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While I don't doubt that Apple would end up winning this case, it would appear that Psystar is considering challenging Apple's EULA:

http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2008/04/mac_clone_maker.html
It's worth reading, even if it's only for the bad car analogy.

I seem to recall tons of issues rather recently.

The phrase you forgot there is "legal customer" not just regular customer.

AT&T got it's C-block spectrum in a Buyout not at auction. At auction they won B-block spectrum...

http://www.informationweek.com/news/mobility/3G/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=207001878

and they plan to roll out early 4G phones and towers before 4G standards are done and who knows what kind of problems that will expose in the new standards and technology.

MSFt management is stuck in a rut and that won't change until all the managers do.

Full disclosure: I work for Microsoft, though not in Windows, and I have no inside information about this.

They did. Your comment is actually very insightful: across software, minor disasters are created by individuals, major disasters are created by senior managers. As documented on Mini-Microsoft the quality of management varies widely across Microsoft, and moving good upper managers to divisions that have had problems (which Windows undeniably has) is one way to improve the situation. I have high hopes for Windows 7.

The first reason for locking down user PCs isn't piracy. It's malware.

Your organizaiton is at great risk from all sorts of malware. Look at the http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=207001073&subSection=News Hannaford incident, though it isn't precisely on point - their SERVERS were compromised. I wonder if the vector was actually a workstation, though...

But workstations are the most obvious target, and permitting users to install anything they see around the Net is asking for trouble. It's bad enough that we have to watch over Outlook and make sure it doesn't install with default 'view attachments' or 'execute'... Another reason to lock down the workstation, since if we let the user reinstall Office components on their own, will they get it right? what if they decide to install the latest anti-spyware gizmo cause it's the best'...

It depends on your level of paranoia, and responsibility. If you work for a firm that needs strict controls, that pretty much settles that. if your firm is littered with competent users, like a Google, well your job is that much easier.

Until somebody screws up bigtime. Then your job is hell, satisfying your bosses who want this to 'never happen again', and your users who will proclaim themselves 'smarter than that', despite recent evidence to the contrary.

and all this is in addition to the usual antivirus/malwere filters, firewalls, intrusion detection, auditing, blah blah blah.

Really, your business needs drive the level of lockdown.

According to the article, "The machine is also built on Intel's 915GM Express chipset with Integrated graphics." We all know what that means - the eee PC is VISTA CAPABLE! http://www.informationweek.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=206900863

The EU is already investigating the OOXML voting irregularities, having launched last september an investigation into this matter, as well as to microsoft's practices regarding office.
In the end however, the damage is done, if this vote succeeds, and it seems that's going to happen, ISO will be a complete and utter joke, as someone mentioned @ groklaw.net, I Sold Out.
As for microsoft, the only good thing about this, is that microsoft was/is so desperate to have OOXML approved, that it lost all common sense, and engaged and continues to engage in blatantly criminal behaviour, and doesn't even bothers to cover its tracks, which will make life much much easier for Ms.Nelly Kroes, the EU comissioner for the competition. As for the economic nationalism that will no doubt appear once microsoft gets another huge fine, and perhaps a temporary trade ban, IBM, Sun, Redhat are also american companies...
Just for reference:
http://consortiuminfo.org/standardsblog/article.php?story=20080208082501776/
http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=206106956/

FDA does sudden U-turn on cellphone radiation stance: http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=205901611
Coming from Europe, it seems that Americans have been completely kept in the dark about health risks from weak non-ionizing radiation like that from cellphones and wireless appliances. Over here the debate is raging with new evidence of harm from wireless radiation surfacing monthly.
Look up the BioInitiative report from 2007 here:
http://www.bioinitiative.org/report/
for the largest independent science review ever on the subject: 2000 peer-reviewed studies.
The conclusion: existing exposure guidelines are set 9000 times too high.
Also, see the ECOLOG report from 2000, that came to similar conclusions, here:
http://www.hese-project.org/hese-uk/en/niemr/ecologsum.php

http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/03/17/12TC-vista-versus-xp_1.html

http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=204203975

The fact that XP+bad drivers blue screens all the time doesn't mean that Vista is good; it simply means that both Vista and XP suck for different reasons.

What about the FISA extension that Congress left unvoted on for weeks?

