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I believe it was mentioned right here on slashdot, but a quick google revealed a pretty good list of articles. Here's one: http://blogs.computerworld.com/air_france_af_447_airbus_a330_computers_blamed

I was just going to post this, but you beat me to it. The NASDAQ Supermontage trading trading system ran on HP Nonstop hardware (which is where the Tandem/MIPS technology ended up) and I believe is now using Itanium. The system is was home grown by NASDAQ and they have a good in house software division. http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=101738 I don't know if that switch actually happened, but claiming NASDAQ trades on Windows is certainly not correct. The marketing was clever enough to fool anyone who would believe Windows can have that sort of performance and uptime ;)

You're right, the OS has a certain amount of importance. But you're really getting way to granular here. This isn't about micro-second delays in transactions, it's about the whole fucking system being down for 6 hours and 45 minutes. If you think that's an OS problem, I guess I can't help you.

Here's a reference and a quote for you to understand the issue we're talking about:

"We have the biggest takeover in the history of the known world ... and then we can't trade. It's terrible," one trader said.

http://blogs.computerworld.com/london_stock_exchange_suffers_net_crash

Only SJVN is older, has less hair on his scalp and more on his face, and I assume his Asheville, North Carolina residence is not his parents' basement.

That could be a Star Trek's Starfleet uniform he is wearing though.

Last September, in Moo IT Computerworld had a slightly less paranoid version of this story.

I really hate to be the bearer of bad new, but ASUS is getting out of the Linux Netbook game. I'm willing to bet my last USD it is because like MSI they saw 400% returns on their Linux product.

You have to give the people what they want. The people want to walk into Best Buy/Staples/Walmart and drop anything in their cart and have it work in Linux. I hate to again be the bearer of bad new but AU is about as opposite as you can get from the USA. here very little works with Linux. Lexmark? BWa ha ha! Those USB TV and Wifi tuners? In your dreams! Those webcams? Maybe, but since most of the cameras "features" are actually in the software, which won't work on Linux, you end up with a camera that only does 1/5th of what is advertised. Not good.

This is why Linux got slaughtered on netbooks, which were practically designed for it. It wasn't a conspiracy, with MSFT paying everybody off, it is because geeks don't think like consumers. As an OEM, which one of these is easier? Trying to walk the user through a huge list of arcane Unix commands and hoping they don't mistype and bork the whole system, or telling them "Google name of device XP driver". I know which one I prefer, because it saves me time and time is money.

I know Linux is supposed to be "free as in beer and freedom" but if you are an OEM selling to Joe and Jane average it will bankrupt you. Sorry, but it is true. There are still way too many devices that don't work, or that will work after endless hoops but with reduced functionality, simple things that would help the user such as "runas" not being included because Linux geeks feel more at home in bash than the GUI, and even the most simple problem there is rarely a default tool to get the job done, and most of the time your answer will be "open up bash and type". When you see that you might as well say "Please go have someone put Windows on it for you. Thanks" because that is what happens. Geeks don't get that for MSFT and Apple users there is NO CLI in their OS. None at all. They have never even used start>run before. To them there is only the GUI. And I'm sorry but Linux just isn't ready for them yet. No Sale.

This was on the internets yesterday: http://blogs.computerworld.com/digg_dug_buried_how_linux_news_disappears

"The Computer & Communications Industry Association has filed a so-called Tunney Act challenge to the Department of Justice's controversial settlement with Microsoft in 2001", Sep 2003

"The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) is criticizing last month's decision by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to exclusively use Microsoft Corp. software, arguing that recent computer virus and worm attacks against Microsoft products are evidence that such a decision is a poor choice", Aug 2003

I guess this was before Daniel Geer got fired ..

Membership as of 2003: Yahoo, Oracle, Sun, Nortel, AOL, not.Microsoft

It looks like he is apologizing for the netbook being shown.

No it doesn't!

The whole point of the text that line was taken out of is about the fact that ASUStek did NOT at any point during the Computex have an Android-based Eee PC on its stand - but Qualcomm did.
Which was then blown out to "Microsoft threatened them with lives of their families" so they hid it, by SJVN.
Because, being one of those people that equalize MS with Mordor and Gates or Balmer as Sauron - SJVN naturally connected the mention of MS in article as their immediate (evil) influence.

