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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.
Anybody want to post contact info for those of us who whould like to help H4H migrate? (You know, it could count for my community service hours...)
I'd rather have someone respond than be modded up.
Did anybody else get this? This is like that shopaholic girlfriend/significant other/wife that explains how she saved money by spending hundreds of dollars at a sale. Sheesh!
This may be off-topic, but....
I keep seeing references to MS license agreements, but I can't figure out how to see them online. Do I have to buy the product before I can see the licenses???
One might think that an online version would be an easy way to let people read them before slitting the shrinkwrap.
Oh, but then they might not buy it?? I think I begin to see... .
-John Van Voorhis
Yeah, yeah, Apple is as much a business and corporate entity as Microsoft, and as such cannot be trusted any more than Microsoft...
:)
Yet if you evaluate the Mac platform, here's what it offers:
Good (not great) compatibility with the Windows universe, without succumbing to Microsoft
Great UI, Install, and useability
Great hardware, if a bit expensive for said hardware
Good (not great) with the GNU universe. It's BSD, first and foremost, so some allowances have to be made
About the only market it isn't able to compete strongly in is games, which Linux has issues with, if for different reasons. Macs + OS X can work with the server space, desktop workstations, development, scientific computing, graphics, office work, and web work.
Caveat, though, is that there is still a very strong reliance on the Classic environment, hopefully to go away very soon as more apps are developed and ported into the Carbon and Cocoa environments.
Still, all the Linux people can probably drop right into a Mac and OS X fairly easily
GPL Deconstructed
I completely agree. I've been a Microsft user for some time, and over time have become more and more agitated with them. The reason I haven't made the transition yet is simply because I'm not sure how. I would be a total newbie to the scene, and after checking around, the most frequent answer I get is RTFM. OK, where do I get TFM? Linux should be a viable option, but it needs documentation backing, and some type of support that is not IRC/Web/Book based, like being able to talk to a human every now and again. Not everybody here has a CS degree and knows 15 different coding languages.
The problem with this, is that everyone's soapboxing about Linux this and Linux that, saying that Linux needs this and Linux needs that, and few are getting it done.
Linux, FreeBSD, etc do not have these shadow corporations of coders available doing all the work. If you think _____ needs _____, learn how to f'in program and start writing it.
We've got plenty of idea makers, now we just need some makers. The next time you feel the urge to open your mouth like this person, consider not opening it and instead, opening a book on C programming.
Wow. So they can automatically put stuff on your computer that will disable software they don't like, and potentially take away your ability to play "Secure Content."
This is pretty intrusive, as things go. I, for one, would prefer in general that nothing gets installed on my computer that I don't specifically authorize.
Note that there seems to be a corrolary effect here. If they are sending stuff to your computer, your computer is really reaching out to their systems, and potentially is providing identifying or other information to them. Scary.
But of course the scariest bit is the "use other software" clause. It's not even qualified! By this reading, they can disable any other piece of software on your computer! Fear.
Of course, it is in the digital rights section of the agreement, but I'm not sure if that forces the "any other software" clause to be software relating in some way to digital rights.
- target
dingdingdingdingding!!!! We have a winner!
It's of no use to switch to an alternative that can't interoperate with the De Facto standard everybody and your mother is using. There is no and cannot be a positive feedback loop like the one MS currently holds with its offerings of products and OS for the likes of linux, BeOS, *BSD, MacOS, etc., etc..
There will be no killer app for linux, no developer focus on the Mac and no interest in niche OSes simply because MS is too entrenched and ubiquitous to make an alternative attractive. For an alternative to become viable MS would have to practically fall on its own sword and even with its current licensing trend it is obvious that is not happening. I mean honestly how much money is MS losing because Habitat for Humanity may ditch for linux?
So no, all those "whiners" don't have a choice unless they want to live in a vacuum. This is why monopolies are bad. This is why we have anti-trust laws.
I don't want knowledge. I want certainty. - Law, David Bowie
I have to say, I have never seen anything like this, ever.