Oh, you mean the bill that President Bush promised to veto if it did not reach his desk without retroactive immunity for AT&T and other telecom companies that broke the law?

You mean this pointless bill?

FISA allows for warrantless wiretaps already. Nothing changed by making the FBI seek a judge's approval in 3 days after the wiretap rather than never.

Who modded you up? You obviously don't read /. or the news. But you sure love to spread the FUD.

Actually, now that you mention it, iPods are no longer bundled with iTunes.

That is interesting, but hard to confirm without going down to an Apple store.

You have to download iTunes in order to use it with your iPod. So back on topic: EU can't accuse Apple of bundling iTunes if iTunes doesn't come with an iPod.

According to Apple's Website, you have to have iTunes as a system requirement for using an iPod. So while they may not be bundling, they are not necessarily in the clear for tying. Remember, Microsoft was ordered to provide public documentation on all the APIs for communications between their desktop and server OS's. I don't think Apple publishes their APIs for communications between the iPod and iTunes so that other software can have the same level of functionality. Nor does Apple license Fairplay for use by others (one of the ways they communicate), with the exception of a few phone deals. Apple would have to publish an API and either license Fairplay or stop using it altogether if they wanted to be in the clear on that count. Further, Apple might have to provide support for devices accessed by other software, although not for the software itself.

The only place I've read where the EU is investigating Apple is over nonuniform pricing across the EU (here) and has noting to do with bundling. Also, the US isn't investigating Apple, either, it is a lawsuit filed by Thomas Slattery in California. Can you tell me otherwise? I would like to know.

Slattery filed a case in 2005, but I thought it died or was settled, although I don't see any proof of that. I believe I read that Stacy Somers had started a class action lawsuit over iPod/iTunes availability to third parties with antitrust allegations in early 2008, and requested the DoJ look into it. I did not hear if there was a response yet.

As for the EU, Consumer Affairs Commissioner Meglena Kuneva spoke publicly about compatibility issues being an antitrust concern (after the pricing agreement with Apple over differential pricing in different territories, which was more aimed at the music companies than Apple) then just the other day Philip Lowe (head of the commission) spoke in Munich with regard to her statements and said they were "looking into" whether competition was healthy or not given Apple's domination with the iPod, but also mentioning new entrants like the Zune. I'd provide a link, but it is a subscription article. I'm sure Google will give you other references. The crux of that matter is if they feel competition is broken and how they define the market.

So regarding tying: Users still have to download iTunes. They aren't bundled, they aren't forced, they aren't tied.

I don't think you understand the term "tying" as it applies to antitrust law. MS was convicted of tying because not all the protocols for communication between their server and desktop were documented and available to competitors. MS paid a lot in fines because they were slow to deliver, they were not complete and usable enough, and then they were not licensed freely enough for low enough price. Compare that to Apple's public docs on communications between iTunes and the iPod. It is very similar, right down to competitors reverse engineering the formats and attaining partial compatibility. Microsoft was convicted in the US of tying because they used a nonpublic API for MS Word, which they did not provide to Corel (then makers of WordPerfect). Tying doesn't mean you can't use one of the products without the other, it simply means your product gains an advantage over others in functionality or even time to market over the competition.

More damning by far is the state of music services. Right now Apple still sells DRM'd works via their service and will not license that DRM (sans very few exceptions) and will not support other DRM. This gives Apple a clear adv

I love this quote from John Case, GM of Microsoft's developer division, commenting on Nokia agreeing to put Microsoft's Silverlight On Mobile Devices:

"We can't pretend to be a really ubiquitous play without being a partner with Nokia and Symbian"

There are plenty of people outside Redmond who still hate Google.

Some people are upset with the recent Google-Youtube-China situation. It's obviously not entirely Google's fault, but it's not a comfortable situation.

Lots of people think that Google has serious privacy problems. Not everyone thinks these are limited to its own data collection either--sometimes Google knows too much.

Some people think Google mis-manages its Adsense platform and hurts small publishers.

And lots of people are upset about PageRank -- from those who get a zero PR for no clear reason, to sites that get dropped, to anti-hate groups that dislike it when pro-hate groups get high rankings.

I don't know if any of those are GOOD reasons to hate Google, but plenty of people DO.

