Power, Meet Touch

As a libertarian-leaning social conservative that happens to vote nowhere close to party lines, I'm not one for labels. Yes, I own a Mac and the business I help run owns a few more. And, yes, I live across both platforms: although I still prefer Windows XP to Windows 8, both pale in comparison to the ease of use of OS X.

Still, I'm not a fanboy and keep an open mind. That's what's so interesting about the HP Z1. It has the potential to be a game-changing workstation.

Read the review I wrote on the HP Z1 for @streamingmedia last November, and you'll see a few dings against the first-generation Z1. I'm happy to report, though, that many of those dings—from lack of MSATA to lack of Thunderbolt—are addressed in the new Z1 G2 (generation 2).

So when you read the "first look" assessment of HP's Z1 G2 and consider this: touch is a powerful thing.

For those interested in having both a Bluray burner and the dual Thunderbolt 2 connectors, consider an external USB 3.0 unit. An HP spokesperson had this to say when asked about the idea of having both units:

"HP sells an external Blu-ray Drive, but it only writes to DVD or CD," the spokesperson said. "It is read only for Blu-ray. The model number is HP DVD630i, but it looks like it may no longer be available from HP.com. It does look like its available through our channel partners."

At that, the spokesperson gave the nod to something we often suggest clients consider: third-party options.

"If customers need Blu-ray burner, there are many 3rd party external USB options available," the spokesperson said.

We've had success recently with the Asus A455-5030 (aka Asus BW-12D1S-U) Bluray burner, on sale this week for $119.99 with a $20.00 mail-in rebate through the end of January, 2014.

And, just in case you need the details, here's the pricing information for the Thunderbolt 2 module: $235 E3X57AV HP Thunderbolt 2-Port Module Desktops & Workstations.

Happy work(station)ing! 

. . . Or maybe not

Remember yesterday's comment about Microsoft using Mac OS X Leopard as its inspiration for the new Windows 7 operating system?

Apparently Microsoft now denies any, any, any influence from Cupertino, as noted in today's retraction: How We Really Designed The Look and Feel of Windows 7.

An inaccurate quote has been floating around the Internet today about the design origins of Windows 7 and whether its look and feel was “borrowed” from Mac OS X.  Unfortunately this came from a Microsoft employee who was not involved in any aspect of designing Windows 7. I hate to say this about one of our own, but his comments were inaccurate and uninformed. 

Sometimes, it's just impossible to make these things up, but Brandon LeBlanc, a Windows Communications Manager at Microsoft who runs the official The Windows Blog, is certainly trying.

Public flogging of Microsoft's partner group manager, Simon Aldous, at 11.

Making Windows Look More Mac-Like, Microsoft Style

This just in from Microsoft's UK partner event: "One of the things that people say an awful lot about the Apple Mac is that the OS is fantastic, that it’s very graphical and easy to use. What we’ve tried to do with Windows 7 – whether it’s traditional format or in a touch format – is create a Mac look and feel in terms of graphics."

PCR has the quote from Simon Aldous, partner group manager with Microsoft in the UK.

iPhoned