carriers, along with Cingular/ATT, have very different perspectives on how digital music stores should work and are expected to charge between $2 and $3 for wireless music downloads when they introduce their services.
"They figure they can charge a premium for the convenience of getting songs anytime, even though customers most likely won't be able to listen to those songs anywhere but on their phones, at least initially," wrote Business Week's Roger Crockett. He cites a source close to Apple who says wireless operators are "simply being unrealistic" if they expect customers to pay $2 or $3 for a song, especially with restrictions.
Instead the operators want customers to download songs over the air, directly to handsets. But the iTunes phone would allow customers to download songs to a PC or Mac and then copy them to the phone. "It's hard for people in any industry to support something that cuts them out of potential future revenue streams," said Graeme Ferguson, director for global content development at Vodafone Group PLC.
Still, Motorola told Business Week it expects at least one carrier will begin selling the iTunes phone this summer. With Verizon, Sprint and Cingular protesting Apple's distribution model, the remaining US-based major wireless carriers include Nextel and T-Mobile. Of the two, insiders believe the latter is the most likely candidate to adopt the phone and drive its customers to iTunes rather than build its own music store.
But is this an immediate concern for Apple? It could be. According to the article, the telecom approach has several strengths Apple can't match. "For starters, a quarter of the world's population already has a mobile phone. That's 1.4 billion people, compared with 10 million iPods sold to date. Most of those cell-phone toters pay a monthly phone bill, making it a snap to add a music charge. Perhaps most important, wireless technology could provide access anytime, anywhere to millions of songs."
Research firm Strategy Analytics estimates that in 2008 half of the 860 million cell phones sold will be able to store and play songs, compared to about 8% today.
Already technological advances in storage, compression, battery life, and wireless networks are making it easier to receive and store high-quality music on phones. The Business Week article notes that Korea's Samsung Electronics just introduced a phone with a 3-gigabyte hard drive, enough to store 1,000 songs, and says a 10GB phone could hit the market "within two years."
Meanwhile, International wireless operators are already providing a sense of what's possible at the edge of the digital music frontier. Says Crockett, "Korea's SK Telecom Co. offers a $5 a month music subscription that allows customers to download any of 700,000 songs to a phone, PC, or music player. That makes the subscription much more convenient than similar services in the U.S. because Korean customers can get any song they want, wherever and whenever they want it." Since its launch in November, a reported 300,000 people have signed up. "We are not yet making money, but we see a big potential for profits from music," said Shin Won Soo, a senior manager in charge of SK Telecom's music business. His company is expected to exit the red by the time it hits 800,000 subscribers. "That conjures up the possibility that with music phones, consumers around the world could opt to pay a monthly fee for all the new music they desire, rather than buying individual CDs when they debut."
Wireless operators in the US have to look no further than ringtones to know the proof is in the pudding. According to Business Week, these song snippets which go for $1 to $3 per download have evolved into a $5.8 billion business that is expected to reach $9.4 billion in 2008.
"Because [wireless companies] bill mobile customers each month, they wouldn't have to pay credit-card charges to Visa or MasterCard. That's not much of an edge over iTunes when customers buy a $9.99 album," wrote Crockett. "But if they buy single songs for 99 cents at iTunes, the fees total a significant 17 cents to 20 cents. Bottom line: Verizon, Cingular, and Sprint could end up lowering their prices to $1 a song and still make more profit than Apple does."
http://appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1010
Dual Core Systems
Intel to bring Dual core systems to market (thru Dell) before Apple ?
Let's hope that the Think Secret article has just been fed to them because Apple's main advantage has been in getting products to market before its competitors.
Still lovin the Mac Mini with a BlueTooth keyboard.
Any recommendations on a Reliable 2 Button Bluetooth Mouse for Mac OS X ?
AAPL: Glass Half Full
Considering AAPL spent zip on advertising for the MacMini and shipped late in the quarter this is a pretty good start. The economics of the country is also working against them.
What would be a more significant figure is how many of these Mac sales went to Windows users ?
What's working in AAPL's favor ?
iPod momentum.
Great Press overall.
Slew of new products just on the horizon.
Tiger entering the market way ahead of Microsoft Longhorn.
Revived interest by Information Technology Professionals.
Br, Altaire4
Bootz thats great news !!!
Welcome back LJK !!!
I've contacted Customer Relations recently and got a defective Powerbook replaced. Not a common practice .... but If you can make a case that an APPLE product shipped in broken they will do the right thing !!!
BR, Altaire4
AAPL MacMini Goodness
Spent last weekend setting up my new 1.42 ghz G4 MacMini 512 MB w/SuperDrive and BlueTooth.
The Display is a Syntax Olevia 30" LCD HD ready TV with VGA, DVI, S-Video and Component Video inputs. Very nice display ... not as good as Apples 30" but at $1000.00 with Two tuners the Olevia is a steal.
The MacMini performance is wonderful in comparison to my 400 mhz G4 Ti Powerbook.
