Other than trying to promote open source software I don't see how this is really in the customers interst. Anybody who wants OpenOffice can download it themselves for free. The choice is already there for anyone who is interested in it. I much rather install it myself then have Dell put it on there. If anything I would like the option of having a machine with the OS and absolutely no additional applications. I think the real motive is OpenOffice users want to advertise the product to the large community of Dell users who normally wouldn't be exposed to it. Dell does not exist to carry out that agenda. If this was a bunch of Dell customers who don't use open office or Linux and they were making this request it would be totally different. But this is coming from an organized effort of people, many of which aren't even customers, telling Dell to put the software they like on Dell machines so others will be exposed to it. I seriously doubt most Linux or OpenOffice users would rather have Dell configure and install the software for them. That almost defeats the purpose, especially if they are charged for it.
I was referring to built in keywords and methods as well as the ones you can define yourself. A lot of programming tools will let you know immediately when you have mispelled a keyword/defined term because those words are often color coded differently then the ones you define yourself. And as I mentioned before things like intillisense will let you knew if you've misplelled anything. Thats just for catching things before debugging them. You can basically start typing a method, whether its already defined or not and it will try to finish it for you, or you can select something from a drop down list. It probably creates a lot of lazy programmers and creates other types of errors for the sake of productivity. So what I'm saying is that a lof of programmers have bad spelling and grammer but they have processes and tools for dealing with it.
What your saying sounds logical, but in reality its not true. You don't have to know how to spell to program, you just have to make the same mistake consistantly. If you think cat is spelled kat, then all you have to do is spell it the same way whenever you refer to it. For keywords you can use something like intellisense. If you type innt mayn() your going see you mistake right away. If good spelling was required for programming then debuggers would be a lot less usefull and we wouldn't have editors and technical writers. In fact, good programmers usually assume that there are going to be mistakes and spend a good deal of time looking for them.
Making a spelling or grammer mistake when you are posting on a message board is not work. People tend to put more effort into programming than posting on message boards, so making a mistake doesn't necessarily mean they can't can't spell or write. Sometimes the erros people comment about aren't even worth mentioning and then tend to degrade the conversation and bring it off topic. I'm at work half the time when I post, so I try to type my messages as quickly as possible and make sure nobody is looking over my shoulder. Mistakes are bound to happen.
I work for a software company who's products are pirated extensively. Some of my work is in those products. I'm the type of so called victim you are describing, yet I don't feel victimized because I get paid well and am pretty comfortable. Asking for anymore would be greedy. People steal our work all the time and call us all kinds of names. I don't care, in fact I support many if them. They create a balance for companies that already have too much power especially the clowns of the RIAA who are no different then gangsters. For my company copyright law is nothing but a tool to be manipulated. Its not what we preach but its definately what we practice. In the end the money is still being distributed, to hardware, even software loaded on to machines, blank media, online services and broad band connections.
I just started playing WOW 3 weeks ago. I resisted the urge for a long time partly because I wanted to have a life. As a complete newb I'm not sure if I should buy this or not so it is helpfull. At this point I don't even know if a low level player like me could benefit much from the new content. It especially helps to know what kind of experience I will get based on how much time I devote to the game. One thing I can say for sure is that there are a lot of newcomers so your comment is really innacurate. Basically the review doesn't help you and thats fine, but don't speak for everyone else.
" Can anybody tell me that they put Vista on their computer and things are now noticably faster?"
I think people just don't listen because thats not what they want to hear. My newer machines run vista much better then xp, they also boot faster and resume from sleep or hybernation quicker. My older machines run Vista on par with XP. There definately seems to be more efficient use of high end machines. I read some reviews from places like Linux Forum etc, and there is a lot of misinformation going around, especially with regards to minimum requirements and Aero.