- Asustek DID NOT show the device in the first place - Qualcomm did.
- Then, when journalists came up to Shih asking him "How come YOU ain't showin' us some of that sweet Android-Snapdragon EeePC lovin, but Qualcomm does? Ain't Eee yours to command?" he gave the above answer.
- And when asked that same question, Jonathan Tsang, vice chairman of Asustek added "The Eee PC with Android is not ready yet because the technology is "not mature,"".
- Also, "Another Asustek representative suggested that Qualcomm displayed the Android Eee PC without permission".
- To which Qualcomm vice president of business development Hank Robinson said "Asustek approved the use of the device so long as they did not discuss any of its specs other than the Snapdragon chip."

The ENTIRE fucking story is not actually about Asus "hiding" the Android EeePC - it is about Qualcomm jumping the gun and showing it BEFORE Asus.

But not to SJVN!
Ooh nouu!
HE KNOOOOOWS that the minions of Mordor have their grimy little fingers in the hiding of the Google-EeePC! HE KNOWS IT!
And HE SHALL SHOW IT TO THE PEOPLES OF MIDDLE EARTH WITH A BRIGHT FLASH OF WISDOM NOT UNLIKE TO THAT ONE GANDALF MADE WHEN HE RETURNED FROM THE DEAD AND HAD SHOWN HIMSELF TO GIMLI, LEGOLAS AND ARAGORN!!!
THAT SHALL NOT PASS!!!111eleven!

I agree that what Iran is doing is wrong, however, I do not think companies should be the ones to dictate foreign policies towards other countries not even evil dictatorships. The ones that should react more strongly are the governments of the world. The Finnish and German governments should impose these export restrictions just as the US does butuntil they do, I do not think Nokia/Siemens should avoid exporting to Iran.

There is an other example of western tech ending up in Iran's missile research program in the news today. AMD Opteron processors power their numbercrunchersupercomputer ( http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=knowledge_center&articleId=340338&taxonomyId=1&intsrc=kc_top ). My point is, this technology will end up being used by these countries no matter what we do. They can steal it, they can buy it in a neighboring country and illegally export it to Iran. Only nation sanctioned/enforced embargos can have any kind of effect on an other nation and in some cases not even these embargos work.

Point is, unless they are researching beer bio, then why are they not in a university

I'd have thought researching beer bio at University would be ideal - you are close to one of your largest markets! Having seen one research group study the physical properties of ice cream (apparently for an industrial producer of the stuff) why not research beer. Indeed there are already groups doing this.

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols is either an illiterate moron (not very likely, for someone who is a "Former Ziff Davis Enterprise Editor-at-Large") or is a Linux-Loon spreading FUD ("Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols ran Linux-Watch from 2005 until April 2008.").

Let me quote the fine link you have posted, but apparently haven't read beyond the Microsoft in the title (and that is often translated to Evil Empire, as later in the text - "The Evil Empire wants to make that up this year by forcing netbook customers into buying over-priced, under-powered Windows 7. "):

Shih said, "Frankly speaking ... I would like to apologize that, if you look at Asus booth, we've decided not to display this product. I think you may have seen the devices on Qualcomm's booth but actually, I think this is a company decision so far we would not like to show this device. That's what I can tell you so far. I would like to apologize for that."

Here, a shorter summed up version:

I would like to apologize that, we've decided not to display this product.

He is NOT apologizing for showing the product, BUT for it NO LONGER BEING SHOWN!
That should answer the question that was bothering SJVN "What the heck does he have to apology for?" (Apparently he is a tad illiterate, seeing that one should "apologize for" and not "apology for").

Also, from TFA linked in that article:
Asustek puts Android netbook on ice for now

Qualcomm showed an Eee PC running Android on Monday as part of the company's display of new products with its Snapdragon chips inside.

...
The Eee PC with Android is not ready yet because the technology is "not mature," said Jonathan Tsang, vice chairman of Asustek, on the sidelines of a press conference at the show Tuesday.
"For the time being this project is not a priority because our engineering resources are limited," he added.

...
When asked about rumors that Asustek faced pressure from Microsoft and Intel over the use of Android and Snapdragon in the Eee PC, Tsang said "no, pressure, none."

...
Another Asustek representative suggested that Qualcomm displayed the Android Eee PC without permission. But Qualcomm vice president of business development Hank Robinson said Asustek approved the use of the device so long as they did not discuss any of its specs other than the Snapdragon chip.

Further more, SJVN originally talks about "Computex trade show in Taipei, Taiwan" and the "ASUS incident" and to strengthen his position adds:

If this was an isolated incident, I might not make so much of it. But, it wasn't.
On the other side of the world, PC World, Britain's self-professed largest specialist chain of computing superstores, announced that, regardless of what was coming with Linux netbooks, it would only be selling Windows netbooks.

