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Ray Ozzie's Departing Memo a Warning To Microsoft
itwbennett writes "In a parting memo to Microsoft, Ray Ozzie urges Microsoft to 'really, truly, seriously start thinking beyond the PC,' writes blogger Chris Nurney. Nurney suspects that 'Ozzie has been making these points internally for some time,' and that the memo 'could be his way of putting it in the public record.' Some of the memo's juicy bits: 'It's important that all of us do precisely what our competitors and customers will ultimately do: close our eyes and form a realistic picture of what a post-PC world might actually look like, if it were to ever truly occur. ... Today's PCs, phones & pads are just the very beginning; we'll see decades to come of incredible innovation from which will emerge all sorts of "connected companions" that we'll wear, we'll carry, we'll use on our desks & walls and the environment all around us.'"
I think someone has missed Windows Phone 7 and the tablets Microsoft will be releasing shortly. Hell, Microsoft Courier looked like the only tablet I wanted. Screw iPad, Courier was cool.
But the truth also is that Microsoft has a huge dominance on computer market and that isn't going anywhere. They are truly dominating it. I don't think it's a warning as such to Microsoft, just a suggestion for if they want to grow. And interestingly, that is what Microsoft is and has been doing for many years already. Xbox360 is a truly fantastic product too.
Just bring me something that Courier was supposed to be. I want it, I need it! Combine that with environment like Windows where everyone can freely develop their software and include things like XNA and Xbox Live and you have a wonderful product on your hands!
"Sent from my iPad"
The future of the PC is not immediately viewable from the window. One must step out and look around.
That sounds great!
Your fiction stinks and your biggest fan is dead. Luckily, he's in a better place now.
*
For the love of all that is good, I sincerely hope Ray Ozzie's choice of the term "Connected Companions" was solely so that this message could be interpreted by the buzzword-based PHBs at Microsoft, and not a hint that he wants to turn the next company he goes to into the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation.
Demanding constant attention will only lead to attention.
TFL;DR
Summary, please?
As soon as they can mix that companion thing with life-size holographic projections and make them look like anime characters, sales will go through the roof.
Viewing of "Don't Date a Robot!" required before buying.
A lot further ahead! Better computer security, fewer viral plagues, faster software, more open standards, better interoperability, cheaper software and support. Microsoft is just a drain on the economy that we can't afford in this economic climate, just ask the London Stock Exchange.
This would have been great advice 10 years ago, when MSFT might have had a chance to carve out a foothold in device computing, but not now.
It's like the Zune. An okay product but late to market and no evolution.
MSFT is what you get when your grandpa runs a tech company.
That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
Among video game consoles sold in North America, Xbox 360 is the only one that officially allows game development by prosumers. It's not perfect, but it's better than what Sony and Nintendo offer.
That "memo" runs more than 3500 words. If that counts as a typical memo over at Microsoft, I think they've got another problem beyond the one Ozzie's term paper discusses.
#DeleteChrome
In flight chair ballistics
Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
Steve the plumber!
The great fallacy nowadays is that everything should be designed for the Apple consumer.
did you forget to take your meds?
Came across an article on similar theme http://ashishb.net/tech/the-decline-of-microsoft-and-intel-in-internet-centric-era/
In other words, the use of application service providers (ASPs) and storage service providers on the other side of the Internet will increase, and users will more often access the applications and storage through appliances, or Internet-connected devices designed for accessing ASPs. Applications and storage won't be "on" a device; they'll be on rented space on a server. And more devices, such as elevator controllers and refrigerators, will become Internet-connected appliances with sensors for remote troubleshooting.
The PC is here to stay. It'll be with us in one form or another for as long as humans can read and write. Phones and tablets and wristwatches and bellbottoms will come and go, but when you are doing 8 hours of white-collar work, you are sitting at a desk, not sitting in a plane or driving a Ferrari or riding a Segway or skateboarding or whatever. What Microsoft needs to focus on is what has always been their primary source of revenue and what they have always claimed to be focusing on (even though they weren't) which is to produce the best, that is, the highest quality, most reliable, most robust PC operating system available. Make Windows work well and make it so that our parent's computers aren't constantly being turned into botnet zombies. Dominate the PC market with programming and actual work, not with business trickery and monopolistic practices and marketing gambits that punish and alienate your existing userbase.
Or just entertain us by continuing to lose focus and keep chasing whatever fad a competitor is having some success in at the moment until you sink so far into irrelevance that it doesn't matter anymore.
To: Executive Staff and direct reports
Date: October 28, 2010
From: Ray Ozzie
It was cool. So was Knowledge Navigator. But vapor is vapor, and products people can actually buy are the only tangible indicator of what's important at a company. The fate of Courier shows that advocates of a radical, post-Windows approach lost a big internal fight. Microsoft continues to clearly demonstrate that Windows is their anchor.
Anchors keep you from getting blown away when a storm comes. They also keep you from moving forward.
Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
Umm, isn't this the same thing Bill Gates has been saying for the last decade or more?
To bad he missed all the sheep.
As wireless internet access becomes even more robust, the first company that can deliver a solution to keep a user's "state" consistent across all of their devices is going to be the winner. It's a problem that the industry has been working on since the dark days of syncing your contacts up through a USB1 connection to a palm pilot. I imagine it's why Apple is building their enormous data center - they are about to make manual data management a thing of the past. A slick interface could yield some badass results for stepping your data to a network volume if it's unusually large, and then streaming backups during off-peak hours to iBackup or whatever you want to call it. Otherwise, every time you start to edit a doc, the filesystem is intelligently streaming the backup directly to their data center. If your laptop gets nicked, then you log in to your me.com account, destroy the encrypted volume if they connect it to the internet, and grab another laptop and a few hours later you are back up and running.
Computers are going to disappear - your information will be always available from any device with an internet connection. You'll just have a variety of interfaces to it, from your phone, to your media viewer (iPad) to your netbook (I mean MacBook Air, Steve!) and your desktop. They will all sync intelligently, and store larger, non-streamable information locally on SSD drives. Only video creators will be forced to continue managing physical volumes until 4g goes nationwide and uncapped.
It's a good idea, and a fucking bummer that Apple is the only company doing it.
Or all of the above?
I sometimes wonder if MS senior management isn't full of guys making good money, looking at how much time they have until retirement is a real option and thinking "If we can just string this Windows/PC model along for a couple more years, I'll be set. Retire in my late 50s. Second home (or boat or ....) paid for. Enough savings to live off until 401k money kicks in."
I can see where it could almost become a cultural mindset, coupled with a financial analysis that says the "real money" comes from Windows, Office, Exchange & SQL. Everything else (phone, tables, hardware, software, etc) is a half-assed feint to keep Wall St. quiet, keep key industry experts locked into long employment contracts and out of the hands of competitors, and occasionally hit the lottery when something sticks to the wall.
Or is it the actual management model? Keep the Windows/Office core profit engine running, fuck around on the margin and assume you can manipulate the market enough to keep your dominance forever?
I've already purchased my last Apple, Nintendo and Sony products for my lifetime.
You'll find a lot of geeks who agree with you, but the majority does not. The majority "can live with the restrictions without really owning anything". And the majority spends more money on products than the geek subculture: less per person but far more people. That's why video games targeted at the majority come out on consoles, not PCs. How should we as geeks try to convince the public that consoles' restrictions aren't worth the loss of an end user's right to do what he wants with what he owns?
Windows Phone 7 : Too Late to the party ...
Or perhaps it saw that the party was being held on a Sunday night, knew it had work to go to the next day and decided not to go.
:-/
Meanwhile, Apple (which had a great time and was the life of the party) turned up at work late, badly hungover and looking like death. After failing the drugs test, it was finally let go by the Company, around the (same time that Microsoft was given that promotion) and went into a sad decline, never able to move on from its college partying days and accept that its popularity with the cool college kids didn't mean long term success.
Err... to be honest, that sounds like there should be a metaphor in there, but on reflection I doubt it. It was just my extrapolation of one colloquial expression to the point of drivel. Sorry folks
"Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
> they're not looking for 'superior' so much as they are looking to lock users into their
> App stores.
Actually not quite right.
This would make sense if....
the app store was launched with the iphone. But it was in fact an afterthought.
Originally Apple wanted everyone to get "Apps" which were web based (javascript/ html) things online. Developers wanted to write more persistant application that would run without an internet connection, thus one year later the App Store and the SDK.
Sometimes you make a device and the market shows up.
XNA Creators Club is not suitable for making anything beyond little toy games is my understanding.
Define "little toy games". I certainly haven't drunk the proverbial Kool-Aid about XNA, but can you think of any significant limitations other than what I already list on my page?
At that point you might as well make an Android or iPhone app and get yourself a much larger customer base.
Android and iPhone are counterparts to the DS/PSP/DSi/3DS, not a set-top multiplayer gaming device like 360/PS3/Wii that just needs extra gamepads. On a smartphone, four players mean four $70/mo voice and data plans. The last time I checked, a "family plan" at a U.S. cell phone carrier covered one smartphone and one to three "feature phones". Android has no counterpart to iPod touch: a model with the same app store but no cellular radio. And with the apparent discontinuation of Windows Mobile Classic and the commercial failure of both Zune and Kin, it doesn't appear that Microsoft will have anything to show in this arena either.
What are those wires coming out of the back of his head?
Gadgets are gadgets. Gadgets may resemble tools but tools are specifically designed for their purpose(s).
