Sbrocket
Jan 11, 11:34 PM
How about MacBook Zephyr
MacBook Breeze
MacBook Frizbee
Now those REALLY sound bad. Air isn't so bad, this is just the typical reaction people get after a release of..."Oh man, this is the end of the world...the name sucks, where's this feature we made up, why doesn't it solve world hunger, I hate the design."
Maybe people will learn to lower their expectations a little, hype stuff less, and be pleasantly surprised when the next big thing comes out that actually meets reasonable expectations without discouraging you by not meeting unreasonable ones. (That wasn't to you specifically, by the way, just a general statement.)
Edit: I thought about it again...MacBook FRIZBEE? You know what you do with a Frizbee, no? Plus, most frizbees are thicker than even a MBP.
MacBook Breeze
MacBook Frizbee
Now those REALLY sound bad. Air isn't so bad, this is just the typical reaction people get after a release of..."Oh man, this is the end of the world...the name sucks, where's this feature we made up, why doesn't it solve world hunger, I hate the design."
Maybe people will learn to lower their expectations a little, hype stuff less, and be pleasantly surprised when the next big thing comes out that actually meets reasonable expectations without discouraging you by not meeting unreasonable ones. (That wasn't to you specifically, by the way, just a general statement.)
Edit: I thought about it again...MacBook FRIZBEE? You know what you do with a Frizbee, no? Plus, most frizbees are thicker than even a MBP.
syklee26
Sep 7, 10:34 AM
here's a direct quote from apple.com store
"You'll get one main .Mac subscriber account with 1GB of storage space and four additional .Mac accounts with 250MB of storage space each"
so still a decent deal compared to apple price
well the problem is that sub accounts cannot exist without the main account and main account has to be renewed every year. so this essentially means i cannot use family pack by myself for 5 years.
"You'll get one main .Mac subscriber account with 1GB of storage space and four additional .Mac accounts with 250MB of storage space each"
so still a decent deal compared to apple price
well the problem is that sub accounts cannot exist without the main account and main account has to be renewed every year. so this essentially means i cannot use family pack by myself for 5 years.
skunk
Mar 21, 02:10 PM
I suppose this begs the question 'How would you prefer they quantify the No Fly Zone?'Perhaps square miles would be a more useful measure. ;)
What country hasn't been used as "target practice"Gotta keep your eye in, I suppose...
What country hasn't been used as "target practice"Gotta keep your eye in, I suppose...
Full of Win
Mar 23, 03:00 AM
Good. The classic controls are far superior IMO when using quickly and trying not to look at it. This is the reason I will not purchase an iPod touch for use in the car.
I've used iOS since June 2007 and it had never even got close to the perfection of the click wheel. When I go on any trip of more than 100 miles, I always take my 60 GB 5th Gen iPod. For me, part of it is space - but it's mostly for I/O.
I've used iOS since June 2007 and it had never even got close to the perfection of the click wheel. When I go on any trip of more than 100 miles, I always take my 60 GB 5th Gen iPod. For me, part of it is space - but it's mostly for I/O.
Turbojugend27
Aug 7, 07:06 AM
Pretty bold statement for Apple, I don't think I would use that quite yet. As for myself I am buying my first apple in a week or so and can't wait, I don't think Apple has a userbase yet to be making statements like that.
YS2003
Oct 23, 10:14 PM
I'll grant you some slack on a lot of the points you've made, but I simply can't sit here and read your smug comments about people waiting for the C2D without pointing out at least one thing you are missing. Just exactly how do you expect your Core Duo MBP to support 64-bit instructions when Leopard comes out? Oh, that's right. It won't. You're severely misguided if you think that won't make a difference.
Can someone confirm C2D is what is needed for 64-bit instructions? I thought it has be the combination of C2D and chipset to make 64-bit instructions happen. I heard the current platform for CoreDuo was not made for 64-bit.
Can someone confirm C2D is what is needed for 64-bit instructions? I thought it has be the combination of C2D and chipset to make 64-bit instructions happen. I heard the current platform for CoreDuo was not made for 64-bit.