At least it's not Flash, right?

choose from 10, or follow the link for 12 models.

http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=206901163&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_All

Single page link without the trailing slash, so that it actually works.

The one page, no ads version:

http://www.informationweek.com/shared/printableArticle.jhtml?articleID=206900810

http://www.informationweek.com/shared/printableArticle.jhtml?articleID=206900810/

This way you don't have to see his ugly mug.

http://www.informationweek.com/industries/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=57701362&pgno=2&queryText= There've been several recent TV News Briefs in the Vancouver area about a PhD candidate/Assistant Prof. at Simon Fraser University who wrote s/ware that reads captcha's. The TV pieces appear to be 'follow-ups' to the above article and they implied that writing the s/ware was easy.

Ours got CIO of the Year!
http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=204702770

This was a running joke inside our company as the man was considered woefully incompetent and borderline retarded by all who worked in IT. His true gift was looking like CIO and convincing IT magazines that he was good.

Regular Business Judgment Rule (BJR) does not apply in hostile takeovers. In these instances the Enhanced Scrutiny Standard or Unocal Test applies.

Under this standard the Corporation's Board of directors is presumed self-interested, and must show (1) reasonable grounds for believing the taker over is dangerous to corporate policy and effectiveness, and (2) that their defense against the takeover is reasonable in proportion to the threat posed. Only if these two things are shown will the BJR be applied.

While it is definitely harder to satisfy than the BJR, I still think Yahoo can make some credible arguments to satisfy the Enhanced Scrutiny Standard, especially with respect to how Yahoo would fit within the greater Microsoft corporate structure.

However, what's more interesting is whether Yahoo's comments about wanting a $40 per share price constitutes an attempt by the board to actively sell the corporation. If the that's the case, the Board has effectivley put itself in an situation where it has a duty to get the best price possible for its shareholders and act in good faith with respect to obtaining that price. This the so called Revlon Rule.

Given the available information, it's arguably clear that $40 per share is just a pipe dream, especially since Microsoft is the only bidder. Yahoo's Board, by rejecting Microsoft's offer and countering with an unreasonable offer is arguably acting in bad faith, especially if the $40 offer is just a ploy and not a real negotiating strategy. Given that Yahoo is also attempting to entrench their employees, their overall course of conduct does not appear to be proper and in the interest of maximizing shareholder value for a company that is essentially putting itself up for auction.

In sum, Yahoo's board is going to argue for enhanced scrutiny to apply, while the plaintiffs will be arguing for Revlon to apply, and both probably have good arguments as to the matter. It'll be interesting to see how the court draws the line on this one.

Well, for the individuals who think Microsoft has changed, I present to you This Article. (Tiny'd-> http://tinyurl.com/32zpet ). Note from the article : "That said, Microsoft may continue to play verbal hardball with commercial open source competitors that don't license the company's intellectual property. It's not like Microsoft is suddenly going to espouse the virtues of completely free software. "This is in no way removing the issue of patents in the context of infringement," Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft VP of intellectual property and licensing, said in an interview. Though a changing technology world is important, part of the new landscape has also been shaped by court systems in the United States and Europe. The European Union has recently stepped up and opened new anti-trust investigations into Microsoft's business practices, while a recent decision in the long-running U.S. anti-trust case found that Microsoft still wasn't being open enough with its communications protocols.

Much of the discussion during Microsoft's press conference announcing the new strategy focused on the company's legal requirements in relation to anti-trust scrutiny. "The interoperability principles and actions announced today reflect a changed legal landscape for Microsoft and the information technology industry," Brad Smith, Microsoft's top attorney, said on the call. For its part, the European Union took a skeptical eye to Microsoft's announcements."

So yeah, what was that about my possibly being wrong about them meeting the "minimum standards" again? Seems like as I suspected, the minimum to stay legal in the face of abusing the law. What was that about "cheap companies" and "barely meeting standards", again?

More alternative links, besides www.wikileaks.be:
www.wikileaks.ws
www.wikileaks.cx

WikiLeaks information about the story at the Sunshine Press copy of WikiLeaks: Cayman Tax Avoidance.

The way WikiLeaks recommends to find stories about the censorship: Google News.