Nothing will replace a workstation's keyboard, local storage and large displays for professionals, they may be plugged into a smaller case/form-factor but it will still need a functional environment, applications for tasks and data back-ups. MS is driving hard to sign-up the masses for streaming services in the "cloud" so they can sell dumb(er) products and meter all the utility however they deem fit(fit=profitable). Reality is vapor and finger-pointing is what you get when services and connections are disrupted or storage crashes with no recovery. I'd prefer to put my head in a lion's mouth than to put my data in MS's, or anyone else's, "cloud".
Imagination drew in bold strokes, instantly serving hopes and fears, while knowledge advanced by slow increments...
How many people have more than 10 different devices (expect maybe apple fanboys) which they use daily ?
PC, cell phone, home phone, TV, DVD player or game console, cable box, home stereo, car stereo, car engine, refrigerator, microwave oven, coffee maker, home lighting, home climate control, home security, now how many gadgets am I up to? The point of the memo is that more and more of these devices will become Internet-connected. It mentions "telemetry", which I take to mean that a device can, for example, report to you when it is malfunctioning.
...the reality of the Kin fit in with your fantasy view of Microsoft?
"LOL WUT?" The smartphone market has run its course? You are kidding, right? Smart phones are going to continue to sell strong as ever. While they may not grow a ton, people have to stop pretending like growth is all that matters. It smacks of wet behind the ears stock investors who have no sense of scale or history.
Smart phones are going to be a huge market until, well, someone figures out something to replace the phone. I haven't even heard of any ideas along those lines much less products. So I think it is safe to say the market has decades, or more, of life.
Also you might notice that in terms of OS the battle has not been won, nor may it ever be won. Symbian didn't win (it was by far the largest), BlackBerry OS didn't win, iOS hasn't won, Android hasn't won. The fight is on going, and it may well go on forever. Given the locked down nature of phones and carriers, there may not be the push for a single platform like there was with PCs. There people wanted software portability, but you don't get that on phones anyhow.
Also you might note that MS is and was in the mobile market. Windows CE smart phones have been around for a long time and while not huge weren't trivial either. This is a (needed) revamp/update, not a new entrance in to a market.
As a older post stated, Microsoft didn't give a crap about Windows Mobile 6 and prior. It would have taken a skeleton crew of developers and support guys to keep that platform on the forefront, but they didn't even want to do that. Probably because they thought their only competition was Palm 4-5, so once that "demon" was vanquished, they went about ignoring it. But, this time they've got competition on a whole lot of fronts. The days of simply making a press release saying you're doing the same thing as a competitor and killing off a competitor's project are over.
I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
Apple's habit of naming everything iWhatever?
A good marketing reason, to be sure - but it has no technical merit or logic behind it.
"We’ve seen agile innovation playing out before a backdrop in which many dramatic changes have occurred across all aspects of our industry’s core infrastructure."
It's a boring sentence trapped in a boring, verbose memo, so I found it a new home in a Philip K Dick story:
"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tanhauser Gate. I watched agile innovation playing out before a backdrop in which many dramatic changes have occurred. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. [pause] Time to die."
I would argue that if it actually deserved better, it would have received better from the market. While I'm not a free-market purist, I find it hard to blame the Zune's sales record on anything other than the Zune.
P.P.S The point of the iPhone isn't iTunes. Apple barely makes any money from the iTunes stores. They are not an iTunes company; they are a hardware company.
Complexity is what builds this "rich experience" that we so often hear about. Complexity is beautiful, and adaptive. It's only when we try to control complexity inappropriately that trouble begins. That's why open standards are so necessary. Each little widget can do it's own little part and be part of a complex, dynamic and stable mechanism.
"A lot further ahead! Better computer security, fewer viral plagues, faster software, more open standards, better interoperability, cheaper software and support." - by kawabago (551139) on Monday October 25, @04:51PM (#34017484)
LMAO, wtf? Are you stoned?? Do you think that Linux is "immune" to malwares &/or other forms of attack?? Take a peek @ Linux variants such as Android which is ALREADY under attack. Take a look at the gall Apple had in their PC vs. Mac Commercials, trying to make it sound as if "Mac's can't be attacked by viruses & the like"... which is, of course, COMPLETE BULLSHIT and the attacks on MacOS X began to increase the larger the market share it gained.
Facts, are facts.
The ONLY reason Windows is SO attacked is simple: MORE FOLKS USE IT (95% of the world's PC's &/or Servers use it approximately, if not more over time, right?)! Criminals on PC's are just like criminals in the real world. Let's use pickpockets - they don't go to where just 1 person is, they attack THE CROWD because more pickings are possible where "the masses" are (just like how pickpockets tend to operate in street crowds, subways, bus or train stations, etc.).
Security by obscurity is *NIX variants' best pal, for now... & yes, I am a user of Linux myself (& have been since 1994 in fact, & up into the turn of the centuries, & moreso even now lately (KUbuntu 10.10 user in 64-bit) but I won't try to b.s. people here reading either with what I call "Pro-*NIX 'FUD' & disinformation/misinformation spreading bullshit!
