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Microsoft Debuts MySpace-Like IT Site
snib writes "Microsoft has launched Aggreg8, a 'social networking and collaboration space for the IT community.' Apparently, the owner of the popular open-source RSS reader of the same name sold the domains to Microsoft for $5000 in August in order to host what was then called 'Microcosm.' Microsoft hopes their new service, which utilizes Windows Live ID (formerly .NET Passport) authentication, will become a 'MySpace-like forum for developers to share scripts, tools, or best practices, or even to just connect with others within the profession.'"
did you expect anything different... be honest.
another Roadkill on the Information Superhighway
It is as ugly as hell indeed. I think it's a good idea for Microsoft to offer such a service. Objectively though it is a bit silly that you have to login to view the page. Does anyone know of any good sites for IT networking? Please advise!!
Open Office- try it http://www.openofice.org
With THAT license, how many people do they expect to share the code?
Television is a public forum. Yet you can't use what you see or record for your own benefits.
If it were true by default that what you posted, everyone could use, Microsoft wouldn't have had to include that paragraph. But it's not true, copyright laws apply even if you post in public.
Also, Microsoft doesn't just claim to be allowed to use it, they say they'll be allowed to sell it as their own without paying you. Which is just wrong.
'For we walk by faith, not by sight.' II Corinthians 5:7
First it was your Hotmail ID. Then your Passport ID. Now it's your Windows Live ID.
Stop renaming stuff! It's hard enough keeping track of all of these marginally useful services already.
The ______ Agenda
How are they supposed to distribute the contents of your page (including any code you post) to those who view the page if you don't grant them the rights to? What's the point of putting up information if you don't give them the right to let other people see it? As another reply noted, it's exactly like any forum.
This comment is guaranteed*
*not guaranteed
I just logged in, and tried to find a PHP/MySQL group to join. There is no group "search" feature under the "search for a group" link. You can only browse in a very obfuscated fashion. Honestly, they'd better change the interface soon, or you won't be able to find things. Plus, requiring a Live ID means that search engines can't index...and suddenly your site is a thousand times less useful. But I bet that sweet MSN Search is going to index it! Like anyone uses that willingly.
god damn ... the site sucks for usability as well... such a poor effort
Establish a community, get people accustomed to it, then twist them and use them to your will.
Well-known procedure. Id especially suspect that when it comes from a company that doggedly fought freedom and open source and lost.
Read radical news here
How???? That site is unusable. There doesn't seem to be a way to search for groups, so if there is a unix group, I can't find it (or any other group)
At some point, somewhere, the entire internet will be found to be illegal.
They will have to indicate that they will not sue any individual software developers, period, before I would venture within a thousand miles of that site.
While looking through the help to see whether Microsoft can spell RDF[1] or FOAF[2] (they don't appear to), I came across this[3]:
a tion_passport
"Why do I need to use Passport?"
"We chose Passport in order to help you consolidate the number of logins you have to manage."
*sigh* here was me thinking passport was dead.
[1] http://www.w3.org/RDF/
[2] http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/
[3] http://aggreg8.net/Aggreg8_Help_Pages.htm#registr
By that logic, I would loose the rights to my photos when I upload them into Flickr, including giving them rights to use it commercially... Just because you can see it doesn't mean you can do whatever you want with it! Same with GPL projects, the code is in a public space, but when you use it into your own software you have to agree to a license.
However, MS is free to put any clause they want in their terms of use so, as long as it is clearly visible, no one who joins should complain if they see their snippets being used by them.
..or does MS seem to be doing a lot of desperate things lately?
Buying hotels (the Four Seasons hotel group).
Developing an iPod-clone (Zune).
Launching what's essentially a copy of MySpace.
Removing the one-reinstall restriction from Vista.
The Vista voucher scheme (promising XP->Vista upgrades for PCs bought now).
The MS-Novell deal (which has a dozen different perspectives, but at least promoting Linux).
To me, it seems like MS is genuinely scared of becoming largely irrelevant in the not-so-distant future.
Privacy begins with
It took me twenty minutes to figure out how to drill down into the working groups and find one about User Interface. It's very, very poorly laid out. Without the search everyone wants, it's functionally useless. Maybe this kind of thing works for social networking where it's just as valuable to "run into" someone as it is to be able to find them with some precision, but to also put this forth as a useful resource for IT pros is silly.
:)
This is not to say that if they can add a search I won't try it out in earnest -- I think MS is doing a lot to embrace the Linux and Mac communities, and I for one want to encourage that. MS has a lot of very intelligent people working for them -- they just need a bit more exposure to how the other 20% lives.
It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
Dude, you're reading Slashdot. I don't think you can condescendingly call other people nerds ;-)
LOAD "SIG",8,1
Likewise, forcing everyones' work into public domain will not remove rights either. Microsoft would be reasonable if the only required permission to republish the work on the site (that wouldn't have even required an EULA, it's just common sense) it when way beyond that extending to all Microsoft services and allowed them to do anything they wanted, at their leisure and without your say in the matter. Just about everything short of them actually owning it.