Does he even read his own texts? On the other side of the world? How is that related to something happening at the trade show in Taipei?
Well, simple - by using the magic "Evil Empire Invoking" words, such as "Windows".
And then, he continues to cherry pick his quotes from this article.

SJVN tells us that:

In a statement, Jeremy Fennell, Category Director at PC World, said, "Despite initial hype that netbooks would move more users onto the Linux platform, Microsoft has emerged as the preferred operating system because Windows makes it easier to share content, and provides customers with a simpler, more familiar computing experience on the move."

Therefore, "Based on this insight, all the netbooks in our stores will feature Microsoft Windows, larger screens and keyboards, and greater colo

"There is simply no hard evidence that Microsoft is abusing its monopoly to crush Linux on netbooks"

'The very next day, Asus' chairman, Jonney Shih, after sharing a news conference stage with Microsoft corporate VP, OEM Division, Steven Guggenheimer, apologized for the Android Eee PC being shown'

Microsofts Walmart/Linux Taskforce

'We invest big, big $$ in Dell .. we be quite prescriptive in our investments with Dell relative to the competitive threats we see with Linux .. we constantly benchmark ourselves against the actions they do with RedHat'

'A cross-group team has been working for the last two weeks on a proposal to have a more planned response process to defend against Linux and other low-cost/no-cost competitors in large education/government deals in both developed and developing subs'

And XP will still be around in 2011 http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9134528
My head will explode from the thought of IE6 lingering on to 2011 and beyond.

The submission is linking to the wrong story. This is the right story: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9134468

The Slashdot submission is using the wrong article link. A mistake by the submitter: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9134468

but burst speed measured with HDTach is the only metric that's important when you wish to make your point that traditional rotating platter based hard drives are "nearly as fast" as quality SSD drives.

seriously.....

is there anyone by now that HASN'T seen the extensive test by Anandtech that completely DESTROYS this bullshit article?

All that matters in the real world for HDD performance is Random read and write speeds. And the difference in the two is an order of magnitude or more using the very fastest consumer drives (WDVR) and a quality SSD (Intel X-25).

The best part is that this isn't even an article, just a random slashdot user musing that SSD's aren't worth it and a review of two of the newest high performance disk drives.

Or maybe there is a typo and he actually wanted to link to this story?

Should have been this article.
That said, I don't think anyone claims SSD is better than HDD if your bottleneck is capacity or sequential read speed. However if you do lots of random reads/writes, this line from the comparison says it all:
OCZ's drive had a random access time of .2 milliseconds; Seagate's 16.9 milliseconds.
That's an 84X difference.

Here is the link to the real article http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9134468 considering the one linked from the summary is totally different.

The article in the link is from July 31, 2008 and has nothing to do with SSDs, but rather a comparison of WD HDDs. I think they meant to link to this one: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9134468 from today (June 18, 2009)

The 1st such war involved Estonia and Russia (and its sympathizers). The war was sparked by the moving of a bronze statue of a Russian soldier on April 27, 2007. Russians in both Russia and elsewhere were outraged. According to the article published by "The Guardian", "The [Internet] attacks have been pouring in from all over the world, but Estonian officials and computer security experts say that, particularly in the early phase, some attackers were identified by their internet addresses - many of which were Russian, and some of which were from Russian state institutions."

Computerworld published an article about the incident. The Estonian government convicted an ethnic Russian (living in Estonia) of the crime. However, other cyber thugs (working for the Kremlin) also contributed to the attack, but these criminals live outside Estonia and are beyond the reach of its justice system.

Note that Estonia was part of the democratization wave that swept Eastern Europe around 1990. The Kremlin had brutalized and occupied Estonia for about 45 years. If an Estonian had opposed the occupation, Russian "security" forces would have killed him. Thousands of Estonians died at the hands of the Russian occupiers.

Despite this decades-long tyranny, the Estonians revolted against their Russian occupiers and established a liberal Western democracy and a free market in 1991. That is how people act when they truly want freedom and free markets.

By contrast, in 1979, after the Iranians overthrew the despotic government supported by Washington, the Iranians immediately established a brutal Islamic theocracy. That is how people act when they reject both freedom and free markets.

Cultures are different. Estonian culture and Iranian culture are different. The Iranian people are 100% responsible for creating a brutal theocracy. They are 100% responsible for the terrorist acts funded and conducted by Tehran.

I believe monopoly in this case is when market share >90%.

Well, good news then! Microsoft is no longer a monopoly. I guess they're not a serial killer anymore and are free to do as they wish. Hooray!

However, John Pescatore, an analyst at Gartner Inc., questioned whether users would step up to Microsoft's free software. Noting that Windows Live OneCare "hasn't made a dent" in market share, he argued that one reason consumers have steered clear of Microsoft's security software was distrust.