I mean, are you trying to tell us for instance, that Linux is "IMMUNE TO JAVASCRIPT ATTACKS"? Most of the attacks out there today come not from the OS itself (lol, though Linux DID have a major security hole in it last week -> http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/205867/linux_kernel_exploit_gives_hackers_a_back_door.html?tk=hp_new), but via webbrowsers &/or HTML email programs that use JAVASCRIPT!
Anyone can see SECUNIA.COM &/or SecurityFocus.com in fact on that note...
---
"Microsoft is just a drain on the economy that we can't afford in this economic climate, just ask the London Stock Exchange." - by kawabago (551139) on Monday October 25, @04:51PM (#34017484)
Both NASDAQ & LSE used Windows for the systems of trade data dissemination. LSE couldn't get their accenture implementation to stay afloat... funny, but NASDAQ did. It's still using MDDS (based on SQLServer 2005 + Windows Server 2003) to run their official trade data dissemination system @ NASDAQ.
The failure of Accenture & LSE is not MS, because the same type of system is working at NASDAQ... no, the failure lies with the system architects, coders, & networking maintenance crew + DBA's imo, rather.
APK
P.S.=> Whoever "modded you up" is quite clearly, a dolt... They'd have to be, since they're clearly NOT aware of the things I just wrote vs. your "information'... apk
What he's saying about all these devices about to happen probably rings true for most /. readers, including me. The problem is that visionaries have been saying it for years. Legal chafing between content providers, carriers, patent holders. et. al. has slowed the roll-out of super-toys to a crawl. He who can predict how fast the lawyers will move is the true visionary.
- The Kessel run is for nerf herders. I can circumnavigate the entire Central Finite Curve in a lot less than 12 parse
Ray, Thanks for all you have done to destroy a once great company! Your final payment is available at dead drop A12. Steve
So you agree there are significant limitations?
Some other Slashdot users appear convinced that a developer should just accept the limitations of XNA, design games around them exclusively for XNA on Windows and Xbox 360, and hopefully use those games to build "game industry experience", one of the two pieces that the console makers require before a developer becomes eligible to buy the real devkit. (The other piece is a dedicated office.) But with your "little toy games" comment, I thought you had some different limitations in mind that were even more severe than those described on my page, to the point where one couldn't even make games comparable to those on the Super NES.
There is an "android touch" samsung makes it.
I wasn't aware of Samsung Galaxy Player 50 until I just searched Google to find out what you're talking about. The anythingbutipod.com story is less than a week old. This article states that it appears to have Android Market and other Google apps ordinarily seen only on phones. But with "no word on a US release yet", how much will the customs duty for a gray-market import run? And will a unit built for the European Union be able to access the Market from an IPv4 address that geolocates to the United States?
I have two smartphones on a family plan with verizon, runs about $130month.
Your plan at $65 per handset per month is still not low enough to convince a mom to buy four smartphones instead of a land line and four Nintendo DSi systems.
I'm still waiting for someone to grow a clue and make the EVO 4G into a truly awe-inspiring presentation device/mini-computer.
And I'm still waiting for Google to grow a clue and let HTC and other manufacturers put the Google apps on a cheaper version without a cellular radio, so that I don't need to pay $1679.76 over the course of a 24-month service commitment. That's how much Sprint.com just quoted me for the cheapest service plan that works with the EVO 4G.
Why aren't we plugging it into a TV
You can't plug HDMI into a standard-definition television. That's one of the advantages of consoles over PCs for cash-strapped gamers: you get SDTV output as a standard feature.
using a wireless keyboard and mouse (or gamepads, for that matter)
Operating systems tend not to support more than one distinct keyboard and mouse, and Bluetooth gamepads are still about twice as expensive as USB gamepads.
I used to own a Motorola Q running Windows Mobile. The phone was great, and at the time was quite a step forward for cell phones. Now, I've got an android based phone, and while I think android is great and intend to support it, I see Microsoft being able to take a lot of customers from android in the corporate world. Blackberries have a good foot hold, but since MS owns and wants to support exchange, they can make Windows Mobile phones easier to interact with exchange whereas google makes it difficult because they want you to migrate to their system. Summary - Windows mobile is not bad, and stands a good chance at being a serious competitor. I also agree the Zune wasn't the success it should have been just because of who was backing it likely.
Arguing with an engineer is like wrestling a pig in mud. Soon, you realize the pig is dirty, and he likes it.
Yup. Because the PC is dying man! It's been dying for THIRTY FUCKING YEARS NOW! You'd think it'd have the good grace to have kicked off long ago and made way for a more compact, less powerful, less configurable, less open, complete cluster-fuck of a platform like smart phones or something. You know, something that can be locked down against their own users. Something you can charge through the nose and out the ass for development tools and support for.
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
Have never used a single aimbot or wall hack in my entire life, and having been playing FPS games since Wolfenstein, I finally got sick of it
Did you mean Wolfenstein or Wolfenstein 3D?