The only reason I use hotmail is becaue it synchs much better on my mobile device via direct push. And the windows live apps for windows mobile helped as well, especially the IM client and being able to synch my address book with my phones. I was primarily a gmail user but I just had too many problems synching my gmail via pop. And when I accessed gmail via pop on more then one device, POP access would get turned off and I would have to go back into settings and turn it back on. With hotmail and yahoo I can synch with several desktop clients and my pocketpc. My major problem with Yahoo is that my messages are consistantly delayed while gmail and hotmail seem to get them instantly. I think hotmail and yahoo will do just with Apple and MS putting their clients on mobile devices and all the services they are tied to. IM plays a big part. I have tons of gmail users in my address book but none of them use google's IM features, they use hotmail, aim or yahoo.
Apple is more restrictive. Not licensing an OS in the first place is more restrictive then licensing it then puting restrictions on it. What your say is equivelent to my mom is less restrictive because she lets me do anything I want when I'm at home, she just doesn't let me leave house, but my dad, that punk lets me go anyware I want as long as I don't do drugs, have sex and I have to wear the close he picks.
Apple doesn't just have a limited pool of hardware, they restrict that pool of hardware so it consists mainly of.... their own hardware. If I want to run OSX I can't shop around for the hardware that fits me, its a one size fits all product line. I also can't really build my own machines if I go with OSX. You can down play that all you want but it not going to change anything for people who want a choice in hardware or a person who likes to build their own machine.
The problem with this garbage is these guys aren't law enforcement. Do you trust their standards and their margin of error? They have very little evidence to begin with. Then tie in the fact that they have no idea who's using your computer, if its been highjacked etc. There are way too many factors to consider to go on such little evidence. The only reason anyone puts up with such low standards is because they are sympethetic to these gangsters, I mean record labels cause.
Your post makes no sense. Your complaining because they dont have a common sense of decency but your post shows no sense of decency and no value for human life. Have you ever killed anyone? Have you ever witnessed murder? Have you served time in prison? If not you probably can't even grasp the idea of how barbaric your nonsense of a post sounds. A society with your type of thinking doesn't deserve to be free of this nuisance. What good is your sense of justice if you have no value for human life and no sense of decency. This would quickly descend into anarchy.
I think the sentencing for piracy and hacking is rediculous in general. So of course I don't support the possible punishment. But its the Russian and the US government that needs to be changed. Their punishments are way too severe. I certainly don't want people going to jail over my work. I get paid enough. Human life is more valuable then a stupid copy of Windows.
I'm happy with DVDs. They look fine to me. HD is ripoff. At around 25gb a disc the gains are not worth the extra disc space. With other formats you had other benifits such as size, form factor and less moving parts. HD and Blue Ray discs don't offer any physical benefits that DVD did over VHS. A better picture for 5 times the storage space supported by an array of DRM infested hardware and software. I'll take the lower quality that I am used to for a more versatile, efficient and cost effective format that I can make backups of.
I think you just have a hard time accepting that the public doesn't necessarily share your views. Your argument is based on everyone having the same values, the same standards and the same agenda as you. You assume that if everyone knew what you did (because this is secret information that only you know about) then they would share your opinion.
A lot of people could care less about some of the issues you brought up. And if thats the case it could easily explain why the Linux or Mac community could hate MS, while the general public has their own opinion of the company based on different values that could cause their opinion to go either way. If the general public did hate Microsoft it would probably be for a totally different reason that you are oblivious to.
Its not a hypocrisy as far as capitalism is concerned. Advertising costs money. In the case of email marketing you have a bunch of companies trying to use people's inbox as a billboard even though in most cases they haven't paid to advertise there. So they aren't entitled to be able to advertise on this platform. Their idea of getting permission to send out these emails is a joke anyways.
Another thing to consider is that in capitalism, society has the right to ban any industry they choose and its perfectly acceptable. Illegal drugs is a good example. So no hypocrisy there. Society will choose when and where advertising is acceptable. If thats shuts out email marketing then cry me river so I can pee in it.
I couldn't agree more. Not only Verizon but everyone who sells hardware should support these guys because no matter how unprofitable the disk sales become, people will still buy the hardware, storage space, high speed connections, increasingly large flat panel displays, mp3 players etc. Its just money shifting hands away from the outdated business model of the recording and motion picture industry.
