EricNau
Aug 17, 09:51 AM
I think that these tests are poor regardless of the results. Testing is all based on evidence and I see none, just what they say are the results.
When you run a test you normally document the process for the test conditions. You don't just say Photoshop CS2 - MP aware actions, but which ones - why didn't they use the Photoshop test.
"For FCP 5, we rendered a 20 second HD clip we had imported and dropped into a sequence."
Does this mean they imported a 20 second clip into a sequence and had to render the clip before it would play with the rest of the sequence.
They basically used the render tools in the sequence menu. Why measure something like that.
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When you run a test you normally document the process for the test conditions. You don't just say Photoshop CS2 - MP aware actions, but which ones - why didn't they use the Photoshop test.
"For FCP 5, we rendered a 20 second HD clip we had imported and dropped into a sequence."
Does this mean they imported a 20 second clip into a sequence and had to render the clip before it would play with the rest of the sequence.
They basically used the render tools in the sequence menu. Why measure something like that.
parapup
Apr 6, 10:20 AM
For a programmer dealing with Terminal, Xcode, Netbeans, Eclipse, etc (not graphic intensive softwares), would this macbook air be a better deal than the 13/15" Macbook pro?
Anyone?
Sure if they allow you to bump up the memory to 4GB it should be more than usable especially with the SSD. May be you will need to hook up an external disk for storage needs but apart from that it'll all be good with the i5/7 lineup.
Anyone?
Sure if they allow you to bump up the memory to 4GB it should be more than usable especially with the SSD. May be you will need to hook up an external disk for storage needs but apart from that it'll all be good with the i5/7 lineup.
jrb363
Apr 7, 10:39 PM
Quota? Are these guys idiots?
Best Buy isn't the only place to buy these... I've thought through the various marketing gimmicks, and really none apply here. Why would they do this...
Maybe they ate too much magical unicorn dust and it clouded their judgement. :rolleyes:
Best Buy isn't the only place to buy these... I've thought through the various marketing gimmicks, and really none apply here. Why would they do this...
Maybe they ate too much magical unicorn dust and it clouded their judgement. :rolleyes:
wonderspark
Apr 5, 05:20 PM
Nobody's using Blu-Ray, in my experience. It's just another way of sucking money out of home consumers. Everything's done online in terms of delivery...
I respectfully disagree. Most of the film festivals we submitted our movie to prefer Blu-ray. That way they get the same quality for previewing as they do for projection, should they accept it. We haven't even had to make an HDCAM copy yet.
I respectfully disagree. Most of the film festivals we submitted our movie to prefer Blu-ray. That way they get the same quality for previewing as they do for projection, should they accept it. We haven't even had to make an HDCAM copy yet.
Ahheck01
Apr 12, 10:27 AM
The SuperMeet stage show aka FCP (or if **** hits the fan then iMovie Pro) preview begins at 7 pm.
7pm Vegas Time? If so, for others scheduling your availability like me :cool::
Pacific Time: 7:00pm
Mountain Time: 8:00pm
Central Time: 9:00pm
Eastern Time: 10:00pm
7pm Vegas Time? If so, for others scheduling your availability like me :cool::
Pacific Time: 7:00pm
Mountain Time: 8:00pm
Central Time: 9:00pm
Eastern Time: 10:00pm
amin
Sep 14, 10:53 PM
I have noticed this emphasis as well; not being an expert on this issue myself though, would you care to shed light on how their coverage is an exaggeration and why we shouldn't be worried about it?
I am no expert, and I am not denying that this issue matters. However, I see no cause for concern unless someone provides some decent evidence that it matters. It strikes me as odd that they (at AnandTech) put so much emphasis on explaining the theory behind a "problem" without making any competent effort at illustrating an example of the problem. When you go to configure a Mac Pro, the Apple page says the following about memory: "Mac Pro uses 667MHz DDR2 fully buffered ECC memory, a new industry-standard memory technology that allows for more memory capacity, higher speeds, and better reliability. To take full advantage of the 256-bit wide memory architecture, four or more FB-DIMMs should be installed in Mac Pro." Yet AnandTech chose a 1GB x 2 RAM arrangement to compare the Core 2 Extreme and Xeon processors. Using this setup, which effectively cripples the Mac Pro memory system, they find it to be at worst 10% slower than the Conroe Extreme (in a single non real world usage benchmark). Meanwhile in any comparison that utilizes the four cores, the quad Xeon whoops ass by a large margin.
