Slashdot Mirror
Should The Next Windows Be Built On Linux?
scrm writes "The next version of Windows should be built on top of Linux, according to this article by Robert Cringely of PBS." If Microsoft wanted to, they could be the world's largest vendor of Free software .. couldn't they?
You mean, like OS X?
new version of 1diskxwin available at:
http://freshmeat.net/projects/natld
embedded linux
$ uptime
9:18pm up 125 days, 22:04, 1 user, load average: 0.00, 0.00, 0.00
Karma: The shiznight, mostly because I am the Drizzle.
Linux is built on top of Windows!!!
Here is my system at work. Maybe everyting has a low load load because we have bad ass hardware.
$uptime
09:26PM up 165 days, 12:16, 13 users, load average: 0.26, 0.19, 0.19
Karma: The shiznight, mostly because I am the Drizzle.
Today's capitalist system thrives because of the socialist controls imposed on it...
Should I use the 'r' word?
IMHO, it seems that, as we increase socialist reforms, we increase economic problems. Look at the Social Security fiasco, for example. May I recommend, Ayn Rand's Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal?
No major tax cuts
Rather, no major taxes in the first place.
--
http://nemilar.net - Not your grandmother's soup kitchen
I realise this is getting slightly off the topic at hand, but....
No, you may not reccomend Ayn Rand. I may as well reccomend Chomsky to you. They are both fairly extreme in their views and not likely to find either of us on middle ground.
So, remove the FDIC, that's a socialist control. Remove any tax on corporations (I mean its not like any of the big one's pay taxes now anyway...). Institute a flat rate tax. The rich will continue to get richer and the poor will continue to fall. Hardly seems like an ideal world...
Get rid of those Canadian's pesky social health care idea (even though in ever poll conducted, over 50% of questioned American's have expressed a want of government funded health care. Politicians still call such a proposition 'political suicide').
Remember, with social security they never actually save any money. What use is the government putting money in a bank which could otherwise be in circulation. Actually saving notes for social security would harm the economy. Rather, the government writes itself handy little IOU's (I Owe Me 10 Billion...). In this way, present contributions are always paying past contributors out (and the system works wonderfully until you get too many people wanting money and not enough workers supplying it).
Heck, the only reason we have avoided depressions greater then "the big one" is because of socialist controls and government bail outs.
Pure capitalism would mean there wouldn't be any airlines in bussiness from America right now. Pure capitalism would be when Johnny gets sick and mom can't pay, johnny dies. Pure capitalism would not have government funded schools or utilities, and we all know how well deregulation has worked....
Pure capitalism would result in the lowest price to the consumer every time as all companies would price to the 'margin'
The GPL seems to offer a pure capitalist opportunity for anybody who wants to take it, I can download Debian images and compete with the largest of Linux vendors like Redhat, just like Lindows is doing. My sales and standing in the market would be based soley on my reputation and speed to market of new innovations.
The main argument against this market is that companies would hold 'trade secrets' which would possibly thwart the progress of science and learning in society so we have a patent system.
However patents and copyrights allow companies to force competitors to enter the market on their terms or not enter at all. Rather like the old Navigation and Corn Laws of England these are Mercantilist protections of existing interests. I think it could fairly be called Neo Mercantilism or Corporate Mercantilism. This does not truly benefit the consumer except arguably in some circumstances.
I think patents on drugs, whilst devisive do have a purpose, the research nessasary to produce a working 'safe' drug can easily reach billions of dollars, and there would be no incentive to invest that money if there was no chance of a return on it.
There are examples of other industries where patent protection is arguably justifiable to encourage investment. In most industries patents are used as bargaining tools to get access to the latest technologies and remain competitive.
Serious problems arise when non-innovative companies buy up existing patents and use them to extract money from industries, which harms innovation in every way as money will almost always be cut from R & D operations first as any potential gain they will make is always a) uncertain and b) years away.
This problem strikes in every patent protected industy following a recession and always results in higher costs being passed onto consumers.
It does in fact represent a private tax extracted from companies by groups who's interests represent no common good.
These private tax collection agencies are almost universally made up of Lawyers and see a removal of useful capital from industy to benefit an already wealthy few.
> Pure capitalism would be NO government aid. No major tax cuts, no negative net taxes paid back to corporations.
I would also argue that pure capitalism can exist with Govenment aid and tax cuts/rises as long as such are applied equally throughout the industries concerned.
>No corporations being handed publically funded projects (aka the phone lines, the railways etc).
>Today's capitalist system thrives because of the socialist controls imposed on it...
I would certainly say that a section of todays capitalism thrives based on government contracts, I would even say that the companies involved are worse than the the Patent Hoover companies as they are stealing money directly from taxpayers pockets.
In the UK we had a recent example where a government directive to purchase Generic medicines in place of Brand names, a contract was given to a major Labour party contributor and friend of the Prime Minister. At this point generic medicines averaged at 10-15% the cost of Brand name products. It should have been a huge saving for the NHS and tax payer. Instead the cost of Generic drugs sourced exclusively through this one agent rose month on month until they represented a cost 90% of the brand name products.
This problem wasn't noticed for over 2 years and refered to as an 'oversight' by the chancellors office.
This isn't the only example by any stretch of the imagination.
John H.
Redistribution and use of this comment in text and opinion form, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met: 1.Redistributions of comment must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. 2.Redistributions in opinion form must reproduce the above copyright notice :P this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the opinion.
3.All advertising materials mentioning features or use of this comment must display the following acknowledgement: This comment includes braingivings developed by John Holroyd of Manchester, England and his pet cat Simpkin.
4.Neither the name John Holroyd nor the name Simpkin may be used to endorse or promote comments or opinions derived from this comment without specific prior written permission.
Economic Left/Right: -0.62
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -3.69
And what actual data do you have to prove this? Our win200 advanced server smokes our Caldera server
m l
I don't szee any of your actual data.
Places that I do see actual data, like the SPECWeb results, show that IIS is a smoking hole in the ground.
http://www.specbench.org/web99/results/web99.ht