Damn, just as soon as I thought these bigger hard drives would mean something, the movies just got bigger.
As opposed to all the people who bought a Mac because it was cute. Seriously I know my fare share of people who bought a mac because of the style and don't even know which version of the OS they are running.
I have used Macs plenty and I just don't like them. I like to build my own machines, I'm into games, I like the choice of hardware and I prefer the Windows interface.
Linux is my second OS. To me its the only real alternative because they both offer what the other doesn't. Linux is free, customizable, fast and it gives my old hardware something to do.
My biggest peve about this debate is that people are so arrogant about their preferences that they assume that the only possible reason that someone would use a different OS from them is that they are ignorant or have never been exposed to anything else.
"The looks the employees and other customers give you are priceless. "
What country do you live in? I order double shots of esspresso all the time and this has never happened. I see plenty of others do it as well.
They are having a problem though where people are ordering esspresso shots and then using the free milk in the condiments section to make their own cheap latte like drinks.
Most people don't go to Starbucks because its the cool thing to do. If that were the case it would have fizzled out long ago. I know more people who avoid Starbucks because its the cool thing to do.
People go to Starbucks because its comfortable, convinient and it gives them their fix wether they like the flavor of coffee or not. A lot of people do like the flavor of their drinks. Many people don't like the real flavor of coffee so they disguise it while others feel the burnt taste makes it seem stronger. But for many Starbucks is like the gateway drug to real coffee.
Then there are the other luxuries such as wifi, food, nice couch's etc. Its a convinient place to meet and chat with friends without having to pay for dinner. In Seattle its the most convinient place to warm up and get out of the rain. There certainly are better places to go for coffee but no other place offers all those conviniences on every corner. My company has Starbucks machines on every floor of every building and its free. I'm certainly not going to drive across town to a better place.
I never said theres no good reason to dislike the company so noticing the opinion of the few, the proud and the elite is irrelevant. I might even agree with them to a point.
I'm addressing your claim that MS employees are shunned in social situations and must hide their affiliation with the company when its the total opposite. Its completely untrue, even at a college reunion.
Re:Yeah, yeah, easy to get around that nit pick.
on
A Press Junket To Redmond
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· Score: 3, Informative
First of all you must not live anywhere near Seattle if you think letting people know you work at MS is a bad thing to do in a social situation or towards former classmates. Its the complete opposite. Whats really funny is to go online and see that MS critics think everyone feels the way they do or even cares about the subject. It may be stupid but thats the truth. Out of experience I can tell that your quote doesn't apply to most situations. Apply it to a MS employee in a social or business situation in Japan and the idea is laughable. If you meet company man or woman say from Sony etc telling them where you work is about the best thing you can do.
I'm not meaning to sound like I like all the products because I don't. But if you wanna talk about the social aspect of working for the company then you have no idea. People are stupid, the majority will think you are rich or want to work for the company themselves. The rest will want to pick your brain and hear what its really like. Only a really mental person would actually back away.
MS has always consisted of "fiefdoms that aren't all moving in the same direction." Those fiefdoms and the groups within them have always competed vigorously with eachother more then with their own competitors. In fact I would say at MS's prime, almost every group was trying to move in totally different directions. The internal chaos, backstabbing and opposing visions that occured during the Win 95 and 98 releases just aren't there at the level it used to be. Bill literally encouraged this as a way of weeding out the week or sending them to a part of the company where they can take care of meaningless chores via reorgs.
So if anything this guy just had no clue about how the company really operates even after his visit. In contrast he could go to a certain campus and some of the X-Box people will have you thinking the company is one congruent, well oiled machine centered around them. But wait, the Windows group said the same thing. So one of them decides to support a competing open source technology just to thwart the compatibility of the other group. All along the open source community thinks they are the center and primary target. To win favor amongst the higher ups you can convince them that this really is some conspiracy to smash external competitors instead of a short term effort to gain more control of company resources. The real cunning group goes to the separate licensing or marketing group and has them sabotage the others product. Of course the official story is everything is done to smash Linux or squeeze more money out of customers.