I am no expert, and I am not denying that this issue matters. However, I see no cause for concern unless someone provides some decent evidence that it matters. It strikes me as odd that they (at AnandTech) put so much emphasis on explaining the theory behind a "problem" without making any competent effort at illustrating an example of the problem. When you go to configure a Mac Pro, the Apple page says the following about memory: "Mac Pro uses 667MHz DDR2 fully buffered ECC memory, a new industry-standard memory technology that allows for more memory capacity, higher speeds, and better reliability. To take full advantage of the 256-bit wide memory architecture, four or more FB-DIMMs should be installed in Mac Pro." Yet AnandTech chose a 1GB x 2 RAM arrangement to compare the Core 2 Extreme and Xeon processors. Using this setup, which effectively cripples the Mac Pro memory system, they find it to be at worst 10% slower than the Conroe Extreme (in a single non real world usage benchmark). Meanwhile in any comparison that utilizes the four cores, the quad Xeon whoops ass by a large margin.
janstett
Sep 15, 08:07 AM
The server/desktop division with Windows - as with OS X - is one of marketing, not software. Windows "Workstation" and Windows "Server" use the same codebase.
True (today anyway; in the NT era they were indeed separate platforms though. Which brings me to my next point..)
No, that is not true, in fact it couldn't be more untrue. Now, the 95 family (95/98/ME) was a totally different codebase. But with the NT family (NT/2000/XP) the client and the server were identical, even identical in distributed code. In fact there was a big scandal years ago where someone discovered the registry setting where you could turn NT Workstation into NT Server. Back then all that was different was the number of outbound IP connections and possibly the number of CPUs supported. All they were trying to do with Workstation was prevent you from using it as a server (thus the outbound IP limit) and at some point they didn't give you full-blown IIS on Workstation. That's it.
True (today anyway; in the NT era they were indeed separate platforms though. Which brings me to my next point..)
No, that is not true, in fact it couldn't be more untrue. Now, the 95 family (95/98/ME) was a totally different codebase. But with the NT family (NT/2000/XP) the client and the server were identical, even identical in distributed code. In fact there was a big scandal years ago where someone discovered the registry setting where you could turn NT Workstation into NT Server. Back then all that was different was the number of outbound IP connections and possibly the number of CPUs supported. All they were trying to do with Workstation was prevent you from using it as a server (thus the outbound IP limit) and at some point they didn't give you full-blown IIS on Workstation. That's it.
mlrproducts
Nov 29, 10:34 AM
I think it is a Great idea!!!
Apple will give Universal $1 from every iPod sold, since the iPod is used to store stolen Universal tracks.
In turn, Universal will give Apple $5 from every overpriced CD sold because they're only buying that CD so they can rip it into iTunes/iPod ecosystem.
Apple will give Universal $1 from every iPod sold, since the iPod is used to store stolen Universal tracks.
In turn, Universal will give Apple $5 from every overpriced CD sold because they're only buying that CD so they can rip it into iTunes/iPod ecosystem.
skunk
Mar 23, 06:41 PM
Well, I suppose it really should have been ad homines — the (proper) plural would I think mitigate the gender.I'll go with that. :)
But while the author adheres to a legal argument, reality is more expansive in my mind.Indeed, the prospect of half a million or more refugees flooding neighbouring and hard-pressed countries begs the question of how much such events do in fact impact on world security.