"Consumers are hesitant to pay for a Microsoft security product that will remove problems in other Microsoft products," he said. "Think of it this way. What if you smelled a rotten egg odor in your water, and the water company said, 'Sure, we can remove that, but it will cost you $50.' Would you buy it?"

Samsung claims to have one of these already.

A couple of years ago this story came out in ComputerWorld

Someone posted it in our Company IT Forum, and this is the response I gave which I think applies to this situation:

These categories are pretty good. But every single user you will work with is unique in their behavior when dealing with computer related problems. Interestingly enough, depending on how you handle these situations, you can use some of these personality types to your advantage in working with the problem.

For example:

Know-It-Alls - These people are more difficult to accomodate, as they're always asking for unusual requests, but the advantage is that if you go out of your way to help them, they usually don't need much follow-up help at all.
Know-Nothings - Ironically, I think this type of user is easy to work with. I find that people who have little or no experience with computers hardly ever call for support. As long as they can get what they need done, they tend to follow the same patterns (check email, enter work orders, etc.). Also I tend to find a lot less junk installed on their PCs.
Mr. Entitlement - Luckily this type of person is pretty rare. I think this person is more appropriately called "Mr High Expectations". I have users that expect a lot of hand holding, and feel neglected when you give them detailed instuctions. But again, like Know-it-alls, if you can bite your tongue and go a step out of your way, often they will be more flexible about working with you, sometimes waiting longer for you to make time for them, etc.

I could go on, but my point is that each user behaves differently, and it's not as important on how to categorize them as it is to understanding how to work as well as you can with them. I think the most important point of the article is that you have to maintain a working relationship with these people despite how you feel about them, or how difficult they make your job. Here's what works for me.

Be honest. - You have to honest about what you can and can not do for someone. If you let them know the limitations of what you can do for them, they are much more likely to meet you halfway to finding solutions. Also, you have to be honest about when you make mistakes. Admitting when you are wrong is pretty difficult sometimes, but most people are much more understanding and easy to work with when you do, rather than hiding behind your pride

Communicate - Let your users know what is going on. With so much to do as an admin/support technician, I think this is the hardest to do. But when a request goes too long before there are any answers, it causes the most stress that can easily turn to uncomfortable confrontations. Simply letting someone know that you are working on their problem relieves a lot of tension.

Empathize - Showing the people that you care about their problem helps tremendously. If you can get yourself "on their side", and that you are working together to solve their problem, it will make things easier for both of you. Also it will help you figure out the best way to help them, no matter what category of user personality types they fall into.

Respect - This is a double-edged sword. If you don't respect the user, and they don't respect you, the above three things are not going to be easy. But it is important that you stand up for yourself when someone is being disrespectful. In those cases, being honest, communicating, and empatthizing are even more important. If you don't handle those situations by being the better person, you'll make it impossible for anyone to support your side of the situation.

When it comes down to it, most people just want to do their jobs, not spend all day on the phone with you. Complaining about the users that turn your day sour makes you feel better, but at the end of the day, you still have to work with th

Oh, of course established companies never release flawed software, right? Their ActiveX control does not have to be malicious in itself, it is sufficient if it tears holes into your defense for others to abuse. ActiveX needs to die a very quick death already. And can we please club that idea that a browser, JavaScript and a bit of fairy-dust can fully replace any local application regardless of specific implications out of people's heads?

Oh, of course established companies never release flawed software, right? Their ActiveX control does not have to be malicious in itself, it is sufficient if it tears holes into your defense for others to abuse. ActiveX needs to die a very quick death already. And can we please club that idea that a browser, JavaScript and a bit of fairy-dust can fully replace any local application regardless of specific implications out of people's heads?

You mean a company that gives a good customer experience on a 3" inch can't on a 8" or 10" inch screen? You know that the real reason is margins and bottomline. Not to mention cannibalizing the sales of higher margin Macbooks by people who want the Mac experience.

ComputerWorld has an article that goes over this:
"Apple can make money on $599 netbook, says analyst".

Falcon

Story on the margin thing: Apple can make money on $599 netbook, says analyst: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=macintosh_os&articleId=9128439&taxonomyId=123&intsrc=kc_top

Eunichs don't have children.

Mod +1 informative -1 everyoneknowsthatalready.

Why the fuck should I have to do the work when experts in the field such as Bruce Schneier has done it for me? of course I guess that Forbes magazine and Bruce Schneier are "less than half a chromosome closer to a chimpanzee" because they don't want a bloated piece of spying pig shit like Vista. Want some more Mr Troll? How about Shane O'Neil of CIO.com writing on PCWorld for the perspective of enterprise companies in all this. His answer: XP works and Vista don't.