Excellent article: Wikileaks' Leaked Documents Blocked But Unbowed. I got all the above information from that article.

Quotes from the Cryptome.org story mentioned in the parent comment:

"The website WikiLeaks.org has been taken off line in many parts of the world. "

"Several factors have taken the site off line including DDoS attacks, which was followed by a fire which took out the main servers hosting the site in Sweden..."

Wikileaks previously published hundreds of documents obtained from a whistleblower of the Swiss Bank, "purportedly showing offshore tax evasion and money laundering by extremely wealthy and in some cases, politically sensitive, clients from the US, Europe, China and Peru."

Mozilla have historically played nice with everybody, including Microsoft.

Well...since many of these save images of all the scans and print jobs, there is a huge pii risk. For instance, the HR machine used to photocopy your drivers license and ss card on the first day of work. (This is an old link, but I ran across one recently.)

Dunno what the word on the street in the EU is, but around these parts, it's pretty well known that China is doing their best to use the web to exploit anything and everything they can. There are also numerous examples of attacks widely suspected to be sponsored by the Chinese gov on US agencies, including the military. On top of that, it was only a couple of months ago that the UK's MI5 issued a warning that China was actively targeting European financial and oil firms for web-based espionage! Maybe you should stop watching Fox News and start paying attention to your IDS logs . . .

67 cents of every new retail dollar spent on PC software goes to MS Office.

Through end of November, U.S. retail PC software sales are up 10.3 percent year over year as measured in dollar volume, according to NPD. By comparison, Office sales are up 50.7 percent, by the same measure and in the same time frame. Office sales are so big, they make calculating broader PC software retail sales difficult. The "magnitude of Office sales relative to the rest of the PC software market is phenomenal. It's the massively huge tail wagging the dog." Retail Black Friday sales of Mac Office were up 215.8 percent year over year. While Mac Office generated blowout sales on Black Friday, Office 2007 sales growth was exceptionally good, too. Year-over-year U.S. retail Black Friday sales of Office were up 65.8 percent, as measured in dollars. The Year of Office 2007

Microsoft's profits are up 79%:

For the quarter that ended Dec. 31, profit rose to $4.71 billion, or 50 cents per share, from $2.63 billion, or 26 cents per share the previous year. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had forecast a profit of 46 cents per share. Revenue rose 31 percent to $16.37 billion from $12.5 billion in the year-ago quarter, ahead of the analysts' prediction of $15.95 billion in sales.

{and, in what must be the understatement of the year]

"It looks like a very nice report," said Sarah Friar, an analyst for Goldman Sachs. Microsoft Corp. earnings leap 79 percent

I was sorely tempted to give my response a flamebait title like "The Geek Turns Delusional."

I won't disguise my opinion here that the Geek's increasingly frantic retreat from reality has been the Slashdot story since the posting of Microsoft's second quarter results.

The CDW poll points to a softening of enterprise IT negative attitudes toward Vista. Familiarity, it seems, has bred content: IT departments are happier with Vista's features, particularly in the area of security, and less concerned about the hardware costs of Vista than they were a year ago. Another year will bring further declines in the relative cost of PC hardware -- and make a lot of corporate desktop hardware look even more antique. Only a major economic downturn would be likely to derail current estimates of another strong year for PC sales, so even if Vista remains tied to hardware sales it would do well, and corporate upgrades could finally kick in as old hardware is upgraded. This has been a year when Vista has had its rough edges knocked off, and the marketplace has adjusted its expectations. By Vista's next birthday it should be more differentiated and acceptable for both its consumer and business marketplaces. Assessing Windows Vista On Its First Anniversary

I have little patience with a poster who spells Microsoft with a dollar sign and in his next breath claims that this isn't about success in the marketplace.

as long as m$ isn't going to take a more humble attitude, you can bet that this "increasingly desperate spin" will continue.

The tech sector is not known for humility. But it was the Intel exec, not Microsoft, that estimated Linux's share of the desktop at 0.8%. It is the retail customer who has been giving 67 cents out of every new dollar spent on software to Microsoft Office.

This savexp petition and m$ response to it proves this.

The online petition proves nothing except that the Geek has a taste for lost causes. You can ask Ron Paul about that.

