From: "Tim" <tjp314@pacbell.net>

Date: October 26, 2008 10:22:00 AM MDT

To: Astro_IIDC@yahoogroups.com

Subject: Re: Bring Back FireWire Petitions

Milton:

--- In Astro_IIDC@yahoogroups.com, Milton Aupperle <milton@...> wrote:

Hi Tim;

The petition isn't as important as sending Apple Feedback

http://www.apple.com/feedback/macbook.html

that you will not buy a Mac Laptops because it doesn't have FireWire,  

and then following through with that threat.

Well, that must have been the site I went to, because that's what the

page looked like that I complained in.

Steve and Marketing ignore petitions- always have, always will - they  

simply don't care. I remember when they said OpenGL does not  

"threaten" QD3D's existence and 4 months later Steve (it's known as  

being "Steved")  laid off the entire QD3D team and dumped it on the  

waste pile that is QuickTime. A petition with several hundred  

thousand names was sent to Steve, and he ignored it. That fiasco cost  

me about $100,000 in development time (for our now "Steve'd" Mac only  

GIS software), and even today OpenGL is still only a play back  

routine and has no retained modes, which QD3D had in abundance.

The only thing Steve will have to listen too is you saying no and  

only purchase Macs with FireWire., which hurts there bottom line and  

drives product features. You can also make it a point of telling them  

I bought this because it has FireWire.

Though they weren't true "clones" in the sense that they used Apple

parts, I'm still upset that workstations like the Daystar machines in

the late 80's were killed off when Apple canceled all the clone

licenses.  

The big guys all seem to become bad guys when the become big.  What a

shame.

And basically if you don't, this will be the end of Astro IIDC. I  

have been talking to some USB Camera companies and none of them are  

interested in doing all the work necessary to gain 3 to 5% market  

share (world wide), if that. So you'll be switching to Windows for  

capture and will also be processing it on Windows too because the AVI  

formats used are not generally supported by QuickTime. I hope you  

like Vista.

I've never tried Vista.  Only Windows 2000 and XP.  And I'm not

thrilled about those either.  For PC-only astro thingys, like my

recent installation of a Sidereal Technology into a pre-goto Takahashi

EM-500 to support my 12.5" F/23 Cassegrain

(http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/2707672/Main/2080922#Post2707672),

I've had to keep my almost 7-yr old HP running, but so far, for a PC,

it's been relatively trouble-free.  

Too bad my Powerbook hasn't been so reliable!  But I wish it were

capable of running parallels and XP for these kinds of situations. 

Unfortunately, I don't think I can afford to get one of the

still-firewire Powerbooks before they disappear.

Here's some questions:

What happens if Psystar prevails?  Or at least survives?  What about

home-built PCs running OSX?  With Astro IIDC requiring a Mac serial

number to work, these machines would not be able to run it, even if

they become "legal".

For now, my plan is to keep my intel Mac Mini and my Powerbook G4

running as long as I can.  Even with some of the strange problems I've

had with them, particularly the powerbook, they still make this hobby

pretty fun to pursue.  

-Tim.