Other than being able to cheat a game, what is your average consumer going to care about?
Making and sharing mods. Apart from RPG Maker 2, LittleBigPlanet, and WarioWare DIY, console games tend not to have the extensive modding tools needed to turn one game into another. For example, I should be able to turn a shooter into a football sim by changing object behaviors. And I find that in every medium but video games, plenty of consumers find themselves turning into prosumers, or consumers who also produce. Complete this analogy: Basic cable television is to YouTube as major label video games are to what?
They should not be allowed to use more than 640Kb of RAM.
Cell Phone - Cell Phone
Phone - Cell Phone
If everyone in your house has a cell phone, why does your house need its own line?
Because kids can't afford a cell phone bill. Would you propose buying a phone and a plan for a single-digit-year-old child? Or are you of the opinion that any child old enough to be left alone deserves a phone on a parent's family plan?
TV - PC
DVD Player - PC
A 19" monitor doesn't work well for several people to sit around in the living room, and most people aren't geek enough to pull HDMI through the wall from the PC room to the living room. Appliances have a higher wife acceptance factor.
Game Console - PC
People buy separate appliances to play specific games or even entire genres that are exclusive to those appliances. For example, what's the closest PC counterpart to Jak/Sly/Ratchet/Crash, Metal Gear Solid, Smash Bros., Mario Party, or Animal Crossing?
Cable Box - PC
[...]
General-purpose computing devices (PCs) are able to do most of those things, and with linux and free (beer or speech) software available, can and are doing so.
How? This article claims that CableCARD OCUR doesn't support any operating systems for general-purpose personal computers other than some editions of Windows. Besides, what do you do when you want to watch TV while your daughter is typing up her homework?
Home Stereo - PC
True if you're listening in the PC room. But what about another member of the household listening to something else in the living room?
Car Stereo - Car
Car Engine - Car
The stereo might run on the same computer as the navigation, but the engine runs on an independent computer systems for safety reasons. Therefore, a car counts as two devices, each with its own telemetry.
Home Lighting - SmartHome
Climate Control - SmartHome
Security - Smarthome
Granted, a smart home might present a single proxy for all kitchen appliances that need to report status to outside. But one point of the article is that they will become able to report such status.
So, using your logic, one must grow up in order to speak and write like an imbecile. That's not sound reasoning. In addition, the type of correspondence should have no bearing on writing effectively without polluting the text with buzzwords and awkward sentences.
Takk.
Computers are going to disappear - your information will be always available from any device with an internet connection ... It's a good idea, and a fucking bummer that Apple is the only company doing it.
I absolutely agree with most of what you say here -- the company that does transparent "cloud" sync/storage best will win the game. Unlike you, my take is that Apple is actually way behind in this area, while Google has a convincing, if not insurmountable lead. This isn't about Android, though you can see it a little bit in the way that Android devices instantly populate themselves via the 'net using only a Google ID. By contrast an Apple iDevice won't even turn on until you plug them into a desktop via USB. You can also see it in the piece of crap that is Apple's current .Mac offering ($99/year for, basically, stuff you can get for free elsewhere, with minimal device integration --- yes, I pay for it and I'm ashamed).
But mostly you don't see Google's advantage, because it manifests primarily in the unglamorous, invisible stuff like cloud infrastructure. Google has an order of magnitude more server capacity than most competitors, and absolutely crushes Apple in terms of the user data it holds, not to mention its (still nascent, but growing) customer base for services like Mail, Docs, Maps and Apps.
Apple may show up to the party one of these days --- maybe they'll get 'net-based activation by iPhone 5. But what people fail to understand is that moving from a device business to a cloud business is a not a natural transition, and so far Apple has demonstrated no real instinct for it. To give a silly analogy: at the moment Apple is building the grandest, prettiest castles in town, while Google is buying up all the roads and sewers. One day I fear that Apple will realize how badly they need that infrastructure in order to keep building, and Google will be the only one who can provide it.
M$ is all about their Windows/Office monopoly. On the PC. Period. For almost two decades now, the company's whole business strategy has really just been about maintaining that monopoly. It's what they've always done best.
Sure, they dabble in many other areas, but unless it soon starts to look like it has the potential to make them billions, just like Windows and Office, they quickly lose interest.
Innovation? Nope. They just buy other companies that look interesting, assimilate the knowledge, achieve relatively little as a result and then move on. Seriously, I can't think of anything unique that they themselves have ever come up with besides M$ Bob, which was a total flop, and perhaps a miserable animated paperclip. All of their other ideas have either been bought or stolen.
Seen in this light it's easy to predict when M$ will die: when the PC dies. Once their traditional monopoly has faded, M$ will be just another software company struggling with the competition... except that they never learned how to innovate -- they've never had to!! Oh, of course there are more people at M$ who know that and fear the inevitable, but they can't change anything. Their ship's course was fixed long ago and it can never be altered. Ray should have known that and avoided them like the plague, but I suppose he was just being stupid or greedy... or both. Within that company, however, he's hardly a unique case; just more well known.