The CDW poll points to a softening of enterprise IT negative attitudes toward Vista. Familiarity, it seems, has bred content: IT departments are happier with Vista's features, particularly in the area of security, and less concerned about the hardware costs of Vista than they were a year ago.

Another year will bring further declines in the relative cost of PC hardware -- and make a lot of corporate desktop hardware look even more antique. Only a major economic downturn would be likely to derail current estimates of another strong year for PC sales, so even if Vista remains tied to hardware sales it would do well, and corporate upgrades could finally kick in as old hardware is upgraded. This has been a year when Vista has had its rough edges knocked off, and the marketplace has adjusted its expectations. By Vista's next birthday it should be more differentiated and acceptable for both its consumer and business marketplaces. Assessing Windows Vista On Its First Anniversary

Oh really?
http://www.informationweek.com/shared/printableArticle.jhtml?articleID=206101211

The main reason is that they have the whole school going on Blackboard, and most assignments are submitted online.

Yea for some of my classes we had to submit all our work online. However colleges can still use an open format, simply there's no reason to require .docx or any other proprietary document format.

Yes, OO.o saves in Word format, but it doesn't always look the same and it defaults to .odt, which I'm sure would be a pain in the ass because most people wouldn't think to change the type every time.

By using OO.org colleges can save money, even colleges pay for Office. So what if there's costs to switch to OO.org, there's also costs to switch to the new version of Office. They both require users to be trained to use them. And colleges should be training, when they aren't educating students, to be able to work with the rest of the world. And there are many countries who's population can afford MS products. In countries like China and India MS has to practically give Windows and Office away free, well not really free but at tremendously reduced costs. I'm not sure about the "R", Russia, in "BRIC", but in Brazil, India, and China open source is growing. MS has to use bribery to get public officials to use Windows or Office. And despite what complaints people in the US make they have to be able to work in the international arena.

Well, a quick search found this for Office 2007 concerning its initial sales success:

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9011237
http://www.informationweek.com/management/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=197006187

Speaking anecdotally, I can say that I've seen it widely deployed. Not the case for Vista though.

Why is is evil? Well, domain tasters are folks trying to capitalize on traffic they don't really own. That's kind of hard to understand but you have to understand the definition of domain tasting to full grasp that.

This should also help understand the "evil" behind the practice...

"In January 2007, VeriSign said that among the top 10 domain registrars, 95% of all deleted .com and .net domain names were the result of domain tasting." (Information Week)

Google's doing this to protect users who get to these sites on accident. I guess it's good for everyone.

It's in the article about the second lawsuit here: http://www.informationweek.com/management/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=LRZF4EXCXX3DEQSNDLRSKHSCJUNN2JVN?articleID=201201714 "Sales representatives were paid principally on a salary basis, receiving commissions on their sales, irrespective of the hours actually worked, and were unlawfully classified as exempt from overtime compensation," the suit alleges.

What kind of moronic moderator doesn't recognize parody and sarcasm?

Nope. I know about killing or replacing explorer. Seriously, Server 2008 can boot pretty stripped down with minimalist services and components. It was running a web server with less than 60 megs of memory. Windows Server 2003 minus explorer is not going to use less than 60 megs of memory.

Microsoft's development team is touting a new installation option for Windows Server 2008, called "Server Core." Andrew Mason, principal program manager in the Windows Server team, says the genesis of Server Core is the role-based fashion in which customers deploy Windows Server. It's been years, Mason says, since he's heard a customer say, "This is my Windows server." Instead, machines might be DNS servers, say, or domain controllers. As a result, Server Core was designed to be a modular, role-based system that addresses the need for a reduced attack surface and footprint.

So what does Server Core look like? Fans of MS-DOS rejoice, because for the first time in a long time, when you boot a Microsoft server OS, your screen will look something like this: C:\>

Server Core is a nongraphical, completely command-line-driven version of Windows Server 2008. What this means: To start, a server installation footprint of 1 Gbyte versus 6 Gbytes and elimination of many client-based apps, such as IE, that have created security threats. Because of the reduced attack surface, Microsoft says the number of server updates should be cut by around 40%.

