Macs do NOT cost more. It’s a myth.

Yeah, Ubuntu is pretty easy to try. They’ll either ship a CD to you or, what I recommend, you just download the latest version and burn your own CD. Pop into the CD drive and reboot. Ubuntu launches without any need for installation, just so you can kinda test it out.

Of course, running off a CD means the boot-time is a lot slower than off a hard drive, but you’re just testing it out so no big deal. Once it’s booted, people can see the software it has, the software they can add for free, test their internet connection and all that stuff. Pretty cool for free.

From there, you can install it as a dual-boot so people keep their old Windows *and* get Ubuntu on the hard drive both. I’d say that’s pretty slick and well worth a try.

You’re right it’s a little weird to see the Bucuresti escorts driving around all pretty in their Porsche SUVs while others have a much harder time. However, there are a lot more new cars on the road all over Romania, including the villages. I see them in every town, large and small. Everywhere. So, some people are making money, even if it is unequally distributed. Hopefully some of that levels off a bit, but I have to remember that it’ll never be totally equal… unless you wanna go back in time.

And yes, Romania is poor, and it’ll be a very long time until that changes. Why do you think so many are looking to ‘escape’ ? There’s also a heavy polarization. Bucharest has loads of luxury cars rolling on the streets, 20 year old chicks in 4×4 BMWs, etc., while in the country you see villages where they don’t even have running water.

http://www.arnnet.com.au/index.php/id;7680622;fp;16;fpid;1

Now excuse me while I laugh my ass off.

Funny, I did take a whirl through and you know what I see? I see all these computers being ranked as “barely sufficient” for “basic” Vista (i.e., don’t expect to do anything with your computer besides turn it on). I had to laugh at that.

Check out this one example. Aesthetically, it’s ugly as sin. The review itself says it’s slower than an iMac. And yet it costs more! (The only thing nice I can say is it has a touchscreen.)

I firmly believe that almost no reasonable person (without a hardcore philosophical objection to non-Free software) cannot really be so ignorant as to think the Mac “sucks” because it clearly does not. If one or two people hug their Mac because it’s a nice machine, that hardly makes them eccentric. Just because you’ve never loved yours the same way…

Sometimes it sounds just like the playerhaters: “Yeah, well, I might be ugly, but at least I ain’t got no money, bitch.”

Don’t worry about Microsoft updates. They’re only here to help you more easily flush out all the hackers they let into your computer so they can now surrender control of your PC to the corporations who are the real customers (instead of you).

Strudel - There was an interesting article I read somewhere which had excerpts from a recent interview with Bill Gates where he tried to pass off the “double price in Europe” as possibly stemming from currency exchange rates. Of course, the smart journalist didn’t buy that baloney. Are we seeing a pattern here?

I’d say you’re right. Linux is the phoenix. Once the burned out realm of line command junkies, it is now preparing to rise up from the ashes and spread its’ wings. Download Ubuntu, burn it to CD, there’s no need to even install it. Just run it off the CD, if all you want to do is see if it works. Try it once or twice and keep Windows as long as you want. Easy as pie.

Florin - Welcome to the show! You’ve certainly shamed me and now I’m riddled with rich Western guilt. How much shall I write you a check for, to make my pain go away? Lemme know!

Poverty in Romania is a fact, which only morons ridicule. Eat dirt yourself, moron.

Linux = Old dear Arab Phoenix. Sorry.

It is contrary to all logic that import taxes accounted for the full US$1,123. Not possible. Check out this Irish comment about paying a premium upwards of 20% after the linked article.

Watch out! I might be forced to throw in a few more Rand quotes right along with Kropotkin and anyone else who expresses a cogent idea on the role of government vis a vis the individual.

Mihnea - Welcome to the show! I checked your photo gallery, particularly the Sighi shots and, of course, Monica.

iOnel - Welcome to the show! I couldn’t have summarized it better myself. The large undercurrent trend in Europe is a world away from Windows hegemony (a world the majority of folks have not yet experienced) and toward systems like Apple’s quality offerings and (I think radically moreso as time passes) the Free/free distributions like Ubuntu.

It would be nice to see Apple (or it’s Romanian subsidiary/partner) remove the artificial barrier to adoption caused by unjustifiable (in my mind) premiums. The high taxes/customs are already enough.

Jonathan - Welcome to the show! Your opening remarks makes me cringe as I’ve been looking at Canon printers in Carrefour (our local megamart) where the choices are sparse and overpriced. I did not give in to my desires, so I’m experiencing a little vertigo to hear you took the plunge.

While I can imagine that the Canon printer may very well be subject to a near 30% import duty (characterized as EU discrimination by the US Department of Commerce), it would appear that computer hardware such as Apple computer systems are not subject to such a high rate of customs duties.

Granted, I’m no expert and having a bit difficulty finding the specific applicable tariff rate at the European Commission’s Taxation and Customs Union database for TARIC 8471300000 (MacBook laptops, I believe) and TARIC 8471410090 (iMac/Mini, I believe), but elsewhere -whose source escapes me- I was being (mis?)lead to the understanding that such taxes and fees were substantially less than 30%.

Maybe someone else can fill us in with accurate specifics.

Nevertheless, I remain ensconced in the position that Apple should strongly endeavor to end such outrageous premiums by whatever means necessary, be that by reducing their prices to some degree, by negotiation in Brussels, or setting up a small manufacturing facility here in Europe (Romania!) which licenses technology, et cetera, as so many other international biggies do.

Having said all that, you’re damn skippy those vultures try to soak whomever they can for whatever they can without ever exerting any effort except to look into the media camera to say, “don’t worry comrade, I’m obstructing free trade for your benefit.”

cucu - Welcome to the show! I think “fanboy” is an overused ad hominem that’s rapidly approaching Godwin’s Law status. Too bad, because folks can make good points without resorting to such mindless silliness.

I’d venture to say that Apple is cool. But it’s not cool because “everyone thinks so.” If they did, Apple would have a much larger market share. As it is, the herded masses seem to believe Windows is “cool because it’s popular.” Which is no reason to be cool. In any event, Apple is cool to just about anyone whose used it for more than a couple months (and doesn’t have a philosophical objection to non-Libre software). Typically speaking, their products work wonderfully well and are very powerful.

In fact, they haven’t been overpriced for about 5-7 years now, depending on which details we’re talking about. But there’s a difference between being overpriced and being expensive. For example, the crap that passes for cheese — Kraft Singles “processed cheese food product” — ain’t expensive in price, but as it is vastly overpriced. Know what I mean, Vern?

While it would be most correct to say a smart person is one who would intelligently weigh the benefits of relevant solutions to addressing their individual computing needs, I do, ultimately, share your vision about Linux. I think it’s become clear (to non-bleeding edge adopters) that Linux is the future of mainstream desktop computing in our homes and offices. It won’t be overnight, but it is now unstoppable.