.NET makes it even more evident.
I honestly think that over the next 20 years, we will see Microsoft's control rise to such a level that not even the US government can oppose them on any level. I mean, they are able to manipulate entire markets. With the flick of a switch, they alone can bring things to a complete halt. With the deprecation or removal of an API, they can put people out of business, or send companies into bankruptcy.
The introduction of
Microsoft... this company... in 20 years will control everything important. They already control 95% of the desktops. They will control almost all messaging. They will control almost all authentication. They will control almost all digital rights management.
Taking down Microsoft after they have such a level of control and we have such a level of dependence would be like us dropping our cars and going back to horses and wagons -- not going to happen.
Honestly, its time for people to wake up before its too late. Do not support this behemoth anymore. Its not about a simple anti-trust case.
This is about one company controlling the most fundamental mechanisms upon which the entire world depends.
And THAT is extremely dangerous.
While open source is laudable, the problem is that it confuses "free beer" with "freedom", i.e., "gratis" with "free". This is unfortunate. IMHO, we need to think hard about a system that provides "freedom", but does not restrict a programmer from earning a fair wage.
One possible solution, which I've encountered resistance talking to Congress people on the hill is to add an "optional" expiration date on a copyright, and allow the source code to be submitted via electronic media.. Thus, when you submit your copyright you can optionally choose to limit your copyright to N years. Further, the copyright office could "hold" the source code and make it public on the date that the copyright expires.
Americans *love* stats. What would happen if "copyright term" ended up as one of those columns? And "open source at end of copyright term" was another column? In this way we could compete not only on features and price, but also *when* our software becomes public domain. This is a simple solution, backward compatible, and can be implemented by the copyright office without legislation. It just requires the media to notice that copyright doesn't have to last forever and that making one's code open source can be part of the license agreement.
Maybe we can turn the tables on the "capitalists" by creating a new form of competition... competition for the change in software, competition for when software becomes public property.
Best Wishes! Clark
P.S. For an alternative idea, which is much larger in scale (but may not work as well), you may want to read Distributed Copyright and my letter to Judge Jackson on May 23, 2000. It may not be perfect, but it has some ideas that you and others may want to build upon.
I work for a software company. Now, my employer (and many other companies such as Veritas, 3COM, and others) has two different revenue streams. The first is from license sales. The second (bigger, dependable, easily forecasted) chunk of our revenue comes from yearly renewable support contracts, which happen to include access to the latest version of our software. This is fairly common practice.
Microsoft has found itself in a position enviable to most software companies. The biggest competition it faces is from older versions of its own software. So they're doing the obvious thing and removing themselves from the competition.
The advantages to Microsoft are obvious. Immediate cash gain, better sustainable revenue, faster phase-out of old product.
Do I like it? In the short term, no. It's expensive as hell and my budget as a partially microsoft shop has taken a huge hit. But in the long term, it removes one of my great annoyances.
It's a complete pain in the ass to have to check the license trail on a typical windows system. Say a computer shipped with Windows '95. I took that '95 license, applied it against another computer when I replaced the windows '95 box (assume non-OEM license), then appied an NT4 upgrade license, followed by a Win2k upgrade license.
That leaves me with 3 different pieces of paper to be accountable for on a moment's notice. Under the new system, I simply need to have the original operating system license, and a software assurance certificate. The advantage to me from a clerical standpoint is obvious.
This doesn't make it all better in the short term, but as a shop that frequently upgrades to the latest and greatest, it will save me lots of time in the long haul.
Even Jesus hates listening to Creed.
- Isn't opening a Pandora's Box supposed to be a bad thing?
- Who the hell would buy a book that they could only read on Tuesdays?