I could go on all day troll. I could wallpaper this page with link after link after link, by heads of corporations, by security experts, and of course by the users that have been burnt. Vista is a POS. Accept it and quit sucking the Ballmer cock. If you want an Apple so bad buy one. Ballmer is just as shitty a CEO as the Pepsi guy was for Apple Inc, he just has more money he can piss down a rat hole before they fire his monkey ass. Hell even their own executives got burnt on the whole Vista capable fiasco. Vista is DOA and I wouldn't be surprised if Windows 7 is just as big a can of fail.

Maybe after the next one bombs we can get Steve Ballmer fired and bring in someone who actually will give the customers what they want instead of wanting to be a ripoff of Steve Jobs and Apple Inc. But enjoy your big can of Vista failure troll, suck it down baby! As soon as Win7 comes out they will abandon you just like they did the WinME users a decade ago. Meanwhile I'm making the cash by cranking out new XP builds as fast as I can get the parts. I guess all those customers who are handing me money hand over fist just can't see the Vista "advantage" of protected media either, huh?

ORLY?

"Frankly speaking, the first question, I would like to apologize that, if you look at Asus booth we've decided not to display this product," he said. "I think you may have seen the devices on Qualcomm's booth but actually, I think this is a company decision so far we would not like to show this device. That's what I can tell you so far. I would like to apologize for that." -- http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9133813

Asus didn't actually want to show off the hardware, though, which I think is a strange thing indeed since the tech industry seems quite excited about the product and it looked ready to ship.

When asked about rumors that Asustek faced pressure from Microsoft and Intel over the use of Android and Snapdragon in the Eee PC, Tsang said "no, pressure, none."

Intel spokesman Nick Jacobs said, "our customers are always free to make the choices they want," and declined further comment on "rumors and speculation."

Unless, of course, you are a netbook manufacturer which wants to put a dual-core Atom in your product. Intel has promised to "penalize" manufacturers that do that.

Obviously, I don't believe a thing coming out of their mouths.

According to the IDG article they are specifically claiming that it will work on all frequencies used around the world. Not sure how they plan to do that, but that's the claim.

But that doesn't really matter, because you'll see that Asus is already backing off from Qualcom's announcement and claiming, "no, no, we haven't been pressured by MS or Intel not to release this device that would be an obvious hit." Man a device that can run for 8-9 hours with 3G connectivity? Sign me up. The only thing I'd want more is even more battery power. I don't care about it being thicker and heavier, but give me 24 hours of battery life so I can really be away from power and I think they'd have a game changer. That or a high powered ARM UMPC without a screen that I can plug my own portable keyboard into and monitor if I want. That would really rule since the battery life could rock.

Actually it IS the community and they are 100% at fault. Do you want to know why? here you go, it is actually VERY simple. I am a hardware manufacturer, and I want to support an OS. If I go with Windows I only have to write THREE drivers and I have past, present and future support for the platform. No more money out of pocket, no need to pay developers to continue support for the device, none at all. I just have my software driver developers write a Win98/ME driver, and Win2K/XP driver, and a Vista/7 driver and I am done. If I want to be nice I have them throw in a 64 bit XP/Vista driver and I have even the niches covered.

Can I do that in Linux? Nope a chance in hell. I can't do that because Linux has NO stable ABI or framework for me to write devices to. None at all. I can't even be assured that my device driver will work in six months when Ubuntu puts out their next release, as seen on the amount of posts on the forums that say "Ubuntu x.xx broke my device foo" and you see those posts over and over and over again. Instead of fixing anything they just keep cranking out new versions. Pretty much zero backwards compatibility there, especially at the driver level. Everything from the kernel on up is in a constant state of flux. Trying to write device drivers for Linux is like trying to hit a dartboard with a live bumblebee. Theoretically it is possible, but I wouldn't want to try to do it.

So instead of freezing development and working to create a stable platform, Linux just keeps on changing the underpinnings at a break neck pace. And then you add in the hostility of binary blobs and is it any wonder why you don't have drivers? The vast majority of companies will NEVER release their specs to you, okay? Never gonna happen. So unless you give them a rock solid stable platform to target they simply are going to ignore you, just like they do now. They can release just 4 drivers and know with confidence that pretty much any Windows user on the planet can use their device. The last capture card I bought supported from Win98 to Vista64, and it did that with just five drivers. A Win98/ME, a Win2K/XP32, an XP64, and a Vista32/64 driver. And since Vista drivers work on Win7(since it is just Vista SP3) they can be assured that their device will be able to be sold until 2014 or later without needing to do anymore work.

