WTO WMV/WMA it’s early 90′s when it first appeared. From memory it’s roots were in Win 3.1 before the MP3 world take over. As you know this is my area, WMA is actually superior in many respects to MP3. Higher and more flexible bitrates, the samples are done differently, much of the effort is in not removing “unheard” signal, which any audio engineer will tell you actually is heard – people just aren’t aware they hear it – but rather true compression more in line with a file archive. It’s a little more complex than that, but like Apple’s format of choice it’s certainly superior to MP3 and indeed OGG. At the time WMA was developed and a lesser extent WMV there simple wasn’t a “standard”, MPEG it’self was just starting out, and for a while it looked like these two might be it.

With respect to OpenGL. It doesn’t cut the mustard compared to DirectX. DirectX is extremely rich, is extremely easy to incorporate at a variety of levels and from an ISV’s point of view a lot more flexible and RAD.

While I’m a Windows dev I do own Mac’s and love them, I like the UI and I like many of the features of their developer tools and kits. Cocoa is beautiful. Though it doesn’t come close to a tool like VisualStudio or Delphi when it comes to rapid prototyping and indeed rapid release cycles on complex systems.

As an Apple user, you might find yourself more at home on the other Steve’s blog

Regarding Apple build quality, I agree with you 100% on this one. All of Apple’s hardware is meticulously well thought out and put together in their own style.

I don’t see how you can rebuke the argument, “Apple is more expensive” on the basis of ticket price even when you take retailers such as Dell into consideration. If I compare the Dell XPS range with Apple’s Macbook Pro range; the Dells are listed at about HALF the price of their MacBook Pro counterparts (both companies proceed to rip you off on the options list). With MP3 players, iPod vs. Zune is a similar story. (although I’m an iPod and not a Zune user). It’d quite like to see a rebuke done with reference to some actual cash figures without bringing up the aesthetic argument! It’s like you are paying for the brand.

The iPods themselves are a sheer beauty to behold. My technophobe mother who suffered a brain injury last year was able to work the new iPod Nano without any instruction and immediately took to it. That’s the beauty of Apple’s design.

Gamers and high end enthusiasts are almost completely 100% in the Microsoft Windows camp (ever tried to upgrade a Mac?), and this is really the main point I’m trying to make in the article. Apple is so closed with respect to third party hardware and OEM customisation (there ISN’T ANY third party / OEM) that they’ve been able to control the user experience completely and this has actually worked in their favour. Apple’s Core (pun intended) seems to be a purely hardware based business. Their software and products are so very tightly controlled (read: closed) so there aren’t a load of crappy drivers and other bloatware that you get with a PC from an OEM such as Dell, HP or Sony.

One thing I have to rebuke is the cost of the hardware … since the Intel Mac I have used Mac’s for all my Windows development (until recently I developed exclusively for Windows).

The reason ? Quality and aesthetics … Apple kit is fantastic quality and I have never seen a PC to rival them for design and pure ‘feel good’ factor. My MacBook Pro and Mac Pro are unrivalled by any PC hardware I have ever come across. I believe in this case you get what you pay for

As for the Open and Closed argument ……

But comparing performance for buck, I can obtain for around £500 the equivalent of a “super power” Mac – so there is a truth in the high prices of Mac hardware.

Also, did you try adding that $1,200 32GB solid state drive to your MacBook Air?