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Other than trying to promote open source software I don't see how this is really in the customers interst. Anybody who wants OpenOffice can download it themselves for free. The choice is already there for anyone who is interested in it. I much rather install it myself then have Dell put it on there. If anything I would like the option of having a machine with the OS and absolutely no additional applications. I think the real motive is OpenOffice users want to advertise the product to the large community of Dell users who normally wouldn't be exposed to it. Dell does not exist to carry out that agenda. If this was a bunch of Dell customers who don't use open office or Linux and they were making this request it would be totally different. But this is coming from an organized effort of people, many of which aren't even customers, telling Dell to put the software they like on Dell machines so others will be exposed to it. I seriously doubt most Linux or OpenOffice users would rather have Dell configure and install the software for them. That almost defeats the purpose, especially if they are charged for it.
I was referring to built in keywords and methods as well as the ones you can define yourself. A lot of programming tools will let you know immediately when you have mispelled a keyword/defined term because those words are often color coded differently then the ones you define yourself. And as I mentioned before things like intillisense will let you knew if you've misplelled anything. Thats just for catching things before debugging them. You can basically start typing a method, whether its already defined or not and it will try to finish it for you, or you can select something from a drop down list. It probably creates a lot of lazy programmers and creates other types of errors for the sake of productivity. So what I'm saying is that a lof of programmers have bad spelling and grammer but they have processes and tools for dealing with it.
What your saying sounds logical, but in reality its not true. You don't have to know how to spell to program, you just have to make the same mistake consistantly. If you think cat is spelled kat, then all you have to do is spell it the same way whenever you refer to it. For keywords you can use something like intellisense. If you type innt mayn() your going see you mistake right away. If good spelling was required for programming then debuggers would be a lot less usefull and we wouldn't have editors and technical writers. In fact, good programmers usually assume that there are going to be mistakes and spend a good deal of time looking for them. Making a spelling or grammer mistake when you are posting on a message board is not work. People tend to put more effort into programming than posting on message boards, so making a mistake doesn't necessarily mean they can't can't spell or write. Sometimes the erros people comment about aren't even worth mentioning and then tend to degrade the conversation and bring it off topic. I'm at work half the time when I post, so I try to type my messages as quickly as possible and make sure nobody is looking over my shoulder. Mistakes are bound to happen.
I work for a software company who's products are pirated extensively. Some of my work is in those products. I'm the type of so called victim you are describing, yet I don't feel victimized because I get paid well and am pretty comfortable. Asking for anymore would be greedy. People steal our work all the time and call us all kinds of names. I don't care, in fact I support many if them. They create a balance for companies that already have too much power especially the clowns of the RIAA who are no different then gangsters. For my company copyright law is nothing but a tool to be manipulated. Its not what we preach but its definately what we practice. In the end the money is still being distributed, to hardware, even software loaded on to machines, blank media, online services and broad band connections.
I just started playing WOW 3 weeks ago. I resisted the urge for a long time partly because I wanted to have a life. As a complete newb I'm not sure if I should buy this or not so it is helpfull. At this point I don't even know if a low level player like me could benefit much from the new content. It especially helps to know what kind of experience I will get based on how much time I devote to the game. One thing I can say for sure is that there are a lot of newcomers so your comment is really innacurate. Basically the review doesn't help you and thats fine, but don't speak for everyone else.
" Can anybody tell me that they put Vista on their computer and things are now noticably faster?" I think people just don't listen because thats not what they want to hear. My newer machines run vista much better then xp, they also boot faster and resume from sleep or hybernation quicker. My older machines run Vista on par with XP. There definately seems to be more efficient use of high end machines. I read some reviews from places like Linux Forum etc, and there is a lot of misinformation going around, especially with regards to minimum requirements and Aero.
