scott.hodson.blog

With the release of iTunes and Safari on Windows, Apple Inc (former known as “Apple Computer Inc”) seems to be heading towards becoming a software company. Recent comments from Steve Jobs at D5 that “it’s all about the software” seem to reinforce that point. However, the bulk of Apple’s revenue comes from hardware devices (iPods, Macs and soon, iPhones). Since the switch to Intel, Apple has had to refresh their Mac lines more frequently than before to stay more price-competitive to comparably equipped Wintel boxes which has to be cutting into their Mac profit margins.

While the software is an important and differentiating part of the entire closed-system’s functionality I think the temptation to port iLife to Windows is probably very tempting to Apple because of software’s higher margins and hardware’s increased commoditization. The reason iLife hasn’t been updated in over 1.5 years could be partly due to the fact that they’re trying to release an iLife for OS X and Windows simultaneously. Indeed, there is fertile ground for an integrated digital media suite in the Windows camp as the Windows side is fragmented with one-off companies that are good at making DVD burning software, while others are good at authoring, while others are good at audio production but none of them really provide solid, well-integrated picture, audio, and video content creation and management as smoothly as iLife.

The problem is that iLife is practically viewed as part of the OS X experience. Indeed, an oft-repeated selling point of OS X is that it comes with all of this neato iLife software to manage your digital lifestyle. But if there’s a Windows version of iLife isn’t the reason to not use Windows less compelling, especially as it succeeds at becoming more and more secure as Vista has shown? And how many people will keep switching to OS X if they can do most of the things they love on a Mac also on a Windows box which is more open, more easily upgradable and costs less?

I think porting iLife to Windows would be great for Apple’s bottom line but would decrease OS X’s chances at becoming a more mainstream operating system and would more exclusively be relegated to the “media professional” market it so strongly dominates now. However, Apple could potentially sell more copies of iLife on Windows for $129 that would make up for the lost revenue of OS X/Mac sales.

I often want to open an admin-level command prompt, like a “sudo” in linux, and it’s a distraction to have to move my hands off the keyboard to go through the elevation contortions. So I was stoked to find a keyboard shortcut for launching an elevated process. Simply press Ctrl+Shift+Enter from the search bar on the start menu with a selected application, and that triggers elevation. For example, to launch an elevated command prompt, simply press the Win key; type cmd; press Ctrl+Shift+Enter; and then hit Alt+C to confirm the elevation prompt.

If you installed Windows Vista over an existing operating system your old operating system files are stored in “windows.old” so your Vista OS can be installed in a fresh, brand-spanking new folder. If you try to delete your old operating system files you may be prompted to allow it to happen. Even with Administrator privileges, this attempt may fail.

The fool-proof way to remove old, unwanted files and old operating system installations is to use “Disk Cleanup”. Press on the Windows Pearl (formerly called the “Start” button) and type “disk clean” in the search box and press Enter. The disk cleanup tool will detect any windows.old folders and offer to remove them for you.

I went to Frys in Fountain Valley today to return my iPhone (Linksys CIT200) because it’s pretty useless and cumbersome to use as a Skype phone.

After persevering through the usual act of Congress that is returning something at Frys, I went out to find Vista. There were no banners or ads for Vista, no fanfare whatsoever. I meandered down to the software section where they sell OSes and found it there. Each Vista and Office 2007 box was in a separate large see-through glass container. Hmm, there’s something to be said for digital distribution of software.

Windows Vista comes out tomorrow. Time to get ready!

Make sure you get the edition you want. Compare editions of Vista here.

Buy the OEM versions, you’ll save about $50 below the retail upgrade price and much more less than the retail full version price if you do. Here are some sites that offer the OEM versions. You won’t get any telephone support from Microsoft so these are only for those that don’t need touchy feely support from Microsoft.

• NewEgg
• BuyCheapSoftware
• ZipZoomFly

Of course these 3 retailers are all in CA so I’ll get taxed, anybody know of any non-CA based eTailers that sell OEM copies of Vista? I checked Amazon, no good.

Also, don’t forget to run the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor if you plan to install Vista on an existing PC to make sure it’s compatible with your existing hardware and to see how well your applications might work or not work after the upgrade.

Of course, the week after I bought my Dell E1505 last year with XP Pro they started offering Vista upgrade coupons to new laptop buyers, just my luck. Maybe I’ll call Dell to see if I can get a coupon but I’m not counting on it.

UPDATE: Here’s so more detailed technical info about what you can and can’t do with OEM versions.