DewGuy1999
Feb 28, 08:21 PM
Thank you, Yes my office room here had single pane windows originally. The rest of the house has windows like what is on the outside but they are double pane from when the house was built. For some reason not in here. The house has a lot of history and the windows are beautiful so it would be a shame to take out the originals. They are the very thin glass that you can see the distortion when looking through(I am not sure what to call that). In this room the heat loss was bad but in order to preserve the old glass and original look outside this was a decent option We back up to a river that the american army crossed through during WWII and the last of the bullet holes from the fire fight in the back of the basement were just patched up with the latest renovation work.
I see, so, the inside windows are essentially storm windows. I'm glad to hear that you kept the original windows, too many people think that replacement windows are the only solution to old windows. They're not, there's a reason replacement windows are called "replacement", because you'll be replacing them, probably sooner than later. I don't think the old glass has a name, but most people refer to it as wavy. Thanks for sharing.
I see, so, the inside windows are essentially storm windows. I'm glad to hear that you kept the original windows, too many people think that replacement windows are the only solution to old windows. They're not, there's a reason replacement windows are called "replacement", because you'll be replacing them, probably sooner than later. I don't think the old glass has a name, but most people refer to it as wavy. Thanks for sharing.
eenu
Aug 16, 10:22 AM
I've a feeling this might also upset the music companies as I'm sure the one-way sync was one feel-good/selling point for anti-piracy concerns.
Though what is stopping Apple limiting it so that iTMS purchases cannot be exchanged wirelessly between pods but your own non iTMS can?
Ok thats not ideal for the music industry in terms of 'anti-piracy' but i'm sure if Apple could alleviate their fears that no iTMS music can be transfered then there is a good feature there for something like BT on your IPOD.....
Or maybe they will do the rendevous of the IPOD world and you can listen to peoples music in the vicinity to you but cant keep it and hence this would drive up music sales for the record companies.
Though what is stopping Apple limiting it so that iTMS purchases cannot be exchanged wirelessly between pods but your own non iTMS can?
Ok thats not ideal for the music industry in terms of 'anti-piracy' but i'm sure if Apple could alleviate their fears that no iTMS music can be transfered then there is a good feature there for something like BT on your IPOD.....
Or maybe they will do the rendevous of the IPOD world and you can listen to peoples music in the vicinity to you but cant keep it and hence this would drive up music sales for the record companies.
FireStar
Oct 22, 01:17 PM
Huh? iPhone 4 cases are all over the place.
I think he means iPod Touch 4G.....
I think he means iPod Touch 4G.....
supercooled
Feb 21, 06:14 PM
It's finally all finished. Put the Craftsman tool chest in this weekend. It mostly hold cable and repair tools for guitars.
The white box on the front right leg of the desk is actually a Belkin remote. I've wired the desk so that when I hit that switch the 3 displays, audio monitors and all USB controllers will turn on.
I hate wires showing so I went to great lengths to hide them.
Very nice.
What music genre do you dabble in? And what monitors are those? Do they sit that flush out of the box or did you hack the stand off in favour of some armature?
The white box on the front right leg of the desk is actually a Belkin remote. I've wired the desk so that when I hit that switch the 3 displays, audio monitors and all USB controllers will turn on.
I hate wires showing so I went to great lengths to hide them.
Very nice.
What music genre do you dabble in? And what monitors are those? Do they sit that flush out of the box or did you hack the stand off in favour of some armature?
SteveKnobs
Apr 3, 01:29 AM
Perhaps if you spent more time educating yourself and less time convincing yourself that a flawed product is acceptable, you would learn something. Try googling the issue.
Based on the way you write, however, I am going to guess that you won't take the time to do so.
Some people are just not interested in facing the truth.
The way I write? This has anything to do with anything?
And again, the "evidence" you keep suggesting exists does not represent what is actually the case. Even within this thread, there are several people telling you they have no issues with their device. I don't have any issues either.
