Electronista reports, “Microsoft last night posted a video taking a mild jab at Apple for the lack of Blu-ray on Macs. The roughly minute-long spot personifies a MacBook and a Windows 7 notebook on a flight and has the Windows system play a Blu-ray copy of Avatar that the both of them enjoy. The Mac isn’t criticized but is clearly envious, saying that the movie is ‘so cool.'”
“Microsoft’s promo notably omits the [Mac users’] download option, which would negate some of the advantage. iTunes is currently limited to 720p instead of Blu-ray’s 1080p, but both can produce surround sound and have access to special features. The Windows 7 user would have access to other digital movie stores, but with Blu-ray would have to purchase the disc to practically take it on a flight as well as own a heavier, relatively expensive notebook,” Electronista reports. “The Mac user could rent an iTunes download and wouldn’t need an optical drive at all or to chew battery life through spinning an optical drive.”
Full article, with the video, here.
The BIG FAT PROBLEM with Blu-Ray is diabolical DRM.
Microsoft were willing to have Sony dictate the inclusion of all three forms of Blu-Ray DRM into Vista and 7ista.
Apple were not interested.
Meanwhile, if you want Blu-Ray for your Mac, go buy an external player, plug it in and install the DRM infested software to play it. BFD.
Tardy Troll Time!
I haven’t seen one of these lists in years. It brings back fond memories of trampling trolls on the Usenet newsgroups. Those were the days…
So, let’s trample ‘The Switcher’ troll. His list of bad Mac stuff:
– Lack of Blu-ray support
Darn. No Blu-Ray DRM built into Mac OS X. I read about the DRM scheme in Vista & 7ista. You’re welcome to it. Meanwhile, anyone can add on a Blu-Ray player to their Mac if they care to. I have do not care to.
– Very slow DVD copy speeds under Mac OS X
Outright bullshit. I use Firewire. Can you?
– General document compatibility (wanted it to be seamless and it’s just not)
Outright bullshit. I use Apple’s TextEdit app. It does .txt, .rtf and .doc. If I want to do .docx, there’s a free translator for that. Meanwhile, PDF is the native Mac OS X format. Can you write PDFs within Windows?
– iWork Numbers is just not better than Microsoft Excel (Windows edition) for hard core use
So go BUY Microsoft Excel! It was being written for Mac before Windows existed.
– Network file copy is atrociously slow on Mac OS X
Outright bullshit. That one came right out of your rectum. Yuck. I think I see the word ‘AppleTalk’ on it. Back in the olden days when Apple even used AppleTalk, the Microsoft implementation was garbage. So the myth you’re quoting is that AppleTalk file copy was atrociously slow on Windows. Where’s my fly swatter?
– Broader third-party device support on Windows, including eSATA and USB 3.0
Buy a Mac Pro and implement it yourself. Meanwhile, neither of these technologies provide anything significant to anyone but geeks and Enterprise users.
– Windows 7 UI is aesthetically pleasing to me as a work environment
Right. More than Mac OS X? Oh I see! 7ista is GOOD ENOUGH. Yeah, we already know that mantra. For me, Windows has never been ‘good enough’. I do all my personal work on Macs by preference.
– Price point better on PC platform (more power for same or less cost)
Chalk this one up to IGNORANCE. Every single professional study comparing the worth of comparably equipped Macs and Windows boxes has found the Mac to be CHEAPER. This is because professionals include Return on Investment (ROI) and Cost of Ownership (COO) in their total costs, not just shelf price. Macs win on both ROI and COO, making Windows boxes the MORE EXPENSIVE computers.
∑ = Total FAIL of a list. Poor try.
If I laid my Apple loving credentials on the line I’d say: I’m a long long time Mac user here, prolly more years than most posters ages; bought iPhones/iPads etc on first day; Apple TV (versions) owner; yahha yahha.
But I wish Apple would support Blu-ray in Mac OS X.
Optical disc isn’t dead, it’s just that Steve Jobs can’t turn a coin on it.
Watching Blu-ray movies still blow Apple’s low-bitrate 720p out the water for movies — but they don’t sell or rent them, so they’re not interested. Hey buddy, can you lend me your download or stream of Avatar to watch? Nope.