The only hassle is in finding a reliable 2 button bluetooth mouse. Anybody know of a decent 2 button bluetooth mouse with proper OS X driver Support ?
BR, Altaire ...... AAPL Crumb is my favorite cake !!!!!
RE: AAPL Expectations
Roni bought more AAPL shares at 38.78 for the long haul. I remain bullish on this stock despite this short term set back.
BR, Altaire4 .... Go AAPL !!!!
AAPL Expectations
It's clear that expectations have risen. The Big Question is can Apple beat those expectations ?
I've seen enough anecdotal evidence to know that the Halo affect is real. crowded Apple stores with 20 and 30 somethings looking for new Mac's and iPods. I've even spoke to a Best Buy employee who made the switch from windows to a MacMini and loves it. interestingly enough the PCeee software and hardware aisles in the retail Best Buy store I saw looked largely abandonded. Are Online stores eating into the profits of these brick and mortar outlets
The Big question is ..... is it enough to meet the streets expectations ? If AAPL doesn't beat these higher expectations is it likely that it well sell off ? I would view this as an opportunity to buy more AAPL for the long haul !!!
With Tiger and IBM Dual Core CPU's on tap in the near future I see additional opportunities for AAPL to grow more share. My lofty expectation for AAPL is a 20% share of the personal computer market within 5 years.
BR, Altaire4 ........ Go AAPL !!!!
OT: Re BRST Dividend
TOMM what can I say ....
This has gotta be the fastest money I've made on an equity in over Two years.
BR, Altaire4 .... Thanks Billy G !!!!
OT: BRST declares a .90 Dividend
OT: Please tell me this is an April Fools Joke ?
Sounds like some leftovers from Microsoft's BOB OS days which frankly was a little to Cutsey even for us old Time Mac users.
AAPL User base
Blue - Your absolutely right about pinning down the numbers based on Web Stats.
What other metrics can be used to give us a ball park figure though ?
Many of my colleagues at work that attend Information Technology & Security seminars have remarked that Apple Powerbooks are much in evidence at these events. This is interesting because the IT world has been dominated by Windows systems for at least 15 Years.
I'm still very bullish on Apple long term but in the near term I believe economic circumstances could thwart the stocks value at this level. I believe we will be seeing economic problems getting more pronounced as interest rates continue to rise and most probably another round of layoffs coming late this year if we continue to see slow growth.
Br, Altaire4
No, but it reflects a decent size install base
The AAPL Install base is larger than most people think when compared to AAPL's quarterly percentage of PC sales.
I bet if you averaged it out ... its probably close to 10 percent or higher.
Apple hardware reliability is one of the reasons.
Examples:
I upgraded a Beige G3 Powermac with 10.2 Jaguar for a colleague and it runs fast for a machine that old.
My daughter is still running my old iMac G3 DV with Panther.
BR, Altaire4
APPLE Installation Base
Based on BoingBoing.net stats 14.9 %
http://boingboing.net/stats/#os
Just defending 2B's Statement
Apple just released a Security update to 10.3.8 less than Twenty Four hours after the vulnerabilities where made public. If you compare this to the current wave of vulnerabilities for Windows, Mac OS X is rock solid. The advantage that APPLE has is that most of Mac OS X's (Darwin) vulnerabilities are known to a great extent because of Darwin's BSD UNIX heritage.
Mac OS X Vulnerabilities
Blue, 2b is not exaggerating, all Unix based systems can be vulnerable if a clever vulnerabilty is crafted using a rootkit. The best solution is to keep your Mac OS X system up to date, keep your Firewall On and disable the root account on your system when its not needed.
BR, Altaire4
Wall Street Promoters
So, WLD the vast majority of these so called Wall Street Analysts are pimps. Some people on this board are more capable of analyzing a winning investment strategy than the vast majority of so called Analysts that are looking for a percentage of our investment dollars. Where was Tobin Smith and the vast majority of slick wallstreet promoters when Apple was trading in the mid twenties (pre-split) when it mas truly undervalued. Kissing Bill Gates hind quarters I imagine. All these people do is parrot what other people say on boards just like this.
Br, Altaire4
Tobin Smith on AAPL $100.00 Target
This email is making the rounds from Tobin Smith's Change Wave. It comes to the same conclusion that many of us on this board have. I'm not sure about the 100.00 dollar target price but I wouldn't bet against it.
BR, Altaire4
The Death of the "Microsoft Economy"
I'll explain what this means in just a moment.
But first, I want to give you the name of another tech stock, which
we just added to our ChangeWave Buy List: Apple Computer (AAPL).
All our latest research shows conclusively that the overall
PC-centric tech business is soft, unless you are Dell. And we only
want our money on RISING waves of demand.
And that, my friend, is where Apple comes in -- which I am adding to
our Ballast Growth list with a $100 target.