It seems they're thinking too much about what they can do, and not enough about what they should do.-sk
The whole phrase "digital rights management" is a BS term if I ever heard one. It's all about use restrictions. They only call them "rights" because it's a nice feel-good term, even though it doesn't describe the technology at all. Just replace "rights" with "restrictions" and the quotes read much more easily and honestly:
This will open a Pandora's box," he said, promoting the idea of "elaborate restrictions." These, he said, could move the concept of buy-once restrictions to time-based restrictions -- "you can make it so the user can, say, only read this book on Tuesday" -- or location-based restrictions.
From Webster's dictionary (www.m-w.com):
"Main Entry: Pandora's box
Function: noun
Etymology: from the box, sent by the gods to Pandora, which she was forbidden to open and which loosed a swarm of evils upon mankind when she opened it out of curiosity
Date: 1579
: a prolific source of troubles"
And this is how their own "Director of worldwide marketing" describes it.
ZDNet sure is being tough here. They sure are making a *bold* stand here. When I followed the link the Microsoft Ad for Office XP in the *middle* of the page took up more space than the damn article.
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."
My boss used to say that the best way to fight silly rules is to follow them to the letter.
I hope Microsoft continues to piss people off. The more absurd and draconian the licenses are, the better. It will convince people to look elsewhere.
The reason people stick with Microsoft is because its easy. The more difficult Microsoft makes things for their customers, the better it is for the alternatives. This is the downfall of monopolies.
This trial crap is just a rear-guard action. I say let Microsoft go completely. Given all the shit they try to pull, they'll hang themselves. The court system is just drawing all this out. If the public gets smacked, they'll smack back hard.
The only thing I wish the government would do is force Microsoft to reveal all its agreements with venders. The public hates the perception of a conspiracy against them.
They need to suffer blowback!
(Adding to the discussion of how to make Linux better)
RPM is great (unless you're trying to compile version 4), but Linux really really really needs (in addition to Office compatibility, a great browser and a great desktop) a standard setup program that will work on most, if not all, versions.
I'm aware of Debian and apt-get, etc. (and those are great) But there should also be a "double-click setup.exe" process of installing programs on Linux, and a similarly easy way of uninstalling them, with NO ERROR MESSAGES ABOUT MISSING VERSIONS OF SOME OBSCURE 9k LIBRARY FILE OR HAVING VERSION 1.07 OF A PROGRAM WHEN THE NEW PROGRAM WANTS VERSION 1.08!!
ALL required libraries should be included with every setup archive. Period. Sending people (even developers) out on the Internet in search of some library is the fastest way to make using Linux very irritating.
Then, perhaps we could have Installshield for Linux, which would be awesome, especially if it worked with apt and apt-get. ^^
Just another $0.02
Regular people are starting to see that this whole monolpoly thing really isn't a good idea.
Maybe so, but people still want to be able to use the software they know: Outlook, Outlook Express, Internet Explorer, Word, PowerPoint. I'm not saying that it's good software, just that many, many businesses have gotten themselves reliant on it. When pro-Linux people talk about the monopoly, the angle is always "If people don't use Windows, they'll use Linux." But this isn't necessarily how things will work or even what people want. If anything, the Macintosh looks like the more reasonable alternative.
We all have let them get away with this for too long. Say what you will about IBM 20 years ago, but they actually supported their software products *gasp*! There was no "It's fixed in the next version" or "We don't support that anymore (even tho it's only 3 years old)" garbage.
The gubmint investigating is not going to do anything but waste more money. We have allowed MS to get away with this monopolistic abuse for far too long. We need to rediscover the customer mindset that insists on getting what we pay for, and that includes support. We need to re-think the reasons for making software purchases and no longer accept being treated like second-hand citizens.
The only real solution - outside of a breakup which seems more and more unlikely - is to vote with our feet. Individual and business customers who buy Microshaft products need to make a statement that the old MS way of doing business is no longer acceptable. We need a big company or two to REFUSE to upgrade and INSIST on getting support for products we've already bought. Either that or switch platforms
The last hope may be the continuing states' lawsuits against the evil empire. And other nations' efforts as well. A nice big lawsuit or two by some major players wouldn't hurt. As long as the Fed's findings of fact stand we may yet get some satisfaction.