But while the author adheres to a legal argument, reality is more expansive in my mind.Indeed, the prospect of half a million or more refugees flooding neighbouring and hard-pressed countries begs the question of how much such events do in fact impact on world security.
mrkramer
Nov 28, 08:02 PM
I agree with the people here who have said that if this happens they would pirate all of the Music that they wanted from universal. If this happens and I buy a new iPod after that I will just go and pirate the Music that I want since the record labels have already been paid.
dernhelm
Nov 29, 05:02 AM
dang it microsoft.
Don't curse Microsoft. They're just doing what they've always done - try to screw over anyone they see as a threat. They can't defeat Apple, but they can screw up the market so bad that it won't matter if Apple is king of the hill.
Curse the idiots that buy the Zune without even knowing what they are doing. Better yet, pass the word. This isn't about the Zune being a nice device or not, this is about the DRM in the thing, and the tax you pay to the music companies even if you don't buy any of their songs.
In the end, the Zune will fail, because it is big, expensive, and has DRM that isn't compatible with anything anyone has ever bought before anywhere. It isn't even Vista compatible yet! But this isn't about the Zune being successful, and I'm beginning to think it never was. The Zune is more about Microsoft trying to throw a wrench into the music download industry - and if it can make Apple less profitable by doing so, then so much the better.
Don't curse Microsoft. They're just doing what they've always done - try to screw over anyone they see as a threat. They can't defeat Apple, but they can screw up the market so bad that it won't matter if Apple is king of the hill.
Curse the idiots that buy the Zune without even knowing what they are doing. Better yet, pass the word. This isn't about the Zune being a nice device or not, this is about the DRM in the thing, and the tax you pay to the music companies even if you don't buy any of their songs.
In the end, the Zune will fail, because it is big, expensive, and has DRM that isn't compatible with anything anyone has ever bought before anywhere. It isn't even Vista compatible yet! But this isn't about the Zune being successful, and I'm beginning to think it never was. The Zune is more about Microsoft trying to throw a wrench into the music download industry - and if it can make Apple less profitable by doing so, then so much the better.
mwswami
Jul 22, 09:53 AM
(Cloverton or Clovertown?)
It's Clovertown.
Here is a link to description of the Intel Core Microarchitecture (http://www.intel.com/technology/architecture/coremicro/) on Intel.com. Search for Clovertown.
It's Clovertown.
Here is a link to description of the Intel Core Microarchitecture (http://www.intel.com/technology/architecture/coremicro/) on Intel.com. Search for Clovertown.
bibbz
Jun 9, 09:45 PM
Bibbz: I'm in the dfw area which radio shack do you work at? Would like to go through you for my next iPhone since know what's going on. I will be trading in my current 3gs.
I tried to send you a pm, I'm not really sure why I couldn't.
I tried to send you a pm, I'm not really sure why I couldn't.
HecubusPro
Sep 19, 09:20 AM
It's not going to happen today. No worries. We have Photokina ahead of us.
deconai
Aug 11, 03:37 PM
Well now you ignorant yankie ;) Firstly the mobile phone penetration in Europe is about 99% or maybe slighly more. You should really travel a bit to get some perspective.
And secondly, GSM has user base of over 1 billion while CDMA as you said has some 60m users. Which one you think would be more interesting market to cover for a new mobile phone manufacturer? And there is really no question of "we'll see which one wins" because GSM won a long long time ago, hands down.
Are you saying 99% of Europeans use cell phones or that 99% of Europe is cell-ready? If the former, then there must be a ton of kids yapping it up on the wireless. ;)
And secondly, GSM has user base of over 1 billion while CDMA as you said has some 60m users. Which one you think would be more interesting market to cover for a new mobile phone manufacturer? And there is really no question of "we'll see which one wins" because GSM won a long long time ago, hands down.
Are you saying 99% of Europeans use cell phones or that 99% of Europe is cell-ready? If the former, then there must be a ton of kids yapping it up on the wireless. ;)
shelterpaw
Aug 7, 05:52 PM
can't believe only 8 people voted for 64bit, its the most profound change here.... all others you can achieve with some 3rd party softwares.