For those more comfortable in a GUI environment, a Server Core box can be managed via MMC snap-ins running on remote servers. In addition, a limited number of graphical tools can be run on a Server Core build, including Task Manager, Notepad, and Regedit. If you have grand virtualization plans, you should be able to pack plenty of Server Core VMs onto your favorite VMware or Xen machine, and Hyper-V later this year. Roles that can be run on a Server Core build are limited to core Microsoft networking services.

That story was about the AT&T U-verse product, AT&Ts version of TV and high speed Internet. The batteries are located in cabinets outdoors usually close to roads. This isn't a traditional switching office backup system. The would also fail if a vehicle accident took it out.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=205801087

This is particularly instructive regarding the IT profession and "millennials" (18- to 31-year-olds) and "Generation X" (32- to 42-year-olds).

TFA is not very clear about the most important part of this, but other reports spell it out more clearly: "The most stunning finding is that when we stopped the treadmill and the monkey ceased to move its legs, it was able to sustain the locomotion of the robot for a few minutes -- just by thinking -- using only the visual feedback of the robot in Japan."

The reason for using a robot rather than an animation is that they wanted to prove that neural signals could actually be used to drive real motors. I also think it's interesting that they worked out how to interpret neural signals in the brain by correlating neural impulses with the monkey's own leg motions, this was not a case of intercepting signals traveling along muscle-control nerves. I agree there seems to be no particular reason other than showmanship to do this intercontinentally, though! And in fact the monkey was able to keep the system working through a 250 ms delay, which is an interesting finding because it means that such systems don't need to respond to controls instantly but can tolerate some delay. However, they didn't really need to be on different continents to test that.

There's an update on the article here: http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2008/01/oops_look_at_th.html See also http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-hackers/2008-January/022854.html for discussion on FreeBSD.

It's perfect if you don't mind a little data corruption in your backups.

So wouldn't this mean that they are trying to match Apple's desktop search technology. After all Microsofts were wowed by Spotlight when it first appeared.

Gates said:

"Never doubt the power of software,"
"This is just the beginning," "The trend here is clear. All media and entertainment will be software driven."

My suggestion to all those who value open source: If you own an xbox or any other products from Microsoft, get rid of them and never buy another Microsoft product again. Do not continue to fund this organization. "Never doubt the power of software" indeed, thanks to DirectX Microsoft has a monopoly on gaming. If you still boot to Windows for games, or use an xbox for games, you are one of the problems. If Silverlight takes hold, and something mysterious happens to Flash, kiss your current Linux web multimedia experience goodbye. This battle will continue until YOU STOP FUNDING MICROSOFT!

Refuse anything offered as so-called "free" from Microsoft, what is the overall price of anything they offer for free? Do you want gaming freedom? Convince companies to drop support for DirectX!

Gates said:

"Never doubt the power of software,"
"This is just the beginning," "The trend here is clear. All media and entertainment will be software driven."

My suggestion to all those who value open source: If you own an xbox or any other products from Microsoft, get rid of them and never buy another Microsoft product again. Do not continue to fund this organization. "Never doubt the power of software" indeed, thanks to DirectX Microsoft has a monopoly on gaming. If you still boot to Windows for games, or use an xbox for games, you are one of the problems. If Silverlight takes hold, and something mysterious happens to Flash, kiss your current Linux web multimedia experience goodbye. This battle will continue until YOU STOP FUNDING MICROSOFT!

Refuse anything offered as so-called "free" from Microsoft, what is the overall price of anything they offer for free? Do you want gaming freedom? Convince companies to drop support for DirectX!

I have to say that I disagree with the statement that 'the gain is marginal'. Once you get used to watching HD stuff you don't want to go back. People often say that about some new improvement in some media. I also think that 2007 was the breakout year for HDTV in terms of consumers. There were/are a lot of affordable HDTVs available. According to TVPredictions.com. U.S. installed base is now estimated at 30 million sets. The Consumer Electronics Association is predicting that for 2008 25.3-million HDTV units will be sold. I would say then that in 18 months time HDTV will go from optional extra to mainstream. The potential market for HD players will be huge. http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=205207879&subSection=All+Stories