Making Blu-ray movies, I want to send discs of HD content to my family and friends of movies I made; I don’t want to send them URLs to some crappy video-sharing surrounded by advertising, or have to spend hours uploading video footage.
Face the facts, downloads are all about LOW QUALITY but easy to access (if you have a good broadband connection) whereas Blu-ray is about HIGH QUALITY.
It’s a shame that on my high quality Mac desktops and laptops, I can neither utilise or burn high quality content. 🙁
Finally, off-site data backup, I have a lot of data. I could update it over the cloud but it takes hours and uses bandwidth; I would like to be able to use large GB optical discs for archiving.
Syth nailed it: there is nothing like a 1080p high bit rate Blu-ray on a big screen
But for computers, unless you have a 27″ iMac or Cinema Display, iTunes HD fits perfectly and is more efficient
And in that case you could buy an external Blu-ray drive as well, am I right?
Wow, the ignorance on here by the fanbois is staggering.
Physical media is dead? (translation: I am a cheap pirate). Final Cut Studio is 7 DVDs, could be one BD-ROM. Every Mac but the air still has an optical drive, only it’s one that’s based on old tech — not the latest.
15″ screens? How about a 30″ cinema display? Or a 27″ iMac? Or how about if you could use a Mac Mini as a HTPC on your 70″ TV? DVD quality on a 2560×1600 cinema display sucks and crappy compressed-to-hell iTunes downloads look even worse, including the low-birate pseudo-HD they sell.
Apple used to be THE platform for media production and consumption, but it’s clear that isn’t the case anymore. You ignorant fanbois (some of whom have never even seen what you are missing) can defend it all you want, but no Blu-Ray, no eSATA, no USB3, no multichannel sound output until the very last refresh over HDMI, the list goes on and on, Apple is not bleeding edge anymore. If you want the ultimate media machine, it is NOT a Macintosh, and that’s pretty sad.
OSX still doesn’t do Blu-Ray
Bawhahaha!
You folks realize it isn’t about whether Steve Jobs thinks blueray is bad or not. It’s about the fact that apple doesn’t get paid if you buy a blueray. So by not giving you the option on a Mac you are forced to use there media to view the movie. (if youre that worried about watching movies on your lappy in the first place)
So sad being a resident here in the NW (Seattle) that a local company has to stoop to such commmercials to make themselves look good . Guys in Redmond ! You had the chance to be number #1 and you let it fall through your hands admit it and move aside , I’m 100% Mac and the reason is because apple deserves that position and has great products
Your sales in smart phones alone shows that !
Bill , Paul and Steve you really screwed up
For a company which started this
decade of I.T. All I can say ” it’s been a fun ride ” timevto get off this model T and ride the Benz of I.T.
Jeff
the benz of i.t.???
WHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTT
a jackass you are.
the commercial is cute. ADMIT it, bitches!!!!! freedom of choice for the win, fuhcknuts.
oh, yeah!!!! jobby giving you that lately?
I think it’s a mistake to project too much ideology into the BluRay issue here. Ultimately it’s much more of a pragmatic decision.
Incorporating Blu-ray (and due to the massive DRM injection into the OS on all levels that is indeed the proper term) simply would have consequences for the entire OS and for the independence of Apple of outside controlling interference.
They would basically have to have Mac OS X validated by the Blu-ray association to assure that the Blu-ray DRM restrictions would still be intact with any major change – which would obviously be completely incompatible with a) Apple’s independence and b) Apple’s secrecy about the development of their systems.
It is not remotely as simple as just writing a player application – that is the whole crux of the rather icky Blu-ray format.
It has the most aggressive DRM of all media on the market, and even though it’s been cracked already (to nobody’s particular surprise), its highly onerous implementation requirements still persist.
My view is that Jobs has decided that not having Blu-ray may be inconvenient, but still far less inconvenient than having it. And he’s most probably gambling on the DRM being cracked leading to a relaxation of the licensing terms sooner or later.
Don’t forget: Apple is a member of the Blu-ray association as well – they know what they’re dealing with. And Jobs is in no really great hurry there with the iTunes Store, even if they don’t have high-grade 1080p yet (see the Music Store originally starting with 128kB/s with DRM and later switching to DRM-free 256kB/s after the labels relented).
