28th July 2009

Girl working at Apple booth, sent from Apple SG:

“The current Mini Displayport adapters totally don’t work for doing presentations. My old MacBook and MacBook Air adapters do, but the new ones don’t. Apple probably got something wrong in the design”.

29th July 2009

Guy working at Apple booth, sent from Apple SG:

“You can install on multiple computers, your Adobe CS4 Web Premium and Microsoft Office 2008, even though you only have one serial. They will work so long the computers are on different networks”.

To clarify those who don’t understand why the above examples were words of idiocy, the current Mini Displayport adapters do work for presentations. I personally tested them. It’s now July so I think everyone should have installed the Mini Displayport to VGA adapter firmware update by now. There have only been some prior reports that DRM-ed videos do not play on the connected screen, but they work perfectly for normal Keynote/Powerpoint presentations.

As for the Adobe CS4 comment, the Adobe apps phones home regularly regardless what network you are on, so long you are connected to the net. There’s a high chance that the apps installed on multiple Macs will deactivate and return to trial status if Adobe realizes that the same SN has been used more than once. As for Office 2008, you can use the same SN on multiple Macs, so long you do not update the apps. The “different network” comment probably came from Office 2004, where a “feature” was built in by Microsoft to shut down running copies of Office 2004 once a certain SN has been detected to be in use in more than one Mac in a certain network. Apparently the “feature” has been removed in 2008. How outdated can someone professing to know lots about Macs be?

If you are buying from the NUS fair, it helps to do your homework before you purchase. Don’t expect the staff there to be giving you correct information. Ask someone who knows better.