There are 2 inhibitory factors. Firstly the we have the cost issiue. Blue-ray disks are so expensive right now. I think the studios are sabotaging themselves by charging so much money for them. It's easy to forget that although in the US GDP per capita has gone up like crazy since the 1970s that's really only benefited a small segment of society - 10%. The only way the average Joe has done better is by both partners working and not by much. Since 1980, US gross domestic product (HDP) per capita has increased 67%[1], while median household income has only increased by 15%. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_household_income For individual income the situation is even worse. In 1970 adult US median income in 2004 dollars was $28,100. In 2004 it was $30,513. Thats only 8.6% higher in 34 years in real terms. But now people have significant college loans to pay back. In real terms many are poorer as a consequence. So people have very little wiggle room. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_income_in_the_United_States

Of course if you want to market stuff to the top 1% with average income above $1.7 million (aprox for 2006) then you can sell them fancy shit. But not the the average Joe. Big corporations need to remember that using debt to get people to buy more stuff only works in the short term. Eventually people get maxed out - like now. Then all of a sudden people can't afford any higher prices. If the studios had any sense of their own best interest they would make peace in the format war, charge for an HD disk what a regular DVD now costs and discount DVDs. Within 2 years we would all see massive uptake of the new technology and everyone would be a winner.

The second inhibitory factor is the format war and its consequences. I bought my first DVD player for my computer in 1998. I would buy an HD player now if there was not a format war. It looks to me that this war is stalemated for now. I see downloads becoming more and more prevalent as people wait for the HD war to resolve itself. The thing is though, that by 2013, maybe even by 2012, there will be enough bandwidth so that most US high speed connections will be able to download HD content. Now there will be DRM issues and storage issues. But I am betting they will figure that stuff out. But Apple, Microsoft, Lg-Netflix ect will be providing the service and making money and Sony and Toshiba will be cut out completely. Of course Sony's studio will still make money from such a model.

This is such a shame. I would prefer a physical medium that works right now. It would also provide competition to downloads so that they wouldn't otherwise be able to have such extreme DRM terms and conditions.

IDC sells reports with comments like the following for thousands of dollars:

"Despite the dominance of the Windows platform, Linux adoption continues to grow in the region in both the COE and server operating environment (SOE) spaces," says Antony Lee, market analyst, Software Research, IDC Asia/Pacific.

...

"On the desktop side, IDC sees Linux share more than doubling, from 3% today to 6% in 2007, while Windows loses a bit of ground."

So, people who scientifically design and implement surveys reported that GNU/Linux was the size of Mac on the desktop a few years ago and it is still growing rapidly.

see this excerpt. That was from 2005. If the share was 3% then and growing rapidly, how can the NetApps share of less than 1% possibly be true unless NetApps' universe is unrepresentative? That was before Dell and ASUS jumped in.

So. There are no signs of GNU/Linux on the desktop slowing down any time soon and Chinese Linux Market

We know there are millions of GNU/Linux desktops there, because Sun made a deal to supply millions of them. see Sun story (2003)

Turbolinux is also in China in a big way. "According to the International Data Corp. (IDC), Turbolinux's market share in servers in China was 62 percent in 2004. On the desktop, it holds a 25 percent share. "

see http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=170700943 (2005)

GNU/Linux is huge in China, a country several times the population of the USA with a huge growth in GDP. Hundreds of millions there will be first time computer buyers within a few years and they are not locked-in to M$

Numbers are not too much different in the BRIC (Brazil Russia India and China). There, governments are activly promoting GNU/Linux by using it themselves, putting it into schools or insisting on open file formats.

"Sun executives were meeting with Brazilian government executives and were told in no uncertain terms that the government would not consider any technology that wasn't open source. " see www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3697166

So Brazil was the straw that broke the camel's back and caused Sun to open Java.

BRIC is 2.65 thousand million people. see http://www.xminc.com/mt/archives/000177.html Many are poor but rapidly industrializing and hungry for IT. Are they going to want a bloated OS or a lean, mean, computing machine? Do not be misled by NetApps. Unless their clients are audited and deemed to be representative of the world somehow, they must be considered way off base.

China is huge. If you look at http://google.com/trends and enter linux,windows you will see that other OS has a steady lead over time with Google. Now, zero in on China. Interesting, eh? Now, zero in on Beijing. Whoops! Where did the lead go? Beijing is a huge city and the seat of government. Stories about that other OS taking over there are overstated, even at $3 a licence.