Our Director of Research Michael Shulman says it well: "Investors
are debating whether the iPod will pull Mac sales. Our most recent
Alliance survey results end the debate -- ChangeWave's
early-adopting, Windows- and Linux-using professionals are hooked on
the iPod and are planning to purchase Macs for their homes at a
faster rate than they plan to buy HP computers.
"Why Macintoshes? Reduced risk of viruses and the ease of
integrating media, not just iPods. This is not the beginning of the
end of a fad, but the end of the beginning of the rebirth of Apple."
Short and sweet -- buy Apple at $36 or under any time you can. The
bottom-line impact of these Mac sales is HUGE and NOT priced into
the stock. Again, our target is $100.
Goodbye Mr. Softie
What do Bill Gates, Larry Ellison and John Chambers all have in
common?
Yeah, right -- they've all got enough money to buy most of the
Caribbean. But what else? The answer, my friend, is as clear as the
nose on your face.
These three guys -- and dozens more like them -- are all washed up.
Don't get me wrong -- or think I'm crazy. All the traditional tech
kingpins, the guys who completely transformed the world we live in,
still have nice businesses. They can buy and sell us 100-times over
with their chump change.
But -- and this is critical to your future investing success -- when
it comes to the latest "next big thing" -- the next huge
transformations that will forever change the world AGAIN -- these
guys don't have a pulpit...they don't have the power...and they
don't have a clue.
Please take this warning very, very seriously. If you don't heed it,
it could cost you some serious money.
Investing in traditional tech stocks right now -- the kind almost
everyone owns -- could be deadly to your financial well-being.
Yesterday's News
Take Information Technology, the leading edge of business
development just a brief while ago. It's now just a commodity
business. And owning commodity stocks is NOT the way to grow rich.
Think I'm kidding?
Intel's having a heck of a time. The magic word used to be "faster."
Every time a new, faster microprocessor came out, buyers lined up to
get the newest equipment.
Problem is, American business finally wised up. All the older
computers have plenty of speed for the tasks 99.9% of us use them
for. The recession was the tipping point. Corporate IT guys saw
their budgets slashed -- and companies aren't going to start wasting
money on unnecessary tech "upgrades" again anytime soon.
They're only spending money where it makes a REAL difference.
So kiss whatever thought you had of a recovery in the old-time tech
leaders goodbye. It AIN'T gonna happen. The Microsoft economy is
DEAD!
What about cannabilization of PowerMac G5 sales ?
Rumor has it that the 970 MP (DualCore) processor could be released in June at the World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) but until then are those Cheese Graters gathering dust.
br, Altaire4
Halo Affect ..... Real ?
Based on that Slashdot thread you posted Blue it appears Steve Jobs may have pulled off a minor miracle. What is fascinating is that more than a few people on that thread state that Windows Security problems as a factor for switching.
Br, Altaire4 ..... Go AAPL ..... Go Switchers !!!!!
OT: Identify Theft Information site
http://www.idtheftcenter.org/index.shtml
OT: PayPal emails ?
Bootz your not alone I've had the same issues. The latest barrage of emails faux or otherwise has soured me on using their service.
AAPL share growth ?
Blue lets assume the stats are half wrong then we are still looking at between 2 - 2.5 Million switchers to Mac OS X in one year. That puts Apple's computers biz on a nice growth path.
Br, Altaire4
eeeeekkkkkk .... Annie Don't do it !!!!!!!
Spin Cycle !!!!!
No spinning ..... Shufffle.
Demand for the 1 GB iPod Shuffle
Lisa I have to agree with you .... the 1 Gig Shuffle is awesome. Everyone that sees mine up close wants one.
Altaire4 ..... Go AAPL !!!!
OT: Radioactive Waste
So gonzaga are you saying that you wouldn't mine if we stored the radioactive waste in your backyard ?
BR, Altaire4
MSFT settled with Apple for stealing the quicktime code years ago.
The gag order around the Quicktime theft prohibits the public from ever knowing the particulars of its settlement with Apple. If the burst source code was in Apple's Quicktime product at that time we know how softee got the source code.
BR, Altaire4
OT: Tune in to the History Channel ..... Apple hardware in Cheyenne Mt ?
Friday, March 11 @ 9pm ET/PT
Host R. Lee Ermey hits the road to give us an inside look at one of the most secure and super-secret facilities in the world--NORAD. Lee gets through tight security to enter Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center, America's eye in the sky where everything that flies is monitored 24/7. During a tour of the Battle Management Center, an incident of concern puts the center on alert and we see how NORAD operates under pressure. We also tour the Missile Command Center and find out what keeps the 800 military personnel inside on their toes. And Brigadier General Jim Hunter unlocks the door for Lee to the most secret part of Cheyenne Mountain--the Command Center, or what a lot of people call the War Room. We see how the men and women who work here monitor planes, missiles, and even space junk to make sure North America stays safe. The General and Lee talk about how NORAD's mission has changed since September 11th and we get a sneak peak at the new command center.
I'd tell you more but then I'd have to kill'ya !!!