Miscellaneous computer comments (part 1)

You have to figure how ridiculous some people are. One blogger claimed that with the way Windows 8 looks, it’s time to switch over to a Mac. So what does the blogger do? He installs Boot Camp. Boot Camp allows you to install Windows side by side with the Mac OS. Of course you have to pay for a full retail licensed copy of Windows. You can’t use an OEM license. What’s the point of moving away from Windows when you are still using it?

Google has announced that it wants to save 3000 nearly extinct languages. I wonder if that includes BASIC and APL. 🙂

During a presentation for Microsoft’s Surface tablet, some claimed that the tablet crashed. Unsure but you do have to remember that Windows 8 is still in beta. Personally, I wouldn’t touch the “RT” edition. You don’t know how long Microsoft will support “RT”. The other edition is running the “regular” Windows 8.

Meanwhile another blogger says there are too many unanswered questions regarding the Windows Surface tablet. Duh. Not surprised. It won’t be out for a few months. You don’t see Apple announcing anything with any of their gadgets until some hoopla event just prior to the release. This allows the bloggers [and those who start rumours] rumours to guess on everything from the name, the type of screen, the price, the new features, etc.

Acer is releasing what it calls “sub $700” ultrabooks. Sounds nice until you read the specifications. No optical drive [but that’s typical of ultrabooks]. Just 2 USB ports [but surprisingly USB 3.0]. One memory slot [order carefully here]. A standard SATA hard disk – not the faster but more expensive SSD. Finally the “sub $700” model [and it’s barely under $700] is using the older second generation CPU and older chipset. So really it is more like a “poor man’s” version of an ultrabook.

Finally, a picture is floating around that is supposed to be the new port to charge and sync the iPhone 5 [Can you call it that? Maybe it will be called iPhone HD. Or just iPhone!] Some say it looks like a micro USB shaped port but others say it has too many pins. Knowing Apple, they tweaked the micro USB – so you can’t use a standard micro USB cable. I believe at one point, most [or all?] cell phone manufacturers agreed to standardize with the micro USB port.