I hate to use the well known argument we often see on these forums, but you will almost always hear from the people who have issues with their products.
You will almost never see threads or comments from people that don't really have a reason to exclaim to the world that their device is perfect. Thus, we see an inflation of negative threads as compared to positive threads, and ignorant people take this to mean there is a wide-spread and critical flaw with all of the devices. Also, the negative comment is more distinctive, and thus more memorable than the positive one- again adding to the illusion you seem to be buying into.
Based on the way you write, however, I am going to guess that you won't take the time to do so.
Some people are just not interested in facing the truth.
The way I write? This has anything to do with anything?
And again, the "evidence" you keep suggesting exists does not represent what is actually the case. Even within this thread, there are several people telling you they have no issues with their device. I don't have any issues either.
I hate to use the well known argument we often see on these forums, but you will almost always hear from the people who have issues with their products.
You will almost never see threads or comments from people that don't really have a reason to exclaim to the world that their device is perfect. Thus, we see an inflation of negative threads as compared to positive threads, and ignorant people take this to mean there is a wide-spread and critical flaw with all of the devices. Also, the negative comment is more distinctive, and thus more memorable than the positive one- again adding to the illusion you seem to be buying into.
pcharles
Mar 23, 07:58 AM
Correct me if I'm wrong here, but people keep going on about ThunderBolt like it's gonna fill 200gig ipods in a minute and how you can copy 500gig files between computers in minutes...
That may be the case between ThunderBolt connected RAID arrays, and Macbook Pros with lightning fast SSD write rates,
but isn't the case that the 1.8inch HDD in the ipod wouldn't be able to write files to it's disk at anything close to ThunderBolt speeds, I wouldn't be suprised if USB2.0 nearly saturates these 1.8inch drive write speeds.
I agree that Thunderbolt is overkill until we have raided SSD, but my old FW400 ipod fills much faster than my new USB2 iPod Video, so I do not think that USB2 is saturating the drive. There are plenty of benchmarks out there showing that FW is significantly faster for sustained read/write operations. Thunderbolt could be thought of as the new firewire because it supports fast sustained transfer, can be daisy chained, and supports other protocols such as networking and video. Its potential is amazing! Imagine a computer of the future with one port on to which you can daisy chain your monitor and all your peripherals, and still have bandwidth to spare!
That may be the case between ThunderBolt connected RAID arrays, and Macbook Pros with lightning fast SSD write rates,
but isn't the case that the 1.8inch HDD in the ipod wouldn't be able to write files to it's disk at anything close to ThunderBolt speeds, I wouldn't be suprised if USB2.0 nearly saturates these 1.8inch drive write speeds.
I agree that Thunderbolt is overkill until we have raided SSD, but my old FW400 ipod fills much faster than my new USB2 iPod Video, so I do not think that USB2 is saturating the drive. There are plenty of benchmarks out there showing that FW is significantly faster for sustained read/write operations. Thunderbolt could be thought of as the new firewire because it supports fast sustained transfer, can be daisy chained, and supports other protocols such as networking and video. Its potential is amazing! Imagine a computer of the future with one port on to which you can daisy chain your monitor and all your peripherals, and still have bandwidth to spare!
thesdx
Jan 12, 05:39 AM
I think "MacBook Air" sounds kinda cool, but not like something Apple would name a notebook. Who knows? It could be actually called this. Everyone was doubting the images of the fat Nano, thinking it couldn't possibly be true, and it came true. It could happen again.
sachamun
Nov 28, 07:44 AM
Don't they already make one? Its called a 17" MacBook Pro... :)
On that note...
Does anyone else like the idea of a 19" or 20" macbook pro (/tablet?) as a true desktop replacement? Just small enough to fit a backpack.
I could be mainly aimed at photo/video pros who don't often do thier work in tight spaces, but usually open up their notebook on a desk.
There'd be much more room for additional internal hardware including battery, ram, speakers and hdd space.
On that note...
