Comments on: Thank god for Gmail and Mirra http://www.davosnewbies.com/2006/05/23/thank-god-for-gmail-and-mirra/ A year-round Davos of the mind, written since 1999 by Lance Knobel Sat, 28 Jan 2012 12:38:33 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Lance Knobel http://www.davosnewbies.com/2006/05/23/thank-god-for-gmail-and-mirra/comment-page-1/#comment-9394 Lance Knobel Wed, 24 May 2006 17:46:59 +0000 http://www.davosnewbies.com/2006/05/23/thank-god-for-gmail-and-mirra/#comment-9394 I used Macs from 1985 to 1998 or so. Why did I change? Two reasons: the cost gap between Windows machines and Macs, and my reaction against what Felix accurately calls the Cult of Mac. It's the same reason I never wanted to join the Groucho Club. Despite what Richard says, there is still a significant price gap. The cheapest MacBook is $1099. The cheapest Dell laptop is $506. Is the Mac better. Probably. But I'm acutely price-sensitive at the moment, one of the costs of being in a precarious start-up. So we'll see. It looks like my Toshiba can be saved, even if it means wiping my hard drive. Can't beat free at the moment. On Mirra, I think they are idiots for not supporting Mac. I know the box is Linux so you'd think it would be OS-independent in all its functioning. I used Macs from 1985 to 1998 or so. Why did I change? Two reasons: the cost gap between Windows machines and Macs, and my reaction against what Felix accurately calls the Cult of Mac. It’s the same reason I never wanted to join the Groucho Club.

Despite what Richard says, there is still a significant price gap. The cheapest MacBook is $1099. The cheapest Dell laptop is $506. Is the Mac better. Probably. But I’m acutely price-sensitive at the moment, one of the costs of being in a precarious start-up.

So we’ll see. It looks like my Toshiba can be saved, even if it means wiping my hard drive. Can’t beat free at the moment.

On Mirra, I think they are idiots for not supporting Mac. I know the box is Linux so you’d think it would be OS-independent in all its functioning.

]]> By: Felix http://www.davosnewbies.com/2006/05/23/thank-god-for-gmail-and-mirra/comment-page-1/#comment-9391 Felix Wed, 24 May 2006 11:42:18 +0000 http://www.davosnewbies.com/2006/05/23/thank-god-for-gmail-and-mirra/#comment-9391 As a paid-up member of the Cult of Mac (and someone struggling with a Dell laptop at the moment for reasons far too boring to get into) I agree -- but with the proviso that Mac HDs are no more reliable than anybody else's. Yes, your local Genius Bar will probably do a system restore for you on the spot and for free, if you ask them nicely. But you still have to back up your data -- and Mirra, it seems, is not Mac compatible. (Why not?) As a paid-up member of the Cult of Mac (and someone struggling with a Dell laptop at the moment for reasons far too boring to get into) I agree — but with the proviso that Mac HDs are no more reliable than anybody else’s. Yes, your local Genius Bar will probably do a system restore for you on the spot and for free, if you ask them nicely. But you still have to back up your data — and Mirra, it seems, is not Mac compatible. (Why not?)

]]> By: richard lander http://www.davosnewbies.com/2006/05/23/thank-god-for-gmail-and-mirra/comment-page-1/#comment-9384 richard lander Wed, 24 May 2006 06:25:31 +0000 http://www.davosnewbies.com/2006/05/23/thank-god-for-gmail-and-mirra/#comment-9384 i had both my PC laptops (Dell, Samsung) fail within 2 weeks of moving to barcelona. I did manage to suck out most of the wanted documenst thanks to a genius techie. But I wouldnt touch them again in a thousand years. It has to be Macs now. no reason not to on price, spec, compatibility issues. For the 1 in 1,000 sites that wont function on Mac browsers it's a 5 min walk to the net cafe. go on, you know you want to do it ... i had both my PC laptops (Dell, Samsung) fail within 2 weeks of moving to barcelona. I did manage to suck out most of the wanted documenst thanks to a genius techie. But I wouldnt touch them again in a thousand years. It has to be Macs now. no reason not to on price, spec, compatibility issues. For the 1 in 1,000 sites that wont function on Mac browsers it’s a 5 min walk to the net cafe. go on, you know you want to do it …

]]> By: Lance Knobel http://www.davosnewbies.com/2006/05/23/thank-god-for-gmail-and-mirra/comment-page-1/#comment-9363 Lance Knobel Tue, 23 May 2006 19:33:21 +0000 http://www.davosnewbies.com/2006/05/23/thank-god-for-gmail-and-mirra/#comment-9363 Thanks, Matthew. I'll see where I get to on that front. Thanks, Matthew. I’ll see where I get to on that front.

]]> By: matthew wrigley http://www.davosnewbies.com/2006/05/23/thank-god-for-gmail-and-mirra/comment-page-1/#comment-9362 matthew wrigley Tue, 23 May 2006 18:49:07 +0000 http://www.davosnewbies.com/2006/05/23/thank-god-for-gmail-and-mirra/#comment-9362 there is also the possibility of pulling any data direct off your hard drive: install a new hd and do a system restore on that (free hd upgrade included!)... then put the old hard drive in a usb enclosure to retrieve the data. you may have problems retrieving the data from the now-external drive if it is NTFS formatted. your local friendly technical chap should be able to work something out on that front, however. good luck! there is also the possibility of pulling any data direct off your hard drive: install a new hd and do a system restore on that (free hd upgrade included!)… then put the old hard drive in a usb enclosure to retrieve the data.

you may have problems retrieving the data from the now-external drive if it is NTFS formatted. your local friendly technical chap should be able to work something out on that front, however.

good luck!

]]>