My guess is that the next generation of full-sized MacBook Pros (or at the latest the one after that) won’t have internal optical drives anyway, just like the MacBook Airs today. My MacBook Pro 17″ is from 2007 and I may have used the optical drive all of 3 or 4 times since then. I would have preferred a thinner and lighter machine instead – or longer battery life. At least the latter has by now become standard with the newer models, so onwards to the MacBook Air 17″…!
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MDN word: expected – yup!
SHOUTING anonymous “I CAN DEFEND THE INDEFENSIBLE?” sez: “It’s a shame that on my high quality Mac desktops and laptops, I can neither utilise or burn high quality content. 🙁 “
Not out of the box.
SO GO BUY AN EXTERNAL BLU-RAY DRIVE!
There’s a nice selection over at:
Other World Computing
Derek Currie — simply adding a Blu-Ray drive is not enough. OSX can’t play back the movie. Dvdplayer.app doesn’t play Blu-Ray movies.
@Derek Currie
A few points of clarification:
The difference is when you add a Blu-ray player to your Mac you can’t play back the content without some type of hacked solution, it just doesn’t work out of the box. I don’t care about DRM, for a company that’s as technically brilliant as Apple, DRM shouldn’t be an obstacle to technology support. The bigger issue is one of competition, to a certain degree, it competes with iTunes and the Apple media ecosystem, and it’s easier not to support it as a result and play the FUD game against the technology.
In terms of DVD speed, I am referring to the built in DVD player, and attempting to rip data from it, here’s a few articles, from other Mac users with the same problems:
http://forums.macrumors.com/archive/index.php/t-609521.html
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=12274398�
From a document compatibility perspective, Windows doesn’t have a built in PDF writer, but I’ve installed a free PDF writer (doPDF, although there are about half a dozen that do the job at no cost), it’s a one time installation, and then I have the PDF capabilities I need at no cost moving forward. But in terms of a “free translator” for the other document types, why do I have to hack around with it?
Unfortunately Microsoft has made the Mac OS X edition painfully crippled compared to it’s Windows cousin. Irrespective of which platform it was written for first, it’s just better on the Windows platform.
AFP and SMB have been painfully slow for me. My experience, and that of many others has been different, take a look:
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=10736124
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=12266316
http://discussions.info.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2257239&tstart=1
From a device perspective, I have an external eSATA drive I take with me on business trips, I am able to dual boot into that drive and use it for personal use. That option just doesn’t exist on a MacBook, and having to carry around a Mac Pro is rather heavy.
Regarding the O/S, perhaps my language wasn’t clear, I didn’t say Windows 7 was “good enough”, I said the UI is “aesthetically pleasing” to me as a work environment. I don’t frankly like one over the other, they both have strengths and weaknesses, but I don’t have a blind allegiance to one.
Pricing is an issue. Computers purchased for personal usage are not an investment, they are an expense. So, having said that, let’s take a look at a very high end expense shall we:
HP Envy 17
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-840QM Quad Core processor 3.2GHz – option not available on a MacBook Pro, fastest is 2.8GHz
1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5850 Graphics [HDMI]
8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
500GB 7200RPM Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
Microsoft(R) Office Professional 2010
One 6 Cell (standard) and One 9 Cell (over-sized) Lithium Ion Battery
17.3″ diagonal Full HD HP 3D Ultra BrightView Infinity LED Display (1920×1080)
Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner – option not available on a Mac
Webcam
802.11n / Bluetooth / 1G ethernet
Backlit Keyboard
eSATA and USB 3.0 ports
Adobe(R) Photoshop(R) Elements 8 & Adobe Premiere(R) Elements 8 – not iLife, but good enough for my purposes (photo management)
HP 3-year Care Pack House Call Service with Accidental Damage Protection for Select Pavilion or Envy Laptop (with 2-yr warranty)
$2,933.98
MacBook Pro 16
Mac OS X 10.6
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 2.8GHz processor
Intel HD Graphics and NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics processor with 512MB GDDR3 memory
8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
500GB 7200RPM Hard Drive
Microsoft(R) Office Home and Business Edition
Built-in lithium-polymer 95 watt-hour
17-inch Hi-Resolution Glossy Widescreen Display (1920×1080)
8x SuperDrive
Webcam
802.11n / Bluetooth / 1G ethernet
Backlit Keyboard
USB 2 and Firewire 800
iLife
3-year AppleCare protection plan – I have to take it to Apple, they don’t come to me to fix it
$3,697.95
We’re already looking at approximately a $700 savings for a machine with more contemporary hardware and broader device support. Computers purchased for business purposes would be considered an investment. The TCO and ROI would be influenced by deployment, and savings if purchased in bulk. I’ll give you an example, we utilize HP at the office, our price point for the same machine above is approximately $700 less because of the bulk purchase agreement we have in place with HP and our annual volume. HP caters to the business market, and their pricing is reflective in that regard, Apple doesn’t, so their pricing is not just higher in the commercial space, but in the enterprise as well.