Does anyone else like the idea of a 19" or 20" macbook pro (/tablet?) as a true desktop replacement? Just small enough to fit a backpack.
I could be mainly aimed at photo/video pros who don't often do thier work in tight spaces, but usually open up their notebook on a desk.
There'd be much more room for additional internal hardware including battery, ram, speakers and hdd space.
macfan881
Sep 7, 09:46 PM
There has been a lot said here and elsewhere on what Apple is going to release. But let�s step back and look at the big picture for a moment and think through this process.
What we know:
1. Apple maintains the largest online movie trailer site on the internet. They have the technology to stream data in HD and they just bought a level 4 data center in March this year to storage an enormous amount of data. (I�ll get to this later)
2. HD downloads are enormous and storing them on your hard disk would fill up the disk in no time. So keeping the file for long periods of time is not an option.
3. Apple sells more laptops then desktops and laptops have a smaller hard drive with limited capacity, no one wants an external hd to carry along with their laptop, it would defeat the purpose of being portable.
4. Apple doesn�t make money on downloads, but selling the product that it runs on.
5. iPods screens are too small to watch full length movies on, and their disk space is too limited for movies (iPod nano outsells the video iPod)
6. FrontRow is made for displaying on the TV, not a computer monitor.
7. People WILL NOT PAY $9.99 or $14.99 for a download of a movie, even with a burn option. DVDs can be bought at Wal-Mart or BestBuy for the same price and you get the cover and quality you want and deserve. ( I know a few mac fans will go out and buy whatever Apple puts out, but thinking of an average person )
8. Steve Jobs said in an interview that most people only watch live action movies 1 or 2 times with the exception of animation, but music they listen to over and over again. And he hates variable pricing for content.
So what does all this mean? I think we will see on Sept 12th a streaming rental service that runs off a new media device made to hook up to your TV and runs FrontRow with Showtime as a feature on it that looks a lot like the Movie Trailer section on FrontRow today, where you see the cover designs of the movie instead of a text. (Think about when you go to Blockbuster and all you see is cover designs, and a description on the back) With this service you will be able to see the cover design, the rating, run time, the description and preview a trailer of the movie. Then if you want you can �rent� it for $2.99. After watching the movie, the content is deleted; this would work a lot like pay-per-view. For music and photos, this device will wirelessly connect to your computer to stream music from iTunes and photos from iPhoto. The device will probably sell for around $149 - $299, depending on what it can do.
But who knows� I�m probably completing wrong and Apple will release a download movie site, charge $9.99 for a movie download that around 600 MB per download and take 2 hours to download and release an airport express with video output and charge $129 for it.
yes hd video will be huge but hds now are biger and cheaper to get the new mac pro u can get up to techniclay 3tbs with the new 700+ gig hds if you could get a movie and be able to burn it on your own for anything under 20 bucks i would im sure many others to with many computers now coming out with dvd burners
What we know:
1. Apple maintains the largest online movie trailer site on the internet. They have the technology to stream data in HD and they just bought a level 4 data center in March this year to storage an enormous amount of data. (I�ll get to this later)
2. HD downloads are enormous and storing them on your hard disk would fill up the disk in no time. So keeping the file for long periods of time is not an option.
3. Apple sells more laptops then desktops and laptops have a smaller hard drive with limited capacity, no one wants an external hd to carry along with their laptop, it would defeat the purpose of being portable.
4. Apple doesn�t make money on downloads, but selling the product that it runs on.
5. iPods screens are too small to watch full length movies on, and their disk space is too limited for movies (iPod nano outsells the video iPod)
6. FrontRow is made for displaying on the TV, not a computer monitor.
7. People WILL NOT PAY $9.99 or $14.99 for a download of a movie, even with a burn option. DVDs can be bought at Wal-Mart or BestBuy for the same price and you get the cover and quality you want and deserve. ( I know a few mac fans will go out and buy whatever Apple puts out, but thinking of an average person )
8. Steve Jobs said in an interview that most people only watch live action movies 1 or 2 times with the exception of animation, but music they listen to over and over again. And he hates variable pricing for content.