Compare and contrast Ray Ozzie's farewell with that of another recent high-level departure, J. Allard. These men, at the heart of technology for all their adult lives, were in positions of the highest influence at Microsoft. They're obviously both brilliant, and not needing to cash a paycheck. They see a change coming - a huge change - and they want to be a part of it. They don't see that happening while they work in Redmond. So they go. But on the way out they look back at the poor souls they leave behind and they tell them in their farewell: "You too can be a part of this new world. You just have to think different." The door swings shut with a click and the obvious conclusion remains unsaid: "but you won't."
Help stamp out iliturcy.
For everyone who wants to make their own maps, there are hundreds if not thousands of other players who simply want new maps and expect that someone else will create those maps for them.
You can gain from an environment that embraces prosumption even if you yourself don't produce, as long as you have a prosumer in your social group. But if you can't mod, you can't install maps made by someone else.
They care most about making well designed, intuitive, attractive devices. For years the industry was dominated by ugly, loud, flimsy hardware running buggy, crashy, maddening software. Apple has built a brand around being the alternative to that chaos. Protecting this brand often means locking their users inside a padded room. Their vendetta against Flash has nothing to do with limiting app development (as evidenced by their embracing of HTML5 open standard alternatives) and everything to do with getting rid of the Adobe drag on Apple's brand.
A vocal fraction of the hacker community sees Apple's strategy as an attack on hackable devices--which isn't really their goal but obviously there is some collateral damage.
It's okay that you don't understand this--most of Apple's competitors don't either which is why Apple is printing money.
It's a good idea, and a fucking bummer that Apple is the only company doing it.
Also, in a very big and comprehensive way, Google.
Operator, give me the number for 911!
I did work at Microsoft (Redmond) as a software engineer: an overall friendly company, but I find that the way of thinking was very rigid.
In many ways it reminds me of the old IBM: a very close culture, where external knowledge is missing... and not always welcome!
A very simple example was to use open source Cygwin, with several of the nice Unix/Linux features... that no one seemed to know, and which is so valuable for software development.
Like IBM in the past, the Microsoft culture does not leave much room for mew ideas.
Sorry to be an
Anonymous Coward.
I see decades of innovators being sued for questionable patent infringements. I see no true innovation. I see mostly more of the same in smaller and shinier packages at greater profit margins to the manufacturers. I see a stagnant technological future in which the only major innovations come in the form of devices to kill, maim, and infringe the freedoms and actions of the individual/society. At least I will be able to enjoy it all on my iPucker-GE(Green Edition) made from recycled sequestered carbon in the form of a trendy Graphene case.
The new right fascists are bilingual. They speak English and Bullshit.
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And where's the Ogg format? Why must I use iTunes to put music on it?
The *music* is no longer DRM'd, but the product they own (even after you've paid for it) is even more locked down than it was.
...but really, all this talk about mobile devices and the "future of computing" smells rankly of investor hype to me.
Everyone's chomping at the bit to replicate Steve Jobs' success with the iPhone - to jump on the next big thing before the competition does.
But really, what's going to displace the PC? A revolutionary new type of battery, maybe. A very high resolution miniaturized projector. A revolution in CPU design.
It's hard to envision what could eclipse the keyboard and mouse for sheer ease of use and tactile feedback.
Just why is everyone so excited about mobile devices, and so convinced they are the "future of computing"? What real work are people doing on these devices?
Maybe I'm just an old curmudgeon with no imagination but these things just all seem like toys to me. Very profitable toys without a doubt. But still toys.
I think it's inevitable that Windows will decline, but all this kind of hype about a "revolution in computing" is just hype until there's a technological revolution to go along with it.
Anyway, I'm sure someone will explain how myopic I am.
We have a 40" LCD TV in the living room, attached to a PC
Which puts you in what appears to be a tiny minority. As CronoCloud pointed out in a previous comment: "But what you don't understand is that most people simply don't want to hook up their computer to the TV. Let me say that again: Most non-geek people simply have no desire to hook up their computer to their TV."
CableCARD OCUR doesn't support any operating systems [but] Windows
World of Warcraft doesn't have a Linux version, either... nor does Steam, Counterstrike, Call of Duty 4, the Sims 3
As I understand it, CableCard OCUR uses a kernel-level Protected Media Path to make sure that no cleartext digital video appears on any user-accessible connector. The games you mentioned do not use this.
Wine
Wine is for running user-space applications, not kernel modules.
A memo is not written to inform the reader but to protect the writer.
And suddenly your eyes are open to the truth.
vi +
To: Executive Staff and direct reports Date: October 28, 2010 From: Ray Ozzie
Ah, I thought I was the only one wondering about that for a bit...