Until Linux can say the same thing you honestly can't expect hardware manufacturers to support you. They are not going to bend over backwards for such a tiny niche, and they certainly aren't going to release their specs or spend good $$$$ on keeping full time developers in order to support every device they make in Linux. Because as surely as the sun rises any binary driver they release now won't work in 2 years, possibly even less. Oh, and before you say "ATI"? The ONLY reason you are seeing the specs on ATI hardware is because they and Nvidia are both competing in the HPC market, which spends high dollar on top of the line hardware to run massive mathematical computations and use Linux for a simple CLI environment to maximize the amount of power left for computations. You have absolutely nothing to offer the consumer market. Your platform isn't stable, it is a PITA to write drivers for, which will need to be constantly updated because the underpinnings shift like the sand, and they get derided for even releasing a driver if it is a binary blob.

So hold on to that dream pal, it won't make it reality. And Netbooks? Windows OWNS the Netbook market with over 90% while Ubuntu sees a 400% return rate on Linux Netbooks. And that is a nearly decade old MSFT OS against the latest Ubuntu. What happens when Win7, which I have tried and it is really a good OS, comes into the Netbook market? You and I know what happens-Linux gets its ass handed to it. Sorry, but that is reality. So if you expect Netbooks to help you...well you have already lost. Thanks for playing. Maybe next year,huh?

Until he walk into Best Buy, Staples, or Walmart to buy a device for his new system and finds out that consumer level hardware support in Linux is practically non existent. In a server or enterprise setting Linux is top drawer. It works because companies like Red Hat and Novell spend good money to make sure there are drivers for the server and enterprise hardware. Pretty much the only "support" you get for consumer level hardware in Ubuntu or any other Linux is either some guy on a forum trying to nicely say 'I'm sorry, but your new device will NEVER work. You should have come here and done research before you purchased, which you will have to do with every single device you buy from now on." or worse "LOL Winjunk! LOL Windblowz!". This of course translates to the consumer as "Please return the machine immediately and demand Windows, which actually has drivers for your device."

Here are some facts- FACT- You will NEVER get consumers to research before buying hardware. They are not going to do it, and you are frankly deluding yourself if you honestly expect them to. FACT- The reason the above mentioned stores carry so much PC peripherals is NOT because they are unpopular, it is because they are three of the largest retail stores and make quite a handsome profit from consumers buying such devices from them. FACT- Consumer level support in Linux sucks. I'm sorry but it does. And saying "But but but-They won't give us the specs or support us!" is just an excuse and the consumer frankly doesn't care. If the device doesn't work it is YOUR FAULT and they will return your "broken" OS for Windows which has top notch support for consumer hardware. FACT- Even on netbooks, which were practically designed around the strengths of Linux, a nearly decade old MSFT OS now owns over 90% of the market and Ubuntu has a 400% return rate compared to Windows. And that is a nearly decade old MSFT OS VS brand new Ubuntu. This makes it a support nightmare and gives OEMs a good reason not to carry it.

Accept these facts. Accept them, and work to fix them. Demand an NDISwrapper for all in ones. Demand that corporations that take from the community and only give back to the server market like Red Hat and Novell spend a little of the large profits they are making on giving Linux a chance to grow. And make damned sure that at LEAST 80% of the devices sold in the above stores work in Linux, and strive for 100%. Do these things and Linux has a shot. Otherwise Linux will continue to stay at 1% marketshare while the rest of the world passes you by. I mean come on, Vista sucked the big wet titty and you couldn't even gain marketshare against THAT. If that doesn't tell you that Linux has some serious problems then nothing will.

I call shenanigans (or bad reporting) on this story. There were no 1TB hard drives 9 years ago (except maybe in HD manufacturers labs). You might have had an external array, but not a drive. I don't remember for sure, but I'd say a single hard drive was max ~250GB in 2000?

I call shenanigans on your reply. The data was from the Clinton administration. Now I am nowhere near the geek/nerd/intellectual that most /.ers are, but maybe, just maybe, the data was transferred onto the device at some point?

From an article on the same website as the original linked story (http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=913335("Missing drive had no original Clinton records, says National Archives"): "According to the statement released this afternoon, the 2-TB drive was being used for "routine re-copying" as part of a records preservation process. The small 2.5-pound Western Digital MY Book external hard drive contained information from about 113, 4mm tape cartridges and weighs about 2.5 pounds. The tapes contained "snapshots" of the contents of hard drives of employees leaving from the Executive Offices of the President and contained both federal and Presidential records."