I thought I had a very unbiased explanation, you on the other-hand seem to have a blind, visceral viewpoint on Apple. You appear to be more of a “I am part of a cool club” individual, than someone that actually looks for the best tool for their job, closing his mind to anything else.
@switcher
Good luck with your choice. Don’t forget some anti virus software.
A shame we are still tied into the office product.. It seems a reason on its own to NOT support msoft. Why would they make a mac version of their flagship product a poor cousin ?
May your registry file never corrupt………
The Switcher: I don’t care about DRM, for a company that’s as technically brilliant as Apple, DRM shouldn’t be an obstacle to technology support.
And yet the licensing terms are heavily intrusive for an OS manufacturer. You should really inform yourself.
The Switcher: The bigger issue is one of competition, to a certain degree, it competes with iTunes and the Apple media ecosystem, and it’s easier not to support it as a result and play the FUD game against the technology.
Apple effectively makes no profit with the iTunes Store. The profit is made through hardware sales for which the download stores are merely an incentive.
If Apple could implement Blu-ray without granting outside interests close insight into their upcoming developments, they would. But having Microsoft and other competitors at the end of the leash around his neck (as licensors of the Blu-ray format) is clearly not an attractive proposition for Steve Jobs, and I must say I understand him there.
I can’t say I’m missing Bu-ray on my Macs, quite the opposite – the optical drives are little more than a nuisance and a redundant component to lug around on top of everything else.
To your computer comparison: Apples and lemons.
You are presenting a cheaply-made PC laptop which has less than one third of the battery endurance of the MacBook Pro yet is much heavier and thicker. It is effectively a somewhat transportable Desktop PC in a clamshell case.
The MacBook Pro 17″, on the other hand is actually a fully mobile workstation (8-9 hours off the grid) and built to much higher specifications (Unibody etc.).
If you think you “save” anything on the PC side you are sorely mistaken – you pay less, but you get less as well, and I’m not even sure it’s in an attractive proportion even if you’re ready to settle for for the PC.
I’ve got an older MBP 17″ and it still looks like something from the future compared to brand-new PC counterparts – and it works like it, too.
But it’s good for you that you’ve got a choice if you’re willing to take it.
Good luck with that!
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Hmmm….thats funny. I just authored and burned a blu-ray the other day on my Mac. I’m glad i didn’t know Macs don’t do blu-ray before i did it!
Ass Clowns…..
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Mick James: How did you author interactive menus, and how did you play it back? Cue the clown music…
BR is superior to any download for quality due to bitrates not resolution. This is not an opinion it’s a fact.
If course the quality of a BR will be noticed on a computer screen ! You re sitting inches in front of it. You would have to be blind not to see the benefit of 1080p on a such a beautiful screen as an iMac! Specially a 27″ model. Apple are just stubborn because BR competes with their iTunes & ATV model.
Fanboys are such lemmings … may your disk permissions never require repairing.
Mactards, Come, devour this thick aromatic log that i am excreting, and proceed to just die with orgasmic delight!
Indubitably, your king jobs says that you should.
Come and get it, a nice nutty turtle head “funnel cake.”
You’re all excited now, huh!!
Woah there. Jeff, you are eating with such gusto! You have a nice mustache now heheh of thick brown feca paste on your upper lip. So silly. Just lick it off! Jobs does it. There you go! Eat up, ‘ol boy.