Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Du Jour - Talks, Upgrades, Salaries
Jeff writes: "CNN is reporting 'In a dramatic move, the new judge in the Microsoft case Friday ordered the government and the software maker into five weeks of intensive settlement talks, until Nov. 2.'" Other MS submissions coming in today: USAToday discovers the new upgrade scheme, designed to milk every last cent out of those who've locked themselves into Windows; tech-report.com goes a bit more in depth on the same subject; ZDNet hoists the black flag; MS discusses its plans to control how you compute (by the way, the license agreement for Windows Media Player now allows Microsoft to disable any software on your computer - you do read those license agreements, don't you?); Gates got $666,000 last year but won't have to apply for welfare just yet.
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Cruise TT
Meanwhile the WinXP is already released in late Aug (from the announcement, at least) and go into the market by the end of October. Is it to late to settle at Nov 2? By the time, M$ has gotten a fresh new cash from the sales. Correct me if I'm wrong. I hope DoJ is aware of this...
Meanwhile, there is another article here.
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http://www.habitat.org/getinv/
Outdoor digital photography, mostly in New Engl
When the action against Microsoft first started, my thought was that it was typical -- the government was taking action after the time when it was most needed.
It was my opinion then, and is still my opinion, that the market would take care of Microsoft, just like it had with IBM (the previous 800-lb gorilla of the computing world). The government could try to stop Microsoft, but the market would ultimately do a better job.
Now we see statements like:
Q.E.D.
In time (no, I have no idea how long), Microsoft will be just a player in a new computing world. I don't know what the new world will be, or who its biggest player will be. If I did, I'd be buying stock like crazy.
Computers are useless. They can only give you answers. -- Pablo Picasso
I have had to reapply service packs numerous times because some program was reinstalled on the box which wiped out the updated dlls. Your gripe is outright false.
As for making linux easy to use, that is happening. Just don't expect it tomorrow and don't expect people to suddenly jump off the MS train when it does. There is some serious inertia when it comes to migrating to a totally new platform. Macs are easy to use too, BeOS is easy to use. I didn't see either really competing against Windows.
Widespread use of linux will be an evelutionary process. There will be no revolution.
I don't want knowledge. I want certainty. - Law, David Bowie
...But just when are people going to realize they DO NOT have to put up with this BS? (Skip to the end for something that's not redundant.)
I love how the ZD Net article is titled: "Time to stand up to Microsoft" (and right plop in the middle of the article is an advirtisement for "Windows Solutions"). It's utterly absurd.
Linux and other free OS solutions are WITHOUT A DOUBT usable in a business setting. They are proven to be largley inexpensive, relatively easy to deploy, don't have seat/use restrictions, and show better performance records.
Duh.
I'm preaching to the choir here, but I think it's important to proliferate this message to as many people through as many channels as possible. CLEARLY, corporations who feed Microsoft are still uneducated that free software solutions aren't "low quality" just because they don't cost money.
(Original thoughts follow.)
What causes people and businesses to constantly whine about how much Windows sucks? Meanwhile, they constantly shell out the bucks to pay for new/more copies of it, all the while completely ignoring the free software alternatives. Do they think the situation is ever going to improve?
I know it sounds rash, but it is not possible for any largely used, proprietary solution to "improve". Proprietary solutions involve one controlling body. It's a tyrrany, not a democracy (as people are complaining that Microsoft "does not listen"). ONLY free software will get better because it is not driven by greed and profit alone. Greed snowballs and gets bigger and poses more influence on the product. That's the Microsoft case.
The longer they last, the more greedy they will become, the more money they will want to suck up. Unless there's no money there to consume, the beast will only get stronger and bolder.
Why bother.
That is wrong. I use Appleworks 6.2 to edit Word & Excel files without any problems, plus on OS X I can safe files as PDFs, ensuring almost universal readability.
"The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved." -- John Ashcroft
http://itx1001.cybercentral.com/itx1001/web/gues t/ Session.do?action=display&id=201
If any of you are going to the Gartner thing in Florida next week, this seminar will give you way too much info on MS's new licensing.
It's not that simple. What happens when MS refuses to license new editions of Word, Excel, on W2K? What if you want to open a new office and the only Windows computers come with XP?
I'm at work typing on a Win95 computer, but the company that owns it pays a price: vendor software expects a certain standard, and right now Win95 can cut it, but eventually people will laugh the same way they'd laugh if it were Win 3.1.
There's a price for falling behind the technology curve. You can skip an upgrade, or you can get off the boat altogether, but you can't stop.
MS has to find the point where people will stay on the boat. Right now they seem to be pushing the limit, but I don't think they're even close. They're very good at this.
If you search Google, you find this Microsoft page that allows you to sill download it all with one program. I just can't find the path to this page on the Microsoft site. I knew a full download was available before, so I had to find it.
a skwiz.asp
/. keeps putting a space in the display text.
http://www.microsoft.com/msdownload/ntoptionpack/
It gives you download.exe and from there it automates the download.
P.S. The link works, I don't know why
Found this link in a ZDNet TalkBack forum, of all places. A down-and-dirty expose of the real truths (they claim) behind the entire Microsoft history. Includes a long list of everyone who's sued M$, etc. Very enlightening...