So what does all this mean? I think we will see on Sept 12th a streaming rental service that runs off a new media device made to hook up to your TV and runs FrontRow with Showtime as a feature on it that looks a lot like the Movie Trailer section on FrontRow today, where you see the cover designs of the movie instead of a text. (Think about when you go to Blockbuster and all you see is cover designs, and a description on the back) With this service you will be able to see the cover design, the rating, run time, the description and preview a trailer of the movie. Then if you want you can �rent� it for $2.99. After watching the movie, the content is deleted; this would work a lot like pay-per-view. For music and photos, this device will wirelessly connect to your computer to stream music from iTunes and photos from iPhoto. The device will probably sell for around $149 - $299, depending on what it can do.
But who knows� I�m probably completing wrong and Apple will release a download movie site, charge $9.99 for a movie download that around 600 MB per download and take 2 hours to download and release an airport express with video output and charge $129 for it.
yes hd video will be huge but hds now are biger and cheaper to get the new mac pro u can get up to techniclay 3tbs with the new 700+ gig hds if you could get a movie and be able to burn it on your own for anything under 20 bucks i would im sure many others to with many computers now coming out with dvd burners
obeygiant
Mar 22, 12:46 PM
Wasn't sure, so had to ask. :)
It's such a weird notion, that people can choose their sexual orientation. But then, I don't believe that's what many really believe when they say it... instead, I get the vibe that what they mean to say is 'why can't you just closet yourself and act straight?'.
Its also a weird notion that sexual orientation is a black and white issue. People gay or straight have sex with others contrary to their orientation all the time. Skin is skin, and the brain, the biggest sex organ in the human body, can be trained and retrained in a million different ways. Whatever turns you on is what turns you on.
It's such a weird notion, that people can choose their sexual orientation. But then, I don't believe that's what many really believe when they say it... instead, I get the vibe that what they mean to say is 'why can't you just closet yourself and act straight?'.
Its also a weird notion that sexual orientation is a black and white issue. People gay or straight have sex with others contrary to their orientation all the time. Skin is skin, and the brain, the biggest sex organ in the human body, can be trained and retrained in a million different ways. Whatever turns you on is what turns you on.
jgould
Feb 23, 05:29 AM
Handbrake comes VERY close to destroying my Macbook ha ha, the CPU goes up close to 90 degrees celsius! Terrifying!
I gave up on running Handbrake on my MacBook of the same vintage, but only because kept loosing RAM and making it difficult to work. I started running Handbrake on the Mid 2007 Mac Mini instead.
Haven't tried on the 2010 MBP that I just got. Might have to do that and see what we get...
I gave up on running Handbrake on my MacBook of the same vintage, but only because kept loosing RAM and making it difficult to work. I started running Handbrake on the Mid 2007 Mac Mini instead.
Haven't tried on the 2010 MBP that I just got. Might have to do that and see what we get...
jxyama
Apr 16, 08:22 AM
Very interesting point but I want Apple's share to grow ! The whole point of this thread is to get Apple into every home - right now, its being done by the Ipod but sales can't continue this good forever so they must push the Macintosh into more homes and business.
if you want apple in every home, why don't you buy Macs and give them away? (sarcasm)
the whole point of this thread is NOT to get apple into every home. you started the thread claiming apple is in need of help. apple does not need help, as others have posted many, many times.
apple will not try to put Macs in every home at the expense of its business. yeah, it makes great products. but it's not a charity - they are not going to start modifying their core business model just so everyone can have their product. get over it. Mac is not meant for everyone.
lexus is nice. bmw is nice. are you going to petition that they should offer lower priced version of their cars so everyone could have one? a three story house with huge lawn and furnished basement is nice. are you going to petition morgage companies so that everyone could have a multi-million dollar morgages to get those houses and wreck their business because 99% of them will default?