These kind of predictions always remind me of Bill Gates asserting that "640 K should be enough for anybody."

[citation needed]

http://blogs.computerworld.com/what_do_kde_4_2_and_windows_7_have_in_common#comment-127389

The King is dead. Long live the King!
Submitted by Artem S. Tashkinov on January 26, 2009 - 5:16 P.M.

I quite agree with you and after having tried KDE 4.1 RC1, I decided to stay with KDE 3.5.10 at least until KDE 4.3.0 is out.

I don't really need all those new shiny buttons when simple operations become difficult. Even though theoretically it's possible to tune KDE 4 to the point where it looks and behaves like KDE 3.5 .. the old one is just warmer, more responsive and simpler (yet remaining powerful).

Imagine that... another rant saying KDE4 is "not ready" for the Desktop... but, he defies his own claim that Linux is "not ready for the desktop" by using KDE 3.5.10. Do as he says but not as he does?

Yet, here I am, responding to this FUD on a 6 month old Sony VAIO VGN-FW140E laptop running Kubuntu 9.04 with KDE 4.2.3, a desktop which is running fast and stable. It does everything I ask of it and more, even more than what VISTA Home Premium could do on this same machine before I replaced it with Kubuntu. A friend of mine, 78 years old, is having the same results with Kubuntu 9.04/KDE 4.2.2 on his eMachine laptop. My wife's Acer Aspire 3004Li is also running Kubuntu 9.04 and while she hates computers, she is having no trouble running Kubuntu. Windows XP frustrated her before I replaced it with Linux. My old Compaq Presario 1500 is running Kubuntu 9.04 too, and without problems. My son's Gateway m675prr laptop is running Kubuntu 9.04 without problems. I installed it on another friend's Toshiba, where it works perfectly.

Since "Linux" isn't ready for the desktop are you suggesting I immediately take Linux off these machines and replace it with an OS which is notorious for being insecure and buggy, because it IS ready for the desktop? Ya, right. rof, llllll

But you are talking about the SAME morons that send major money and CC info in 419 scams, buy "penis enlargement pills' through spam, and do tons of other REALLY dumb shit. Would putting these morons on Linux help? Nope, because once the malware writer realized that Linux had the morons they would hit it like a pimp slapping a hooker.

There is pretty much ZERO attacks out there for OS2 and BeOS right now, would users be smart to switch? Nope, because their hardware don't work. I think Linux is GREAT on a server, on in an enterprise environment. But the simple fact is the majority of home user gear simply don't work in Linux. If you do try to switch home users it will either A-Cost them more to replace all their gear than it would to get a Mac, or B- be such a damned support nightmare because the average user will never understand why they can't shop at Walmart.

So don't blame MSFT for having the lion's share of the market. The simple fact is for 85-90% of the home users Linux sucks. Sorry, but that is a fact. I work retail and have tried 4 times in the last 4 years to sell Linux boxes. It is a support nightmare from hell. That is why Netbooks which were practically built for Linux has seen 90% marketshare go to a nearly TEN year old MSFT OS why sites brag about Linux reaching a whole 1%..

Why is that? How could a nearly decade old insecure OS stomp the crap out of a brand new Linux distro? because for home users Linux sucks, sorry but it is true. Nothing in Walmart works, most of the gear in Staples and Best Buy under $200 won't work either. Accept it, work to fix it, make an easy migration path for users. Because having the most secure OS in the world ain't gonna help you if you can't even fricking print. THIS is why you can't get the clueless Windows users that could actually benefit from the increased security, and anybody with half a brain can run Windows safely and therefor enjoy the wide support and range of programs and games written for Windows.

So if you want to keeping harping about MSFT security and the 'ease" of Linux, go right ahead. When the user gets their new netbook or desktop home and find it can't print it will go back and a Windows machine will take its place. Which is why even the uber popular Ubuntu is seeing a 4 times higher return rate than Windows. It is just too much of a PITA. Sorry but there is a REASON why Windows is #1, and it is because for home users Linux sucks. Sorry.

In goverment...
* 1000+ in French parliament : http://blogs.computerworld.com/node/4060
* 11000 at German Foreign ministry.
* 14000 in Munich.
* 13000 at The Federal Employment Office of Germany
* 80000+ in Spain 2003: http://lwn.net/Articles/41738/
* 90000 at France's national police force in 2007

In education...
* "Germany has announced that 560,000 students in 33 universities will migrate to Linux."
* "Russia announced in October 2007 that all its school computers will run on Linux."
* "9,000 computers to be converted to Linux and OpenOffice.org in school district Geneva, Switzerland by September 2008"

In business...
* "Peugeot, the European car maker, announced plans to deploy up to 20,000 copies of Novell's Linux desktop."