The only reason I use hotmail is becaue it synchs much better on my mobile device via direct push. And the windows live apps for windows mobile helped as well, especially the IM client and being able to synch my address book with my phones. I was primarily a gmail user but I just had too many problems synching my gmail via pop. And when I accessed gmail via pop on more then one device, POP access would get turned off and I would have to go back into settings and turn it back on. With hotmail and yahoo I can synch with several desktop clients and my pocketpc. My major problem with Yahoo is that my messages are consistantly delayed while gmail and hotmail seem to get them instantly. I think hotmail and yahoo will do just with Apple and MS putting their clients on mobile devices and all the services they are tied to. IM plays a big part. I have tons of gmail users in my address book but none of them use google's IM features, they use hotmail, aim or yahoo.
Apple is more restrictive. Not licensing an OS in the first place is more restrictive then licensing it then puting restrictions on it. What your say is equivelent to my mom is less restrictive because she lets me do anything I want when I'm at home, she just doesn't let me leave house, but my dad, that punk lets me go anyware I want as long as I don't do drugs, have sex and I have to wear the close he picks. Apple doesn't just have a limited pool of hardware, they restrict that pool of hardware so it consists mainly of.... their own hardware. If I want to run OSX I can't shop around for the hardware that fits me, its a one size fits all product line. I also can't really build my own machines if I go with OSX. You can down play that all you want but it not going to change anything for people who want a choice in hardware or a person who likes to build their own machine.
The problem with this garbage is these guys aren't law enforcement. Do you trust their standards and their margin of error? They have very little evidence to begin with. Then tie in the fact that they have no idea who's using your computer, if its been highjacked etc. There are way too many factors to consider to go on such little evidence. The only reason anyone puts up with such low standards is because they are sympethetic to these gangsters, I mean record labels cause.
Your post makes no sense. Your complaining because they dont have a common sense of decency but your post shows no sense of decency and no value for human life. Have you ever killed anyone? Have you ever witnessed murder? Have you served time in prison? If not you probably can't even grasp the idea of how barbaric your nonsense of a post sounds. A society with your type of thinking doesn't deserve to be free of this nuisance. What good is your sense of justice if you have no value for human life and no sense of decency. This would quickly descend into anarchy.
I would move to Germany. Please fallow this example Japan. Say no to police brutality against computer privacy.
I think the sentencing for piracy and hacking is rediculous in general. So of course I don't support the possible punishment. But its the Russian and the US government that needs to be changed. Their punishments are way too severe. I certainly don't want people going to jail over my work. I get paid enough. Human life is more valuable then a stupid copy of Windows.
I'm happy with DVDs. They look fine to me. HD is ripoff. At around 25gb a disc the gains are not worth the extra disc space. With other formats you had other benifits such as size, form factor and less moving parts. HD and Blue Ray discs don't offer any physical benefits that DVD did over VHS. A better picture for 5 times the storage space supported by an array of DRM infested hardware and software. I'll take the lower quality that I am used to for a more versatile, efficient and cost effective format that I can make backups of.
I think you just have a hard time accepting that the public doesn't necessarily share your views. Your argument is based on everyone having the same values, the same standards and the same agenda as you. You assume that if everyone knew what you did (because this is secret information that only you know about) then they would share your opinion. A lot of people could care less about some of the issues you brought up. And if thats the case it could easily explain why the Linux or Mac community could hate MS, while the general public has their own opinion of the company based on different values that could cause their opinion to go either way. If the general public did hate Microsoft it would probably be for a totally different reason that you are oblivious to.
Its not a hypocrisy as far as capitalism is concerned. Advertising costs money. In the case of email marketing you have a bunch of companies trying to use people's inbox as a billboard even though in most cases they haven't paid to advertise there. So they aren't entitled to be able to advertise on this platform. Their idea of getting permission to send out these emails is a joke anyways. Another thing to consider is that in capitalism, society has the right to ban any industry they choose and its perfectly acceptable. Illegal drugs is a good example. So no hypocrisy there. Society will choose when and where advertising is acceptable. If thats shuts out email marketing then cry me river so I can pee in it.
I'm sure that by the time it had been tested on our soldiers it had already been thoroughly tested on hundreds of Iraqis. Nothing to worry about.