Maybe that's because many of us wont know how it will effect us if at all. Most people here are consumers and 64bit wont have an effect for some time to come.
I'm sure it'll have a much bigger impact on the scientific and server community, but not much for the rest of us.
I use Adobe tools and Ableton for creative stuff. Will any of those apps be 64bit or be able to take advantage of it? I have no idea. I just can't see the benefits yet.
Maybe that's because many of us wont know how it will effect us if at all. Most people here are consumers and 64bit wont have an effect for some time to come.
I'm sure it'll have a much bigger impact on the scientific and server community, but not much for the rest of us.
I use Adobe tools and Ableton for creative stuff. Will any of those apps be 64bit or be able to take advantage of it? I have no idea. I just can't see the benefits yet.
samcraig
Apr 5, 05:48 PM
Nobody's using Blu-Ray, in my experience. It's just another way of sucking money out of home consumers. Everything's done online in terms of delivery...
A very ignorant post. Especially if you value quality. I hardly call providing the best quality video "sucking money out of home consumers"
Or are you one of those that want to insist that streaming "hd" video is just as good as blu-ray. Because if you are - you shouldn't have even weighed in here.
No need to school you on the difference here though unless you come back and tell me you still think there's no difference.
A very ignorant post. Especially if you value quality. I hardly call providing the best quality video "sucking money out of home consumers"
Or are you one of those that want to insist that streaming "hd" video is just as good as blu-ray. Because if you are - you shouldn't have even weighed in here.
No need to school you on the difference here though unless you come back and tell me you still think there's no difference.
BlondeBuddhist
Jun 9, 11:30 AM
Just went to the Radio Shack that's less than a quarter mile from my house and talked with the rep.
All good to pre-order by adding a line of service on the 15th.
Looks like the best spot for me to purchase considering the closeness and the fact that I seriously doubt anyone is going to think to purchase there.
Its located in a tiny strip "mall" (if you even wanna call it that) on the wee edge of town of 15,000.
All thats left to do is get a Visa Prepaid Debit card and put $350-400 on it. That and wait for the 15th to come.
Live this Moment.
Blonde Buddhist.
All good to pre-order by adding a line of service on the 15th.
Looks like the best spot for me to purchase considering the closeness and the fact that I seriously doubt anyone is going to think to purchase there.
Its located in a tiny strip "mall" (if you even wanna call it that) on the wee edge of town of 15,000.
All thats left to do is get a Visa Prepaid Debit card and put $350-400 on it. That and wait for the 15th to come.
Live this Moment.
Blonde Buddhist.
Val-kyrie
Jul 30, 05:09 PM
I don't think this is correct. The Merom chips were introduced last Thursday, but have been shipping for a while now, a month ahead of schedule.
Intel said that you could expect to see this chip in a laptop by the end of August. Does that mean custom built or in Best Buy (or wherever)?
It seems to me that if one was going to introduce a so called "Mac Pro" with the newest 64-bit processor, one would also choose introduce its mobile "Pro" counterpart.
Perhaps I have overstated my case. Intel is shipping Merom chips, but laptops with Merom inside are not expected in retail channels until the end of August--perhaps because of limited supply?
Intel said that you could expect to see this chip in a laptop by the end of August. Does that mean custom built or in Best Buy (or wherever)?
It seems to me that if one was going to introduce a so called "Mac Pro" with the newest 64-bit processor, one would also choose introduce its mobile "Pro" counterpart.
Perhaps I have overstated my case. Intel is shipping Merom chips, but laptops with Merom inside are not expected in retail channels until the end of August--perhaps because of limited supply?
iLunar
Mar 31, 02:52 PM
If anything this is Google telling the manufacturers to get their crap together. All of the custom UI's need to be updates in some sort of a Google approved Roadmap.
IE: Google releases Android 2.3.3. All manufacturers have X amount of time to port their Custom UI's (HTC Sense, TouchWiz, etc.). What this will do is take the pressure off of the "fragmentation" of Android and place it in the hands of the real culprits... the manufactures, HTC, Samsung, et al.