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1836934&cid=34031360
and
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1836934&cid=34017138
Hey, bullshit artist (that's you, Unknowing fool): Back up your lies and bullshit for once, and quit running from doing so!
I am asking publicly here now that you disprove what I put up from reliable sources that exposed you for the bullshitting liar you are in those 2 url's above!
Where you said:
1.) LINUX runs NASDAQ's system (complete lie, the main system is completely proprietary & uses MS technology for users to access it in MDDS) here - http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1836934&cid=34031360
AND
2.) That MS Windows Server 2003 & SQLServer 2005 which make up the successful MDDS (market data dissemination) system @ NASDAQ is not the same as the unsuccessful InfoLect effort by LSE (london stock exchange), because LSE's own CIO & CTO stated it was merely a trade data dissemination system, which IS the same thing as MDDS @ NASDAQ, here http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1836934&cid=34017138
APK
P.S.=> I am going to let YOU continue to embarass yourself, and watch you eat your words (and so will everyone else here reading), because you shot your mouth off both times above and I had reliable sources disproving you at every turn and you called me NAMES? WELL, time to watch you squirm is all, unless you can prove me wrong... apk
"The NASDAQ exchange systems themselves runs on Linux." - by UnknowingFool (672806) on Monday October 25, @10:28AM (#34011858)
Got PROOF of that? Of course you don't, because NASDAQ uses a PROPRIETARY SYSTEM called "SuperMontage"... you are, as per usual, in error!
(By the way: The crap you posted? LMAO, it is merely LNX stock material from NASDAQ you fool! Linux does have buyable stock you know... & you're trying to make it sound as if SuperMontage is Linux!)
---
"But isn't MDDS the trading system? That's a logic problem there." - by UnknowingFool (672806) on Monday October 25, @10:28AM (#34011858)
WTF? I never said once that MDDS is the trading system... that would be SuperMontage @ NASDAQ & I said that here days ago:
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1836934&cid=34031946 ... so quit your lying!
---
"That's a lot of talk from someone who hides behind an anonymous handle." - by UnknowingFool (672806) on Monday October 25, @10:28AM (#34011858)
LMAO - buddy, the day you've done as much as I have around this field professionally on as many levels & have made it into respected reputable publications as I have while you were still in diapers? Is the day you can talk to ME that way, & I strongly suspect today's NOT that day...
---
" MDDS is not the trading system" - by UnknowingFool (672806) on Monday October 25, @10:28AM (#34011858)
WTF? Where did I ever ONCE say it was?? You assumed & implied that I did, but when I asked you for a quote that says that from me directly, did you produce it???
No.
Quit your lying and bullshit already. It's almost as bad, lmao, as your stating NASDAQ runs on LINUX (try NYSE next time, & you'd be correct (iirc)).
APK
P.S.=> Please - LEARN TO READ! apk
The reason you hide behind anonymous handles is that you can lie and say you never said things when you actually did.Unfortunately for you, you actually admitted in your http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1836934&cid=34016684post:
Answer to BOTH = BOTH systems were built using Windows Server 2003 + SQLServer 2005 and were for the purposes of trade data dissemination & booking.
When you get caught you simply say you never said it like a coward.
Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
What did I lie about there?
1.) The London Stock Exchange failed at keeping a Microsoft based system going, in InfoLect!
2.) NASDAQ kept a Microsoft based system going for coming up on (maybe exceeding) a DECADE now!
InfoLect IS the MS system that is LSE's "trade data dissemination system" that failed, & that was PROVEN via a quote of their own CIO &/or CTO calling it their "trade data dissemination system" here -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwSM55bsCrM !
(Which IS exactly what MDDS is for NASDAQ, a "market data dissemination system", same as Infolect @ LSE functioned as)
Well - Except again, NASDAQ kept it running for years now, almost a decade iirc in fact, stable & solid via failover clustering systems - LSE couldn't!
This all proved my point that the TEAMS matter who architect, code, and maintain these systems (more than the OS or hardwares used). I said that in my 2nd post here in fact -> http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1836934&cid=34012454 which only agreed with the main poster I replied to!
APK
P.S.=> I use my REAL initials on every post of mine, so you know (well, most all of my posts that is, unless I forget or I'm in a hurry, like 99%), unlike yourself!
You rib on me for using AC posting? Why shouldn't I?? Hell, the moderation staff knows I do and for years now, because I gain NOTHING by being a registered "sheep" that's easily tracked (for trolling or whatever) like you are here... that's how STUPID you are if you don't realize that, & if you think "karma points" makes up for that?? Man, you have a SAD life then!