Read more about adoption of Linux at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_adoption

"For me, Microsoft is so last century. They are not the problem," Varney said at a June 19 panel discussion sponsored by the American Antitrust Institute. The U.S. economy will "continually see a problem -- potentially with Google" because it already "has acquired a monopoly in Internet online advertising," she said. link

So, a 90% market share is a non-issue while 76% market share is a big problem. Clicking on another website is a shedload easier than installing a different operating system (especially when most retailers will make you pay for Windows even if you don't want it). Not to mention the contrast of how each company has dealt with competitors since reaching a commanding share of their respective domains.

Google does need to be watched, but saying that Microsoft is a non-issue is unacceptable in my book. They will "f'ing kill Google" (or any other tech company) if they get the chance, and getting an opponent into antitrust issues while they run free is exactly the opportunity they would want.

> I've had more than a few people complain that Dell didn't tell them they weren't getting Windows, but that darn Winux thing!

Yet Dell themselves apparently say that they sell about 30% of their netbooks with Ubuntu instead of Windows, and that the return rate is about the same for each variant.

http://blogs.computerworld.com/ubuntu_accuses_microsoft_of_linux_netbook_fud

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=printArticleBasic&taxonomyName=Storage&articleId=9132668&taxonomyId=19

Oh, you mean like that time that the Massive Microsoft WGA meltdown fingered legit Vista and XP owners as pirates?

Lot's of fun I think - but since Microsoft is changing the name from WGA to WAT you should trust them to put the kill switch in your computer ;-)

I'm so happy I can do all my computing without having anyone's kill switch in my computer... sorry was I gloating?

Oh, you mean like that time that the Massive Microsoft WGA meltdown fingered legit Vista and XP owners as pirates?

Lot's of fun I think - but since Microsoft is changing the name from WGA to WAT you should trust them to put the kill switch in your computer ;-)

I'm so happy I can do all my computing without having anyone's kill switch in my computer... sorry was I gloating?

That wasn't the 6502's fault, it was Nibble Magazine's! They really shouldn't have been messing around with the DOS 3.3 disk catalog.

(Yes, DOS 3.3 kept its "Volume Table of Contents" (TOC) on track 17 (aka, $11). You know, I never really looked closely at this code. This code seems to be doing something wacky with an extended 80-column card. It's moving 1K worth of stuff to "AUXMEM" (the ext 80 column card space). Why? I don't know. I do know that POKEing the right location can move the VTOC's sector, and is a fun and cheap way to "protect" a disk from amateur eyes. I have a few of those that I made myself.)

Security and lip service. Autorun is not ALL they are disabling.

They are disabling access to vista SP2:

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9132311

My first thought was that they made this fix, but they "forgot" to involve the various nation's security/intelligence agencies of "fixes" that broke spy tools. So, they need to give the agencies time to "catch up" to ms and "stay ahead" of the rest of us...

Just some wild guessing...

The company said it successfully recorded micro-holographic marks approaching 1% reflectivity, that is, its laser was able to pick up the reflection of 1 bit burned with a diameter of approximately one micron (a millionth of a meter). It means a laser was able to pick up the reflection of 1 bit burned into a substrate. When using standard DVD or Blu-ray disc optics, the scaled down marks will have sufficient reflectivity to enable more than 500GB of total capacity in a CD-size disc.

Unlike today's DVDs and HD Blu-ray disks, holographic storage not only reads from the surface of the disc, but also into multiple layers of the substrate.

GE's technology uses holograms, or three-dimensional patterns, made up of bits of data written into the disc, which can then be read out.

GE said the micro-holographic storage technology is different from other optical-disc technology only in its capacity. The company claimed that its micro-holographic players will allow consumers to play back their CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray Discs as well as the holographic media.

Above quote from Computer World

A little bit of better context is supplied by this Computerworld article. While Apple's Q2 sales of Macs fell 3%, that is during a time when the overall PC industry declined 7%. So that's actually doing fairly well. And Apple didn't just post a hardly to be mentioned net profit, instead their profit jumped 15%. That's doing really well in a poor economy.

But you're right, MS has such a large lead they could screw up for a long time and still be ahead. And I would be no happier than the next guy to see Apple in a position of total dominance in the PC industry. Luckily with the rise of open source and free software, that is not likely to happen. But continuing to work for important freedoms is the only way to keep abusive dominance from happening.