if you want apple in every home, why don't you buy Macs and give them away? (sarcasm)
the whole point of this thread is NOT to get apple into every home. you started the thread claiming apple is in need of help. apple does not need help, as others have posted many, many times.
apple will not try to put Macs in every home at the expense of its business. yeah, it makes great products. but it's not a charity - they are not going to start modifying their core business model just so everyone can have their product. get over it. Mac is not meant for everyone.
lexus is nice. bmw is nice. are you going to petition that they should offer lower priced version of their cars so everyone could have one? a three story house with huge lawn and furnished basement is nice. are you going to petition morgage companies so that everyone could have a multi-million dollar morgages to get those houses and wreck their business because 99% of them will default?
iJohnHenry
Mar 20, 06:06 PM
Homeopathy does at least have the placebo effect.
True, and no one has yet to explain the miraculous 'cures' by the patients themselves.
Some call it positive thinking. I choose to call it misdiagnosis.
True, and no one has yet to explain the miraculous 'cures' by the patients themselves.
Some call it positive thinking. I choose to call it misdiagnosis.
eenu
Aug 16, 11:13 AM
Both companies have cult-like followings (Apple and Stern, and let's face it, Stern is Sirius)
Allow Sirius subscribers to get satellite radio on their ipods, maybe even download a limited portion to the HD.
But the killer feature is the ability to BOOKMARK a song you like and buy it from iTunes later or over the air for those who want wireless.
I already have a lifetime Sirius subscription as well as numerous Apple products including an ipod.
PLEASE make it happen and don't let the Zune get this feature first.
As far as i can see Sirius is really an american service? Lets not forget Apple needs to make product releases applicable for the world outside america....one does exist :p
Allow Sirius subscribers to get satellite radio on their ipods, maybe even download a limited portion to the HD.
But the killer feature is the ability to BOOKMARK a song you like and buy it from iTunes later or over the air for those who want wireless.
I already have a lifetime Sirius subscription as well as numerous Apple products including an ipod.
PLEASE make it happen and don't let the Zune get this feature first.
As far as i can see Sirius is really an american service? Lets not forget Apple needs to make product releases applicable for the world outside america....one does exist :p
SaMaster14
Jan 9, 11:18 AM
@hobbyrennfahrer:
very nice! The 135 is a quick car! (especially because its sooooo light).
How do you like the handling on it though?
For me personally I would probably not get the 1 series for some reason, I'm just not a fan of the looks that much - now the 335i coupe, thats a killer car!
very nice! The 135 is a quick car! (especially because its sooooo light).
How do you like the handling on it though?
For me personally I would probably not get the 1 series for some reason, I'm just not a fan of the looks that much - now the 335i coupe, thats a killer car!
Veg
Feb 26, 03:21 PM
Lamp: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BCDGMG
External HDD: http://www.macally.com/EN/Product/ipod4show.asp?ArticleID=209
Speakers: http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Z-3-Wood-Grained-Speakers/dp/B0000C20V3/ref=sr_1_12?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1298679238&sr=1-12
iPhone stand: http://www.xtand.net/xtand.html
Ha man you really did your research, how'd you find the lamp though?
External HDD: http://www.macally.com/EN/Product/ipod4show.asp?ArticleID=209
Speakers: http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Z-3-Wood-Grained-Speakers/dp/B0000C20V3/ref=sr_1_12?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1298679238&sr=1-12
iPhone stand: http://www.xtand.net/xtand.html
Ha man you really did your research, how'd you find the lamp though?
Lord Blackadder
Mar 22, 12:41 AM
Well, personally I would consider "loyalists" part of military assets. And I'm sure most generals do as well because that's the way they talk about killing soldiers. Thus inflicting "material" damage should include the people who operate the weapons via command.
And one would figure that since there are a huge number of "defectors", some of these loyalists must be pretty hard-core and you'll have to kill them to prevent them from picking up a simple AK and IED later on and blow up things from the shadows. This might seem harsh, but the reality of it is that if they pick a side, they accept their fate as a loser.