But I thought customization was the reason that so many people liked Android? All I ever hear about is custom wallpapers, custom themes, custom ringtones, custom grids, custom flash, custom this and that etc etc, and that the user is given a choice unlike with iOS.
It sounds like Google is now finding that to be problematic.
IE: Google releases Android 2.3.3. All manufacturers have X amount of time to port their Custom UI's (HTC Sense, TouchWiz, etc.). What this will do is take the pressure off of the "fragmentation" of Android and place it in the hands of the real culprits... the manufactures, HTC, Samsung, et al.
But I thought customization was the reason that so many people liked Android? All I ever hear about is custom wallpapers, custom themes, custom ringtones, custom grids, custom flash, custom this and that etc etc, and that the user is given a choice unlike with iOS.
It sounds like Google is now finding that to be problematic.
ThaDoggg
Apr 11, 12:14 PM
Personally I'm in no rush to upgrade as I still have some time on my contract. With that said, I would rather have Apple take their time and put out a quality product. Lately we've seen some issues with recent releases and it would be great if Apple could go back to making high quality products.
rdowns
Jun 8, 07:09 PM
That's me!
Nearest Apple Store is 90 minutes away. Nearest Authorized AT&T store that would carry the iPhone is like 60. Radio shack is just 10 minutes.
I'm wondering though, what would be the advantages/disadvantages to buying it at Radio Shack vs AT&T vs The Apple Store? Once I have the item purchased, will I notice any sort of difference what-so-ever?
Cheers.
Why would there be any difference? Do Cheese Doodles purchased form the Piggly Wiggly taste any better than those purchased from Publix?
Nearest Apple Store is 90 minutes away. Nearest Authorized AT&T store that would carry the iPhone is like 60. Radio shack is just 10 minutes.
I'm wondering though, what would be the advantages/disadvantages to buying it at Radio Shack vs AT&T vs The Apple Store? Once I have the item purchased, will I notice any sort of difference what-so-ever?
Cheers.
Why would there be any difference? Do Cheese Doodles purchased form the Piggly Wiggly taste any better than those purchased from Publix?
kavika411
Mar 24, 12:49 PM
Fixed that for you.
Where does race come into this? I don't ask rhetorically. I may have missed it.
Where does race come into this? I don't ask rhetorically. I may have missed it.
skunk
Feb 28, 07:12 PM
2) okay, they can pretend to get marriedNo, you are absolutely wrong., They can get married like any other couple where the laws allow. Marriage is not a special preserve of any religion. You cannot just commandeer it.
No, I'm not kidding. To the Catholic Church sex outside of a valid sacramental marriage is fornicationWho cares what Catholic dogma claims? It's an irrelevance.
Last time I checked when the vast majority of people did such behavior it was with the opposite gender not the same.So what is the problem? Are you against variation?
Do you have proof that Plato was a repressed homosexual?No, not proof
"Homosexuality," Plato wrote, "is regarded as shameful by barbarians and by those who live under despotic governments just as philosophy is regarded as shameful by them, because it is apparently not in the interest of such rulers to have great ideas engendered in their subjects, or powerful friendships or passionate love-all of which homosexuality is particularly apt to produce." This attitude of Plato's was characteristic of the ancient world, and I want to begin my discussion of the attitudes of the Church and of Western Christianity toward homosexuality by commenting on comparable attitudes among the ancients.
To a very large extent, Western attitudes toward law, religion, literature and government are dependent upon Roman attitudes. This makes it particularly striking that our attitudes toward homosexuality in particular and sexual tolerance in general are so remarkably different from those of the Romans. It is very difficult to convey to modern audiences the indifference of the Romans to questions of gender and gender orientation. The difficulty is due both to the fact that the evidence has been largely consciously obliterated by historians prior to very recent decades, and to the diffusion of the relevant material.