I mean, hey: Face it, you post under some BULLSHIT "pseudonym" nick/handle crap - is "Unknowing fool" your name? Doubt it, unless your parents were incredibly sadistic! apk
Verbatim, & straight from the article I 1st cited about booking support:
NASDAQ Deploys SQL Server 2005 to Support Real-Time Trade Booking and Queries:
(PERTINENT QUOTE EXCERPT)
"Agility to Meet Customer Needs
Moving trade booking operations from the large mainframe database to SQL Server 2005 has greatly enhanced the agility NASDAQ internal developers enjoy when customizing existing or creating new solutions."
ANSWER THIS QUESTION UNKNOWING FOOL:
What does that say, UnknowingFool? Especially the BOLDED part... Funniest part is, lmao, you told me I didn't READ THAT WELL? Ahem: Looks like the shoe's on the other foot now... like usual (pot calling the kettle black on YOUR part).
LMAO!
APK
P.S.=> MDDS appears to be far more than the London Stock Exchange's InfoLect system, which was only apparently a "trade data dissemination" system ONLY, whereas MDDS? Read the above... NASDAQ moved from Tandem Mainframes (used to be Compaq, & now is HP).
The NASDAQ overall system is a composite of proprietary & commodity systems (MS stuff is noted above) & it's called "SuperMontage" (makes sense, a montage is a sort of collage). I never ONCE said it was "ALL MS" stuff, though YOU tried to stuff those words in my mouth and YOU KNOW IT (and you were unable to produce me EVER saying that also).
The same deal is probably prevalent at most all stock exchanges really I'd wager (a mixture of tools).
Oh, & again - There IS the fact that NASDAQ manages to keep a Microsoft-based system going and LSE?? FAILED... this only again supports my 2nd posting that teams that architect, code, and maintain systems like these matter MORE than the OS or DB's used apparently, look at the results here in comparison of NASDAQ & LSE!
I ought to know by the way - this IS what I have been doing professionally for 16++ yrs. now in fact, writing or co-writing, & maintaining "Mission-Critical/Enterprise-Class" information systems... apk
This "Coward" just KICKED YOUR ASS:
"Trade Dissemination == Reporting. Trade processing == Booking. Again you don't seem to grasp definitions very well. Read the MS case study again. It talks all about reporting and how MDDS would "help" booking. It doesn't mention that it would process the trade at all. - by UnknowingFool (672806) on Wednesday October 27, @12:24PM (#34038796)
ANSWER THIS QUESTION UNKNOWING FOOL:
What does that say below, UnknowingFool? Especially BOTH the BOLDED parts...
NASDAQ Deploys SQL Server 2005 to Support Real-Time Trade Booking and Queries:
(PERTINENT QUOTE EXCERPT)
"Agility to Meet Customer Needs
"Moving trade booking operations from the large mainframe database to SQL Server 2005 has greatly enhanced the agility NASDAQ internal developers enjoy when customizing existing or creating new solutions."
Straight from that very article no less, verbatim... lol, & you said I didn't read it? Pot calling the kettle black boy, on YOUR part... lmao!
---
MDDS appears to be far more than the London Stock Exchange's InfoLect system, which was only apparently a "trade data dissemination" system ONLY, whereas MDDS? Read the above... NASDAQ moved from Tandem Mainframes (used to be Compaq, & now is HP).
The NASDAQ overall system is a composite of proprietary & commodity systems (MS stuff is noted above) & it's called "SuperMontage" (makes sense, a montage is a sort of collage). I never ONCE said it was "ALL MS" stuff, though YOU tried to stuff those words in my mouth and YOU KNOW IT (and you were unable to produce me EVER saying that also).
The same deal is probably prevalent at most all stock exchanges really I'd wager (a mixture of tools).
Oh, & again - There IS the fact that NASDAQ manages to keep a Microsoft-based system going and LSE?? FAILED... this only again supports my 2nd posting that teams that architect, code, and maintain systems like these matter MORE than the OS or DB's used apparently, look at the results here in comparison of NASDAQ & LSE!
I ought to know by the way - this IS what I have been doing professionally for 16++ yrs. now in fact, writing or co-writing, & maintaining "Mission-Critical/Enterprise-Class" information systems... apk
So, in the end here? Well - It appears you LOSE on all fronts, even your "last stand" here, boy... eat your words!
(Your big mouth got you FRIED... and as per usual here on /., vs. the little "know it all wannabe trolls" around here? Ah, just "too, Too, TOO EASY" (just too easy)).
APK
P.S.=> MY SOURCE USED: LMAO, the very article YOU SAID I DID NOT READ, no less... how ironic!
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:eanVbbWTsmEJ:download.microsoft.com/download/c/a/d/cadc2f8c-3901-4b40-9429-fd071ba6c9bd/NASDAQ%2520-%2520SQL%2520Server%25202005%252012.18.06_Final.doc+MDDS+and+booking+of+trade&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us\
or
http://download.microsoft.com/download/c/a/d/cadc2f8c-3901-4b40-9429-fd071ba6c9bd/NASDAQ%20-%20SQL%20Server%202005%2012.18.06_Final.doc.