The UN mandate calls for a no-fly zone. Under current military doctrine that requires that the opponent's air defense network be degraded. Some military personnel will inevitably die when their air defense installations come under attack. Other than that, we don't have the authority to attack loyalists unless they are threatening the safety of civilians by bombarding rebel cities or some such, and then only if they can be clearly identified and attacked without risking civilian lives. Loyalist units that are simply surrounding a rebel strongholds are not legitimate targets at this stage.
However, in light of the situation, I would understand the need to leave some "real warriors" alive and hope they join the new administration because looking at these rebels, they are mostly a bunch of city slickers or something that found a gun, see smoke, run toward the front lines all exited...to come right back carrying their dead in a bedsheet. It's a real joke how they handle this rebelion. If this is how it is, we're going to need troops on the ground to get these guys in shape...if not during...then after the supplanting of Quadafi.
This is pretty much how any irregular force has behaved at any time in history (see the beginnings of the American and French revolutions for example) It's not something we can control. Some rebel units are made up of defected regular army units, they will undoubtedly form the core of any rebel advance and show better cohesion. By merely existing as a force in being the, the irregular units (or more correctly, loose bands) legitimize the opposition, and they've proven somewhat effective in defense.
As for troops on the ground - this is a Libyan civil war. The UN's mission is to prevent Gaddafi from murdering his own people in his attempt to maintain power. The Libyans must do the rest.
I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the end result of all this is not at all dissimilar to the goings-on in Iraq.
As long as we don't invade, this is unlikely to be as bad as Iraq. We are aiding a popular uprising against hated autocrat, not invading a foreign country with plans of occupation and prolonged rooting out of insurgents. There are still many potential pitfalls and I am not arguing that the situation is necessarily a good one, but it is certainly less risky than the 2003 Iraq invasion.
And one would figure that since there are a huge number of "defectors", some of these loyalists must be pretty hard-core and you'll have to kill them to prevent them from picking up a simple AK and IED later on and blow up things from the shadows. This might seem harsh, but the reality of it is that if they pick a side, they accept their fate as a loser.
The UN mandate calls for a no-fly zone. Under current military doctrine that requires that the opponent's air defense network be degraded. Some military personnel will inevitably die when their air defense installations come under attack. Other than that, we don't have the authority to attack loyalists unless they are threatening the safety of civilians by bombarding rebel cities or some such, and then only if they can be clearly identified and attacked without risking civilian lives. Loyalist units that are simply surrounding a rebel strongholds are not legitimate targets at this stage.
However, in light of the situation, I would understand the need to leave some "real warriors" alive and hope they join the new administration because looking at these rebels, they are mostly a bunch of city slickers or something that found a gun, see smoke, run toward the front lines all exited...to come right back carrying their dead in a bedsheet. It's a real joke how they handle this rebelion. If this is how it is, we're going to need troops on the ground to get these guys in shape...if not during...then after the supplanting of Quadafi.
This is pretty much how any irregular force has behaved at any time in history (see the beginnings of the American and French revolutions for example) It's not something we can control. Some rebel units are made up of defected regular army units, they will undoubtedly form the core of any rebel advance and show better cohesion. By merely existing as a force in being the, the irregular units (or more correctly, loose bands) legitimize the opposition, and they've proven somewhat effective in defense.
As for troops on the ground - this is a Libyan civil war. The UN's mission is to prevent Gaddafi from murdering his own people in his attempt to maintain power. The Libyans must do the rest.
I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the end result of all this is not at all dissimilar to the goings-on in Iraq.
As long as we don't invade, this is unlikely to be as bad as Iraq. We are aiding a popular uprising against hated autocrat, not invading a foreign country with plans of occupation and prolonged rooting out of insurgents. There are still many potential pitfalls and I am not arguing that the situation is necessarily a good one, but it is certainly less risky than the 2003 Iraq invasion.
bursthead
Mar 25, 04:09 PM
http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/cellphone/e75a/
Joystick for ipad
Joystick for ipad
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