Romans did not consider sexuality or sexual preference a matter of much interest, nor did they treat either in an analytical way. An historian has to gather together thousands of little bits and pieces to demonstrate the general acceptance of homosexuality among the Romans.
One of the few imperial writers who does appear to make some sort of comment on the subject in a general way wrote, "Zeus came as an eagle to god like Ganymede and as a swan to the fair haired mother of Helen. One person prefers one gender, another the other, I like both." Plutarch wrote at about the same time, "No sensible person can imagine that the sexes differ in matters of love as they do in matters of clothing. The intelligent lover of beauty will be attracted to beauty in whichever gender he finds it." Roman law and social strictures made absolutely no restrictions on the basis of gender. It has sometimes been claimed that there were laws against homosexual relations in Rome, but it is easy to prove that this was not the case. On the other hand, it is a mistake to imagine that anarchic hedonism ruled at Rome. In fact, Romans did have a complex set of moral strictures designed to protect children from abuse or any citizen from force or duress in sexual relations. Romans were, like other people, sensitive to issues of love and caring, but individual sexual (i.e. gender) choice was completely unlimited. Male prostitution (directed toward other males), for instance, was so common that the taxes on it constituted a major source of revenue for the imperial treasury. It was so profitable that even in later periods when a certain intolerance crept in, the emperors could not bring themselves to end the practice and its attendant revenue.
Gay marriages were also legal and frequent in Rome for both males and females. Even emperors often married other males. There was total acceptance on the part of the populace, as far as it can be determined, of this sort of homosexual attitude and behavior. This total acceptance was not limited to the ruling elite; there is also much popular Roman literature containing gay love stories. The real point I want to make is that there is absolutely no conscious effort on anyone's part in the Roman world, the world in which Christianity was born, to claim that homosexuality was abnormal or undesirable. There is in fact no word for "homosexual" in Latin. "Homosexual" sounds like Latin, but was coined by a German psychologist in the late 1 9th century. No one in the early Roman world seemed to feel that the fact that someone preferred his or her own gender was any more significant than the fact that someone preferred blue eyes or short people. Neither gay nor straight people seemed to associate certain characteristics with sexual preference. Gay men were not thought to be less masculine than straight men and lesbian women were not thought of as less feminine than straight women. Gay people were not thought to be any better or worse than straight people-an attitude which differed both from that of the society that preceded it, since many Greeks thought gay people were inherently better than straight people, and from that of the society which followed it, in which gay people were often thought to be inferior to others.
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/pwh/1979boswell.html
The most celebrated account of homosexual love comes in Plato's Symposium, in which homosexual love is discussed as a more ideal, more perfect kind of relationship than the more prosaic heterosexual variety. This is a highly biased account, because Plato himself was homosexual and wrote very beautiful epigrams to boys expressing his devotion. Platonic homosexuality had very little to do with sex; Plato believed ideally that love and reason should be fused together, while concern over the body and the material world of particulars should be annihilated. Even today, "Platonic love" refers to non-sexual love between two adults.
Behind Plato's contempt for heterosexual desire lay an aesthetic, highly intellectual aversion to the female body. Plato would have agreed with Schopenhauer's opinion that "only a male intellect clouded by the sexual drive could call the stunted, narrow-shouldered, broad-hipped and short-legged sex the fair sex".
http://www.newstatesman.com/199908230009
No, I'm not kidding. To the Catholic Church sex outside of a valid sacramental marriage is fornicationWho cares what Catholic dogma claims? It's an irrelevance.
Last time I checked when the vast majority of people did such behavior it was with the opposite gender not the same.So what is the problem? Are you against variation?
Do you have proof that Plato was a repressed homosexual?No, not proof
"Homosexuality," Plato wrote, "is regarded as shameful by barbarians and by those who live under despotic governments just as philosophy is regarded as shameful by them, because it is apparently not in the interest of such rulers to have great ideas engendered in their subjects, or powerful friendships or passionate love-all of which homosexuality is particularly apt to produce." This attitude of Plato's was characteristic of the ancient world, and I want to begin my discussion of the attitudes of the Church and of Western Christianity toward homosexuality by commenting on comparable attitudes among the ancients.
