The Ideas Behind Longhorn

An anonymous reader writes: "Fortune magazine is carrying an interesting article on the new and improved Bill Gates, as well as some details on Longhorn: 'Because Gates' geeks are completely overhauling the operating system, they'll also have to redesign most of the company's other software products and services to take full advantage, including the MSN online service, its server applications, and especially Microsoft Office, the productivity suite that accounts for nearly a third of the company's sales and profits. If this enormous undertaking succeeds, it will make computers more personal than ever. Equipped with Longhorn, your PC will keep track of how you work, whom you talk to, what sites you look at, how you make documents and whom you share them with, which data on the network are yours--making all those things easier.'"

Comments

Gen

[spanky748]

BillyG is a Genius

Just My Opinion

I will now sum up every single thread

[TWR]

To save people the bother of actually reading the discussions, here they are:

• Micro$oft sux!
• Micro$oft is like, you know, Big Brother!
• Micro$oft can't innovate like Linux!
• My computer will tell my wife/mom/minister/government that I look at pr0n!
• Bill Gates is going to read my email!

-jon

Re:Paranoia ?

[bnenning]

Do not forget that a strong State is the best guardian of individual rights, simply by the virtue of ruling-in and checking the power of big croporations over the people.

Please. Nearly every recent abuse by corporations is possible only because the state has overstepped its power. You can blame Adobe for having Sklyarov arrested, but they could only have their desires enforced at gunpoint because Congress shredded our rights with the DMCA. No corporation can take your life, liberty, or property without my consent, unless they are backed up by government force.

For example, if you lose your job and can get 60% of yout former salary by virtue of the State's unemployment insurance, you can bet that companies don't push their workers around, as people simply quit and take the time to look for a proper job.

Are you serious? How many people would work at all if they could get 60% of their income by sitting on their butts? Basic economics: when you subsidize something, you get more of it. This is why European nations consistently have high unemployment.

I defy anyone to refute this argument (communism not being of any relevance

I'd say it's quite relevant that attempts to put your ideas into practice led to the murder of over 100 million people in the last century.