I couldn't agree more. Not only Verizon but everyone who sells hardware should support these guys because no matter how unprofitable the disk sales become, people will still buy the hardware, storage space, high speed connections, increasingly large flat panel displays, mp3 players etc. Its just money shifting hands away from the outdated business model of the recording and motion picture industry. Damn, just as soon as I thought these bigger hard drives would mean something, the movies just got bigger.
As opposed to all the people who bought a Mac because it was cute. Seriously I know my fare share of people who bought a mac because of the style and don't even know which version of the OS they are running.
I have used Macs plenty and I just don't like them. I like to build my own machines, I'm into games, I like the choice of hardware and I prefer the Windows interface. Linux is my second OS. To me its the only real alternative because they both offer what the other doesn't. Linux is free, customizable, fast and it gives my old hardware something to do. My biggest peve about this debate is that people are so arrogant about their preferences that they assume that the only possible reason that someone would use a different OS from them is that they are ignorant or have never been exposed to anything else.
"The looks the employees and other customers give you are priceless. " What country do you live in? I order double shots of esspresso all the time and this has never happened. I see plenty of others do it as well. They are having a problem though where people are ordering esspresso shots and then using the free milk in the condiments section to make their own cheap latte like drinks.
Most people don't go to Starbucks because its the cool thing to do. If that were the case it would have fizzled out long ago. I know more people who avoid Starbucks because its the cool thing to do. People go to Starbucks because its comfortable, convinient and it gives them their fix wether they like the flavor of coffee or not. A lot of people do like the flavor of their drinks. Many people don't like the real flavor of coffee so they disguise it while others feel the burnt taste makes it seem stronger. But for many Starbucks is like the gateway drug to real coffee. Then there are the other luxuries such as wifi, food, nice couch's etc. Its a convinient place to meet and chat with friends without having to pay for dinner. In Seattle its the most convinient place to warm up and get out of the rain. There certainly are better places to go for coffee but no other place offers all those conviniences on every corner. My company has Starbucks machines on every floor of every building and its free. I'm certainly not going to drive across town to a better place.
I never said theres no good reason to dislike the company so noticing the opinion of the few, the proud and the elite is irrelevant. I might even agree with them to a point.
I'm addressing your claim that MS employees are shunned in social situations and must hide their affiliation with the company when its the total opposite. Its completely untrue, even at a college reunion.
First of all you must not live anywhere near Seattle if you think letting people know you work at MS is a bad thing to do in a social situation or towards former classmates. Its the complete opposite. Whats really funny is to go online and see that MS critics think everyone feels the way they do or even cares about the subject. It may be stupid but thats the truth. Out of experience I can tell that your quote doesn't apply to most situations. Apply it to a MS employee in a social or business situation in Japan and the idea is laughable. If you meet company man or woman say from Sony etc telling them where you work is about the best thing you can do. I'm not meaning to sound like I like all the products because I don't. But if you wanna talk about the social aspect of working for the company then you have no idea. People are stupid, the majority will think you are rich or want to work for the company themselves. The rest will want to pick your brain and hear what its really like. Only a really mental person would actually back away.
MS has always consisted of "fiefdoms that aren't all moving in the same direction." Those fiefdoms and the groups within them have always competed vigorously with eachother more then with their own competitors. In fact I would say at MS's prime, almost every group was trying to move in totally different directions. The internal chaos, backstabbing and opposing visions that occured during the Win 95 and 98 releases just aren't there at the level it used to be. Bill literally encouraged this as a way of weeding out the week or sending them to a part of the company where they can take care of meaningless chores via reorgs. So if anything this guy just had no clue about how the company really operates even after his visit. In contrast he could go to a certain campus and some of the X-Box people will have you thinking the company is one congruent, well oiled machine centered around them. But wait, the Windows group said the same thing. So one of them decides to support a competing open source technology just to thwart the compatibility of the other group. All along the open source community thinks they are the center and primary target. To win favor amongst the higher ups you can convince them that this really is some conspiracy to smash external competitors instead of a short term effort to gain more control of company resources. The real cunning group goes to the separate licensing or marketing group and has them sabotage the others product. Of course the official story is everything is done to smash Linux or squeeze more money out of customers.