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The Myth of the Lone Inventor
Codex The Sloth writes "Malcolm Gladwell (who amongst other things, wrote "The Tipping Point") has written an article for the New Yorker claiming that the role of the lone inventor is over. The example of Philo T. Fransworth (the "inventor" of Television) who failed because (amongst other reasons) he didn't have the big resources of a company to allow him to focus on his innovations. The thesis is that it is rare to have a single innovation that makes a product workable and that getting all of the inovations together requires a (large) corporation. No doubt others feel different."
Ginger! Oh, tell me that the Segway isn't huge!
Come on, you KNOW it exceeded expectations!
DeKa enterprises is far from over, my friend. And Dean Kamen, the uber-inventor, will return. Oh, yes... Kamen -- the lone inventor -- will return.
Microsoft's XP software violates the law and abrogates consumer rights. When you buy XP software, you do not own it, instead Microsoft owns you. Presumption of guilt. Under American law, a person is assumed to be innocent until proven guilty. The XP system assumes a criminal intent, which is a violation of constitutional law, and then the software acts on this assumption, a power normally reserved to the police, which is an additional violation of law. Prior restraint. This idea, basically acting to prevent a crime before it is committed, is a very delicate issue in constitutional law, and because of the potential for abuse, it is rarely permitted. Absent evidence of probable cause, it is never permitted. Because there are legitimate reasons to do things not permitted by the XP software, Microsoft is engaging in prior restraint, and is thus breaking the law. Misrepresentation. In commerce, there are a set of assumptions about an item that is offered for sale. To put it simply, a consumer item is assumed to be suitable for its stated purpose, and this is implicit -- offering the item for sale creates some assumptions that, if they turn out not to be true, are actionable. The XP software series very simply is not what it seems to be -- a set of computer programs meant to serve the consumer's needs. This is false -- XP only serves Microsoft's needs. Surveillance. By setting itself up as a moral judge of how people use their software, by micro-managing how people choose to use the XP programs, Microsoft has put into place the most insidious system of spying ever conceived in modern times. Once a consumer has experienced any version of modern-day reality -- a virus that requires the software to be re-installed, one person with two computers, or who buys a new computer, or who wants to sell or donate the XP software to a third party -- however these events turn out, Microsoft gets every detail, along with all your personal information. If XP comes to full flower, Microsoft will know more about you than the US Government knows or ever imagined knowing. That is the real reason for XP -- it is not about preventing theft, it is theft -- Microsoft, while preventing you from exercising your consumer rights, is also stealing information from you that you would never voluntarily give up. It is a desperate ploy to gather an incredible gold mine of information about you -- your choices, your experiences, your name and address. And get this -- you're paying them to do this to you. Because of XP, very soon Microsoft will know so much about so many people (read: you) that they will no longer have to sell software -- they can simply sell their consumer database. But this will only happen if you act like sheep and buy the XP series software. The choice, the power, is yours. In a breaking news story, some Microsoft customers have discovered this new passage in the Microsoft XP EULA (End User License Agreement, the binding contract that every Microsoft XP customer agrees to): "You acknowledge and agree that Microsoft may automatically check the version of the Product and/or its components that you are utilizing and may provide upgrades or fixes to the Product that will be automatically downloaded to your Workstation Computer." This passage says, in essence, that Microsoft has the right to examine your computer's hard drive and download software onto your computer automatically, without your knowledge or explicit consent. On reading this new language, one corporate customer said this: "The idea that Microsoft can change our software without notifying us is totally unacceptable. Any alteration to our standard configuration can only be rolled out after careful evaluation and testing. Does Microsoft have no clue?" (full text at InfoWorld) http://www.infoworld.com/articles/op/xml/02/02/11/ 020211opfoster.xml Conclusion? Microsoft holds you and your rights in contempt, and they want total control over your computer -- and your life. They expect you to take this lying down. Please -- don't live up to their expectations. Write your congressional representatives and demand that Microsoft be stopped. Refuse to purchase any of the XP series of Microsoft software. Boycott Microsoft! http://www.msboycott.com
You must be a teenager still living with mommy if you don't see the reason for marketing. Wait until you grow up and enter the real world.