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Legal Music Downloads Increase in 2005
GraWil writes "The CBC is reporting there is marked increase in legal music downloads in 2005. American internet users downloaded 158 million individual songs from January to June 2005, compared with 55 million during the same period in 2004; during the same period, U.S. CD sales decreased by 7%. According to Peter Jamieson, head of the British Phonographic Industry, "the record industry has enthusiastically embraced the new legal download services ... and now we're beginning to reap the rewards". In the UK, sales of seven-inch vinyl singles were also up 87% on last year."
Fuck you piece of shit. You ruined it for me. You just destroyed months of anticipation.
My corporation has migrated users to Linux. That's right, we have done it in real life. In a real corporate environment. Our Linux system is rock solid stable, very managable, and our users love it. Why? We hand crafted an environment that gives users JUST what they need and gives them no othter choices. The system is locked down, period. But our users use a very limited amount of applications, other than Open Office evey single app they use is web based. Period. The help desk calls went down and our IT productivity went up.
But...
Even though we tried, even though we marketed and sold our idea of Linux for the corporate office, beta tested, pushed the idea, moved users to prove how well a full blown worksstation works it didn't work. Not a bit. Why? Linux in it's current state sucks as a broad based workstation. Everybody who's a Linux fan likes to say they moved their buddy, Mom, or Auntie over to Linux. Well great schmoogly dee-doo. I could move my Mother to Linux as well, but she'd be ticked at me for ever more.
Like it or not, the corporate power users have a solid background in Windows computing. Try to move an accounting department off Excel and see the steam blowing from your users ears. Try to tell your power users who have created dozens, if not hundreds of spreadsheets in Excel that the formatting problems aren't a problem a bit of whacky-doo reworking will fix, it just takes time. Try to tell power users who can use Word and Excel with their hands tied to their back that they will now have to learn a new office suite, oh, and when they need to have a new application from vendor X installed on their machine they're straight out of luck. Ok, we'll install the application on our windows terminal server and they can access if via rdesktop, but they can't take it on the road, or if they do it'll suck (dial up?) and don't even talk to me about licensing costs for Windows Terminal Server.
I run Windows XP at home, and a linux box at work WITH a VMWare session running XP at work. Why? So I can manage our Windows boxen. I love Linux. I breathe Linux. Linux can be hammered into what I want it to be, Windows can't. But... I'm a frigging computer geek. Linux allows me the ability to use my skills to create the environment I wish to see. But yet, installing multiple monitors on a Linux workstation is a pain in the pahootee. Why? Installing a new app is easy for me, but a pain for a power user. Why? Windows XP never crashes on me, if it does on you then check your hardware so get over the Win85 days already. The Linux GUI is slow compared to XP, period. I crack down to the command line in Linux all the time, that's why I love it. But, to a casual or power user the command line is like ice in hell. It doesn't exist.
Linux fanz love Linux, the funny part if we transformed the world into a 'Nix world overnight, most of them would move to the next unique OS they could get their hands on.
Unlike some who banter they moved their Auntie to Linux and loved it, my organization HAS moved many, many users to Linux and we know what it can and can not do. Linux rocks, Linux is the best, for me. However I can not, I will not hold against home and corporate power users their inability to learn the command line. They have better things to do and THAT my friends is the ring on the merry go round. I've heard x-dozen times that to move users to Linux all it takes is training. Scheese, training takes away from productive time. Try to tell an accounts rec. department they will have to spend 1 hour a day for the next 4 weeks learning their new Linux stuff. Oh, sorry you'll have to be behind collecting that money for the company but hey, for OS freedom isn't it worth it???
I repeat; scheese...
Hands up! How many read "Peter Jamieson, head of the British Pornographic Industry"
I don't need a signature.