On a side note, the Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans came out yesterday. Billy Boy still ranks #1, although last year he was listed as having $63 billion and this year he's down to $54 billion. That means Emperor Gates lost $9 billion in the last year. Oh, how my heart bleeds for him.
I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. As a result of the war, corporations have been enthroned, and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed. I feel at this moment more anxiety for the safety of my country than ever before, even in the midst of war.
(Nov. 21, 1864 letter to Col. William F. Elkins)
we will see Microsoft's control rise to such a level that not even the US government can oppose them on any level
Personally, I'm hoping that the US government grows so small that they won't be able to regulate ANYTHING regarding the "free" market...
Think about it, if you removed all of the regualtions on industry today, it would be FAR easier to start a competing business... If it didn't cost millions in taxes (in addition to the "normal" corporate taxes, I have to match all of my employee's payments to the feds and social [in]security), [gov't] licenses etc., it would be easier to compete with those who are already established...
The way I see it, it's not anti-control / anti-trust, rather, the government is more often than not PROTECTING those with established large market-share, more like anti-competition... Have YOU tried to start a business lately?
That that is is not that that is not. That that is not is not that that is.
Up until now, MS tactics have been to act like Vikings . . . ruthlessly plunder and pillage everything in the IT landscape until there's nothing left but Vikings and land. Now that everything has been pillaged, though, MS has to change to an agrarian model. Now instead of pillaging us they're going to herd and farm us for their living. Can you say "Mooo?"
Profs to all the MS sheep out there who've been lapping up every chunk of puke blowing out of Redmond for the last couple of decades. Thanks for the tyranny.
- Hail to our fearless misleader! Fool speed ahead!
Microsoft offers the NT 4 Option Pack as a free download. Among other things, this update adds Internet Information Server 4.0, the last version of IIS released for Windows NT. You can find the download page here, but you'll notice that Microsoft couldn't be bothered to package the files into a self-extracting archive. Consequently, you'll have to separately download all 52 files. Or you could always just upgrade to Windows 2000, which has IIS 5.0 built in (nudge, nudge).
I ran in to this thing about a month and a half ago when rebuilding a NT 4.0 server for a client. This was one thing to really piss me off in addition to everything else that day. In my rage I sent an e-mail to bill@microsoft.com with the URL of the offending page and attached a copy of WinZip. Ofcourse all I got was a bot inresponse.
Oh well I tried.
I really do not understand the problem here. If you don't like the product, don't use it. If you don't like the price to upgrade, don't upgrade. Billy boy is not holding a gun to your head! Your world will not end if you are not using the latest MS product. Quit whining about a situation in which you have complete control over what happens to you!
Did anyone else get a M$ ad in the "hoists the black flag" article? Here I was reading about how Microsoft's monopolistic practices were making the world a horrible place and right in the center of the page is an ad touting Office XP's "Features you need, when you need them"
I find it rather humorous that you can't use microsoft software to create a webpage that disparages the company, but you can use their copyrighted promotional material (I am assuming M$ has copyrighted it's advertisments) on a site that does just that.
"Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos!"
You know I constantly see how Linux isn't a "viable" alternative, but no one can tell me why.
.doc files.
Most people in businesses use a PC to do very few things:
Read
Write documents.
Read/write email.
Browse the net.
Play music.
Fiddle with a spreadsheet program.
Maybe create a presentation.
Work with some accounting software.
Interface with a database or mainframe.
Etc.
Linux does all of the above just fine.
The only thing Linux doesn't do well is play games and you shouldn't be playing games at work anyway.
Been using Linux at work as a desktop OS for over 3 years. Most business would find they really can switch to Linux on the desktop once they take a good look at the apps they use to run their businesses.
Then once they factor in the costs, the increased stability and security, and the knowledge that no one can ever take Abiword, GnuCash, Gnumeric, etc away from them(they will always be free), Linux suddenly becomes a lot more attractive.