To a very large extent, Western attitudes toward law, religion, literature and government are dependent upon Roman attitudes. This makes it particularly striking that our attitudes toward homosexuality in particular and sexual tolerance in general are so remarkably different from those of the Romans. It is very difficult to convey to modern audiences the indifference of the Romans to questions of gender and gender orientation. The difficulty is due both to the fact that the evidence has been largely consciously obliterated by historians prior to very recent decades, and to the diffusion of the relevant material.
Romans did not consider sexuality or sexual preference a matter of much interest, nor did they treat either in an analytical way. An historian has to gather together thousands of little bits and pieces to demonstrate the general acceptance of homosexuality among the Romans.
One of the few imperial writers who does appear to make some sort of comment on the subject in a general way wrote, "Zeus came as an eagle to god like Ganymede and as a swan to the fair haired mother of Helen. One person prefers one gender, another the other, I like both." Plutarch wrote at about the same time, "No sensible person can imagine that the sexes differ in matters of love as they do in matters of clothing. The intelligent lover of beauty will be attracted to beauty in whichever gender he finds it." Roman law and social strictures made absolutely no restrictions on the basis of gender. It has sometimes been claimed that there were laws against homosexual relations in Rome, but it is easy to prove that this was not the case. On the other hand, it is a mistake to imagine that anarchic hedonism ruled at Rome. In fact, Romans did have a complex set of moral strictures designed to protect children from abuse or any citizen from force or duress in sexual relations. Romans were, like other people, sensitive to issues of love and caring, but individual sexual (i.e. gender) choice was completely unlimited. Male prostitution (directed toward other males), for instance, was so common that the taxes on it constituted a major source of revenue for the imperial treasury. It was so profitable that even in later periods when a certain intolerance crept in, the emperors could not bring themselves to end the practice and its attendant revenue.
Gay marriages were also legal and frequent in Rome for both males and females. Even emperors often married other males. There was total acceptance on the part of the populace, as far as it can be determined, of this sort of homosexual attitude and behavior. This total acceptance was not limited to the ruling elite; there is also much popular Roman literature containing gay love stories. The real point I want to make is that there is absolutely no conscious effort on anyone's part in the Roman world, the world in which Christianity was born, to claim that homosexuality was abnormal or undesirable. There is in fact no word for "homosexual" in Latin. "Homosexual" sounds like Latin, but was coined by a German psychologist in the late 1 9th century. No one in the early Roman world seemed to feel that the fact that someone preferred his or her own gender was any more significant than the fact that someone preferred blue eyes or short people. Neither gay nor straight people seemed to associate certain characteristics with sexual preference. Gay men were not thought to be less masculine than straight men and lesbian women were not thought of as less feminine than straight women. Gay people were not thought to be any better or worse than straight people-an attitude which differed both from that of the society that preceded it, since many Greeks thought gay people were inherently better than straight people, and from that of the society which followed it, in which gay people were often thought to be inferior to others.
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/pwh/1979boswell.html
The most celebrated account of homosexual love comes in Plato's Symposium, in which homosexual love is discussed as a more ideal, more perfect kind of relationship than the more prosaic heterosexual variety. This is a highly biased account, because Plato himself was homosexual and wrote very beautiful epigrams to boys expressing his devotion. Platonic homosexuality had very little to do with sex; Plato believed ideally that love and reason should be fused together, while concern over the body and the material world of particulars should be annihilated. Even today, "Platonic love" refers to non-sexual love between two adults.
Behind Plato's contempt for heterosexual desire lay an aesthetic, highly intellectual aversion to the female body. Plato would have agreed with Schopenhauer's opinion that "only a male intellect clouded by the sexual drive could call the stunted, narrow-shouldered, broad-hipped and short-legged sex the fair sex".
http://www.newstatesman.com/199908230009
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