Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: Boss_Jim_Gettys
I use the floppy almost every day at work (swapping images to change test environments revolves around booting from floppy, there are other solutions but they'd be a much bigger pain... and sneaker-net is still a great way to move files when all other options fail you), and I use the right mouse button every day. Defaulting away from them was stupid, it punishes power users. What's especially gauling about those decisions is how cheap the hardware is, floppy drives less than a new music CD adding extra buttons is miniscule (actually given how much the multi-button mouse rules the world going one button probably costs extra). Undoing those decisions would be a negligible cost.

He dropped serial and parallel support?! Didn't know about that. It'll be added to my "what was Steve thinking" list. Yeah serial and parallel suck but they're still out there and serve a purpose (like running printers that haven't died yet).
51 posted on 02/04/2004 1:03:43 PM PST by discostu (but this one has 11)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 50 | View Replies ]


To: discostu
...and I use the right mouse button every day."

I use the right mouse button every day at work on my Dell PC. At home on my Mac, however, I am not crippled by the one button mouse because I can use keyboard/mouse click combos or click/hold the one button and do what I could do with a two button mouse.

If it were a crippling blow, I would just buy a two-button mouse for my Mac. They work just fine but for me are not necessary. Same goes for the floppy drive. I bought an external one for my first floppy-less Mac. It now sits in a box in the basement. Haven't needed it in over 5 years.

54 posted on 02/04/2004 1:21:58 PM PST by Boss_Jim_Gettys (Howard Dean for Ambassador to the Soviet Union!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 51 | View Replies ]

To: discostu
He dropped serial and parallel support?! Didn't know about that. It'll be added to my "what was Steve thinking" list. Yeah serial and parallel suck but they're still out there and serve a purpose (like running printers that haven't died yet).

The second button was never there, so it wasn't dropped. As far as all the dropped legacy stuff, it was an excellent idea. All those people absolutely needing the legacy stuff can easily get a cheap adapter to plug into a USB port. Meanwhile Jobs can shave production cost and motherboard and driver complexity.

As for floppies, my whole office runs off of laptops, not one with a floppy. We don't miss them, as they've been replaced by USB keys, CD/RWs and the network.

87 posted on 02/04/2004 8:10:44 PM PST by antiRepublicrat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 51 | View Replies ]

To: discostu
He dropped serial and parallel support?! Didn't know about that. It'll be added to my "what was Steve thinking" list. Yeah serial and parallel suck but they're still out there and serve a purpose (like running printers that haven't died yet).

More ignorance, Discostu. The Macintosh had one button mouses before the PC had any mouse at all... so he could not "opt away from the two button mouse." I am a Mac user. I have a three button, wheel USB track ball. Works great... doesn't even need a driver. Just plug it in and it works.

"Booting from a floppy"?? What are you running? DOS?

The days of needing to boot from a floppy are as gone as the Horse and Buggy.

Those people who need to use a floppy to move data around are moving extremely TINY files... most files these days are much larger and a floppy disc would not even begin to hold them. However, if you are working in an environment that requires moving files from one computer to another, they can purchase as many USB floppy drives as they need... or they can use a USB thumb drive... or they can use AirPort... or they can use Ethernet... or they can use a CD-RW. Why should all users be forced to buy a floppy that will never be used? Because YOU want to move a file? Right. Sure.

The Mac left the floppy disc behind because it was old technology... and opted for the new.

Another sign of your ignorance of the Mac and Apple platforms is the idea that Apple ever used a parallel interface "to drop." Macs primarily used either serial or SCSI interfaces... and Apple left them behind in favor of more modern, faster interfaces. IF a user needs a legacy ADB, SCSI, or serial port... or even a Parallel port, USB or Firewire devices provide backwards compatibility for a reasonable price. Most Mac users will not need them.

You continue to show that you do not know anything at all about the history of computer, the Macintosh, or even technology.

108 posted on 02/04/2004 11:05:18 PM PST by Swordmaker (This tagline shut down for renovations and repairs. Re-open June of 2001.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 51 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson